Hyde Park Family History Centre

The people are super friendly and helpful. Family History work is so important! The resources they have are incredible! Definitely try it out!

The majority of the information I have found on my ancestors has come from this centre. The only other way of accessing these particular records would have involved a trip to Bratislava and trying to access the state archives of Slovakia as a non-​native speaker. Which would have been a far more daunting prospect than getting off the tube at South Kensington on my way home from work.
The facility is located in the basement of the church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints (known to most as the Mormon church), just next to the Science Museum. It’s the building with the big golden spike on the front.
Mormons are interested in Family History because (according to a website I looked this up on) they believe that you can be reunited with your family in the afterlife if you submit genealogical details to your local LDS church. This has led them to microfilm historical and genealogical records from all over the world, and make them accessible to the general public. Church records, parish records and census data are all available for anyone to look at.
You certainly don’t have to be a believer to use the facility (I’m not), and in the many times I’ve been, faith has never been mentioned. The church staff who work there help you find stuff if you ask, and let you get on with your research. Use of the facilities is also free.
There are research guides, a wall-​full of books on genealogy, microfilm readers and full access to various resources (including
) on the computers. They have a selection of microfilms on the premises, and thousands upon thousands more available in the central library in Salt Lake City. Crucially, these can be ordered on short term or extended loan for around 3 or 4 quid a roll.
If you want to find out about your ancestors, this is the place to go.