A family history session will invite people to trace their family back to the Victorian workhouse. Durham County Record Office’s Branching Out series offers family history courses for those ready to move on from the basics. The next session will revisit the Victorian workhouse where those too poor to support themselves were sent to live and work as inmates, given tasks such as unpicking rope or cleaning, depending on age and health. The talk will also help people to trace workhouse staff, including doctors, teachers and chaplains as well as clerical staff. Attendees to the talk can learn about daily life in the workhouse, for both staff and inmates, and how to use surviving records for personal research. Dawn Layland, education archivist at Durham County Record Office, said: “The Victorian working classes dreaded the workhouse and with good reason. It was a very strict, institutional place where, for example, married couples were sent to separate male and female wards and parents were separated from their children. “This talk will tell you more about the workhouse, but also how to trace ancestors who were inmates or staff. It has been an extremely popular topic in previous sessions.” The session runs on Thursday 21 March, 10am to 12 noon and Monday 25 March, 6pm to 8pm. As with all Branching Out sessions, there will be an hour after the talk to browse and use the Record Office research facilities, with support from an archivist. Tickets must be booked in advance and are priced at £10 per person. Book online at https://recordofficeshop.durham.gov.uk/pgEventResult or call 03000 267 619.