Nonconformism flourished in Newbury after the Reformation, with a proliferation of sects which split, merged and reshaped themselves over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Thomas Coram's Foundling Hospital opened in 1740 to care for babies abandoned in the streets of London. Many of them were sent to be nursed in Newbury, under a scheme organised through aristocratic patronage, middle-class networking and working-class philanthropy.
The Baptist faith was established in Berkshire by 1640, soon after its emergence from the Puritan movement.
Sources for tracing the history of a house may range widely over maps, pictures, censuses, old newspapers, directories and many more records to build up a holistic picture of a house, its occupants, owners and its place in the local community.
The life-story of Günter Stern/Joe Stirling, who came to Britain aged 14 in 1938 via Kindertransport, and became a prominent and much-loved figure in post-war Norwich.
The Cope Hall Colony was a social experiment which lasted from 1917 to 1919. Though short-lived, it had lasting influence on the probation service.
Our July talk, given by the popular speaker Mike Cooper, was entitled "Finding (Great) Grandad: Army Records for the Great War
Berkshire Family History Society works to meet the needs of those researching their ancestry across the UK and overseas – as well as those looking for former relatives in historic Berkshire. You do not need to be a member to benefit.
The society offers:
Research Zone in central Reading that is free to use and open to all
Free access at The Centre for Heritage and Family History to online resources like FindMyPast, the 1939 Register, The Genealogist, the British Newspaper Archive and Ancestry (the worldwide edition)
Regular free help and advice sessions
Meetings in Abingdon, Bracknell, Newbury, Reading and Windsor; and a virtual Computer Branch which meets online. All meetings are open to everyone
Community forum – informed answers to research queries and advice from experienced researchers
Members’ Area with data and other information not readily accessible elsewhere
Indexes and transcriptions of Berkshire’s historic records on CD — parish registers, probate documents, monumental inscriptions, maps, First World War history and more
Quarterly magazine, the Berkshire Family Historian, for members
a chance to join in project work, recording, transcribing and helping to preserve records
Links to the research experience, advice and support of members worldwide