This is a brief guide to researching records of towns and cities. This guide will help you to identify some key sources of information which will help you with your research.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- any former names of the town or city
- any counties the town or city may have been in
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What records can I see online?
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Online Historical Population Reports (1801-1937)
Search the Histpop website to consult historical population reports based upon statistics gathered through the census and civil registrationgovernment records of citizens vital events such as a birth, marriage or death.
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Charles Booth Online Archive (1886-1903)
Browse the London School of Economics' Charles Booth Online Archive to view original records from Booth's survey of life and labour in London.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Board of Health correspondence (1846-1871)
Browse Discovery, our cataloguea search tool with descriptions of 11 million documents from the UK central government, law courts, and other national bodies for records of the General Board of Health and the Home Office in MH 13.
This seriesa grouping of records held by The National Archives, based on common function or subject contains correspondence with local authorities and government departments relating to the provision and administration of public health, sanitary and other services under the several Public Health and Local Government Acts passed between 1848 and 1871. A few volumes relate to special subjects such as cholera, yellow fever, and metropolitan nuisances.
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Housing and Local Government records (1919-1970)
Browse our catalogue for records of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and related bodies such as the Ministry of Town and Country Planning and the Ministry of Health in HLG.
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Records of the Department of the Environment (1951-2006)
Browse our catalogue for records of the Department of the Environment and other related bodies in AT.
The records concern housing, planning, new towns, inner city matters, finance and local government, environmental protection and services, the countryside, sport, recreation and parks, water services, ancient monuments, estate management, construction, and traffic and transport.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, commission research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Local authority records
Consult records of local authorities and parishes in local archives and libraries. Use the ARCHON directory to find their contact details.
Search the Access to Archives (A2A) catalogue for information about records held in local archives in England and Wales, dating from the eighth century to the present day.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Local libraries and local history societies
Contact the relevant local library or local history society for information on specific towns or cities.
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Villages and the countryside
Houses
Landed estates