The National Archives at Kew holds government records from Norman times. Many of the records you will use in your family history research are to be found here, although you may never need to make a visit, because an increasing proportion can be read online. In addition The National Archives website also has many useful resources.
Records online, together where you can read them, include:
- Census (1911) Findmypast
- Census records (1841-1901) Ancestry, Findmypast
- Inward passenger lists (1878-1960) Ancestry
- Medal Index Cards (1914-1918) Ancestry, Documents Online
- Navy service records (1853-1928) Documents Online
- Non-Church of England births, marriages and deaths before 1837 The Genealogist
- Outward passenger lists (1890-1960) Findmypast
- Soldiers’ records (1760-1913) Findmypast (to be launched during 2010)
- Soldiers’ records (1914-1920) Ancestry
- Wills (1473-1858) Documents Online
The National Archives website has many hundreds of webpages. It is however fairly simply arranged into five sections. Probably the most useful are “About Us” which includes information about visiting the Archives and “Records” which has many pages about the records as well as various catalogues which will help you pinpoint the documents you are looking for.
The best place to start is to use the excellent Research Signposts with contain basic information about most of the records you are likely to use at Kew and elsewhere. Also worth looking at are the Understanding Archives pages which include short videos about using The National Archives and how to conduct research.
If you need to visit The National Archives then it is helpful to have the references of the documents you want to read before you come. You can find exactly what is available from the online catalogue. Often there are links from the Research Signposts, but you may find it easier to go straight to the catalogue (there is a link on the Records page).
Using the catalogue is much like using a search engine. You type in the subject or person into the appropriate place and the catalogue will come up with results.
However be warned if you type in the name of an ancestor he or she may not appear. If they are not there this does not mean that there are no records about them. This is because few of the records have been indexed by name, so there may be material about them which has yet been indexed in this way (and for many records may never be indexed). Or if you do find something there may be additional records for which there are no name indexes.
There are many smaller archives scattered across the British Isles. The Access to Archives database is a guide to many of their collections. Again there is a link from the Records page. However the database is by no means complete, but it is still a very useful tool.
You are of course welcome to visit The National Archives for yourself. It is open Tuesday to Saturday and is free. There is also a bookshop, museum and restaurant. Most of the records you will use are likely to be available online or on microfilm, for which you do not need a reader’s ticket. However if you plan to use the original volumes or files then please ID with you as you will need a reader’s ticket. You can find more on the website.
One word of warning it is really big so allow for plenty of time to find your way around!
