research

Digging for diamonds: hidden histories at The National Archives

From ‘parachuting’ to ‘truffle-hunting’, there are many ways to research at The National Archives. This talk focuses on the histories that are harder to find, from the voices of enslaved Africans to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities in ...
Business Archives: new initiatives and developments

This podcast looks at the background to company archives and the recent development of national strategies to promote business archives more widely. The talk focuses on individual projects under way to improve storage and access to the records of companies, ...
No vote no census

The National Archives held a one day conference at Kew on Saturday 1 October 2011. The conference brought together an audience wanting to know more about the census, from genealogists to local and social historians. The conference looked at all ...
Histpop – the online historical populations report website

The National Archives held a one day conference at Kew on Saturday 1 October 2011. The conference brought together an audience wanting to know more about the census, from genealogists to local and social historians. The conference looked at all ...
Inheritance in Scotland – testaments and retours

Scottish testaments, loosely called ‘wills’, can be disappointing for genealogists because they often contain very few names, and no details of land and property. This is a consequence of the Scottish system of inheritance up to 1868. However, such details ...
Family history resources at The National Archives

This talk provides an introduction to the main sources for family history research available via The National Archives website. Topics covered include the online catalogue, online resources and the research signposts.
Sources for agricultural labourers

Its all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that agricultural labourers are boring and that you cant trace anything about them. In fact they can be very interesting, and there’s lots of information to be found if ...
The London Gazette: not just the brave and the bankrupt

Family History specialist Audrey Collins discusses how researchers can get the most out of the London Gazette, Britain’s oldest continually-published newspaper.
Sailors, storms and science: how Royal Navy logbooks help us understand climate change

Dr Dennis Wheeler, from the University of Sunderland, discusses the use of historical Royal Navy logbooks in studies of climate change, focusing on the archival resources rather than scientific conclusions.
Researching the British Empire and Commonwealth

The British Empire existed for four centuries and, at its height, governed one quarter of the world’s population. Mandy Banton introduces the records of British government departments responsible for the administration of colonial affairs from about 1801 to 1968, outlining ...
Introduction to Family History – British Sign Language video

Need advice on how to begin tracing your family’s past? Presented by Audrey Collins, this talk is for anyone new to family history. As well as advising on good research habits, the speaker provides an overview of the main resources ...
Introduction to Family History

Need advice on how to begin tracing your family’s past? Presented by Audrey Collins, this talk is for anyone new to family history. As well as advising on good research habits, the speaker provides an overview of the main resources ...
The Navy Board project

Archivist Sue Lumas describes the painstaking cataloguing and conservation of naval records held at The National Archives.
Research and collections at The National Archives

Caroline Williams describes how the new Research and Collections Development department is contributing to The National Archives’ research, collections and academic agenda, and its benefit internally and beyond The National Archives.