Researching Local History: Your Guide to the Sources

by Stuart A. Raymond

How has the place we live in changed, developed, and grown over the centuries? That is the basic question local historians seek to answer. The answer is to be found in the sources of information that previous generations have left us. The records of parish, county, and diocesan administration, of the courts, of the national government, and of private estates, all have something to tell us about the history of the locality we are interested in. So do old newspapers and other publications. All of these sources are readily available, but many have been little used.

Local historians come from a wide diversity of backgrounds. But whether you are a student researching a dissertation, a family historian interested in the wider background history of your family, a teacher, a librarian, an archivist, an academic, or are merely interested in the history of your own area, this book is for you. If you want to research local history, you need a detailed account of the myriad sources readily available. This book provides a comprehensive overview of those sources, and its guidance will enable you to explore and exploit their vast range. It poses the questions which local historians ask, and identifies the specific sources likely to answer those questions.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2022

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the difficulties of doing genealogical research is the access to items not readily available in ancestry.com. Those working on their family trees will then have to make trip overseas to see what is available and are often faced with systems structured differently than what they are used to at home. Stuart A. Raymond's "Researching Local History" is a comprehensive guide to what you should look for, where to find it, and what it all means. He details the the structure of local government, the Domesday Book, and other great areas where you might not think to look. This is a very helpful guide for finding information in the UK, with plenty of references to other books records, and websites. I wish other countries would create something similar for all those researching their roots.

I received a copy from #NetGalley for an honest review.

[CPE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stuart A. Raymond’s book, Researching Local History: Your Guide to the Sources, is going to cost me so much money! No, not the price of the book (which is very good value indeed, given current book prices), but many of the other books and journals that Raymond mentions. I was unaware of several of the journals and I also now have a long shopping list of books. To be fair, though, several of the journals he mentions make older issues freely available online.

If you are really interested in researching history yourself, rather than reading stuff written by others, this book is invaluable. Before finishing Chapter 2, I was weeping with joy because I’d bookmarked a website containing stuff I’d previously been told wasn’t available online. (Private Bills of Parliament authorising the construction of railways in the 1800s, since you ask!) By the end of the book, I had many more bookmarked sites. Stuart Raymond has been studying local history for over 50 years and REALLY knows his sources.

The book is structured well, with chapters covering
- What is English Local History?
- Preliminaries to Research.
- People and Population.
- National and Local Government.
- Landed Property, Wealth and Poverty.
- Agricultural history
- Trade, Industry and Occupations
- Living Conditions, Education, Religion and Leisure

“Preliminaries to Research” tells the reader where to find sources about sources. That is, it suggests bibliographies, websites, specialist libraries and societies that can provide lists of sources for your chosen topic. The Museum of English Rural Life was a new one for me. That one chapter contains references to
100+ Webpages
50+ Books
10 journal articles

“People and Population” doesn’t just mention the usual suspects such as the births, marriages and deaths registers, but also sites like www.histpop.org that give summary reports based upon census information. Several chapters refer the reader to articles in scholarly journals such as the Agricultural History Review, where the issues from 1953-2018 are freely available online.

The chapters inevitably overlap. The Domesday Book, for example, appears several times. That’s understandable: it tells us who lived somewhere and what they did; what the land was used for; how much it was worth; etc.. Initially, I was a little impatient with the numerous references to the National Archives guides but then I realised that Raymond’s one line reference to a well-written comprehensive 2-3 page guide prevents his book being much much longer and more expensive. Thank you, Mr Raymond!

Do I have any quibbles? Yes – and you will share this first one... There’s not enough about MY area of research. I guess it depends upon your chosen area of research. I’m interested in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, so all the references to muster rolls and manorial court records won’t help me. I wanted more about municipal records of Urban District Councils, for example. However, it is highly unreasonable to expect an author to deliver a general guide that greatly assists everyone and also gives huge detail about every specialist area. As the introduction warns, “In a book of this length, it is not possible to deal with all the sources and topics that might be of interest to local historians. Nor is it possible to provide the detail that might be thought desirable.”

Secondly, a book published in 2022 probably ought to refer to GIS databases such as ukdataservice.ac.uk. And thirdly, although Raymond rightly mentions the excellent British Newspaper Archive, he doesn’t warn the reader about the often appalling quality of the OCRed text that often thwarts searches for specific phrases.

I cannot believe how useful this book is and I’m about to recommend it to everyone on my MA degree course. Thank you, Pen and Sword, for sending me an early copy to review – and thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr Raymond for writing this book.

#ResearchingLocalHistory #NetGalley

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm an amateur genealogist. There's no better way to keep me occupied than to access my account on Ancestry.com. I can spend hours on that site, slowly discovering the branches of the McCombs family tree in the USA going back several generations. Researching my own British heritage, however, has often been a bit trickier. Researching Local History has revealed a wealth of sources I never knew existed.

This is not a boring list of publications. Far from it. I learned a lot about the history of my birth country. The first chapter starts with the basics. "What is Local History?" it asks. The author, Stuart A Raymond, suggests a good knowledge of English history is needed by anyone looking to do research. History is what can tell us why an ancestor moved from one place to another, for example. For Americans, knowing English history can tell you why your English ancestor moved across the Atlantic Ocean. Local history can enhance that understanding. What was it like in the village where your ancestor grew up?

Chapters are short, containing an introductory and explanatory text, followed by the author's chosen list of reading. In chapter two, I discovered an online source with historical descriptions of a couple of churches I knew my ancestors had attended. What surprised me was how many different records still existed, even from as far back as the 1300s. Previously, I'd only been able to get back to the early 1800s. Each section of these chapters contains a wealth of historical detail in the text, covering all aspects of English life from agriculture to industry and the Church to leisure. This book includes an index of the various subjects discussed, helping researchers access the relevant sources quickly.

If there's a downside to this book it's that most of the records prior to the Acts of Union 1707 - when the country of Great Britain came into existence - appear to be from England. I didn't find many sources from Scotland and Wales. For me, with half of my family coming from Scotland, that's problematic.

I read Researching Local History in an electronic format, but I strongly suggest getting a paper copy. The text has references to other pages, and I find it easier to find those pages when handling a print book. I plan on getting a print copy, and I've no doubt it'll become dogeared with plenty of pencil markings in it as I explore the various sources it contains.

Disclaimer: Although I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher, the opinions below are my own.

[Crystalrainbow · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a family historian, local history has long been an interest of mine. From buildings, former uses for land and structures, to maps and most especially churches and churchyards. I agree with the author that although there is a vast wealth of information on the internet these days, there is still a lot of primary sources available in libraries and record offices that have not been digitised and are thus often overlooked. Indeed, I am often thankful that I began my research before internet sources were widely available.

A useful text to have on your bookshelf, the author first explains the scope of English local history, looks at the places a researcher might go to find information, talks about where information on individuals might be located, the structure of property ownership and those who worked the land, including their living conditions.

It is primarily a book to use to discover the location and availability of information and resources and as such is a steppingstone probably most useful to someone with a familiarity for what they are looking for rather than a complete beginner. I myself found references to websites and record collections that I had not been aware existed. The books listed for background reading are also very interesting and helpful. A very comprehensive overview.

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good book for genealogist and people interested in there local history as it a good book for beginners to get them started.