Local Studies Collection

    The Rutland Local Studies Collection holds a wealth of material for those interested in the history of the local area, and for those researching their family history. It is now housed at Rutland County Museum and managed by the Library Service.

  Our Resources leaflet outlines a collection of publications - both popular and academic - on different aspects of Rutland's history or places. There is an extensive Local Studies and Family History book collection. These are arranged thematically, in Dewey Decimal order, on topics such as architecture, schools, agriculture, military and railways. There is also a village by village collection of publications, plus some additional material on Leicestershire, Leicester, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire & Peterborough. 

   The collection housed at the Museum is for reference use only, whilst other publications can still be borrowed by library members from Oakham Library and from the reserves. There are small loan and reference collections at Ketton, Ryhall and Uppingham libraries. Please telephone Oakham Library in advance of your visit if you would like items out of the reserve as a small number of items are stored off-site.

   Most books are included on the library catalogue (except for some of the older publications at present), which will detail the location of the item. Some items are in locked cabinets due to conservation issues, value, and/or rarity - you may be asked to record some personal details before these items are retrieved for you.

The majority of materials are on hand with no pre-booking during Museum opening hours.

The Museum houses:

• Leicestershire & Rutland local studies reference book collection,
• Local studies biographies, 
• Local authors collection,
• Photographs of Rutland towns and villages,
• Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough reference stock, 
• Parish Records, Census and newspapers on FILM and FICHE (reader/printer available), please check our Index of Parish Register Holdings for dates available.
• "How to" books and general Genealogy Collection, 
• Trade directories,  
• Maps -  oldest maps available by appointment only, please telephone the museum for holdings 
• Jack Hart postcard collection (by appointment only)
• FREE access to Ancestry.com Library Edition
• FREE access to the British Newspaper Archive online

 Please see Museum home page for opening times and contact details. For Ancestry and British Newspaper Archive access please telephone ahead to confirm availability before making a special journey. The British Newspaper Archive is also available at Oakham Library and Ancestry is available at all Rutland County Council Libraries.

The Library & Museum Service have a joint Local & Family History enquiry service. If you have a general Local Studies or Family History enquiry please contact history@rutland.gov.uk

Booking the Microform Reader/Printer

Some of the material in the Collection, for example Census returns, parish records and old newspapers, are held on microfilm or microfiche. If you are planning to use any of these resources it is advisable to book the reader/printer in advance - you can book up to 3 hours in one session. Staff will be available to show you how to use the machine.

For further details, or to make an appointment, please contact the Museum at

Tel: 01572 758440
Fax: 01572 758445
Email: museum@rutland.gov.uk

Need somewhere to stay?

Coming to research your family history in the area and need a place to stay? Check the Discover Rutland website for B&B's, hotels, and other local attractions. The Rutland County Museum holds a small Visitor's

Information section for visitor's to the area.

Useful Links

Records and Indexes

Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland

1901 Census - pay per view (vouchers are for sale in Oakham Library)

Ancestry - pay per view access to 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 & 1911 Censuses, and much more. Free access is available on site in Rutland Libraries and at Rutland County Museum.

1837 Online - pay per view access to indexes of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales from 1837, plus 1861 Census

Census Finder - links to free Census records online

Open Library - Includes full images of transcribed printed parish register books online. Tick the 'e-books only' box and enter 'parish registers' as the search term.

FamilyHistoryOnline - pay per view database of indexes of baptisms, marriages and burials, monumental inscriptions and Census returns

Family Search - website of the International Genealogical Index compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (mainly records of those who lived before 1930)

National Archives - includes WW1 campaign medals plus other information on service records and wills (original records are pay-per-view)

Family Records Centre - for birth, marriage and death certificates, plus a useful beginner's guide

National Archive of Memorial Inscriptions (NAOMI) - a new site which only covers Bedfordshire and Norfolk so far (January 2008), but new records will be added at regular intervals

Access to Archives - The A2A database contains catalogues describing archives held locally in England and Wales dating from the eighth century to the present day. Over 10m records from over 400 record offices are described and regularly updated.

British Origins - Searchable index to will indexes (mainly pre-1800) and other resources: census, marriage, apprenticeship records, court and militia records, passenger lists etc. Historical Maps 

LNWRS - London and North Western Railway Society. Useful for railway ancestors. Index of staff records. Map of line coverage through England, incl Rutland. Information on pay scales etc.

Midland Railway Study Centre - advice on researching Midland Railway ancestors.

Maps

A Vision of Britain -  a range of statistical data covering two centuries.

Old Map Company of Great Britain - reproductions of maps created between 1610 and 1623

British History Online - includes the complete Ordnance Survey map series for England, Scotland and Wales (Epoch 1, at scale 1 : 10,560). Rutland is represented by 30 tiles compiled between 1884 and 1891 Some Other Sites

Other Links

Historical Directories- digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales from 1750 to 1919

GENUKI - guide to genealogical information for UK & Ireland

East Midlands Oral History Archive

Cyndi's List - index of useful family history websites

BBC Family History - includes useful guides for beginners

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

British History Online - digital library including some texts on Rutland

Domesday Book - The National Archives Domesday Book online - images and transalations of text, and the history of the Domesday book.

Surname Profiler Project - Developed by three UK universities, the website uses data from the 1881 census and 1998 electoral register to map surnames (over 25,000 are listed) and show where they are and where they were most common in the UK.

British Association for Local History - Links to national organisations which are of interest to local historians. 

Internet Library of Early Journals - A digital library of 18th and 19th century journals.

The Clergy Database - The Clergy of the Church of England Database (CCEd), aimed at documenting the careers of all Church of England clergymen between 1540 and 1835. Also contains supporting materials about the Church and clergy.

Medieval Genealogy - Information on medieval public documents and resources for genealogy - covers dates up to around 1600.

Newsplan - Searchable resource detailing newspapers that have been published in the East Midlands and East Anglia and where they have been preserved for you to read.

Local Sites

Langham Village Website Website of Langham Village including extensive local history resources relating to Langham and maps.

Exton Local History and Genealogy

War memorials of Rutland a site put together about War Memorials in Rutland, listed by village complete with photographs.

Leicestershire Regiment - searchable list of Leicestershire Regiment soldiers, over 65,000 records.

Local History Groups & Societies

Belton in Rutland History Society

Cottesmore History and Archaeology Group

Langham Village History Group

Lyddington Manor History Society

Rutland Local History and Record Society

Rutland Village Studies Group

Uppingham Local History And Study Group

Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society

Online books and texts about Rutland

The scheduled ancient monuments of Leicestershire and Rutland by Leonard Cantor

Open Library - Access to books online including Rutland Magazine.

Print and go Local Studies Resources

There are a selection of activity sheets and templates included at the bottom of this page to help you with your local and family history research.

Some files are in .pdf format. To read them you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free from Adobe

Home Resources Activity Sheet

Pedigree Chart Activity Sheet

Graveyard Record Activity Sheet

Family History Workbook for Children - Grandma (print double-sided, 2 sheet to a page)

Family History Workbook for Children - Grandad (print double-sided, 2 sheets to a page)