UK heritage information resources online and free-of-charge

National

• biab online: Was a database of bibliographic references covering all aspects of archaeology and the historic environment of mainly Britain and Ireland. It contained almost 200,000 references from 300 years of scholarship. In 2016 this resource was integrated into the Archaeology Data Service library. British and Irish Archaeological Bibliography
• Britain from Above: More than 95,000 images from the Aerofilms Collection, an archive of over 1 million aerial photographs taken between 1919 and 2006. Historic Environment Scotland, Historic England & RCAHMW
• Discovery: A large archive portal with 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. The National Archives
• National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP): One of the largest collections of aerial imagery in the world, containing tens of millions of images featuring historic events and places around the world. National Collection of Aerial Photography

England

• ARCHSEARCH: An integrated online catalogue indexing over 1.3 million metadata records, including ADS collections and metadata harvested from UK historic environment inventories. Archaeology Data Service
• British Museum Collection Online: Museum collection with over 2 million records, representing over 3.5 million objects. Almost half of the records have one or more images. British Museum
• Heritage Gateway: Information on England's local archaeological sites and finds, and historic buildings and landscapes, compiled by Historic Environment Records (HERs). Nearly two-thirds of England's HERs are on the Gateway, others are available online through their host authority. Historic England, ALGAO & IHBC
• Historic England Archive: Contains over 1 million catalogue entries describing photographs, plans and drawings of England's buildings and historic sites, held in the Historic England Archive. Historic England
• National Heritage List for England (NHLE): The legal descriptions of all listed buildings, scheduled monuments, protected wrecks and registered parks, gardens and battlefields in England. Also known as the Heritage List. Historic England
• National Trust Collections: Database with almost 850,000 items online and covering over 200 National Trust sites and properties. National Trust
• Portable Antiquities Scheme Database: Over 700,000 records of artefacts and coins found by the public, not archaeologists as these data can be found within the local Historic Environment Office. Portable Antiquities Scheme
• Victoria & Albert Collections Database: Online access to over a million catalogue records and over half a million images of objects in the museum collections. Victoria & Albert Museum
• Wellcome Osteological Research Database (WORD): Museum of London curates over 17, 000 archaeologically derived human skeletal remains, who were excavated in advance of construction or development work in the City and Greater London area. Finds date from the Neolithic to the post-Medieval period. Museum of London

Scotland

• Buildings at Risk for Scotland Highlights properties of architectural or historic merit throughout the country that are considered to be at risk or under threat. Historic Environment Scotland
• Canmore: The window into the RCAHMS database. It covers the results of survey and collections material, location information, site details and images on more than 300,000 archaeological, architectural, maritime and industrial sites throughout Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland.
• Designations database: Search and view records for listed buildings, scheduled monuments, inventory gardens and designed landscapes, inventory battlefields and historic marine protected areas. Historic Environment Scotland
• HLAmap: An interactive digital map that shows changing patterns of land-use throughout Scotland. The website includes interactive features and content, from a Glossary of illustrations and maps demonstrating how HLA interprets the landscape, to downloadable HLA reports and documents. Historic Environment Scotland
• PastMap: An interactive mapping service which offers a single point of entry into five major databases covering the built environment in Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland
• ScotlandsPlaces: Viewing resources ranging from listings of land ownership, details of boundary changes and Register House records, to Medical Officer of Health Reports, Farm Horse Tax Rolls, and photographs, plans and drawings of Scotland’s buildings and archaeology. Historic Environment Scotland, The National Records of Scotland, The National Library of Scotland
• SCRAN: Scran offers users direct access to more than 360,000 digital resources for studying heritage and material culture. The resources include images, video clips, podcasts and Pathfinder teaching packs linked to both the Scottish and English curriculum frameworks. Historic Environment Scotland

Wales

• Historic Wales: A map enabled portal for historic environment information in Wales. It allows simultaneous searching of hundreds of thousands of records relating to archaeological monuments, historic buildings and artefacts held by Cadw, the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, and Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum. Cadw, Welsh Archaeological Trusts, RCAHMW, National Museum
• Coflein: The online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW). It covers the national collection of information about the historic environment of Wales from the earliest times to the present day, with details of archaeological sites, monuments, buildings and maritime sites in Wales. There is also an index to the drawings, manuscripts and photographs held in the NMRW archive collections. Hosted by Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
• Archwilio: Online access to information on the historic environment records held by the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts. These records fulfill a wide variety of functions including assisting the positive management and presentation of the historic landscape, planning control, and as a source for local history, conservation and tourism projects. Clwyd-Powys, Dyfed, Glamorgan-Gwent & Gwynedd Archaeological Trusts

Northern Ireland

• Northern Ireland SMR Sites & Monuments Record Database: Database for the six counties of Northern Ireland, holding information on approx. 16,300 sites. Includes information on Mesolithic camp sites, Bronze age landscapes preserved under bog, Early Christian monasteries, the castles of the Norman conquest and the defended houses of the Plantation settlers. Northern Ireland SMR Sites & Monuments Record

Isle of Man

• iMuseum: Online database for museum collections, photographs and archive material, information about people, and over 800 records on sites and monuments of the island. Manx National Heritage