House History - The History of Houses and Buildings
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Do you live in an older home in the UK or perhaps you now live somewhere else but know that your ancestors did live in a house with some history in times past?
There’s a wealth of information that can be uncovered about the history of houses and buildings in the UK, who lived in them and the stories of those families. Looking at the local history of the area can also give real colour and meaning to your family story.
Census Records
The first step in researching the history of houses and buildings is almost always checking the census records. The Find My Past (paid subscription) search engine allows a search across all available census records and the 1939 Register for an actual street name, but sometimes you might be surprised that initially you are unsuccessful. Street names have changed over time, or it is possible that even though the street was ‘known’ as the name you know, the census enumerator may not have been local and used an altogether different name. Don’t give up! If you know the name of a nearby road, perhaps a main thoroughfare, you might find that and then manually go forward and back in the hope you’re finding where the address you’re looking for. If you’re not local now and don’t know the area around the address, google maps may help you find a nearby street name to search for.
Villages are often particularly tricky, sometimes street names were not really included at all, meaning you may need to search manually through the whole of the village record until you find either your ancestor or the street name that just hasn’t come up on the search results.
In the example below my ancestor Osmund Darley lived in the village of Old Thornville, but there were no street names specified, making it difficult to identify the actual building in this census though a previous census identified his home as Thornville Villa.
Sometimes you find an entry on a later census or the 1939 Register that you know is right, but then the street name disappears, and you’re stuck unable to find that address in the earlier records. If the name of your ancestor doesn’t come up, consider looking at who were your ancestor’s neighbours in a later record and search earlier records for them. I’ve found ancestors with misspelled names by finding their neighbours first.
*1891 England Census – Thornville, Great Ouseburn – accessed from ancestry.com
Its always good to look at the neighbours anyway. In past times, neighbourhoods were more of communities than they are now. These neighbours may well have been close friends with your ancestors, maybe you might discover that elusive ‘Auntie’ who you’ve never been able to place – not an Auntie at all, but just a respectful title for a neighbour. There is also chance of finding more of your own family among the neighbours too – obviously if you have a surname like Owen in Wales, then it may not be the case that all the Owen’s nearby are your family but a less common name like Parnell might stand out as possible family and be worth further investigation.
Internet Searches
Looking at the neighbours also gives you a clue as to the type of neighbourhood this was when your family lived there. It gives you a ‘picture’ of the place at that moment in time. Was there a Church or other public building nearby? The internet can be enormously helpful in finding old photos of places. An internet search of your ancestor’s home address may not be particularly successful in getting a photo unless their home was particularly grand or memorable in some way but the Church along the street may be well photographed and just may include a glimpse of the nearby homes. In addition to Google, Pinterest is particularly good at finding photos but fact checking is essential!
Newspaper Records
The British Newspaper Archive is a treasure trove of information about local places. This record is available by paid subscription to either Find My Past or Ancestry. It’s important to specify a date range when you search, sometimes you can be lucky and the street name comes up but other times you may need to widen the search to a suburb or village name. Sometimes just an internet search can come up with a newspaper report that gives valuable information.
I had searched for a client’s ancestor by name on the archive and that was unsuccessful but a newspaper report from 2021 came up on a plain internet search. This gentleman had moved to a flat in one of the ‘Yards’ in Darlington. This was an article all about the street where my ancestor lived and that together with other reports gave me lots of information. I found that there had been a murder in the house next door to his own, and there were other reports which described the street as a ‘low, slummy place’. The poor fellow was never named in the paper himself and did not seem to be involved but found himself living in a less than desirable environment.
Maps
Google maps is the go-to search many of us use these days, but it is not a lot of use if the address you are searching for has disappeared. It can give clues though, so it’s always worth having a look.
There are many sites on the internet that sell old maps. Be wary before buying though as these can be very difficult to see and to identify the exact places you are searching for. If you are local, it may be a better option to visit the local library or records office that may have old maps you can look at for free or a small fee.
Village or Town websites
Many villages or towns have websites about their history. Some with hundreds of old photos. Leeds for example has a dedicated photographic archive called Leodis that is an absolute treasure trove of images.
Even small villages can have websites often maintained by enthusiastic locals interested in the history of their village. Several of my own ancestors come from the small village of Hampsthwaite, the local village site has lots of photos of the village and helps to build a picture of the homes they lived in.
House History is a fascinating subject and links in to your Family Tree and Family Story. If you would like more information please contact me via the contact form. I would love to hear from you!
References and Further Information:
https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19043026.mr-buckton-stories-darlingtons-historic-yards/
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