Local History Menu
The Archives and Heritage Service in Birmingham Central Library holds an enormous range of collections and materials relating to Birmingham and West Midlands history as well as huge resources for family history research.
Local History
FAQs about Birmingham past and present
The history of different parts of Birmingham
Web sites for Birmingham's heritage
Maps held in Birmingham Central Library
Chronology of Birmingham 1883 - 1950
Lunchtime Local History Lectures
Pictorial History
Central Library Photographic Collections
Digital Birmingham Photo Archive
Community Histories
Irish History and Family History
The history of Chinese people in Birmingham, historical links between Birmingham and China, and a list of resources for further study in Birmingham Central Library.
Online History Resources
The Connecting Histories project website: www.connectinghistories.org.uk
"Lest we Forget" Online Exhibition- the history of Birmingham during World War 2
Nelson in the Bull Ring - Nelson's statue has been in the Bull Ring for 200 years. This exhibition commemorated and focused on the changes that have happened to the statue and its immediate landscape - the Bull Ring.
Digital Handsworth - This web site records the history of a large part of north Birmingham
Digital Ladywood - This website records the history of Attwood Green, Benmore, Five Ways, Ladywood, Lee Bank and Woodview
Contrasts in a Victorian City - These pages contain a range of material to study what it was like to live in Birmingham during the Victorian era.
Breaking the Chains - These pages marked the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
Sources for the study of the Slave Trade in Birmingham Central Library
J.R.R.Tolkien - Includes facts, pictures, opinions and links relating to one of our best known local authors.
Revolutionary Players - This web site explores aspects of the Industrial Revolution in the West Midlands
Birmingham or Brummagem? 144 different names which have been used throughout history.
The Murder of Mary Ashford - a case which made legal history.
Ancestry library edition is now available on computers in Birmingham Libraries.
Trace your family history using records from England, Scotland and Wales censuses from 1841 to 1901, birth, marriage and death records and UK parish and probate records.