Local history

Local history is everywhere. Whether it is for research or for pleasure, knowing more about where we came from, where we live now, where we intend to move to or where our family originated, we all, whether we realise it or not, have an interest in some aspect of local history.

Local history is the study of how ordinary people lived, worked and raised families. It is the study of what used to be where and why a street was named in a particular way. It is the study of our roots and our ancestors. Most people are not descended from royalty, and without local history we would not know our story. The more we understand about our local history, the more we understand about ourselves.

Discover where you live - click on the map below to browse by area, or search above by place name to find out more:

Delving into the local history of where we live can often bring up surprising results and challenge what we have previously known. Anyone who’s moved to a different area will know how eagerly they receive news from their home town. It is the same feeling we get when we discover something new about our home town.

The changes and developments that have taken place over time can help inform the past and make us think about the future, including changes to industrial and transport heritage, fashion and entertainment.

Whether we want to understand more about our community and its history, or learn about aspects of the society we grew up in through documented or oral history, local history is accessible to us all on many different levels.