Have you reached a “brick wall” in your genealogy research? Onsite genealogy research in England may just be the key to extending your English ancestry. We have genealogists in England that can help!
Challenges in English Genealogy Research
Genealogy research in England benefits from a wealth of historical records, including civil registration, church records (Anglican and others), censuses going back to the 1840s, and military, property, and probate documents. While a large number of these records have been digitized, some are still only held onsite. Furthermore, research can be especially difficult pre-1840 as the number of genealogically useful records decreases, record loss increases, and common names complicate conclusions. In some cases, successful English genealogy research will require a Legacy Tree researcher to visit an archive in person.
It is also important to understand that England’s colonial practices scattered its people throughout the globe, in countries as far-flung as Australia, India, Canada, and China. The English were also primary settlers of the United States from an early period. If your ancestors migrated to another part of the world from England, it will usually be necessary to complete research in the destination country first to learn the name of their English hometown. Depending how early your ancestors arrived, this can take some time and may or may not be possible.
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
If you have English ancestry, our professionals can help track down the town of origin of your ancestors, determine where that location is today, and identify where the records for that place are currently kept. We can also do the preliminary research in immigrant destination countries to learn the original English hometown, if necessary. For those areas that don’t have records available online or on microfilm, our onsite agents can visit that location to obtain any documents that are available.
Onsite Archive Access in England
Our onsite genealogy researchers have access to the following archives, repositories, and libraries in England to help track down the records you need to extend your English family history:
- Barnsley Archives and Local Studies
- Bath Record Office
- Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Archive, London
- BBC Archives
- BBC Sound Archive
- Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service, Bedford
- Berkshire Record Office, Reading
- Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre, London
- Birmingham City Archives
- Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Black Cultural Archives
- Borthwick Institute for Archives, York
- BFI National Archive, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire and Gaydon, Warwickshire
- BP Archive, near Coventry (shares premises with the Modern Records Centre)
- Bristol Archives
- BT Archives, London
- Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies, Cambridge and Huntingdon
- Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre, London
- Canterbury Cathedral Archives
- Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies, Aylesbury
- Cheshire Record Office, Chester
- City of Westminster Archives Centre
- Cornwall Record Office, Truro
- Coventry Archives
- Cumbria Archive Service, Barrow, Carlisle, Kendal and Whitehaven
- Derbyshire Record Office, Matlock
- Devon Record Office, Exeter
- Doncaster Archives
- Dorset History Centre, Dorchester
- Dudley Archives and Local History
- Durham County Record Office
- East London Theatre Archive
- East Riding of Yorkshire Archive Service
- East Sussex Record Office, Lewes
- Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR), London [2]
- English Heritage Archive, Swindon
- Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, Colchester, Harlow, Saffron Walden and Southend
- Family Records Centre, London
- George Padmore Institute, London
- Gloucestershire Archives, Gloucester
- Greater Manchester County Record Office
- Hampshire Record Office
- Harrow School Archives, Harrow
- Herefordshire Record Office
- Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies
- Hull City Archives
- Hull History Centre – Hull City Archives, Hull University Archives and Local Studies Library
- Hyman Archive, London
- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Archives
- India Office Records at The British Library
- Islington Local History Centre, London
- Kent History and Library Centre, Maidstone
- Kingston History Centre, Kingston
- Lambeth Archives
- Lambeth Palace Library
- Lebrecht Photo Library, St John's Wood, London
- Lichfield Record Office
- Lincolnshire Archives, Lincoln
- Liverpool Record Office
- London Metropolitan Archives
- Manchester Archives and Local Studies
- Media Archive for Central England
- Medway Archives, Strood
- Mills Archive, Reading
- Modern Records Centre, near Coventry
- The National Archives [of the United Kingdom], Kew
- National Co-operative Archive, Manchester
- National Jazz Archive
- National Gas Archive, Warrington
- National Theatre Archive, London
- Norfolk Record Office, Norwich
- North Highland Archive, Wick
- North Yorkshire County Record Office, Northallerton
- Northamptonshire Record Office, Northampton
- Northumberland Record Office, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Woodhorn
- Nottinghamshire Archives, Nottingham
- Nottingham University, Manuscripts and Special Collections
- Oldham Local Studies and Archives
- Oxfordshire Record Office, Cowley near Oxford
- Parliamentary Archives, London (formerly the House of Lords Record Office)
- Plymouth and West Devon Record Office
- Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, near Leicester
- Rotherham Archives and Local Studies Service
- Royal Archives, Windsor
- Royal College of Nursing Archives, Edinburgh
- Royal College of Physicians Archives, London
- Royal Mail Archive, London
- Sainsbury Archive, London
- Sandwell Community History and Archives Service
- Savoy Archives, London
- Shropshire Archives, Shrewsbury
- Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Record Office, Stratford-upon-Avon
- Sheffield Archives
- Somerset Archive & Record Service
- Sorabji Archive, Hereford
- Southampton Archives
- Staffordshire Record Office, Stafford
- Stoke on Trent City Archives
- Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and Lowestoft
- Surrey History Centre, Woking
- Teesside Archives, Middlesbrough
- Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives, London
- Transport for London Corporate Archives, London
- Tyne and Wear Archives Service, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Walsall Local History Centre
- Warwickshire County Records Office, Warwick
- Waterways Archive, Gloucester
- West Sussex Record Office, Chichester
- West Yorkshire Archive Service, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds and Wakefield
- Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office, Chippenham
- Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies
- Worcestershire Record Office
- York City Archive
