Online resources

Wills database

Our holdings include around 35,000 wills of the ordinary people of Buckinghamshire. It wasn't just the rich who left wills; we also have wills left by labourers and butchers as well as yeomen and gentlemen. You can search for your family name and order copies online through our wills database. 

Register searches and copies

We hold registers for over 200 Church of England parishes in Buckinghamshire and many of the non-conformist chapels in the county. If you would like us to search a parish register for you, or you would like a print out from one of the microfilms of our registers, place an order using our online parish register service. Copies or searches are £5 each and will be provided only where precise name and date details are given.

Bombs over Bucks

Buckinghamshire's rural character didn't spare it from the attentions of the Luftwaffe during the Blitz. The county's proximity to London, and the presence of a number of airfields and other military targets,  ensured bombs fell here too. We have brought together reports from air raid wardens all over the county of all the damage in their area. German raids, flying bombs and friendly fire incidents from Allied planes practicing in the county are all included. Find out where the bombs fell.

Victorian prisoners

The Buckinghamshire Court of Quarter Sessions was responsible for trying all those prisoners arrested in the county except those accused of the most series crimes. Extensive records do not survive for all the prisoners, but in the 1870s we are lucky to have gaol receiving books and chaplain's character books. These books provide extra colour about those admitted to Aylesbury gaol, including photos of some inmates. The information from these volumes has been extracted and can be searched through our Victorian prisoners database.

Buckinghamshire historic photographs

Over 20,000 photographs from the collections held here and by the County Museum have been digitised and are available to browse via our historic photographs database. There is a collection of another 15,000 images of the south of the county online at www.buckscc.gov.uk/swop, including images donated by local people and from the Bucks Free Press.

Buckinghamshire trade directories

Trade directories were sources of reference published for Buckinghamshire from the late 18th Century until 1939. They contain information on the schools, churches and public institutions of a town, as well as the tradesmen living there. Our database of trade directories has extracted over 5,000 entries from volumes published between 1792 and 1832.

Archive of the month

This month, we look at the will of Charles Lynn, notorious in the first half of the 19th Century as the Whaddon Chase murderer. Lynn’s case caused a sensation in the county, not least because he escaped the death penalty for it. His will gives an interesting perspective on his time in prison.

Find out more about Archive of the month