WWW Virtual Library Economic and Business History: Web Resources: United Kingdom

WWW Virtual Library
Economic and Business History

Associations and Societies

Association for Industrial Archaeology General information, journal.

Association of Business Historians The Association of Business Historians is a leading UK professional association dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge about Business History.

British Records Association Founded in 1932, the British Records Association aims to encourage and assist with the preservation, care use and publication of historical records.

Business Archives Council (UK). General information.

Business Archives Council of Scotland General information.

Committee for the History of Retailing and Distribution at the University of Wolverhampton. General information.

Construction History Society General information.

Design History Society Newsletter, journal, discussion list, links.

Economic History Society Directory, list of publications.

Greenwich Industrial History Society Newsletter.

Historical Metallurgy Society Journal, bibliography, links.

Newcomen Society for the Study of the History of Engineering and Technology Events, publications, archives.

Railway & Canal Historical Society (UK). General information.

Society of Co-operative Studies in the United Kingdom Directory, journal.

Trevithick Society for the Study of the Industrial History in Cornwall. Trevithick Society Journal.

Welsh Mines Society Newsletter.

Women's Committee of the Economic History Society The aim of the Committee is to encourage women to participate in all areas of economic and social history.

Research Institutions

Accounting and Business History Research Unit at the Cardiff Business School. General information.

Biz/ed at the Institute for Learning and Research Technology (Bristol). "A dedicated business and economics information gateway for students, teachers and lecturers", includes schools, colleges and other educational institutions.

Centre for Business History in Scotland (Glasgow). General information.

Centre for Business History in Scotland General information; links.

Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution (ELSE) at University College London. "To promote the study of interactive learning with a view to providing a new foundational basis for modeling in economics and related social sciences".

Centre for International Business History at the University of Reading. Home to Business History, the Euro-Business-History Noticeboard, and the European Business History Association.

Centre for International Business History (CIBH) General information.

Commodities of Empire Project Joint research collaboration between the Open University's Ferguson Centre for African and Asian Studies and London Metropolitan University's Caribbean Studies Centre. General information, publications, events.

Global Economic History Network (GEHN) The GEHN Network, the product of cooperation across 4 partner institutions (the London School of Economics, the University of California (Irvine & Los Angeles), Leiden and Osaka Universities), promotes research, teaching and co-operation in the innovatory and rising field of global economic history. Working Papers, Conferences, Journal.

London School of Economics, Economic History Department General information, useful links and working papers.

Archives and Libraries

1851 Project : The Great Exhibition The 1851 Project began in February 1995, with the aim of improving access to all relevant material held by the National Art Library (at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London) by reorganising and recataloguing it. By February 1997 the whole of the Library's collections in these areas had been recatalogued and made accessible through the Computer Catalogue.

19th Century Pamphlets Access to the collections of nineteenth-century pamphlets housed in the CURL libraries.

Access to Archives A2A The A2A database contains catalogues describing archives held throughout England and dating from the 900s to the present day.

AIM25 : Archives in London and the M25 Area.

Archives Hub A national gateway to descriptions of archives in UK universities and colleges.

ARCHON is the principal online information gateway for archivists in the United Kingdom and users of manuscript sources for British history. It is hosted and maintained by the HMC and is divided into two sections, the ARCHON Directory and the ARCHON Portal.

BLPES Pamphlet collection The site contains the catalogue of the 90.000 pamphlets of the British Library of Political & Economic Science (BLPES).

British Library

British Library of Political and Economic Science of the London School of Economics. Over 1m vols, 28,000 journals. Online catalog (Web). Guides to the manuscript and pamphlet collections.

British Telecom Archives (London). Overview of the collections.

Brunel University Library - Transport History Collection (London). Brief guide.

Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull. Listings of its labour and business history collections.

Cambridge University Library - Business Archives Brief description of the records of Jardine, Matheson & Co, Vickers Plc, Phoenix Assurance, and the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company.

CommunityArchives.org.uk This website has been set up to show the variety and quantity of community archives in the UK. It's a meeting-place where archives can publicise their work and share their experiences.

Dundee University Archives - Indian Textile Industry Source List Detailed index.

Glasgow University Archive Services Collection of business records, mainly from Scotland. Complete listing. Home to the Scottish Brewing Archive.

Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature (London). Overview of its sources for economic history, virtual exhibition.

Great Exhibition Collection The core of the Great Exhibition Collection of Reading University Library was acquired from Charles Hasler in 1966. It comprises approximately 150 printed books and periodicals, plus pamphlets and ephemera, approximately 50 prints, and some objects. Although the focus of the collection is the Exhibition of 1851, there is also material concerning the re-erection of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham in 1854, where it became a great entertainment centre, and material pertaining to subsequent exhibitions down to the Festival of Britain of 1951.

Greater Manchester Record Office - Guides to archives An overview. Holdings include the records of the British Textile Employers' Association, Manchester Stock Exchange, Rochdale Canal Company, Manchester Ship Canal Company, Richard Entwisle, among many others.

Guide to Holdings - Manuscript Collections - Manuscripts & Special Collections - The University of Nottingham Go to Business records: Records of Nottinghamshire businesses and employees' organisations.

Guildhall Library (London). Overview of its sources for social and economic history.

History of Advertising Trust Archive (Raveningham, Norwich). General information.

HSBC Group Archives (London). [See "about HSBC" - "Group History"] Brief overview of the rich archival collections of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which include the records of Midland Bank, among others.

Institution of Electrical Engineers Archives Department (London). Holdings information, virtual exhibition.

Institution of Mechanical Engineers - Information and Library Services (London). Information on the library and archival collections.

King's College, Modern Archives: Collections of Personal Papers The Centre's personal paper collections are especially strong in the fields of early twentieth century literature, fine art and economics. Particularly well documented are among others the lives and works of the economists J.M. Keynes, Joan Robinson, Richard Kahn and Nicholas Kaldor.

Liverpool University Archives - Holdings

London School of Economics Archives The collections held in the archives cover modern British political, economic and social history, the history of the social sciences with particular reference to Economics and Social Anthropology, and the history of the London School of Economics & Political Science. The material dates mainly from the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the present day. See also Library Archives

Modern Records Centre at the Library of the University of Warwick in Coventry. Records of the Trades Union Congress, the British Confederation of Industry and other union and company archives. Summary guide to the holdings.

Museum of English Rural Life at the University of Reading. Information on its extensive archival, library and audiovisual holdings, and its Bibliography of British Rural History.

National Archive for the History of Computing at the University of Manchester. Detailed holdings information.

National Archives Maintains ARCHON, a directory of British archival repositories, and the National Register of Archives

National Gas Archive (Manchester). The company archive of British Gas plc. Overview of the collections.

Public Record Office of England and Wales.

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

Royal Society of Chemistry Library and Information Centre General information on its historical chemistry information service.

Science Museum Library (London). Online catalog (telnet).

Scottish Archive Network The Scottish Archive Network's aim is to open up Scotland's rich archival heritage to everyone. Over the course of this three-year project the SCAN will revolutionise access to Scottish Archives, their catalogues and contents.

Scottish Textile Heritage Online "This groundbreaking pilot project aims to provide a one-stop shop for anyone wanting information about the richness and diversity of Scottish Textile heritage collections. Users will be able to browse through a database of some 4,000 descriptions of archive and museum collections and objects with supporting images."

South Wales Coalfield Collection at the University of Wales Swansea Library. Holdings information.

University of London Library Home to the Goldsmiths' Collection on economic history. Online catalog (telnet).

Museums

Bank of England Museum & Archive General information.

Black Country Living Museum (Dudley, West Midlands). Brief overview of the collections.

Dunaskin Open Air Museum (Doon Valley, Scotland), on the site of the Dalmellington Iron Works. General information.

Ironbridge Gorge Museum (Shropshire). General information on the museums and sites at this "birthplace of the industrial revolution".

London's Transport Museum Exhibitions and photographic collection.

Museum of English Rural Life at the University of Reading. Information on its extensive archival, library and audiovisual holdings, and its Bibliography of British Rural History.

Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester The Museum's archive and library collection mainly relates to the industrial, scientific and social history of the Manchester region. The archive material include books, business records, films, letters, oral history recordings, personal records, photographs, textile sample books, written and printed papers. General information, with "stunning visuals and sound", if you have all the plug-ins.

Museum of Transport (Manchester). Overview of the collections.

National Coal Mining Museum (Wakefield, West Yorkshire). General information.

National Maritime Museum (Greenwich). Overview of the collections, general information on the Caird Library and Manuscripts Collection.

National Museum of Science and Industry consisting of the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (Bradford), the National Railway Museum (York) and the Science Museum (London).

National Railway Museum (York). Collections information, including on the Jack Simmons Library and Archive.

Post Office Heritage (London). General information.

Prickwillow Drainage Engine Museum (Cambridgeshire). General information on the pumps that drained the Fens.

Scottish Textile Heritage Online "This groundbreaking pilot project aims to provide a one-stop shop for anyone wanting information about the richness and diversity of Scottish Textile heritage collections. Users will be able to browse through a database of some 4,000 descriptions of archive and museum collections and objects with supporting images."

Reference

American and British History Resources on the Internet at Rutgers University. Extensive list.

Biz/ed at the Institute for Learning and Research Technology (Bristol). "A dedicated business and economics information gateway for students, teachers and lecturers", includes schools, colleges and other educational institutions.

Brickmakers Index maintained by David Cufley. Information on an index of brickfield workers and owners, mainly from the South East of England. Includes bibliography.

British Library Research Archive A database of papers and materials by researchers who are not affiliated to an academic institution.

British Mining Database Images, links, bibliographies.

Census datasets The information about the UK Census of Population datasets is maintained by the ESRC/JISC funded Census Dissemination Unit (CDU), which forms part of the Manchester University-based MIMAS service.

Census Registration Service The Census Registration Service facilitates access to the Census data resources for UK higher and further education via Athens Single Sign On. Registering once with the Census Registration Service gives access to census data resources from 1971-2001 and to the UK Data Archive (University of Essex). Free.

Computing 'Real Value' over time with a conversion from British Pounds to U.S. Dollars, or vice versa.

Early Modern Resources created by Sharon Howard.

Economic Growth Resources maintained by Jontahan Temple, University of Bristol.

History On-line Theses Theses in progress and completed (since 1995).

Materials for the History of Statistics Maintained by the Department of Mathematics, University of York

Mining History Information Pages

Revolutionary Players Revolutionary Players is a project focusing on the history of the Industrial Revolution in the West Midlands in Britain between the years 1700 and 1830. The website contains images of many resources from museums, archives end libraries representing the history of the period. There are four main ways of accessing this material: Time, Place, People and Theme. You can also read Articles on historical subjects, enter the Digital Library of primary sources, explore a Gallery of images and create your own Album of items from the site.

SCoRe Search Company Reports SCoRe: a national catalogue of company reports in UK libraries. The website is the product of a project entitled 'Company annual reports: assuring the distributed national print archive'.

Scots Currency Converter

Sources for Business History UK overview, from the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts.

South Sea Bubble Project The Bubble Project (BP) is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research initiative on the subject of the South Sea Bubble (SSB), or first great stock-market crash of 1720. Bibliography of printed material and links.

Spartacus Educational Free educational material from this British publisher. Pages on New Deal, British Entrepreneurs, Slave Trade etc.

The Worlds Fair and Exposition Information and Reference Guide 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition. Statistics, History, Links.

Virtual Museum of Computing University of Reading. "An eclectic collection of World Wide Web hyperlinks connected with the history of computing and on-line computer-based exhibits".

What is its Relative Value in UK Pounds?

What Was the Interest Rate Then? The newest series in the "How Much Is That?" feature, developed by Lawrence Officer, EH.Net Special Projects Editor; major comprehensive review of existing compilations of series measuring three interest-rate concepts for the United Kingdom and the United States.

What Was the UK GDP Then? EH.Net introduces the UK GDP the newest series in the "How Much Is That?" feature. "What Was the UK GDP Then?" presents the nominal and real GDP, GDP deflator, population, and nominal and real GDP per capita for the United Kingdom for the years 1086, 1300, 1688, 1759, 1801, 1811, 1821 1830 and annually from 1830 to 2000. The series are accompanied by a short description. A Question-and-Answer Guide and a more in-depth study on the development of the series, "What Was the UK GDP Then? A Data Study".

World Wide Web Virtual Library: History Scotland

World Wide Web Virtual Library: History of the United Kingdom

Data Archives

1901 Census Website Official genealogy site of the Welsh & English census information for 1901.

Census datasets The information about the UK Census of Population datasets is maintained by the ESRC/JISC funded Census Dissemination Unit (CDU), which forms part of the Manchester University-based MIMAS service.

Census.ac.uk Census.ac.uk, home of the ESRC Census Programme, provides a one stop gateway to data and support services which allow users and researchers in UK Higher and Further Education to access the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 UK censuses. It also provides access to other important census related resources.

Great Britain Historical GIS Programme This project is creating a Historical Geographical Information System (GIS) for Great Britain covering the period from the late 1830s, when modern statistical data collection can be said to have started, until the early 1970s, when data starts to become available in digital form. The GIS has two major components; accurate boundary data for the changing administaive areas of Britain linked to a major database of social, economic, and electoral statistics from throughout the period.

Histpop - The Online Historical Population Reports Website An online resource of almost 200,000 pages of all the published population reports created by the Registrars-General and its predecessors for England and Wales and for Scotland for the period 1801–1920.

Histpop - The Online Historical Population Reports Website The Online Historical Population Reports (OHPR) collection provides online access to the complete British population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937. The collection goes far beyond the basic population reports with a wealth of textual and statistical material which provide an in-depth view of the economy, society (through births, deaths and marriages) and medicine during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Scottish Economic History Database 1550-1780 Crop yields, demographic data, price and wage series, weather statistics.

Statistical Accounts of Scotland The two Statistical Accounts of Scotland, covering the 1790s and the 1830s, provide a rich record of a wide variety of topics: wealth, class and poverty; climate, agriculture, fishing and wildlife; population, schools, and the moral health of the people. A free service is available to all users with the basic features of searching, viewing and printing from the two Accounts.

UK Data Archive at the University of Essex. The UKDA also houses two specialist units: the History Data Service (HDS) and Qualidata and the Qualitative Data Service. It provides access to international data.

UK National Digital Archive of Datasets at the University of London Computer Centre, in cooperation with the University of London Library and the Public Record Office. Archived digital data from UK government departments and agencies.

Web Resources

1851 Project : The Great Exhibition The 1851 Project began in February 1995, with the aim of improving access to all relevant material held by the National Art Library (at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London) by reorganising and recataloguing it. By February 1997 the whole of the Library's collections in these areas had been recatalogued and made accessible through the Computer Catalogue.

19th Century Pamphlets Access to the collections of nineteenth-century pamphlets housed in the CURL libraries.

Account Book of Richard Latham Richard Latham of Scarisbrick, Lancashire (1724-67). The text of this introduction is derived from the published version: Lorna Weatherill (ed.) The Account Book of Richard Latham, 1724-1767. British Academy Records of Social and Economic History ; New Series XV (Oxford, 1990).

Anglo-Saxon History : A Select Bibliography Maintained by Simon Keynes, Richard Rawlinson Center for Anglo-Saxon Studies and Manuscript Research, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University. Published in the Old English Newsletter Subsidia vol. 13, third, Revised Edition; Second Online Edition.

ArtServe Art and Architecture mainly from the Mediterranean Basin. A collection of prints of products shown in the Great Exhibition.

BBC History Site Industrialisation with some articles and links.

Bevölkerungsentwicklung in Deutschland und England im Vergleich = A Comparison of the Population trend between Germany and Great Britain.

Bibliography Pictorial Statistics Bibliography of the pictorial statistics system developed by Otto Neurath and designed by Gerd Arntz.

BOPCRIS "The British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Information Service. You can use this web site to search and browse information from British Official Publications over the period 1688-1995. You can also read abstracts, and view detailed consistent subject indexing, of key documents. You can then read the digitised full-text version of a limited number of these documents."

Britain in Print Launched in January 2003, the Britain in Print project will, for the first time, provide free access for all to information about the rich collections of early British books that are held in twenty-one of the nation's most important libraries.

Cambridge Working Papers in Economics Cambridge Working Papers in Economics (CWPE) is a series of papers from the Faculty of Economics and the Department of Applied Economics, University of Cambridge. The series is one of many Working Papers series made available through REPEC (Research Papers in Economics).

Census.ac.uk Census.ac.uk, home of the ESRC Census Programme, provides a one stop gateway to data and support services which allow users and researchers in UK Higher and Further Education to access the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 UK censuses. It also provides access to other important census related resources.

Chez la Veuve: Women Printers in Great Britain 1475-1700 A brief introduction to the subject with pictures of books printed or sold by women. Online exhibition from the University of Illinois Library.

Debates in Economic & Social History-Bibliography Standard of Living Debate, Antebellum Slavery Debate and others.

Design of the Crystal Palace

Digital Library of Historical Directories The University of Leicester's New Opportunities Fund project is creating a digital library of eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century local and trade directories from England and Wales.

Festival of Britain Mainly devoted to the 1951-2001 Festival of Britain. Also useful for some links to earlier British exhibitions.

Financial Repression in a Natural Experiment: Loan Allocation and the Change in the Usury Laws in 1714 By Peter Temin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Hans-Joachim Voth (Universitat Pompeu Fabra). CEPR Discussion Paper No. 4452.

Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 This web site provides access to information about markets and fairs in medieval England and Wales.

Glasgow Digital Library The Glasgow Digital Library is based at the Centre for Digital Library Research in the University of Strathclyde. Contents (a.o.): Virtual Mitchell (Photographs of Glasgow from the Mitchell Library and City Archives), 'Memoirs and portraits of 100 Glasgow men' and Victorian Times (social, political, and economic conditions 1837-1901).

Great Britain Historical GIS Programme This project is creating a Historical Geographical Information System (GIS) for Great Britain covering the period from the late 1830s, when modern statistical data collection can be said to have started, until the early 1970s, when data starts to become available in digital form. The GIS has two major components; accurate boundary data for the changing administaive areas of Britain linked to a major database of social, economic, and electoral statistics from throughout the period.

Great Exhibition Collection The core of the Great Exhibition Collection of Reading University Library was acquired from Charles Hasler in 1966. It comprises approximately 150 printed books and periodicals, plus pamphlets and ephemera, approximately 50 prints, and some objects. Although the focus of the collection is the Exhibition of 1851, there is also material concerning the re-erection of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham in 1854, where it became a great entertainment centre, and material pertaining to subsequent exhibitions down to the Festival of Britain of 1951.

Great Exhibition of 1851 A collection of images (10) of the Great Exhibition in 1851 for a course at the University of Virginia.

Great War Archive The Great War Archive contains over 6,500 items contributed by the general public between March and June 2008. Every item originates from, or relates to, someone's experience of the First World War, either abroad or at home. Contributions were received via a special website and also through a series of open days at libraries and museums throughout the country.

Histpop - The Online Historical Population Reports Website The Online Historical Population Reports (OHPR) collection provides online access to the complete British population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937. The collection goes far beyond the basic population reports with a wealth of textual and statistical material which provide an in-depth view of the economy, society (through births, deaths and marriages) and medicine during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

I.A. Recordings (Telford, Shropshire). "Dedicated to the recording of past and present industry on film and video". Overview of the productions, industrial archeology links.

Illustrated London News A few (large) illustrations of the Great Exhibition in The Illustrated London News.

Industrial Revolution -- Selected Bibliographies compiled by George P. Landow for the Victorian Web.

London Gold Bullion Market. Yearly Average Price (1833 - 1997)

Map of John Snow in 1859 Images from the Great Exhibition.

mining-europe.de Photgallery.

Railway Poster in Britain at the National Railway Museum: a small selection.

Revolutionary Players Revolutionary Players is a project focusing on the history of the Industrial Revolution in the West Midlands in Britain between the years 1700 and 1830. The website contains images of many resources from museums, archives end libraries representing the history of the period. There are four main ways of accessing this material: Time, Place, People and Theme. You can also read Articles on historical subjects, enter the Digital Library of primary sources, explore a Gallery of images and create your own Album of items from the site.

Richard III Society Online Library Richard III Society. A.o. selections of the correspondence of the Cely family, merchants of the staple, 1475-1488.

Royal Historical Society Bibliography In association with Irish History Online and London's Past Online.

Scottish Economic History Database 1550-1780 Crop yields, demographic data, price and wage series, weather statistics.

Scottish Exhibitions Study Group

South Sea Bubble by History House an irreverent history magazine. Text.

South Sea Bubble Project The Bubble Project (BP) is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research initiative on the subject of the South Sea Bubble (SSB), or first great stock-market crash of 1720. Bibliography of printed material and links.

Statistical Accounts of Scotland The two Statistical Accounts of Scotland, covering the 1790s and the 1830s, provide a rich record of a wide variety of topics: wealth, class and poverty; climate, agriculture, fishing and wildlife; population, schools, and the moral health of the people. A free service is available to all users with the basic features of searching, viewing and printing from the two Accounts.

The Dialogue Concerning the Exchequer. circa 1180 A long dialogue between a disciple and a master concerning the English Exchequer and its many rules and customs.

Three Centuries of Transport Three organisations submitted bids for a grant to digitise, and make available on the Internet, collections of images and objects relating to great transport undertakings: Bridging the Years, The Last Main Line and The Aviation Heritage Partnership.

Victorian Census Project The Victorian Census Project at Staffordshire University aims to computerise source documents relating to Great Britain and Ireland in the nineteenth century. These sources include: The nineteenth century census abstracts, Vital registration statistics, The returns of the Poor Law Commissioners, Agricultural Statistics, Crime Statistics and Pigot's and Slater's Topographies of Great Britain and Ireland.

Victorian Economics Part of the Victorian Web at Brown University. Includes a section on "Economics, Literature, and the Arts".

Victorian Web The Crystal Palace, or The Great Exhibition of 1851: An Overview.

ViewFinder Online image resource for England's history. The Picture Gallery and Stories contain illustrations of the industrial age, social history (including the Henry W. Taunt Collection), architecture and archaeology, dating from the 1840s to the present day.

Welcome to Great Exhibiton of Industries of All Nations The Site of the Art History Department at the University Trier provides also a bibliography, mainly art history.

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Last updated 15 October 2012