Links

On this page we have listed the websites of other organisations and societies that we believe may be of interest to our members and to the general public. The links cover archaeological and historical eras and they focus mostly on the local area.

This page will be updated periodically and suggestions for new links should be sent to the Society's Publications Editor.

Archaeology

Lancaster Urban Archaeological Database compiled by Oxford Archaeology North, but not currently available
Lancashire Archaeological Society promoting archaeology within Lancashire
Oxford Archaeology Research and Publication

Archives and Libraries

Cumbria Archive Service
Lancashire Archives, including the LAHS archive at DDX3725
Lancashire County Digital Library services, catalogue and online resources including reference works and some newspapers. You need a County library card and its number.
The National Archives This includes materials in the National Archives, London, and in county archives
Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire Many useful out-of-print publications for our area.

Births, Deaths and Marriages (B, M & D)

Ancestry A subscription service for B, M & Ds and much other material
FreeBMD A free searchable website of B, M & Ds since 1837
FamilySearch Family history and census material provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Find a Grave A website listing millions of graves worldwide and over 2000 in the Lancaster area
Find my Past A subscription service for tracing a family tree. Can be accessed free from Lancashire Libraries (but not from home)
Lancashire Online Parish Clerks' Project Births Deaths and Marriages in Anglican parish records in Lancashire
Lancaster Family History Society

Books

Among the very many publications in print on local history and archaeology there are the following books, which give broad overviews:

Bingham RK 1990 The Lost Resort? The Ebb and Flow of Morecambe. Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press
Bingham RK 1995 Kendal: A Social History. Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press
White A (ed.) 1993 A History of Lancaster 1193-1993. Keele: Ryburn Publishing
White A 2003 Lancaster: A History. Chichester: Phillimore

General

Lancaster Past & Present Facebook group
Morecambe and Heysham Past and Present Facebook group
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Free online at home with a Lancashire Libraries membership card and its number

Local historical and archaeological organisations and societies

British Association for Local History The Local Historian (articles free online, except last three years), regular Newsletters and organised events. There is a subscription to join the BALH and receive their publications, which have several recent articles on Lancaster and Lancashire. The Association has produced a book Internet Sites for Local Historians: a Directory. This runs to about 200 pages and lists 1000 sites. It can be bought from their website.
The Catholic Record Society Includes plenty of Lancashire material
Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Its Transactions since 1874 can be downloaded, free, except for the five most recent years
The Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire A searchable full run of its Transactions since 1848 can be downloaded, free, except for the ten most recent years
Lancashire Archaeological Society
Lancashire Local History Federation This site includes links to the websites of many local societies and county-wide ones
Lancaster Archaeological and Historical Society
Lancaster Civic Society
Lancaster University Regional Heritage Centre (formerly the Centre for North-West Regional Studies)
Lancaster Vision
Tatham History Society Articles on aspects of parish history, transcribed archives, photos, including Haweswater Aqueduct construction

Maps and aerial imagery

Google Earth
Old Maps of Lancashire Produced by Lancashire County Council Environment Directorate's Archaeology Service
Lancaster University Library Historic maps of Lancaster, Morecambe, and the surrounding areas
Ordnance Survey maps of Great Britain and the Isle of Man A nearly complete collection of digital maps at the National Library of Scotland
Skycam video Aerial surveys of our area

Museums

Newspapers

The public libraries in Lancaster and Morecambe have back-runs of the local newspapers on microfilm.

One online source of newspaper material is the British Newspaper Archive, which is a British Library venture with a commercial firm. Access requires a subscription. Searching is very speedy using keywords. Among the local newspapers included at present are the Lancashire Evening/Daily Post, Lancaster Gazette, Lancaster Guardian and Morecambe Guardian. Not all issues of these newspapers have been digitised so far.

A second source of online newspapers is British Library Newspapers, which are available free at home (with your county library card and its number) through Lancashire Libraries.

Paintings of local places and people

Search ART UK - an online database of images of paintings in public collections - for local places, people, galleries, museums and artists.

Photographs

Britain from Above Aerial photographs of the Lancaster area 1920s to 1950s
MARIO Maps And Related Information Online. Includes aerial photographs and historic maps of Lancashire
Red Rose Collections Lancashire County Council photographic collection (searchable)

Places

Research articles on local archaeology and history

The only online journal devoted exclusively to the publication of research articles on local archaeology and history is Contrebis, the annual journal of Lancaster Archaeological and Historical Society.

The Internet Archive is a huge digital library of out-of-copyright books, all downloadable, and more recent books which one can borrow if one signs up. You can search the whole database by metadata (title, author etc) or all content. You can even search for words within books once they are open.