If you ever tried tracing your family you will be familiar with many of the resources mentioned in this guidance. To trace the history of your house you work backwards from what you know taking a step at a time and making sure at each stage you are satisfied that you have the right house and the right road.
Follow the 4 steps on this page and then once you have examined any old title deeds, registration documents,photographs or old sale particulars in the library or local history centre and spoken to neighbours about the house, the next stage is start to see who lived in it.
Follow the 4 steps on this page and then once you have examined any old title deeds, registration documents,photographs or old sale particulars in the library or local history centre and spoken to neighbours about the house, the next stage is start to see who lived in it.
1. What you may know already
If you wish to trace the house you are living in you may already have lots of information about it. Start by looking at the title deeds, which should (but not always) contain details of past transactions. If you don’t have them, they may be held by your mortgage provider or solicitor. The local library or history centre may have some information and we will look at the roll of the archivist later, but for now we want to know whether any details about your house have been lodged with them.
2. The Land Registry
The Land Registry will provide you with details about your home, land ownership, mortgages, charges, easements, restrictive covenants, property boundaries, rights of way, past ownerships and house prices. Follow this link formore details about the Land Registry and Title Deeds
3. How Old is the House?
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Start with the age of the house. If you are not clear how old your house is, you will find it helpful to look-up one of the many books now available, which set out and explain the variation in architectural styles through the ages. This could help you to begin to identify the period in which your house was built. We list some of the books available below. Go to How Old is My house for lots of useful information.
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Next look at directories. These were published in every county and major town in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From these you should be able to find the house in the census returns. These were held every ten years, and from 1841 until 1911 can be viewed on line.
For more about the census follow this link
For more about the census follow this link
4. Talk to Neighbours
Next talk to your neighbours to see if someone has already researched their house or the area. See if they know more about the history of the street or village.
If it is not your house, then dependent upon where it is, you may have to travel to find out more. records
First you should try to see what is available on line. There are several sites that can help. Find My Past or Ancestry have lots of free records including the census, land and survey ready for you to look up without leaving your chair.
Most county councils, unitary authorities and some large town councils have a record office, or a local studies library. Before you travel, it’s a good idea to see what information your council has available online or by telephoning them.
Click here for more advice
If it is not your house, then dependent upon where it is, you may have to travel to find out more. records
First you should try to see what is available on line. There are several sites that can help. Find My Past or Ancestry have lots of free records including the census, land and survey ready for you to look up without leaving your chair.
Most county councils, unitary authorities and some large town councils have a record office, or a local studies library. Before you travel, it’s a good idea to see what information your council has available online or by telephoning them.
Click here for more advice
Discover More Resources
Getting StartedBooks In House Histories -The Secret behind your front door Amazon Melanie Backe- Hensen Uncovers the hidden stories and secrets of ordinary and extraordinary houses across the country. The wide range of houses, from workers’ cottages to aristocratic mansions, offers a unique insight into our social and architectural history. Tracing the History of Your House By Nick Barratt Amazon A guide to house history for anyone interested in how buildings, streets and towns have changed - or even stayed the same. It explores the many kinds of information available to the amateur house detective, and offers expert guidance for navigating the information sources and records. Tracing Your House History By Gill Blanchard Amazon A compact, practical handbook. Whether you live in a manor house or on a planned estate, in a labourer's cottage, a tied house, a Victorian terrace, a twentieth-century council house or a converted warehouse - this is the book for you. In a series of concise, information-filled chapters, NW Alcock, Documenting the History of Houses (London, British Records Association, 2003)
Bill Breckon and Jeffrey Parker, Tracing the History of Houses(Countryside Books, 1991 Short Guides to Records (Historical Association, 2 vols 1994, 1997) A A Dibben, Title Deeds (Historical Association, 1971) David Iredale, Sources for the History of Houses (Shire Publications, 1977) Finn Jensen The English Semi-Detached House documents the history of the peculiarly British architectural compromise: the semi-detached house |
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Christian Schitich In Detail: Semi-Detached and Terraced Houses Publisher:Lars Muller Verlag c/o Birkhauser
There are lots of books providing detailed descriptions of buildings with special architectural or historic interest. We list a few here but try your library for more or search Amazon i
The Victoria History of the Counties of England is a project begun in 1899 and it’s an encyclopaedic record of England's places and people from earliest times to the present day. Based at the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London since 1933, the VHC is written by historians working in counties across England and is without doubt the greatest publishing project in English local history. Some counties are now completely covered, and work is in progress others. For details of coverage go to -
http://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/counties
Websites
Behind these Doors is a blog with many tips on researching your house, outlining the adventures and pitfalls that can be encountered as well as histories of local homes and people
There are lots of books providing detailed descriptions of buildings with special architectural or historic interest. We list a few here but try your library for more or search Amazon i
The Victoria History of the Counties of England is a project begun in 1899 and it’s an encyclopaedic record of England's places and people from earliest times to the present day. Based at the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London since 1933, the VHC is written by historians working in counties across England and is without doubt the greatest publishing project in English local history. Some counties are now completely covered, and work is in progress others. For details of coverage go to -
http://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/counties
Websites
Behind these Doors is a blog with many tips on researching your house, outlining the adventures and pitfalls that can be encountered as well as histories of local homes and people
Buildings
More detailed descriptions of buildings listed as being of special architectural or historic interest have been published by the Department for culture, media and sport
English Heritage is another government body that has major responsibilities in conservation, giving advice, registering and protecting the historic environment. It also maintains a public archive, the National Monuments Record and you can find details about all 360,000 English Heritage Listed buildings
In Scotland, copies of statutory lists of buildings are held at theNational Monuments Record for Scotland
This is a good guide to tracing a house in Scotland
A searchable database is available on the Historic Scotland
or the National Library of Scotland
For enquiries about historic buildings in Wales, contact theNational Monuments Record of Wales
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government and we are charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment and promoting its understanding and enjoyment on behalf of Scottish Ministers.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales is responsible for ensuring that Wales' archaeological, built and maritime heritage is authoritatively recorded and understood.
Historic Houses Association is dedicated to supporting Britain's historic houses, castles and gardens - and helping visitors to enjoy them!
Britain Express looks at English architecture and the philosophies of building styles and the periods.
The Geffrye Museum shows the changing style of the English domestic interior in a series of period rooms from 1600 to the present day.
Looking at Buildings provides an introduction to architecture with pages on Building Types, architectural styles and traditions and building materials and methods of construction descriptions of architectural aspects.
Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture (MoDA) is better known as the museum of the history of the home’.
Pevsner Architectural guides Links to the famous Pevsner Architectural Guides series
Building History is a good website that sets out information to help research any historic building
If you are researching a Victorian or Edwardian house history have a look at the excellent Victorian Society
More detailed descriptions of buildings listed as being of special architectural or historic interest have been published by the Department for culture, media and sport
English Heritage is another government body that has major responsibilities in conservation, giving advice, registering and protecting the historic environment. It also maintains a public archive, the National Monuments Record and you can find details about all 360,000 English Heritage Listed buildings
In Scotland, copies of statutory lists of buildings are held at theNational Monuments Record for Scotland
This is a good guide to tracing a house in Scotland
A searchable database is available on the Historic Scotland
or the National Library of Scotland
For enquiries about historic buildings in Wales, contact theNational Monuments Record of Wales
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government and we are charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment and promoting its understanding and enjoyment on behalf of Scottish Ministers.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales is responsible for ensuring that Wales' archaeological, built and maritime heritage is authoritatively recorded and understood.
Historic Houses Association is dedicated to supporting Britain's historic houses, castles and gardens - and helping visitors to enjoy them!
Britain Express looks at English architecture and the philosophies of building styles and the periods.
The Geffrye Museum shows the changing style of the English domestic interior in a series of period rooms from 1600 to the present day.
Looking at Buildings provides an introduction to architecture with pages on Building Types, architectural styles and traditions and building materials and methods of construction descriptions of architectural aspects.
Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture (MoDA) is better known as the museum of the history of the home’.
Pevsner Architectural guides Links to the famous Pevsner Architectural Guides series
Building History is a good website that sets out information to help research any historic building
If you are researching a Victorian or Edwardian house history have a look at the excellent Victorian Society
TIP: Keep Records - It is vital that you keep a record of everything you do and see. Go to our Keeping Records section where there are tips to help you keep a record of your researches.
British Association for Local History aims to encourage and assist the study of Local History as an academic discipline and as a rewarding leisure pursuit for both individuals and groups.
An excellent website is British History Online which provides a digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles.
Open learn has a section on house history
The BBC has a useful section on Using Written Archives to Discover the History of your House
If you live in London and you want your house history traced try here traced try Your history London
The Archives Then and Now is John West's website, in which he looks at the web as a source for researching local history. This is a must-visit site for local historians.
The BBC's history pages provides access to a huge, diverse amount of historical information.
Channel 4 also has a number of websites for its historical programmes.
In Search of Scotland is a complementary site to the BBC's new series exploring the history of Scotland.
Also Scotland History is a guide to Scottish history resources.
History.uk.com, which describes itself as 'the world's largest free-to-use database of British history'. And has interesting articles on house histories.
A totally free-to-use and non-profit making enormous British website is the PastTimesProject which incorporates 7 completely different huge component sections including sharing memories, finding lost ancestors or friends, sharing the best heritage sites to visit, in which members from around the world interact in real time.
Country House Reader is an excellent blog site with very interesting articles and links
One place studies considers our ancestors in their physical and social context. By learning about your ancestors' neighbours and studying the historical environment and events, big and small, that took place within a village, you can gain a greater understanding of your own genealogy. Which is what Tracemyhouse is all about.
Notable abodes is a central, on-line, easily accessible resource for the history of houses, homes and places and the bio-geographical history of notable people throughout the ages and across the world.
An American site but never the less useful is MyHouseHistory. net
Architectural History Resources
If the house is of some architectural merit you may find a mention of it in one of the Pevsner Architectural Guides
M W Barley, The English Farmhouse and Cottage (1961)
M W Barley, The Buildings of the Countryside 1500-1750 (Cambridge University Press, 1990)
R W Brunskill, Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture (Faber & Faber, 1971)
H M Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840(3rd edition, Yale University Press,1995) (new edition in preparation)
Nicholas Cooper, Houses of the Gentry 1480-1680 (Yale University Press, 1999)
Stefan Muthesius, The English Terraced House (1982)
John Summerson, Architecture in Britain 1530-1830 (9th edition, 1993) R. Brunskill's Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture.
M. Barley's The English Farmhouse and Cottage and Houses and History
Nick Barratt's Tracing the History of your House
For details of what maps have has survived can be found in Roger J P Kain and Richard R Oliver, The Tithe Maps of England and Wales(Cambridge University Press, 1995).
The Victorian Society Book of the Victorian House is packed with information about Victorian architectural ideas, building methods and materials, as well as practical advice on maintenance and conservation.
M W Barley, The English Farmhouse and Cottage (1961)
M W Barley, The Buildings of the Countryside 1500-1750 (Cambridge University Press, 1990)
R W Brunskill, Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture (Faber & Faber, 1971)
H M Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840(3rd edition, Yale University Press,1995) (new edition in preparation)
Nicholas Cooper, Houses of the Gentry 1480-1680 (Yale University Press, 1999)
Stefan Muthesius, The English Terraced House (1982)
John Summerson, Architecture in Britain 1530-1830 (9th edition, 1993) R. Brunskill's Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture.
M. Barley's The English Farmhouse and Cottage and Houses and History
Nick Barratt's Tracing the History of your House
For details of what maps have has survived can be found in Roger J P Kain and Richard R Oliver, The Tithe Maps of England and Wales(Cambridge University Press, 1995).
The Victorian Society Book of the Victorian House is packed with information about Victorian architectural ideas, building methods and materials, as well as practical advice on maintenance and conservation.
Magazines
The original history magazine, History has been published monthly in London since January 1951 and is a fusion of intellectual articles written in a readable style The website includes an archive of virtually every article published by the magazine since 1980.
Since 1984, Local History Magazine has been the country’s No.1 national magazine about local history and their Local History Online website is full of interesting information.
Discover My Past, a bi-monthly on line publication, is the only available genealogical and historical reference resource dedicated to Scotland and its people
The original history magazine, History has been published monthly in London since January 1951 and is a fusion of intellectual articles written in a readable style The website includes an archive of virtually every article published by the magazine since 1980.
Since 1984, Local History Magazine has been the country’s No.1 national magazine about local history and their Local History Online website is full of interesting information.
Discover My Past, a bi-monthly on line publication, is the only available genealogical and historical reference resource dedicated to Scotland and its people
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