Chancery court records

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

From the mid-16th century, anyone running an inn or alehouse needed permission from the justices of the peace. Later, landlords were required to pledge not to allow disorderly conduct in their establi

This month we start off by looking at the value of personal storytelling and the power of preserving personal memories, which was inspired by a wonderful quote from Denyse Allen, of Chronicle Makers h

When you’re ready to dig into your Essex roots, there are many museums and local-history collections that may contain traces of your ancestors’ lives. The Museum of Chelmsford (chelmsford.gov.uk/museu

The year 1841 was an important one for family historians. It was the year of the first full UK census; at least it was the first time that the UK census had recorded details of named individuals, but

The judges weren’t happy with the faces on the TV. “We reported we had difficulties with legal aid,” a lawyer on the very large screen said. “It is impossible to comply with that date because funding