Loughborough Library's Local Studies collection is divided into 2 – the Local History Room upstairs, which contains information about towns and villages, and the Family History Area downstairs, which contains census and parish records, as well as local newspapers.

The Local Studies collections are accessible during normal library opening hours. If you wish to use the Local History Room upstairs, you will be asked to lock bags away for security reasons. Please note the room is only accessible by stairs - there is no lift. If you have problems using stairs, staff will be happy to bring items downstairs for you. If you would like to use either room, please ask at the counter when you arrive.

The primary focus is the history of the market town of Loughborough and its surrounding villages in Leicestershire. There is also some material on other counties in the East Midlands, in particular Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire as these are close to Loughborough.

The local history card catalogue holds references to books or articles on subjects which might interest you. There are 2 card catalogues, pre and post 1985. We are currently digitising these catalogues.

This card catalogue consists of all index material from 1985 onwards and can be searched by:

The old index card catalogue consists of all local history indexed up to 1985. It is not a comprehensive index and users are advised to check both indexes.

The old card catalogue contains the same type of information as the new card catalogue except that it is arranged in one alphabetical sequence.

Please ask staff for help in using the catalogues.

The far end wall of the Local History Room holds a large collection of books and pamphlets about Leicester, Leicestershire and the East Midlands. This is followed by town and village boxes, arranged alphabetically.

Books about Loughborough are located on the middle shelving opposite the back wall, along with books on Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

Loughborough, Leicestershire's premier market town has a long and fascinating history from the Domesday manor, through the Victorian industrial centre to the modern university town, and the library has a large photograph collection which reflects this. A book called Images of Loughborough illustrates the town's unique history through these photographs, some of which have never been published before. The pictures provide a nostalgic glimpse into Loughborough's past; some of these places are now gone forever.. Although the majority of the collection is of Loughborough, there are a few photographs of surrounding villages.

Visit Leicestershire Villages website to view a selection of photographs featured in this book on following subjects:

··About the Town , Hotels , Industrial , Parks , Public Buildings , Schools , Shop fronts , Bridges

··Churches and Chapels , Construction , Streets Scenes , Theatres and Cinemas

The Local History Room holds a large and varied collection of Ordnance Survey maps of Loughborough and surrounding villages for reference use only.

Historic maps were produced for various purposes. For instance, taxation, enclosure, estate surveys and so on. The information contained in these historic maps varies. For example, Tithe and Inclosure maps have information in accompanying explanatory text about the owners of particular property at a given date. Such information can be invaluable to any researcher doing history of a building or researching family history.

Under the Tithe Communications Act of 1836 parishes produced Tithe maps to establish how much money property owners should pay in lieu of tithes to the church. These maps are clearly marked to show buildings and may show names of fields. The text to accompany the map is usually referred to as an 'Apportionment' and will give details about the owners and occupiers of the land at that time.

Inclosure maps were produced for those parishes which enclosed their open fields in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The maps are carefully drawn to show new allotments of land, which are also described in written 'Inclosure Awards'.

The Lord of a Manor or the owner of a particular estate may have commissioned a survey to be carried out to record the extent of his lands, or to show alterations to the estate.

Council minutes can be a useful source of information on the development of a town or county over the period of time covered by the minutes. Topics covered in minutes are not indexed so you have to extract the information you require by browsing. Annual Reports, Accounts and Budgets statements outline the function and workings of the council over the previous year.

Borough of Loughborough minutes date back to 1893.
In 1974 the name of the Council changed to Charnwood Borough Council.
Accounts and Budgets are available from 1930 and Annual Reports from 1980.
County Council Minutes from 1947.
Budgets and Accounts for the county run from 1963/64 but they are incomplete.
County Council Annual Reports start from 1980.

Local newspapers are a valuable source of first hand information on a wide range of subjects. You can use historical newspapers to find information about cultural and leisure events, local businesses and industry, new buildings,the disposal of large estates, political news, births, deaths and marriages, local news, village history and buildings.

The oldest newspaper available on microfilm at Loughborough Library goes back to 1837. A full list of historical newspapers held by the library can be seen by accessing the link below.

Newspapers on microfilm are kept in cabinets C, D and E. Please ask a member of staff to unlock the cabinet and also for any assistance you may need to use the machines. We also recommend you contact the library in advance to book a reader.

Use our Online Reference Library to access NewsUK Online in the library or from home if you are looking for local articles from following newspapers:

Derby Evening Telegraph - coverage from 9th May 2007

Leicester Mercury - coverage from 22 January 1999

Northampton Chronicle and Echo - coverage from 5th October 2004

Nottingham Evening Post - coverage from 9th January 1999

To access Online Reference Library resources from Home:

The Local History collection has a selection of trade directories for Leicestershire and Rutland dating from 1836 to 1941.These can be found in Cabinet B.

These directories usually contain a potted history of villages and towns, together with details of churches, postal services and trades people. They list prominent inhabitants by surname, street or occupations but this is not a comprehensive source of information about people.

Leicestershire Online Historical Directories - http://www.historicaldirectories.org/

Census holding list on microfiche/film

Thefamily history collection includes censuses for the years 1841 - 1901 for Loughborough and some of the surrounding villages.

The first census was taken in 1801 and a census has been conducted at 10 year interval thereafter. However, it is only from 1841 that they give a complete list of inhabitants of every town and village. The earlier census records only show numbers of people and houses but not names. The returns are not available for public use until 100 full years have passed after the census was taken.

The censuses are on microfilm and fiche, and are kept in Cabinets A and C.

Use our Online Reference Library to access Ancestry Library Edition in the library if you are looking for census records from 1851 to 1901.

The library edition of a popular genealogy website known as Ancestry co.uk is now available on public computers in Leicestershire Libraries.For more information visit our news & events webpage.

Use our Online Reference Library to access Oxford DNB to do your social or family history research. It is a collection of biographies of 56,000 men and women from all walks of life who shaped British history worldwide, from the 4th century BC to the year 2004. It includes not just the 'great and the good', but people who have left a mark for any reason, good, bad, or unusual.

Here is a quick link to some of the Leicestershire people who have left a mark for any reason, good, bad, or unusual.

The electoral voters list is an annual list of people who either are of voting age or about to become so. The first Loughborough register, held in cabinets A and B, is for 1936; Shepshed registers start from 1974 and Charnwood from 1979. The collections ends with the 2001 register.

Legislative changes in 2002 mean that current registers are no longer made available to the library. To consult the current register please contact:
The Electoral Registration Office
Southfields
Southfields Road
Loughborough.
Tel: 01509 634612.

Online Local Studies Reference titles

You can access following online reference title to assist you with your family and local history research either from a public computer in the library or from home. To access these reference titles from home, you need a valid library card.

To access above Oxford Reference titles from Home:

For other titles in KnowUK Biographies subject category visit KnowUK Online or our Online Reference Library

To access above KnowUK Reference titles from Home: