Welcome to The Story's digital collections. From this page you can access and explore thousands of digitised records by selecting from the collection areas below. Step back into the lives of millions of County Durham inhabitants from 1538 onwards. These collections are key to researching family history, the story of our communities and population studies, especially before the introduction of civil birth, marriage and death registration in 1837.

Cemetery and Crematorium Registers

County Durham's civil cemeteries and crematoria. These include grave plans and registers of cremations, graves and burials.

Church of England Parish Registers

Over 7,000 Church of England parish registers covering the Diocese of Durham and a small number of County Durham parishes in the Diocese of Ripon. Parish registers record the baptism, burial, banns and marriage ceremonies of people from every walk of life.

Durham Light Infantry Regiment - Enlistment and Discharge Books

Durham Light Infantry enlistment books from 1920 to 1945. Originally held by the Ministry of Defence, these books are a key resource for researching individual soldiers. Typically, they record a soldier's name and service number.

Durham Light Infantry Regiment - War Diaries

First World War Diaries of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 9th, 13th and 20th Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry. Some of these diaries contain information not found in the official War Diaries held by The National Archives. The collection also includes some digests of service.

Electoral Registers

Lists of those entitled to vote in local and national elections across County Durham, including absent voters during wartime. 

Newspapers

Historic newspapers of weekly titles from across County Durham from 1814 to 1985. Newspapers are an excellent resource for local and family history, and link Durham to a wider national context. Editions containing letters, images, adverts and stories help bring Durham's history to life.

Nonconformist Church Registers

Over 1,500 registers of non-conformist baptisms, marriages and burials from across County Durham. These include non-Anglican Protestant denominations, most prominently Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians and Quakers, and the Roman Catholic church.