Midlands England

loiscolleyball

I'm planning an ancestral trip to Dawley, Telford, England area next Spring 2025. Any suggestions for:

housing, local transportation, historical repositories?

First time attempting a family history trip. I'm open to any ideas.

Thanks!

Lois Ball

Paul W

These appear to be a good starting point, in respect of where to find records: https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/ and https://www.telford.gov.uk/info/20473/local_history_archives_and_ancestry

However, I would suggest you do as much research as possible before you leave home. I once took a trip to the other end of the country (I'm in England) and found virtually nothing that I couldn't have found online or in the facilities (record repositories / libraries) available to me here in London. So, I would make a list of all the queries outstanding after a thorough search on websites like Ancestry, Find My Past and FamilySearch, then contact the local record office (and/or consult their catalogue of holdings) to find out what more would be available to you once in the Telford area.

An email to either, or both, of Shropshire Archives or Telford and Wrekin Council (see links above) might get you a helpful response. Other than that, the web provides you with the same opportunities as someone who lives just a hundred miles away from Telford. I'm sure you'll find it quite easy to download bus / train timetables, options for accommodation, etc. by making appropriate searches via Google.

Obviously, time will be precious once you arrive in England, so I would again stress to do as much homework before leaving, and to make a list of what you consider your priorities / main aims in making this trip. (Finding ancestors' places of baptism / birth, marriage and burial / death, as well as finding any documentary references to your family, which might only be available locally.)

I wish you a rewarding trip.

kimleegalloway1

Hi Lois,

The suggestions listed above are all a great way to search out your ancestors. Another great place to look is to look up local churches in the Telford area if that is where you ancestors are buried.

You can do this in FamilySearch by going to the "Search Tab" and clicking on it. It will bring up a "Dropdown List". At the bottom of the dropdown list is "Cemeteries". If you click on "Cemeteries" it will open a screen called "Cemeteries, Monuments, and Memorial Sites".

It gives you two search options - "Location or Site Name and Person's Full Name and SEARCH" I did a search on Telford, UK and it found 25 sites. I am including the URL and if you click on it, you should see what I found. https://www.familysearch.org/en/cemeteries/sites?showMap=false&selectedSiteTypes=CEMETERY&placeId=ChIJQ3JXDQt4cEgREYhv0ILtOZE&myFamilySites=false&page=0&pageSize=50&showOriginal=true

kimleegalloway1

Hi Lois it's me again,

In reference to your other questions regarding your trip to the Midlands and housing, local transportation. My family and I lived in England, in the Midlands, for a little over three years and we did a lot of traveling. We lived in Croughton, England.

When we traveled in England or Scotland, we typically stayed at a Bed & Breakfast. They are my go to places to stay. There are several in the Dawley, Telford area.

If we weren't traveling by car, we would typically travel by rail. The British rail system is outstanding and you can get almost anywhere in the UK you want to go by "Rail, Bus or Taxi".

There are several scenic locations in the Dawley, Telford area. If you are a little more adventuresome, there are some of my favorite places in England within 60 or so miles. There is: Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's ancestral home, Warwick Castle, probably on of the best castles in England…in my opinion. And for something really unique there is Bourton-on-the-Water, it has three scaled down models of the town…it's pretty cool.

And finally London, Scotland and other locations are a short train ride away.

Adrian Bruce1

You may know this but…

1. Shropshire parish registers are on FindMyPast. (How many? Not sure, but a lot. Dawley - actually the parish of Dawley Magna - is one of them.)
2. Many basic details are to be found on GENUKI, accessed via the Gazetteer on https://www.genuki.org.uk/gazetteer . Dawley itself is on https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SAL/DawleyMagna

kimleegalloway1

Hi Lois…me again,

One thing I forgot to mention…at most church cemeteries in England, one of the favorite things to do is "Gravestone Rubbings". My children took several trips with their schools to do "Gravestone Rubbings". It is a nice touch to your family history.

You can google it for some ideas.

Cheers

Re Searching

@kimleegalloway1 and @loiscolleyball regarding travelling by rail and ticketing. WARNING! You need to be aware of some bizarre practices w.r.t. ticket validity. There is an outrageous system whereby a ticket to get from A to B might be valid only on certain specific routes and outside certain specific times to avoid peak travelling times. This has caught people out on many occasions and results in them having to buy another expensive Penalty Fare to continue the journey. If you are intending to use the rail service, make absolutely certain when you buy the ticket that it will suit the time that you intend to travel for the whole of the duration of the journey, and then make sure you get on the right train. That might mean waiting another half an hour at the station for your train to come in when the one currently waiting on the platform and about to depart is going to exactly the same place. Ludicrous, but that's Britain.

Also, to add to Paul W's list: https://www.shropshirebmd.info/