Early convict transportation

Crime has always been popular with family historians. We all love a rogue (up to a point, anyway), and finding out you’re related to one can lead to some interesting avenues of research. The more seri

Anonymous says the immigration system is broken beyond repair, thanks to activist barristers and a hopeless Home Office

Essex: A county bounded by water, flat, marshy and called by some the “graveyard of witches”. Between 1500 and 1800 over 1,000 men, women and children were executed for the crime of witchcraft in the

The origins of the Protestation Returns rest in the political crisis during the early months of 1641. The relationship between Charles I and Parliament had seriously deteriorated and Parliament, along

I n 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That, at least, is what the famous rhyme tells us. Memorising such dates is a common experience of being taught history – a cliché superbly lampooned by the w

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