Sources for local historians
For family history resources at Staffordshire Record Office please see Family History Resources at Staffordshire Record Office
The range of archive collections held by Staffordshire Record Office is very wide and encompasses very many subject areas.
Local authorities, including:
- Staffordshire County Council, 1889 onwards, and its predecessor authorities, including the Court of Quarter Sessions, c.1590-1888
- Staffordshire Poor Law Unions, 1834-1930
- Stafford Borough Council and former urban and rural district councils in Staffordshire
- Lichfield City Council
- Burton County Borough Council
- Parish councils from 1894
Other public bodies, including:
- Magistrates courts
- Hospitals
- Primary and Secondary schools
Religious organisations, including:
- Mediaeval Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield central administrative records (covering Cheshire, Derbyshire, south Lancashire, north Shropshire, Staffordshire, north and east Warwickshire)
- Modern diocese of Lichfield central administrative records
- Dean and Chapter of Lichfield Cathedral
- Anglican parishes in the historic county of Staffordshire, including ecclesiastical records and records of parish administration
- Nonconformist circuits and chapels
Business and industry, including:
- Professions, such as solicitors, estate agents, accountants, retail trades, building societies
- Industries, such as coalmining, iron, engineering, textiles, footwear and brewing
- Communications, including railways, canals and roads
Major landed families:
- Dukes of Sutherland (Sutherland-Leveson-Gower)
- Marquesses of Anglesey (Paget)
- Earls of Shrewsbury (Chetwynd-Talbot)
- Earls of Dartmouth (Legge)
- Earls of Lichfield (Anson)
- Earls of Bradford (Bridgeman)
- Barons Bagot (Bagot) and Stafford (Stafford, Jerningham, Fitzherbert), and many others
Local organisations:
- Clubs and societies
- Political parties
- Trade Unions
As well as
- Electoral registers for most of the historic county. Those for the period 1832-1891 are available on microfiche only for preservation reasons.
- Census returns for the whole of the historic county, on microfiche only.
- Tithe and enclosure maps and awards and estate maps
- Ordnance Survey maps, including the County and National Grid series
Online Catalogue
Our online catalogue Gateway to the Past is continually growing, as we catalogue all new accessions electronically and more of our older paper catalogues are converted to electronic format each year.