Bromyard and District Local History Society Archives

The archive contains a large number of papers, documents and photographs relating to families, properties, trades, churches, schools, societies, public events etc mainly from the Society's priority area. This area covers the following 35 old parishes, townships or extra-parochial districts which were included in that covered by the old Bromyard Rural District Council:

Acton Beauchamp

Avenbury

Bishops Frome

Bredenbury

Brockhampton

Bromyard

Castle Frome

Collington

Cradley

Edvin Loach

Edwin Ralph

Evesbatch

Felton

Grendon Bishop

Grendon Warren

Hampton Charles

Linton

Little Cowarne

Moreton Jeffries

Much Cowarne

Norton

Ocle Pychard

Pencombe

Saltmarshe

Stanford Bishop

Stoke Lacy

Tedstone Delamere

Tedstone Wafre

Thornbury

Ullingswick

Upper Sapey

Wacton

Whitbourne

Winslow

Wolferlow

Over 16,000 entries relating to papers, documents & maps

Over 4,000 Photographs

Parish registers of baptisms, marriages & burials for all the parishes in the Society's priority area listed above and including Bromyard Civil Cemetery. Also included are registers for Bromyard Primitive Methodist and Wesleyan Chapels and Bromyard Independent Church [Congregational]. Marriage Notice Books. 1843 - 1948. These are impending marriages notified to the Bromyard Registry Office and include Non-Conformist & Catholic marriages

Monumental Inscriptions for the following parishes only: Acton Beauchamp, Bishops Frome, Bromyard [churchyard, cemetery and Congregational Chapel], Castle Frome, Edvin Loach, Fromes Hill, Grendon Bishop, Little Cowarne, Moreton Jeffries, Stanford Bishop, Tedstone Delamere, Tedstone Wafre, Upper Sapey & Wacton and Suckley in Worcs.

Census returns for the parishes in the Society's priority area listed above 1841 - 1901

Census indexes for Herefordshire, 1851, 1881, 1891 & 1901 & for Worcestershire 1881

The Bromyard newspapers: 1883 - 1969,1977 up to present time. Calendars [summaries of most of the more important reported events before 1970] have been made and are accessed by computer, see 'Finding Aids' below

Land Tax

Tithe maps and Apportionments [for parishes in Society's priority area listed above]

1886 25 inch OS Maps

1904 25 inch OS Maps

Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists Field Club from 1852 to date with indexes

In addition to the archive material held in the Society's collection an effort has been made in recent years to extend the scope of books on the locality. The book stock is arranged in three main guided categories - history and topography specifically related to the Society's priority parishes listed above, general books on aspects of Herefordshire but containing Bromyard area information together with specific books on adjacent towns such as Ledbury, Leominster and Hereford and lastly a much enlarged section entitled "Background and Self Help Books" which includes items invaluable to those undertaking both local and family history research

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The Bromyard and District Local History Society is based in Bromyard, Herefordshire, England, and was founded in 1966. It exists to foster interest, enjoyment, research and publication in the field of local history, family history and archaeology. It became a charity in 1995 with an educational remit in these fields

The Local History Centre at 5 Sherford Street, Bromyard is the headquarters of the Society. It is run entirely by volunteers and receives no income or current expenditure subsidy from the local authority local or any other external source. The building was purchased by the Society in 1999 and converted to its present use with assistance of grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund

The centre was opened for public use on May 1st 2003 and has been an overwhelming success and widely admired for the range of heritage services being provided on a voluntary basis under one roof.

The society has a website with further information at http://www.bromyardhistorysociety.org.uk/