England Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

== National Archives and Libraries ==

'''National Archives.'''

The National Archives collects records of the central government (such as parliamentary papers) and law courts from 1086 to the present. These records provide a wealth of information for the family researcher but are best used after you have gathered information elsewhere. You must have a reader’s ticket to use this collection. The staff does not do research but will usually do brief searches if you supply enough information. You can write to this office at the following address:

For a detailed list of the records housed in the National Archives, see:

The British Library is the national repository for all published materials in England. Because its collection is so complex, usually only experienced researchers use it. The library has several departments. The following are the most useful to family history researchers:

'''The Guildhall Library.'''

The Guildhall Library has many guild (occupation) and business records, kept at:

The Guildhall Library also has Lloyd’s Marine Collection (see the “Merchant Marine” article) and London city parish registers.

The Hyde Park Family History Centre is one of the 13 Regional Family History Centres of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes referred to as the Mormon Church).  There are more than 4500 Family History Centres around the world with over 100 in the U.K., but the 13 Regional Centres are larger and have more resources on site.  The Hyde Park FHC has an onsite collection of more than 50,000 microfilms from the Salt Lake Family History Library collection and these are primarily records of the U.K., Ireland, and locations where the British were, e.g. The Caribbean.  Other microfilms can be ordered from the Family History Library Catalog on http://www.familysearch.org for a small charge.  The Hyde Park FHC also has 25 computers for patron use with websites such as FamilySearch, FreeBMD, GENUKI, and subscriptions to Ancestry, The National Archives, FindMyPast, and others. Running on the internal server and available on each of its computers are databases including the British Vital Records Index - 2nd Edition, the 1881 British Census, the 1881 Canadian Census, the 1880 U.S. Census, the Scottish Church Records database (10 million names indexed from parish registers before Civil Registration started in Scotland), the Mormon Immigration Index, the Pedigree Resource File, and others.  The FHC provides a series of free Family History talks on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 PM with the schedule posted on the website under Events.  The FHC is open to the public without having to make an appointment and without charge, except for printing or ordering microfilms.  South Kensington is the nearest tube stop and the FHC is directly across the street from the Science Museum and Imperial College.  See the website for their opening hours, their catalogue of resources, the schedule of events and talks, a map showing the location and tube and bus stops, and a list of the other Family History Centres in the U.K..

== County Record Offices ==