Local History and Heritage Organisations

Bottesford Living History website  – a site edited by the Bottesford History Group sharing heritage information on the parish of Bottesford and Muston in Leicestershire.

Carillon and War Memorial Museum, Loughborough

Charnwood Great War Centenary Project

Charnwood Museum, Granby Street

Charnwood Road Baptist Church, Shepshed

Charnwood Roots: the University of Leicester’s Charnwood Roots project ran from 2013 to 2017 and involved members of the public researching and cataloguing the history of Charnwood.

East Midlands Oral History ArchiveThe EMOHA is a large-scale archive of oral history recordings for Leicestershire and Rutland. It includes recordings previously held by a number of archive, community, library and museum collections. The project has an on-line catalogue with a range of the recordings also available to listen to on-line. EMOHA generates new oral history recordings through its programme of interviewing and by providing advice, training and support for other individuals wanting to develop their own projects.

Elementary ActivitiesElementary Activities was a project led by artist Maria Pask for Radar, LUArts contemporary arts programme.  With the support of university archivist Jenny Clarke, Maria spent time researching the university’s tradition of involving students in the physical development of the campus.  This was then followed by a number of creative masterclasses for current students.  The website showcases the artwork produced by the students, as well as some of the archival material from which the project drew inspiration.

Great Central Railway Museum

Hathern History website

Diseworth Heritage Centre

Hinkely Past and Present

Image Leicestershire – This website contains images of material from the collections of Leicestershire County Council’s Museums, Libraries and Archives services.  It also contains on-line exhibitions featuring selected images from the collections.

John Taylor & Co Bell Foundry Museum, Loughborough

Kegworth Museum

Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society was founded in 1855 to promote the study of the history, archaeology, antiquities and architecture of Leicestershire.  Membership ranges from £6 for students, £20 for individuals and £25 for families.

Leicestershire Historic Churches Trust was formed in 1964 to spread interest in and knowledge of the historic churches and chapels of Leicester and Leicestershire and to raise funds to help repair them. The Trust is non-denominational and an independent charity run by volunteers.

Leicestershire Industrial Heritage Society

Leicestershire Victoria County History Trust – Leicestershire Victoria County History Trust works with volunteers across Leicestershire. It aims to research a history of every town and village in the county and publish these as part of the national Victoria County History (VCH) series. As well as a county page on the national website, where you can find details of work in progress, draft parish histories and links to completed publications, the Trust’s Leicestershire History site includes information about the history of Leicestershire and places within Leicestershire, and research guides to help people research a number of key local history topics.

Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society – Loughborough Fair at the National Fairground Archive, Sheffield University, with pictures and information about Loughborough’s annual fair, which dates back to a charter granted by Henry III in 1228.

Loughborough Library Local Studies Group

Loughborough Library local studies room

Lynne About Loughborough – a local history blog by Loughborough-based tour guide Lynne Dyer.

Mountsorrel Archive: an online archive of photographs, documents, family history material and miscellaneous information on the physical and social history of Mountsorrel and the countryside around it.

My Leicestershire History – part of Leicester University’s Special Collections Online, this is a free and fully searchable online resource containing photographs, films, sound recordings, and books about the history of Leicester and Leicestershire.

The National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS) encourages the advancement of arts education and appreciation and the preservation of our artistic heritage.  Click here to find out more about Charnwood Decorative and Fine Art Society and the activities they undertake.

National Gas Museum, Aylestone Road, Leicester

Normanton on Soar – a ‘One Place Study’ website created by Lesley Donald of Australia from documents discovered as they researched their family tree.

Old Rectory Museum, Loughborough

Quorn Local History Group: established in 2017, the QLHG meets monthly (generally the last Thursday) in the Church Rooms adjacent to Rawlins Academy on Loughborough Road, Quorn. Their membership fee is £10.00 a year (free for under 18s), with a fee of £4.00 for non-members to attend talks. Follow the link to their website for their talks programme and information on the group, including a small project fund they hold to assist people researching, preserving, recording or promoting Quorn’s history.

Shepshed Watermill

Society for Lincolnshire History & Archaeology event diary.

Stonehurst Farm Motor Museum, Mountsorrel

The Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland – The Record Office holds collections of archives, books, newspapers, maps, photographs, videos and sound recordings, documenting the history and culture of the area ‘from the Domesday Book to yesterday’. Access to these resources is freely available to everyone, with staff on hand to help locate the information you need.   Information on opening times can be found here.  You can also visit the online archive.

Thurcaston and Cropston Local History Society

Quorn Village Online Museum

Wolds Historical Organisation – The Wolds Historical Organisation (WHO) was founded in 1987 to promote interest in the local history of the villages on the western side of the Leicestershire Wolds, specifically Wymeswold, Burton on the Wolds, Hoton, Prestwold and Cotes.  The WHO is now over thirty years old. Over the decades members have written a substantial number of articles and transcribed most of the relevant records, such as census returns. There are well over a hundred such ‘pages’ on their web site.