Resources for Researchers
This page contains items that may be of use to anyone wishing to research
the history of churches, especially those in the Diocese of Southwell and
Nottingham, and links to sites of related interest. Here are listed:
Files that can be Downloaded
 Index
to Sir Stephen Glynne’s Notebooks (PDF) – Sir Stephen Glynne, Bart,
made notes about over 5000 churches as he travelled round the country in
the fifty years between 1824 and 1874. This file is an index of the Nottinghamshire
churches in his notebooks.
Archbishop
Herring Vistation Reports (PDF) – Thomas Herring, Archbishop of
York, conducted a visitation of the whole of his diocese in 1743, and reports
were made of the state of each church. This file is the reports for the churches
of Nottinghamshire.
Report of Bishop Ridding's visitation 1892 (PDF)
List
of Diocese of Lincoln Faculties (PDF) – Nottinghamshire formed
part of the Diocese of Lincoln from 1837 until the creation of the Diocese
of Southwell in 1884. This is a record of the faculties relating to Nottinghamshire
churches filed at Lincoln between those dates.
Southwell
Diocesan Magazine Index (MS Word Document) – The Diocesan Magazine
was published from 1889 to 1940. This file is a list of the contents. Copies
of the magazine itself are kept at the Nottinghamshire
Archives Office.
The Religious Census of 1851 (PDF) – This is the results for churches in Nottinghamshire of the nation-wide census taken in this year.
1428 subsidy (tax) of Henry VI (PDF) - This file has been extracted from Inquisitions and Assessments Relating to Feudal Aids, 1284-1431, Vol IV (London: HMSO 1906)
Nonarum Inquisitiones (PDF) - A taxation valuation for the year 1341. The text (in Latin) reveals the true valuation of a church in marks and explains why it may vary from the Pope Nicholas taxation of 1291. Sample translations by Michael Jones are available here.
List of errata in the books Church Bells of Nottinghamshire by George Dawson (RTF file, readable with MS Word)
Nottinghamshire Alabaster Monuments (MS Word document) - A list of all of these by Ray State, extracted from The Carved Alabaster of the East Midlands
Project briefing paper for researchers (June 2023 version) (PDF)
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Websites
On-line Documents, etc
British
History Online – A collection of many historical documents now
in a digital form
Connected Histories - Searchable database of British sitory source documents from 1500 to 1900
Medieval Source Material - A list of many medieval sources now available on-line
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) – Includes Listing Descriptions
of all listed buildings.
Historic England Photographic Archive
Historical
Directories – digital library of local and trade directories (compiled
as a project by the University
of Leicester)
The Antiquities
of Nottinghamshire – John Throsby’s 1790s edition of Robert
Thoroton’s
great work, now available on-line:
Volume
I – covers
Rushcliffe, Bingham and Newark Hundreds
Volume
II – covers the city of Nottingham, Sherwood Forest and Broxtowe
Hundred
Volume
III – covers Bassetlaw, Thurgaton and Lythe Hundreds
Volume
I (graphical) – Volume I is available separately in a different
form
A
History of Nottinghamshire (Cornelius Brown, 1896) – The
full text of this work now on-line
The
Churches of Nottinghamshire (J C Cox, 1912) – Available
on-line
The Nottinghamshire Bibliography Online - a single web-based means of access to all bibliographic sources for the history of the city of Nottingham and county of Nottinghamshire, including published books, journal articles and unpublished theses and ‘grey literature’
Old
churches of the Mansfield Deanery (H Walkerdine and A S Buxton,
1907) – Full text now on-line
Arms,
Armour and Alabaster around Nottingham - survey by George
Fellows (1909) now on-line
Military
Effigies in Nottinghamshire before the Black Death (Henry Lawrence, M.A. and T E Routh,
1924) - transcribed from Transactions of the Thoroton Society, 28
Nottinghamshire
Monumental Brasses (Joseph Bramley, 1913) -
transcribed from Transactions of the Thoroton Society, 17
Corpus
Of Romanesque Sculpture - A digital archive of British and Irish Romanesque
stone sculpture
Domesday Book - Now available online
The Taxatio (ecclesiastical taxation assessment of 1291-2) online database
Calendar of Patent Rolls (ie Grants of official positions, land, or commissions made by the
Crown and open to public view) - links to online volumes
Fine Rolls of Henry III - These detail offers of money to the king in return for concessions or favours.
Cause Papers 1300-1858 - A searchable catalogue of more than 14,000 cause papers relating to cases heard between 1300 and 1858 in the Church Courts of the diocese of York.
Collections of Historical Documents with On-line Catalogues
The sites in this section allow searching through the collection indices, but the documents themselves may not yet be available on-line
The National Archives Discovery online catalogue - holds more than 32 million descriptions of records held by The National Archives and more than 2,500 archives across the country.
Archives
Hub – Searchable database of archives held at many UK institutions
Lambeth
Palace Library – Important centre for Church of England resource
documents
University
of Nottingham Manuscripts Department, and particularly the Archdeaconry
Resources page
Nottinghamshire
Archives Office
The Borthwick Institute
of Historical Research - a part of the University
of York
Lincolnshire
Archives
More Specialised Resources and Areas of Interest
Stained Glass
Corpus
Vitrearum Medii Aevi – A research project including the archiving
of all English medieval stained glass.
The British Society of Master Glass Painters
The Stained
Glass Museum, based at Ely Cathedral
Organs
The National
Pipe Organ Register
The Nottingham
& District Society of Organists
The Institute of British Organ Building
Bells
Dove’s
Guide – An on-line version of the classic guide to bells in the
English-speaking world
The Central
Council of Church Bellringers (CCCB)- information about many bells and towers
The Southwell
and Nottingham Diocesan Guild of Bellringers, which is affiliated to
CCCB
Monuments and Memorials
Nottinghamshire
Family History Society
The Church Monuments Society
The Monumental Brass Society
Nottinghamshire Alabaster Monuments - Downloadable document by Ray State
Stonework
The British Geological Survey, Keyworth
Buildings
Researching
Historic Buildings in the British Isles - A guide on how to set about
the task
Looking
at Buildings – Site
helping the understanding of historic buildings, including religious buildings
Building
Conservation - Site with many items about conservation of old building,
and including a substantial directory of conservators
Churchcare -
Churchcare is about giving practical advice on looking after and using
church buildings, especially historic ones
West
Gallery Churches - A survey of those churches which have had, or indeed
still retain, a west gallery
Pictures
Picture
the Past - A large collection of historic photographs from Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire
Inspire Picture
Archive - A large collection of historic photographs from Nottinghamshire
Picture Nottingham - A large collection of historic photographs from Nottingham (and Nottinghamshire)
Plans
Incorporated Church Building Society records - Includes digitized versions of all church plans in Lambeth Palace
Library
Maps
Old
Ordnance Survey maps of Nottinghamshire
Clergy
The Clergy
Database - on-line database of all clergy in the Church of England
from 1540 to 1835
Crockford’s Clerical Directory - The current edition is available on-line,
though for a subscription
Genealogy and Registers
GEN-UKI -
UK and Ireland Genealogy. A page which includes much information of local historical
interest. The Nottinghamshire
page has other links relevant to Nottinghamshire history. Includes a gazetteer
of the towns and villages of Nottinghamshire, with the entry for each from White’s
Directory of Nottinghamshire (1853)
Local History
Nottinghamshire
History - Site with a range of information about the county’s history.
The site includes transcriptions of a number of significant historical
works
Lincs to the Past – Includes items held at Lincolnshire Archives
Office and various museums in Lincolnshire
Organizations connected to the Project or with related concerns
The Heritage
Lottery Fund, principal supporter of this project
The Diocese
of Southwell & Nottingham - Nottinghamshire (with a small portion of
South Yorkshire) - the area covered by the project
The University of Nottingham
The Church of England,
of which the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham forms a part
English
Heritage - The government department with the responsibility of caring
for ancient buildings, etc
The Thoroton
Society of Nottinghamshire - Local history society. The Transactions
of the Thoroton Society contain much important material
The British Archaeological Association
The Nottinghamshire
Local History Association. The Society’s regular publication The
Nottinghamshire Historian is a further resource
The lists of Nottingham
City libraries and Nottinghamshire County libraries
The National
Churches Trust (formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust) -
National charity supporting historic churches
Nottinghamshire
Historic Churches Trust - Locally-based charity to support historic churches
The Ecclesiastical
Architects & Surveyors Association (EASA)
The Society
for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB)
The Georgian
Group - society concerned with the preservation of Georgian architecture,
including churches from the period
The Victorian
Society - concerned with both Victorian and Edwardian buildings,
including churches
The
Ecclesiological Society - An organisation for those who love church buildings
The Churches
Conservation Trust - looking after historic church buildings,
especially those no longer used for regular worship
The Institute of Conservation (ICON)
- for the conservation of cultural heritage
The Arts Society (NADFAS) - One important
part of NADFAS’ work is the recording of artworks (of all categories)
located in churches
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