Dorset Archives and Libraries

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England

Dorset

Archives and Libraries

Archives

Dorset History Centre
Bridport Rd
Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1RP UK

Telephone: 01305 250550
Email: archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Website
Collections
Historic parish registers and records

Dorset History Centre holds parish registers for 300 different parishes around Dorset. The registers contain records of baptisms, marriages and burials around the county. To check we have the registers for the parish you are interested in please search our catalogue or view our full list of parish registers. Our guide to parish registers gives more details on how to use parish registers and is designed to help you make the most of the archives held at the History Centre.

Additional records include family and estate archives, newspapers, audio and oral history, business records, court, prison, police records, electoral registers, maps, school records, and wills among others.

The Dorset History Centre brings together two services – the Dorset Record Office and Dorset County Local Studies Library. The centre is the archives service and local studies library for Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole.

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Poole History Centre
Poole Museum Service
4 High Street
Poole, Dorset, BH15 1BW, UK
Telephone: 01202 128 888
Email: localhistory@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
Website
Poole History Online

The History Centre is part of Poole Museum and is a rich resource centre about Poole's heritage. It has resources for all aspects of local history research in an extensive library supported by microfilmed and digitized material.

Resources:

*Maps and charts - Historic maps show the growth of the town from the sixteenth century up to the 1960s.

*Newspapers - Over 200 years of newspaper coverage and press cuttings from the past 50 years.

*Photographs - Thousands of photographs show how the area has changed over the past century.

*Oral histories - Listen to personal accounts of the D-Day landings, stories of home life, ice-cream making and fishing.

*Books - Subjects cover the local history of Poole and genealogical research.

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Christchurch is the most easterly coastal town of the administrative county of Dorset, and it lies within the historic county of Hampshire. Some records are in the Hampshire Archives.
Hampshire Archives and Local Studies
Sussex Street
Winchester
SO23 8TH, UK

Website
Christchurch parish registers listed in catalogue

Libraries

• Information about all libraries in Dorset County Council area including opening times, location, accessibility and contact details.
• Information about all libraries in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole including opening times, location, accessibility and contact details.

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Dorset Family History Society
Treetops Research Centre
Suite 5, Stanley House
3, Fleets Lane
Poole, Dorset BH15 3AJ, UK

Phone: 01202 785623
Email
Website
Parish registers

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Dorchester Library and Learning Centre
South Walks House
Charles Street
Dorchester
Dorset DT1 1EE, UK

Telephone: 01305 224440
Email: dorchesterlibrary@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Libraries West catalogue
Parish register listed in the catalogue

Museums

• For a long list of Dorset museums, go to List of museums in Dorset in Wikipedia.

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The Keep Military Museum
Barrack Road
Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1RN UK
Telephone: 01305 264066
Email: info@keepmilitarymuseum.org
Website
Research

Archive for The Devonshire Regiment, The Dorset Regiment, The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, The Dorset Yeomanry, The Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry, The Dorset Militia, The Royal Devon Yeomanry and 94 Field Regiment RA.

Civil Register Offices

The General Register Office holds a central copy of all birth, marriage, and death registrations in England. These certificates can be ordered from their website (a login is required but it is free to register and search). However, in some cases research can be more efficient working with the smaller, more specific records collections of county/district registry offices.

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Sometimes research might be required to determine where a town or parish was in a former registration district, or even its current district. For a list of the historic and current registration districts and their parishes, see UKBMD: Registration Districts in Dorset.

Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole

• How to get copies of birth, death, civil partnership or marriage certificates
  

Bournemouth and Christchurch Register Office Town Hall Bourne Avenue Bournemouth BH2 6DY, UK Telephone: 01202 123 777 Email: registrars.mailbox@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Poole Register Office The Guildhall Market Street Poole BH15 1NF, UK Telephone: 01202 123 232 Email: poole.births@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Dorset

• Apply for copies of birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates
  

Dorset Registration Service
Dorset History Centre
Bridport Road
Dorchester
Dorset DT1 1RP, UK
Telephone: 01305 225153
Email: registrars@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk