How To Trace Old Documents

How do I trace old documents?

When you go beyond the records that are centrally kept, you're going to need to approach local sources. Anything that was created by central government or filed by central government will be kept, usually, in the National Archives down at Kew, or in Scotland or Ireland in the national repositories there, and the same for Wales. But with locally created documents like parish registers and wills, you're more likely to find them in county record offices or in the cases of towns, cities in borough or civic record offices. There is the National Register of Archives, which will enable you to find out where particular sources are kept and you can have a look at this and find out where they are.