Tracing the history of your family, your house or area?

Need information for your school or college project? 

Warrington Central Library houses a fine collection of documentary material relating to Warrington, its people and the surrounding area to help you in your research:

• Microfilm and fiche copies of local censuses 1841-1901, parish and other church records from 1598, local newspapers from 1853  
• Voters’ Lists from 1832  
• A large collection of manuscripts and archives  
• Historical maps showing the many changes in the town and surrounding area over the years  
• Photographs and other images  
• Local studies books and pamphlets  
• Free access to the internet         

The Searchroom is open during normal Library hours. Please click the following link for details, opening hours

Some printed material is on open access for browsing, while archives and manuscripts can be produced for you on request.

Staff will help you use our catalogues and indexes to find what you need.  A large proportion of our collections has been catalogued and is available for you to search online by clicking on the Local Studies and Archives tabs in the library catalogue.   

If you cannot make a personal visit please send your enquiry by letter (to the Local Studies Librarian at Warrington Library, Museum St, Warrington WA1 1JB) or by email to library@warrington.gov.uk, and we will do our best to help.

Microfilm and fiche readers should be booked in advance by telephoning 01925 442890 or by emailing library@warrington.gov.uk

Warrington was historically in the county of Lancashire, but was transferred to Cheshire in 1974 due to local government reorganisation, where it remained until it became a Unitary Authority in April 1998. Consequently much material relating to Warrington is held at the Record Offices for both Cheshire and Lancashire. Further information can be found on their websites:

• Cheshire Record Office
• Lancashire Record Office     

These websites also carry details of other websites useful for family and local history.

Further online resources include:

Ancestry.com - library edition is currently available free, on the public computers in all Warrington libraries.  Ancestry gives access to census returns for England and Wales, 1841 - 1901 plus birth, marriage and death records from 1837 - 2004.

The Album - Warrington's Past in Pictures
The Digital Image Archive project has been set up in order to improve access to the Museum and Library’s photographic and local historic image archive.  More pictures of Warrington can be found on Picture Cheshire and Mersey Gateway.

New to family history?  The following links will help you to begin your research:

• National Archives
• BBC
• Warrington Borough Council Registrars
• Online burial records and tracing a grave in Warrington

Please use the following links to find out about family history groups in the Warrington area.

• Family History Society of Cheshire 
• Liverpool and SW Lancs Family History Society     

A trip down Memory Lane

Are you interested in uncovering Culcheth’s past? Would you like to meet with others to discover more about local history?

A local history group now meets at Culcheth Library, Warrington Road, Culcheth on the 2nd Thursday of every month (except August) from 7 pm - 9 pm to share in the revelations of this lovely Cheshire village.

A full programme of meetings planned for the next few months is available from the library (01925 763293). Everyone is welcome so feel free to come along and join in.