THE council's record office will be offering a free session for new users next week.

The County Record Office at 26 Hillside, Newport, hold archive material for the Island and the free session is tailored to anyone started out with researching local, house or family history.

The session will be held next Tuesday, February 19, from 10am to midday.

The material held spans the 12th to the 21st centuries, and includes records of parish churches, estates, families, businesses, schools and local government.

The archive would be invaluable for anyone studying family history and those studying the history of their house, or with an interest in a whole range of local history topics.

The council’s heritage service manager, Richard Smout, said: "The most satisfying enquiries are those where we help individuals to find a visible connection with one of their ancestors. This might be accurately identifying the place of burial or locating the house where a grandparent was born.

"There is an element of detective work to the role, finding evidence, assessing its reliability, and looking for the missing pieces in the jigsaw. If you have never been before, I definitely think you should come and see the wealth of documents we have, just waiting for you to explore."

To book a free session, as places are limited, call 01983 823820 or go online.