This four-week course is designed for genealogists who want to deepen their understanding of historical documents to extract vital information effectively. Using original records, you will learn about the formats of key documents and their essential elements and how to uncover the crucial genealogical details hidden within them. Each week there will be a brief introduction to the document type, its purpose and key features, examples of original records and tools and techniques for efficient interpretation.
By the end of the course, participants will have the skills to confidently analyse and extract genealogical information from these historical documents.
Contact events@sog.org.uk if you have any questions. Click here for information about our events.
Programme details
| Decoding Historical Documents 1: Wills & Inventories | Online | 24/07/2025 | 19:30 - 20:30 | |
| Decoding Historical Documents 2: Quarter Sessions | Online | 31/07/2025 | 19:30 - 20:30 | |
| Decoding Historical Documents 3: Manorial Records | Online | 07/08/2025 | 19:30 - 20:30 | |
| Decoding Historical Documents 4: Deeds | Online | 14/08/2025 | 19:30 - 20:30 |
About the Speaker
Dr Caroline Jane Adams
Dr. Caroline Adams is a palaeographer and historian. She runs a research business, Key to the Past, and teaches palaeography online as part of her own business. Until 2014 she was Senior Archivist at West Sussex Record Office, and she is working on a book on Elizabethan Chichester. She is probably more at home in the early modern period than the present.
