Local Studies: local history and genealogy
Find local history and family history resources at Swindon Central Library.
Our team can help you with research about people, places and the history of the borough.
We also run the Swindon and District History Network, which connects local history groups, historians and heritage organisations.
Visit us
Location
Second floor
Swindon Central Library
Regent Circus
Swindon
SN1 1QG
Opening times
- Monday: by appointment only
- Tuesday: 10.00am to 4.00pm
- Wednesday: 10.00am to 4.00pm
- Saturday: 10.00am to 1.00pm
What you can access
You can use a wide range of local history and genealogy resources, including:
- printed history materials covering Swindon and surrounding areas
- books, reports, pamphlets, scrapbooks, DVDs, VHS and ephemera on many topics
- genealogy resources such as:
- General Register Office (GRO) index of births, marriages and deaths (1837 to 1999)
- GRO Overseas Index
- International Genealogical Index (IGI)
- census records, with surname and street indexes where available
- parish registers and bishops’ transcripts (from 1538)
- free access to subscription websites, including Ancestry and the British Newspaper Archive
- local periodicals such as parish magazines and journals
- staff newsletters from local employers, including:
- Austin Rover
- British Rail
- Garrard
- Great Western Railway
- Pressed Steel
- Wills Tobacco
- Vickers
- bound copies of local publications, including Link Magazine and Stratton Outlook
- local newspapers, including:
- Swindon Evening Advertiser (from 1854)
- Football Pink (1929 to 1978)
- North Wilts Herald (from 1861)
- microfiche and microfilm readers with printing facilities
- electoral rolls for Swindon and Thamesdown (from 1945) and poll books from 1705
- street, trade and telephone directories, including Kelly’s directories (1848 to 1939), and local phone books and Yellow Pages
- works by local authors such as Ralph Bates, Richard Jefferies and Alfred Williams
- local maps, including early Ordnance Survey maps, GOAD shopping maps, Soviet “Red Army” maps, geological maps, political maps and street maps
- recordings from local musicians on CD and vinyl
You can search the collection through the main library catalogue.
Local studies photograph collection
Browse our online photo collection via Swindon Local Studies on Flickr.
The gallery:
- includes more than 5,500 images and continues to grow
- features material from our collection and images shared by local residents and history enthusiasts
- is free to use and searchable by name, date, place, street or keyword
The online images are only a small part of the full collection, which you can view in the library.
Contact us
Email: localstudies@swindon.gov.uk
Tel: 01793 463238
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