While the greater part of what has already been written applies to the pedigree-hunter in London as well as elsewhere, he has naturally, as being located in the British metropolis, certain advantages which cannot be enjoyed in other localities.
The Record Office.—Though the Irish Record Office is invaluable to searchers in Ireland, the Record Office par excellence—that in London—is, of course, best adapted to English research, and has the custody of national documents of greater historical and antiquarian interest.
It is free to searchers. The pedigree-hunter, on his first visit there, will be pointed out two large Search Rooms, and will note with satisfaction their comfortable appearance—also the walls lined with bookshelves, all filled with indexes of various kinds.
By the help of some of these indexes he will probably discover particulars as to the title and date of the document he wishes to consult. If not, an application to one of the courteous officials in charge will most likely throw all necessary light on the subject. A docket will be given him to fill up containing the necessary particulars, and the document itself will follow with very little delay.
The pedigree-hunter may be asked if he has a ticket entitling him to search here. Such tickets have been rather lately introduced by the Record Office authorities; before that, no restriction was placed on a searcher, and this is almost a nominal one; he has merely to be recommended by a householder.
If the searcher cannot produce the necessary ticket, he will be given a form to fill up and get signed by the householder, which he will be requested to send to the Record Office before his next visit.
On receipt of this form, duly signed, a ticket entitling him to make researches there will be posted to him.
At the Record Office the pedigree-hunter will, of course, find most of the various classes of miscellaneous MSS. which have been mentioned as likely to be of greatest service to him. There, also, he might consult hundreds of indexes which would not help his particular object in the least, and he may indeed be bewildered by the vast stores of antiquarian information so lavishly offered to him.
A most useful book, which he will find on the shelves, is Scargill-Bird’s Guide to the Record Office. It enumerates the various classes of documents stored there.
But the searcher may still be in doubt as to his individual case. If so, and he, having looked up the various MSS. recommended, thinks additional information might be forthcoming, he should then consult one of the Record Office officials, stating the exact point on which he is anxious to obtain information; probably the required document will be in his hands a few minutes later.
The following classes of documents will be found the most generally useful to the genealogical searcher in the Record Office: The State Papers, Chancery and Exchequer Proceedings, The Parliamentary Surveys, Feet of Fines, Royalist Composition Papers, Patent and Close Rolls.
The Heralds’ College.—The fees payable at the Heralds’ College are not exorbitant, and, of course, stores of armorial and other genealogical information are preserved there. The London pedigree-hunter has the advantage here also; for though he cannot, as in the Record Office, search himself through all the requisite documents, yet if he applies in person at the Heralds’ College (this is called a personal search), the fee for information on a required point will be five shillings; if the inquiry is made by correspondence, ten shillings and sixpence.
The treasures of the Heralds’ Office are divided broadly into Records and Collections. A general Record search costs two guineas, and a search through Records and Collections five guineas.
Somerset House.—In this vast storehouse of documents the two classes which will most appeal to the genealogist are the collection of Wills and the general Registers.
Wills earlier than 1858 are found in the local Diocesan Registries, and are in a variety of places scattered over England. Formerly, if a person owned property in more than one diocese, his will would be proved in the Archbishop’s Court. So wills were proved in Canterbury Prerogative Court for all parts of England, and not merely locally. All these Canterbury Prerogative wills are at Somerset House. Some northern wills are at York for the same reason. But all wills since 1858 are deposited at Somerset House.
In the Registrar-General’s office there, registers have been kept regularly since 1837. The fees are not high. If, for instance, the pedigree-hunter wants to ascertain the date of a certain birth, the search through five years for one name costs five shillings.
To look up wills costs one shilling each, unless the searcher has a free literary docket; particulars as to these literary permits will be found in a later chapter.
The Middlesex Registry.—This Registry, situated in St. James’s Street, contains all documents (since 1708) which affect land in Middlesex.
Libraries.—The British Museum.—The London genealogist is also especially fortunate with regard to libraries. Foremost of all comes, of course, that at the British Museum. There not only is access to the Great Reading Room free by ticket (on the recommendation of a London householder), but the Newspaper Room and MSS. Department are also free, and both are very valuable to the genealogist. The latter is especially so, as it contains a store of manuscripts and Pedigrees, Herald’s Visitations, and numberless miscellaneous documents.
Lambeth Library.—This is situated in Lambeth Palace, and deserves to be more frequently visited by the genealogical student than it is at present, for it contains many ancient pedigrees and important manuscripts. Its contents are all old, and are divided into records and printed books. There are seven distinct series of manuscripts, bound in volumes—also very good indexes.
The pedigree-hunter will have the required volumes brought to him in the Great Hall erected by Juxon, now used as a Reading or Search Room.
Heralds Office Library.—There is a library of genealogical and armorial works and books bearing on such subjects at the Herald’s Office, Queen Victoria Street.
The Guildhall Library.—Another London Library, where printed books on genealogy can be had in abundance, is that of the Guildhall, which ranks in this way only second to the British Museum Library.