The AHRC can help you find out if there’s a skeleton lurking in your family’s closet
With a new series of the BBC’s popular ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ programme back on our screens next week, and the AHRC is inviting amateur genealogists and local historians to access a free online historical archive. But it warns that you may just end up unearthing a skeleton or two.
The AHRC is the UK’s leading funder of academic research in the arts and humanities. It has recently funded The Old Bailey Online, an archive which it hopes will be of interest to people who are trying to research or trace their local or family histories.
The Old Bailey Online is a fully searchable edition of the proceedings of the Old Bailey Court House from 1674 - 1913. The archive gives genealogists and local historians the chance to investigate whether any of their ancestors ever appeared at the Old Bailey, either as a victim, because they were standing accused, or even if they had been summoned as a witness.
The AHRC-funded Old Bailey contains details over 197,745 criminal trials held at London’s most famous criminal court. It is the UK’s largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published and it is available to search online completely free of charge.
An AHRC spokesperson says, “The Old Bailey Online is of great value to many people, particularly to genealogists and family and local historians. It’s a chance to investigate a potentially very colourful side of your family history. Even if you can’t trace any of your ancestors, you can also search by names of towns and villages. Some of the cases make for incredibly interesting reading and offer a unique window to the past – particularly on a local level."
The website is fully searchable by key words including by names of towns and villages, and by personal details.
The new series of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ airs on BBC One on July 15 and features Big Brother presenter Davina McCall.
AHRC Media contact: Emi Spinner, Communications Officer, 0117 9876 770
Notes to Editors:
Arts & Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £102 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,350 postgraduate awards. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.