Useful Websites

General Rotherham Local History

 Rotherham Web

General site giving information about Rotherham, including large section of local history articles and extracts from books and directories. Other features include a census index for 1891, a page recording people's memories of Rotherham, and a map index with a small selection of maps of the Rotherham area.

 Local History Council

A very active local history group, which provides an excellent programme of talk throughout the year.

Historic Sites and Buildings

 Boston Castle and Park

Site for the friends of Boston Castle and Park, including information about its history.

 Moorgate Cemetery

A history of the cemetery and details of the layout of the burial ground, and information about some of the people who were buried there.

 Roche Abbey

Site provided by Cistercians in Yorkshire project. Detailed information about the history and dissolution of Roche abbey, including photos and reconstructions.

 Rotherham Workhouse Hospital

A history and photographs of the Rotherham Workhouse Hospital. The site also has a history of Badsley Moor Lane and Oakwood Hall Hospitals.

 Clifton Park Museum

Brief information about the museum and opening hours. The museum was the home of the Walker family and exhibits collections of Rotherham's history. Contact the museum for further information on the York and Lancaster Regimental Museum. This collection displays over 200 years of military history from 1758 – 1968. An enquiry service is also available.

 Magna

Website for award winning museum based in disused steelworks. This site has also a wide range of useful information for educational visits. Magna opened an interactive exhibition in 2006 "Living Steel" which documents what life was like for South Yorkshire Steel workers.


 South Yorkshire Historic Environment Characterisation
 
A website from South Yorkshire Archaeological Service using maps to show changes in land use over time in South Yorkshire.  A separate section for each borough explores in greater detail the changes that have occurred, such as the impact of enclosure through to the development of council housing.

Local Transport

 Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation

Website for Pennine waterway, with links to the major waterways in the region.
Useful links to the Sheffield and south Yorkshire Navigation and the Dearne and Dove Canal. For each waterway there is a useful history, photographs and a virtual tour.

 Chesterfield Canal

Good site for every aspect of the canal including history, walks etc.

 Disused Stations

A national list of stations which are no longer in use on the national rail network.  Includes stations from South Yorkshire such as Rotherham Masborough.  The list is ongoing and updated regularly.

 South Yorkshire Transport Museum

A non-profit organisation that has various open days and is situated in Aldwarke, Rotherham.

Local People

Ebenezer Elliott

Biographical details and selections of poetry written by the 19th century local poet: ‘the corn law rhymer’. There is also a photograph of the statue of Ebenezer Elliott and a useful reading list.
 
 Moving Here

This website records, explores and illustrates why people came to England over the last 200 years and what their experiences were and continue to be.

Rotherham’s Yemeni Community Association and the Yemeni Young Women’s Group participated in the project culminating in the Story of the Rotherham's Yemeni Community. The individual stories are available on this website.

 Rotherham Voices

Stories from the Yemeni community and other ethinic minority groups in Rotherham.  Information includes family histories, education, migration, adapting to life in the UK and photgraphs.

 Yorkshire Film Archive

This site includes a selection of film clips from Yorkshire, including Rotherham and is part of a Hertiage Lottery funded project.

Local Towns and Villages

 Dalton/Ravenfield/Thrybergh 

General websites for Thrybergh, Dalton and Ravenfield with a comprehensive history section. For each place there is a wide range of information including census transcripts, churches and schools, prominent local characters, events etc.

 Treeton Web

Information on history and sources for Treeton history.

 Treeton Local History Group

Coverage includes information about forthcoming events, local histories and publications.

 Swinton

Useful site for the history of Swinton plus a useful gallery of old photographs.

 Wentworth

Information on the history of the village, Wentworth Woodhouse estate and the Wentworth families. There are also some useful maps of Wentworth and links to websites on Harley, Scholes and Elsecar.

 Whiston

Useful local history site on the village of Whiston. Information includes historic census and directory transcripts, historical detail on Whiston Methodist and Parish Churches, and a list of Whiston's War casualties.

 Wickersley

Information on Wickersley including image gallery, history index with newspaper extracts and census, genealogy section about local people and a heritage index.

 Woodsetts

Woodsetts village site including information about Woodsetts Local History Group

Junction 31

Site with detailed history and information about villages in this area of the borough, in the vicinity of Junction 31 of the M1.

Family History

Family History for Beginners

 BBC Family History Website

Really useful for beginners. Family history trail provides useful information on getting started.

 Genuki Beginners Guide

A brief guide to getting started with family history.

 Family Records Site

Official Family Records site with a useful seven step beginner's guide to family history.

Free Sites

 Genuki

A comprehensive list of genealogical resources for the UK & Ireland. Resources include extracts from directories, parish registers and census transcripts.

 Family Search

Church of Latter-Day Saints website with access to the International Genealogical Index, a database of baptisms and marriages mainly from Anglican churches. There is also access to the 1881 Census, Vital Records Index and other family history records.

 Rootsweb

Free site with useful websites, mailing lists and links to volunteer projects including online databases such as FreeBMD, FreeREG and FreeCEN.

 Census Online

Links to free online census records

Ancestry Library Edition

Free access to Census and Birth, Marriages and Death indexes. This is only available through the internet from PCs in Rotherham Central Library, Archives and Local Studies and Community Libraries.

 Adoption Search

This website is intended to be the first port of call for anyone thinking about searching for or making contact with birth and adopted relatives or researching an adoption that took place in the UK.

Pay Per View and Subscription Websites

 1901 Census

Searchable database of the 1901 Census, with additional censuses from 1841-1891. Entries are searchable by person, place, and address. The site also includes birth, marriage and death indexes from 1837-2004. Transcriptions cost 50p and census pages are 75p.

 1911 Census

Searchable database for the 1911 Census. Entries are searchable by person, place and address. The cost varies from 8p to 12p per credit. If you buy the 12p credits you will pay £1.20 to view a transcribed page and £3.60 to view an original census page. This database is also accessible through Findmypast.com

 Find My Past

Access to birth, marriage and death indexes from 1837-2004. Also includes searchable databases of migration, military records, 1841-1871 and 1891 census, and living relatives. With a voucher the minimum charge is £5.00 for 50 units at 10 pence.

 Ancestry UK

Access to Ancestry UK records. Includes UK Census records from 1841-1891 and birth, marriage and death records. With a £5.00 voucher 10 premium records cost 50p each. 

 The Genealogist

Website provided by S&N Genealogy offering birth, marriage and death records index for England and Wales, Census transcripts  for 1841 to 1891, Census indexes 1841 to 1901 , Parish record indexes, wills and directories.

 Military Genealogy

Chargeable site to search for soldiers and officers who died in the First and Second world war. Credits are bought in batches of 10 for £5.

 British Origins

Access to information by subscription only. The database includes Boyd's Marriage Index, Marriage Licence Allegations Index and Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills Index.

 The Original Record

Data is searchable by surname and provides access to thousands of historical books and documents relating to families. The site is free to search but to view the scans of the documents charges are made.

 British Newspapers 1800-1900

This site is provided by the British Library and allows the public to search a number of regional newspapers across Great Britain in the 19th Century.  The site is free to search but to view scans of the newspapers charges are made.

Scottish & Irish Family History

 Scotlands People

Pay per view website which includes parish registers, wills, census records and post 1855 birth, marriage and deaths records.

 Scotlands Family

A Scottish genealogy portal designed to help you explore your Scottish family tree. Providing free information including records of births, baptisms, marriage, deaths and burials. There is also census data, monumental inscriptions and a variety of local directories.

 Scottish National Archives

Website of the National Archives of Scotland which includes useful family history information, but does not hold civil registers of births, marriages and deaths, or parish registers of the Church of Scotland, or census returns.

 General Register Office for Scotland

General register office for Scotland is responsible for the registration of births, marriages, civil partnerships, deaths etc. This is the main site for family history records and includes census, parish registers up to 1854 and birth, marriage and death records.

 National Archives of Ireland

Provides information to family history records available at the National Archives including 1901-1911 census, parish records and wills. Online access to information only available for the Ireland-Australia transportation database (1791–1853).

Register Offices

Follow the links below to obtain a copies of  Birth, Death or a Marriage Certificates.

 General Register Office
 Rotherham Register Office
 Sheffield Register Office
 Doncaster Register Office
 Registration Services - Certificate Ordering Service- follow this link to order your certificates online

Family History Societies

 Federation of Family History Societies

This site lists family history societies and one name societies, as well as providing useful information for searching your family tree.

 Rotherham Family History Society

Rotherham Family History Society website. This is useful for tracing ancestors from the Rotherham area.

Regimental History and Records

 Commonwealth War Graves

War Graves Commission site providing access to the Debt of Honour Register, a searchable database of those who died during service in  the 1st and 2nd World Wars.

 The Long, Long Trail

This site is devoted to the First World War including information on regiments, battlefields and the history of battles. It also includes some really useful advice on tracing soldiers of the first world war.

 United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials

Searchable database of war memorials located in the UK, with useful family history section on how useful war memorials are for researching family history.

Archives, Libraries and Museums

South Yorkshire

 Barnsley Archives and Local Studies
 Doncaster Archives
 Doncaster Local Studies Library
 Sheffield Archives & Local Studies

Regional and National

 Borthwick Institute
One of the largest archival collections outside London. Particularly good for sources for Yorkshire family history: probate records, parish registers etc. The site has detailed guides to the collections.

 National Archives
Access to the National Archives, a really useful source of both local and family history, including census records, documents online and the National Archives Catalogue. There is also access to  A2A (Access to archives) a searchable catalogues of archival records from Archives and libraries around the country.

 National Fairground Archive
The archive is based at Sheffield University and houses a unique collection of photographic, printed and audio-visual material.  Subjects covered include travelling showpeople, social history, travelling cinemas and fairground rides.  Includes an online picture gallery.