Types and cost of research
Simple searches
We can do one search (up to 30 minutes) of one specific source we hold for a charge of £17.50 including VAT.
Where possible this will include a photocopy or print of the entry (please include your full postal address when you contact us so that we can post prints to you).
Specific sources which we can search include:
- General Register Office indexes of births, marriages and deaths
- Church records (which are not already online)
- Directories
- Electoral registers
- Probate records
- Court records
- Vehicle licensing records, and
- Maps.
Once we have received your request we aim to respond within 10 working days.
Complex research
For in-depth research, the charge is £35 per hour including VAT (or for part of an hour). The minimum booking is 1 hour and the maximum research we can do is 3 hours.
It includes:
- an experienced staff member to do your research and provide a report
- scans or digital images (where appropriate) for personal use
It does not include:
- licensing or reproduction fees for the use of digital copies in publications, online or in broadcasts
- any digital copies supplied are for personal use only and should not be shared on social media, otherwise reproduced or used with an A.I. application.
Complex research enquiries may take up to 20 working days. Searches are carried out in the order we receive them.
What can I do myself?
You can:
- Search online using our resources
- School records, industrial school records, private cemetery records, workhouse records, and prison records at findmypast
- Our cemetery records (fees apply)
- Manchester Guardian and the Times via our online reference library
- Anglican church registers for the Diocese of Manchester at Ancestry, and
- Rate books are now available from 1706 to 1901 on findmypast.
Free access to findmypast and Ancestry is available at any of our libraries.