A new programme of workshops has been organised for people who want to trace their family tree.
The “coffee-time” sessions, which are aimed at beginners, will be run by staff at West Sussex Record Office in Chichester throughout 2015.
The workshops will be held at 10am on the first Wednesday of each month, starting on 7 January with an introduction to the vast range of material available at the Record Office.
On 4 February, people will be given an opportunity to learn how to read old handwriting.
And on 4 March, participants will be introduced to the popular family history websites, Ancestry and Findmypast, used by celebrities on the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? series and available free-of-charge at the Record Office.
Further sessions will look at the range of archive sources available at the Record Office, which date from as early as 780AD, and how best to use them for family history research.
Assistant County Archivist Matthew Jones commented: “We’ve been running these sessions for several years now and they’ve been incredibly popular with people who are new to family history. We’ve freshened up the programme this year with some new workshops on school records, naval records and on studying the history of a house.”
Anyone interested in signing up for a workshop is advised to book early by calling 01243 753602.
Each session costs £7.50 and includes refreshments. For more information, visit the Record Office website (www.westsussex.gov.uk/ro) and click on ‘outreach and events’.