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Berkshire Family History Society

We are pleased to be working in partnership with Berkshire Family History Society, which aims to meet the needs of those researching ancestors across the UK and even overseas, as well as in Berkshire.

Formed in 1975, Berkshire Family History Society aims to meet the needs of those researching ancestors across the UK and even overseas, as well as in Berkshire. It has around 2,000 current members worldwide and is the only family history society to cover the entire pre-1974 Royal County of Berkshire. Berkshire Family History Society is a Registered UK Charity No. 283010. From 2011, its trustees decided not to renew society membership of the Federation of Family History Societies.

The society's award-winning quarterly magazine links members at home and abroad. It is complemented by the members' discussion list and archive, and by the members' area of the website, which holds searchable back copies of the magazine and other data.

Berkshire Burial Index

Delve into the Berkshire Burial Index to discover your ancestor who was buried in Berkshire, England, between 1536 and 1991. These records can reveal a burial date and place and in some cases a cause of death. This collection includes records published in partnership with Berkshire Family History Society and the Family History Federation.

Search Berkshire Burial Index

Berkshire Baptisms Index

You can also discover more about your ancestors from Berkshire by delving into the Berkshire Baptisms Index, brought to you in partnership with both the Berkshire Family History Society and the Family History Federation. Some records may reveal interesting details such as the mother’s marital status and whether the child was an orphan or foundling.

Search Berkshire Baptisms Index

Berkshire Marriages Index

This record set comprises over 956,000 records from parishes across Berkshire and is available on Findmypast in partnership with the Berkshire Family History Society and the Family History Federation.

These records may reveal your relative’s age, marital status, and occupation, as well as possibly the names of witnesses to your ancestor’s marriage. Included in these records are those of John Lovelace, 3rd Baron Lovelace of Hurley, who married Martha Pye in 1662 and was involved in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Search Berkshire Marriages Index

Berkshire Probate Index

This collection of over 38,000 probate records for Berkshire helps you discover whether or not your ancestor’s probate papers have survived through the centuries. The index will give you details about the year of probate, the type of document surviving, and usually an ancestor’s occupation and residence.

Search Berkshire Probate Index

Further information

Monthly branch meetings and outreach events

Six meetings take place each month in Abingdon, Bracknell, Newbury, Reading, Windsor and Woodley (computer branch). Members and visitors enjoy a wide variety of speakers addressing topics likely to interest all researchers. Research advice is always available, and you have the opportunity to meet and talk with other family historians who share your interests. Society volunteers also deliver regular help and advice sessions at venues across the county.

Berkshire Record Office

Situated in Reading, this is where you will find the original records (including parish registers) of the pre-1974 county of Berkshire, including those of the Vale of the White Horse and Abingdon/North Berkshire areas. The society wishes to make clear that its transcriptions of parish records are published online with the prior permissions of parishes and of Berkshire Record Office. You will find more information at www.berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk

Berkshire Family History Society Research Centre

Next door to Berkshire Record Office, you will discover an unparalleled set of resources for your research. Use the PCs to access online resources, including findmypast.co.uk, and numerous CD/DVDs of data produced by the society and other organisations. Upstairs, the library holds over 7,000 items – just 20 per cent of which are Berkshire related. The rest of the material includes a wide range of items from other English counties, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, North America and the Antipodes.