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THE MODERN RECORDS CENTRE

The Modern Records Centre situated on the University of Warwick campus was established in 1973 as a department of the university library. It is the main repository for the archives of British trade unions and employers' organisations along with other collections relating to cycling, transport, pressure groups and fringe political parties all of which are likely to be of interest to family historians.

Most of the holdings date from the mid- to late nineteenth century and cover the history of British social, political and economic history, industrial relations, industrial politics and labour history.

Trades Union Collection

The main collection of interest to family historians is likely to be the national records of trades unions and related organisations.

Thes include the archives of the Trades Union Congress, records of hundreds of trades unions ranging from the larger unions to smaller, specialist bodies. The collections relating to individual trade union leaders and activists are also held amongst the collections.

There are also records of trade associations, employers’ organisations and related bodies including the archives of the Confederation of British Industry and its predecessors, together with employers' organisations relating to specific industries and trades such as iron and steel, engineering, transport, clothing, and food and drink.

Cycling

Bearing in mind the popularity of cycling around the end of the 1900s, the Modern Records Centre also hold records relating to cycling. 

The National Cycle Archive, established in 1990 by the Cyclists' Touring Club, contains a wide range of documents relating to cycling as a sport, leisure activity and industry over the past two centuries. Separate archives are lodged for the Cyclists' Touring Club and the National Cycle Museum Trust Archive.

Archives relating to the motorcycle industry include the Auto-Cycle Union and Motorcycle Association.

Special collections

This collection consists of more than 16,000 rare and early publications which can be consulted in the research room covering law, art history, architecture, landscape and travel and political history. These are perhaps not run of the mill records for the average family historian, but are a useful resource for background information on places such as Peterborough Cathedral, the Palace of Westminster and Elizabethan architecture of interest to house historians.

Researching an ancestor at the Modern Records Centre

The archives held by the Modern Records Centre are increasingly useful to family historians tracing the lives and activities of their ancestors. Although the records are considered secondary sources for family historians, the collections yield much useful information. The centre is THE place for collections of British trades union archives which can be used to explore more about the working lives of our ancestors. Trade union membership registers do not always contain a great deal of information on each member. None of these sources provide detailed employment histories of individual members.

Although the centre's staff can do very limited research, a personal visit is essential, or you can use an independent professional researcher (see www.agra.org.uk).

Some membership records and First World War records have been digitised and are available on FindmyPast. Images or transcripts are available to subscribers, but the index can be searched without charge. These currently (April 2026) include records from

  • Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners
  • Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Printers
  • Amalgamated Society of Paper Makers
  • Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
  • Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen and Bargemen
  • Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers
  • Association of Correctors of the Press
  • General Union of Carpenters and Joiners
  • Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters in Secondary Schools
  • Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company
  • Liverpool Victoria Employees' Union
  • London Society of Compositors
  • National Association of Local Government Officers
  • National Society of Lithographic Artists, Designers and Writers, Copperplate and Wood Engravers
  • National Society of Operative Printers
  • National Union of Printing and Paper Workers
  • National Union of Railwaymen
  • National Union of Teachers
  • Operative Bricklayers' Society
  • Printing Machine Managers' Trade Society
  • Typographical Association
  • Union of Engravers to Calico Printers and Paper Stainers
  • United Society of Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders
  • Workers' Union
  •  

Other records will become available including trades union journals which will include information about individual members as well as background information about their industries.

There are also various family history research guides available for some trades and occupations including coal miners, railway workers, carpenters and joiners, shipwrights and merchant seamen. Some indexes as databases by name can be searched on the website

https://warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/collections/research_guides/family_history/

Using the Modern Records Centre

The centre is open Mon-Fri 9.00am to 5.00pm and Fri 9.00am to 4.00pm and is closed on public holidays.

The University of Warwick campus is located on the southern edge of Coventry and the Modern Records Centre is situated in the Central Campus Library. There is chargeable car parking on site the nearest being off University Road.

This article was contributed by Ian Waller from Family History Federation.

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