Skip to Main Content

British History

This research guide points to resources relevant to British History.

Miscellaneous Primary Sources relating to the Early Modern period

Acts of the Parliament of Scotland

  • Law Library, Film 98; Law Library KDC78 1707 S36

Acts of the Privy Council, Colonial Series (1613-1783)

  • Law Library, Film 100 (2 reels)

Acts of the Privy Council of England, 1542-1628

  • Mic. 354.4204

Aldeburgh Corporation Letter Book, 1625-1663

  • Film 5293 (1 reel)

Ancient Correspondence, 1175-1538

  • Film 9168

Ancient Laws of Ireland, and The Statutes at Large

  • Film 9415 (6 volumes on 2 reels)

Aristocracy, the State, and the Local Community: From the Huntington Library

  • Film 9540
  • Printed guide: Doc Ref HT653.G7 H46 1986

Bacon, Anthony Papers of, Lambeth Palace Library

  • Film 5235 (9 reels)
  • Printed guide: MICR Z6616 B234 L34 1974

Ballard Collection, 1650-1750

  • Film 9638 (18 reels)
  • Printed guide: Z2018-B35-1982

Baxter Manuscripts

  • Film 4594 (7 reels)

Blenheim Papers

  • Film 9663 (62 reels)

Bodleian Library, Miscellaneous Manuscripts

  • Film 8817 (11 reels)

Boyle, Roger, 1st Earl of, Correspondence of, 1621-1679

  • Film 5121 (1 reel)

Braye Manuscripts from the House of Lords Record Office

  • Film 9341 (22 reels)
  • Printed guide: JN531-P37-1991

British Manuscripts Project

  • Film 4398
  • Printed guide: Z6620- G7-U5; LC1.2-B77
  • Alnwick MSS (138 reels)
  • Bath MSS (Papers of Coventry, Devereux, & Dudley) (70 reels)
  • British Library MSS (check guide) (709 reels)
  • Cambridge University Library MSS (876 reels)
  • Miscellaneous MSS (67 reels)
  • Bodleian Library MSS (check guide) (273 reels)
  • Public Record Office MSS (549 reels)

Calendar of Assize Records: Home Circuit Indictments, Elizabeth I and James I

  • KD370-C6-1985

Calendar of Assize Records, James I

  • KD370-G754-1975

Calendar of Assize Records: Kent Indictments

  • KD8235-C345-1989

Calendar of British Historical Manuscripts in the Office of the Secretary of State, Albany, NY, 1664-1776

  • CD3406-S8-A5-1968

Calendar of Documents Preserved in France, Illustrative of the History of Great Britain and Ireland

  • DA25- P2-C42

Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, 16 vols.

  • 262.82-G786e

Calendar of Letter-Books . . . Corporation of the City of London

  • 942.1 London

Calendar of Letters and State Papers . . . Archives of Simancas, 1558-1603

  • DA25-P1-C42

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Anne

  • DA25-F6
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Charles I
  • DA 25 P1 C29

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Charles II

  • DA25-P1-C32

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Commonwealth

  • DA25-P1-C3

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Edward VI

  • DA25-E3-1992

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Edward VI to James I

  • DA25-P1-C28

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Elizabeth I

  • Film 2910

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, James II

  • DA25-F4

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, William III and Mary II

  • DA25-F52

Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Edward VI

  • DA25-H7

Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Elizabeth I

  • DA25-P1-C4

Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Mary I

  • DA25-H8-1967

Calendar of State Papers, Charles I, 1625-1659, 4 vols.

  • DA25-G92-1979

Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, Henry VIII to Elizabeth I, 11 vols.

  • DA905-G72

Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, James I, 5 vols.

  • DA25-G9-1974
  • Film 9314 (2 reels)

Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, 1625-1670

  • DA905-G7

Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, James I

  • Film 9314

Calendar of State Papers, Scotland, 1547-1603, 13 vols.

  • DA25-P1-C27

Calendar of State Papers, Scotland, Henry VIII to Elizabeth I, 2 vols.

  • DA25-R32-1858

Calendar of State Papers, Spanish

  • DA 25 J1 C28

Calendar of State Papers, Venetian

  • DA25 P1 C5

Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts, 1515-1624

  • DA350-G7-C37

Calendar of the Charter Rolls, vol. 6: Henry VI to Henry VIII

  • DA25-D321; Mif 10.5, no. 67

Calendar of the Clarendon State Papers

  • CD 1069.09 (vols. 4 & 5 only)

Calendar of the Correspondence of Richard Baxter, 2 vols.

  • BX5207-B3-A4-1991

Calendar of the Inner Temple Records

  • KD504-I524, subbasement

Calendar of the Patent Rolls

  • DA25-C953

Calendar of the Proceedings of the Committee for the Advance of Money, 1642-1656

  • DA25-D36

Calendar of the Proceedings of the Committee for Compounding, 1643-1660, 5 vols.

  • DA23-C35-1643

Calendar of the Shrewsbury and Talbot Papers in Lambeth Palace Library and the College of Arms

  • DA30-G7-nos. 6-7

Calendar of Treasury Books, 1660-1718, 32 vols. in 63

  • DA25-T7

Calendar of Treasury Papers, 1556-1728, 6 vols.

  • DA25-J7-1868

Camden Society Publications

  • DA20-C17; DA20-C171

Committee for Compounding with Delinquents, 1643-1660, 5 vols.

  • DA23-C35-1643

Debates of the House of Commons from the Year 1667 to the Year 1694, 10 vols. [Grey's Debates]

  • 301 H60

Decisions of the Court of Session of Scotland

  • Film 729, reel 879:2 and 879:3; reel 762:4

Early English Books (to 1640)

  • Film 435
  • Printed guide: Z2002 P77 1926 (Pollard & Redgrave)

Early English Books (1640-1700)

  • Film 729
  • Printed guide: Z2002 W52 (Wing)

Early English Newspapers

  • Film NP 407 (2,115 reels)
  • Printed guide: PN5114-C68-1983; PN5114-E182-1992

Elizabethan Ireland and the Settlement of Ulster: Carew Papers, Lambeth Palace Library

  • Film 8116 (15 reels)

English Cartoons and Satirical Prints, 1320-1832

  • Film 9307 Prints (21 reels)
  • Film 9307 Catalogue (11 reels)

English Historical Documents

  • DA26 E55

Episcopal Registers

  • Film 9668 (111 reels)


From the Reformation to the Puritan Revolution: Papers of the York High Commission, c. 1560-1641

  • (14 reels) on order

Fulham Papers, Lambeth Palace (1626-1800; letters from Episcopalians in the American colonies to the Bishop of London)

  • Film 5155 (20 reels)
  • Printed guide: HUM BX5881 M26

Goldsmith's-Kress Library of Economic Literature

  • Film 4318
  • Printed guide: MICR Z7164 E2 G64, vol. 1 (through 1720)

Harleian Manuscripts

  • Film 9469 (211 reels)
  • Guide at beginning of each reel
  • First two reels have indices of persons, places, and subjects

Harleian Miscellany

  • 942 Harleian
  • Film 4318, no. 19563 (1 reel)
  • Catalogue of the Harleian Miscellany, Film 4318, no. 19757
  • Fontes Harleian: A Study of the Sources of the Harleian: Z6621-B85-H37

Historical Manuscripts Commission, Reports

  • DOC DA25 F50 G7

Journals of the House of Commons

  • Vol. 1 (1547-1629): Film 4416
  • Vols. 2 ff.: Subbasement DOC 301 J12

Journals of the House of Lords

  • Film 4149

Justice and Authority in England, c. 1540-c. 1800: Series 1, Cheshire

  • Film 9437 (61 reels)

King James I of England to King Christian IV of Denmark: Royal Correspondence, 1603-1625

  • on order

Lansdowne Manuscripts, British Library

  • Film 4174 (Part I; Lord Burghley's Papers)
  • Film 4175 (Part II; Sir Julius Caesar's Papers)
  • Film 4176 (Part III; from vols. 187-554)
  • Film 4399 (Part IV; from vols. 569-1036)
  • Film 9128 (Part V; from vols. 1050-1238)
  • Printed guide: DOC Z2017.5 P6 (Parts I-III)
  • Printed guide: MICR Z2018 P66 1980 (Parts IV-V)
  • Catalogue: Film 4318, no. 22291
  • Catalogue: Z6621-B85-L3 (oversize)

Lincoln Cathedral Library Music Collection, 17th-19th Centuries

  • 60 reels, chiefly music
  • Printed guide: Mus ML 136 L56 1985

London Gazette

  • Film NP407 (29 reels); reels 1135-1141 (1665-1700); reels 199-204 (1700-1709); reel 458 (1710-1712)

Making of Modern London: Repertories of the Court of Aldermen (Corporation of London Record Office), 1495-1692

  • Film 9393 (58 reels)
  • Printed guide: DA676-C68

Manuscript Papers of British Scientists, 1600-1940

  • Z6621-S4-M36-1982

Mary, Queen of Scots, Letters and Papers Relating to

  • Film 4596

Papers of the Christian Faith Society, Lambeth Palace (1642-1972; New World missionary work)

  • Film Music Library 8514M (11 reels)
  • Printed guide: MICR Z7817 C53

Parker Society Publications

  • 55 vols., BX5035-P2

Parliamentary History, Part 1: Manuscript Minutes, Committee Books & Voting Records of the House of Lords, 1620-c. 1714

  • Film 9341 (36 reels)
  • Printed guide: JN531-P37-1991
  • Part 2 (22 reels): See Braye Manuscripts

Parliamentary Returns, 1213-1874

  • Film 1002 (1 reel)
Portland Manuscripts
  • Film 5835 (16 reels)

Prior, Matthew, Papers of, 1685-1721

  • Film 5836 (10 reels)

Privy Council Registers, 1631-1637

  • Mic 354.4204

Privy Council Registers Preserved in the PRO

  • 12 vols. in 6 (facsimile), JN381-G7

Proceedings in the Court of Star Chamber

  • DA25-P1-L51, no. 4

Proceedings in the Parliaments of Elizabeth I, 1558-1581

  • JN525-P76-1981

Quaker Manuscripts Collection

  • Film 9119 (14 reels)

Ralph, James, The History of England During the Reigns of King William, Queen Anne, and George the First (copy of 1746 edition)

  • Film 9405 (1 reel)

Rawlinson Manuscript Collection, Bodleian

  • Film 9071 (142 reels)

Records of an English Village: Earls Colne, 1400-1750

  • Film MIF 775
  • Printed guide: MICR DA690 E1187 R42

Records of a Scottish Village, Lasswade, 1650-1750

  • Mif 1429
  • Printed guide: DA890-L38-R43-1982

Records of the Church of England During the Commonwealth Period (1643-1661)

  • Film 5157 (36 reels)

Registers of the Archbishops of Canterbury: 13th-17th Centuries, Lambeth Palace Library

  • Film 5156 (20 reels)

Register of the Scottish Privy Council

  • DOC DA757 S35, 1st Series

Renaissance Commonplace Books from the Huntington Library

  • Film 9424 (4 reels)
  • Printed guide: PN6245-R46-1994

Researching British Probates, 1354-1858

  • CS434-G7-E57-1992

Seymour Papers (Earls of Hertford & Dukes of Somerset)

  • Film 5327 (19 reels)

Shrewsbury Papers, Lambeth Palace Library

  • Film 5237 (8 reels)

Sir William Clarke Manuscripts, 1640-1664

  • Film 5912 (17 reels)
  • Printed guide: MICR Z2018 S57

Sloane Manuscripts (Papers of Sir Hans Sloane, 1660-1753)

  • Dirac Science Library, Film 9414 (17 reels)
  • Each reel has a guide
  • Indexed by Sci Q 125 S67 1991

Somers Tracts, 13 vols.

  • DA300-S685-1965

Star Chamber and English Society in the Reign of James I

  • Film 9446 (28 reels)
  • Reel 1 lists contents of all reels
  • Printed guide: Doc Ref Film 9446 Guide

State Papers: Calendars

  • Edward VI to Charles I: DA25 P1 C29
  • Commonwealth: DA25 P1 C3
  • Charles II: DA25 P1 C32
  • James II: DA25 F4 (vol. 1 is lost)
  • William III: DA25 F2
  • Anne: DA25 F6
  • Italy (Venetian Archives): DA25 P1 C5
  • Spanish: DA25 J1 C28
  • Ireland: DA905 G7 and G72
  • Carew Manuscripts (concerns Ireland, 1515-1624) DA350 G7 C37

State Papers, Domestic

  • 1547-1625
    • Film 5913 (209 reels)
  • 1625-1702
    • Film 8948 (552 reels)
  • Unpublished State Papers of the Civil War and Interregnum, Parts I-V
    • Printed guide: DOC Z2018 U56
    • Film 8112 (114 reels)
  • Queen Anne
    • Film 5162 (15 reels)
  • George I: Descriptive List
    • Film 9418 (2 reels)

State Papers, Foreign

  • Edward VI, Film 5309; Mary I, Film 5310; Elizabeth I, 5 vols., DOC 942.055 G7861
  • Uncalendared State Papers Foreign of Elizabeth I, 1592-1603, Film 9444 (31 reels)

State Papers, Negotiations Between England and Spain, 1485-1558

  • Film 2232
State Trials
  • Film 8117 (10 reels)

Statutes of the Realm

  • DOC KD129 G7 1236

Stuart Papers, Chiddingstone Castle, Kent (c. 1550-1900)

  • Film 4704 (3 reels)

Stuart Papers, Windsor Castle

  • DA814 A3 G5 1978 (1 vol.)

Talbot Papers

  • Film 4225 (9 reels)

Tanner Manuscripts, Bodleian

  • Film 5841 (85 reels)
  • Printed guide: REF Z6621 O942 1966 (in basement)

Thomason Tracts, British Library

  • Film 4257 (256 reels)
  • Printed guide: MICR Z2018 T46, 2 vols.

Thynne Papers

  • Film 5837 (62 reels)

Treasury Books

  • DOC DA25 T7

Unpublished Records of the Established Church of England, 1540-1720 (Lambeth Palace)

  • Film 9396 (12 reels)

Wentworth, Thomas, 1st Earl of Strafford, Papers of (Sheffield City Libraries)

  • Film 9395 (20 reels)
  • Printed guide: DA396-S8-C7-1994

Winchester College (Warden and Fellows' Library), 700-1600

  • Film 5325 (16 reels)

York Court of High Commission, c. 1560-1641

  • Film 9445 (14 reels)
  • Printed guide: Doc Ref DA170.B67
  • Index reproduced on reel 1
The Florida State University Libraries
FIND & BORROW | RESEARCH & PUBLISH | VISIT & STUDY | COLLECTIONS | ABOUT | HELP & SUPPORT

© 2022 Florida State University Libraries | 116 Honors Way | Tallahassee, FL 32306 | (850) 644-2706