Research Resources

Our aim is to build a web-based repository of research resources, including our own publications, and to provide a gateway to external information sources which will be useful to researchers within the Group.

• The Sussex Historian’s Handbook, compiled by John Farrant, et al., 2000: a wide-ranging bibliography covering the history of Sussex, and advice on how to conduct historical research. This is mostly collated from resource listings first published in the early 1980s.

• Lewes History bibliography
  A growing collection of annotated references to books, articles and manuscripts on various topics.

• Sussex Record Society bibliography of publications about Sussex
  Bibliography of books, pamphlets, digital media and journal articles about Sussex. Holdings at Sussex libraries or record offices are given, and direct access to online items. Summaries and published reviews added when available. Index can be searched by subject, place, people, publisher, society, author, and theses by University. It omits most government publications and internet-only articles.

• Sussex Archaeological Collections digitised volumes

• Sussex Past & Present: digitised volumes
  The Sussex Archaeological Society Newsletter, 2008 onwards

• Sussex Industrial History: digitised volumes
  Journal of the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society, 1970-2014

• Understanding Historical Documents: How to use and understand old records such as Deeds, Manorial Records, maps, etc. From Nottingham University Library.

• Library and Archive Resources: Local and national library and archival holdings and resources, including those for researching local and family history.

• Historical maps of Lewes
  • The Lewes Maps Project: a catalogue of locally accessible maps of Lewes from the 1600s onwards.
    
  • Historical Ordnance Survey and other maps of Lewes, online from the National Library of Scotland. Some are overlaid onto current maps.

• Lewes U3A Oral History Collection: A valuable and fascinating historical resource of taped interviews recording life in Lewes in the 20th Century.

• Lewes historic photo, postcard, and image collections

• Lewes Directory holdings: Chronological list of historical Lewes directories of people and businesses held at local libraries and archives.

• Historical Newspapers: Print holdings and online access to local and national newspapers, eg. British Newspaper Archive, Times Digital Archive, via Lewes Library.

• Researching House and Building History – specific resources: Information on the history of houses and buildings can be found in a large range of resources, including those listed above. More specific sources are listed here:
  • • The Keep: Tracing the History of a House
    • Colin and Judith Brent’s Lewes House Histories: Owners/occupiers of houses variously from C17 to 1910.
    • Local Authority Planning Application Records
      • 1882-1948: Lewes Borough Council Building Control Plans, and Interim Applications – at East Sussex Records Office.
      • 1948 onwards: Lewes District Council Planning search. Records from 1948, with more detailed records from 2006.
      • After 1 April 2012: South Downs National Park Authority.
    • Inland Revenue Valuation Office Survey: land value and ownership 1910-1915: First comprehensive national survey of all land and property ownership since the Domesday survey of 1086, organised to establish the rateable values of property for taxation purposes. Includes all buildings standing just before World War I, and is useful for researching the value, use or ownership of such properties in some detail.
    • Lewes Conservation Area Character Appraisal: records and defines its special architectural and historic interest. Malling Deanery Conservation Area Character Appraisal
    • Lewes Historic Character Assessment Report: Assessment of the archaeological, historical and historic urban character of Lewes.
    • Architectural styles: The Georgian Group, The Victorian Society (includes Edwardian)
    • Researching Historical Buildings in the British Isles: a guide by buildings historian Jean Manco.
  • Tracing Your House History: a book by Gill Blanchard. The National Archives bookshop lists many more books.

• Researching Family History – specific resources: Information on family history can be found in a large range of resources, including those listed above. More specific sources are listed here:
  • East Sussex Library and Archive Resources – includes Ancestry and Find My Past, which contain Census, BMD, military records, etc.
  • Sussex Family History Group website – useful collection of resources, not restricted to Sussex, and some available to non-members, such as handouts.
  • Lewes historic photo collections
  • Roll of Honour: information about men and women who died fighting for the United Kingdom. Names were taken from war memorials, and information added where possible. Lists for Lewes.

• Researching Lewes and the First World War – specific resources
  Information on individuals and Lewes’s role in WWI can be found in a large range of resources, including those listed above, and also on Google. More specific sources are listed here.

• Links to History Organisations in the local area