House history search

[Sirmanfa]

Hello

I'm new here

I have recently purchased a house built in 1890

I would like to find out the history of the house past owners/tenants

Is there a way to look up an address to find the previous occupants ?

Not sure where to start to be honest

Although I am aware a lot of searches require a surname ? Which I don't have

Thank you in advance , I look forward to getting to know you all

[Andrew Tarr]

It depends which website you look at.  IIRC, FindmyPast allows searching the census by address, and having homed in, you can move to adjacent pages to move along the street.

The problem may be that the latest accessible census is for 1911, and many streets have been numbered since then (assuming they even existed) and some have been renamed, so you may need to look at an early map too.  At that time most houses simply had names, so on a long street there may be no idea of where to begin.

[StanleysChesterton]

Expect it to take you 1-2 years, not 1-2 hours.

Every house is different ... but you'll have available the potential of finding yours in the 1891 Census, 1901 Census and 1911 Census. 

Then there's the 1939 Census, see who lived there during the War.

Also, the local Archives might have some information on people who owned the house (it might've been rented out in the past, so there could be owners and tenants).  You might find something online through searching their catalogue online, but you'll end up having to visit and go through a box of records to see what you can find.

There might be some stuff in old newspapers, if a significant person or event occurred there - search for the road name ... then see what turns up and read it and see if anybody mentioned lived in your house. e.g. something in the newspaper might say "Small boy run over by cart ... Mrs Smith, who lives next door at 111 High Street ...." and you're after 109 or 113, it could be a lead.

Asking old neighbours and people living in older houses, might give you some clues because if you find somebody who is, say, 60+ and has always lived there they'll have some bits and pieces of information that might lead you to a name to research further.

You could/should also consider joining the local Family History Society as many members research entire families and areas and you might find, say, that somebody from that house went to America and was in the movies, or something - your search for "house history" ends up wider than the house itself if you discover something unusual/exciting.

[Treetotal]

Hi and welcome from me too.

This might help...if you use your current postcode and also the side by side view it may you locate the house on an earlier map and give you the earlier address of your property...this will give you a starting point for searching who lived there on the 1911 census and the 1939 register:

Land registry for your area may also prove helpful...also look at your house deeds for clues...or request a copy from Land Registry.


http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=5&lat=56.0000&lon=-4.0000&layers=1&b=1

Carol

[Rhododendron]

There are also Trade and Street/Post Office Directories - usually the local ones are in libraries.  They can be a good start as they will be in book form (hard copy).

[Blue70]

Online you can look at who was at the address on the following census years:-

1891, 1901 and 1911

Find My Past has the 1939 Register with an address search.

Electoral rolls, some are online but for most you will need to visit your local record office or library archive, show occupants entitled to vote through the years.

Street directories, some are online, others available in local record offices or library archives, show head of household and sometimes their occupation.

Newspapers may mention the address and occupants. There are various online resources that have a search to find any mentions.


Blue

[chirp]

I can recommend a delightful book on researching house history. It is A Commoner's Cottage: The Story of a Cottage Through the Ages. by Frances Mountford. The text, which describes the 400 year history of the author's home, is in her own handwriting which is beautiful and clear and she has also illustrated it extensively. It is a lovely book to read and be inspired by. I do hope it is still in print. The publisher is Alan Sutton Publishing Limited of Stroud, Gloucestershire. It may interest you purely as background reading.