William Bull attempted to formulate his own family history, visits to various local authorities and churches in Sussex, as well as Herefordshire, Gloucester, Falmouth and London dictated his research. Some of his research was undertaken by others, or taken from already completed works, owing to the fact that many of the Bull family were politically involved or part of the Church. Some of the texts are in Latin and German. As working papers and correspondence some of the material is not as coherent as the bound volumes he produced, which make up the vast majority of the collection. The series also includes vast amounts of information about members of the Bull family, as well as those who married into it and distant relatives of note. Information on their home villages, transactions and people they interacted with is a focus of William Bull's work, as well as family memories stories, portraits and focuses on particular individuals within the family.