How To Find Information On My House

Whether your ancestors lived in a worker'due south cottage, 1930s semi or Georgian manor, business firm history can chop-chop develop from being a casual side project to an all-consuming quest. It's equally fascinating if you're tracing the history of your own firm.

In the popular BBC Two seriesA House Through Fourth dimension, historian David Olusoga researches the history of an ordinary house, revealing the fascinating, shocking and touching stories of its inhabitants. The programme has inspired many people to find out more most the previous residents of their home.

Depending on the historic period of the habitation you lot are researching, house history can call on some sources that are difficult to discover, difficult to read and difficult to interpret. Thankfully the websites listed below are excellent sources of advice, and all of the skills that you've picked upward as a family historian can exist applied to your house history research.

When you've uncovered the history of your old house, discover out how to restore it with this guide fromHomes & Antiques

The best websites for business firm history

one. National Library of Scotland Maps

National Library of Scotland house history

Obviously old maps are a necessary tool for house history, and in particular Ordnance Survey (OS) maps, tithe maps and valuation maps, frequently showing individual houses and outbuildings, can be a vital start stop.

The National Library of Scotland has been leading the way in terms of digital access to its map collections for years, and this includes maps covering all of the British Isles, not simply Scottish records.

Thanks to the successful GB1900 projection crowdsourcing project drawing to a close, volunteers have transcribed all of the place names printed on sheets of the original 1900 Os maps of the British Isles, calculation a new and truly comprehensive gazetteer.

2. ScotlandsPlaces

This website lists the core sources that course the footing of the gratuitous and totally wonderful ScotlandsPlaces, a fantastic source for Scottish house history. You tin find maps, surveys and plans, drawings, diverse taxation rolls, Ordnance Survey proper name books and more.

Examples include schedules of 18th century 'Duties on inhabited houses', starting time imposed in 1778 and arranged in canton volumes, and the 'Official reports' section. This leads to the likes of the Land Ownership Commission 1872–iii – a land ownership report that gives the names of every owner of land (of one acre or more) in each county.

3. Historic England

Historic England'south homepage has sections on a project to tell the story of England through '100 Places', a map of all listed buildings, plus sections on war memorials and Celebrated England's own athenaeum.

The right-hand carte du jour (click 'Advice' and so choose 'Your Dwelling') leads to more practical advice for firm history – non only aimed at those who ain listed properties.

It could exist more comprehensive, but it'southward a skillful starting signal, and includes some useful links to the likes of Victoria County History.

4. MyHouseMyStreet

There are all sorts of local history projects out there that might tape the history of your business firm, or properties in the wider community. This example from Brighton and Hove was launched in 2008.

The result is a database of census and historical trade directory data which allows users to view the occupancy history of local properties.

Volunteers from the Regency Town House have too now completed the Here in the Past project. This tool draws on directories, census returns, cemetery records and electoral registers, to create a searchable database for users to explore house histories in Brighton & Hove.

v. British History Online

The wealth of material available at British History Online tin can seem somewhat overwhelming, especially when you combine information technology with other sites in the Connected Histories stable. As a starting point I strongly recommend visiting ii of the subject guides – 'Urban History' and 'Local History'.

These requite broad overviews of the strengths and weaknesses of what's bachelor here, and describe the chief and secondary sources for firm history at your fingertips.

6. Expert's selection: TheGenealogist

Chosen by Gill Blanchard, professional researcher and author ofTracing Your Business firm History:

"I recommend TheGenealogist for firm history because the site has digitised copies of the tithe maps and apportionments held at The National Archives which can be searched past name and identify.

"The one-time system of tithes payments of farm produce in kind, made by parishioners to support the parish church and clergy, was replaced by money payments in 1836.

"Maps showing all titheable land and properties on it were drawn up with accompanying apportionments listing owners and occupiers, acreage, type of cultivation and its tithe valuation.

"Other useful business firm history records on TheGenealogist include the Returns of the Owners of Land (1873–1876).

"These list everyone who owned more than one acre of land in England (except London), Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

"And for those researching business firm history in Ireland the site also has copies of Griffith'south Valuation of country, carried out between 1848 and 1864.

"There are also merchandise and phone directories, balloter registers and poll books.

"A new addition to the site are the beginnings of the Inland Revenue Survey collection taken between 1910 and 1915.

"More commonly known equally the Lloyd George Domesday Survey, these records and their accompanying maps characteristic owners and occupiers across the Uk."

More business firm history websites

The National Records of Scotland guide details house history sources in Scotland, including the Register of Sasines, exchequer records, registers of deeds and more than. West Yorkshire's Archives Service looks after one of only v surviving Registry of Deeds, containing memorial copies of more than seven millions house deeds (1704–1970).

Dating a house's original construction is an important step in tracing house history. A really old house may have had all sorts of redesigns, rebuilds, alterations and additions. Deeds and wills are of course incredibly useful, merely they're not for the faint-hearted. Step forwards Building History. It has a uncomplicated design, giving brief and clear communication for anyone interested in firm history.

Title deeds are useful documents in house history because they include the names of vendors and sellers, a clarification of the property and the amounts of money used in transfer of ownership. Further information for many backdrop tin be obtained from the Land Registry.

Historical merchandise directories can give you lot some indication of who used to live in your property. There are some free examples online for England and Wales held past the Academy of Leicester.

Both Findmypast and TheGenealogist feature an address search tool for their census records, which makes it easier to search for your accost and see who lived in your business firm.

Other useful websites for firm history include University College London's Survey of London; Vision of Britain, a map-finding tool; and HistoryPin, where you can search for photographs of streets and buildings in the past.

Jonathan Scott is the writer of A Dictionary of Family History