Search British Isles Gazetteers

Delve into the lives of your ancestors with this collection of gazetteers from the National Library of Scotland. Gazetteers are geographical dictionaries or directories that provide detailed information about places, including towns, villages, parishes, and landmarks. In 19th-century gazetteers, entries often include population figures, administrative boundaries, notable buildings, local industries, and postal arrangements. They are valuable tools for research because they help situate historical events and individuals within their physical and administrative context. For family historians, gazetteers can clarify the location of ancestral towns and parishes, reveal how places were known at the time, and provide insight into the communities where ancestors lived.

Here is a list of the types of information you will discover in the gazetteers:

• Place names with alternative spellings or historic names
• Descriptions of towns, villages, parishes, and counties
• Population figures from contemporary censuses
• Local industries and trades
• Religious institutions (churches, chapels, denominations)
• Postal and transport links (mail routes, railways, coaching roads)
• Administrative divisions (hundreds, poor law unions, registration districts)
• Landowners or notable residents
• Historic events or features
• Geographical features (rivers, hills, coastlines)
• Distances to nearby towns
• Fairs and markets
• Maps and illustrations of towns or regions