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About us

Built by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust, this is the digital library of British historical sources for historians of Britain located worldwide seeking access to, and cross-searching of, an interconnected range of historical sources.

It provides a particular range and a unique configuration of historical sources whose availability and format will help to devise and develop new research strategies and methodologies.

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About us

Find out more about the constituent research centres who built British History Online.

• Centre for Metropolitan History
• History of Parliament Trust
• Victoria County History

The Centre for Metropolitan History was founded in 1988 a research centre within the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London. It promotes study of the history of London as an example of the type of dominant city that we know as the metropolis. It has recently established a section specifically concerned with comparative metropolitan history. Since its establishment, the CMH has obtained funding for some 28 research projects, typically of between one and three years in duration, largely supported by national funding agencies and grant-giving trusts. In the course of these research programmes the Centre has generated large quantities of data, much of it in electronic form, relating to the history of London from the eleventh to the twentieth century. The datasets contain, in all, more than 200,000 records, covering a wide range of periods and topics, and the Centre intends to make these available through British History Online. Details of the Centre’s past and current research projects can be found on its web site: http://www.history.ac.uk/cmh

The Victoria County History (VCH) is a unique, comprehensive, and authoritative work of English local history, arranged county by county, and based on rigorous original research. General volumes cover subjects such as the political, religious, economic, and educational history of each county as a whole, and topographical volumes contain detailed historical accounts of each town, village, and parish, arranged in a consistent format. To date about 230 volumes have been published; some county sets are complete, while others have only one or two volumes so far published. In 2003 work is progressing on 13 counties, and overall about four volumes are published each year. Many counties make their draft text available online before publication: more information and links to county websites can be found on the VCH’s main website, http://www.englandpast.net.

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