Ancestry

Exploring your personal family tree and ancestry in Nottinghamshire.

Find your family tree and ancestry in Nottinghamshire and discover genealogy roots that date back to the times of Robin Hood and maybe even the Roman period or our earlier prehistoric settlement. You'll also be able to research family connections and history at the time of the industrial revolution when changes to the landscape and the way of life brought large scale migration.

Nottinghamshire has seen its fair share of migration making it a rich destination for ancestry and genealogy. Perhaps most famously in the 17th Century when dissenting Puritans separated from the Anglican Church. One of the separatists, William Brewster, who grew up in Scrooby, north Nottinghamshire, sailed on The Mayflower to New England in North America in 1620, helping to shape the future of what became the United States.

Coming home to Nottinghamshire, whether to find generation after generation of ancestors or simply to make use of the wonderful resources to research your family tree, you'll be able to explore the many archives, libraries and museums looked after by Nottinghamshire County Council. 

Anyone who wants to find out more about Arnold and the surrounding areas should contact the Arnold Local History Group. As well as hosting numerous fascinating talks and lectures throughout the year, they usually exhibit at the annual Arnold Carnival. The group also run courses on the history of the area and researching your family tree.

You can do lots of family tree research using the resources that are available online of course, but ancestry is an intensely personal experience and to understand your genealogy and heritage fully you need to walk in your ancestors’ footsteps. Imagine yourself standing beside an ancestor’s grave or at the door of a home they knew.

Use these web pages to help plan your family tree research and start your own special ancestral journey of discovery.