Tracing your Ancestors using the UK Historical Timeline: A Guide for Family Historians

By Angela Smith and Neil Bertram

A practical handbook for family historians looking to verify dates and add historical context to their British ancestry.

Ancestral research can often lead to a foggy realm of the distant past where dates and details become muddled. For those interested in shedding light on their British family lineage, this volume offers a wealth of genealogical resources. Here you will discover what records are available and how far back they go. It also presents a handy timeline to historical events from 1066 to the present.

Created with the family historian in mind, each page presents historical facts of genealogical relevance alongside significant socio-cultural events. The timeline focuses on subjects such as migration, extreme weather, epidemics, famine, taxation, transport, the armed services, organized labor, political unrest, and scientific advances. Entries cover all four countries of the UK plus Ireland and the Channel Islands, as well as significant historical events in the wider world. Genealogically, it includes information on changes to BMD certificates and the associated register entries, as well as to censuses and the facts they collected, plus much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781399003339

Angela Smith

Angela Smith is a freelance writer/editor and Executive Director Emeritus of the Writers' League of Texas.

Book preview

Chapter One

1000s

1066

After his conquest of England, William the Conqueror (William I) re-distributed land, granting tracts across England to his Norman followers and also the church.

1067

William I issued the first charter to the City of London

Norman barons often adopted the name of their lands in England (and Normandy) as surnames.

1070s

The Bayeux Tapestry, the Gesta Guillelmi II Ducis Normannorum and the Historia Ecclesiastica, provide the names of 15 ‘proven companions’ of William the Conqueror at Hastings.

1086

The Doomsday Survey was collated. It was the earliest systematic survey of land ownership in England and gives details of land owners and the status of individual taxpayers. It is available online and in print.

1093

Norman settlement of Pembrokeshire

1096 (to 1099)

First Crusade

Chapter Two

1100s

1100s

The guild system began to develop as craftsmen sought to protect trade, set prices and offer apprenticeships.

Large numbers of farmers from the Low Countries settled in the area of The Wash, East Anglia.

1120

White Ship sank off Normandy coast with a loss of 300 including the only legitimate son of King Henry I of England.

1127

The first documented evidence for heraldry occured when Geoffrey Plantagenet was knighted. Thereafter the art of heraldry began to develop.

1130

A series of financial records kept by the Exchequer for the Crown known as Pipe Rolls were introduced. They record Exchequer payments and names of tenants.

Surnames began to be used more widely by landowners to assert their rights to hereditary property.

1139 (to 1149)

Civil War over succession rights between Stephen and Matilda. The period was later named The Anarchy by Victorian historians.

1144 (to 1149)

Second Crusade

1155

The weavers were granted a royal charter making them the oldest livery company in London.

1161–2

The Danegeld tax, first raised in 991 to pay off Viking raiders, was finally abolished.

1167

Oxford University began to grow swiftly. Names and place of birth of alumni have been published in printed form as well as online.

1170s

Anglo-Norman nobles were permitted to take lands in Ireland.

1185

Henry II ordered an enquiry into the assets and status of widows and wards in estates held directly of the Crown Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de XII Comitatibus (rolls concerning demesnes, boys and girls from 12 counties), published in book form.

The Templars similarly enquired into the extent and value of landed holdings in a number of English counties, of widows and recently-deceased tenants in chief in Rotuli de Dominabus which gives ages and number of children.

1187

The judgments pertaining to land ownership called Feet of Fines began, and are a source for surnames.

1188

The travels of Gerald of Wales, whose notes have been published, offer detailed observations on the Welsh landscape and life.

Saladin Tithe levied in England to provide funds for the Third Crusade.

1189 (to 1192)

Third Crusade

1194

Justices presided over legal cases in courts across England from the early 1100s but the earliest surviving Eyre Roll dates from 1194. (TNA)

1195 (to 1833)

Legal records survive from the late 12th century. Some have been published. These include the Curia Regis rolls which record the business of the court held before the king’s justiciars and the Assize Rolls which record dealings of courts at a local level. (TNA)

1198 (to 1292)

A list of feudal landholdings was made. Known as the Liber Feodorum, it is available online and in print.

1199 (to 1517)

Charter Rolls began recording royal grants issued by the Chancery. (TNA)

Chapter Three

1200s

Early 1200s

Manorial records recording administrative details of estates began. Their use is widespread by the end of the century.

1200s

The first monumental brasses are used in English churches to commemorate the dead.

1202

The Patent Rolls start which contain a record of royal correspondence (letters patent). They are a useful source for tracing individuals in the Middle Ages.

1204

Close Rolls began which recorded grants made by the monarch to individuals and groups. (TNA)

1209

Beginnings of Cambridge University. Names of alumni have been published.

1226 (to 1426)

Liberate Rolls began recording payments made by the Crown to various individuals associated with the (very large) royal household, such as stipends and pensions. The rolls offer particularly detailed information for the mid 13th century. (TNA)

c1240 (to 1660)

The earliest Inquisitions Post Mortem (escheats) date from this period. They are useful for tracing inheritance of property, family descents and alliances, especially between 1270 and 1350. Many IPMs have been published.

1244

The earliest surviving records of sessions of Crown pleas at the Tower of London overseen by Justices Itinerant. The translated records of this eyre are available

Reviews for Tracing your Ancestors using the UK Historical Timeline

[huberk-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

5 stars, Genealogical ResourceTRACING YOUR ANCESTORS USING THE UK HISTORICAL TIMELINEby Angela Smith & Neil BertramThis is a helpful genealogical resource, helpful for anyone interested in tracing their roots. As far as I can tell, every single family line that I've researched came through the UK, either living there for a few generations or using it as a stepping stone to get to the USA, eventually. You can trace your ancestors backward, from yourself and find where your family originated.The book has a timeline guide from 1066 to 2020, to help you track down those elusive ancestors. Highly recommend it. A wealth of information for a fledgling genealogist or an expert.Warmest thanks to #netgalley #penandsword #penandswordfamilyhistory for the complimentary copy of #tracingyourancestorsusingtheukhistoricaltimeline I was under no obligation to post a review.