County Library and Information Service
Community History
Learn more about the history and heritage of Lancashire using printed and online materials, including books and pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals, directories, maps, photographs, and free access to the internet.
The aim of this service is to reflect every aspect of life and work, past and present, within the twelve districts of Lancashire. The County Palatine of Lancashire is represented by general geographical and historical studies.
Sources of information
The Guide to the Lancashire Local Studies and Family History Collections
Lancashire Lantern - The Lancashire Life And Times E-Resource Network allows you to search Community Information and in any or all of the following databases which are provided and maintained by the Reference Departments within Lancashire County Library:
- armed forces index
- obituaries index
- transactions index
- newspaper index
- census index
- parish registers index
- The Lancashire Pioneers
- The Lancashire Poetry index
- The Lancashire Image Archive
The scope of each index is described on the Lancashire Lantern home page.
For Local Studies books, go the library catalogue and select Local Studies from the Collections menu.
How to contact the Local Studies Department
To contact those libraries with local studies collections, use the guide to the collections
Schools’ Publications:
Samuel’s Chorley
Leah's Leyland
Michael’s Haslingden
- A Compendium of Resources for Schools - Based on the Life of Michael Davitt
Louisa's Lytham and St Annes
- Foreword
- Introduction - Who was Louisa?
- Leisure and Recreation
- Lifeboats and Lifeboat Men
- Health
- Schools and Education
- Development of St Annes
- Work and Industry
- Clifton Family
- Transport
- Bibliography and further information
Explore all aspects of these Lancashire towns in Victorian Times including the worlds of education, work, transport and housing. The compendiums contain numerous illustrations, photographs and copies from maps and census records.
Leaflets/booklets:
- So you want to trace the history of your house? (Adobe PDF - 3.64Mb)
- Family History for All (Adobe PDF - 1.09Mb)
N.B. The telephone numbers in these leaflets are out of date. For correct telephone numbers, please see the library details page.
The following give a description of the source and its use in Local Studies.
- Census
- Council Minutes
- Directories
- Photographs
- Maps
- Newspapers
- Parish Records
- Births, Marriages and Deaths
- Web sites for family history and local studies
- Serials, Periodicals
- Transactions, Proceedings of Learned Societies
- Electoral Registers and Poll Books
- Documentary Material, including Rate Books
- Sound and Video Recordings
- Special Collections