‘Millions more’ of Hampshire’s historic records now available for free online

The records will be available to Hampshire residents for free via public libraries and Winchester’s Record Office.

Prominent Hampshire residents featured in the collection include Florence Nightingale, Jane Austen and Thomas Lord.

Councillor Russell Oppenheimer, Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Countryside and Regulatory Services, said: ‘It’s fantastic news that millions more of Hampshire’s historical records are now available through the touch of a button.

‘This marks the latest batch of documents that are now online thanks to our partnership with Ancestry.’

Dating back to the 16th century, parish records are some of the longest running records available and are some of the best resources to use when tracing family roots.

Featured in the records are examples of prominent Hampshire residents:

*Florence Nightingale: a social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers. She died in August 1910 and is buried at St Margaret's Church in East Wellow, Hampshire.

*Jane Austen: the novelist famous for books such as Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. She was baptised in Steventon, Hampshire.

* Thomas Lord: a professional cricketer and the founder of the Lord's Cricket Ground. He was buried in 1832, in West Meon, Hampshire.

The records also contain quirkier insights into history including:

*Richard Hart who was buried in a coffin he had made himself out of wood from a Spanish Man-Of-War battleship 20 years before his death.

He kept the coffin in his room, drawn up to the ceiling on pulleys, and he had also painted funeral processions, skulls and other emblems of mortality in the room.

Kristian Lafferty, Content Acquisition Manager at Ancestry, added: ‘These records hold so much insight about the ancestors of people from Hampshire and will be a great tool in finding out more about the lives they lived.

‘These records give the opportunity for those who have roots in Hampshire to learn more about their ancestors, discover interesting stories and spot some prominent people from the region too.’

*Hampshire Record Office is the home of 1,000 years of history and comprises Hampshire Archives and Local Studies and Wessex Film and Sound Archive.

The award-winning landmark building was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1993. Collections are carefully housed in purpose-built accommodation with eight miles of shelving. Visit www.hants.gov.uk/archives for more details.