Old house records??

drewmelanie

last year

Any idea where I can look/find old documents, photos or records of my 1930s house?

Comments (4)

Daisy England
last year
last modified: last year
Would a local library be able to help? Alternatively in our area we have several FB sites to join that regularly post old photos
Siblingz Design Studio
last year
Hey there.

When we start working on older buildings, we love to find out more about their story. It's also useful getting an idea what went into building it, rights, ordinances etc before doing any work.

Whilst practical elements such as floor plans and build details are not always as accessible as they would be for a new build there are a few avenues that have helped us before:

1. England's Places - Archive photos of the architecture of England's cities and towns | Historic England

Here you might find photos and documentation of your town and surround areas that tell you more about what a place looked like at different times in history. Great way to find similar styles and designs for restoration projects.

2. Browse records of other archives | The National Archives

The National Archives might be another great place to find some info about an area. The Ministry of Town and Country Planning and the Ministry of Health might have more detailed records in the archives that could be useful for town planning, zoning and other elements. I would be surprised if the local council doesn't have this detail as well though.

3. Neighbours. We have found that without knocking on too many doors you will find someone who has lived in the area for many years / knows someone who has, that still has an album with images and memories that are super useful at stitching together some details of the past. We have found some great details on older buildings that have gone "missing" over time.

4. Start peeling back. Most older buildings keep their secrets well hidden under layers of wall paper, floorboards. Everything from hidden doors, closed off cellars to a set of old journals have presented themselves.

Hope this helps, happy hunting.
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Sonia
last year
Have a look at your house deeds which are usually with your mortgage provider. Maybe they can give you a copy. Mine go right back to the land before it was built on, who owned it, who the builder was and then all the owners through time. Fascinating reading.
Angie
last year
You could try your local planning portal, if the house has ever had any alterations. We found out lots about the original layout of our house that way, really interesting to see. Our local authority has scanned documents back to the 1950s, and may have gone back further since we last looked!

Old house records??

Comments (4)

Daisy England

Siblingz Design Studio

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Sonia

Angie

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