For those of you searching for London ancestors, I have started to put together a summary of the major record repositories, local family history societies and online datasets.
I admit that this is not yet complete and I will be adding to this list from time to time, so do come back and check again later.
Major London Record Repositories and Archives:
The National Archives (TNA) is the main Genealogy Archive repository for England and Wales and the United Kingdom, located in Kew, Richmond, London. Holds many records useful for London researchers, including UK government records, military records, naturalisation Records and wills and administrations (the latter prior to 1858). At present, there is the added advantage that the London Family History Centre is also located within the National Archives building in Kew, on a temporary basis.
London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) holds Church of England parish registers for the majority of London parishes, probate records, poor law papers, as well as education, taxation and civil administration records. Many of these records have recently been digitised and put online via an ongoing partnership with ancestry.co.uk. This is the main genealogical source for researching London ancestors, unless they lived or worked in Westminster (see below), or were non-conformists.
Many of the records previously held at the Guildhall Library have now been moved to the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA). However, certain key records, including records which relate to the City of London livery companies, still remain. The full collection of Family History related material held by the Guildhall library can be seen here. The library also has an extensive collection of trade and telephone directories for the whole of the British Isles.
City of Westminster Archives Centre (WAC) holds a large collection of books, pamphlets, directories, newspapers, journals, maps & plans, electoral registers, census returns, parish registers, and business archives. The Westminster records have traditionally been kept separate from the main London repository of the LMA, and as such many of these records are not on Ancestry. The Westminster parish records are now online at FindMyPast, with details of the full Westminster Collection here.
London Family History Societies
East of London Family History Society covers that part of Greater London, north of the Thames, east of the old City of London gates of Aldgate and Bishopsgate, and through the modern day London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham, Barking & Dagenham and Redbridge to the edge of Metropolitan Essex at Havering.
East Surrey Family History Society Includes the London Boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Lambeth, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton and Wandsworth. It therefore covers quite a large area which would nowadays be thought of as London.
London, Westminster and North Middlesex Family History Society was formed in 2001 from an amalgamation of two former societies: the London & North Middlesex FHS (formed in 1978) and the Westminster & Central Middlesex FHS. The Society's area now comprises the City of London, the City of Westminster and the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow and Islington, together with parts of Ealing and Hillingdon.
West Middlesex Family History Society covers the a large area which is the western part of the ancient English county of Middlesex. This runs from Kensington, Chelsea, Brompton & Fulham as far west as Hillingdon, West Drayton, Staines and Shepperton. See the parish map on their website for detailed coverage.
West Surrey Family History Society covers mainly the western part of Surrey - see parish map for coverage. However, this Society has a large publication list, including many publications which relate to the whole of Surrey (or even London). I would particularly note their most popular publication: RA6 Guide to Victorian Research in Victorian London, listed on their Research Aids page.
Major Online Datasets for London
Ancestry.co.uk have several major sets of London records including:
Ancestry's London Collection also includes:
FindMyPast.co.uk also has many record collections which are useful to anyone researching their London ancestors. Their 'London Collection' currently includes:
There is also a map on the Origins website showing the Pre-1858 Probate Jurisdictions for London & Middlesex which is a most useful research aid when looking for London Wills! Many thanks to Jeremy Gibson for this.
Also thanks to Cliff Webb, West Surrey Family History Society, for many of the transcripts and abstracts on Origins.net.
I admit that this is not yet complete and I will be adding to this list from time to time, so do come back and check again later.
Major London Record Repositories and Archives:
The National Archives (TNA) is the main Genealogy Archive repository for England and Wales and the United Kingdom, located in Kew, Richmond, London. Holds many records useful for London researchers, including UK government records, military records, naturalisation Records and wills and administrations (the latter prior to 1858). At present, there is the added advantage that the London Family History Centre is also located within the National Archives building in Kew, on a temporary basis.
London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) holds Church of England parish registers for the majority of London parishes, probate records, poor law papers, as well as education, taxation and civil administration records. Many of these records have recently been digitised and put online via an ongoing partnership with ancestry.co.uk. This is the main genealogical source for researching London ancestors, unless they lived or worked in Westminster (see below), or were non-conformists.
Many of the records previously held at the Guildhall Library have now been moved to the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA). However, certain key records, including records which relate to the City of London livery companies, still remain. The full collection of Family History related material held by the Guildhall library can be seen here. The library also has an extensive collection of trade and telephone directories for the whole of the British Isles.
City of Westminster Archives Centre (WAC) holds a large collection of books, pamphlets, directories, newspapers, journals, maps & plans, electoral registers, census returns, parish registers, and business archives. The Westminster records have traditionally been kept separate from the main London repository of the LMA, and as such many of these records are not on Ancestry. The Westminster parish records are now online at FindMyPast, with details of the full Westminster Collection here.
London Family History Societies
East of London Family History Society covers that part of Greater London, north of the Thames, east of the old City of London gates of Aldgate and Bishopsgate, and through the modern day London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham, Barking & Dagenham and Redbridge to the edge of Metropolitan Essex at Havering.
East Surrey Family History Society Includes the London Boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Lambeth, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton and Wandsworth. It therefore covers quite a large area which would nowadays be thought of as London.
London, Westminster and North Middlesex Family History Society was formed in 2001 from an amalgamation of two former societies: the London & North Middlesex FHS (formed in 1978) and the Westminster & Central Middlesex FHS. The Society's area now comprises the City of London, the City of Westminster and the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow and Islington, together with parts of Ealing and Hillingdon.
West Middlesex Family History Society covers the a large area which is the western part of the ancient English county of Middlesex. This runs from Kensington, Chelsea, Brompton & Fulham as far west as Hillingdon, West Drayton, Staines and Shepperton. See the parish map on their website for detailed coverage.
West Surrey Family History Society covers mainly the western part of Surrey - see parish map for coverage. However, this Society has a large publication list, including many publications which relate to the whole of Surrey (or even London). I would particularly note their most popular publication: RA6 Guide to Victorian Research in Victorian London, listed on their Research Aids page.
Major Online Datasets for London
Ancestry.co.uk have several major sets of London records including:
- London, England, Poor Law Records, 1430-1930 (not yet transcribed)
Ancestry's London Collection also includes:
FindMyPast.co.uk also has many record collections which are useful to anyone researching their London ancestors. Their 'London Collection' currently includes:
- Westminster Parish Record Collection - includes Baptisms, Marriages and Burials from 1538-1945 and Parish Rate books from 1634-1900
- City of London Burial Index – records from all the churches in the City of London from 1813 to 1890
- West Middlesex Marriage Index – detailing 84,863 marriages in 61 parishes from 1538 to 1837
- London Docklands Baptisms – comprising 407,558 baptisms for London's docklands areas 1712 to 1933
- London and West Kent Probate Indexes – mainly detailing wills and administrations from 1750 to 1858
- The Matchworkers' Strike – listing participants of the strike of over 700 men, women and teenage boys and girls working at the Bryant and May factory in East London in 1888, the same year as the Jack the Ripper murders
Origins.net has a large number of useful datasets for researching early London ancestors. They are described here and include:
- London Apprenticeship Abstracts, 1442 - 1850 - covering over 165,000 apprenticeship abstracts relating to the City of London Livery Companies
- Poor Law Abstracts, 1742 - 1868 - Poor Law abstracts from St Botolph Aldgate and St Sepulchre, plus City of London Settlement examinations
- London & Middlesex Marriage Index, 1538 - 1837 - Over 50,000 City of London marriages and 46,000 for Middlesex have been indexed. These include 3,100 Jewish marriages from Bevis Marks and the Great Synagogues, 3,160 Roman Catholic marriages, and 862 Huguenot marriages
- Surrey Marriage Index, 1500 - 1846 - based on transcripts produced by West Surrey Family History Society, this covers nearly 270,000 marriages - ie 540,000 brides and grooms - for the whole of rural Surrey, portions of Metropolitan Surrey, some Middlesex parishes, and strays from all over the UK, especially London, Middlesex and Sussex
- Middlesex and City of London Burials, 1560 - 1909 - Middlesex & City of London Burials Index covers over 169,100 burials for the period 1560-1909, with a handful later (9 records up to 1965)
- London Consistory Court Depositions Index, 1700 - 1713
- Association Oath Rolls, 1695-6
Origins.net also has a large number of Wills transcripts for the London area:
- Archdeaconry London Wills Index, 1750 - 1800 - an index to the surviving wills proved In the Archdeaconry Court of London 1700-1807
- British Record Society Probate Collection, 1320 - 1858 - includes some early Wills, pre-1700, for London (Commissary Court)
- Court of Husting Will Abstracts, 1258 - 1688 - a Calendar of Wills Proved and Enrolled in the Court of Husting, London 1258-1688
- London & Middlesex Will Abstracts, 1700 - 1704 - contains 2042 indexed abstracts to London and Middlesex wills from 1700-1704. These abstracts contain a complete summary of all details contained within each will, and include 31 detailed inventories
- Surrey and South London Will Abstracts, 1470 - 1858 - contains fully indexed abstracts (summaries) of every Surrey will known to exist from 1470-1858. These abstracts contain a complete summary of all details contained within each will and were mainly proved in the Archdeaconry and Commissary Courts of Surrey
- Surrey PCC Will Abstracts, 1736 - 1794 - contains indexed transcripts of original manuscript abstracts to wills for Surrey testators proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) 1736-1794
- Surrey Peculiars Probate Index, 1660 - 1751 - an index to Wills, Administrations and inventories in the Peculiar Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Deanery of Croydon (Surrey) 1660-1751
Also thanks to Cliff Webb, West Surrey Family History Society, for many of the transcripts and abstracts on Origins.net.
