Indexes and Calendars

Table of Contents

Index to Primary Sources  | Printed primary sources  | Archival & manuscript materials  | Government documents

(Yale) Archival finding aid project

Access to a growing collection of online finding aids which provide detailed descriptions of the content and organization of Yale's archival and manuscript collections. Searches can be performed across several collections--the Beinecke Library, the Music Library, the Divinity Library, the Arts Library, and Manuscripts and Archives--or can be limited to a search of one of these collection's online finding aids.

Archives made easy

Archives Made Easy provides links to selected manuscript and archival repositories around the world and offers personal reports and tips to facilitate access and use of these collections.

ArchivesUSA

This database provides information about primary source materials in 5,596 US manuscript repositories and includes records, complete with detailed indexes, for 154,678 manuscript and other special collections. Links are included to thousands of finding aids, but there are no links to full-text documents.

British history online (Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust)

British History Online is the digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles, cross-searchable, in one place, and free.

The National Archives The National Archives covers England, Wales, and the United Kingdom and was formed in April 2003 by bringing together the Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission. It's responsible for the records of central government and the courts of law. The collection is one of the largest in the world and spans an unbroken period from the 11th century to the present. Research guides are available online.

• The Catalog (formerly called PROCAT) The National Archives Catalogue contains descriptions of records from central government departments, courts of law and other UK national bodies. The records are arranged by government departments that originated them (list of codes for UK government departments).
• National Register of Archives
  The NRA is a central point for the collection and dissemination of information about the nature and location of manuscripts relating to British history. It currently consists of over 44,000 unpublished lists and catalogues that describe archival holdings in the United Kingdom and overseas. The lists and catalogues have been indexed according to corporate bodies, persons and families and the indexes are available online.

  A2A: Access to Archives (the English strand of the UK archives network)

  The A2A database contains catalogs describing archives held by record repositories and archives throughout England dating from the 900s to the present day. A2A does not yet offer a full description of all the archives in England, but it is regularly updated.

  Accessions to Repositories

  An annual survey (online 1994 to the present) of the National Archives that collects information from over two hundred record repositories throughout the British Isles about manuscript accessions received in the previous twelve months. This information is added to the indexes to the National Register of Archives, and it is also edited and used to produce thirty-three thematic digests which are made available through this site.

  Manorial Documents Register

  The records noted in the Manorial Documents Register include court rolls, surveys, maps, terriers, documents and all other documents relating to the boundaries, franchises, wastes, customs or courts of a manor. Title deeds are not included in the Register. The MDR is partially online, but the majority of records have not yet been converted.

  Scottish Archive Register

  Includes access to the finding aids of nearly 50 Scottish archives and a directory of Scottish archives.

AIM25

AIM25 is a major project to provide electronic access to collection level descriptions of the archives of over fifty higher education institutions and learned societies within the greater London area.

Archives Hub

A gateway to descriptions of archives in more than 140 UK universities and colleges.

Archives Network Wales

A searchable index to collection-level descriptions for the 20 main archive depositories in Wales.

Labour history archive and study center (Manchester)

A specialist repository for the political wing of the Labour movement, it holds records for working class political organizations from the Chartists to New Labour. LHASC holds the archives of the Labour Party and the Communist Party of Great Britain. In addition to housing the papers of political organizations, the LHASC collects the personal papers of radical politicians, writers and left wing organizations.

WorldCat

WorldCat is the Online Computer Library Center's (OCLC) database of over 50 million records of books and other materials held in thousands of academic, public, special and national libraries around the world. Use WorldCat to locate materials outside of Yale, in almost any area of study, or to locate items in specific libraries and research collections.

LIST & INDEX SOCIETY

List & Index Society. Lists and indexes. v.1- 1965- . London.

This series publishes lists and indexes from the Public Record Office (now part of the National Archives) and other British public archives.

The List and Index Society reference guide

Since their respective dates of original publication, numerous volumes produced by the List and Index Society have been found to contain many errors and omissions. This site attempts to supply a description of the contents of many of the List and Index Society volumes, but many are lacking full references to calendars and indexes that are included in any one volume. Consulting of the printed volumes may be preferable.

SML, Stacks X464 +L69L (v.1-212); v.213- have call numbers specific to each volume.
Volumes 1-212 are classed together in X464, but each volume does not have a separate author-title entry in the card catalog or in Orbis. For a complete list of titles in this series to v.212, see the card catalog under List & Index Society. [Lists and indexes]. For v.213- , a separate author-title entry does appear in Orbis for each volume, and each volume carries a unique call number reflective of the depository in which the collection is housed. Search Orbis for list & index society series as a title for a complete list of titles beginning with v.213. Selected volumes include:
v.9 State Papers Supplementary, Part I
v.19 State Papers Supplementary, Admiralty Papers, 1644-1673
v.22 Subject index and box list to Home Office papers, 1879-1900
v.23 Cabinet Office subject index of C.P. papers (Cabinet Memoranda), 1900-1909
v.28 Descriptive list of State Papers Supplementary (SP 46), Part III: Exchequer papers to 1603
v.30 Home Office registered papers
v.33 Descriptive list of State Papers Supplementary (SP 46), Private papers, sers.I, 1535-1705
v.66 Exchequer K.R. port books, 1701-1798; part II: south-east, south, and south-west coasts...
v.80 -----; part III: south-west and west coasts
v.118 State Papers Foreign: France (SP 78), 1723-1727. Descriptive list with index, 1714-1727
v.129 Descriptive list of State Papers supplemental (SP 46). Private papers, series II
v.139 State Papers Domestic, George I (SP 35)
v.143 Descriptive list of State Papers Domestic, supplementary (SP 46), part III
v.144 State Papers Domestic, George I (SP 35)
v.154 Descriptive list and index of State Papers Domestic, supplementary (SP 46); part IX: General papers, 1660-19th c.
v.155 State Papers Domestic, George I (SP 35). Typescript calendar. Part III, 1722-1725
v.165 -----. Part IV, 1725-1727 and supplementary material 1714-1725
v.172 British transport historical records. London & North Western Railway Co. (RAIL 410) and Midland Railway Co. (RAIL 491). Class list
v.173 State Papers Domestic, George I (SP 35)...
v.174 Principal probate registry, prerogative court of Canterbury, cause papers later series, 1783- 1858 (PROB 37)
v.177 Inland revenue estate duty registers and indexes (IR 26, 27), 1796-1894
v.188 State Papers Foreign: France (SP 78/185-200). List and index, 1727-1732
v.201 War Office regular army: soldiers documents 1760-1913 (WO 97)
v.203 Catalogue of colonial maps (C 700)
v.205 State Papers: France (SP 78/201), 1732-1738. Index
v.206-208 Index to railway correspondence (MT 6)

NATIONAL INVENTORY OF DOCUMENTARY SOURCES

National inventory of documentary sources in the United Kingdom [microform]. Teaneck, NJ: Chadwyck-Healey, [1984]- . In Progress [2,311 microfiche]

SML, Microform Fiche B2262

The collection includes the finding aids, indexes, registers, and catalogues to thousands of archive and manuscript collections in more than 120 libraries and record offices, museums and private collections throughout the U.K. and Ireland. The National Inventory of Documentary Sources (NIDS) is an ongoing program with new finding aids added all the time. It contains 14,000 unpublished and published finding aids, providing the largest possible source for information on archive and manuscript collections in Ireland and the U.K. Indexes provide access into the collection which is not arranged in order by archive, nor do all materials from the same archive appear on the same or contiguous microfiche.

Index: CD-ROM index to the national inventory of documentary sources
SML, Microform Room

National inventory of documentary sources in the United Kingdom & Ireland [microform] : The Public Record Office registers and indexes. Cambridge, England: Chadwyck-Healey, 1988.

SML, Microform Fiche B2262

This set reproduces the Public Record Office's Registers and Indexes of correspondence for the Foreign Office dealing with the Baltic States, Central Asia, Finland, Persia, Poland, and Russia.

• Index: CD-ROM index to the national inventory of documentary sources
  SML, Microform Room

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE (PRO)

Established by an Act of Parliament in 1838 in order to provide proper accommodation for the public records of Great Britain and to facilitate their free use, the Public Record Office is the official repository of original archival documents of the courts and of government departments spanning almost a thousand years. Throughout the nineteenth century and continuing to the present day, the work of preparing lists and calendars of historical records has progressed steadily. The Public Records Act of 1958 provided for the transfer of records from government departments to the Public Record Office after thirty years, while the Public Records Act of 1967 reduced the period that records are restricted from fifty to thirty years (Rodgers, Guide to British government publications (New York: Wilson, 1980.), pp.530-531).

In April 2003, the Public Record Office became part of the newly-formed National Archives.

The National Archives

Access The Catalogue, the online catalog of the National Archive's 9 million files.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE GUIDES

Great Britain. Public Record Office. Guide to the contents of the public record office. London: H.M.S.O., 1963-1969. 3v.

SML, Main Reference Room CD1043 A48 (LC)

v.1 Legal records, etc.; v.2 State Papers and Departmental Records; v.3 Documents transferred 1960-1966.

• New edition: -----. Current guide. London: Public Record Office, 1996. 27 microfiches.
  SML, Microform Room Fiche B3914
  
  

Thurston, Anne. Sources for colonial studies in the Public Record Office. London: HMSO, 1994- .

SML, Main Reference Room CD1043.3 T487 1995 (LC)

The Public Record Office issued a series of handbooks whose aim was to facilitate research in the Office's vast holdings. A complete list of titles in this series owned by Yale can be found by doing a title search in Orbis for public record office handbooks. Representative titles in the series include:

Great Britain. Public Record Office. The records of the Foreign Office. London: HMSO, 1969.
SML, Main Reference Room CD1051 A45 (LC)

Green, Judith A. English sheriffs to 1154. London: HMSO, 1990.
SML, Stacks HV979 G7X 1990 (LC)

Higgs, Edward. A clearer sense of the census: the Victorian censuses and historical research. London: HMSO, 1996.
SML, Stacks HA37 G7 H53 1996 (LC)

Land, Andrew. Development of the welfare state 1939-1951: a guide to documents in the Public Record Office. London: HMSO, 1992.
SML, Stacks HD7165 L35 1992 (LC)

The Second World War: a guide to documents in the Public Record Office. London: HMSO, 1972.
SML, Main Reference Room CD1043.3 C378 1993 (LC)

It also (since 1993) has issued a series of Readers' Guides which can be located by doing the title search in Orbis, public record office readers guide and pro readers guide.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE INDEXES

Great Britain. Public Record Office. Lists and indexes [of documents preserved in the Public Record Office]. no.1- 1892- . London: H.M.S.O. [55v.]

SML, Stacks By4 O97
Also: Andrews Study (scattered volumes) no.36 Colonial Office records (1911)

-----. -----. -----. Amended ed. New York: Kraus Reprint, 1963- . v.1-55.
SML, Stacks DA25 +L7 1963

"Calligraphic amendments incorporated from the master copy in the Search Room of the Public Record Office." Includes lists and indexes produced through 1878.
v.43 List of volumes of State Papers relating to Great Britain and Ireland, including the records of the Home Office from 1782 to 1837
v.52 List of Foreign Office records to 1878 (1963)

-----. -----. -----. Supplementary series. no.1- 1964- . New York: Kraus Reprint.
SML, Stacks DA25 +L7B

Includes lists and indexes produced after 1878.
v.8 List of War Office records (2v.)(1968-74)
v.10 Supplementary list of State Papers, domestic and foreign (1969)
v.13 List of Foreign Office records (29v.)(1964-85)

-----. -----. Public Record Office film catalogue. [London: 1970]
SML, Bibliography CD1042 A2 +G74 1970 (LC)

This list indicates which original material in the collection is available on microfilm. The catalogue follows the arrangement of the Guide to the contents of the Public Record Office

• Supplement -----. -----. Public Records [sic] Office microfilm catalogue. [London: 1983?]
  SML, Main Reference RoomCD1042 A2 +G74 1983A (LC)

National inventory of documentary sources in the United Kingdom & Ireland [microform] : The Public Record Office registers and indexes. Cambridge, England: Chadwyck-Healey, 1988.

SML, Microform Fiche B2262

This set reproduces the Public Record Office's Registers and Indexes of correspondence for the Foreign Office dealing with the Baltic States, Central Asia, Finland, Persia, Poland, and Russia.

• Index: CD-ROM index to the national inventory of documentary sources
  SML, Microform Room

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE MICROFILM HELD AT YALE

PROfiles 1964 on CD-ROM [computer file]. London: HMSO, 1995- . Computer laser optical disks plus 1 user guide.

SML, CD-ROM Center

This selection of PRO documents from 1964 includes: Set 1. Prime Minister's and Cabinet documents (disks 1-5); Set 2. Documents on external affairs (disks 5-8); Set 3. Cabinet committees and defence documents (disks 9-11); Set 4. Comprehensive index and library CD-ROM.

Microfilm of PRO record groups and classes that Yale has purchased directly from the Public Record Office is given uniform call numbers as film gb [record group][class number], e.g. film gb fo 17.

To locate this microfilm most efficiently, search by call number (Local) in Orbis. In Simple Search, type film gb [Public Record Office record group abbreviation], and Search In: Call Number(Local). For example:

film gb c Locates Court of Chancery material

film gb cab Locates Cabinet Office (CAB) material

film gb co Locates Colonial Office (CO) material

film gb fo Locates Foreign Office (FO) material

film gb ho Locates Home Office (HO) material

film gb pc Locates Privy Council (PC) material

film gb wo Locates War Office (WO) material

PRO microfilm that's been purchased as a set from a commercial microfilm publisher isn't as easy to identify, and it won't be classed using its record group and class number.

In Simple Search, try this search in Orbis:

[record group][class number], e.g. "fo 17" or fo17 and Search In: Keyword

In Advanced Search, try this search in Orbis:

Set More Limits to Medium=Microform

Then Search For: great britain public record office [all of these] and Search In: Author

Or Search For: great britain [name of department, e.g. foreign office] [all of these] and Search In: Author

Not everything Yale owns will be represented in Orbis, so to be thorough, you'll also need to look in the card catalog under Great Britain. Public Record Office and Great Britain. [name of the department, e.g. Foreign Office] as authors.

Some institutions' websites are helpful in identifying what Public Record Office microfilm they hold:

Stanford's Jonsson Library of Government Documents

Center for Research Libraries holdings on Great Britain

THE HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPTS COMMISSION

The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts is a standing commission first appointed in 1869. Its stated purpose is to inquire into the availability of papers and manuscripts in private hands that might be useful for the study of history, constitutional law, science, and general literature, and to bring them to the attention of scholars by the preparation of calendars and carefully edited texts. In April 2003, the Historical Manuscripts Commission became part of the newly-formed National Archives.

The National Archive official website

ARCHON, the database of archival resources, projects and initiatives.

Manorial Documents Register, maintained by HMC on behalf of the Master of the Rolls, records information on the whereabouts of manorial records excluding title deeds.

National Register of Archives,"... a computerised database of information on the nature and locations of manuscript sources for British history. ... information is taken from nearly 40,000 catalogues of manuscript collections as well as published guides to collections and from ... correspondence with owners and custodians of manuscripts." (NRA website)

Information sheets prepared by the staff of the Historical Manuscripts Commission to demonstrate how the National Register of Archives may be used to find sources for particular areas of historical research.

Accessions to repositories

The Historical Manuscripts Commission seeks each year to collect information relating to manuscript accessions from more than 250 repositories and record offices throughout the British Isles. This information is then made available at this website and published in a series of thematic digests which appear in a wide range of learned journals and newssheets. A full set of digests is available here, together with the textbases from which they were compiled, beginning with Accessions to Repositories for 1994. Earlier years, back to 1870, are reported in various printed lists and guides:

Great Britain. Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. Accessions to repositories and reports added to the National Register of Archives. London: H.M.S.O., 1972-1991. Annual.

SML, Stacks Xx91 G5 G49

All original source material added to British libraries is reported in this publication and its predecessors, back to 1954.

• Continues: -----. -----. List of accessions to repositories. London: H.M.S.O., 1968-1971. Annual.