About our Society

The Society

Shropshire Family History Society was founded in 1979 to promote the study of genealogy and history especially of Shropshire families and places, to give advice and help and to encourage the preservation and transcription of relevant documents and records especially for the County of Shropshire.

We have approximately 1200 members from across the world. The society is a registered charity (No: 514014) and a member of the Family History Federation.

Membership is open to anyone interested in family history - you don’t have to have ancestors from Shropshire. More details and an application form can be found at the 'Join Us' drop down menu.

Meetings

Our main meetings are held online via Zoom which gives the opportunity to all our members to participate, regardless of where they are in the world. 

These meetings, usually with a speaker, are held at 7.30pm on the third Tuesday evening of each month (except July and August and the potential for a bit of juggling of the December date). Information on each of the talks can be found on the website and in the Journal. The zoom link is circulated in advance to all members who have provided an email address. 

We are planning to re-introduce some in-person meetings and these will be held in The Old Chapel Community Centre, Cross Houses,  Nr Shrewsbury, SY5 6JH. This venue offers free parking, including some designated disabled spaces for those who require it. As soon as the dates and speakers are arranged they will be promoted on the website and in the Journal. These meetings will also provide an opportunity to browse the library and the Shropshire Parish Registers we hold.

Journal

The Society publishes a quarterly journal in March, June, September and December and members can choose either a digital or paper copy. 

We also participate in a mutual Journal exchange scheme with some other family history societies. This is a digital exchange and a list of those with whom we exchange will be  available shortly.

Library

Access to these books is currently limited although the re-introduction of in-person meetings will allow members to browse or borrow the books if they can get to Cross Houses. We also hold copies of many of the printed parish registers of Shropshire and again these will be available at meetings and for loan between meetings.

Talking Family History Online

We hold monthly discussion sessions on Zoom for members to get together and share their interests and enthusiasm for family history. These are usually held on the first Thursday of the month, starting at 7.30 pm (subject to public holidays clashing) and details of how to join these sessions are in the Journal.