Search and Shop

We offer the following services free of charge

• You can visit our searchroom to look at original documents, microfilm and online family history resources on the People’s Network PCs, including some sites that are normally subscription or pay per view (Ancestry, the 1911 census on Find My Past)
• We can advise you on research and archive sources in person, by telephone or email including one short specific search if you cannot visit us
• You can search our online catalogue 
• We have a number of databases extracted from original records held at the Cheshire Record Office.

Search our databases and order copies and publications and request research.

Search databases | Order copies  | Order publications  | Request research

 

Search databases

• Cheshire wills, 1492-1940.Wills of Cheshire residents proved in Chester.
• Overleigh Cemetery, Chester, 1850-1950.
• Freemen of Chester, 1747-1925.
• Railway staff database, c1869-c1950. Registers of 4 railways companies, covering parts of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Wales. 
• Crewe railway works, c1890-1928. Records of employees at Crewe railway works.
• John Ramsbottom presentation volume.  Includes the names of all employees of the Locomotive Department of the London and North Western Railway in 1871.  Please note that there is a charge for downloading images from the volume.
• Cheshire tithe maps.  Cheshire’s 19^th century tithe maps online, with a database of owners and occupiers of property at the time.  Compare tithe maps with later Ordnance Survey maps and modern aerial photographs.
• Chester city gaol registers, 1808-1842.
• Cheshire military records, 16^th-19^th centuries. Original version of our database with 14,000 names taken from a range of records relating to military service.
• New version! Now with over 21,000 entries our complete index to military records (MS Excel, 2.74MB) is available to download.
• Trade directories.  A database of Cheshire trade directories, 1781-1840 is available.  We have also made a set of scanned, searchable images of trade directories from the mid 19th-early 20th centuries available.
• Neston building plans, 1868-1950.
• Widnes building plans, 1866-1942.

Order copies

We can provide digital and paper copies of:

• Parish registers
• Wills
• Newspapers
• Other original documents held by Cheshire Archives and Local Studies Service
• Order copies now

Please note that we do not issue birth or death certificates.  You will need to contact the relevant register office - go to CheshireBMD for further details.

Current waiting times for copies.

How much will my copy order cost?

Our charges can be found here. We can only accept payment in pounds sterling and cheques must be made payable to Cheshire West and Chester Council.

• Conversion rates from pounds sterling.

If you do not know exactly what you require, please e-mail the record office or make use of our research service.

Can I still order copies by post?

Please contact the Cheshire Record Office, Duke Street, Chester, CH1 1RL (Tel 01244 972574) to obtain order forms.

Order publications

Our online bookshop offers a wide range of books, pamphlets, CD-Roms on a variety of topics.

Order publications now

Request research

If you cannot visit the Record Office in person, our professional researcher can undertake genealogical and historical research on your behalf.

More information, charges and how to request research