The Public Record Office is the major repository for the records of British central government. Many of its records are of interest to genealogists, and the guides to them prepared by P.R.O. Staff (and others) are frequently invaluable texts for genealogists. The following titles are currently stocked:
Army Records for Family Historians
Army Service Records of the First World War
Chancery Lane 1377-1977: the strong box of the empire
The Joys of Family History
Law and Society: sources for criminal history
Making use of the census
P.C.C. Wills and other probate records
Tracing your ancestors in the PRO
Tracing Your West Indian ancestors in the PRO
Using Manorial Records: a PRO guide
If you wish to order a book, please email us at:
samjraymond@btopenworld.com
stating your snail-mail address and the title you wish to order. Please type `order` in the subject line.
Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
Army Records for Family Historians / Simon Fowler
For over 200 years, the British army has kept detailed records of all the officers and men who have served in it. Many of these records are in the Public Record Office. This book is an introduction to those records. It covers records from the time of Elizabeth I until the Suez Crisis of 1956.
The guide looks at the most important records for tracing a man in the Army. It also describes some of the less well known documents which can be very useful in fleshing out a soldier's career. Also covered in the guide are militia records, records of foreign and colonial subjects serving with British forces, and women who served with the Army. There are chapters about tracing people who served in the Army during the two world wars and other campaigns of the 20th century.
Published by PRO Publications. Price: £9.30 (including 2nd class post). Overseas (airmail): £10.00; $US16.00. Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
Army Service Records of the First World War / Simon Fowler, et al.
This is a guide to the surviving service records for non-commissioned offiercs and ordinary soldiers held at the Public Record Office in London.
Price £11.00 (including UK postage). Overseas (airmail): £12.00; $US19.20. Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
Chancery Lane 1377-1977: the strong box of the empire / Aidan Lawes
British public records have been associated with Chancery Lane since 1377. This book gives a candid account of the history of that relationship, and provides a fascinating read for everyone who has occasion to use the Public Record Offices, which has just vacated the site. Published by PRO Publications, 1996.
Price £8.30 (Including UK Postage). Overseas (airmail) £10.75, $US17.20. Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
The Joys of Family History / Simon Fowler
This is a concise illustrated guide to exploring your ancestors and origins,
and includes:
a.. What is family history, and why is it for your?
b.. How to read the clues left by your ancestors
c.. Step-by-step advice on where to go, what to do, and what you might
find
d.. A comprehensive resource bank of addresses, websites and reading.
Published Public Record Office, 2001. Price £7.70 (inc UK p&p). Overseas
(airmail) £10.00; $US16.00. Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
Law & Society: an introduction to sources for criminal and legal history from 1800 / Michelle Cale
This is an invaluable guide to the wide range of post-1800 sources at the Public Record Office. It covers both criminal and civil records, ranging from bankruptcy to defamation, from capital punishment to delinquent children. Although not aimed primarily at genealogists, nevertheless, genealogists will find a great deal of useful information in these pages.
Published P.R.O.Publications, 1996. Price £14.20 (including UK post). Overseas (airmail) £18.00; $US28.80. Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
Making use of the [British] Census / Susan Lumas
The census is one of the most important genealogical sources for the 19th century. This volume describes how to use the Family Records Centre census room, explains the PRO referencing system, and provides complete lists of registration districts and street indexes. Fully illustrated, with diagrams and examples of documents, new researchers will find the tips on how to avoid common pitfalls most useful. 3rd ed. Published by P.R.O.Publications, 1997.
Price £6.90; overseas £9.20; $US14.70. Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
P.C.C.Wills & other Probate Records / Scott
Wills are a major source of genealogical information. In England, the Prerogative Court of Canterbury was the major probate court until the 19th century, and every genealogist needs to check its archives for the wills of English ancestors. In order to do this, you need to start by consulting this basic beginners guide to P.C.C. archives. Published by the Public Record Office, 1997.
Price £7.00 (including UK postage). Overseas (Airmail): £9.00; $US14.40. Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
Tracing your ancestors in the Public Record Office / Amanda Bevan
The records produced by central government are a treasure trove for genealogists. However, as with other treasure hunts, not all the clues are obvious or easily understood. This is the guide you need to find your way through the census and the service records, the wills and the law suits, the court rolls and hearth taxes, and all the other records where traces of our forebears can be found.
6th ed. Published by the Public Record Office, 2002.Price £19.20 (inc UK p&p). Overseas £23.50; $US37.60. Please inquire for surface & Australian dollar prices. Email orders welcome. Books will be sent with an invoice for payment on receipt. Payment by cheque in any of the currencies mentioned.
Using Manorial Records: a P.R.O Guide
Whether you are interested in the history of your locality or family, manorial records are a valuable source of information. This book is intended to make them more easily accessible to amateur researchers. It will tell you about the types of information they contain, and will advise you on how to locate them. There is a section dealing specifically with manorial records at the Public Record Ofice.
Price £8.75 (including UK postage). Overseas (airmail): £11.25; $US18.00. Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
Tracing your West Indian ancestors: sources in the Public Record Office / Guy Grannum
West Indian ancestry? Then this is the book for you! This guide introduces researchers with West Indian ancestry to the rich and varied records in the Public Record Office, in order to encourage and develop research into this much neglected field of genealogy. It brings together for the first time a wide variety of records held at Kew, for example, electoral and tax returns, land grants and colonial civil servants, the West Indies regiments and the Slave Compensation Commission. There is a comprehensive listing of nominal censuses, and an extensive bibliography. Published by the Public Record Office, 1995.
Price £10.00 (including UK postage). Overseas (airmail) £13.00; $US20.80. Email orders welcomed. Books will be sent airmail for payment on receipt. Payment accepted in Sterling, U.S. dollars or Australian dollars, preferably by personal cheque. Please inquire for Australian dollar and surface prices.
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