Useful links

Family history: general and Cheshire

This page offers a number of online resources to help you get started with your family search, including our quick guide which can help pull together some useful advice on family history.

Search for information in the following areas

• Across the UK 
• Cheshire 
• Lancashire
• General

Across the UK

General family history websites

• GENUKI
• UKBMD
• Family Search
• Federation of Family History Societies
• RootsWeb
• Society of Genealogists

Non-Anglican records

• Methodist Archives and Research Centre 
• Quaker records 1650 to mid 20th century  
• Baptist Historical Society
• Centre for Dissenting Studies
• Jewish Community and records
• United Reformed Church records

Local history

Local History Magazine includes advice on getting started; information about local history courses and useful links.

History of Buildings

Sources for Building History: a guide to researching historic buildings in the British Isles. Includes numerous useful links.

Community archives

Community Archives.

Teaching and learning

• SchoolZone is a school support site.
• Education Library Service has sources for Cheshire schools.
• The National Archive Education Service.
• Heritage Explorer teachers can pick and mix from the database of over 10,000 images and find curriculum related resources, for all key stages, to use or adapt for their pupils. 
  
• The Historical Association.

Adoption queries

The formal process of adoption only commenced in 1927. The following websites are useful for those wishing to trace family members affected by the adoption process.

• Adoption Search Reunion.
• Adoption Records on GOV.UK.

For enquiries about all kinds of children's homes, a useful website is Children's Homes.

Heraldry

• College of Arms.
• Society of Genealogists.

Online lists of available records

The Archives Hub provides a single point of access to descriptions of archives held in UK universities and colleges. The Archives Hub forms one part of the UK's National Archives Network, alongside related networking projects.

The National Archives

The National Archives website includes useful guides and factsheets for researching:

• A-Z of Archive repositories.
• Family history (naming names and tracing places; people at work; the army and the navy; migrant ancestors; ancestors and the law).
• Local history (land and people; local government and services; popular protest; the law; working lives).
• Sources for schools.
• Online catalogue.
• Events, exhibitions and useful links.
• A-Z Research Information leaflets.
• Census returns online (chargeable).
• The National Archives 'Discovery' database contains catalogues of archives held across England and dating from the 900s to the present day.

Cheshire and surrounding area

Find My Past's Cheshire Collection has over 10 million Cheshire records.

History and maps

• Cheshire tithe maps and apportionments online.
• Victoria County History. Cheshire volumes online.
• Cheshire Local History Association. Online maps of Cheshire and Ogilby's road maps

Images

Cheshire image bank includes digital images of Cheshire where you can purchase copies.

Local societies and services

• Cheshire Local History Association.
• Chester Archaeological Society.
• The Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.
• Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.
• Cheshire Archives and Local Studies Research Service.
• Cheshire Parish Transcription Project.

Libraries, museum and heritage

• Libraries in Cheshire West and Chester.
• Libraries in Cheshire East.
• Museums in Cheshire West and Chester.
• Museums in Cheshire East.
• Cheshire Military Museum.
• Lymm Digital Archive.

Cheshire archaeology

Planning Advisory Service and Historic Environment Team.

Visiting Cheshire 

Visit Cheshire website covers districts across Cheshire.

Local authority websites

• Cheshire West and Chester Council.
• Cheshire East Council.
• Halton Borough Council.
• Warrington Borough Council.

Family history: Lancashire

Lancashire Parish Registers searchable online.

General

General interest history

BBC History 2000 - Information about current television and radio programmes; special articles; education courses; events and activities all over the UK.

British History Online is the digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles. Created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust, the aim is to support academic and personal users around the world in their learning, teaching and research.

Victoria County History. Founded in 1899 and originally dedicated to Queen Victoria, the VCH is an encyclopaedic record of England's places and people from earliest times to the present day.

HistoryWorld - History and Timelines.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Established by Royal Charter in 1917, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission pays tribute to the 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two world wars. It is a non-profit-making organisation that was founded by Sir Fabian Ware. It has a searchable database.

The British Library Newspaper Library catalogue includes entries for over 52,000 newspaper and periodical titles. The collections include: all UK national daily and Sunday newspapers from 1801 to the present; most UK and Irish provincial newspapers, some dating from the early 18th century onwards; selected newspapers from around the world in European languages, some dating from the 17th century onwards; and a wide range of UK and Irish popular periodicals, covering all subjects from fashion, pop music and cinema, to sports, hobbies and trades.

World War One commemoration links

• The British Library WW1 website.
• War Memorials database.
• BBC WW1 Centenary. 
• British Military Nurses. 
• British Red Cross our history 
• WW1 Centenary in Cheshire East. Events, exhibitions and activities.

About archives as a profession

Archives and Records Association - The ARA came into existence on 1 June 2010 and is the result of a merger of the National Council on Archives and the Association of Chief Archivists in Local Government with the Society of Archivists.

Reference

• How much is that worth today? This compares purchasing power of money in Great Britain between 1264 and the present day.
• Imperial measurements Definitions of terms for historic lengths and areas.
• Historical maps. 

  

Curiouser and Curiouser: Stories from our Collections

Photo exhibitions on Flickr