Local & Community

Jenni Hyde takes us through an exciting year with the Bolton Branch and provides some great ideas for other branch secretaries.

Maggie Wilson whets our appetite for exploration of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Edinburgh’s Royal Mile runs between the Castle and Holyrood Palace. In addition to these and other well-known sites such as St Giles Cathedral, John Knox’s house, the Canongate Tolbooth and Canongate Kirk, and stories of Deacon Brodie, David Hume, James Boswell, Robert Burns and, obviously,...

Dave Martin investigates why there is a war memorial for German soldiers, ‘buried in a foreign field’, in a Dorset churchyard.

The talk given by Sue and Pete Mowforth to the Glasgow Branch, reading from a selection of their parents’ war-time letters, resulted in a flurry of media interest from the national press and radio, including an appearance on the BBC’s The One Show in February 2017. Olga and Cyril Mowforth married in June...

The Sheffield Branch of the Historical Association is a very active one. In addition to our monthly meetings we organise a range of study visits, from one-day trips to longer residential tours in the UK and occasionally in mainland Europe. In recent years, these have included visits to Portsmouth, Lincoln and Newark, Newcastle and Northumberland, and the battlefields of Waterloo....

This local study by Steve Doe draws together the human effects of what happened at the Battle of Jutland in June 1916 with accounts of how the families of those who fought in the battle and the wider local community dealt with the tragedy. Article taken from The Historian 136

Trevor James highlights a very important building to visit and celebrate during the HA's Annual Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon in May 2018. Article taken from The Historian 136

Trevor James introduces an international dimension to local history, revealing how a future French Emperor interpreted his affection for Southport’s Lord Street into the extensive redesign of Parisian streets. Article taken from The Historian 135

The aim of the month is to increase awareness of local history, promote history in general to the local community and encourage all members of the community to participate. Activities happen across the UK and include trips, library exhibitions and local lectures. It is a great way for groups to...

Download this year's Local History Month Posters via the link at the bottom of the page. Everyone lives in an area of rich local heritage, even if they don’t know it yet. May is the time to investigate, explore and discover the history of the world immediately around you. Find...

The National Archives holds millions of records which can help you find out about people's lives and careers. Their website includes useful guides for those starting out with research, including a dedicated Family History tag. Their online catalogue Discovery holds more than 32 million descriptions of records held by The National...

Undergraduate University of Hertfordshire Public History is a minor option at the University of Hertfordshire. It can be combined with other humanities subjects in the following courses: BA (Hons) English Language & Communication with Public History BA (Hons) English Literature with Public History BA (Hons) History with Public History BA...

Untold Live - British Library History Blog The British Library's collections contain stories of people's lives worldwide, from the dawn of history to the present day. They are told through the written word, images, audio-visual and digital materials. The Untold Lives blog shares those stories, providing fascinating and unusual insights...

Richard Heaton's collection of newspapers consists of over 800 free searchable extracts and full transcripts of English and Irish, Georgian and early Victorian Regional newspapers. It is one the largest free collections on the web full of unique material bringing you one step closer to your ancestors and their world,...

How often have you heard a person speaking and said "someone should record this before it's too late?" Fascinating memories from ordinary people which should not be allowed to be forgotten.... Now you can, thanks to the website Story Vault which enables anyone to do just that.  StoryVault is an online video library...

England's Past for Everyone was a local history project run by the Victoria County History. Volunteers throughout the country worked alongside authors and researchers to produce a whole range of new resources. From a series of books to learning resources for schools, it sought to bring local history to life.  The EPE project was...

If you are interested in researching your family and personal history there are a number of very good sites online that can give you guidance. 1. BBC Family History The BBC Family History site is a great place to start if you want to research your family history: The Basics...

Victoria County History  Founded in 1899 and originally dedicated to Queen Victoria, the VCH is an encyclopaedic record of England's places and people from earliest times to the present day.  It is without doubt the greatest publishing project in English local history, having built an international reputation for scholarly standards. Based...

The British Association for Local History is the national charity which promotes local history and serves local historians. Its purpose is to encourage and assist the study of local history as an academic discipline and as a rewarding leisure pursuit for both individuals and groups. Local history enriches our lives...