Opening hours
| Day | Time |
|---|---|
| Mondays (except public/bank holidays) | 11:00 - 16:00 |
| Tuesdays | 11:00 - 16:00 |
| First and second Saturday of the month | 11:00 - 15:30 |
The Family Research Centre
A great space for society members and the public to use and to enjoy. It’s a lively meeting place and friendly focal point for everyone interested in heritage and history - including family, local and social history
- The best facilities for family history research in the Royal County.
- Access to millions of family history records, plus expert advice to interpret them and build your family tree.
- A lively and illuminating programme of in-person and online events, designed to inform and entertain.
Come on in!
No need to book, just turn up and ring the doorbell. We'll even put the kettle on!Research
Today’s researchers need to know how best to search for, organise and present information using digital sources and vital offline resources. The Centre is FREE to visit and informed advice and support are always at hand from society volunteers
Research Tools
Our spacious research zone has multiple public PCs with free access to:
- Ancestry worldwide
- Findmypast worldwide
- The Genealogist
- British Newspaper Archive
- The 1939 Register
- Extensive Reference Library
Berkshire Transcripton Data
- Berkshire Baptisms, Marriages and Burials — access county-wide datasets.
- Baptisms — Over 1 million records with more coming soon.
- Marriages — 170,000 transcriptions of individual marriages featuring 580,000 names (witnesses, fathers' details etc where recorded) from 172 parishes.
- Burials — over 900,000 entries from more than 270 Berkshire churchyards, cemeteries, crematoria and workhouses.
Berkshire Indexes, directories and collections
- Berkshire Strays Index, over 20,000 Berkshire people recorded out 0f county, including those in censuses from 1841 to 1901
- Berkshire Miscellaneous Index, over 100,000 names from assorted sources and individual submissions
- Local trade directories from 1830 onwards
- Parish register transcriptions
- Berkshire probate index — 1480-1857
- Berkshire overseers’ papers — 1601-1834
- Berkshire monumental inscriptions and war memorials
- National Burial Index third edition— a 'lucky dip' of over 18 million records from nearly 50 English and Welsh counties - but, sadly, not from all!
Reference Library
View our reference library in person or in the online catalogue. Some titles may be available for purchase in our shop
CD collection
The Centre holds a range of CDs offering data from other counties, and UK and international data too.
Microfiche
We also have over 5,000 microfiches offering data from the UK and Ireland.
View the catalogue here
For a small charge, The Centre offers black and white and colour A3 and A4 print/scan services.
Education
The Centre hosts a lively activities and events programme, aimed at widening researchers’ knowledge and deepening their understanding. Talks, walks, courses and workshops deliver updated perspectives and help place research findings into better historical context
Events Programme
July 2026
August 2026
Berkshire Family History Society
Family Research Centre
Ground Floor
L14 London Road Campus
London Road
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 5AQ
what3words ///melt.tinsel.love
We’re open for business from 15 Jun 2026
+44 (0) 118 950 9553
Visiting the Centre by Bus
Several Reading Buses services stop within a short walk of the Family Research Centre, here are the details for a couple of the main routes.
The University routes
- Catch the 21 or 21a from Stop EK (on Blagrave Street, near the station).
- Get off at Crown Place Passage.
- Continue a few metres in the direction the bus was traveling and turn left into Crown Place Passage.
- Follow the passage through the Acacia Road car park.
- The Family Research Centre is the last building on your left-hand side. The entrance is through the gates just before the building.
The Royal Berkshire Hospital routes
- Catch the 3, 9, or 19a/b/c from Stop SA (on Station Road).
- Get off at the Royal Berkshire Hospital (Main Entrance).
- From the hospital entrance, either cut through the hospital following signs for the audiology department before exiting onto Redlands Road, or, head toward the corner of Addington Road.
- Walk to the end of Addington Road and turn right onto Redlands Road.
- Cross at the zebra crossing; The Family Research Centre is approximately 200m along on your left-hand side, at the top of Acacia Road. It is the very first building on the right-hand side of Acacia Road, the entrance is through the gates at the far end of the building.
Visiting the Centre on Foot
The Centre is approximately 15 minutes’ walk from Reading town centre and about 20-25 minutes’ walk from the main railway station.
Use Google maps to plan your route, aiming for the Museum of English Rural Life (our next-door neighbour on the opposite side of Acacia Road) as the most convenient prominently signposted building.
Visiting the Centre by car
University of Reading (Acacia Road)
Use postcode RG1 5EX in your satnav
Visitors are welcome to park here, but must display a temporary permit to do so. These can be purchased from our Centre for a small charge from our reception when you arrive.
If Acacia Road is full, extra parking is available a short distance away in the main University car park for the London Road Campus. Collect your parking permit before leaving Acacia Road, as we will also give you a map showing where the car park is and the walking route back.
Street Parking (Redlands Road)
Limited paid parking (max. 2 hours). These spaces are in high demand due to the nearby Royal Berkshire Hospital, and are a more expensive option.
Public Car Parks
The closest multi-storey option is the Queens Road car park, which is approximately a 10-minute walk to the Family Research Centre.
There are SIX teams across historic Berkshire ...
… providing friendly help and advice, key resources and information for your family history research — wherever in the world your ancestors came from
Meetings
Meetings usually take place monthly (except July and August)
Come to a meeting, join in and chat with other family historians. You will meet researchers of all ages – and at all stages — from newcomers to family history to the more experienced. Everyone is welcome — you do not have to be a society member to attend.
Each meeting features a topic likely to be of relevance and interest to all researchers. Speakers are experts in their respective fields.
Some teams are online only while others use a hybrid of face-to-face and online according to the seasonAudience
This society and its Teams are not just about Berkshire.
The people you'll meet have research interests that range across the UK, even worldwide. Draw on their experience and advice, you'll be surprised at how much you can learn.
Drop-in advice sessions
Society volunteers run regular drop-in advice sessions at Wokingham and Bracknell
Details are given in the Events Programme
Collect your names. dates and questions, bring them with you, and get some friendly help and advice with your research and in breaking down those brickwalls - wherever your ancestors came from.
The society also hosts occasional open evenings at Royal Berkshire Archives in Reading, where you will find almost all of the surviving original records of the 'old' Royal County of Berkshire, including those for the parishes of the Vale of the White Horse, and Abingdon/North Berkshire.
Events and Open Days
Meet society volunteers at outreach events held throughout the year in Berkshire and central southern England. See calendar for details.
The society usually supports regional shows like The Family History Show and family history fairs, open days and workshops staged by local organisations and nearby county family history societies.
An extensive Berkshire Search facility (including the publications mentioned above) is usually available on a PC at most outreach events too.
At these events, you can usually buy CDs and other items from the growing range of society publications, including:
- indexes and transcriptions of original Berkshire Parish Registers
- an index to Berkshire's probate records
- full details, with photographs, of monumental inscriptions.
- historic maps
- directories
- electoral rolls
- calendarised Berkshire overseers’ papers
- Berkshire coroners’ reports
- Berkshire and the First World War
- Berkshire War Memorials.
If you have ancestors in the historic 'old' county of Berkshire, transcriptions in the three Berkshire Baptisms, Berkshire Marriages, and Berkshire Burials CDs (containing some 2 million names in total) are essential finding aids. These CDs include parish records in North Berkshire and the Vale of the White Horse too.
Meetings
When
Everyday Life & Fatal History in 16th Century Oxfordshire
Branches & Breakthroughs: Family History Discussion Group
Time
Doors open at 7.15pm
Parking
FREE parking adjacent to the Community Centre
Welcome
Non-members are welcome at meetings and events. A donation of £5 would be appreciated.
Agenda
- Most meetings feature a talk by a speaker who is a recognised authority on their subject
- Q&A.
- News items
- Refreshments
- General discussion
History
From Saxon times until 1974, the Royal County of Berkshire extended to the western edge of the city of Oxford, separated only by the River Thames. That river marked Berkshire's northern border and it is entirely fitting that Abingdon — Berkshire's principal settlement for so many years — continues to host the most northerly of Berkshire Family History Society's six local branches.
Other Activities
Abingdon Team members provide advice occasionally at local events in and around Abingdon and Wantage. You can bring your family history questions to these sessions and get some fresh ideas and answers on how you can move your research forward.
From time to time, similar events are held at other locations in the area.
Check the events calendar to find out where and when you can next seek advice on your family history research questions
Projects are a vital part of the work of the society. They are important in helping to preserve historic records and making information from those records accessible to a wider public. Without such project work, there would be few if any accurate indexes or transcripts accessible to for you as a family historian.
Examples of Abingdon Branch projects include the recording of memorial inscriptions in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, Drayton, near Abingdon, with the transcriptions published on a CD, available from the society.
Meeting Location:
Long Furlong Community Centre
Boulter Drive
Abingdon
OX14 1XP
GPS 51.687976, -1.278497
what3words: ///guilty.life.comic
Meetings
Calendar
Parking
FREE car parking next to the Community Centre
Agenda
- Most meetings feature a talk by a speaker who is a recognised authority on their subject
- Q&A.
- News items
- Short contributions from local members
Other Activities
Some members give talks to community groups, in return for a donation to help the work of the society.
To request a speaker, please use the Contact Box
Projects are a vital part of the work of the society, helping to preserve historic records and making information more accessible to a wider public. Without project work, there would be few if any accurate indexes or transcripts accessible to you.
Branch projects include recording memorial inscriptions in the churchyards of Ascot All Saints and Priory Road Burial Ground*, Crowthorne St John*, Wokingham All Saints*, Wokingham St Paul, Wokingham St Sebastian* and in Wokingham Free Church Burial Ground*.
Meeting Location:
The New Priestwood Community Centre
Priestwood Court Road
Bracknell
RG42 1TU
GPS 51.421300, -0.764280
what3words: ///care.truck.expand
Welcome
Non-members are welcome at Branch meetings and events. A donation of £5 would be appreciated.
Meetings
What
Welcome
Non-members are welcome at meetings and events. A donation of £5 would be appreciated.
Agenda
- Most meetings feature a talk by a speaker who is a recognised authority on their subject
- Q&A.
- News items
- Short contributions from local members
Other Activities
Some members give talks to community groups, in return for a donation to help the work of the society.
To request a speaker, please use the Contact Box
Projects are a vital part of the work of the society, helping to preserve historic records and making information more accessible to a wider public. Without project work, there would be few if any accurate indexes or transcripts accessible to you.
The Computer branch is working on producing a CD containing transcripts and images of the memorial inscriptions in the churchyard of Woodley St John.
Meeting Location:
Meetings
What
Time
Face-to-face meetings begin at 14:00, doors open 13:30
Zoom meetings begin at 19:30, doors usually open from 19:10
Parking
Ample provision around the museum, but payable
Welcome
Non-members are welcome at meetings and events. A donation of £5 would be appreciated.
Agenda
- Most meetings feature a talk by a speaker who is a recognised authority on their subject
- Q&A.
- News items
Other Activities
Team members provide regular help and advice sessions in locations across West Berkshire, including Newbury Library. See calendar for details.
The branch organises occasional trips to destinations such as The National Archives and county record offices.
Team Meeting Summaries
Catch up with what you missed or remind yourself what was said, with summaries of the Newbury branch meetings
West Berkshire Museum
The Wharf
Newbury
Berkshire RG14 5AS
GPS 51.40152 -1.32134
What3words ///eggs.kinks.softly
Meetings
What
Time
Doors open at 7.15pm
Parking
Ample FREE car parking on site
Agenda
- Variety of talks aimed at
- all interests and abilities
- newcomers to experienced researchers
- given by experts in their field.
- July - visit to a place of local historical interest or to a museum or archive collection.
- December meeting is usually 'home grown' - members share their own research, often on a linked theme.
- Meetings start with notices and general interest items before our speaker gives their talk.
- Afterwards there is time for questions and general discussion.
Other Activities
Members give talks to local Reading groups and organisations, or provide help at advice sessions and events in local libraries to encourage and help newcomers and experienced family historians alike in their family and local history research.
To request a speaker, please use the Contact Box
Projects are a vital part of the work of the society, helping to preserve historic records and making information more accessible to a wider public. Without project work, there would be few if any accurate indexes or transcripts accessible to you.
Team Members help transcribe original documents in the Royal Berkshire Archive, for eventual publication by the society.
Meeting Location:
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
280 The Meadway
Tilehurst
Reading
RG30 4PE
GPS 51.453332, -1.029597
what3words: ///soon.winter.simple
Welcome
Non-members are welcome at meetings and events. A donation of £5 would be appreciated.
Meetings
What
Time
Doors open at 7:15pm
Welcome
Non-members are welcome at meetings and events. A donation of £5 would be appreciated.
Meeting Location:
Windsor Branch meetings are held on line using Zoom.
Zoom meeting links are provided when you book.