Useful Local History Links
LCC, Lancashire County Council
Based at Bow Lane in Preston, not far from County Hall and a short walk from the railway station. The link to the left is to LANCAT, their archive search facility.
A selection of digital archives, including a vast assortment of photos of historical Lancashire.
Although not technically part of LCC, the Friends of Lancashire Archives is a charitable group dedicated to supporting Lancashire Archives.
A link to the Council’s library page, including details of access to online resources. Look after your library card as it accesses free online resources, some even from your home, including newspaper archives and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, offering an option to sign in for free using your library card number.
A link to the Council’s museums area of their Leisure & Culture section.
Archaeology Links
Amateur archaeology group covering Wyre, Fylde, and beyond.
A link to the YouTube channel for Oxford Archaeology, including 2 seminars on the dig by Oxford Archaeology North at Windy Harbour.
The Archaeology Data Service describes itself as: “The digital repository for archaeology and heritage – Supporting access, innovation, and research“, but its search facility is a little hard to navigate.
Other History Links
The Lancashire Local History Federation is the umbrella organisation for local history societies in the county.
Home Page of the Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire, founded in 1848.
Digital Resources page of the National Library of Scotland, with a link to their Maps webpage which has a vast number of digitised old Ordnance Survey Maps.
Fleetwood’s local museum for everything about our neighbour Fleetwood, like its inception in the 1830s and the history of Fishermen’s Friend.
Preston’s Harris Museum re-opened in 2025 after a major refurbishment which has put new life into its displays and resources.
Lytham Hall was once the home of the Clifton family, until the estate was sold to Guardian Assurance. It is now part of the Historic Houses Association.
A search index for Anglican Clergy appointments between 1540 and 1835, valuable for those looking into early members of the clergy, giving university details where known.
Friends of Real Lancashire is a group invested in promoting the roots of Lancashire before administrative changes.
Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more. Available downloads include Whitaker (1823), Baines (1824-5), Thornber (1837), Porter (1876), & Fishwick (1885), and many more.
Family History Links (non-profit groups)
The Main Site for the Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society
The Fylde Branch of the Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society
Home Page for the On-Line Parish Clerks project for the County of Lancashire
Links to Local Events
Links to Local Events
An events listing for the County, courtesy of Visit Lancashire.
Current events being held in the Fylde Coast, courtesy of Visit Fylde Coast.
Another events listing for the Fylde, courtesy of Discover Fylde.
The Fylde on Video
- The British Film Institute promotes a wide variety of filmmaking, both professional and amateur.
- It’s dedicated archive division protects filmed material originating from several sources and over 130 years, allowing it to be seen by all.
- Within its website it has set up a subsite dedicated to these archives.
- It launched BFI Replay to selected public libraries from 2022, allowing free access to many of its archives.
- Blackpool Central Library is listed as a provider, but Lancashire County Council is not currently on their list of library providers.
- The launch of the BFI Replay site means that several archive videos can now be seen from any computer.
- BFI Replay can now be accessed via https://replay.bfi.org.uk/.
- There is a map filtering archive video, although at present none of the Fylde ones go as far inland as Poulton-le-Fylde.
- BFI works with several partners including the North West Film Archive, whose website is: – https://www.mmu.ac.uk/north-west-film-archive.
- If you enjoy watching historical video, check out the above links.
Finally, here is a little puzzle. How well you can identify Poulton as seen from the air in 1932? This Historic England Aerial view of Poulton is part of a rare archive of aerial photographs from that period across the country.
