Who When Where

It might seem obvious to old hands but, with the rise of interest in local history, it is worth exploring any and every website for an area you are interested in. I’ve found some extremely well designed sites for unexpected places, obviously created by enthusiasts who are passionate about their city district, market town or village. It’s possible to find good transcriptions of PRs, copies of tithe maps and associated tenant lists, documents from the Parish Chest, old photographs and much more. Most have contact details should you want to take your interest further. All this is free and useful background to the normal BDM and census research.

I would also suggest wherever possible visiting the local archive and the local library for the location your ancestors lived. Obviously this may not be possible for those who live some distance from those locations, in which case writing to them, or using a local researcher, is still very worthwhile even in this day of the internet.
Cheers
Guy