Local Studies: local history and genealogy
Discover the history of Swindon and its communities, trace your family tree, explore historic photographs, maps and newspapers, and get expert support with local and family history research.
Visit us
Location
Local Studies
Second floor
Swindon Central Library
Regent Circus
Swindon
SN1 1QG
Opening times
- Monday: by appointment only
- Tuesday: 10.00am to 4.00pm
- Wednesday: 10.00am to 4.00pm
- Saturday: 10.00am to 1.00pm
What you can access
The Local Studies team can assist with local history, family history, house history and photographic research enquiries.
Local Studies provides access to a comprehensive collection of printed and published materials relating to Swindon and the surrounding areas.
These include:
- books, ephemera, newsletters, magazines, reports, pamphlets, and scrapbooks
- genealogy resources such as the GRO, IGI, parish registers and bishops’ transcripts (from 1538)
- free access to Ancestry, the British Newspaper Archive, and Findmypast
- local magazines and school newsletters, including Link Magazine and Stratton Outlook
- local staff magazines, including Austin Rover, British Rail, Garrard, GWR, Pressed Steel, Wills Tobacco and Vickers
- complete local newspapers on microfilm, including the Swindon Evening Advertiser (from 1854) and the Football Pink (1929 to 1978)
- electoral rolls for Swindon and Thamesdown (from 1945) and poll books from 1705
- street, trade and telephone directories, including Kelly’s directories (1848 to 1939)
- works by local writers such as Ralph Bates, Richard Jefferies and Alfred Williams
- local maps, including early Ordnance Surveys, GOAD shopping maps, Soviet “Red Army” maps, geological maps, political maps and street maps
- recordings from local musicians on CD, cassette and vinyl
You can search the Local Studies collection through the main Swindon library catalogue.
The Swindon & District History Network
Local Studies established the Swindon & District History Network in 2010 and continues to host and chair the network, which connects archives, historians, local history groups, museums and heritage organisations from across Swindon and the surrounding area.
For more information email localstudies@swindon.gov.uk
Local studies photograph collection
Local Studies holds more than 250,000 photographs, postcards, plates, slides and negatives, from the 1840s onwards, creating the most extensive visual record of Swindon and its communities.
Our online Flickr gallery showcases more than 10,200 historic images from our collection and continues to grow. It is free to use and can be searched by name, date, place, street or keyword.
Contact us
Email: localstudies@swindon.gov.uk
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