British History

BORIS Catalogue:   English

The following is a selective list of reference tools available for the study of British History. BORIS, the library’s OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) is the main source for finding material in the Library. When you know exactly what you are looking for, use the “Browse searching” option.

• For works by a particular author, enter the author’s name last name first: e.g. Mackinder, Halford John, Sir. And click on the drop-down menu and highlight “author”. The same can be done to find a particular title, or if you know a particular subject heading you want to explore.

• For works about a particular individual or a particular subject, do a subject search under the appropriate name or subject heading(s). The Library of Congress Subject Headings List (the large red books in the main lobby) will help you determine the correct subject headings.

When you are not certain what titles, authors or subjects you are looking for, use the “keyword searching” option . This option will conduct a full search of the entire database for the term you enter into the search. Should you receive too many results, go to advanced search and try adding more terms to your search for more focused results. British history books generally have Library of Congress classification numbers beginning with DA.

Most of the books on this list are located in the Reference Room (Ref). The location “Ref Ind Sd” in the call number indicates that the book is shelved on an Index Stand.

The information provided in this guide is not comprehensive, but rather a selection of the most important sources. For more information about what else is available, or for help in using the materials on the list, please ask at the Reference Desk.

GUIDES TO LITERATURE

Guide to Historical Literature.
A Guide to the Printed Materials for English Social and Economic History, 1750 – 1859.
A Bibliography of English History to 1845.
Reader's guide to British history.

 D 20 .A54 1995 Ref.
DA 30 .W7 Z99 1966 General.

DA 130 .B5 z99 1975 Ref.
DA 34 .R43 2003 Ref.

 

ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND DICTIONARIES

Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England.
Cambridge Historical Encyclopedia of Great Britain and Ireland.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names.
Cyclopedia of Classified Dates with an Exhaustive Index.
A Dictionary of British History.
A Dictionary of Irish History 1800 – 1980.
The Encyclopedia of the British Empir.e
Encyclopedia of Britain.
A Genealogical Gazetteer of England.
An historical dictionary of the Elizabethan world.
The Local Historian’s Encyclopedia.
Social England.
Victorian Britain: an Encyclopedia.
The new Arthurian encyclopedia.

 DA 152 .D548 Ref.
DA 34 .C28 1990 General
DA 645 .E38 1970 Ref.
D 9 .L7 1967 Ref.
DA 34 .D52 1981 Ref.
DA 950 .H52 1987 Ref
DA 640 .S6 1968 Ref.
DA 1 .E52 1999 Ref.
DA 640 .S6 1968 Ref.
DA 357 .W34 1999 Ref.
DA 34 .R53 Ref.
DA 30 .T77 1901 General
DA 550 .V53 1988 Ref.
DA 152.5 .A7 N48 1996 Ref.

 

HISTORIES

The British Empire Before the American Revolution.
The Cambridge History of the British Empire.
The Cambridge Medieval History.
The Cambridge Social History of Britain, 1750 – 1950.
The New Cambridge Modern History.
The Oxford History of England (series).
The Oxford companion to Scottish history.

 DA 500 .G52 General.
DA 30 .C3 General.
D 117 .C3 1924b General.
HN 385 .C14 1990 General.
D 208 .N4 General.
(Catalogued Separately).
DA 757.9 .O94 2001 Ref.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

American and British Genealogy and Heraldry.
Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-Armour.
The British Establishment, 1760 – 1784.
The Cambridge Biographical Dictionary.
The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia.
House of Commons, 1558 – 1603.
House of Commons, 1660 – 1690.
House of Commons, 1754 –1790.
International Yearbook and Statesmen’s Who’s Who.
Modern English Biography: Containing Many Thousand Concise Memoirs of Persons Who Have Died Between the Years of 1851 – 1900, with and Index of the Most Interesting Matter.
Oxford dictionary of national biography.
Whitaker’s Peerage, Baronage, Knightage, Companionage.
Who was Who.
Who’s Who.

 CS 2309 .A4Z99 1970 Ref.
CR 1618 .F6 1970 Ref.
CT 781 .V3 General.
CT 103 .C4 1990 Ref.
CT 103 .C26 1994 Ref
JN 673 .H67 1981 General.
JN 673 .H68 1983 General.
JN 672 .N2 1964b General.
JA 51 .I57 Ref.


CT 773 .B6 1965b Ref.
DA 28 .095 2004 Ref.
CS 420 .W6 Spec.Coll.
DA 28 .W6 Ref.
DA 28 .W61 Ref.

 

STATISTICAL INFORMATION

Abstract of British Historical Statistics.
An Almanac: 1987-.
British Electoral Facts, 1885 – 1975.
British Electoral Facts, 1688 –1760.
British Electoral Facts, 1760 – 1830.
British Electoral Facts, 1830 –1900.
British Parliamentary Election Results, 1950 – 1964.
British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918 –1968.
British Political Facts, 1900 – 1994.
England: a Chronology and Fact Book, 1495 – 1973.
Europa World Yearbook.
Handbook of British Chronology.

 HA 1135 .M5 1962 Ref.
AY 33 .W48 Ref
JN 1037 .C72 1976 General.
JN 205 .C65 1988 Ref.
JN 210 .C57 1980 Ref.
JN 216 .C65 1975 Ref.
JN 1037 .M5 General
JN 1037 .C72 General
JN 231 .B8 1994 Ref.
DA 34 .V5 1974 General.
JN 1 .E85 Ref.
DA 28 .H3 1986 Ref.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Writings on British History.
Annual Bibliography of Victorian Studies.1981 –1991.
Bibliography of British History: Tudor Period.
18th Century.
1789 – 1851.
1851 – 1914.
A Bibliography of English History to 1485.
British Military History.
A Centenary Guide to the Publications of the Royal.
Historical Society, 1868 – 1968, and the Former Camden Society, 1838 – 1897.
A Century of Diplomatic Blue Books, 1814 – 1914.
American Historical Association’s Guide to Historical Literature.
Modern Historians on British History, 1485 – 1945.
Nineteenth Century Britain, 1815 –1914.
Recently Published Articles (AHA), 1976 – 1990.
A Select Bibliography of British History, 1660 – 1760 Writings on British History. (RHS) 1901/33 – 1973/74.

 DA 16 .W7 Z99 RefM.
DA 110 .A49Z99 Ref/InSd.
DA 315 .R4Z99 1959 Ref.
DA 498 .B5Z99 1977 Ref.
DA 520 .B7Z99 1977 Ref.
DA 530 .B5Z993 1976 Ref.
DA 130 .B5Z99 1975 Ref.
DA 50 .B7 Z99 1988 Gen.
DA 20 .R97 1968 Gerneral.
J 301 .R2 C4 1966 General.
D 20 .A54 1961 General.
DA 300 .E4Z99 General.
DA 530 .N52Z99 General.
D 1 .R43 RefM.
DA 435 .G7Z99 1967 Ref.

DA 16 .W7Z99 RefM.

 

PRIMARY SOURCES

English Historical Documents, 1714 – 1815.

 DA 480 .E53 General

 

ATLASES

An Atlas of Anglo-Saxon England.
The Atlas of Britain and Northern Ireland.
Atlas of Industrialising Britain, 1780 – 1914.
The British Voter: An Atlas and Survey Since 1885.

 G 1812.21 .S2H5 1981Map.
G 1810 .A8 1963 MapColl.
G 1812.21 .G1A8 1986.
G 1811 .F9K5 1968 Gen.

 

PERIODICAL INDEXES, ABSTRACTS AND DISSERTATIONS

In order to locate articles in journals it is necessary to use the periodical indexes. Periodical indexes are usually arranged by subject and author and can be found in both print and online formats. Consult a Reference Librarian for assistance in using these tools. Printed indexes are located in the Reference Room on the Index Stands or upstairs on the Reference Mezzanine. The following indexes are of interest to students of British History:

C.R.I.S.: The Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in History, 1838 - 1974.
Dissertation Abstracts International. Section A. The Humanities and Social Sciences.
" " 1977.
Dissertations in History: An Index to Dissertations Completed in History Departments of United States and Canadian Universities. 1873 – 1960.
“ 1970 – June 1980.
Historical Abstracts, 1955 – 1970.
Historical Abstracts, Part A: Modern.
Historical Abstracts, Part B: Twentieth Century.
Humanities Index.
Nineteenth Century Reader’s Guide to Periodical.
Literature, 1890 –1899.
Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature1802/1881.
– 1902/1906.
Social Sciences Index.
The Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals.

 D 1 .C7 RefM.

Z 5055 .U5A53 1976 Per.

MFiche

D 21.3 .K8Z99 1965 Ref.
D 21.3 .K8Z99 1985 Ref.
D 299 .H5 RefM.
D 299 .H5a RefM.
D 299 .H5b RefM.
AI 3 .R49h Ref/IndSd.
AI 3 .R479 .RefM.


AI 3 .P7 1963 RefM.
AI 3 .R49s Ref/IndSd.
AI 3 .H6 RefM.

Online indexes and databases can be accessed through the Internet on the Library’s periodical indexes and databases webpage. The following indexes are of interest to students of British History:

Academic Search Premier
Proquest
JSTOR
Web of Science

PERIODICALS

Please consult Boris for complete information on our holdings by searching the journal name in the title field. Remember to pay particular attention to the format of the journal since the media can vary from hardcopy to microform to virtual documents (full text via the Internet). Current periodicals are kept in the Periodical Room on the main level. Bound volumes of back issues for periodicals as well as microfiche and microfilm are shelved in the basement area. If you have problems locating a periodical, please ask for help at the Periodical or Reference Desk.

Albion.
English Historical Review.
Historical Journal (Cambridge).
Illustrated London News.

 DA 20 .A42 Period.
DA 20 .E58 Period.
D 1 .C25 Period.
AP 4 .I44 PerOsize.

 

NEWSPAPER INDEXES AND NEWS FACTS

Facts on File.
Keesing’s Record of World Events.
New York Times Index 1851- .

 D 410 .F34 1983- Ref.
D 410 .K4 1987- Ref.
AI 21 .N44 Ref/IndSd.

 

INTERNET SEARCHING

You will find many sources of information on British History on the Internet. Here are some academic websites which may be of use to your research. The links were active when this guide was prepared. If you find other websites that you feel would be helpful, or to report an address that is no longer valid, please see the Reference Desk.

British History
   http://www.great-britain.co.uk/history/history.htm
British History and Heritage Guide
   http://www.britainexpress.com/History
Know Britain
   http://www.know-britain.com/
Spartacus Encyclopedia of British History
   http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Britain.html

W. Durrant, November 2008
Contact:  D. Bromby

January 2009
L. Lemay