House History Sources
Useful Sites
Some sites may charge a fee for a search or for copies of documentation
General History Free/Official Sites
National Archives
The National Archives at Kew is the largest archive in the United Kingdom and have lots of online archives and tools to help people search http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/houses/ The Your Archives: ‘Historical Streets Project’ is an exciting and accessible resource that enables everyone to share and reuse historical information in a way that has not previously been possible. They have a good street level search http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120608115718/http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=Your_Archives:Historical_Streets_Project#Browsing
Land Registry
For House Historians, the Land Registry is a great starting point for ownership information. They also have a useful blog to help you establish the age of your house http://blog.landregistry.gov.uk/how-old-is-my-house/
You can also search the Land Registry for your homes official Title Register with a list of owners and potentially get a copy of your deeds (if they have been lodged with the system). There is a small fee to pay but you can click on the link below to see what documents are available: https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/www/wps/portal/!ut/p/b1/04_SjzS3tDAxNjcyN9SP0I_KSyzLTE8syczPS8wB8aPM4o2NLEwMDU2MPCyMzcwNPE3d3I0NQ0yNDUyM9YNT8_RzoxwVAasm8WA!/?_ga=1.203546584.95128898.1464182202
Listed Status
You can check if your house is listed by searching on the Historic England website here. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/
British History Online
British History Online (BHO) is an online library of key printed sources for the history of Britain and Ireland. It includes online copies of documents from medieval to twentieth century which are easily searchable and browsable online. It brings together material for British history from the collections of libraries, archives, museums and academics. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/about
Victoria County History
Founded in 1899 and originally dedicated to Queen Victoria, the VCH is 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 VCH is written by historians working in counties across England and is without doubt the greatest publishing project in English local history http://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/
British newspaper Archives
The British Newspaper Archive is a partnership between the British Library and findmypast to digitise up to 40 million newspaper pages from the British Library's vast collection over the next 10 years.
Good For The Local Area
A general understanding of the area can be useful when you're researching the history of an individual house. Whether it's in a village, a suburb, or a city, you can find such information through published resources such as:
Local Libraries
People sometimes forget this most traditional of local resources They are particularly good for holding local newspapers and copies of historical Electoral Registers. These were compiled annually from 1832 (but don’t forget that women don't appear on the register until 1918 and that the voting age wasn't lowered to 18 until 1969.
Local History & Civic Societies
These tend to be very local and therefore it is best to look up your local societies on a national list such as: http://www.civicvoice.org.uk/societies If you are in London then the London Forum can provide more detailed information http://www.londonforum.org.uk/
London Metropolitan Archives
The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the archive repository for the Greater London area. It holds documents and books covering all aspects of life in London 1067 to the present day. www.lma.gov.uk
Survey Of London
An online archive managed by the Bartlett School of Architecture, the Survey of London publishes its own research research into the development of London and produces detailed architectural and topographical studies about the capital’s built environment. https://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/architecture/research/survey-of-london
Commercial Sites
The commercial sites are very useful as they have brought together many of the primary sources listed above and have built some useful tools to help you search them
Mary Evans Picture Library
The Mary Evans Picture Library is a 50 year old independent and family-owned historical picture library. It is a unique resource and very friendly towards volunteer and public sector projects. www.maryevans.com
Images of England
Historic England have a searchable online archive of old pictures called ‘Images of England’ covering England’s listed buildings, recorded at the turn of the 21st century. You can view over 300,000 images of England’s built heritage from lamp posts to lavatories, phone boxes to toll booths, mile stones to gravestones, as well as thousands of bridges, historic houses and churche http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/
Find My Past
This site is particularly good at Census information and they have recently created an easy to use way to search the 1911 Census. These census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of the household. You can find it (using a 14 day free trial) at a specialist site here www.1911census.co.uk. http://www.findmypast.co.uk/
Ancestry
Ancestry is a very useful website for building a picture of families over time, but doesn't contain any specific property or housing information. It can be useful for chasing down a particular character and allows you to network with other researchers who are following similar leads. www.Ancestry.co.uk
Historical & Useful Maps
Ordnance Survey As well as new maps the Ordnance Survey also provides historical maps to support projects like house histories. https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/support/historical-maps.html
Land Valuation Maps
In the National Archive you can find the the 1910 Valuation Office Survey which mapped all the properties in the country and recorded details of their owners, occupiers and addresses. However http://labs.nationalarchives.gov.uk/maps/valuation.html.
Tithe Maps
Many houses, particularly those built on church land, retain some obligation to make a payment to the church. Maps covering this information, usually date from 1836 to 1850 and were created to help administer tithing payments. They show land boundaries, names of tenants or owners, and types of usage. The original maps can be found at the National Archives, and you may find copies at your local record office. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/tithes/
Cassini Maps
Cassini allows you to search, buy and download digital versions of the original Registration District maps from the 1871 census on the Cassini Maps website. http://www.cassinimaps.co.uk/shop/tna1.asp