Research Tools
The Research Tools pages include examples of the documents available and offer suggestions to help you take your research further. Use the links below to jump to these pages, as well as general information about using the site. For list of DocumentsOnline's record collections, visit our About DocumentsOnline page.
Academic sources
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- Cabinet papers (CAB series)
Conclusions and Memoranda of meetings of the Cabinet from 1916 to 1978. Read more about the online collection of Cabinet papers.
- Private office papers of Sir Anthony Eden (FO 954)
Private office papers of Sir Anthony Eden, Earl of Avon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. This collection covers 1936 - 1938 and 1940 - 1945.
- Ancient Petitions (SC 8)
Ancient Petitions, Henry III - James I. Generally these petitions concern matters which could not be resolved at common law.
Domesday Book
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- Domesday Online (E 31/1 and 2)
Find out how to search Domesday Book in DocumentsOnline.
- Discover Domesday
Learn how the survey was carried out, how the findings were written up and how its legacy has been preserved for more than 900 years.
- World of Domesday
Find out about life in eleventh century England.
- Domesday Book and Taxation
There is still some debate about the exact purpose of Domesday Book and one theory suggests that Domesday might be the first written tax document.
Medal records
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Naval records
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Social history
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Wills and Death Duties
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- Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills (PROB 11)
Learn more about the wills from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, including the structure of wills, what they can reveal and where to find further information.
- Famous wills (PROB 1)
Background to the collection of 103 famous original wills, which includes those of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen.
- Death Duty Registers (IR 26)
Information about the registers which hold details of wills and bequests for estates liable to death duties. The collection on DocumentsOnline covers the "country court" registers, 1796 - 1811.
- Wills of Royal Naval Seamen, 1786 - 1882 (ADM 48)
Find out about the collection of Royal Naval seamen's wills.
- Sample wills
Examples of wills from the 14th to 19th centuries, illustrating the changing styles of handwriting.
- Currency converter
Use the National Archives online currency converter to get an idea of what amounts might be worth in today's money.
Women's records
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You will find women's records amongst the wills, the First World War medal card index, Poor Law correspondence and other collections but the specific women's records collections are:
WW1 resources
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WW2 resources
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Other useful resources
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- FeaturesOnline
Download selected articles from Ancestors magazine.
- UFO reports
Search for UFO reports by using the keyword 'UFO'.
- Digital Microfilm
Download selected Army and Navy records as part of our Digital Microfilm pilot project.
- Freedom of Information releases
Highlights of records released under Freedom of Information.
- Popular documents
These are some of the documents most frequently ordered by our visitors, ranging from Security Service files to Tithe Redemption Commission records.
- Jamestown Settlement 400th anniversary
Information about Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, and key documents.
- Sample images
Check that you have the correct settings to view pdf images by downloading Shakespeare's will or the medal card of Rt Hon HH Asquith.
- Glossary
Explanation of technical and archival terms that you might come across using this site.
