Privacy Policy

Who we are

Sherwood Taylor is the trading name of Sherwood Taylor Research Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (Company No: 17457267). Our registered address is 4^th Floor Silverstream House, 45 Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 6EB. Sherwood Taylor is also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a Data Controller (No: ZC250237) in accordance with Data Protection regulations.

You may contact the Company using any of the following methods:

Post: 4^th Floor Silverstream House, 45 Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 6EB

Telephone: 0203 780 1053

Email: info@sherwoodtaylor.co.uk

The following sections of this Privacy Policy cover the types of personal information we collect and use, how this is obtained, the lawful basis for its collection and application, your rights as a Data Subject, our retention schedule, and who we share this information with. Throughout this Privacy Policy, Sherwood Taylor may also be referred to as “the Company”, “We” or “Us”.

What personal information we collect

The Company’s clients are predominantly regulated legal professionals and law firms based in the United Kingdom who instruct us to conduct genealogical research or provide tracing services. These services are provided in relation to the administration of an estate or other related legal matter. To provide our services to our clients, we collect and use the following personal information:

• Names
• Contact details (address, telephone number, and email)
• Gender, and pronoun preferences
• Dates of birth, marriage and death
• Third Party data (information relating to family members or other relevant parties)
• Identification documents (where applicable)

When enquiries are made through our website, email address or via a telephone call, we will collect and use the following information relating to the enquirer:

• Names
• Firm, company or organization (as an employee or representative of).
• Business email address
• Business telephone number
• The contents of the enquiry which may contain the personal information of a Third Party 

Where we obtain personal information

The Company utilizes a combination of publicly available data and licensed databases.

The publicly available records may include, but are not limited to, the Electoral Register; birth, marriage and death records produced by the General Register Office for England and Wales; official government publications in the Public Domain; or information sourced from social media platforms.

The licensed databases we have access to are used to obtain the current contact details for the individual(s) we have been instructed to locate. These databases are obtained via a contractual agreement between the Company and the relevant Service Provider and are used exclusively for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

Personal information may also be provided directly by you or a friend or relative.

The Company may collect and use any personal information contained within an enquiry received from a client, actual or prospective, or Third Party. These may include legal professionals, law firms, local government officials or offices, or other relevant organisations within the Public, Private or Charity Sector.

No personal information we obtain is used to trace debtors nor is intended to be used to the detriment of the individual(s) we are looking to contact.

Our lawful basis for data collection and use

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information.

Our “lawful basis” is that of “legitimate interests”.

We collect and use your personal information in relation to the provision of probate research, tracing, or probate support services requested by our clients. The personal information that we collect and use relates to individuals (“beneficiaries”) who are due to inherit from an estate that our clients are administering or are involved with. This may be under the terms of a Will, under the Rules of Intestacy, or within another legitimate legal context. We consider that the collection, processing and retention of your personal information is necessary and proportionate and is conducted to your benefit without compromising your rights.

We may also process your personal information in accordance with any legal or regulatory requirement.

Your Rights

As a Data Subject, you have data protection rights designed to safeguard your personal information. They are the following:

• Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information and request that we divulge where we obtain the information and who we share it with.
• Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information, whether held in physical or digital format, or both.
• Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to limit how we can use your personal information.
• Your right to object to processing – You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.
• Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organization, or to you.
• Your right to withdraw consent – When we use consent as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Should you wish to make a data protection rights request, please contact us via the contact details listed at the start of this Privacy Policy. Please note that depending on the nature of your request, and subject to our legal obligations, there may be some exemptions which mean that you do not receive all the requested information.

All requests will be answered within one month from the date you submit your request.

How long we retain personal information

The Company retains all research notes, case files, correspondence, and personal information for a period of 7 years. This is to ensure that adequate contingency provisions are made should our research subsequently be required or relied upon by our client or another relevant party.

Unless its retention is required by law or a regulatory body, all information will be safely and securely destroyed after the 7 years have elapsed. Physical copies will be shredded, and digital copies will be deleted from all computer systems, cloud storage or external hard drives.

Who we share personal information with

The Company will share the personal information it has obtained with those parties deemed necessary for us to provide our services. As standard, this will include the instructing solicitor or law firm, but may extend to other parties whose involvement is required for the completion of our work, such as:

• Service providers
• External consultants
• Domestic or international genealogical or archival researchers
• Regulatory bodies

We may be compelled to share your personal information as a matter of law and will comply fully if instructed to do so.

Generally, our clients are regulated legal professionals and law firms based in the United Kingdom. However, on occasion, we may need to transfer your personal information outside of the United Kingdom and European Economic Area (EEA) to clients or other relevant parties overseas. Where this is required, all appropriate steps will be taken to ensure full compliance with UK GDPR, UK adequacy regulations or other relevant legal safeguards.

How to make a complaint

Should you have any concerns about how your personal information has been collected, used, or shared, you can make a data protection complaint to us via:

Email: info@sherwoodtaylor.co.uk

Post: 4th Floor Silverstream House 45 Fitzroy Street Fitzrovia London W1T 6EB

If you are dissatisfied with our handling of your personal information after making a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO, the details of which are listed below.

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

All information within this Privacy Policy is reviewed regularly.

The last update was the 15^th September 2026.