Not all records useful for family history are available online, or have even been indexed.
It is often necessary to make a trip to a record office or archive, in order to view original records (such as parish registers) on microfilm or microfiche, or even to look at the original documents themselves under the supervision of an archivist.
Original records are held in various record offices and archives around the country.
Most of the large national records offices (including The National Archives) are in the London area.
The following are the main record offices of interest to genealogists researching families from England and Wales, although there are others.
For Northern Irish and Scottish genealogy, most records are in the Public Record of Northern Ireland (PRONI) and the National Register Office in Edinburgh respectively, although the latter does not provide any access to original records, only digital images via the Scotland's People Centre and website.
The National Archives The National Archives (TNA) are in Kew, southwest London.
The records of the armed forces (Army, Royal Navy and RAF) are all kept here,migration records, many occupational records (e.
g.
customs officers, Merchant Navy, Metropolitan Police),death duty records and many others.
Some sets of records have been indexed, but many have not, so research may involve searching through original documents for information.
London Metropolitan Archives London Metropolitan Archives (LMA)is in the City of London and holds many records relating to both the City and to the Greater London area (formerly known as Middlesex).
There is also a good collection of wills which have been indexed, and a large collection of newspapers.
Guildhall Library Guildhall Library in the City of London holds a number of records useful to family historians, including apprenticeship records, Boyd's Marriage Index, and trade directories for London.
There are also many records relating to business in London, including brewing, the Stock Exchange.
Some of the records previously here, particularly original manuscripts, have now been transferred to the London Metropolitan Archives.
Society of Genealogists The Society of Genealogists has an extensive collection of books, indexes and original documents useful to family historians.
These records relate to the whole UK, not just London, as well as many other countries.
County record offices Every county in England and Wales has responsibility for archiving records - some share this responsibility with a neighbouring county or with the local diocesan record office (see below).
The service they provide varies, and many records are unindexed, but with patience they can be a source of real treasure for the family historian.
In particular they hold the county parish registers, which go back as far as the 16th century in some cases and may not be available anywhere else.
Records are not complete - some may have been lost or destroyed, and during the English Civil War in the 17th century many churches stopped making records altogether - this is known as the Civil War Gap! Diocesan record offices Church records are generally held in diocesan record offices, although these may be shared with county record offices (see above) or with other institutions such as universities.
Parish registers may also be found here, although these are more usually held in county record offices.
Before 1858, wills were proved via diocesan courts, and these records are now held by diocesan record offices.
London Probate Office The London Probate Office holds the National Probate Index - this includes details of all wills proved since 1858.