The History of a Building?

Youdontseeme

Afternoon,

Does anyone have any idea of the best way to go about find the history of a building? I have gone back to 1921 but before that I am a bit stuck.

*Background I work for a property company and we want to "name" our new development so looking for some insperation!

Thanks in advance

YDSM

SueMaggie

This page from the National Archives website may give you a starting point

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-place/default.htm

gingin_2

We got the history of ours ( an old pub ) through the ancestry.co.uk website. They have a free trial so you don't need to pay initially.

dannie

Maybe try the local (reference) library.

hngrymummy

Where have you tried looking already? Are you prepared to spend any money to find out, or is it just curiosity? What area is the property in?

Swindon has the NMR (National Monuments Record) and the air photograph library, so you may be able to get some information from there. Try looking at 1st edition OS maps, tithe maps, estate maps etc. You can find out a fair amount from map regression.

If you don't mind spending some money to find out, contact archaeological comapanies that have a Heritage Management Service department. They should be able to tell you how much a search and report will cost.

See if there is a local history society in the area.

Feel fre to PM me if you want, as I am an archaeologist, so may know the right people/places to contact.

whatatwit

What about trying the cencuses, they are available at the local library.

Whilst it would only be a 10 year snapshot, you may get an idea of how the building was used and who lived there.

How old is the building?

lostinrates

Our council has a Local History centre. We went there to research our house and it was incrediby interesting. I was slightly worried that they gave us such free access to very old documents and old, fragile maps...but nevertheless it was very useful.

Sadly...I never found something else we could call our house...the name of which I hate but seems to have been around for a few hundred years.

thorsoak

What about the Land Registry?

Doozergirl

Speak to neighbours! They are full of amazing information.

And there must be a local history book written by someone. Every area I've ever lived has one. If you google on the area as opposed to looking for your specific building, you may find that the local history websites/books tell you a lot about the surrounding area and if you're lucky, the building itself.