The History Centre collections include a large amount of material relating to landed families and estates. The majority of the estate papers relate to property in the East Riding of Yorkshire, but many of the collections also include records relating to other parts of Yorkshire and further afield in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. There are also occasional records relating to land held abroad, particularly in France and the West Indies.
Documents found in these collections include:
- land records such as title deeds, rentals, leases, maps and plans
- administrative and financial records of the estates themselves such as ledgers, account books, files and correspondence
- family records such as wills, settlements, letters and diaries.
You can search for items in these collections on our online catalogue or using our interactive map.
For a very brief summary of the family and estate collections we hold, download our guide (567kb, PDF).
For more tips on using the collections for specific types of research, see our pages on family history, local history, social and women’s history, and political history.