Oxford LibGuides: Early modern history (British & W European c. 1500-c. 1800): English sources

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Key general resources

Early English Books Online
From the first book published in English through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare, this incomparable collection contains over 96,000 images of titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475 - 1640) and Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700) and their revised edition. Libraries possessing this collection find they are able to fulfill the most exhaustive research requirements of graduate scholars in the areas of English literature, history, philosophy, theology, art and music, politics, and the history of science and medicine.
EEBO Text Creation Partnership is an extension of the EEBO image resource. The project encodes the books in XML with a version of the TEI allowing researchers to do full text and other searches. Already there are around 1500 titles online and with several hundred being added each month it is an increasingly valuable resource. The aim of the EEBO TCP project is eventually to make 25,000 books available in this way.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Alternative names: 18th Century Collections Online; ECCO

Eighteenth Century Collections Online is a comprehensive digital edition of The Eighteenth Century, the world's largest library of the printed book on microfilm, available through its imprint Primary Source Microfilm. In the most ambitious single digitization project ever undertaken, nearly 150,000 English-language titles and editions published between 1701 and 1800 will be made available online over the course of the next two years. When complete, the product will allow full-text searching of more than 33 million pages of material, in essence, every significant English-language and foreign-language title printed in the United Kingdom, along with thousands of important works from the Americas.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online provides research opportunities in ways previously unavailable to a wide range of data spanning all disciplines. It is one of the largest sources of rare materials ever collected in microfilm and electronic formats. The collection is an ongoing project based on The English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC), a machine-readable union list of the holdings of the British Library, as well as those from more than 1,500 university, private, and public libraries worldwide.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online captures the essence of the Enlightenment in Great Britain between 1701 and 1800. As the eighteenth century opened, the expiration of the strict controls that previously existed over printing, coupled with the birth of the Industrial Revolution, resulted in the proliferation of printing operations across the country and in turn, created an explosion of literacy. For the first time, a large segment of the population was exposed to a vast array of printed material. Social and economic criticism flourished; theories on man and society were set forth and debated.
Making of the Modern World
Alternative name: MOME

"The Making of the Modern World: Goldsmiths'-Kress Library of Economic Literature 1450-1850" provides digital facsimile images on every page of 61,000 works of literature on economic and business published from 1450 through 1850. Full-text searching on more than 12 million pages provides researchers unparalleled access to this vast collection of material on commerce, finance, social conditions, politics, trade and transport.
Early American Imprints - Evans 1639-1800
Alternative name: News Bank

A major digital collection of full-text early printed American imprints (1639-1800), compiled originally in the American Bibliography by Charles Evans and enhanced by Roger Bristol's Supplement to Charles Evans' American Bibliography.
The collection of 37,000+ imprints embraces every aspect of life in 17th and 18th century America (history, literary, religion, witchcraft, agriculture, foreign affairs, temperance, etc.). Genre of material is very wide-ranging. In addition to printed books, pamphlets and broadsides, the collection also covers anything from advertisements to chapbooks, diaries to gazetteers, and hymnals to wills.

Parliamentary & government sources, calendars, chronicles, etc.

Acts of the Privy Council of England : new series / edited by John Roche Dasent. 46v. London, 1890-1964

Tudor Royal Proclamations by Paul L. Hughes (Editor); James F. Larkin (Editor)
ISBN: 9780300001037
Publication Date: 1969-09-10
Stuart Royal Proclamations by James F. Larkin (Editor); Paul L. Hughes (Editor)
ISBN: 9780198224662
Publication Date: 1983-03-10
A scholarly edition of the Royal Proclamations of King Charles I. The edition presents an authoritative text, together with an introduction, commentary notes, and scholarly apparatus.

[See also the Parliamentary Guide.]

Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online (MEMSO)
Alternative name: MEMSO

Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online (MEMSO) provides a large and growing resource of essential medieval and early modern sources online. It is an excellent way to access a large library of books essential to the study of medieval and early modern England, Scotland and Ireland. Includes selections of annals and chronicles, calendars and registers, saints’ lives, Rolls’ Series and HMC reports and Statutes of the Realm.
State Papers Online I - IV: The Tudors, Stuarts & Commonwealth 1509-1714 (Foreign & Domestic)
Alternative name: SPO I II III IV

State Papers Online I-IV 1509-1714
State Papers Online contains the Tudor and Stuart governments “domestic” and “foreign” papers – the equivalent of today’s documents from the Home and Foreign Offices and the Royal Archives. These everyday working papers of the British royal government reveal Tudor and Stuart society and government, religion and politics in all its drama allowing scholars to trace the remarkable – and frequently violent – transformations of the 16th & 17th centuries. This major resource re-unites the Domestic, Foreign, Borders, Scotland, and Ireland State Papers of Britain with the Registers of the Privy Council and other State Papers now housed in the Cotton, Harley and Lansdowne collections in the British Library. The papers are digitised images and are accompanied by the Calendars. The Calendars State Papers are fully searchable, and each Calendar entry has been linked directly to its related State Paper. Among the Calendars included are the HMC Calendars and the Haynes/Murdin transcriptions of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House.
SPO is relevant to those studying Early Modern British and European history: diplomatic, political, social, cultural, local, legal, religious, kingship and queenship, exploration, travel and trade and early empire; Early Modern literature; Renaissance and Reformation Studies; Tudor & Stuart history.
Calendar of State Papers
Alternative name: Calendar of State Papers Colonial, Domestic, Foreign, Scotland and Ireland

Calendar of State Papers, Colonial
*Contains indexed transcripts and abstracts of accumulated papers relating to North America and the West Indies issued between 1574 and 1739. They include largely correspondence between governors and the secretaries of state, but also memoranda, etc.
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic
*Contains indexed transcripts and abstracts of the accumulated papers of the secretaries of state issues between 1547 and 1704. They contain information on almost every facet of early modern history in the form of letters, petitions, returns, memoranda, orders in council, warrants and newsletters. In progress.
Calendar of State Papers, Foreign
*Contains indexed transcripts and abstracts of the accumulated papers of the secretaries of state relating to foreign affairs. These may be documents produced by the secretaries of state or received by them as a result of their responsibilities in the conduct of British diplomacy abroad. They include correspondence with representatives (English diplomats abroad and foreign diplomats in England), original and draft treaties, letters between heads of state, intercepted despatches and other intelligence, working papers of the secretaries and material relating to military, naval and colonial policy.
Calendars of State Papers for Scotland and Ireland
*Contains indexed transcripts and abstracts of the accumulated papers of the secretaries of state relating to Scotland and Ireland issued between 1547-1588 and 1586-1601 respectively. In progress.
Cecil Papers, The
The Cecil Papers provides online access to a collection of Tudor and early Stuart documents, principally from the reigns of Elizabethan I and James I/VI, privately held by the Gascoyne-Cecil family at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. The resource contains nearly 30,000 documents gathered by William Cecil (1521-98), Lord Burghley and his son Robert Cecil (1563-1612), First Earl of Salisbury. These important statesmen were Lord High Treasurer and Secretary of State serving Elizabeth I and then James I. The collection includes many 16th and 17th century state papers, grants from the Crown, legal documents, treaties, correspondence, and political memoranda.
U.K. Parliamentary Papers (ProQuest)
Alternative names: HCCP ; House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (ProQuest) ; UK Parliamentary Papers ; UKPP

With all collections enabled, HCPP now includes over 200,000 House of Commons sessional papers from 1715 to the present, with supplementary material back to 1688. HCPP delivers page images and searchable full text for each paper, along with detailed indexing.
We have access to the following collections:
* 18th century (1688-1834)
* 19th century (1801-1900)
* 20th century (1901-2003/04 session)
* Hansard 1803-2005 the official record of the debates in the House of Lords and Commons.
Both Houses of Parliament, the Commons and the Lords, produce parliamentary papers. Although HCPP is a collection of Commons papers, some from the Lords are also included. This is because the Lords often presented papers to the Commons, such as reports prepared by Lords Select Committees. These reports were then included in the House of Commons Papers, and therefore appear in HCPP.

Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660 (BHO) The full text of legislation passed into law during the Interregnum. Contains over 900 pieces of legislation. ranging from that concerning the trial and execution of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury to the regulation of trade in currants, and from the propagation of the Gospel in the New World to the draining of the Great Fen. Originally published in three volumes, it is here given together, along with a table of acts passed and a substantial introduction.
Calendar of the Cecil Papers at Hatfield House [BHO] These 24 volumes cover the papers of the leading political family of Elizabethan and Jacobean England. William Cecil, Lord Burghley, was chief advisor to Elizabeth I, and his son Robert was Secretary of State to both Elizabeth and James I. Unusually, these state papers have remained in the family archives at Hatfield House. Among other highlights, this calendar covers the Casket Letters attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots and material relating to the Gunpowder Plot - British History Online
Calendar of Treasury Books [BHO] These calendars detail state income and expenditure from the Restoration up to 1718, in 32 volumes. This series complements two others on British History Online: the Calendar of Treasury Papers and the Calendar of Treasury Books and Papers
Journals of the House of Commons (1771-1839) [BHO] Official minute book of the House of Commons. Includes indices. Selection available on British History Online.
Journals of the House of Lords (upto 1800) [BHO] Official minute book of the House of Lords. Includes indices. Selection available on British History Online
List & Index Society publications An invaluable source for British historians, specialising in “publishing texts, editions and tabulations of historical manuscripts that are outside the range of the online catalogue". The set is held in the Duke Humfrey's Library, Old Library, Bodleian, under shelfmark L&ISoc.
Statutes of the Realm [BHO] The full text of Statutes passed into law by the two Houses of Parliament. 3 volumes.

Economic and social history sources

Tudor economic documents : being select documents illustrating the economic and social history of Tudor England / edited by R.H. Tawney and Eileen Power.3 vols. London, 1924

List & Index Society (Series) on open shelves in Duke Humfrey's Library, Old Bodleian Library. Check SOLO for some 240+ titles. Aims to provide photographic copies of unprinted lists and indexes kept in the Public Record Office, London, and of other unprinted guides and aids to the use of public archives in the British Isles. Publications include lists, texts, editions and tabulations of historical manuscripts. Also continues publication of some of the key series of government documents, notably the Calendar of Patent Rolls. It is currently publishing transcripts of the medieval customs accounts and calendars of such little known but key series as HO 47, Judges’ Reports on Criminals 1783 to 1830. Recent publications include medieval royal witness lists and itineraries, and gazetteers of early Tudor taxation and medieval markets and fairs. Index of publications available online.

Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts: Guide to Reports [URR K3.550]. Includes Index of Places and Index of Persons. In its earlier days its work consisted in surveying and publishing reports on collections mainly in private hands - those of individuals, families, estates, corporations and other bodies. These reports, published as parliamentary papers, were supplemented from 1885 by a series of octavo calendars, such as those of the Cecil papers at Hatfield House or the records of the House of Lords. These reports and calendars, together with their published indexes, are, despite their fairly obvious limitations and deficiencies, still in regular and frequent use by historians, and particularly by political historians of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Making of the Modern World [1450-1850] Digital facsimile images on every page of 61,000 works of literature on economic and business published from 1450 through 1850.
Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674-1913
The Proceedings contain accounts of trials which took place at the Old Bailey. The crimes tried were mostly felonies (predominantly theft), but also include some of the most serious misdemeanours. The first published collection of trials at the Old Bailey dates from 1674, and from 1678 accounts of the trials at each session (meeting of the Court) at the Old Bailey were regularly published.
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Inexpensive, and targeted initially at a popular rather than a legal audience, the Proceedings were produced shortly after the conclusion of each sessions and were a commercial success. With few exceptions, this periodical was regularly published each time the sessions met (eight times a year) for 160 years. In 1834 it changed its name, but publication continued until 1913.
British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries 1500-1950
A digital libraries which documents the immediate experiences of 430 women, as revealed in approximately 80,000 pages of diaries and letters.
Defining Gender, 1450-1910
Approximately 50,000 images of original documents relating to Gender Studies.
John Foxe's The Acts and Monuments Online
Transcriptions of all four editions of Foxe's text that were published during his lifetime. These books cover
the reign of Mary (1553-1558) and constitute the climax of Foxe's historical and teleological argument. They
also form one of the principal sources for the history of the reign.
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Much of the information which they contain
can be verified, or modified, from other sources; but in some cases Foxe's narrative is unique. Oral sources
are sometimes identified, sometimes not; all are equally unverifiable. Foxe was very close to the events that
he was describing, had excellent contacts among the English protestants, and a clearly defined agenda.
Georgian Britain (The British Library)
Selections from the British Library digital collections covering various aspects of Georgian Britain. The digital images of documents and illustrations are accompanied by articles on the following themes:
Crime and punishment in Georgian Britain
Georgian entertainment: from pleasure gardens to blood sports
Health, hygiene and the rise of ‘Mother Gin’ in the 18th century
Popular politics in the 18th century Poverty in Georgian Britain
The Industrial Revolution
The rise of cities in the 18th century
The rise of consumerism
Prize Papers Portal
"Prize Papers Portal is going to be the home to a vast collection of documents and artefacts taken from ships captured by British privateers and Royal Navy ships between 1652–1817, along with corresponding legal papers.

While, step by step, available here, in open access, the physical materials are preserved in the records of the English High Court of Admiralty at The National Archives, UK, in the series HCA 30, HCA 32 and HCA 45.
Over the course of 2022 and 2023 the Prize Papers Project will publish representative case studies of documents found on board ships seized by the British during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). The purpose of these case studies is to introduce our visitors to the richness, character and diversity of the Prize Papers collection.

In the further course of this year, more archival collections that date from the War of Austrian Succession will be added continuously online."
The Merchant Fleet of Late Medieval and Tudor England, 1400–1580
This database contains the details of English, Welsh, and Channel Islands merchant ships, and the voyages they undertook, between 1400 and 1580. The database was compiled using evidence from three core documentary records:

Customs Accounts: the records of customs charges levied on English maritime commerce. The taxation of maritime commerce was an important part of the crown's income and to collect revenues from custom charges the crown needed to systematically record the details of the ships and their cargoes as they entered or left port.
Navy Payrolls: the crown's wartime requisitioning (and payment) of merchant vessels for naval duties and for the transportation of armies and supplies to Scotland, France, and elsewhere.
National ship surveys: compiled to provide the government with accurate information as to the size and geographical distribution of the English merchant fleet.

Papers of individuals (selections)

King James VI and I, Political writings / edited by Johann P. Sommerville. Cambridge, 1994

The Cecil Papers (ProQuest). Available online via SOLO.

Thurloe State Papers, ed. T. Birch (1742). Available online via ECCO.

T. Carlyle, Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, eds. S. C. Lomas. 3 vols. (London, 1904).

The diary of Samuel Pepys : a new and complete transcription / edited by Robert Latham and William Matthews. 11 vols. London, 1970-1983

The diary of John Evelyn : now printed in full from the manuscripts belonging to Mr. John Evelyn / ed. by E.S. de Beer. 6 vols. Oxford, 2000

The entring book of Roger Morrice, 1677-1691 / [Mark Goldie, general editor]. 6 vols. Woodbridge, 2007

pre-1800 online English newspapers

Tip: how to best to find specific pre-1800 printed English newspapers in Oxford.

17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers
This database provides access to over 1,270 newsbooks, newspapers, pamphlets and a variety of other news materials published in England, Ireland and Scotland, plus papers from British colonies in Asia and the Americas. The collection is particularly rich in 18th century London newspapers. All the major titles are included, such as the Daily Courant from 1702 to 1735, the first daily newspaper published in London, and the London Gazette from 1665. Periodicals, such as Tatler (1709-1711) and Spectator (1711-1712), are also included.

Also represented are English provincial titles from 1712, Irish newspapers (the earliest being the Dublin Intelligence of 1691), Scottish ones from 1708 onwards, and many 18th century American ones too, including the New England Courant (1721-1723).
17th and 18th Century Nichols Newspapers Collection Features the newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets and broadsheets that form the Nichols newspaper collection held at the Bodleian Library. All 296 volumes of bound material, covering the period 1672-1737 have been digitized. This collection charts the history of the development of the press in England and provides invaluable insight into 17th and 18th century England.
British Periodicals (1681-1939)
British Periodicals traces the development and growth of the periodical press in Britain from its origins in the seventeenth century through to the Victorian 'age of periodicals' and beyond. On completion this unique digital archive will consist of almost 500 periodical runs published from the 1680s to the 1930s, comprising six million keyword-searchable pages and forming an unrivalled record of more than two centuries of British history and culture.

Provides access to the full-text of nearly 460 British popular and literary periodicals published from the 17th century to the early 20th century. Includes amongst others the Anti-Slavery Reporter, London Review, Royal Magazine or Gentleman’s Monthly Companion, some religious titles such as The Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine. Topics covered include literature, philosophy, history, science, music, architecture, drama, the fine arts and the social sciences.
Eighteenth Century Journals
A digital collection of 18th century journals published between 1693 and 1799, including many rare or ephemeral titles drawn from the Hope Collection at the Bodleian Library and the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Centre, University of Texas at Austin. The journals are invaluable to the study of all aspects of the eighteenth century, including crime, sport, advertising, the theatre; fashion; politics, revolution; agriculture; social issues and society life. There are also polemics, poetry, letters to the press, reviews of drama and novels, contemporary adverts and essays on almost every conceivable topic.
The Times Digital Archive (1785-2019)
Arguably the most important British national paper. The subscription doesn’t include Sunday Times and supplements. You can find much information on cultural affairs, such as a plays and operas, Law reports and court circulars, etc. Supplementary research tools are useful, helping you for instance with old currency.

Finding aids & catalogues

Bodleian Library:

Quarto catalogues [SpColl RR R.Ref.722]
Online Catalogue of Western Manuscripts
A summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford which have not hitherto been catalogued in the Quarto series. 7 vols. (Oxford, 1895-1953) [SpColl RR X.Cat.1]

British Library

Cambridge University Library: manuscript online catalogue

Catalogues of manuscripts of other libraries (e.g. Bibliothèque Nationale, Folger, etc.) [Weston Library: R.Cat.]

The National Archives (TNA) Discovery: includes searching National Register of Archives, Access to Archives, etc. NRA records contains information on the nature and location of manuscripts and historical records that relate to British history. Use Record Creator search to locate archives on individuals, families or organisations.

ARCHON. Directory includes contact details for record repositories in the United Kingdom and also for institutions elsewhere in the world which have substantial collections of manuscripts noted under the indexes to the National Register of Archives.

Archives Hub

National inventory of documentary sources in the UK & Ireland (NIDS) [microfiches]. (Chadwyck-Healey, 1984). NIDS is a major national reference work that reproduces on microfiche the finding aids to thousands of archive and manuscript collections in more than 120 libraries and record offices, museums and private collections throughout the UK and Ireland. Using NIDS, researchers in their own libraries can pinpoint the collections containing documents of interest to them thereby saving time and money and making visits to repositories much more rewarding. Furthermore, NIDS can also help users uncover neglected resources in collections which are often overlooked.

ArchiveGrid. ArchiveGrid is an important destination for searching through historical documents, personal papers, and family histories held in archives around the world. Thousands of libraries, museums, and archives have contributed nearly a million collection descriptions to ArchiveGrid. Researchers searching ArchiveGrid can learn about the many items in each of these collections, contact archives to arrange a visit to examine materials, and order copies.

Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts: Guide to Reports [URR K3.550]. Includes Index of Places and Index of Persons. In its earlier days its work consisted in surveying and publishing reports on collections mainly in private hands - those of individuals, families, estates, corporations and other bodies. These reports, published as parliamentary papers, were supplemented from 1885 by a series of octavo calendars, such as those of the Cecil papers at Hatfield House or the records of the House of Lords. These reports and calendars, together with their published indexes, are, despite their fairly obvious limitations and deficiencies, still in regular and frequent use by historians, and particularly by political historians of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.