2024 Online Berkshire Heritage Fair

Saturday 24 Feb 2024
Organisers - Berkshire Family History Society & Berkshire Local History Association

  • Online, so location is no barrier to being able to attend
  • Session timings are pitched to allow as many people as possible from across the world to join in. Last time, participants joined us from the US, Canada and Australia - can we add even more countries this time?
  • The event uses Zoom breakout rooms, and each participating heritage organisation will have their own room
  • It's free and you can attend one or both sessions

Benefits of attending?

If you have an interest in historic Berkshire or some particular location within it, or one of its surrounding counties, you will almost certainly find this beneficial. You will be able to:

  • Connect with local experts about locations, businesses, industries or families of interest.
  • Ask questions and seek their advice.
  • Find out about the archives which many of these organisations hold (majority not online) and how you can access them.
  • Benefit from general and specific information, sources and images - many of which you may have previously been unaware.
  • Share information on your own family or heritage research with the participating organisations.
  • Gain advice and guidance on Berkshire-specific resources and sources.
  • Get help with your own family, local, military, transport or business history research - from getting started to breaking down brick walls.
  • Pop into our specialist rooms on topics such as local businesses and industries (including Huntley & Palmers, Sutton Seeds, and the Katesgrove Iron Works), Transport, Military, Wills & Probate and Parish Registers.
  • Build lasting connections with new contacts beyond this event
  • Find out how you can join and get involved with these organisations.

What 2022's visitors said

Liz
Read More
To all who organised the Fair today:- Thank you so much for all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that went into today's Fair. It was absolutely brilliant, I learned all sorts of things!
Lynne
Read More
What a great day yesterday and many thanks to you and everyone who helped organise the Heritage Day.
Stella
Read More
Many thanks to you and the others for organising this afternoon. I have so many leads to follow up now!
Eliza
Read More
Thank you so much for today, after talking to a few stalls, who were all very helpful, I have just found out the life of my ancestry
Maxine
Read More
Thank you so much for all your help! You have solved half of my questions in one sitting!
Rosalind (overseas visitor)
Read More
Thank you very much for offering to take a look at the will. I was really inspired after help in the Wills Room and tackled the daunting task of transcribing it. It all worked out extremely well. I hope everybody at Berkshire FHS fully realises what a success it was and how grateful people were/are!
Tina (overseas visitor)
Read More
Thank you to the Berkshire Family History Society and all those involved with the Berkshire Heritage Fair. A wonderful event, especially being delivered via Zoom, enabling distant members like me to participate.
Previous
Next

Participating organisations

New for 2024! Themed breakout rooms

In addition to the participating organisations and their dedicated rooms, we will be featuring some rooms that deal with particular themes within family history

Berkshire
Business, Industry
& Transport

Whether your ancestor was involved with one of Berkshire’s pre-eminent brands or acted as a sole trader, this room’s for you

Beginners & Breaking Down Brick Walls

Just getting started or reached an obstacle?  Come here for help

Military

 

No family is untouched by military service, especially with the 20th C. mass conscription of ordinary people into extraordinary conflicts

Parish Registers

The staple diet of all family historians, especially before Civil Registration started in 1837 in the UK

Wills, Probate & Maps

A veritable treasure chest of local, social and family history information