We are keen that people who live in Stratford and the surrounding villages realise that the Local Collections are concerned primarily with the history of the whole area, not solely with Shakespeare. The Local Collections have contributed a fortnightly article to the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald called ‘Living Archives’. These focus on recent additions to our collections, and contain information about local people and places which readers of the paper, both Stratfordians born and bred, and relative newcomers, might find interesting.

These pieces have generated a great deal of interest, frequently resulting in more information about the subject, or indeed, a further accession to our holdings from another source. Sometimes these relate directly to the subject of an article, but quite often the material has come in as the result of an ‘I didn’t realise you collected Stratford records, would you be interested in …?’ enquiry.

To view recent Local Collections articles please click on the links below. If you have any enquiries please contact us at

Remarkable response to appeal for photos

A lost Stratford house resurfaces

When the railway came to Stratford

The early days of football in Stratford

Modern technology opens up the past to us all

A family, linguistic and social history of Stratford all in one little book