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The past has been described as 'a different country'. A place in many ways familiar but where the unprepared traveller can soon get lost. How well you prepare, and where you start your journey, will greatly influence your chances of travelling successfully. Here is some very basic advice for beginners. Basically,
there are seven good ways to start finding out more about the local
history of your area (it can also be called community history or local
studies):
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Almost every county or large unitary local authority area in the United Kingdom has its own county records office or archive service, together with a specialist 'local studies library'. Sometimes the archives and the libraries are together or share the same building, but most are separate. The archives are the main repositories for 'primary sources' (original material) and libraries mainly collect 'published' material. There is, of course, a lot of overlap. All these local history collections will be catalogued, so that you can identify places, people and topics quite easily. There are also many specialist local history archives which store films and videos, and libraries with 'oral history' collections stored on cassette tapes. Sometimes these collections are fully indexed and transcribed, but this is not always the case. Two national
archives deserve a special mention:
Both these important archives hold lots of information of interest and assistance to local historians.
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Your local library should have a collection of most of the books which have been published about different aspects of local history in your area, together with some general works of reference about local history sources, both primary (original documents etc) and secondary (published material, including photographs and maps). Your local bookshop will also stock some of the currently available publications. Second-hand book shops are a good source of old and out-of-print local history books and you can often find old photographs of your area in antique shops. To appreciate fully the local history of your village, neighbourhood, town or city, you should read similar local history books about other places. This will enable you to compare your community with what what was happening elsewhere in your county, region or, even, nationally. Books and information about other places may well influence how you organise and write your own research.
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Membership rarely costs more than a few pounds a year and most societies will hold between 6 and 12 meetings a year. In addition, many societies also publish their own newsletters, journals and books about local history. Your local library should be able to tell you about any local history societies in your area. Most counties have at least one county-wide local history association, which often acts as an umbrella group for all the societies in the county (for a full list see the Local History Directory on this site). Many local history societies have their own research projects or maintain a list of members' interests, since many local historians have their own, unpublished, archives of information and photographs. By asking around, you may be able to identify other people in your area with similar interests to your own.
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Many colleges and universities organise local history courses about a wide variety of topics. In addition to the traditional evening classes, there are now many daytime classes. Many local history courses now award 'credits', diplomas and certificates to participants who successfully complete their chosen course. For a full list of course organisers visit our guide to courses. The great thing about going on a local history course is that you will be in the company of other people with similar interests and have access to professional advice and support from course tutors. In most counties, the county local history associations organise dayschools and conferences about local history. Some county archives, libraries and museums also organise courses on a regular basis (eg Bristol, Chester, Derbyshire).
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... to see what they have on display about the local history of your area. Museums also have 'reserve collections' of artefacts and other material, including old photographs, which you can see. This is a source of information which many students forget.
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Simply walk around the area you are interested in, be it a village, inner-city neighbourhood, suburb or town centre. You will immediately begin to notice lots of things which will prompt lots of questions. Often the past is barely visible beneath new roofs or shopfronts. What has happened to the old schools and churches in your area — sometimes they become community centres and homes, sometimes they become showrooms and small factories. In many areas, the local parish church will be the oldest surviving building. What is the history of your local park. Was it created by the local council or was it donated by a local benefactor many years ago?
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If you want to buy a selection of books to help you learn more about local history, then the following people all publish specialist local history catalogues: British Association for Local History, PO Box 6549, Somersal Herbert, Ashbourne DE6 5WH, www.balh.co.uk. Historical Association, 59A Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4JH, www.history.org.uk. Phillimore and Co, Shopwyke Manor Barn, Chichester, West Sussex PO20 6BG, www.phillimore.co.uk. Public Record Office Publications, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Surrey TW9 4DU, www.pro.gov.uk. The King's England Press, 21 Commercial Road, Goldthorpe, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S63 9BL, www.kingsengland.com. Brewin Books, Doric House, 56 Alcester Road, Studley, Warks B80 7LG, www.brewinbooks.co.uk. Sutton Publishing, Phoenix Mill, Thrupp, Stroud, Glos GL5 2BU, www.suttonpublishing.co.uk. Federation of Family History Societies Publications, 2-4 Killer Street, Ramsbottom, Bury, Lancs BL0 9BZ, www.ffhs.org.uk. Countryside Books, 3 Catherine Road, Newbury, Berks, www.countrysidebooks.co.uk. Francis Frith Collection, Frith's Barn, Teffont, Salisbury, Wilts SP3 5QP, www.francisfrith.co.uk.
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In and Around Record Repositories in Great Britain and Ireland by Jean Cole and Rosemary Church, 1992, Family Tree Magazine, ISBN 0 9511465 7 2. British Archives: A Guide to Archive Resources in the United Kingdom (3rd ed) by Janet Foster and Julia Sheppard, 1995, MacMillan Press, ISBN 0 333 532 554. Studying Family and Community History: Sources and Methods: A Handbook by The Open University, 1994. Published by the Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0 521 46004 2. British Directories: A Bibliography and Guide to Directories Published in England and Wales (1850-1950) and Scotland (1773-1950) by Gareth Shaw and Alison Tipper, 1989, Leicester University Press, ISBN 0 7185 1292 8. History on Your Doorstep by J R Ravensdale, 1982, BBC, ISBN 0 563 16464 6. Village Records by John West, 1997, Phillimore, ISBN 1 86077 040 1. Rural Life: Guide to Local Records by Peter Edwards, 1993, Batsford, ISBN 0 7134 6788 6. Sources for English Local History by W B Stephens, 1994, Phillimore, ISBN 0 85033 911 1. English County Histories: A Guide by C R J Currie and C P Lewis, 1994, Sutton, ISBN 0 7509 0289 2. The Pursuit of Local History: Readings on Theory and Practice by Carol Kammen, 1996, Altamira Press, ISBN 0 7619 9169 7. Latin for Local and Family Historians by Denis Stuart, 1995, Phillimore, ISBN 0 85033 984 7. Church Court Records: An introduction for family and local historians by Anne Tarver, 1994, Phillimore, ISBN 0 85033 927 8. Monuments of War: How to read a war memorial by Colin McIntyre, 1990, Robert Hale, ISBN 0 7090 4027 X. The Batsford Companion to Local History by Stephen Friar, 1991, Batsford, ISBN 0 7134 6181 0. The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History by David Hey, 1996, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0 19 211688 6. Sounding Boards: Oral Testimony and the Local Historian by David Marcombe, 1995, University of Nottingham, ISBN 1 85041 075 5. Photographs and Local History by George Oliver, 1989, Batsford, ISBN 0 7134 5678 7. Never Been Here Before: a genealogists' guide to the Family Records Centre by Jane Cox and Stella Colwell, 1997, Public Record Office, ISBN 1 873162 41 3. Local Heroines: A Women's History Gazetteer to England, Scotland and Wales by Jane Legget, 1988, Pandora, ISBN 0 86358 193 5. Making the miles: A History of English Milestones by Carol Haines, 2000, Carol Haines, ISBN 0 9538885 0 9. The following books can be bought via our on-line Bookshop: Starting out in local history by Simon Fowler, 2001, Countryside Books, ISBN 1 85306 686 9. How to Write and Publish Local History by Bob Trubshaw, 1999, Heart of Albion Press, ISBN 1 872883 33 8. Local History: A Handbook for Beginners by Philip Riden, 2000 edition, Merton Priory Press, ISBN 1 898937 27 3. The Local Historian's Glossary of Words and Terms by Joy Bristow, 2001, Countryside Books, ISBN 1 85306 6707 5. A Handbook of Dates for students of British History, edited by C R Cheney, revised by Michael Jones, 2000 edition, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0 521 77845 X. Tracing the History of Villages by Trevor Yorke, 2001, Countryside Books, ISBN 1 85306 712 1. Tracing the History of Houses by Bill Breckon et al, 2001, Countryside Books, ISBN 1 85306 644 3. A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations by Colin Waters, 2002 reprint, Countryside Books, ISBN 1 85306 601 X. The NEW Reading the Landscape: Fieldwork in Landscape History by Richard Muir, 2000, University of Exeter Press, ISBN 0 85989 580 7.
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