Local history society directory

Local history society directory

Find a local history organisation near you or to support your research project.

Local history resource directory

Local history resource directory

Explore our Resource Directory — a curated collection of archives, maps, publications, and specialist websites to support and inspire your local history research.

Become a member

Become a member

Join a national network of local historians and societies — with publications, support, increased visibility, and member benefits including discounts and dedicated insurance.

Quarterly publications

Quarterly publications

The Local Historian, our academic journal, was first produced in 1952 and is considered one of the foremost local history publications. It is published four times a year in conjunction with Local History News.

Our educational work

Our educational work

BALH aims to encourage interest and enthusiasm for local history amongst learners of all ages and to share and promote best practice, knowledge and skills.

Featured member society

Featured member society

BALH member societies may now add details of their work to our website, which will be highlighted here. Contact us for further details

Why BALH?

Nick Barratt Historian and Author

Where did your ancestors live?

It is impossible to trace the history of one’s family without considering where they lived. Local history societies and one-place study groups have researched and published content that will allow you to place the lives of your ancestors in the context of their local communities, villages, towns and cities as well as some of the key socio-economic factors that lay behind their development. They often use the same sources as family historians, and can help provide an alternative interpretation of a document or suggest new resources to help your research.

Nick Barratt, Historian and Author

Meet the team

Martin Watts  Trustee

Martin Watts

Martin began his career in the Merchant Navy, sparking a lifelong passion for history. He earned his BA (Hons) and PhD in Modern History through part-time study with the Open University. With over 30 years of university teaching experience, he has served as Senior Lecturer and Principal Research Fellow at Canterbury Christ Church University and continues as an Associate Lecturer with the Open University. Martin has authored two books and delivers engaging history talks across London and the Southeast. His expertise spans industrial, military, naval, and political history from the 18th to 20th centuries. More at talkabouthistory.org.

Martin Watts , Trustee

From our archives

The Amateur Historian Volume 7 Number 1 February 1966

English villages in the 18th and 19th centuries: a sociological approach Part II a survey of the main types of source material

Mills, Dennis

pp 7-13

This article follows on from (06 08 271-278), in which Mills discusses the sociological analysis of village communities. Here he reviews a wide range of sources, both primary and secondary, which allow the researcher to undertake analysis of this type. He divides the materials into documentary sources, statistical printed sources and general reference works: i) documentary sources: including tithe maps and apportionments; parish enclosure awards; estate records; land tax records; crop returns; census data; ii) statistical printed sources: including census data; poor law returns; county directories; early county histories; Ballot Act poll books; and iii) general printed sources such as published histories and reference works. The article includes a bibliography of relevant texts.

The Amateur Historian Volume 7 Number 1 February 1966

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