How to Trace Your English & British Ancestry

A Free Step-by-Step Guide

London has been at the heart of English life for two thousand years, and the records to prove your family’s place in it are still there. This guide walks through exactly where they live and how to actually find them, step by step.

Inside the guide: the real archives, record types, and search order that actually work — plus a quick-start toolkit of free resources. Free, printable PDF.

What’s inside

• Step 1: Start With What You Know
• Step 2: General Register Office (GRO) Records — Civil Registration From 1837
• Step 3: Census Records (1841–1921)
• Step 4: Parish Registers Before 1837
• Step 5: The National Archives, Kew
• Step 6: London-Specific Records
• Step 7: DNA Testing to Break Through Brick Walls
• Step 8: Planning a Heritage Trip to London
• Free Resources: Your Quick-Start Toolkit