Research guides

Search the range of research guides produced by the Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum to help you carry out your own research on a wide range of topics.

The guides provide information about the Museum's collections and also signpost to other sources for research into maritime history.

Search our research guides

About research guides: General introduction

These guides will help you understand how to use the collection at the Caird library to research maritime, family history and picture research

Cutty Sark Research guide

This guide looks at sources for research into Cutty Sark available in the Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum

History of the Royal Observatory and the Astronomers Royal

This guide looks at sources for research into the history of the Royal Observatory.

Research guide A3: Tracing family history from maritime records

This guide is a brief introduction to maritime records that you can use to discover more about your ancestors, family history or famous people

Research guide A6: Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum

This guide is a brief introduction to Greenwich, the National Maritime Museum and the records held by the Museum, followed by a selected bibliography of books in our Library

Research guide B10: Naval gunnery: Sources of information at the National Maritime Museum

This guide lists some of the Museum's books, manuscripts and plans that will help you research naval gunnery

Research guide B11: The Royal Navy: First World War

This guide explains how to use the facilities of the Caird Library at the Museum to research the personnel, vessels and operations of the Royal Navy and its auxiliary forces in 1914-1918

About the guides

The guides are broken up into 17 categories and each has links to other guides which may be relevant to your research. The first four guides (A1, A2, A3 and A4) give comprehensive information about the Museum's main collections and records, and include specific help for those tracing family history from maritime records.

The information in the guides was produced by the staff of the museum, with additional contributions from researchers. The guides are the copyright of the National Maritime Museum. Whilst you are welcome to print copies for your own use, you may not copy them for commercial purposes or republish them in any form. Although care has been taken in preparing the information contained in this document, anyone using it shall be deemed to indemnify the National Maritime Museum from any and all injury or damage arising from such use.