Researching local history: archives, old maps and newspapers
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The history of your street, village or neighbourhood is often better documented than you would expect. Researching it needs no qualifications, only patience and a willingness to ask librarians and archivists for help. This guide covers where to look and how to start.
Start with a question
"The history of my town" is too big. Choose something answerable:
- When was my house built, and who lived in it?
- What stood on the site of the supermarket before?
- Why does this road bend where it does?
- What happened to the local mill, school or chapel?
A clear question tells you which records to look for and stops you drowning in material.
Begin with what already exists
- Your local library's local studies section often holds parish histories, old directories, photograph collections and the work of earlier researchers.
- Local history societies publish journals and usually know who has already researched what. Joining one is the quickest way to meet people who can save you weeks.
- Published county or regional histories give context, even when they say little about your exact street.
Archives
Most countries have a national archive and a network of regional or local record offices. In England and Wales, for example, county record offices hold parish registers, estate papers, school log books, council minutes and planning records, while The National Archives at Kew holds central government records and has an online catalogue, Discovery, which also searches many local archives' holdings.
- Search the online catalogue before visiting, and note the reference numbers you need.
- Check opening hours and whether you must book a seat or order documents in advance.
- Bring a pencil; many archives do not allow pens near original documents.
- Ask whether you may photograph documents for personal research, and whether a reader's ticket is required.
- Archivists know their collections far better than any catalogue. Describe your question and ask what they would look at.
Old maps
Maps show change over time better than almost anything else.
- Compare editions from different decades to see when fields became streets and when buildings appeared or vanished.
- In Britain, the National Library of Scotland's maps website offers free historic Ordnance Survey maps for the whole of Great Britain, with viewers that let you lay old maps over modern ones or compare them side by side.
- In the United States, the Library of Congress holds large collections of Sanborn fire insurance maps, which record individual buildings, their materials and uses in many towns.
- Estate maps, tithe maps and enclosure maps, where they exist, can show who owned or rented each field.
Newspapers
Local papers record openings, closures, accidents, court cases, advertisements and gossip.
- In the United States, Chronicling America, the Library of Congress's free historic newspaper collection, now sits within the main loc.gov website and holds millions of digitised pages.
- Australia's Trove and New Zealand's Papers Past offer free digitised newspapers.
- The British Newspaper Archive is a subscription service, but many public libraries offer free access to it or similar databases on site or with a library card.
- Search engines for old newspapers rely on text recognition from scans, which makes mistakes. Try alternative spellings and nearby words.
Other useful records
- Census returns and trade directories show who lived where and what they did.
- Electoral registers trace residents year by year.
- Old photographs and postcards, often in library or society collections.
- Oral history: older residents remember things no document records. Ask permission before recording, and note the date and who was speaking.
Recording and sharing
Keep a log of every source you check, including the ones that found nothing, so you do not repeat searches. Cite references precisely. When you have something to share, local societies, libraries and community websites are usually glad to publish or archive it, and your work becomes a source for the next researcher.
What have you discovered about the place where you live? Share your finds and tips in the comments.