This is an excellent introduction to this key area of family and local history research - it is a book that all family and local historians should have on their shelves. Parish records are essential sources for family and local historians and Stuart Raymond's handbook is an invaluable guide to them. He explores and explains the fascinating and varied historical and personal information they contain. His is the first thorough going survey of these resources to be published for over three decades. In concise, easy-to-follow text he describes where these important records can be found, and demonstrates how they can be used. Records relating to the poor laws, apprentices, the church, tithes, enclosures and charities are all covered. The emphasis throughout is on understanding their original purpose and on revealing how relevant they are for researchers today. Compelling insights into individual lives and communities in the past can be gleaned from these records, which are especially useful when they are combined with other major sources, such as the census. Softcover, indexed, 186 pages, 23cm Stuart A Raymond, Pen & Sword, South Yorkshire 2014