Registers of Parliamentary electors were introduced by the 1832 Reform Act. A voter’s name must be on them in order to cast a vote.

They have been compiled annually since 1832, except for:

• 1916–17 and 1940–44 inclusive during the World Wars
• 1919–26 and 1945–49 when the registers were compiled twice a year.

All registers list the name (usually surname, first name and initials) of the voter and an address.

Until 1918, the registers included:

• the qualification that entitled the person to vote
• details of their current residence
• the address of property owned in the constituency or polling district.

Following the 1918 Representation of the People Act it stated that, wherever possible, the register should be published in street order with no surname index.

From 1928–1970 the abbreviation 'Y' was used to denote someone who would reach the age of 21 during the first half of the year in which the register was in force. After 1970, the date of birth is given for anyone approaching the age of 18.

Milton Keynes libraries no longer hold copies of the Open Electoral register.

For information about how to view the electoral register please contact Milton Keynes City Council Electoral Services. For historical records you can contact Buckinghamshire Archives in Aylesbury.

The open version does not contain all the electors in Milton Keynes as any elector can request that their personal details be kept private. Consequently details are not included in the open version.

To view the full electoral register for any area of the UK, you need to contact the electoral services department of that local council for details and access arrangements.

Historical electoral registers for the area are held at the Buckinghamshire Archives in Aylesbury.

• Pigot’s and Kelly’s Directories for Buckinghamshire from 1830 to 1939.
• The library also holds more recent Business Directories for Milton Keynes - Search the Library Catalogue for more details.
• BT Telephone Directories and Yellow Pages directories for the Milton Keynes area are available in the library from 1976 onwards.
• You can view the current editions of the BT Directory and  Yellow Pages online.

• Historical Directories is a digital library of local and trade directories for England and Wales, from 1750 to 1919. It contains high quality reproductions of comparatively rare directories - essential tools for research into local and genealogical history.
• Ancestry library edition website can be viewed free of charge in all Milton Keynes libraries and contains a number of digitised UK trade directories.

Many of the wills for Buckinghamshire from the 16th century to 1858 are held on microfilm in the Family History Library. You can search for a will online through the Buckinghamshire Archives.

• For all wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) prior to 1858 - online access at National Archives documents
• For wills proved in the Prerogative Court of York (PCY) before 1858 - these are held at the Borthwick Institute in York.

Copies of wills, probate and letters of administration for the whole of England and Wales from 1858 can be ordered from the HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

• Pre 1858 wills can be found locally or on the National Archives website, however, it applies mainly to wealthier people.
• 1858-1966 abbreviated probate records are available on the Ancestry website.
• Wills after 1858 can be found on the gov.uk website under 'Search for Wills'.

All wills and administrations proved in England and Wales from 1858-1943 should be listed in the National Probate Index. A microfiche copy of the annual printed index is available at the Buckinghamshire Archives.

You will find the deceased’s name, occupation, address, date and place of death, the names of the executors and the value of the estate.

The Ancestry website has a collection containing summaries of the vast majority of probate cases in England and Wales between 1861 and 1941. It effectively forms an index to wills and probate records for this period.

Created by the Probate Registry, the collection covers 80 years from 1861 to 1941.

It does not cover the years:

• 1858-1860

There are some gaps for the years:

• 1863
• 1868
• 1873
• 1876
• 1877
• 1883
• 1888
• 1899-1903
• 1910-1911

They hope to add the missing records as soon as possible.