GLOUCESTERSHIRE - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES
This web page contains information about the location and use of
Archives
and Libraries for Gloucestershire-related family history research.
Generally speaking,
Archives (more commonly known as
Record Offices) are repositories for original source material,
such as Wills or Parish Registers, whereas the Local Studies Sections of
Libraries are where you'd expect to find the Census, and printed
local source material, such as Trade Directories.
If you're looking for assistance by post or email in Gloucestershire, the
Gloucestershire Archives provides a
Research Service.
Note: the Record Office also provides access to resources for
Local Studies, eg Census, Directories, Newspapers.
If nothing less than a personal visit will suffice, more detailed information, and
some useful comments based on our own experiences, are offered below.
-
The two major repositories for Gloucestershire source material are:
There are about 30 parishes listed as
Towns & Parishes in Gloucestershire,
for which original records may be found elsewhere. These are usually on
the county border, and were either formerly in Gloucestershire and now in an
adjoining county, or have moved to Gloucestershire from an adjoining county.
The associated Record Offices are:
Details of the appropriate
repository are provided on individual parish pages
under the Archives and Libraries section.
See also the
ARCHON (Archives On-Line) Information service for locations of
other Record Offices throughout the country.
Specific contents of the above Record Office Catalogues are
searchable independently using the
Access to Archives Database. This is a valuable resource - whilst
the original records are not available online, some of the catalogue entries
may be a revelation in their own right - for example there are lists of
Parish Chest papers (Settlement, Removal, &c.) available at Bristol
sufficiently informative to obviate the need to consult the original archives.
-
- Several Public Libraries in Gloucestershire have selections of reference
material of interest to family historians, including copies of newspapers,
and a selection of Crockford's Clerical Directories. Visit
Gloucestershire Library Service webpage for more details.
The Gloucestershire Collection of Local Studies reference material,
formerly in the Gloucester Public Library moved in January 2006, and is now at the
Gloucestershire Archives Office.
- See also
Libraries in South Gloucestershire
for information about libraries elsewhere in the county.
[The above information was transferred from the main GENUKI/Gloucestershire index page on 27 Aug 2003]
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