Research Room

The Research Room is a facility offered by the Society to both members and non-members, to enable them to make use of a wide range of research tools. It is located on the 1st floor of the Brighouse Library, Rydings Park, Brighouse. The room is staffed by Society volunteers. The volunteers have been fully trained on all the facilities offered, and are there to help you get the best out of the research tools available during your visit. Regretfully, they are unable to undertake research for you; please contact the Search Co-ordinator about searches from the records.

Research Room Co-ordinator Susan Clarke

The Research Room is open :-

Tuesdays - 1:30pm to 4:30pm

Thursdays - 10:00am to 1:00pm

The cost to use the Research Room facilities is only 50p for members and £1.00 for non-members.

For further information about the records held please contact:

E-mail Address: Research Room Co-ordinator

Research Room Telephone Number: 07952-211986 (during open hours only)

Research Tools Available

4 Dedicated Computers

4 Internet connections

3 Micro-fiche Readers

A wide range of library books.

Computer Aids.

Fully-indexed databases of Parish Registers (BMDs) for all 3 main Calderdale churches - St. John's, Halifax, St. Mary's, Elland & St Thomas, Heptonstall.

Fully-indexed database for the Halifax, Huddersfield and Bradford 1851 censuses, Sheffield 1861 & 1891 and Wakefield 1851.

Computer-based censuses for 1841 West Yorkshire and 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891 and 1901 Yorkshire.

Computer-based pre-1841 census information (Heads of Household only) for all available townships for 1801/11/21/31 & Sowerby for 1764.

Indexed database for US the 1870 and 1910 Censuses for UK born citizens.

Fully-indexed database for all Monumental Inscriptions published in our booklets - as of July 2007, that's 40 graveyards within Calderdale.

National Burial Index.

Crew Lists and Agreements.

1st. World War Dead.

Fully-indexed database of Yorkshire Strays

“Zoomable” & printable 1834/5 map of the whole of the old parish of Halifax, down to house by house detail.

The results of other individual pieces of research, donated to the Society.

Internet Connections.

FREE access on the internet to the De Luxe version of Ancestry.com including GRO BMD indexes & all UK & US Censuses.

Useful index document giving URLs of many helpful sites

Full connectivity, to browse the Internet at your leisure

Micro-fiche Information.

Parish Registers for all Calderdale C of E churches from opening up to the late 20^th century (marriages to 1837 only)

Yorkshire Strays

1841/51 Censuses for Todmorden (Heads of Household Only)

1851 Census for Hebden Bridge (indexed)

Other miscellaneous Census Information

Other useful fiche information

Library

Indexed Baptisms, Marriages and Burials for the 3rd main Calderdale church, St. Thomas's, Heptonstall, from 1559 to 1812.

Wide range of Books covering most aspects of Family History and Local Information.

Original Transcripts of the graveyards covered by our Monumental Inscription team.

In addition to all these, our full range of published booklets and CD's are available for sale.

Directions (Map)

Brighouse is approx. 4 miles to the east of Halifax, and the Library is in Rydings Park, which is 250yds. on the right up Halifax Road (A644) out of Brighouse.

Park on the main road, or up an unmade road on your left, just past the Rydings Park gates.

By foot, from Brighouse Bus Station.

Leave the western end (left) of the Bus Station

Cross the Dual Carriageway using the pedestrian underpass up the hill at the end of the Bus Station

Walk to your left to the roundabout at the bottom of Halifax Road (A644)

Turn up Halifax Road, on the pavement to the right, and walk 250 yards. up the hill.

The gates to Rydings Park are on the right, 20 yards before Lister St.