English local and regional history has attracted widespread attention in
the last twenty-five to thirty years. Its study has expanded at
undergraduate and postgraduate levels in universities, polytechnics, and
at other institutions of higher education, and it has long retained its
popularity as a subject for adult education classes. In schools the
teaching of local history in its own right, and as an ingredient of
general history, environmental studies, and local and social studies, is
well established, and commonly involves the use of original sources. The
expansion of genealogical studies into the wider area of family history
has involved many individuals and groups in the investigation of the
local conditions, which existed where former generations lived and, in
this pursuit, increasing use of local records has been made. Many who
seek to involve themselves in this work, however, find that they are
ill-equipped in the knowledge of what sources exist, where they are to
be found, or what techniques are suitable in making the best use of
them.