Local History Collection

 

 

 

 

Warrington Museum & Art Gallery holds an extensive collection of printed material relating to Warrington, its people and the surrounding area including:

  • Books
  • Pamphlets
  • Maps
  • Ephemera
  • Electoral registers /voters lists
  • Parish registers on microfilm
  • Local newspapers on microfilm
  • Census returns on microfilm
  • Local trade directories
  • Photos and other images

Searching the local history collection online

Over 25,000 items from the local history collection have been catalogued and are available in the online catalogue – Libonline https://libonline.livewirewarrington.co.uk/

When you have gone to the above link select the option “Heritage Hub”from the drop down box that reads “All Libraries”, this will allow you to search only the historic collections, excluding the current lending library stock.

A catalogue of our archive collections is also available online, for more details visit the Archives Collection section of this website.

Searching the Local History Collection in Person

All of our archives can be consulted in person by visiting the Museum Search Room. Staff will be available to assist you and to give advice on suitable records. Whilst it is not necessary to book an appointment, some items may have to be requested in advance, so it is advisable to contact the Search Room staff before your visit if you want to consult a specific document.

Images online

A small selection of items from our image collections is available online via the Warrington Digital Image Archive, to access a wider selection researchers should visit the Search Room here at the Museum.

http://www.warringtonmuseum.co.uk/local-history/wdia/

Other relevant Material

Warrington was originally in the historic county of Lancashire but was transferred to Cheshire following local government reorganisation in 1974, where it remained until it became a unitary authority in 1998. Consequently Local History material relating to Warrington and its surrounding villages may be held at the record offices for both Cheshire and Lancashire.

As well as Local History material, Warrington holds an extensive collection of hand-written manuscripts and archives. These items often compliment the Local History holdings and add extra detail to the stories they tell. The collections are inseparably linked and it is advised that researchers always consult both.