Fircroft Chronicles - History and Provenance

[Cubist]

Having almost lost my will to live whilst studying the fine print contained in various Home and Contents Insurance policies I decided to divert myself and start a new thread here - rather than perhaps taking more drastic action.

For some time now I have been considering how to best go about researching the history of Fircroft. The aim being to understand more about why it was originally built here, who has owned and/or lived in it and, perhaps most importantly, how those people made a living and what the house and land may have contributed to that living.

To some extent this desire has been provoked by the finds unearthed around the place - see my thread 'Masterpieces in the Attic' - and curiosity aroused by conversation with neighbours and other locals who have lived nearby for most of their lives. Sadly, whilst often interesting, such anecdotal information is naturally limited to 'living memory' and sometimes therefore a little vague and lacking in detail but nevertheless adding colour; albeit sometimes shaded by gossip. My goal is therefore to construct a history of the house, from original construction to the present day, complete with data concerning its ownership, occupation and uses that we can pass on to whomever comes after us.

I am aware that Parish and perhaps other Council records may provide a lot of relevant information and I plan to plunder these when time and opportunity presents. However, there may be other resources and sources of which I am unaware that could be equally helpful.

Thinking that other members of this forum may have conducted similar investigations into their homes I am hoping for some suggestions or ideas on how I might best proceed.

So, how should I proceed? What hurdles will I need to jump? What bureaucrats will I have to charm/intimidate?

 

[paulc]

Although my property does not have the long and murky history of some places, I do have records spanning the ninety odd years since the place was first built. A full list of the owners along with their occupation is recorded in each conveyancing document which paints a picture of the affluence of the area. Mostly working class ranging from cobblers to hairdressers and one chronic alcoholic. The latter evidenced by the quantity of wine & spirit bottles dumped in the disused cesspit.

Old Ordinance Survey maps show how the area has evolved over the years. The brick kilns that were half a mile away have long gone, and all the small holdings that surrounded my house are now industrial and housing. Even the local aerodrome has been redeveloped in to an international (sic) airport. The factory that manufactured parachutes for those early aviators had been visible from my bedroom window. Some eighteen months ago, the developers moved in, demolished the place, and put up some 70 rabbit hutches. Britain from Above shows how the area has changed....

 

[livias]

The local council record office is a first port of call. If you go when they are not busy then archivists can be very helpful. They will have tithe maps and enclosure maps and directories of householders and censuses which will get you safely back 200 years with details of owners and occupiers. Earlier than that is a bit hit and miss but if you are lucky then your house was once part of a big estate with good records which are available to the public

 

[Pennyviz]

Census records are really helpful. They start from about 1860, every 10 years til about 1950 or so (I think recent records are confidential), and state names of occupants and occupation. Available at Ancestry.com and numerous other sites.

Penny

 

[Socksitis]

I have started, but it is a long slow process. I asked a friend who looked through all of the old publications available to her, so Kelly's directory and other books that list details of houses and communities. There is evidence of John living at the place in the 1400's. Going from there I have listed occupants from the census information available on line. This has ended up being a Parish list, as many of the occupants moved around various houses and farms in the same Parish.
I then went on line and found a list of details held at the local record office, most interesting was a lease for a year in the reign of Elizabeth 1st.

We have title deeds going back to 1799 and they have been useful. I did try a newspaper search online, but that only had lease and sale details from the late 1800's onwards.
I need to find a different route and it may well be following the people who lived in the house. Or learn to read the very old documents that were in the record office that I just could not understand.

However, all research has stopped - lime plastering is now taking up a huge amount of time.
Interesting thread to follow

 

[Cubist]

Thanks all for the pointers I will be following up in the fullness of time. However, I suspect that I will be spending a lot of time getting to grips with our local Parish records. Anyone got an 'Olde English' book of grammar?