Sources for local topics

The Cumbria Archive Centres contain locally produced documents dating from the Middle Ages to the present day which can be used to illustrate a particular theme, enhance a topic, provide a local perspective on national events, and also introduce students to original documents. The material most often asked for by primary schools relates to the local area. The basic records listed below are available for most areas of Cumbria. 

• Ordnance Survey maps and other map sources
• trade directories and county histories
• parish records
• school records
• business, industry and farming records
• records of major landed families
• poor law, workhouse and public health records
• census records 
• photographs and illustrations
• newspapers

Literacy and Numeracy 

Local history sources, including trade directories, census returns and parish registers, can be used for the non-fiction requirements of Literacy Hour. Local history sources can also used for Numeracy Hour.