Counties of England part 2

Knowing where the archives for these counties were found can be really useful as when researching family history we sometimes need to visit an archive to find out some information that cannot be found online. So I thought I’d put together a list of the counties of the UK with the location of their main archives for the county. So I’ve looked at the counties of Wales and I’ve done part 1 of England so on to more of England.

Counties of England 

1. Norfolk

Off to East Anglia. Norfolk has a population of around 900,000 and the county town is Norwich. The archives for the county are held in Norwich and the website can be found at: https://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/ If you have family from Norfolk I can highly recommend Norfolk Family History Society as they have fantastic records online.

2. Suffolk

Also in East Anglia, Suffolk has a population of around 758,000 and the county town is Ipswich. The county archives are in held in 3 places, namely Ipswich, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds. The web address for the archives is: https://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/

3. Rutland

Rutland is a small landlocked county with a population of around 40,000. The county town is Oakham and this is where you will find the archives: https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-services/leisure-and-culture/arts-and-heritage/records-and-archives/ . As Rutland as a county disappeared for a time some of the records are held elsewhere so you may need to go to the archives for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland: http://www.recordoffice.org.uk/

4. Cambridgeshire

Located in central England the population of the Cambridgeshire is approximately 850,000 and the county town is Cambridge. The archives for the county are in Cambridge and the website can be found at: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/libraries-leisure-&-culture/archives/ . You may need to use the archives for Northamptonshire in conjunction with Cambridgeshire as they have swapped places between each other.

5. Northamptonshire

With a population of around 742, 000 Northamptonshire is found in the central area of England. The county town is Northampton and the archives are in the town. The web address is: https://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/archives-and-heritage/northamptonshire-archives/Pages/default.aspx . Don’t forget you may need to use Cambridgeshire records for this county as well.

6. Warwickshire

Another of the central counties is Warwickshire which has a population of around 565,000. The county town is Warwick and this is where the archives are located. The web address is: http://heritage.warwickshire.gov.uk/warwickshire-county-record-office/ . Also you may need Birmingham archives as Birmingham used to be separate and the archives can be found at: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/archives

7. Herefordshire

Off to west England now with Herefordshire. The county boarders Wales and has a population of 200,000. The county town is Hereford and the archives are in the town. The web site can be found at: https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/archives

8. Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a landlocked county famous for the sauce. The population is approximately 590,000 and the county town is Worcester. The archives are in Worcester and the web address is: http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20019/archives_and_research

9. Shropshire

Another of the boarder counties with Wales Shropshire has a population of around 500,000. The county town is Shrewsbury and the archives live in the town. Their address is: https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/ . Ebenezer Scrooge’s grave is in the county, really!

10. Staffordshire

In central England Staffordshire has a population of around 1,100,000 and the county town which houses the archives is Stafford. If you want to visit the archives then the website can be found at: https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Heritage-and-archives/homepage.aspx .

11. Leicestershire

Back into central England and the burial county of King Richard III. Leicestershire has an approximate population of 1,050,000 and the county town is Leicester. The archives are housed in Wigston at the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and the web address is: http://www.recordoffice.org.uk/

12. Lincolnshire

Off to east England now with Lincolnshire. The county town is Lincoln and the county has an approximate population of 1,080,000. A trip to the archives will take you to Lincoln and the archives website can be found at: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/lincolnshire-archives/ . Part of Lincolnshire used to be covered by Humberside so you may need East Yorkshire archives: https://www.eastriding.gov.uk/leisure/archives-family-and-local-history/

13. Nottinghamshire

Robin Hood’s county. Again in central England Nottinghamshire has a population of around 1,150,000. The county town is Nottingham (or Snottingham as it used to be called). The archives reside in Nottingham and can be found at: https://www.inspireculture.org.uk/heritage/archives/visiting-archives/

14. Cheshire

The final county in this section of Cheshire another of the western counties. Cheshire has a population of around 1,055,000 and the county town is Chester and the archives live there. You can view them at: http://www.cheshirearchives.org.uk/home.aspx . Some of Cheshire has fallen under Manchester at times so you may need to look at: https://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_history .

In all of these counties don’t forget the local family history societies as well as the local libraries. These are also excellent sources of information.

So hopefully this will help you in locating where the information you need may be stored.

Part 1 can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-england-part-1

Wales can be found at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/counties-of-wales