This is a selection of websites and resources that I use frequently. Some are subscription only, some are free to use, though you may need to register first.

FamilySearch – Free to use. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organisation operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

FreeUKGenealogy – Free to use. Free UK Genealogy, Incorporating FreeBMD, FreeCEN and FreeREG, provides free access to family history records. Working with a team of dedicated volunteers they are creating high-quality transcriptions of public records from governmental sources, parish churches, and other trusted institutions. 

General Register Office – Free to use. Official central source for ordering birth, marriage and death certificates for England and Wales from 1837 onwards. Certificates cost from £7 each.

Scotland’s People – Scotland’s birth, marriage and death records from 1855, Census returns 1841-1911, digitised records for all parishes pre-1855. Free to search, pay-to-view.

IrishGenealogy – Free to use. The home for the historic records of Births, Marriages and Deaths of the General Register Office for Ireland.

The British Newspaper Archives – Indexed and digitised newspapers for England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland from 1750 to recent day. Free to search, pay-to-view.

Newspapers – The largest online newspaper archive particularly useful for research in the US. Free to search, pay-to-view.

Internet Archive – Free to use. This is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more. I have found many parish registers on here by entering town names in the search box.

Ancestry – The world’s largest for-profit genealogy company. Free to search, pay-to-view. There is usually a 14 day free trial offer available. Take the research further with an Ancestry DNA kit!

FindMyPast – Find My Past hosts over 4 billion searchable records of census, directory and historical record information. Free to search, pay-to-view.