Latest News from Cheshire Archives and Local Studies
Welcome
Welcome to our latest newsletter! Thank you for agreeing to receive regular updates from us, and if you think our news would interest your friends, community or group - please ask them to subscribe. (It is just as easy to unsubscribe if you don’t want to hear from us anymore.)
Searchroom news
Our amber-tinted Searchroom image indicates that in-person access to the collections is now closed.
Although the Record Office closed to the public on 8 August our online services are not affected, and you are still able to order copies of documents and request research services (until the image turns red at the start of 2026 to indicate full closure!). Libraries across Cheshire will continue to provide access to local history books and maps as well as providing free access to family history websites.
Visiting us
New project team members
We recently welcomed three new project team members. Pictured left to right are Amelia our Volunteer Officer, Chloe our Learning Officer, and Hannah our second Community Engagement Officer.
New Cheshire records available with Ancestry
Often when we meet up with family over Christmas conversations steer towards family history and this is a perfect time to check out some of our recently digitised online collections. Why not take a look at our newly digitised parish records available on Ancestry? They include colour images of Church of England baptisms (1538-1923), marriages (1538-1939) and burials (1538-1993); Bishop’s Transcripts and non-conformist baptism, marriages and burials (1800-1948). Work is currently underway to digitise our wills and electoral registers.
Remember that both Ancestry and Find My Past are free to use at Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Warrington and Halton libraries.
Cheshire records on Ancestry
The Cheshire Collection on Find My Past
Pass the salt please!
If you or someone you know worked at the salt mine in Winsford then you may be interested in a new event at Winsford Library in January 2025. We want to see your photos and mementoes and hear why they’re important to you – join us for a coffee on Saturday 18 January between 10am and 12noon.
Back in September we ran a couple of sessions at Winsford and Wharton Libraries to showcase some of the amazing records we hold about the salt industry and to begin to capture some of the memories of past workers at the mine. Read our blog on ‘Mining for memories’ and discover what we got up to.
Archives in Action: Mining for Memories