Start Exploring...
Exploring Surrey’s Past is a brand new website, helping you to find out more about your local history and archaeology.
The site features a number of specially written articles, called themes. These have been sent in by local societies, and tell you about the People, Places and Times that have helped shape the county. You can find these by searching, or by browsing the People, Places and Times sections.
You can also search a large number of databases, which store a huge amount of information about Surrey’s past. Many of these are catalogues –so they tell you about a document, an archaeological site, an object or a photograph. By using the contact link from the relevant page, you can contact someone to Find Out more about any item if it is not available online.
We are continuing to work on this site. It will continue to grow – and we need your input to keep adding to it. There are plenty of places to
have your say – on individual records, or by adding to existing themes.
We hope you find something of interest – if not, please tell us!
Getting Started
You can start searching using the red Find Out box.
Enter a keyword or phrase and click go.
Any overview articles, or 
“Themes” will be shown at the top. These are good general introductions to the topic. They have largely been contributed by societies, groups and individual researchers.
Records which match your search term(s) will appear below the theme. These records could come from a number of different places –
Archives from Surrey History Centre
with access to many of the archive records held by Surrey History Centre, you can find out about the business, economic, religious and social history of the county. These records come from the collections catalogue as well as special collections. You can view catalogue records for documents, photographs, journals and maps – all of which can be seen at the History Centre in Woking.
-
Archaeology records from the Historic Environment record (or HER)
with access to the Historic Environment Record (or HER), you can find out about the monuments, sites, buildings and finds of interest near you. Each record features a brief summary of a site of archaeological interest, and a view of an aerial photograph showing its location.
You can quickly get a glimpse of archaeology near you, by searching from the Near You box. Simply pop in your postcode, and you will be shown some of the important sites near you.
Museum records from 6 different museum catalogues from around the county
a number of museum catalogues are available to view on this site. They all contain objects of importance to the social history of Surrey. Some have images, some don’t. If you would like to know more, click on the contact link on the record and you can ask someone at the museum.
Local History Records from Local History Centres in Surrey Libraries
some Local History Centres in Surrey Libraries are making images available. Currently you can see some of these from North Tandridge Local History Centre.
They are all colour coded to help you find what you are looking for. You can choose to filter your search – using the category buttons at the top of the search results.
Use the blue Near You box to start exploring archaeology where you live. Just put in your postcode.
There are plenty of places on the site to have your say. If you know more about specific sites, documents, objects or photographs you can add your comment on each record. If you have more information on your local area – please let us know!
Specialist Search