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Home , Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, Oundle, Oxford Canal, West Northamptonshire

FAMILY HISTORY FEDERATION REALLY USEFUL SHOW

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY

RESEARCHING YOUR ANCESTORS

Northamptonshire Family History Society  Why not join to find out more about researching your Northamptonshire ancestors. Membership is £12 per year, (1 July-30 June) & includes a quarterly journal, monthly newsletter, two branch meetings a month and more.  We are also holding two online meetings per month for members via Zoom – why not join us!  SPECIAL SHOW OFFER – Join over this weekend and we will carry your membership through to the following year AND give you the May 2021 journal free (e-mag) - so 15 months membership for £12.00!  We have an extensive knowledge of the county, its Archives and its resources!  We have published over 200 booklets of memorial inscriptions from parish churchyards – so a valuable resource.  Visit our stall on Parish Chest to join or to see our full range of publications. Contact us at: [email protected] or visit our website: www.northants-fhs.org Follow us on twitter: @northantsfhs Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northantsfhs

About the county:  Often called the county of ‘spires and squires’ – a reference to its many wonderful churches, stately homes and family estates.  Also famed for its boot and trade, centred on , , &  The county stretches from Stamford in the north east to in the south west – 73 miles.  runs from through Northampton, Wellingborough, to  Grand Junction opened in 1799 and lined with the Canal at to railway opened in full in 1838 with major stations at , Weedon and . The Great Northern in 1850 linked London to Doncaster and led to growth of . The in 1857 linked Kettering, Wellingborough with London  At height of the railways, there were 73 stations in the county, now 6 – easy for folks to travel around.  Many historic buildings such as House, Burghley, Boughton House, , , Kirby Hall and .

Administration  Pre 1541 Northamptonshire was in the Diocese of Lincoln.  In 1541 Diocese of Peterborough was created. Northamptonshire Archives is the Diocesan Record Office  County divided up into Hundreds (administrative areas) – there is a list on Northants FHS website  To April 2021, there were seven Borough Councils and 1 County Councils – now changed to two unitary authorities – and .

Northamptonshire Record Office  Wootton Hall Park, Northampton NN3 8BE open Tues – Thurs 9-5 and 1st Saturday of month 9-1pm  Online catalogue – called AdLib – see website www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/recordoffice  Parish registers have been digitised and available on Ancestry.co.uk, some on FindmyPast  Has usual collections of parish chest records (registers, banns, settlements/removals, faculties, overseers and such) – most searchable on catalogue  Estate archives – vast collections relating to the many large family estates – some are indexed online but otherwise there are catalogues and index cards to help. Use them to find rent books, surveys, farm tenancies, leases tradesmen’s accounts, servant’s wages, charity school records.  Wills and probate – generally, testators from the east of the county would have their will proved at Peterborough Consistory Court and those in south/west at Northampton Archdeaconry Court. There is an index online on FindMyPast or can be purchased from Northants FHS bookstall. Others Probate records can often be found in solicitors or estate collections (especially as needed to prove descent). • Maps – vast collection – from estate maps, tithe maps, records, ordnance survey (various), railways, navigation maps, glebe terriers, churchyard maps and more – see online catalogue. • Northants was very non-conformist so don’t overlook these records. Not all records survive but look for registers, lists of members, transfers, minutes of meetings and such . Some Methodist circuit and a few Baptist chapel registers transcribed and published – see Northants FHS website/visit our stall.  Manorial records for Northamptonshire – have been indexed in a recent project and now available to search on National Archives Manorial Document Register, documents pre 1731 are likely to be in Latin.  Manor court records can show descent of a property either through a will or sale as new owners had to pay a fealty (fine) to the Lord of the Manor. Other useful records include jury lists, parish officials, management of the open fields, suitor’s rolls (ie residents who had to attend the manor court)  Poor Law Union workhouses – there were 11 – , , , , , Northampton, , Kettering, Wellingbough, and Oundle. All except Potterspury have good survival of records, although not for all dates. Look for Admittance and Discharge registers, Guardian minute books, creed registers, baptism and burial registers, vaccination lists and apprenticeships. Some birth/death registers transcribed and available from NFHS bookstall.  Various card indexes and transcripts at NRO: Card indexes for personal names, topics, maps, school records, marriage licenses, probate, poor law and some smaller estate collections. Various transcripts of parish registers, poor law records, land tax, militia lists, hospital records and so on – all on open shelves  Quarter sessions – good collections of record although not all are indexed. QS records include much of the background papers such as indictments, witnesses, licences for victuallers, badgers (pedlars), meetings houses as well as deposited plans for railways, toll roads and bridges.  Good collection of architectural drawings, sketches, postcards and photographs.  Books – various parish histories, local historical journals, histories, war memorial books and rolls of honour, academic resources such as thesis, family history guidebooks, gazetteers and directories, regimental histories and other official publications. Majority are available on open shelves in search room.  Useful county histories are Bridges History of Northampton (material collected in 1720, published in 1790) lists descents of manors, advowson, landowners etc. Bakers History (1820-1840) follows on and compliments the earlier. covers most but not all of the county – the latter is on .  1777 Militia List for the county online at northamptonshirerecordsociety.org.uk – lists males aged 18- 45 so useful to find out which parishes a surname appears in. Other dates online on FindMyPast  Please check website for latest opening hours and restrictions due to Covid.  Useful publication is Researching your Local and Family History at NRO – price £2.50 from Northants FHS bookstall – gives a good overview of the collections, how to access them and how to make the most of your visit.

Northamptonshire Heritage Forum  The Forum is the umbrella organisation for all the heritage sites, stately homes, museums and local history societies in the county. Find out more at: www.northamptonshireheritageforum.co.uk

Museums  Canal museum at , local museums at Kettering, Northampton, Oundle, Daventry, Wollaston, Wellingborough, Kettering, smaller museums at Long Buckby, , and others.  Museum, Northampton holds the Northamptonshire Regiment collection and has a fine display of memorabilia and history. Northampton Central Museum holds extensive shoe collection.

Libraries  Most large branch libraries hold small local collections but the main repository is Local Studies Discovery Centre at Central Library, Northampton. Has registers on fiche, local history journals, maps, excellent collection of pamphlets and local parish books and guides. See Northamptonshire.gov.uk/libraries for opening time.  Worth searching the Northampton Library catalogue for parish/church publications – can often be ordered via inter-library loan scheme.

Visiting Northamptonshire Northamptonshire Surprise has extensive listings of places to visit, town trails, what to see, stately homes, 100 best churches and much more. See: www.northamptonshiresurprise.com/

Covid 19: Please check for latest opening details of the Archives, Museums and other attractions before travelling - all are presently closed (April 2021).