House history research service
We offer a comprehensive and professional house history research service for properties in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Cheshire and the West Midlands. We investigate many types of property including cottages, houses, farms, pubs, hotels, restaurants, schools, mills, vicarages and rectories – in fact buildings of all types, shapes and sizes. Our aim is to provide you with an expert service tailored to your particular requirements.
Our house history service uses primarily documentary evidence to determine a building’s history, together with information from its architectural design, features, layout, building materials and location. We also work with specialist architectural historians if particular expertise or a detailed building report is required.
What can you find out?
Every building is different and what we can find out depends on what information existed in the first place, how and where it was recorded, what has survived and is available, and how much time is spent searching for it. We consult a wide range of sources and use different research techniques to discover as much of the available material as we can. We try to find out:
- When your house was built (the approximate period if the exact year cannot be determined) and by whom.
- Who used to own your house, what other property they owned and whether it was part of a large estate.
- How much land the property used to have, where it was and how it was used.
- Who used to live in your house, what they did and information about their families.
- How the property has been used throughout its history.
- Any former names the building may have had, when the name change(s) occurred, and possible reasons why.
- The impact of local developments on your property such as roads, railways and canals, and other contextual information.
- And of course any interesting facts or stories associated with your house.
We also look for images relating to your property such as old photographs, postcards, drawings, plans, maps, and sketches. We analyse and interpret all the information we find about your property and write an interesting narrative account of your property's history. Choose from our range of house history products.
Why not contact us for a no-obligation discussion about how we can help you discover the history of your house.
"The report is absolutely fascinating - you have done a brilliant job"