Libraries and leisure

Research and enquiries Service

Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies offers an enquiry service for those who are unable - or do not wish - to carry out their own research. Staff at Archives & Local Studies have access to the full range of Hertfordshire sources, from original archives to a comprehensive library of books on Hertfordshire subjects.

Some of the sources we can search:

• Parish registers (baptism, marriage, burial 1538 onwards, and some nonconformist records
• Indexes to most Hertfordshire wills, 1415 to 1858
• The Allen Index to marriages in Hertfordshire before 1837
• Militia Lists 1758-1801
• Hearth tax (1662-1673) and Land tax (1711-1832) assessments
• Poor Law records – apprenticeship, settlement and removal papers (indexed)
• Hertfordshire newspapers from 1816
• Hertfordshire trade directories
• Manorial court rolls and rentals
• Maps including tithe, enclosure, estate and Ordnance Survey (sixteenth to twentieth century)
• Some land records, including deeds and sales documents (indexed by parish only)
• General indexes, including surnames, obituaries, places and subjects
• Hertfordshire census returns, 1841-1901
• Hertfordshire electoral registers (these can only be searched if an address is given)
• The International Genealogical Index
• UK-wide index to the 1881 census
• Index to the General Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1837-2003
• Index to National Probate records, 1858-1943

Charges
There is a minimum charge of £7.00 for enquiries and copy requests made by telephone, post, fax or email.

Research is carried out in 15 minute units at £7.00 per unit, up to a maximum of two hours (£56.00) in any one transaction. This includes up to two copies per unit and postage and packing. Additional copies will be charged at the rate shown. Additional postage will be charged for larger orders.

The fee includes the time spent reading your letter and writing the report. Payment must be made in advance and sent with the completed application form, which you can find at the bottom of this page.

You may also wish to make use of our copying service for copies of documents relevant to the research.

To get the most out of our enquiry service
Make sure you ask us specific questions, in a clear way. You don't want your hour's worth of research to be used up by the researcher trying to work out what you're looking for – and we want to be able to give you a swift, positive response. Although our sources are wide-ranging, the answers to questions aren't always in the records. If our researchers don't yield a positive response, we will tell you and try to suggest alternative sources. We will always try to advise you of the next step, if it seems that you could pursue an investigation further.

What you need to do
1. Work out what questions need answering
2. Write down clearly, with dates, names and places, the information you know which is relevant.
3. For a house history enquiry, enclose a map of the location and detailed address.
4. For a family history enquiry please enclose a copy of your family tree if you have one
5. Make sure all this is set out clearly on the application form (at the bottom of this page).
6. Print out and sign the copyright form, if you require photocopies of any items.
7. Sign a cheque for the appropriate amount (or “not exceeding” an upper limit), or give credit card details, remembering photocopies and printouts are extra to research fees.
8. POST IT ALL TO:
Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies
County Hall
Hertford
SG13 8EJ

We will acknowledge your application within 3 working days, and send a full report as soon as we can.