Local history research

Find out about your local area, people from the past or the history of your house.

There are 7 main places to look:

Hertfordshire Names Online – search for people and places
Online archive catalogue – see detailed descriptions of our collections
Discovery (The National Archives' catalogue) – try here if you can't find what you're looking for in our archive catalogue
Hertfordshire libraries catalogue – browse a selection of local history books
Heritage shop – buy books, maps and DVDs about Hertfordshire.
HertsMemories - the main site in a network of community archives for Hertfordshire
National Library of Scotland Maps - Provides free access to historic Ordnance Survey maps

Take a look at the guides to our collections as well.

Help with your research

No booking is required for the Local Studies Library or Archive reading room except for the first Tuesday of every month, we're open until 7.30pm by appointment only. Contact us by 9am on the previous Friday to book.

If you're struggling to find the information you want, or are short of time, you can pay for one of our experts to do the research for you.

Order a search

£18 – 30 minutes

See all fees and charges

After we've searched, we'll send you a report of our findings.

You can then order copies of the documents or visit the archives to view them for free.

Local history research

Help with your research

Local history groups

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