Archives & resources for Tyne & Wear
has parish records for the diocese of Durham (covering Sunderland and Billingham) and the dioceses of Ripon and Newcastle. Woodhorn, QEII Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland NE63 9YF 01670 624 455 collections@woodhorn.org.uk
experiencewoodhorn.com Includes material relating to coalmining, Poor Law unions, law and order, education, medicine, wills and Anglican, Catholic and nonconformist records. This page (experiencewoodhorn.com/family-history) includes a host of very detailed guides to each collection. There’s also the online catalogue (experiencewoodhorn.com/search) as well as a short genealogical how-to video (experiencewoodhorn.com/trace-your-family-history).
Tyne & Wear Archives
Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4JA 0191 277 2248 info@twarchives.org.uk
twmuseums.org.uk/tyne-and-wear-archives Looks after material relating to the districts of Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside and North Tyneside. The best place to familiarise yourself with the collections is at www.twmuseums.org.uk/tyne-and-wear-archives/catalogue-amp-user-guides.html, which has PDF guides to parish registers, nonconformist sources, schools, cemeteries, Rate Books, paupers, maps and coal industry, shipbuilding and more. They also look after large quantities of burial records (on microfilm) back to the mid-19th century.
Durham County Record Office
County Hall, Durham DH1 5UL 0191 383 3253 record.office@durham.gov.uk
www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk Preserves records relating to business and industry, societies, schools, estates and families, trade unions, plus parish and nonconformist material. There’s the Durham Light Infantry collection, from which you can explore both photographs and oral history recordings online. There are also pages describing coalmining records housed here, plus online indexes to Durham collieries and miners. The RO
Northumberland Archives Berwick-upon-Tweed Record Office
experiencewoodhorn.com/berwick-record This section of the Woodhorn website includes details of the Berwick-upon-Tweed branch.
Durham University Library
Special Collections, Palace Green Library, Palace Green, Durham DH1 3RN 0191 334 2972 pg.library@durham.ac.uk dur.ac.uk/library/asc The Palace Green Library houses archives, early printed books and other special collections relating to County Durham, Northumberland and the wider North- East. The dedicated Family Records site is at
familyrecords.dur.ac.ukk and important probate and tithe collections have appeared online. To explore the North East Inheritance Database, for example, go to familyrecords.dur.ac.uk/nei/data/intro.php.
Northumberland and Durham Family History Society
7th Floor, Percy House, Percy Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4PW 0191 261 2159 researchcentre@ndfhs.org.uk
ndfhs.org.uk The Society has 10 branches operating locally and in London. The Library and Research Centre in Newcastle moved from Bolbec Hall to Percy House in 2011. The website has details of the Research Centre and its holdings – which list NDFHS resources in County Durham and Northumberland by parish. You can also follow the Society on Twitter (@ NDFamilyHistory).
Gateshead Local Studies
Gateshead Central Library, Prince Consort Road, Gateshead NE8 4LN 0191 433 8430 heritage@ gateshead.gov.uk
www.localhistorygateshead.com
Home to newspapers, maps and photographs, plus electoral registers, census and church records and local trade directories. There’s free access to Ancestry, and the family history records are now listed in the dedicated Local Studies catalogue ( www. gatesheadlocalstudies.com) – which was due for launch in the new year.
North Tyneside Local Studies
Local Studies Centre, Central Library, North Shields, Tyne & Wear NE30 1QU 0191 643 5270 local.studies@northtyneside.gov.uk
www.northtyneside.gov.uk/libraries The Local Studies Centre in the Central Library, North Shields, looks after census, parish and nonconformist material, and there’s an indexed collection of more than 50,000 photographs.
South Tyneside Local Studies
Central Library, Prince Georg Square, South Shields NE33 2PE 0191 427 1717 library.support@southtyneside.gov.uk
www.southtyneside.info/article/8862/Local-history-heritage Provides access to maps, photographs, directories, local newspapers and parish records. From the address above you can explore hundreds of local history images and search GRO BMD records in South Tyneside back to 1837 via www.southtyneside.info/applications/2/