About AHDS History's Collection
Introduction to AHDS History's Collection
AHDS History's collection brings together over 650 separate data collections transcribed, scanned or compiled from historical sources. The studies cover a wide range of historical topics, from the seventh century to the twentieth century. Although the primary focus of the collection is on the United Kingdom, it also includes a significant body of cross-national and international data collections. Examples of topics covered include: nineteenth and twentieth century statistics, manuscript census records, state finance data, demographic data, mortality data, community histories, electoral history and economic indicators.
Staff at AHDS History will be happy to answer any queries you may have about the collection.
AHDS History's Contemporary and Historical Census Collection (CHCC) improves access to individual-level demographic data from the manuscript census enumerator's books and two major collections of aggregate-level demographic data - the Great Britain Historical Database and the Database of Welsh Historical Statistics. CHCC allows users to order online subsets from the transcribed census enumerators' books of the 1881 census for England and Wales. CHCC also allows users to order specific tables from the Great Britain Historical Database and the Database of Welsh Historical Statistics. Currently access to CHCC is only available to members of the UK higher and further education community conducting not-for-profit research and/or teaching and learning.
In addition to CHCC, AHDS History holds an ever growing collection of transcriptions from nineteenth century census enumerators' books. These mainly cover particular geographic areas and for some areas cover two or more censuses.
These 115 digitised maps (available in either Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Acrobat PDF formats) cover the whole of England and Wales and are organised by Ordnance Survey Sheet number. The maps contain a scanned bitmap image of the Ordnance Survey one inch to one mile (1:63,360) New Popular Edition maps (1945-8) with National Grid and the boundaries of some 18,200 places. Also available is single digital map of the boundaries providing a single continuous coverage of polygons: GIS of the Ancient Parishes of England and Wales, 1500-1850. Currently Historic Parishes of England and Wales is only available to members of the UK higher and further education community conducting not-for-profit research and/or teaching and learning.
This digital resource comprises some 600 directories, covering every English county together with Wales, and ranging widely over the period 1750-1919. There is a particular focus on the 1850s, 1890s and 1910s, with at least one directory provided for each county in each of these decades. For further details of those studies that have yet to be released see our recent acquisitions.
AHDS History enriches and enhances selected data collections by developing thematic special collections where there is a critical mass of related data collections. Current topics are:
Developing AHDS History's Collection
AHDS History is funded by the AHRC and JISC therefore our first priority is to collect and preserve the digital outputs of projects funded by these two funding bodies. Details of AHRC funded projects that have deposited their data with AHDS History can be found on our list of AHRB/AHRC Panel 4 funded projects: Medieval and Modern History. However, AHDS History's remit is to collect, preserve and promote the electronic resources which result from research and teaching in history. We therefore accession data funded by other funding bodies such as the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, and the Leverhulme Trust. In addition if a resource is assessed as being particularly valuable to academic historians, and fits well into our current collection, we will accession data funded from other, including private, sources.
If you have created a resource which you would like AHDS History to preserve and disseminate please visit the depositing section of our website.
If you know of a resource which is not currently part of AHDS History's collection but which would be of value to the scholarly community please provide us with details of the resource. Further information can be found here.
![Part of map depicting national free trade lectures, shows and exhibitions, December 1910. [AHDS History Study Number: 4818]](../images/chart.jpg)