Introduction

We hold records of the central government of the United Kingdom (primarily those relating to England and Wales as Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own central record offices) and the English law courts. This geographical arrangement is reflected in the archive galleries below.

Such a description may lead local historians to believe that we would have few records of any use to them. While it is of course true that local historians will find much of interest in their county record office, local studies library or, where appropriate, with particular local history societies, it should be stressed that we also hold a vast amount of material which can be used by local historians. We can also help local historians to locate relevant material held elsewhere, through the National Register of Archives and Manorial Documents Regsiter.

What our local history guide is for

The purpose of this guide is to assist those interested in local history by illustrating a selection of material which will be useful for local and regional historical studies. The site is restricted to 'modern history' from around 1700, in an attempt to make the site more cohesive. It should be recognised that not all our records are indexed in such a way as to make local history searches easy. Nevertheless, there are wide ranges of materials which are partially or fully indexed by parish, town, county etc., and which are indispensable for local historians. The range of topics studied by local historians is as broad as the records themselves. People may be interested in 'agricultural change in the 18th century Berkshire', 'early 19th century industry in South Wales' or 'the General Strike in Bristol'. This guide is, therefore, divided into several themes or 'chapters' to assist local historians with regard to specific research with us.

What this guide is not

It's not a comprehensive guide to local history with us. Even by restricting the content of the guide to modern records the sheer volume of our material would require a more extensive guide. Nevertheless, the range of documents provided here should 'whet the appetite' and point the way to further records which can be investigated during a personal visit to us. This site does not allow for any searches of the material held with us. For this service, researchers would need to access the online catalogue.

In short, this guide is an illustrative guide to the records and not a comprehensive listing under place names.

How this site works

On the left you will see the chapters listed. These chapters are made up of pictures of documents and explanations of material which we hold. The documents are purely illustrative and have not been inserted as a resource for local historians to work from. Indeed there have been occasions where the documents selected have been too large to reproduce in full and it has been necessary to cut away part of the image. The text provides a brief explanation of the records introduced in each chapter. Although each chapter seeks to set the context of the material being introduced it is outside the scope of this project to provide a comprehensive history regarding each topic.

Before you look at the archive galleries you may first want to look at our library facilities for the local historian. Our library has significant holdings for local historians and this complements the archive material we hold.

Next chapter: Land and people