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Buckinghamshire

Discover amazing family stories in Buckinghamshire archives online

Does your family tree begin in Buckinghamshire? Essential and exclusive archives online at Findmypast can help reveal your connection to the leafy county. See how your past has shaped your present in Buckinghamshire parish registers, military records and so much more.

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A brief history of Buckinghamshire

Apart from some significant roads the Romans contributed, the Anglo-Saxons made the biggest historical impression on Buckinghamshire, giving it many of its place names. At the time of the Domesday Survey, Buckinghamshire was already a very wealthy county.

The Industrial Revolution changed the landscape of Buckinghamshire as the furniture, paper and lace industries developed. The north of the county became a centre for building railway carriages.

Buckinghamshire’s only city and largest settlement is Milton Keynes. High Wycombe, Aylesbury and Amersham are significant towns. Some of the county is served by London Underground, making it popular with commuters.

Since 1921, UK Prime Ministers have headed to Buckinghamshire at weekends, spending them at the mansion estate of Chequers. During World War 2, Bletchley Park was the top-secret home to the Government Code and Cypher School, where Alan Turing and his colleagues cracked the German Enigma code. The Paralympics were born at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, leading to the first games of 1960.

Could your relative have been a wartime codebreaker sworn to secrecy?

The 12th century flag of Buckinghamshire features a chained swan on a red and black bicolour.

Find your family in a range of Buckinghamshire records

Did your Buckinghamshire ancestors leave glimpses of their life behind in old records? In our collections, you’ll discover details of their milestone moments, their formative years, how they earned a crust and more.

Buckinghamshire 1921 census: Collage of life in the 1920s

What was Buckinghamshire like in the 1920s?

Your family links to leafy Bucks may lie in the 1921 Census of England and Wales. This pivotal snapshot of the country reveals where your relatives were, who they were with and what they were doing one summer night over a century ago.

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Explore old Buckinghamshire newspapers online

What was considered big news in 19th-century Bucks? Read major headlines, community happenings and track your ancestors through birth, marriage and death columns.

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Discover England’s records at a local level

If your family tree extends beyond Buckinghamshire, you’ll find your ancestors in our extensive collection of English family history records. Where will your past take you?

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