Cambridgeshire History on your Computer: the Library on your Laptop.
Books and Monographs
The Cambridgeshire Collection is the major resource of printed material. I catalogued each book, pamphlet and periodical article acquired between 1855 and 1997 in a series of card indexes some of which form the basis of the Collection’s online catalogue. Despite its failings it remains the most comprehensive record of published information.
https://cambridgeshire.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/OPAC/BSEARCH
See my guide to Cambridgeshire Collection Catalogues and Indexes.
Cambridge University Library also includes much local material: www.lib.cam.ac.uk/newton/
Two published bibliographies are available online
Cambridge University Library also includes much local material: www.lib.cam.ac.uk/newton/
Two published bibliographies are available online
Robert Bowes - A catalogue of books printed at or relating to the University, town & county of Cambridge, from 1521 to 1893 : with bibliographical and biographical notes (1894) – digitised as part of the Internet Archive -www.archive.org/details/catcambridge00boweuoft
Digital Books
Once you have identified material you wish to see, then you need to visit the library to consult it. However many out of print items are being published in digital form and can be read on your computer at home
The Victoria County History is the main starting point for any research and may be read on the British History Online website - www.british-history.ac.uk.
County Directories list tradesmen at various dates: the Historical Directories website has many volumes for around the country - www.historicaldirectories.org
Google Book Search has digitised thousands of out-of-print books. You can search by any topic and download copies. I recommend this heartily. books.google.com
Internet Archive is a similar project good for
Cambridge titles. www.archive.org/index.php
. I have added a large amount of information https://archive.org/search.php?
query=creator%3A%22Mike%20Petty%22
The above websites are open to all, others are available through Cambridge University Library. These sites are listed in italics
Eighteenth Century Collections Online - many rare Cambridgeshire items – http://galegroup.com
House of Commons Parliamentary Papers – complete texts 1801 and 2000 including Charity and Agricultural Labour Gang reports – //parlipapers.chadwyck.co.uk/marketing/index.jsp.
Periodicals and Journals publish articles on millions of topics some of which can be read online
JSTOR is an archive of important scholarly journals – www.jstor.org/search/
British Periodicals - hundreds of article from 1600s – http://britishperiodicals.chadwyck.co.uk/home
Newspapers
Newspapers are the most comprehensive record of local life and times. The Cambridgeshire Collection has files from 1764 to date together with various indexes and newspaper cuttings from 1958.
See my guide to Cambridgeshire Newspapers and the Local Researcher and consult
Newsplan – //newsplan.liem.org.uk/index.
I have placed 4,000 pages of Cambridge stories from 1897 to 1989
at https://archive.org/details/LookingBack
CambridgeshireStories18971989ByMikePetty
Contact me for actual copies of the articles.
Most current newspapers can now be read online and some have digitised their old files
The Times digital archive 1785-1985 enables you to search and read stories. Their website - //times_digital_archive.htm is available via the Cambridgeshire Libraries website
British Newspaper Archive has digitised hundreds of titles, including several for Cambridgeshire – Cambridge Chronicle, Cambridge Independent Press and Cambridge Daily News. These can be searched for free, read for a fee or consulted via the Cambridgeshire Libraries website - http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
Overseas newspapers searchable online include
American newspapers, 1880-1910 - www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica
Australian papers 1803-1954 - Australian Newspapers Beta:– http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home
Maps
Ordnance Survey Maps. Ordnance Survey Maps. There are a number of sites offering access to early Ordnance Survey maps.
They include the National Library of Scotland http://maps.nls.uk/
British History Online - http://www.british-history.ac.uk/
The Cambridgeshire Collection has the largest selection of illustrations of Cambridgeshire. There are various indexes, part of one of which is available on the Collection’s website.
Cambridgeshire Explorer CD-ROMs of Cambridge and Cambridgeshire each contain over 1,000 images. I strongly recommend you buy these from Hugo Brown at http://www.cambridge-explorer.org.uk/
Cambridgeshire Community Archives Network is scanning local photos - www.ccan.co.uk/
Sites that include numerous historic images of Cambridgeshire include:
Illustrations
The British Library ‘Online Gallery’ for engravings - http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/index.html
Steve Bartrick Antique Prints - http://www.antiqueprints.com
Old-print. com features engravings from Illustrated London News - ‘old-print.com’
The Francis Frith Collection - www.francisfrith.com/search/
U.S. Historical Archive includes photographs of Cambridgeshire - http://www.ushistoricalarchive.com
Libraries/Digital_media/Picture_Norfolk/index.htm
Buildings and archaeology
Archives
State Papers Online, 1509-1714 is a searchable archive of 16th- and 17th-century documents with hundreds of Cambridgeshire items - http://galegroup.com
Cambridgeshire County Record Office is the major resource for non-published material - http://calm.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/CalmView/advanced.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog
Janus provides access to catalogues of archives held throughout Cambridge. - http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/
The National Archives index www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/ has many local items
Other Sources
Dictionary of National Biography, accessible via Cambridgeshire Libraries electronic sources gateway, can be searched by place as well as person
But remember – whatever you find online there is far more in the Cambridgeshire Collection
