Talk Genealogy

26 Episodes
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By: Malcolm Noble

The monthly podcast for the genealogist with too much time on their hands

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Evaluating a Parish Register
Evaluating a Parish Register episode artwork
#99
Last Wednesday at 10:02 AM

The episode looks at the four distinct periods in the history of parish registers and attempts to unpick what was going on, how that development (or lack of development) could influence how the registers were kept and what that means for how we should read them


STREET DIRECTORIES
STREET DIRECTORIES episode artwork
#98
09/09/2026

Street directories are an important source for family history. Here we compare the different publishers and discuss ways of interpreting the different entries.


PEDIGREE HEARSAY
PEDIGREE HEARSAY episode artwork
#96
08/31/2026

Today we’re talking about pedigree hearsay and the genealogist’s evidence toolbox. Tonight’s episode falls back on the old pedigree hearsay doctrine to answer a few practical questions. When family history is preserved in stories, Bible entries, letters, parish registers, wills, census returns, and even civil registration, how do we decide what weight to give to each source. time we talk about whatever comes into our head building an audio library for genealogists with too much time on their hands judges in pedigree cases had to confront exactly the same problem that genealogists now face how to evaluate second...


Ethel Stokes - Woman Genealogist 1900
Ethel Stokes - Woman Genealogist 1900 episode artwork
#95
08/05/2026

Ethel Stokes was a woman whose quiet, determined labour shaped the archival landscape that historians, genealogists and local researchers depend on today. Her work was practical, unsentimental and profoundly influential, and it continues to benefit anyone who hunts ancestors in England. Much is made of her contribution because she was a woman, and the female role in genealogy is often underwritten or underplayed. In one special way, her life contradicts this. When we look at the list of women who have contributed to genealogy—Caroline Fennec and her lay subsidies, Helen Cam and her hundred rolls, Catherine Keats, Rowan’s two...


The Family Rubbish Dump
The Family Rubbish Dump episode artwork
#94
07/21/2026

Today we're looking at one of the most ordinary features in any historic domestic plot—a feature that most families never thought about twice. It rarely appears in documents and rarely survives in memory, yet it can tell you more about daily life than almost anything else on the ground.We're talking about the household rubbish pit.We're not talking about the grand midden of an archaeological site or a municipal tip, just the place where a family put the things they no longer needed. If you can find it, and if you know how to read it, you can re...


Episode 93 Village Cricket and Family Researcg
Episode 93 Village Cricket and Family Researcg episode artwork
#93
07/08/2026

Village Cricket and Genealogy: Reading Between the Lines of the Local Match ReportFrom the Talk Genealogy podcast, with Malcolm NobleEvening, all. Hope it's a pleasant evening where you are and that your family history research is going well. I've been doing a bit of D-Day research recently — I'm not a military historian, it's not my thing at all, so I've learned quite a little bit. But tonight we're going to listen to village cricket. You know, the game where the bowler is definitely aiming for the man.The Talk Genealogy podcast looks at different techniques an...


episode 91 Metroland
episode 91 Metroland episode artwork
#92
06/24/2026

In this episode, Malcolm Noble explores three major population movements that reshaped London and the surrounding counties between the end of the First World War and the late 1940s. These shifts—Addison Act rehousing, the rise of Metroland, and the towntocountry movement—offer essential context for family historians tracing ancestors in the southeast of England. Episode OutlineOpening· Broadcast from “the corner of a country lane in the middle of England.”· Warm welcome and checkin on listeners’ familytree progress.· Reminder: the podcast explores techniques, sources, and historical contexts for genealogists. Main Topic: Three Popul...


A Country Doctors House in 18th Century England
A Country Doctors House in 18th Century England episode artwork
#88
04/16/2026

A tour of a doctors house in 18th Century rural Cambridgeshire.  The rooms, the furniture, the brewhouse and medical cabinets. The stills and the cattle


Forced Knighthood
Forced Knighthood episode artwork
#87
04/16/2026

Forced knighthood introduces us to legal disputes, status boundaries, royal excess, loyalty and estate management in England's Middle Ages. We look at the original idea, the processes and case studies, and, most important, we point out how it can help trace our fourteenth-century ancestors. From the corner of a country lane in the middle of England, here is the podcast for the genealogist with too much time on their hands


The Great Storm in England
The Great Storm in England episode artwork
#58
03/08/2026

Daniel Defore wrote about a Great Storm that covered most of England. Did it cause havoc in your family's history


Genealogy and the 1259 Pipe Roll
Genealogy and the 1259 Pipe Roll episode artwork
#51
03/06/2026

Here is Episode 51 of the talk genealogy podcast, the podcast for the family historian with too much time on his hand


Practical Introduction to Medieval Genealogy
Practical Introduction to Medieval Genealogy episode artwork
#86
03/02/2026

First of three episode introducing some practical steps to researching your medieval ancestry in UK


83 Matriculation and London Education during World War Two
83 Matriculation and London Education during World War Two episode artwork
02/21/2026

Matriculation was the standard goal for teenagers in 1930s Britain. However, the disruption during the Second World War made it unsafe to stage examinations, so London University came up with their own solution


82 UK Census -Advanced Studies!
82 UK Census -Advanced Studies! episode artwork
02/21/2026

Not so much "how to do it" more "how to use it"   This episode of the podcast for Genealogists with Too Much Time on their hands looks at how to get the most out of a Victorian UK Census.


Episode 81 Diocese Records
Episode 81 Diocese Records episode artwork
#80
01/30/2026

A discussion about the records likely to be found in the archive of a Diocese. How to find them and how to use them, along with a few comments about transcribed copies,  This episode opens a return to our regular monthly podcasts


Genealogy Christmas Quiz
Genealogy Christmas Quiz episode artwork
#73
12/18/2025

Twenty questions (and answers) to tease the genealogist with too much time on their hands.


#63 Family History in a Deserted Medieval Village
#63 Family History in a Deserted Medieval Village episode artwork
#63
10/02/2025

Abandoned settlements left so many clues behind for family historians to oncover.  We look at the types of deserted vilages, reason for desertion, clues from fieldwalking and medieval sources. This is the third in a mini series of short weekly podcasts, leading up to the launch of the new book. A Practical Guide to Medieval Genealogy in February 2026.  Builing an audio library for genealogists with too much time on their hands.


Talk-Genealogy - #61 Medieval Lay Subsidy
Talk-Genealogy - #61  Medieval Lay Subsidy episode artwork
#61
09/20/2025

Episode 61 is the first in a mini-series of the podcast for Genealogists with Too Much Time on Their Hands. Each week we will post a brief episode concentrating on researching Medieval Ancestors. In this episode, we look at the Lay Subsidy of 1327 and ask how the list of tenants can show us the structure, size and agrarian specifics about a village. Check us out each Thursday for other episodes.


Scropes and Grosvenor Heraldic Trial
Scropes and Grosvenor Heraldic Trial episode artwork
#60
08/27/2025

One of the earliest cases to be heard by the Court of Chivalry. A dispute over the right to bear arms.


bow bells
bow bells episode artwork
#56
06/17/2025

Researching Family History within the Sound of Bow Bells. The podcast for genealogists with too much time on their hands


56 The English Manor
56 The English Manor episode artwork
#56
06/06/2025

This Episode of the podcast for genealogists with too much time on their hands discusses how essential an understanding of the English Manor is to the study of genealogy and family history, especially during the Middle Ages


The Squires of Old England
The Squires of Old England episode artwork
#53
04/27/2025

The power of the squire emerged from the dispersal of property following the dissolution of the monasteries and accelerated in the new century so that they were able to press parliament's case against the orthodox aristocracy.  Looking for changes and differences - always my calling cards, you may have noticed - the story of these major families may explain why our grandparents moved, changed their work patterns or addresses or even emigrated. While the conventional sources of history are as important as ever, this episode highlight some more uncommon sources to inform our subject


Genealogy and 1259 Pipe Roll
Genealogy and 1259 Pipe Roll episode artwork
04/18/2025

This Episode of the Talk Genealogy Podcast looks at how the 1259 Pipe Roll and help family historians researching their family tree beyond the era of parish register.  One in a series of three talks on this Pipe Roll


Spot a Mistaken Pedigree, and Richard Carew's Cornwall
Spot a Mistaken Pedigree, and Richard Carew's Cornwall episode artwork
#53
04/18/2025

This Episode looks at local historian Richard Carew and his Survey of Cornwall. Also, a few tips on how to Spot a Phoney Pedigree.


Episode 49 The Australian Brothers
Episode 49 The Australian Brothers episode artwork
#49
03/03/2025

Nineteenth century migration to Australia and Australian sacrifice in World War One provide some family history, setting out the importance of local history drawn from sources in plain sight.


Episode 48
Episode 48 episode artwork
02/16/2025