British Ancestry

Understanding where you come from and what life was like for your ancestors and relatives has become a fascinating pastime for many people. Why not come and see if you have any ancestors or past connections in Britain? For anyone interested, there is a vast array of information available through libraries, museums, archives and parish registers to get you started.

One of the best and most spectacular venues to visit in pursuit of family history and roots is the British Library (blpc.bl.uk/) in London. Its collection of over 13 million books and 920,000 journals and titles is a great place to start your journey. And while you’re there don’t miss some of its greatest treasures including 200 beautiful and rare items from Magna Carta to the Gutenberg Bible to Shakespeare’s First Folio to artefacts from Mozart to the Beatles. 

This year sees the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in North American, Jamestown, Virginia. It’ll be marked with a series of events, starting this summer. London will be a focus of anniversary events as well as the counties of Kent, Suffolk and Lincolnshire where many other commemorations are being planned during the year.

For more information on Jamestown and ancestry travel, see: Begin your Adventure (www.beginyouradventure.co.uk/), VisitScotland ancestry (www.ancestralscotland.com) and Wales ancestry (www.homecomingwales.com).