Bringing your family history and heritage together
updated Tuesday, 12th February 2019
News and Events...
The society aims to provide products, services and an inspirational and exciting programme of events and activities for members and visitors alike.
Latest news
NEW! Fourth Edition Berkshire Marriages CD Buy now
NEW PUBLICATIONS for Berkshire and elsewhere New CD Berkshire War Memorials, Second Edition See details
READING ROAD CLOSURES: 16th/17th February King's Road due to be closed both days at junction with the Watlington Street gyratory and the town centre. It means that car parking (and disabled bays) will be inaccessible for visitors to The Centre on Saturday. Some bus diversions and stop changes too - see Reading Buses website
EXTRA TALK DUE TO PUBLIC DEMAND The 'Heroes of Woodley Airfield' talk proved so popular that we couldn't squeeze everyone in! The society hosts another on Thursday, 4th April
COPY CERTIFICATES TO COST MORE The cost of buying a copy certificate from the GRO goes up on Saturday from £9.25 to £11 (PDF copies of register entries rise from £6 to £7. Buy any outstanding items you need NOW! Full details
Events at The Centre for Heritage and Family History
Highlights include:
- Regular afternoon talks with superb speakers, and a chance to meet old friends and to make new ones over a cup of tea and a slice of cake. 'Transport' is the theme of the current series and the next talks are on Thursday, 21st February and Saturday, 9th March. Book now
- Then the focus moves to 'Grand Houses' starting on Thursday, 11th April
- Courses and seminars The next Family History for Beginners course starts on Friday, 5th April. Places limited, so Book now
- Workshops Next workshop is on Wills — pre- and post-1858 (16th March)
- Heritage walks and visits See Reading in a new light on a Reading History walk (12th March)
Browse all events at The Centre
View current Events leaflet Opens as a PDF in a new window
Branch meetings and local events
The society runs six branches that meet monthly in Abingdon, Bracknell, Newbury, Reading, Windsor and Woodley. Discover what's happening at the Branch nearest you
Discover your ancestors at The Centre
The Centre for Heritage and Family History
Research Zone opening times:
Monday: 11.00 to 16.00
Tuesday: 10.30 to 16.00 and 18.45 to 21.00
Saturday: 10.30 to 14.30
and the Last Thursday each month from 10.30 to 16.00
The Centre for Heritage and Family History, (2nd Floor, Reading Central Library, Abbey Square, Reading, Berkshire RG1 3BQ) is in the heart of Reading — easy to reach and fully equipped for talks, events, meetings, courses, workshops.
In the Research Zone
WHEREVER your ancestors came from, research your family history in The Centre's Research Zone — with volunteers on hand to help. About The Centre
FREE access to:
FINDMYPAST — Search Berkshire Burials now
THE 1939 REGISTER — Key 20th century records
THE GENEALOGIST — data you may not find elsewhere
BRITISH NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE — search 30.3 million newspaper pages from 1700 onwards over 23,000 editions of seven Berkshire papers published from 1770 to 1958 among them
ANCESTRY — Search the WORLDWIDE edition
The society can help you in your research in many ways. There's plenty of helpful information on this website. Follow this link designed to help you to get started
Members' matters
NEW MEMBERS Have family anecdotes and stories made you determined to delve deeper into your family history? Find those ancestors — and JOIN THE SOCIETY
IN THE MEMBERS' AREA Something for your Scottish and Irish family history research. NEWLY ADDED — key websites to help in finding Scottish ancestors. There is a list of the best Irish websites for researchbest Irish websites in the Members' Area too.
Register for the Members' Area
Gift Memberships are still available - buy online or in person at The Centre for Heritage and Family History.
Follow @BerkshireFHS on TWITTER and link up with Berkshire Genealogy on FACEBOOK
More News and Resources
DNA testing See Debbie Kennett's guide in December's Who Do You Think You Are magazine For more about DNA in family history, visit the ISOGG wiki
New Archive Card from April with 41 participating archives and record offices — registration begins soon. Watch for details.
Irish Genealogy News Claire Santry's blog
The Great Irish Famine online access interactive maps with detailed information on the famine's impacts on 3,000 civil parishes and 1,600 towns across the island. More details
New York passenger arrivals 1820-1957 Ellis Island website
Reading Abbey explore the Abbey Ruins
Publications for Berkshire and elsewhere
There is a NEW War Memorials CD, and another NEW Berkshire Monumental Inscriptions Volume 3 CD Buy now
The work of the society's project volunteers has created numerous publications. The county-wide publications are very useful:
Berkshire Baptisms CD ◊ Content and coverage
NEW Fourth Edition Berkshire Marriages CD ◊ Places and dates
Berkshire Burials CD ◊ Content and coverage
Society members enjoy useful discounts when buying society publications and booking for events.
You can buy society publications (some for other counties too), at The Centre for Heritage and Family History or visit the online Bookshop
Volunteers are vital to the charity's success
With the society now firmly and successfully established at The Centre for Heritage and Family History in Reading's Abbey Quarter, it is easier than ever for you to make a difference in any number of ways — from key roles behind the scenes to friendly engagement with visitors at society events and activities.
Volunteering is fun, rewarding, and fulfilling. Give a little and you gain a lot — Get in touch
updated Tuesday, 12th February 2019
Update your browsers — Firefox (latest - 65.0), Opera (58.0.3135.53), Google Chrome (72.0.3626.x - dependent on device) or try Vivaldi (2.3.1440.41) with Qwant search engine. Pages may display imperfectly with outdated versions. Please, tell us if something isn't working. Website problem? Check here
