Clearly, there are dozens of resources available on the internet. Some are very useful, some, less so.
On this page, you’ll find links to some of the pages I’ve found most helpful. I hope you find them helpful too.
If you find a site, that you’d like me to add to the list, please let me know.
Genealogy Building Websites
Becoming a subscriber to one of these sites gives you immediate access to all of their records. This is often the most cost-effective way of tracing your ancestors.
Depending on what your goals are, your choice may be different. To see a rundown of what each one offers, click through to read this article.
Ancestry – https://ancestry.co.uk (14-day free trial)
Find My Past – https://findmypast.co.uk (14-day free trial)
My Heraldry – https://www.myheritage.com(14-day free trial)
Family Search – https://www.familysearch.org (free)
General Information
The National Archives – https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
TNA are a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government. They currently store over 1,000 years of iconic national documents.
Birth, Marriage & Death Records
FreeBMD – https://www.freebmd.org.uk/
FreeBMD aims to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records. It is a part of the Free UK Genealogy family.
Census Records
FreeCEN – http://www.freecen.org.uk/
The aim of FreeCEN is to provide free internet searches of the 19th century UK census returns. It is a part of the Free UK Genealogy family.
Parish Records
FreeBAP – https://www.freereg.org.uk/
The FreeREG aim, is to provide free Internet searches of baptism, marriage, and burial records, from parish registers, non-conformist records and other relevant sources in the UK.
Military Records
Forces War Records – https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk
This is a subscription service, but very useful if you have several ancestors whose military history you’re trying to trace. There are two options, an annual subscription at £48.95 pa., or a monthly subscription, which is £8.95. It’s free to search, but you’ll only be able to view the search listing. You can’t view the resulting items without a paid subscription.
NOTE: At the time of writing, The National Archive was allowing free access to documents (including military records), while the Covid restrictions were still in place.