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Local and family history

We hold a wide range of information about the history of North Somerset.

All our libraries have access to free online resources such as Ancestry, Dictionary of National Biography, Times Digital Archive, Who's Who, and recommended websites on cyberLibrary for family history.

Your local library has a parish pack, which draws together information about the history of the local parish from maps, and books.

Local history collections at Clevedon, Nailsea, Portishead and Weston libraries have material including maps, photographs and parish records on microfiche. Our history books are all listed on our catalogue.

Weston library has the largest collection covering the history of the area in the North Somerset Studies library. There are also family history resources and sessions from the local family history society.

Archive materials related to the area are held in the Somerset Record Office. Our archivist visits libraries regularly from Taunton.

Heritage sites and ancient monuments records are held by our archaeology service.

Historical objects, paintings, photographs and illustrations are also held by our museum.

You will find local history societies and historians on our local organisations database Clearasmud.

If you make your family and local history enquiry by post or email, the first 15 minutes we spend on your enquiry is free. Further research is £10.50 per hour plus the cost of any copies and postage.

For more information contact Weston information library.