British and Irish Genealogical Collections

The collections include a range of research guides ranging from those covering genealogy more generally, to detailed guides to researching people in particular professions, religions, localities, time periods. Examples include:

• Medieval genealogy : how to find your medieval ancestors
• Ancestral trails : the complete guide to British genealogy and family history
• Journeys in family history : the National Archives guide to finding your ancestors and exploring their times
• The Genealogist's Internet
• Scottish genealogy
• My ancestors were Congregationalists in England and Wales
• A guide to Jewish genealogy in the United Kingdom
• Researching brewery and publican ancestors
• Tracing your Royal Marine ancestors   
• My ancestors were gypsies
• Migration records : a guide for family historians
• Tracing your West Indian ancestors
• Tracing your labour movement ancestors
• Poor law records for family historians
• Tracing your criminal ancestors
• Tracing your family history in Hertfordshire
• The expert guide to dating Victorian family photographs

The majority of these are shelved at classmark B.2, subdivided as follows:

• B.20 General biographical dictionaries, e.g. Who's who
• B.21 Lists of Peers, Baronets, Knights, Gentry, e.g. Burke's Peerage
• B.22 Lists of Religious office holders, e.g. Crockford's clerical directory,  Catholic Directory, Congregational Yearbook
• B.23 Political & Legal Office Holders, e.g. Office Holders in Modern Britain, Foss' Judges of England, History of Parliament
• B.24 Biographical lists covering Science, Medicine, the Arts and Philosophy, e.g. A biographical dictionary of English court musicians, 1485-1714
• B.25 Biographical lists covering the Book Trade, e.g. Plomer's Dictionary of the printers and booksellers...
• B.26 Biographical lists covering Business, Commerce & Industry (engineers, architects, watchmakers etc), e.g. Dictionary of English furniture makers, 1660-1840
• B.27 Biographical lists covering Educational bodies: Learned Societies, Inns of Court, Universities and schools, e.g. Cheltenham College register, 1841-1919, and Alumni cantabrigienses
   
• BS.1521 Scottish Biographical Dictionaries and lists
• BW.1521 Welsh Biographical Dictionaries and lists
• BI.112 Irish Biographical Dictionaries and lists
• E.22 General Biographical works

• B.281 editions of wills (see also Wills & probate records : a guide for family historians)
• B.282 Chancery Court Proceedings
• B.283 Marriage Licences
• B.284 Visitations and Pedigrees
• B.285 Monuments and Inscriptions
• B.286 Family Histories
• B.29 Heraldry

Many local record society series publish local sources. The Royal Historical Society produce a useful listing via their website. Examples include:

• Jackson, C. ed., Newbury Kendrick Workhouse Records, 1627-1641, Berkshire Record Society, 8 (2004)
• Lewis, E. A. ed., The Welsh port books (1550-1603), Cymmrodorion record series, 12 (1927). Includes lists of ships masters and merchants, illustrated left.
• Edwards, D.G. ed., Derbyshire Wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1393-1574, Derbyshire Record Society, 26 (1998)
• Tapley-Soper, H. ed., The Registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials of the city of Exeter, 2 vols., Devon and Cornwall Record Society (1910)
• Minet. W. and S. eds., Registers of the churches of the Tabernacle, Glasshouse Street and Leicester Fields, 1688-1783, Huguenot Society of London, 29 (1926)
• MacDougall, I. ed., Mid and East Lothian Miners’ Association Minutes, 1894-1918, Scottish History Society, Fifth Series, 12 (1999)
• Walbran, J.R.; Fowler, J.T. eds., Memorials of the Abbey of St. Mary of Fountains. Vol. II, Surtees Society, 67 (1876)

These may be useful for occupation and address information, advertisements for businesses, and other local listings such as local government office holders. Although we don't have a complete set, we have a substantial collection particularly for the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. London, Irish and Scottish directories are with the relevant collections, with those covering the English counties and Wales in the English local history collection (as the latter cover the English borders and Wales together).

Other collections:

• Guildhall Library
• Historical Directories online directories covering England and Wales, from the University of Leicester
• Scottish Post Office directories from the National Library of Scotland

Published voting records, including address information. Right to vote was based on land ownership. Ceased after secret balloting was introduced. The IHR has a vast collection, shelved at BC.25 and arranged by English county. Some records from Scotland, Wales and Ireland are also included here. They cover from the early C18th and are particularly strong for the C19th.

See Poll Books collection guide for further information.

Detailed local history records for many English counties, including lists of local office holders, abbots etc, history of particular manors and land transfers.

Electronic resources:

• Victoria County History website
• Many volumes are now available through British History Online, making them fully searchable.

A range of military biographical material is held at the W.3 classmark in the Military collection, including the following:

• Army List 1759-1967
• Navy list covers 1823-1972
• Air Force List 1923-1967

Electronic resources:

• The complete navy list of the Napoleonic wars 1793-1815
• Soldiers died in the Great War, 1914-19

Current copies of our journals are on open access in the library, and back issues can be ordered from the stack. Many are also available online within the building via the links on the catalogue entry. BBIH and JSTOR are examples of the online databases that can be used to locate journal articles. Depending on your subject area of interest, useful background material will be found across the collection, for example in local and regional journals.

• Family and community history
• Oral history
• Genealogists' magazine

Background history on families and demography:

• Journal of family history
• The history of the family : an international quarterly

Contact us if you would like help on finding or using our collections, or if you have any comments or suggestions about the content of this guide. We are happy to help.

You can also book a tour or training session.