How do I research the history of a property ?

[Brains]

Check out the 'Kelly's Directory.

They were like an early form of phone book (before phones)
They listed every house in town and the name of the occupant, which sometime gives a profession as well.
Not sure when they started or finished, but I'd guess mid 1800's to about 1950's.
It means we know the name of the lady who lived in our house from the 1920's to the 1940's. (and was remembered by our former next door neighbour who moved in during 1942)

Otherwise check the deeds.
For my MIL's house we have them back to the original farmland ownership in the early 1800's, and the sale of the building plots in the 1920's and 1930's (with my wife's great great grandfathers signature as witness)

 

[HMS_Dave]

I always find pealing the wallpaper back to brick/plaster will reveal past owners who couldn't help but put their names and dates on it.

 

[PaulSB]

No - once it has a 'Title Absolute' the old deeds and documents are routinely thrown away.

Thanks. I shall be sure to keep mine as they date back to the original construction in 1845. Could be of interest to future owners.

 

[steveindenmark]

The local historical society may have some photos of the street.

 

[DCLane]

I'm waiting for the deeds of my house to arrive having paid the mortgage off as my Christmas present (to myself). It's only 25 years old and with two previous owners - one strange, one bankrupt - so there won't be much history.

But I do know what it was built on from previous maps: the area was the stand / hard standing from the town's old rugby league ground (and for 2 years a baseball ground). But - next to it was a bowling green and the house is on that.

 

[annedonnelly]

If you want to research via FindMyPast & Ancestry you may find that your local library has free access. Due to Covid they made it free to access from home rather than just in the library. If your library doesn't offer it Northumberland library was welcoming users from all over the world so you could join them for access.

 

[classic33]

I'm waiting for the deeds of my house to arrive having paid the mortgage off as my Christmas present (to myself). It's only 25 years old and with two previous owners - one strange, one bankrupt - so there won't be much history.

But I do know what it was built on from previous maps: the area was the stand / hard standing from the town's old rugby league ground (and for 2 years a baseball ground). But - next to it was a bowling green and the house is on that.

Yorkshire Baseball League!

 

[DCLane]

Yorkshire Baseball League!

Back in 1936 though - http://chapters.sabr.org/uk/sabr-uk...uly-1998/49-professional-baseball-in-dewsbury

 

[Brains]

I always find pealing the wallpaper back to brick/plaster will reveal past owners who couldn't help but put their names and dates on it.

Always look for the green paint.

Paint production for civilian use was stopped between 1940 and 1945.
In 1946-48 paint became available again in the shops, you could have any colour you liked, as long as it was green.
As the Military sold off all their WW2 wartime stocks of green paint.

As nothing had been painted for a decade or more, everything was painted different shades of green, inside and out, walls, doors and windows.
To this day we can still see green paint on ours and both our neighbors window frames.

 

[Archie_tect]

House conversion I worked on a while back had an old conservatory and an old garage that was painted green when they stripped the frame back... didn't know that.
👍Thanks Brains.

 

[Brains]

House conversion I worked on a while back had an old conservatory and an old garage that was painted green when they stripped the frame back... didn't know that.
👍Thanks Brains.

It's one of those things that now you know you will start to spot green paint showing through all over the place.
You can accurately date it to the Great Green Painting of 1946-1952.

 

[Brains]

Anyone with an interest in dating properties, on google maps, set it to satellite mode and follow down al the old West Germany/East Germany border.

The roofs of the houses in the old East are mostly terracotta bright red.
Whereas those on the old West are mostly terracotta dull red.

The reason is that after reunification in 1990 the German Government made house improvement grants available to all those in the former East, as very little house maintenance had been done since 1940.
One of the things they supplied was heavily subsidised new roof tiles.
Most roofs of houses built before the 1930's were replaced in the 1990's. Hence if you go to a high point in any old East German town, the thing you immediately notice is the sea of bright red new roof tiles.

In some towns every roof was replaced, as well as windows and doors.
They also plastered up the WW2 bullet holes, which was a bit of a shame from the historical perspective.
When visiting East Germany, Berlin in particular, before the repairs were done, you noticed the bullet holes in many of the prewar buildings.

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

Thanks everyone you help is much appreciated. I've never had any deeds for my house ( relatively new) it was brought by me from the council 6 or 7 years ago but is paid off, I will have to ask my solicitor for the deeds to my new/older house.

 

[BoldonLad]

Always look for the green paint.

Paint production for civilian use was stopped between 1940 and 1945.
In 1946-48 paint became available again in the shops, you could have any colour you liked, as long as it was green.
As the Military sold off all their WW2 wartime stocks of green paint.

As nothing had been painted for a decade or more, everything was painted different shades of green, inside and out, walls, doors and windows.
To this day we can still see green paint on ours and both our neighbors window frames.

That is rather interesting. I was born in 1947 (no, I did not come out green), but, I do recall, as a child, that the interior of almost every house was painted green!

 

[Donger]

Only for sales and conveyances completed after 1984, if the property had,'t been sold in the interim there won't probably won't be a title registration held at The Land Registry just paper deeds, but they will be available to the owner unless there is a mortgage in which case the mortgage lender will have them.

Partly correct, though the situation is more encouraging than that. For some years now ... I forget exactly how many as I left Land Registry nearly two years ago (but it is at least ten years ago).... Assents, Deeds of Gift and other changes of ownership not on sale have also been compulsory triggers for first registration, along with legal charges (mortgages). In practice, the majority of people who were old enough to own property in 1984 will, in the intervening 36 years, have re-mortgaged, disposed of their properties, or died, with the Deed, Charge or Assent triggering first registration even if no arm's length sale has occurred. Hence my suggestion that the property is very likely to be registered. Land Registry controls a computerised Index Map of the whole of England and Wales, and registered properties are shown coloured pink on that map. I recall that, whenever I looked at the Index Map for anywhere in the West Midlands, the vast majority of the residential properties are already pink, indicating that they are registered.