Birth, marriage and death certificates are invaluable to genealogists. In Great Britain and Ireland, civil registration began in the 19th century: Before those dates, we need to rely on parish records. England and Wales Birth, marriage or death certificates for England or Wales can be obtained from the General Register Office. Currently (July 2024) hard Read More…
Julian To Gregorian Calendars
It’s likely you will have come across dates where the transcribed year appears in the format 1748/49, using both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Before 1752 the UK used the Julian Calendar, after 1752 the Gregorian Calendar came into use. Whilst the Gregorian Calendar uses 1 January as New Year’s Day, in the Julian Calendar Read More…
Ministry of Labour Instructions Centres
In 1934 my grandfather worked at Bourne Transfer Instructional Centre in Lincolnshire, one of many work camps set up by the Ministry Of Labour to retrain unemployed young men. At Bourne, the men spent much of their time clearing ground owned by the Forestry Commission, prior to re-afforestation. Although grandad may not have learnt much about Read More…
Llanberis Castle Hotel
Built in the mid 19th century, the Castle Hotel is located on High Street in Llanberis. It closed in the 1980s and fell into disrepair, before being completely renovated and converted into a shop and flats. Slide the arrows to compare the images When the hotel was sold in 1861, it appears there were no Read More…
Mason Street, Bolton
In the late 19th century, my 3 x great grandfather William Higginson owned four houses on Mason Street in Bolton, numbers 78, 80, 82 & 84. He lived at number 82 with his family and rented out the other three houses. William was a sawyer in a wood mill, so I’m curious as to how Read More…
St Peter & St Paul Roman Catholic Church, Bolton
Just a brief history of the church and school that many of my relatives used. Parish records are partially available on Lancs Online Parish Clerk website – https://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Bolton-le-Moors/Great-Bolton/peterpaul/index.html History Dates
Transcription Errors
We all make mistakes, transcribers and the original form writers (whether they be parish clerks or census enumerators) included. As we know, it’s important to check original documents whenever possible and not trust in just the transcription, but sometimes the details on original documents should be taken with a pinch of salt. Poor Handwriting I Read More…
Catholic Records In England
If your ancestors were Catholic, you may find that you struggle to find parish records online. The National Archives has provided a guide to help in research. Between 1754 (Marriage Act) and 1837 it was a legal requirement for all marriages to take place in an Anglican church. Many Catholics also married in a Catholic Read More…
Ireland’s Lost Records
Many of Ireland’s historic records were destroyed by a fire in 1922. Now a project is hoping to bring many of these records back to life. What happened to the original records? In the mid 19th century, it was feared that records, particularly those held by parishes, were in danger of deteriorating and being destroyed. Read More…
1921 Census
The 1921 census for England and Wales and the Scottish 1921 census are due to be released in 2022. Here’s everything we know so far. England And Wales Census What date will the census be released? The census for England and Wales was due to be released in January 2022, but transcribing has been slowed Read More…