19th Century British Social History 

Primary source material can be found in archival collections in Australia and worldwide. A useful explanation of the difference between primary and secondary sources can be found in Library Research: Finding Primary Sources (from the UC Berkeley Library).

Great Britain & Ireland

• ancestry.co.uk
• Archon - Archives On-Line - The principal information gateway for UK archivists and users of manuscript sources for British history. Hosted and maintained by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts.
• Greater Manchester County Record Office
• National Archives - UK Government Records and Information Management

• UK National Register of Archives
  Consists of more than 41,000 unpublished lists of major manuscript collections, approximately 150,000 lists of miscellaneous and minor collections, and about 5,000 published finding aids and repositories' annual reports. Copies of lists in the National Register of Archives (Scotland) are also held.  

• National Archives of Ireland
• Archive Related Websites - National and International - Compiled by the National Archives of Ireland

Bibliographies of Archival materials

Brooke, John - The Prime Ministers' papers, 1801-1902 : a survey of the privately preserved papers of those statesmen who held the Office of Prime Minister. Lond. HMSO, 1968.

Papers of British politicians, 1782-1900. Lond. HMSO, 1989. Guide to sources for British history based on the National Register of Archives ; 7.

To locate primary source materials through the Library Catalogue search under the S>SUBJECT heading using a combination of your topic and the term "sources", e.g., the Subject Headings

GREAT BRITAIN HISTORY 19TH CENTURY SOURCES
GREAT BRITAIN SOCIAL CONDITIONS 19TH CENTURY SOURCES
GREAT BRITAIN HISTORY VICTORIA 1837-1901 SOURCES
FEMINISM GREAT BRITAIN HISTORY 19TH CENTURY SOURCES