The following websites are
intended as a brief guide to just some of the vast number of sites
which are currently available on the Internet.
General sites providing information on how to conduct research or
where to locate relevant sources:
The
National Archives guide to resources for house history
Sources in the Essex Record Office for tracing property
history
Sources in the Norfolk Record Office for tracing property
history
BBC TV series 'House
Detectives'
A global resource
providing links to other sites regarding property
histories
Leaflets produced by the National Archive explaining sources
such as:
Hearth Tax Assessments
Manorial Court Records
National Farm Survey of England and Wales, 1940-1943
Ordnance Survey records
Specific information relevant to tracing the history of an
individual property:
Architects
Royal Institute of
British Architects - an online library catalogue, which
includes an index to over 300 architectural periodicals, books,
photographs and manuscripts held in the RIBA Library along with a
biographical database of architects.
Census Returns
1901 Census – census
returns for England and Wales. It is free to search the
Index, and has a facility to search by address as well as by
person if you do not know who was living in your property at the
time. However to obtain the full details regarding the occupants of
your property (including a digital image of the original census)
there is a charge. This can be paid for via census vouchers
(available from the Record Office) or by using a credit card.
1881 Census – via
the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints website. Full
access is free. You can search by country, county and town/village,
although it is not searchable by exact address. Starting with the
first match for the village go into the household and work through
the village one household at a time.
1871-1901 Census
- searchable indexes to all 4 census returns for England and
Wales, this site is not free and it is more readily searchable by
name than place/address. It does contain digital images of the
original census returns.
1861 Census
– an incomplete coverage for the country [March 2005 – London,
Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Essex] but is being added to on a
regular basis with the intention to cover the whole country with
time.
Directories
Historical
directories - includes numerous county directories
for the UK and is a searchable database by either location or year.
Within your chosen search it is then possible to specify a surname,
street name etc and find all the given matches.
Land Registry - about two
thirds of property titles in England and Wales are registered with
the Land Registry which now offers an online service whereby it is
possible to search for relevant documents for individual addresses.
Once identified it is possible, for a set fee per item, to download
copies of the register entry and the title plan.
The information on the register includes a note of the location and
extent of the property, the owner's name and address, the price if
sold since 1 April 2000 and details of any mortgages or rights of
way.
The title plan, prepared by the Ordnance Survey, shows the land
owned.
Listed Buildings
The
National Monuments Records Centre - holds descriptions of
listed buildings in England, along with photographs of buildings
1860s-present; aerial photographs 1930s-present, and survey reports
on specific buildings.
I
mages of England
- maintained by the National Monuments Records Centre and contains
photographs of England's 370,000 Listed Buildings.
Manorial Records
The Manorial
Documents Register - maintained by the Historical
Manuscripts Commission, contains information on the whereabouts of
many manor court rolls and books.
Maps
www.old-maps.co.uk
- contains an extensive UK map archive. It is best searched
via the Gazetteer option, which provides access to both historical
First Edition Ordnance Survey sheets from the 1880’s and modern
maps along with aerial photographs for the section highlighted on
your map.
Ordnance Survey -
provides an historical mapping service; it is possible to purchase
copies of maps from 1800-1995.