Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset & Hampshire Research

Genealogical and historical researcher, and lecturer.

BA PGCE University of Southampton. Over 30 years experience of research. Specialist area: the local records of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, England.

Family history;local history; transcription of wills and other documents into modern English.

Charges:£15 per hour plus agreed expenses. Please contact me to discuss your requirements without obligation.

Also,lectures, talks and courses.

Locations for research

Dorset: most original records are held in the Dorset History Centre in Dorchester; this now houses the local studies collection as well as the Dorset archives collection. Only a small number of Dorset parish registers are available online; the total number of parishes in the county is over 270. Most of the wills proved within the county are also in the Dorset Record Office and currently the only index to these is on cards in the Dorset History Centre; some other wills are in the Diocesan Record Office in Wiltshire; those wills for Dorset people proved in the PCC are held in the PRO in London. Many other local records can only be accessed by visiting the Dorset History Centre. These include:overseers papers; estate papers; property deeds; court records. These include many newspaper archives, as well as collections of particular interest to the area.

Somerset: most original records for Somerset are held in the Somerset County Record Office in Taunton. There is a further collection of material in the Somerset Studies Library,which houses newspaper archives and other collections of particular interest in the area. PLEASE NOTE: Somerset Archives will be relocating to new premises this year. Research of original documents will only be possible until March; parish registers will be available until July; then there will be a complete closure until September.

Wiltshire: The new Wiltshire and History Centre, in Chippenham, is where most
of the original records are kept for the county of Wiltshire. It is also the Diocesan Record Office, so it is home to a large collection of original wills proved within the Salisbury Diocese.

Genealogy Vacations

If you are traveling to England on the trail of your ancestors you want to make the best possible use of time. I live and work in the south west so I can help you plan your trip to the area.

Together we can assess the evidence you have and decide what what records you need; then I can advise you where to find them, suggest ways to travel and places to stay.

If you wish you can hire me to accompany you. We can search the records together and visit the places your ancestors knew. You will have your own genealogist to help you read the old handwriting, and your own local historian to interpret the landscape.

Research assessment: £100
Accommodation and travel planning: £100
Companion genealogist, per day: £150 plus expenses