Free UK & Éire genealogy websites and resources
Connected Histories
connectedhistories.org
British History Sources, 1500-1900. Connected Histories brings together a range of digital resources related to early modern and nineteenth century Britain with a single federated search that allows sophisticated searching of names, places and dates. Most are free to access.
FreeBMD
freebmd.org.uk
An ongoing voluntary-run project to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales (1837-1997).
FreeCEN
freecen.org.uk
An ongoing voluntary-run project to transcribe UK census returns (1841-1911).
FreeREG
FreeREG
freereg.org.uk
An ongoing voluntary-run project to transcribe baptisms, marriages and burials in parish registers.
Gazetteer of British Place Names
gazetter.org.uk
The Gazetteer of British Place Names provides an exhaustive Place Name Index to Great Britain, containing over 280,000 entries. It lists the historic county and the main administrative areas in which each place lies.
General Register Office, England and Wales
gro.gov.uk
Firstly register for a free account, then search historical birth and death index entries for England and Wales. You can also order certificates for birth, death, marriage, civil partnership and adoption events. As of 2023 the standard cost for a full certificate with a GRO index reference is £11.00 (online) or £15,00 (posted).
GENUKI
genuki.org.uk
An extensive virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland.
Historical Directories of England and Wales
Historical Directories of England and Wales
specialcollections.le.ac.uk
Trade and local directories for England and Wales from the 1760s to the 1910s.
689 directories, with at least one directory for every English and Welsh county for the 1850s, 1890s and 1910s. Searchable by name, place and occupation this is an essential tool for local, urban and family history. Includes Kelly's and Pigot's directories, as well as those by regional publishers.
Irish Genealogy
irishgenealogy.ie
Church records (baptisms, marriages and burials) & Civil records (births, marriages and deaths).
Irish 1901 and 1911 censuses and pre-1901 fragments
census.nationalarchives.ie
Those of 1901 and 1911 are the only two surviving complete censuses. No census was taken in 1921, due to the War of Independance. The 1926 census for the Republic of Ireland is due to be released in April 2026 (those for Northern Ireland have not survived).
Maps
maps.nls.uk
Historical maps of England, Wales and Scotland. Include OS, County, Estate, Town, Coastal, Series, Aerial, Atlases and more.
The National Archives (UK)
nationalarchives.gov.uk
National Archive's Discovery holds more than 32 million descriptions of records held by The National Archives and more than 2,500 archives across the country. Over 9 million records are available for download (some free).
National Library of Wales
library.wales
Over 6 million books, over 40,000 manuscripts, over 1.5 million maps.
Old Bailey Proceedings, 1674-1913
oldbaileyonline.org
A fully searchable edition, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.
Probate Search (Post-1858)
probatesearch.service.gov.uk
The Probate Calendar provides date of death, address, estate value and names of executors. Included are those who died intestate, namely without a will. Soldiers' wills (1850-1986) are also available. There is a small charge to order a will or grant.
ScotlandsPlaces
scotlandsplaces.gov.uk
ScotlandsPlaces brings together records from Historic Environment Scotland, National Records of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland. It allows you to search: Maps, Surveys and Plans, Photographs, Archaeological Records, Drawings, Tax Rolls, Ordnance Survey Name Books, Publications
