The National Archives | Getting started | House history

We hold the records of central government and the courts of law for England and Wales and the United Kingdom. We also maintain the National Register of Archives and the Manorial Documents Register, which can help researchers to locate manuscript sources for British history outside the public records.

These pages provide a brief introduction to sources for the history of houses. House history can be enormously rewarding, though it is rarely straightforward. Research into the history of your house can be divided roughly into two main areas: the ownership and occupation of your property, and its building and architectural history, but the sources available are often useful for both.

Before visiting us or your local record office, some preliminary research is advisable. If you are uncertain about the age of your house, you might find it helpful to consult one of the many books now available which describe the development of British architectural styles, and which can help you to roughly identify the period in which your house was built. A number of these are listed in the bibliography.

Published local histories can also provide valuable background information. England is particularly well served by the Victoria History of the Counties of England, a project begun in 1899. Some counties are now completely covered, and work is in progress on thirteen more.

If your house is of particular interest architecturally, you may be lucky enough to find a mention of it in one of the Pevsner architectural guides.

More detailed descriptions of buildings listed as being of special architectural or historic interest have been published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and related departments. Some 360,000 buildings have been listed in England alone. The National Monuments Record operates an online enquiry service about English buildings: information about this service can be found on the English Heritage website. In Scotland, copies of statutory lists of buildings are held both at the National Monuments Record for Scotland and by Historic Scotland. A searchable database is available on the Historic Scotland website. For enquiries about historic buildings in Wales, contact the National Monuments Record of Wales. The National Monuments Records for England, Scotland and Wales each hold extensive additional information, including photographs and surveys, relating to a great many buildings of historic or architectural interest.

Other published sources worth consulting include local directories, which were issued in large numbers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Our library holds a good selection. The level of detail contained in local directories could vary considerably, but if you are lucky you might find that your area was well covered. Some directories contain street-by-street lists of houses and their principal occupants. Remember though that house numbers might have changed in the intervening years.

Sources for house history

This following summaries provide a guide to the types of material available for the study of house history. It is by no means an exhaustive guide, but aims to highlight some of the most useful of the many sources of information available.

1910-1915 Valuation Office Maps and Books

Using the National Register of Archives

Using the ARCHON directory

Bibliography

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