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.

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

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....

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

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.

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.

Many communities have cataclysmic disasters which tend to dominate or define their local history. Gareth Davies reveals that the sudden collapse of the Great Yarmouth Suspension Bridge is a telling example of this trend. Beside the waters of the River Bure in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk stands a shiny black memorial...

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...

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,...

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...

Local history is the study of places and communities. It dates from the time of the great antiquarian county histories from the sixteenth century onwards. Local history is taught in universities, often at postgraduate level, and each county as well as many villages and towns, have their own societies. Family history,...

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...

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...

Local History Online is a useful resource to find out about local history societies in your area. It has an extensive directory of local societies which has direct links to over 650 society websites and contact details for an additional 560 societies, as well as links to local speakers and...

The Thatcham Historical Society exists to promote an interest not only in the local history of Thatcham and district but also in historical matters in general. A regular series of talks by invited speakers takes place throughout the year. They have a wide range of subject matter in the talks...

The following is an extract from A Manchester Boyhood, the recently-published autobiography of Professor Donald Read, a past-president of the Historical Association. His book seeks to set his personal experience during the nineteen-thirties and forties within the troubled history of the time. His opinions, some of which may be found...

Many surnames have a straightforward meaning. It is obvious that names such as Smith, Wright and Turner come from occupations; that names such as Pickering or York are from the names of places; and that Roberts, Robertson, Robson and Robinson are derived from the same personal name. It is not...

Within British universities oral historians have had to fight hard to seek acceptance for what they do. But within the wider historical community they have found a far more welcoming reception, with local history acting as a particularly warm recipient of their work. There is little mystery as to why...