EN 305 ~ Restoration & Eighteenth Century Literature ~ Dr. Ernst: Reliable & Open Online Sources

"This is a fully searchable online edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court." Also includes historical background information and a bibliography (contains citations on: publishing history; associated records; crime, criminal justice and punishment; Old Bailey Courthouse; London and hinterlands; community histories; gender and the proceedings; and general and useful web sites.)

Connected Histories brings together a range of digital resources related to early modern and nineteenth century Britain with a single federated search that allows sophisticated searching of names, places and dates, as well as the ability to save, connect and share resources within a personal workspace.

This site combines several sites first created in 1996 to provide a starting point for students and enthusiasts of English Literature. Nothing replaces a quality library, but hopefully this site will help fill the needs of those who have not access to one.

Discovery holds more than 32 million descriptions of records held by The National Archives and more than 2,500 archives across the country. Over 9 million records are available for download.

Ballad operas are "British stage productions from 1728-1760 that combine a comic or sentimental play with musical numbers that re-used 'common tunes'". Site created at Oxford University, but a collective effort of British and American music scholars. Sections on theater and dance history, cultural history, political history, stars of ballad operas.
For the purposes of this project, ‘ballad opera’ is defined as any British stage production from 1728 to 1760 that combines a comic or sentimental play with musical numbers that re-used ‘common Tunes’, i.e. airs whose broad circulation allowed them to be recalled by title only.
The term ‘ballad opera’ is misleading because eighteenth-century titles and advertisements classified these works diversely; the term ‘ballad opera’ only took hold after 1731, and the designation ‘Opera’ was more commonly used in volume titles until 1737. Although their ‘Old Ballad Tunes’ were advertised, ballad operas actually contained a very limited number of broadside ballads

BBC's history content in their website. BBC also publishes a BBC History magazine that primarily focuses on aspects of British history

British History Online is a digital library of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland, with a primary focus on the period between 1300 and 1800. We aim to support the learning, teaching and research of our users from around the world.
BHO was founded by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust in 2003. Our collection currently contains over 1,270 volumes and is always growing.

Website for the British Museum

This is the essential guide through the history of London: some 1200 printed and hand-drawn maps charting the development of the city and its immediate vicinity from around 1570 to 1860. The maps were collected, mainly during the first half of the nineteenth century, by the fashionable society designer, Frederick Crace.

A fully searchable edition of 240,000 manuscripts from eight archives and fifteen datasets, giving access to 3.35 million names