North Somerset Studies Library

The North Somerset Studies Library can be found in the Frederick Wood Room at Weston Library. It’s a separate reference collection for the history of our area. Visitors are welcome – bring your library card or proof of name and address. In the library you will find:

  • microfilms of newspapers - Weston Mercury from 1855 onwards, Weston gazette 1845 to 1951 and Clevedon Mercury 1863 to 1950 & 1972 to 2011. Booking a microfilm reader is advisable.
  • Directories – street, telephone and electoral registers
  • Maps – historical maps including street maps from the 19th century, enclosure, geological, tithe maps and Ordnance Survey sheets
  • Illustrations – the collection has thousands of photographs and postcards of local interest

The North Somerset Studies Library also has a public computer for access to local and family history research purposes. You can use this to access Ancestry and Know Your Place website which contain historic maps of North Somerset.

More information on historic buildings, sites and monuments, conservation areas, the local heritage list and heritage research can be found on our Heritage section

Other library resources

You can find books and articles on local and family history in all North Somerset libraries. A list of printed and published material in our catalogue can be found on the Libraries West website. This includes histories of individual parishes and towns. 

There are local history collections at libraries in Clevedon, Nailsea, Portishead and Weston-super-Mare. Material includes historic Ordnance Survey maps, photographs and parish records on microfiche. Each library also has a parish pack, which draws together information about the history of the local parish from maps and books.