Collections

Introduction to collections

We hold thousands of documents relating to Berkshire old and new. They date from the 12th century to the present day and include:

• Records of local government: including the former Berkshire County Council and district and parish councils, and their predecessors, including Quarter Sessions, Poor Law unions and turnpike trusts.
• Records of the Archdeaconry of Berkshire: including church court records and wills.
• Records of Anglican and nonconformist churches: including registers of baptisms, marriages and burials.
• School records: including log books and admissions registers.
• Private records: including manorial and estate records, family papers, and the records of businesses and societies.
• Maps and plans: including, tithe, enclosure, estate, Ordnance Survey and other printed maps.
• Printed sources: including trade directories, electoral registers and an extensive library of books and pamphlets.
• Copies of some national sources: including indexes of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and census returns (Berkshire only).

Until 1974 Berkshire included the Vale of White Horse and parts of what is now South Oxfordshire. In 1974 Slough, Eton and some surrounding villages were transferred to the county. We collect records relating to both the old and the new Berkshire. We work together with Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Record Offices and you may find records relevant to your research in more than one office.