Lancashire County Council is responsible for the records office for Preston.

Lancashire Record Office (LRO) looks after historic documents relating to the county from about 1115 to present day. All these documents are available for viewing to the public free of charge. However, you do not have to visit the Records Office as the information is also available using the Lancashire County Council website.

The Harris Reference library is another source of information for family historians and offers a wide range of services. This library is found in the Harris Museum and Art gallery.

The information sheet provided by the Harris Reference Library for enquiries about Preston’s history can be found at the bottom of this page.

It is also recommended to visit other museums in the area for historical information, especially if you are tracing ancestors with regimental links from Preston.

For more information on museums in Preston please see the Visit Preston website.

People researching ancestry and family trees can see further information on the following pages.

To trace local graves please see Cemetery records page.

Document links

Document downloads	File Size
Adobe Acrobat Reader is available FREE of charge. You can download it directly from Adobe's website by clicking the link to the right. Once on Adobe's website, follow the instructions on screen to install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Sources of information on the history of Preston (PDF)	88KB