Discover Your House History

My interest in House History took off six years ago, when I bought a small cottage, in a lane of small cottages, on Portland, Dorset. I wanted to discover its history, but found that there were no addresses pre-1901, and the Lane's modern name did not appear on documents until 1891. The only way to tackle this historic jigsaw puzzle was to build up a timeline of each cottage in the lane, in order to work out which was my cottage, and its occupants.

In fact, one of the basic skills of House History is to make sure that you are tracing the history of the right house!

The David Olusoga series "A House Through Time" has been a great inspiration. He discovers the whole lives and context of the families of a house, rather than just a list of names and dates. Where did these families come from, and where did they go? Were they on their way up in life when they moved into the house, or had they fallen on hard times?

I have worked on Edwardian and Victorian houses, houses of the 1930's, ancient cottages, town houses and rural dwellings; each one with its own story.

Not just names and dates; Maps, Directories, local history traditions, court records, local newspapers, and much more; bring people to life in the story of the house.

Some houses I have worked on;

A Cheshire estate workers' cottage with a First World War story of heroism and tragedy.

A Ramsgate house; home to an army veteran, an icecream seller, and a Beauty Queen, with a Karl Marx connection thrown in.

Onwards to Margate, to find a cafe owner, and all the glamour of an Edwardian theatrical manager.

Suburban Maidenhead for a newspaper description of a pretty wedding, followed by a Dorset holiday and a cliff-fall accident.