Wirral Archives Research Service

Wirral Archives has established a Research Service for enquirers who cannot visit in person and also those who have visited the Archives but have run out of time to continue their research. The Service can pursue any family or local history research into the archives or library books held by Wirral Archives. The charge is £20 per hour, up to a maximum of five hours.

This page will provide the following information about the terms and conditions of the Research Service:

What research can be undertaken

The Research Service will carry out any kind of work using any of the archives and library books available in Wirral Archives Service.

The holdings of the Archives consist of:

• Local government records

• Records of the poor law and workhouses (including admission registers)

• School records (including admission registers)

• Court records

• Business records, including Cammell Laird shipbuilders and local solicitors

• Records of local clubs and societies

• Maps and plans

• Local newspapers

The most popular area of research is that of family history. The family history records which can be consulted by the Research Service include:

• Census returns, 1841-1911

• Electoral registers, mainly 1842-1900

• Street directories, 1834-1900

• Records of burials in municipal cemeteries

We also have access to the Ancestry website.

The Research Service can also do research on house history and local history, and can provide transcriptions of old handwriting and translations of Latin documents.

Copies of documents can be ordered, subject to copyright and the condition of the documents.

Wirral Archives does not hold parish registers or probate records – these are held at Cheshire Record Office. Records of civil registration (birth, marriage and death certificates) are held by the Superintendent Registrar for Wirral.

Please note that the Researcher cannot give legal opinions or advice.

Using the Research Service

To make use of the Research Service you should complete the Research Service Request Form, detailing your enquiry and how much time you wish to be spent on it. The researcher will work until either

• the enquiry is answered, or

• the time limit is reached.

Therefore the enquirer will not be presented with a large and unexpected charge for research.

Time spent on a brief (no longer than 15 minutes) assessment of the research proposal is free. This establishes whether the enquiry is something that we can deal with, i.e. that we have records which we can at least search (with of course no guarantee that the records contain the information required).

If you are unsure whether Wirral Archives Service holds the records in which you are interested you should contact the Service for further information before requesting a search.

The minimum charge for research is £20 per hour (or part of an hour) to be paid in advance. The Researcher will carry out a minimum of one hour’s research but you may request longer periods, in half-hour units at £10 per unit, to a maximum of five hours (£100).

Payment must be made at the time the Research Service Request Form is completed. The Researcher will undertake the searches you request in the time allowed, but we obviously cannot guarantee that any search will produce the information you require.

The time taken to write the report will be included in the time taken to do the research.

If the enquirer wishes to have further research (e.g. they live abroad and would like extensive family history research to be done) then a new enquiry is logged and they can pay for a further five hours of research. The new enquiry is, however, dealt with in date order, as usual, in order that large research enquiries do not displace smaller ones.

Searches will be carried out in the order in which the requests are received. However delays may occur at times when demands on the Research Service are high. The Archivist reserves the right not to undertake a search if the information supplied is insufficient or for any other reason, but if this is the case the enquirer will be informed and their payment refunded.

It is important that research instructions are as specific and clear as possible. Long and detailed accounts of background information can obscure the precise object of the search.

Receiving the Results of the Research

The results of the research will be sent in the form of a typed report. In some cases photocopies of entries may be supplied if this is the most appropriate way of presenting the results of the search. Where possible, advice on any further possible lines of enquiry will be provided.

Photocopying charges are additional. Payment for any photocopies, and if necessary, a completed Copyright Declaration Form, must be returned to Wirral Archives Service before the photocopies are posted to enquirers.

We regret that we are unable to e-mail digital reproductions at the present time.

The Research Service and Wirral Archives Service

The Research Service is an additional service provided by Wirral Archives Service and members of the public continue to be free to visit the Service personally and to conduct their own research free of charge.

Postal enquiries will be answered free of charge if they ask for general information on the holdings of the Archives or if they ask for advice about the use of archives for a particular area of research.

Enquiries asking for a search of one year in one cemetery burial register or one street in one census will be answered normally and the cost of a photocopy charged. All enquiries requiring detailed research will be referred to the Research Service.

Methods of Payment

Payments should be by cheque or postal order made payable to Wirral Council. Overseas payments should be made in pounds sterling by a cheque drawn on a London Clearing Bank, or by a banker’s draft made out in sterling and drawn on a London Clearing Agent (this can be arranged by local banks).

Payments can also be made by Debit or Credit Card over the telephone. All cards, except American Express, JCB and Diners Club, are accepted.

Payments in other currencies can only be accepted after consultation with Wirral Archives.