A beginner’s guide to historical investigation
Local and family history
Abandoned Communities
www.abandonedcommunities.co.uk/index.html
Local history isn’t always about what’s there. Here is an enthusiast’s site that commemorates towns, villages and other communities in Britain that, since the Middle Ages, have been abandoned. There is also a section summarising psychological theories relevant to the theme of abandonment, as well as sections presenting poetry and paintings inspired by such places.
Familia
www.familia.org.uk
A searchable directory of family history resources held in public libraries in the UK and Ireland.
Federation of Family History Societies
www.ffhs.org.uk/index.php
An educational charity that supports the work of family history societies and other genealogical organisations. The Research Tips section has useful FAQs on how to start researching family history, plus a list of websites and advice on making the most of record offices.
GENUKI: UK & Ireland Genealogy
www.genuki.org.uk
The largest collection of genealogical information pages for England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It holds a huge amount of information on a great number of historical topics.
In-depth guide to family history
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory/guide/
From the National Archive website, this describes some useful record sources for family historians, and includes images of some of the key family history documents in the National Archives, showing how to interpret the information that is contained in them.
Legacies: UK history local to you
www.bbc.co.uk/legacies
A BBC website: ‘From buildings to legends and from myths to people: discover our local history through tales of our ancestors from all around the UK.’ Using a map, travel round the country searching for type of work and occupation. In the ‘Archive’, find out about architectural heritage, immigration and emigration, and myths and legends. Finally, in ‘Your Stories’, see what members of the public have written about their own histories.
Local Heritage Initiative
www.lhi.org.uk/index.html
The LHI was a programme (2000–06) that provided funds, advice and support to enable communities to launch projects to investigate, explain and care for their local landmarks, landscape, traditions and culture. The directory on the website is a comprehensive archive of these projects.
Local History Online
www.local-history.co.uk
From Local History Magazine, more than 300 links to sites in the UK and abroad, regularly updated news and calendar sections, plus directories of local history organisations and course providers. The ‘Getting started’ section had a lot of good basic information and tips.
Oral History Society
www.oralhistory.org.uk
An organisation dedicated to the collection and preservation of oral history. This website has lots of practical advice on how to go about interviewing people in your area who have a tale to tell.
Society of Genealogists
www.sog.org.uk/index.shtml
The society offers research material, guidance and support for those interested in family history and the lives of earlier generations. Its library has a large collection of family histories, civil registration and census material, and the widest collection of county sources in the country. The society also runs lectures and courses.
A Vision of Britain through Time
www.visionofbritain.org.uk/index.jsp
Britain between 1801 and 2001: maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions. Based on specific locations – you can search via a postcode or a place name. Created by the Great Britain Historical GIS [Geographical Information System] Project.
