UK archives online
March 2021: Most broken links had been updated already; but I’ve not re-checked them. More archival entities have been added. Have begun adding some LOCAL HISTORY publications, although some were already represented by past blog posts.
Conducting research from afar generally means finding material first. Here’s a growing list of UK archives with online catalogues. You can even ‘follow’ and ‘like’ a LOT of these places on Facebook!
Multi-site search engines (Archives/Archival materials):
- A2A Discovery / via The National Archives
- Archives Hub [JISC]
- Copac – UK & Ireland library catalogues
- AIM25 – Archives in London & the M25 area
Find a researcher:
- thru The National Archives
- thru Plymouth & West Devon Record Office [broken link]
- thru Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (includes geographical-location listings)
(while I cannot ‘recommend’ a researcher from the above, I have had contact with a researcher in New York City and in northern California; if those places are of use to you, email me!)
UK public archives (alphabetical):
- Barnsley Arts, Museum & Archives
- Bath [see also Somerset]
- Bedfordshire (& Luton)
- Berkshire
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Buckinghamshire Studies, Center for
- Cambridgeshire / Huntingdonshire [broken link]; 2019 closures
- Camden
- Cheshire
- Cornwall
- Cumbria
- Derbyshire
- Devon
- Doncaster Archives
- Dorset History Centre
- Dudley Archives & Local History
- Durham County
- East Riding Yorkshire
- East Sussex – Brighton (The Keep)
- Essex (SEAX)
- Gloucestershire
- Greater Manchester and Manchester City Archives
- Hampshire (HRO)
- Herefordshire
- Hertfordshire
- Kent
- Lancashire
- Lincolnshire and Lincs to the Past
- London Metropolitan; replaced by this link
- Medway Archives and Guildhall Museum, Rochester
- Norfolk (NROCAT)
- Northamptonshire
- Northumberland
- North Yorkshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Oldham Local Studies & Archives – Galllery Oldham – Heritage Collections
- Oxfordshire History Centre
- Plymouth and West Devon
- Rotherham Archives & Local Studies Service
- Sheffield
- Shropshire
- Somerset (alternate link) is now South West Heritage Trust
- Southampton Archives
- Staffordshire
- Suffolk
- Surrey (SURCAT)
- Teesside
- Tyne and Wear
- Warwickshire
- Westminster (City of) (WESTCAT)
- West Sussex
- West Yorkshire
- Wiltshire and Swindon
- Wiltshire Heritage
- Macklin Sketches (a Smith & Gosling item) [just press ‘search’]
- Wiltshire Heritage
- Worcestershire
ACCESSIONS to Repositories, 1994-2017 [links by year]
UK CALM User Group – many of the above local archives have catalogues under the CALM banner – but CALM’s own list is even MORE comprehensive. Includes access to sites from the Architectural Association Archives to Worcestershire, and seems actively updated. Includes a short list of CALM sites hosted by Axiell
Wales:
Scotland:
Ireland / Northern Ireland:
University (alphabetical):
- Bangor
- Bath
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Cambridge (Janus)
- Edinburgh
- King’s College, London, Special Collections
- London, University Archives
- London School of Economics Library
- Manchester, Rylands Library (Elgar via Archives Hub)
- Nottingham
- Oxford
- Reading
- Southampton – includes Wellington Papers Database
- Strathclyde
UK Public Schools:
Newspapers (historical/archives):
Other:
- ArchiveGrid
- British Library
- British Museum
- British Postal Museum & Archives
- CCEd – Clergy of the Church of England Database
- Chethams Library (Manchester UK)
- Lambeth Palace Library
- Museum of English Rural Life
- Royal Northern College of Music
- Royal Museums Greenwich (includes National Maritime Museum)
- Wellcome Library
- WorldCat (libraries and university-level holdings)
Parliament:
- Hansard, 1803-2005 (phasing-out website); Hansard: The Official Report of all debates (phased-in website)
- History of Parliament: Member Biographies
- Parliamentary Archives
Europe:
- Archives Portal Europe
- Lund University Manuscripts & Archives
- MANUS OnLine – Italy’s archives (including Biblioteca Nazionale, Naples)
- Universiteit Leiden
United States:
- Library of Congress and LC Catalog
- Morgan Library and Museum (Corsair)
- New York Public Library, Manuscripts & Archives Division
Lists of Links:
- University of Chicago (Databases US & Worldwide)
- Harvard University Research Guides for finding manuscripts
- Lists of Online Catalogues [broken link] (a “for now” substitute, via Cambridge University)
- Via The National Archives (UK)
- Victoria Research Web, Schoarly Resources; Journals; other
Images:
- ArtUK – great source for paintings (portraits)
- National Portrait Gallery, London
- National Trust Collections – portraits and estate collections
- Paul Frecker – includes Camille Silvy’s portrait photographs [compliments NPG’s sorted by Daybook volume]
Diaries – Online manuscripts and books:
Let me know about any site updates — or additions & suggestions!
in the meantime, here’s a google search page [UK archives online]
another google search [search archives “manuscripts”]
Useful Alumni Directories:
- Alumni Cantabrigienses (via Archive.org)
- Alumni Oxonienses, 1715-1886 (via The Online Books Page)
Useful “Local” History Publications:
Such publications feature articles of a highly-specialized or local nature, including places and people. These sites allow access to their publications archives (ie, full articles).
- Bath History Journal – Journals vol. 1 to vol. 15 (1986-2019)
- Devon Buildings Group – Newsletters from 1986-2017
- The Local Historian – articles & book reviews; vol. 1 from 1952 [paywall suspended during covid pandemic]
- Northamptonshire Past & Present – Journals, 1948-1983; 2000-2016
- Oxoniensia – Archaeology, History, Architecture; from 1936 [new issues available only to members]; use ‘BROWSE volumes’ or ‘Article DATABASE’
- Richmond Local History – INDEX to articles only
- Salopian Recorder – Newsletter of the Friends of Shropshire Archives (Nos. 84-94, 2016-2019)
**
Jane Austen:
Like the local history, highly-specialized publications, concerning the life, family and writings of author Jane Austen; feature full article access.
- Jane Austen Society (UK) – “Annual Reports”; earliest are in “Collected” volumes; later are single issue volumes [via Archive.org]; 1949-2018; bonus: Austen Family Music books are on same link.
- Jane Austen Society of North America – “Persuasions” (print journal; available in PDF) and also “Persuasions On-line” are the journals associated with JASNA. My own articles have been published in both (print / online).
- Jane Austen’s Fiction Manuscripts
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