1862 land registry act

Before the introduction of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales in 1837, it is the parochial registers recording the baptisms, marriages and burials of our ancestors

This is one in a series of articles; the intention is to provide an overview of useful family and local history records in existence, covering the period 1066-1485. Each article can be enjoyed as a st

On 10 August 1948 Felix Hull became Berkshire’s first county archivist. He was working out of the basement of Reading’s old Shire Hall, now the Roseate Hotel, and collections under his care eventually

This is the first of a series of articles; the intention being to provide an overview of useful family and local history records in existence, with advice on where to find them. The articles will incl

What is leasehold? A form of property ownership that governs almost all flats in England and Wales, but is extremely uncommon anywhere else in the world. Scotland’s nearest equivalent, known as “feuho

Before the Oxford City Police force was established in 1869, policing the city had been a joint operation between constables of the University of Oxford at night and constables of the city’s watch dur