About our holdings

Herefordshire Archive Service holds approximately 7,800 archive collections, occupying over 2 miles of shelving. Our archives date back to the 12th century, and can help you research practically any aspect of Herefordshire's past.

Please note that some collections are now held offsite and need to be requested in advance.  Please check on the Offsite Holdings page (see link on the left) to see if this includes a collection that you wish to consult.

Access to the records held by Herefordshire Archive Service is granted in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, Data Protection Act and the Environmental Information Regulations. There may be restricted access to certain records that we hold.

Summaries of our main classes of holdings are listed below:

• Diocesan
• Parish
• Local Government
• Private
• Public

The link in the Related Pages box will take you to the Hereford Reference Library page where you will find an indication of the types of records available in the City Reference Library, and also links to some other useful sites.

Other records of local interest may be held at The National Archives, a link is available to their website on the right.

If you have a query about a specific record or class or records, please contact Herefordshire Archive Service.

Diocesan

The Diocese of Hereford covers 356 parishes in Herefordshire, South Shropshire, and parts of Worcestershire, Monmouthshire and Powys. Since 1968, the records of the Diocese of Hereford have been stored at Herefordshire Record Office. These documents date from the 13th century onwards and cover a wide range of the Diocese's functions through to the present day. Latin was the preferred language of many of these documents until 1732.

Main groups of Diocesan documents:

• Bishop's registers, 1275-1992
• Bishop's transcripts, c. 1650-1850
• Court books (instance) 1491-1636, 1662-1829. Instance cases were those brought by one lay person against another.
• Court books (office), 1407-1639, 1662-1882. Office cases were brought by the church authorities against an individual (lay or clergy).
• Faculties
• Glebe terriers, c.1589-1636
• Marriage bonds and allegations for Hereford Diocese (commonly known as marriage licences), 1661-1982
• Tithe maps and apportionments, 1836-1850s
• Wills, pre-1858

Bishop's transcripts, court books, marriage bonds and allegations, tithe maps and apportionments, and wills are available on microfilm.

Back to top

Parish

Herefordshire Archive Service holds the parish registers and records of Church of England parishes within the County of Herefordshire, as well as those of several parishes outside the county: Old Radnor (Powys), Presteigne (Powys), Discoed (Powys), Dixton (Monmouthshire), and Wyesham (Monmouthshire).  Most churches have deposited their pre-1900 registers of baptisms, marriages, burials and banns, which are mainly made available to the public in microfilm format.  Parochial records can also include churchwardens' accounts, overseers' accounts, vestry minutes, records of settlement and bastardy, as well as a wide variety of other sorts of records.

Note - The following parishes have not yet deposited any of their records with Herefordshire Archive Service:

• Bosbury (registers available on microfilm)
• Brampton Bryan
• Donnington (deposited at Gloucestershire Record Office)
• Hereford St John the Baptist (deposited at Hereford Cathedral Archives)
• Tupsley (no registers) 

Shropshire Archives holds parochial records of Shropshire parishes within the Diocese of Hereford. Likewise the records of Worcestershire parishes from the Diocese of Hereford will be stored at Worcestershire Record Office.

Back to top

Local Government

The Archive Service keeps the historic records of Herefordshire Council, and its predecessors; Hereford City and Leominster Borough, as well as district and parish councils.  Records of pre-1889 county government are within Herefordshire Quarter Sessions (part of the public records collection).  School and Board of Guardians (workhouse) records, where they have survived, are also deposited as part of the local government collections; see the "School Records Available at Herefordshire Record Office" leaflet for details on school holdings. A copy of this leaflet is available on request.

Back to top

Private

Private deposits represent a significant portion of the Archive Service's holdings. These records relate to all aspects of the history and development of the geographical County of Herefordshire, and its inhabitants. Collections often include the archives of non-conformist ecclesiastical bodies, businesses, estates and manors, private individuals, and societies.

Back to top

Public

The National Archives has designated Herefordshire Record Office as a place of deposit for public records. In general terms, public records are those created by a central government department or predecessor to a modern department of state. In local government record offices, public records are likely to encompass legal & court records, health records, employment & social records, and finance and revenue records. Many of these record classes are exempted from the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and access to them is restricted under Data Protection legislation. However, permission from the relevant body can often be sought to allow access.

Main groups of public records:

• Church Commissioners records
• Coroners' records
• Constabulary records
• Drainage Board records
• Fishery Board records
• Hereford City Quarter Sessions
• Hereford City Petty Sessions
• Hereford County Quarter Sessions
• Hereford County Petty Sessions
• Hospitals and Health Authorities: 
  Hereford General Hospital; Hereford County and City Asylum; Herefordshire General Hospital; Kington Victoria Cottage Hospital; Leominster Cottage Hospital; Ross Cottage Hospital; Victoria Eye Cottage Hospital
• Inland Revenue: Finance Act 1911
• Inland Revenue: Land Tax
• Inland Revenue: District Valuation
• Lieutenancy papers
• Magistrates Court records

If you have a query about a specific record or class of record please contact Herefordshire Archive Service.

Back to top