Search Britain, histories & reference guides

These volumes are incredibly useful beyond searching for an ancestor’s name. You can access 62 different volumes relating to British history, heraldry, cultural history, and genealogy. They will provide the contextual information you need to create full profiles of your ancestors and the lives they led. They will add quality to your family history and your overall understanding of British genealogy. Britain, histories and reference guides is a resource you will save and keep coming back to. The subject matter varies greatly in this large collection of publications. Therefore, when you find your ancestor’s name in these records it could be for a variety of reasons. Here are some examples of the titles available and what you can find in each.

• Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time, published in 1896 – Discover the origins of English customs from ancient traditions with pagan origins that have lasted through the centuries to the modern Christmas tree, pantomimes, and May day customs.
• The Northern Genealogist, published 1895 by Alfred Gibbons - This publication includes Newark parish registers, Lincolnshire chantries (endowments), Dymoke family estates, the will of James Bean of Jamaica, Grimsby burgess roll, and many more resources.
• Notes of Cases Heard & Determined by Courts, published in 1913 - In this publication, you will find notes on a range of cases recorded weekly throughout 1913. The cases are from the high court, local courts, and courts of appeal. They cover libel, criminal law, estates, divorce, etc. Full details of the cases presented in court as well as the verdicts passed by judges in other cases are included.
• The Slang Dictionary, published 1865 – Explore the vulgar words, street phrases, and fast expressions of high and low society. The author traces the history of the words and phrases, such as ‘Abraham-men’, which meant people who were mad and admitted to Bethlehem Hospital, and ‘stampers’, which were shoes. There are also sections dedicated to the words used by specific groups of people; for example, actors used the word ‘daddy’ to refer to the stage-manager, ‘ben’ for a benefit, and ‘sal’ for salary.
• Coaching Days and Coaching Ways, published 1893 – The author, W Outram Tristram, captured the social life of those who passed to and from London and the provinces. As he explained, ‘I shall show our ancestors of all ages in all kinds of costumes…busy at the nothings which make travelled life - eating, drinking, flirting, quarrelling, delivering up their purses, grumbling over their bills – a motley crowd of kings, queens, statesmen, highwaymen, generals, poets, wits, fine ladies, conspirators, and coachmen’. Historical detail of each place is given. There are 214 illustrations by Hugh Thomson and Herbert Railton.

A General And True History Of The Lives And Actions Of The Most Famous Highwaymen, Murderers, Street-Robbers, Etc. published 1742

• Acta Regia, published 1733
• Andrews' Curiosities of the Church, published 1891
• Architecture in Relation to Our Parish Churches, published 1886
• Aveling's Heraldry Ancient & Modern, including Boutell's Heraldry, published 1892
• Bernau's International Genealogical Directory, 2nd edition, published 1909
• Blunt's Book of Church Law, published 1899
• Burke's Key to the Ancient Parish Registers of England & Wales, published 1908
• Burn's History of Parish Registers in England, 2nd edition, published 1862
• Coaching Days and Coaching Ways, published 1893
• Constitutions of Free and Accepted Masons, published 1888
• Cripps's Practical Treatise on The Law Relating to the Church and the Clergy, published 1850
• Domesday Book and Beyond: Three Essays in the Early History of England, published 1907
• Domesday Book for Middlesex, published 1862
• England in Days of Old, published 1897
• English Farming Past and Present, published 1922
• Fairholt's Costumes in England, published 1896
• Fox-Davies' Complete Guide to Heraldry, published 1909

Fox-Davies' Heraldry Explained

• Guy's Out Trails & McLean's Health, Strength & Beauty, published 1902
• Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, volumes I & II, published 1878
• Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, published 1892
• Hitching's References to English Surnames in 1601, published 1910
• Holdsworth's Handy Book of Parish Law, published 1886
• Illustrated Notes on English Church History, 2 volumes, published 1888-93
• Lang's Books & Bookmen, 1st edition with unexpurgated chapter on parish registers, published 1887
• Long's Personal and Family Names, published 1883
• Manuals of the Duties of Poor Law Officers: Master & Matron of the Workhouse, published 1869
• Martin's the Record Interpreter, published 1910
• Master Wace's Chronicle of the Norman Conquest, published 1837
• Mrs Beeton's Cookery & Household Hints, published 1895
• Notes of Cases Heard & Determined by Courts, published 1913
• Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time, published 1896
• Old English Social Life as Told by the Parish Registers, published 1898
• Oliver Cromwell's Letters & Speeches with Elucidations, 3 volumes, published 1845
• Paupers in Workhouses in England & Wales, published 1861
• Peake's The English Village: The Origin & Decay of its Community, published 1922
• Pictorial Description of Great Britain & Ireland, published 1846
• Railway Year Book, published 1922
• Registrar General's 64th Annual Report on Births, Marriages & Deaths in England & Wales, published 1903
• Roman Roads in Britain, published 1928
• Round's Feudal England, published 1909
• Rye's Records and Record Searching: A Guide for the Genealogist & Topographer, published 1897
• Saunders' Ancient Handwritings: An Introductory Manual, published 1909
• Seebohm's English Village Community, published 1896
• Social England Illustrated: A Collection of 17th Century Tracts, published 1903
• Social Life in Britain from Conquest to Reformation, published 1918
• Something for Everybody, published 1861
• Suggestions for Guidance of the Clergy with Reference to Marriage Registration Acts, published 1904
• The Ancestor, quarterly journals 1902-1905
• The Autocar Handbook: A Guide to the Motor Car, 10th edition, published 1910
• The Genealogist's Pocket Library, 8 volumes, published 1908-1910
• The Great North Road, published 1922
• The History of Work and Wages, published 1894
• The Northern Genealogist, quarterly journals 1895-1903
• The Slang Dictionary, published 1865
• The Universal Pocket Companion, published 1741
• Thoyts' How to Decipher and Study Old Documents, published 1903
• Turnpike Road Statutes, published 1828
• Waters' Parish Registers in England, published 1883
• Williams's Principles and Practices of the Baptists, published 1879

Wonderful London

• Wright's Court-Hand Restored, or the Student's Assistant in Reading Old Deeds, Charters, Records etc., published 1912