PEOPLE searching for their family history can turn to the West Yorkshire Archive Service for help as it has millions of names on record.

The service is an ideal place for family historians who are on the hunt for names of their ancestors.

The West Riding Registry of Deeds indexes hold over 20 million of them dating from 1704 to 1970.

And the Registry of Deeds is located at West Yorkshire Archive Services’ Wakefield office and is a nationally unique resource for family and local historians.

It is the largest and oldest Registry in the UK, recording over seven million deeds covering West Yorkshire and beyond, including Halifax to Harrogate and Settle to Sheffield.

It covers an area of around 2,500 square miles.

To discover if your ancestors owned land or property in the area you can either visit the Registry and do your own research or ask the Archive Services’ Research team to search the records for you.

They can help you decipher difficult old handwriting to reveal a host of personal names, houses, businesses and much more.

Your ancestor may have been an entrepreneur in the property boom of the late 19th or early 20th centuries. They could be listed as a trustee of a church or chapel or as a partner in a business venture.

They may even be named in the probate of a Will not recorded anywhere else.

Graham Hebblethwaite, Chief Officer of West Yorkshire Joint Services which oversees the work of the Archive Service, said: “Famous names appearing in the Deeds include Queen Victoria and King George III as well as Joshua Tetley and Leeds United Football Club.

“Details of residential houses and businesses – along with pubs and their landlords and shopkeepers – can provide fascinating information about generations of masons, carpenters, farmers and weavers.”

For enquires email research@wyjs.org.uk or telephone 01924 305980.

To order research visit the eshop https://eshop.wyjs.org.uk or download a Research Service application form at www.archives.wyjs.org.uk

West Yorkshire Archive Service, Wakefield, Registry of Deeds, Newstead Road, Wakefield, WF1 2DE.