My grandmother was able to trace her ancestry back to the 1600 when her ancestors came to the US from Great Britain. How would I go about delving back farther in history? Does the Crown have readily accessible records or is it like here where if you really want to find something out be prepared to pay! Also,would O'Benedict be English or Irish or either?

The Mormon geneology files are pretty comprehensive. http://www.ancestorhunt.com/mo.....ecords.htm

From my sister in the UK,
Parish records started in 1538 and if you're lucky some still survive, but it means looking at individual parishes (there is no central collection).
Benedict is a Latin name and the O bit could mean that at some point an Irish surname was created from a saint's name or something like that.

From me,
To give you some background. My father traced his family line back to the 1500's. He had to travel around a lot to visit individual churches, for the records. When he died, my sister took over, and has/is tracing the other branches of the family.

Edit. Forgot to mention. I don't think O'Benedict is that common a name. I certainly have never heard it before. So it may make searching a little easier.

Also handy to know, but does cost money,
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/