Many documents in the archive collections of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust contain valuable information, about people and places, which cannot be fully detailed in the catalogue entry. For several years, a team of volunteers has been entering the details from some of these sources into searchable databases.  More will be added as time permits.

Click on the list below for details, and to search individual databases.  Details of teaching resources developed to complement three of the databases are also shown below.

Cemetery Burials Register, 1881-1964

Police Charge Book, 1863-1880

Stratford Borough Workhouse, 1819-1834

Stratford Union Workhouse, 1884-1895 and 1903-1906

Smallpox Census, 1765

Please note that wildcard searches will not work on these databases, but entering three or four letters will retrieve all names containing them.

Teaching resources
A teaching pack, based on the police, workhouse and cemetery databases, has been prepared for KS2 children, particularly for those in Year 6 who may be studying the QCA History Unit 11 "What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?" or Unit 12 "How did life change in our locality in Victorian Times?".

Historical enquiry provides a real context for learning and makes strong links to other curriculum areas: ICT, Numeracy, PSHE, Citizenship, Literacy and Drama.

Copies of this pack can be obtained from the  or downloaded as two pdf files, one of text and another of associated images .

Supported by MLA West Midlands