Family History

Like all county archives, the Royal Berkshire Archives (RBA) holds a wealth of information for the family historian that will help you get past the basic details you can find online.

Visitors can access Ancestry, Find My Past and the British Newspaper Archive online onsite at the RBA free of charge through our library subscription. Just ask to book a computer when you make your booking. See our Planning a Visit page for details on how to book. 

Whilst these sites give you good access to post-1837 information, what makes the RBA special is our collection of documents that you will not find online, and which can also be accessed onsite for free. Many of these local records will take you further back in time and help you explore your ancestor's stories. Use the links to see what you can discover.

Below are links to these sites should you wish to look at them via a personal subscription at home, as well as other useful websites for family history research:

Ancestry

Berkshire Genealogy

Berkshire pages on the GENUKI website which provides a virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland.

British Newspaper Archive

Find My Past