Archives Wales forms part of the UK National Archives Network, an initiative to provide access to online catalogues of UK archives. All these websites allow cross-searching of the catalogues of groups of repositories of particular types or in specific areas. Many archive repositories also have their own online catalogues accessible through their websites.
Access to Archives (A2A)
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/advanced-search.aspx?tab=1
archives held in local archives in England
Archives Hub
http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/
archives in UK universities and colleges – also includes some other repositories
Aim25
http://www.aim25.ac.uk/
archives held in a wide variety of repositories in London and the M25 area
SCAN
http://www.scan.org.uk/
archives held in repositories in Scotland
National Archives for the UK and Ireland
All these websites include information for researchers, practical information for visitors, and a complete or partial online catalogue of their holdings
The National Archives [of the UK]
http://www2.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm
The National Archives of Scotland
http://www.nas.gov.uk/
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
http://www.proni.gov.uk/
The National Archives of Ireland
http://www.nationalarchives.ie/index.html
Local Archives in the UK
Contact details and web addresses of almost all the repositories in the UK which hold archives can be found on the ARCHON website
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/?source=ddmenu_search2
Using Archives
Guidance on using archives can be found on a number of websites, including the following:
Reading old handwriting (palaeography) – an interactive guide
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/
University of Leicester palaeography tutorial
http://paleo.anglo-norman.org/empfram.html
Reading Latin – online tutorials
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/beginners/
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/advanced/
Websites for family history research
There are an enormous number of websites for family historians, of which a small number – which we think are especially useful or important – are listed below.
General advice and links to other sites
From the National Archives
http://www2.nationalarchives.gov.uk/familyhistory/default.htm
From the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/familyhistory/
Cyndi’s List of genealogy sites on the Internet
http://www.cyndislist.com/
Certificates of birth, marriage and death
General Register Office
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
Information on civil registration and links to ordering certificates. Indexes to births, marriages and deaths are not available on this site.
FreeBMD
www.freebmd.org.uk
Free access to the indexes to births, marriages and deaths. Not yet complete.
Ancestry
www.ancestry.co.uk
Subscription/pay per view access to the indexes to births, marriages and deaths. Available free of charge in most archives and libraries in Wales.
Find My Past
www.findmypast.com
Subscription/pay per view access to the indexes to births, marriages and deaths.
BMD Index
http://www.bmdindex.co.uk/
Subscription/pay per view access to the indexes to births, marriages and deaths.
www.ancestry.co.uk
Census returns 1841-1901. Subscription or pay-per-view. Available free of charge in most archives and libraries in Wales.
Find My Past
www.findmypast.com
Census returns 1841-1901. Subscription or pay-per-view.
British Origins
http://www.britishorigins.com/
1841, 1861 and 1871 censuses. Subscription site.
Family Search
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=census/search_census.asp
1881 census only. Free
1901 Census Online
http://www.1901censusonline.com/
1901 census only. Pay-per-view.
http://www.1911census.co.uk/
1911 census for most of England. The northern counties of England and all of Wales will be added during the course of 2009. Pay-per-view.
Parish Register Indexes
The following websites include indexes to parish registers for some parishes in England and Wales. It should be emphasised that none of the indexes include all entries for all parishes – if you don’t find a relevant entry, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t such an entry, it may be that it hasn’t been put on the index. A number of websites covering local areas are also available – these have not been listed here.
Family Search
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igi/search_IGI.asp&clear_form=true
International Genealogical Index – compiled over many years from parish registers and other records. Free to use.
FreeReg
http://www.freereg.org.uk/
A relatively new website – coverage small but growing. Free to use.
Find My Past
www.findmypast.com
Indexes and transcripts from a number of sources, principally family history societies. Coverage is limited. Subscription or pay-per-view.
Nonconformist registers
BMD Registers
http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk/
Pre-1837 nonconformist registers. Subscription or pay-per-view.
Directories
Historical Directories
http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/index.asp
A selection of directories for England and Wales. Searchable, and free of charge.
Wills
PCC Wills
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/wills.asp
Wills proved in the Province of Canterbury before 1858. The wills are those of people who had property in the southern counties of England, or who lived elsewhere and wished to have their will proved in Canterbury. There is a charge for a downloadable copy of a will.
British Origins
www.britishorigins.com
A number of different will indexes, mainly pre-1858. Subscription site
Probate Service
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1183.htm
Information on wills after 1858, and contact details for applications for copies of wills.
Occupations
Welsh mariners
http://www.welshmariners.org.uk/
An index of 22,000 Welsh merchant masters, mates and engineers active from 1800 to 1945.
Crew List Index Project
http://www.crewlist.org.uk/index.html
Database of some entries from crew lists 1861-1913. A lot of useful background information and links to other sites.
Coal Mining History Resource Centre
http://www.cmhrc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
Includes national database of mining deaths and injuries in Great Britain
Royal Navy
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/royal-navy-service.asp
Service records for ratings who joined the Navy between 1853 and 1923.
Index search free, charge for copy of image
Army
First World War – medal cards
Effectively a database of soldiers who saw service overseas. Index search free, charge for copy of image
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/medals.asp
Old occupations
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/trades.html and scroll down to ’Glossary of ranks, professions, occupations and trades’
Family History in Scotland
ScotlandsPeople
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/
Gives access to certificates (not just indexes) of birth, marriage and death; census returns; parish registers; wills and testaments. Subscription or pay-per-view.
Family History in Ireland
Census of Ireland 1911
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
Counties of Antrim, Down, Dublin and Kerry only at present. Free of charge.
Irish Family History Foundation Online Record Search
http://ifhf.brsgenealogy.com/index.php?&set=yes
Index free to use, then pay for record
Irish Genealogy Ltd.
http://www.irishgenealogy.ie
A ’signposting’ service. Can search on a name with date, place etc. – search results direct you to a genealogical centre. Also has online form to commission specific research. No direct access to any records
Miscellaneous
Gazettes (London, Edinburgh, Belfast)
http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk
All official notices were published in the Gazettes, so they include a wealth of information for family historians – for example names of all commissioned officers, notices of bankruptcies, changes of name by deed poll. Nearly 350 years of the Gazettes can be searched free of charge.
Lists of Family History Societies
Genuki
http://www.genuki.org.uk/Societies/
Federation of Family History Societies
http://www.ffhs.org.uk/members2/contacting.php
House History and Local History
BBC House History
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/get_started/house_01.shtml
Advice on using archives to trace the history of a house
BBC Local History Trail
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/local_history/
Advice on starting local history research
Ordnance Survey maps
http://magazine.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/magazine/tscontent/general/historicalmappingfaq.html
Information on buying historical Ordnance Survey maps
Coflein
http://www.cbhc.gov.uk/HI/ENG/Search+Records/Explore+Coflein/
Coflein is the online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW). It allows access to details of many thousands of archaeological sites, monuments, buildings and maritime sites in Wales, together with an index to the drawings, manuscripts and photographs held in the NMRW archive collections. For some items, images as well as catalogue entries are available.
Census Returns
Directories
Archives for teachers
The National Archives Learning Curve
http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/
A free online resource for teaching and learning history, using archives held at the National Archives.
Archives for Academic Research
The National Archives – academic research
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/academic/default.htm?source=ddmenu_research0_a
Guidance on where to start academic research using archives
Explore images of archives
Most archive websites contain information and / or catalogues, perhaps with a small number of images of documents. However, there are some websites which contain large numbers of digital images of archives.
Gathering the Jewels
http://www.gtj.org.uk
contains over 30,000 images of items from museums, libraries and archives in Wales
National Library of Wales Digital Mirror
http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=127
contains images of a small number of archives held at the National Library.
Coflein
http://www.cbhc.gov.uk/HI/ENG/Search+Records/Explore+Coflein/
Coflein, the online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales, includes a growing number of images of items.
Community Archives Wales
http://www.ourwales.org.uk
Digital community archives are collections of material in private hands that have been digitised and interpreted by community groups, enabling the communities to present their own history in their own words. A number of community groups in Wales have come together to provide this site.
SCRAN
http://www.scran.ac.uk/