The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Local Collections welcome enquiries, especially from those who cannot visit the office themselves.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, fax, e-mail or letter but are dealt with in order of receipt.  
 
Our target is to reply within five working days of receipt of the enquiry.  
 
The amount of time spent on an enquiry is left to the discretion of staff who will do their best to be as helpful as possible. In particular, we are sympathetic to the needs of users who find it difficult to visit us. However, we would ask that initial enquiries are made as specific as possible.  
 
Although limited searching of unindexed material is done free of charge, we will ask you for a contribution towards our expenses if your request involves searches beyond what might reasonably be expected. You will be offered this service (at the rate of £15 an hour), if we feel, after initial investigation, that this would be worth your while.  
 
The research is undertaken by an experienced member of staff under the supervision of the Head of Local Collections. Their knowledge can help both inexperienced beginners and those family historians who have reached a dead end.

Source material we hold of particular interest to family historians includes: 

Parish and non-conformist registers for Stratford-upon-Avon 
Parish register transcripts for most of South Warwickshire and neighbouring parishes in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire 
Monumental inscriptions for the same area
Census returns 1841-1901 for Stratford and surrounding villages
International Genealogical Index for Warwickshire and neighbouring counties
Electoral registers
Trade directories
Local newspapers, with an index of obituaries, 1860-1917
Poor Law records
Records of the Stratford-upon-Avon Corporation
Estate and family archives