Biographical and genealogical research
If your interest is in family history, we may be able to help in tracing your ancestors. Guildhall Library has numerous biographical and genealogical sources, particularly for former inhabitants of the City of London, including an extensive range of family history and local history journals.
We also hold a considerable quantity of material for the rest of England, and some for the British Isles and overseas.
Our main sources
- Published family and local histories; journals etc of national and local historical, genealogical and record societies
- Beaven’s Aldermen of the City of London (1276-1912) and other published sources relating to City dignitaries and officers
- Trade directories of London (from 1730’s), many English towns (from the late 18th century) and English counties (from the 1820s)
- Telephone Directories, London and provincial (mainly 20th century)
- Poll books of many English towns and counties (mainly 18th-19th centuries)
- Electoral registers of the City (1832 to date)
- Census returns for the City (1841-1901) and the 1881 Census surname index for England, Scotland and Wales. Census returns for England, Wales and Scotland, 1841-1901 are also available electronically via Ancestry.com and Find My Past websites
- The International Genealogical Index, compiled by the Mormon Church, of many baptisms and marriages in the British Isles (1538-c.1880)
- Published and/or unpublished register transcripts of many Anglican and Huguenot churches, and of some English non-conformist and Roman Catholic churches
- Boyd’s Marriage Index for England (1538-1837)
- Cliff Webb’s supplement to Boyd’s Marriage Index for London and Middlesex
- Boyd’s Burial Index (1538-1853) for Middlesex and London
- Index of apprentices from Inland Revenue records (1710-1774)
- Published registers of many schools, colleges and universities
- Regimental histories and rolls of honour
- Clerical, medical, legal and armed services directories (mainly 19th-20th centuries)
- Burkes and Debretts publications
- Some published lists of immigrants and emigrants
- National Probate Calendar Indexes (1853-1943)
Electronic resources, include
- Ancestry
- Find My Past
- National Burial Index
- Pallot’s Marriage Index
- Pallot’s Baptism Index
- Who’s Who 1897-1996
- Palmer’s Index to the Times (1785-1905)
- Official Index to the Times (1906-1980)
- 17th and 18th century Burney Collection newspapers
- 19th century British Library newspapers
- Times Digital Archive (1785-1985)
- Daily Mirror (1903 onwards)
- Soldiers Died in the Great War
- Dictionary of National Biography
Huguenot Society ‘Quarto Series’ and Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London 1885 onward. The index for the above can be found on the Huguenot Society website
Huguenot Families, Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1999 -2009
Huguenot Surname Index, Quarto Series, Vols. 1-40. Society of Australian Genealogists 1996.
Compiled by Cecile Ramsay-Sharp, name index to the first 40 volumes of the Huguenot Society's Quarto Series of publications. On microfiche
Huguenot Wills and Administrations in England and Ireland, 1617-1849 (abstracts). Huguenot Society of London, 2007. Quarto series, Huguenot Society of London volume 60. In 2 parts Abstracts of Huguenot Wills and Administrations compiled by Henry Wagner and edited by Dorothy North and Complete Index of Names compiled by Dorothy North.
Huguenot and Walloon Gazette, 1986-1990
Tracing Our Huguenot Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians. Pen and Sword Family History, 2012, Kathy Chater
The Huguenots in England: Immigration and Settlement c1550-1700. CUP, 1991, Bernard Cottret (translated by Peregrine and Adriana Stevenson)
Huguenot Ancestry. Phillimore, 1985, Noel Currer-Briggs and Royston Gambier
Huguenot Heritage: The History and Contribution of the Huguenots. Sussex Academic, 2001, Robin Gwynn
Soho and Spitalfields: Little-Known Huguenot Tapestry-Weavers In and Around London, 1680-1780,
Hefford, Wendy. In: Proceedings of the Huguenot society of London vol.XXIV no.2, 1984, p.103-112
A Huguenot in Spitalfields: Jean-Baptiste Isaac Bourdon, Mary Killingback. In: Cockney Ancestor No.60, (Autumn 1993)
Huguenot Pedigrees. Saint Catherine Press, 1924, Charles Edmund Lart
The Quiet Conquest: The Huguenots 1685 to 1985: A Museum of London Exhibition in association with the Huguenot Society of London; Catalogue Compiled by Tessa Murdoch. Museum of London in association with Jolly, c. 1985.
The Rondeaus of Spitalfields: An Everyday Story of Huguenot Folk [Stan Rondeau?] 2007, Stan Rondeau
Huguenots in Britain and Their French Background, 1550-1800: Contributions to the Historical Conference of the Huguenot Society of London 24-25 September 1985. Macmillan, 1987, Irene Scouloudi (ed)
The Huguenots: Their Settlement, Churches and Industries in England and Ireland. J. Murray, 1867,
Samuel Smiles
Spitalfields and the Huguenot weavers, W. H Williams. In: London Society no.394, 1972, p.14-20
Archive of the Worshipful Company of Weavers. See link to archive catalogue at London Metropolitan Archives
- Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Journal
- Acton Historian
- Ancestor: the journal of the Doncaster and District Family History Society
- Ancestors- National Archives
- Anglo German Family History Society
- At the Sign of – Journal of the Inn Sign
- Banyan Tree, the. [East Yorkshire]
- Barnes and Mortlake History Society Newsletter
- Bedfordshire Family History Society Journal
- Berkshire Family Historian
- Berkshire Family History Society [journal]
- Berkshire Old and New
- Blazon: Newsletter of the Suffolk Heraldry Society
- Branch News
- Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal
- Bristol and Avon Family History Society Journal
- Bulletin- Anglo-Scottish Family History Society
- Bygone Kent
- Cake and Cockhorse Banbury Historical Society
- Cambridgeshire Family History Society Journal
- Camden History Review
- Catholic Archives
- Caveman: Newsletter of the Cave Family History Society
- Charlton Kings Local History Society Journal
- Cheshire Ancestor
- Cheshire History
- Church Monuments
- City of York and District Family History Journal
- Cleveland and Teeside Local History Review
- Cleveland Family History Society Journal
- Coat of Arms, the: Heraldry Society
- Cockney Ancestor
- Collections for a History of Staffordshire
- Continuity and Change: a Journal of the Social Structure, Law and Demography in Past Societies
- Cornwall Family History
- Crystal Palace Matters
- Cumbria Family History Society Journal
- Cymmrodorion Transactions
- Dartford Historical and Antiquarian Society Newsletter
- Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage
- Debrett’s Peerage and Titles of Courtesy
- Debrett’s Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Campanionage
- Delichon urbica (the House Martin: the Journal of the Family History Society of Martin)
- Derbyshire Family History Society
- Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries
- Devon Family Historian
- Devon Historian
- Devonshire Association, the: Report and Transactions
- Doncaster Ancestor
- Dorset Family History Society Journal
- Dugdale Society Occasional papers (Warwickshire)
- Durham County Local History Society Journal
- Dyfed Family History Society Journal
- Ealing Local History
- East Surrey Family History Society Journal
- East Yorkshire Family History Society Monumental Inscriptions
- Edmonton Hundred Historical Society Newsletter
- Eltham Society Newsletters
- English Place Name Society Journal
- Essex Family Historian
- Essex Journal
- Essex Recusant
- Exmoor Review
- Families in British India Society Journal
- Family and Community History
- Family History - Journal of the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies
- Family History Journal of the South East Hampshire Genealogical Society
- Family History Monthly
- Family Tree magazine
- Flowing Stream Journal of the Sheffield and District FHS
- Folkestone Family History Society Journal
- Footprints: Journal of the Northamptonshire FHS
- Fram: the Journal of the Framlingham and District Local History and Preservation Society
- Friends of St. George's and the Descendants of the Knights of the Garter
- Gentleman’s Magazine
- Genealogists’ Magazine
- Glamorgan Family History Journal
- Gloucestershire Family History Society Journal
- Gloucestershire History
- Greenwood Tree
- Gwent Family History Society Journal
- Hampshire Family Historian
- Herefordshire Family History Society Journal
- Hertfordshire Monumental Inscriptions
- Hertfordshire Past and Present
- Hertfordshire People
- Highland Family History Society Journal
- Hillingdon Family History Society Magazine
- Hillingdon Family History Society Journal
- Historian, the
- Historical Journal, the
- History Today
- History Workshop Journal
- Hornsey Historical Society Bulletin
- Huddersfield and District Family History Society Journal
- Huguenot Society Proceedings
- Huntsman, the: Huntingdon Family History Society Journal
- International Journal of Regional and Local Studies
- Irish Ancestor
- Islonian: the Journal of the Isle of Axholme Family History Society
- Jewish Historical Studies
- Journal Derbyshire Archaeological Society
- Journal of Family History Society of Cheshire
- Journal of Greenwich Historical Society
- Journal of Historical Geography
- Journal of Kent History
- Journal of One Name Studies
- Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research
- Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research Special Publication
- Journal of the Victoria Cross Society
- Journal of Trevithick Society
- Journal of Victorian Culture
- Kent family History Society Journal
- Kentish Connection - Folkestone and District Family History Society
- Lancashire
- Lancashire Parishes for the Genealogist
- Lincolnshire Family History Society Journal
- Lincolnshire Past and Present
- Liverpool Family Historian
- Local Historian, the
- Local History Magazine
- Local History News
- Local History record
- Local Studies Librarian
- London Railway Record
- Lookback At Andover
- Manchester Genealogist
- Metropolitan, the- Journal of the London Westminster and Middlesex
- Midland Ancestor
- Midland Catholic History
- Mitteilungsblatt-Anglo-German Family History Society Journal
- Montgomeryshire Collections
- Newsletter: the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain
- Newsletter For Customers- the Family Records Centre
- Nomina: Society for Name Studies in Great Britain and Ireland
- Norfolk Ancestor: Journal of the Norfolk and Norwich Genealogical
- Society
- Norfolk Ancestor: Journal of the Norfolk Family History Society
- North Cheshire Family Historian
- North West Kent Family History
- Northamptoniana: Journal of the Northamptonshire Family History Society
- Northamptonshire Past and Present
- Northern Catholic History
- Northern History
- Northumberland and Durham Family History Society Journal
- Notes and Queries
- Nottinghamshire Family History Society Journal
- Orders and Medals Research Society
- Origins: Buckingham Family History Society Bulletin
- Ormskirk & District Family Historian, the
- Oxfordshire Family Historian
- Oxfordshire Local History
- Past and Present: A Journal of Historical Studies
- Peterborough District and Family History Society Journal
- Portsmouth Papers
- Practical Family History
- Records of Buckinghamshire
- Recusant History
- Redriffe Chronicle
- Review of the Guernsey Society
- Romford Record
- Root & Branch: West Surrey Family History Society Journal
- Roots in the Forest: Waltham Forest Family History Society Journal
- Ruislip, Northwood & Eastcote Local History Society Bulletin
- Rural history: Economy, Society, Culture
- Rutland Record
- Saddleworth Historical Society Bulletin
- Shemot
- Scottish Genealogist
- Scottish Local History
- Shropshire Family History Journal
- Social History
- Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries
- South West Soundings
- Southampton Record Series
- Southern History
- Suffolk Review
- Suffolk Roots
- Surrey History
- Sussex Past and Present Sussex Archaeological Society Newsletter
- Talbotania: Talbot Research Organisation
- Thoresby Society (for Leeds and District)
- Twyford & Ruscombe Local History Society Journal
- Tyrell Family History Society Newsletter
- Unitarian Historical Society Transactions
- Uxbridge Record, the
- Victorian Studies
- Victorian, the
- Wandsworth Historian
- Wanstead Historical Society Journal
- Warwickshire History
- Wembley History Society Journal
- Wesley Historical Society Proceedings
- West Drayton and District Historian
- West Middlesex Family History Society Journal
- Who Do You Think You Are?
- Wiltshire Family History Society
- Woolwich and District Family History Journal
- York Historian
- Yorkshire Family Historian