Ancestors lost in the crowd?
New to family history research?
Perhaps these articles on our website may help:
Census 1841 - 1911
Birth, Death and Marriage Registration
The London Gazette
Newspaper archives
Trade Directories
History of Brentwood
Brentwood, High Street and Town Hall 1895
Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.
Feature articles
Fog descends on Brentwood causing a tragic accident in which nine railway workers die. >>more
White's Directory of Essex 1848
BRENTWOOD, a small but improving market town and chapelry, in South Weald parish, has a station on the Eastern Counties Railway >>more.
White's Directory of Essex 1848 - list of inhabitants.
White's Directory of Essex 1863
White's Directory of Essex 1863 - list of inhabitants.
Post Office Directory of Essex 1874
Post Office Directory of Essex 1874 - list of inhabitants.
Brentwood Criminal Cases
Court cases involving Brentwood residents - ongoing project >>more.
Images and Maps
Images and maps of Brentwood supplied by Francis Frith.
My Brentwood Ancestors
Are your ancestors from Brentwood? Why not tell us their story: My Ancestors.
More local history sources
Ebay is now a great source for old images of Essex towns and villages. If you're looking for pictures to add to your family tree album, then try one of the auctions, or there are several 'Buy It Now' shops offering postcards which have been touched up and improved - so if you're unsure about bidding, try these. Link already formatted for Essex. Browse through or type the name of the location in the Ebay search box. >>
Also on Ebay are legal documents on vellum. This link is formatted for Essex. (Sometimes I think these should be in an archive.) >>
Books featuring Brentwood from Abebooks. Just click the logo. The search terms are already formatted for Brentwood.
Search for Brentwood census returns at ancestry.co.uk.
1841 England Census | 1851 England Census
| 1861 England Census
1871 England Census | 1881 England Census
| 1891 England Census
1901 England Census
The Essex Record Office: an excellent starting point for research. The ERO has an online catalogue by the name of SEAX and a database of Parish Records held in the ERO. Access to both via their home page.
Excellent detailed information on the history of Brentwood appears in the Victorian Counties History Volume 8 (1983) on the British History Online website.
Brentwood Council web site with pages on the history of Brentwood.
Brief archeological history of Brentwood on the Essex County Council's Unlocking Essex.
Web site for St Thomas' Church with a brief history of Brentwood.
1881 Ordnance Survey Map from the British History Online web site (Essex: 067, Ordnance Survey 1:10,560: Epoch 1.0).
Ordnance Survey - type the place name in the gazetteer search box to view detailed map of Brentwood.
Heritage Gateway. Database of national and local records of England's historic sites and buildings. Includes records and photographs of all listed buildings, and historical and archaeological information on locations throughout England.