Related information
Lancashire Record Office is also home to the county council's Records Management service
About us
About us
Lancashire Archives was established in 1940 to collect and make available for research documents of enduring historical value to the county. On over 8 miles of shelving we store archives relating to the history of Lancashire, covering cities, towns and villages within the historic and current boundaries of the county. They date from the 12th century to the present day and include:
- Archives of local government: including Lancashire County Council and district and parish councils, and their predecessors, including Quarter Sessions, Poor Law unions and turnpike trusts.
- Probate documents from the Archdeaconries of Chester and Richmond.
- Archives of Anglican, Roman Catholic and Nonconformist churches, including registers of baptisms, marriages and burials.
- School records, including log books and admissions registers.
- Private archives, including manorial and estate records, family papers, and the records of businesses and societies.
- Maps and plans, including tithe, enclosure and estate plans, Ordnance Survey and other printed maps.
- Copies of some national sources: including census returns for the whole County Palatine of Lancaster.
Geographical Coverage
The County Palatine of Lancaster covers more than the present-day boundaries of the administrative county. The administrative boundaries do not now include the areas of Merseyside, Greater Manchester and South Lakeland. Whilst those areas have their own record offices, the nature of archive collections means that many documents relating to them are stored at Lancashire Archives. Although we may not be the relevant repository for the records you are seeking we will always try to point you in the right direction to find them.
Lancashire Local Studies Collection
Lancashire Archives houses extensive printed sources from the Lancashire Local Studies Collection. These include several thousand books and pamphlets on Lancashire, including areas such as Manchester, Liverpool and Furness.
There is an online catalogue for all the stock of Lancashire Library, including local studies materials in the building.
The Library website also holds the county-wide Guide to Lancashire Local Studies and Family History Collections which gives information on holdings of such items as newspapers, periodicals, census returns, parish registers, directories, electoral registers, maps, official publications, photographs, microform and electronic family history sources, etc. The website's Local Studies pages also give further general information about some of these sources.
The Lancashire Pioneers website is the result of a project financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund that gives biographies of about two dozen people in the fields of science and technology who have made an impact on the history of Lancashire, including Richard Arkwright, Henry Tate, John Mercer, Joseph Gornall, and Jeremiah Horrock.