Delving into building history
Would you like to find out
more about the history of your
house?
Do you want to research any historic building? Is it in the United Kingdom or Ireland?
If so this guide by Jean Manco will start you on the detective trail. Some information could be just a few clicks away, but to get the full story you will need to visit libraries and archives. Researching Historic Buildings points the way.
It includes hints on planning a research programme, and clues to finding and understanding useful sources. There are bibliographies on everything from architects to Victorian architecture. There are quick guides to archives. There are introductions to a wide range of building types and architectural styles, plus the development of towns and villages. Eccesiastical sources are such a big topic that the Church gets a section to itself.
Help
Choose a section from the top menu. Then use the side menu to explore.
- A good place to start is pointers to help you plan your research.
- Gazetteers and inventories will lead you to what is on record about an historic building.
- Do you know who designed the building? See the books and links on architects and engineers.
- Local history suggests books to help you ferret out and understand the local context.
- Towns and villages may help to place the building in its setting.
- Maps and images are the best place to start looking beyond the printed page.
- Select the type of building for an outline history and any studies, gazetteers and specific sources.
- The style section takes a brief look at British architectural styles and lists further reading.
- By this time you may be ready for a trip to the library. See tracking down the book you want.
- The next move is to take the plunge into archives. Save time through careful preparation.
- This whole website is printer-friendly.
- Should this site go down, you will find an archive copy at the UK Web Archiving Consortium.
News and site updates
London Bridge Fayre
London Bridge is celebrating the 800th anniversary of the first stone London Bridge on Saturday 11 July. The bridge will be closed to traffic and open to the public from 10am until 4pm. Minstrels, jesters and a sheep drive are promised, as part of a theme of medieval London life. Somewhere amid the jollification should be a clue or two about the interesting history of the bridge. 1 July 2009.
Newsfeed
Who would want a newsfeed from this site? Who knows? Anyway I am experimenting with RSS. Hence the change to the format of these snippets, with the date at the end. 30 June 2009Masonic Lodges
Two new links have been added on Masonic lodges, which illustrate what a range of buildings have been used by the Freemasons. Dr. Barry Hovell has researched the Masonic Heritage of Kingston Upon Hull, where many early meetings took place in inns and taverns. The purpose-built Central Masonic Hall has a subtle hint of Egypt about the column capitals. The Provincial Grand Lodge of Lincolnshire can boast a more whole-hearted attempt at an Egyptian facade on its evocative lodge in Boston (scroll down for images of lodges). 28 June 2009.
John West's New Website
John West, author of Town Records and Village Records has now put together an online guide to sources for local history, called Archives Then and Now. His conversion to the joys of the Internet has prompted me to add an online section to my bibliography of local history. 21 June 2009.
Irish Town Atlas
The latest volume of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas came out last month, covering Tuam. 21 June 2009.
Dating ceramics
Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new way of dating fired clay ceramics, which was tested on bricks. The results have been amazingly accurate. Given the costs involved in laboratory testing, I suspect that this will be used sparingly in building history, like dendrochronology, but could be very useful indeed in some cases. 24 May 2009
Irish Architectural Heritage latest
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage of Ireland has been busy extending its coverage of Ireland both in print and in its online database. I have just updated the list of its publications. I have also added the online database of sites and monuments in the Republic to my list of gazetteers. 23 May 2009.
Cheshire Tithe Maps Online
Cheshire Record Office managed to put all the tithe maps for the county online last year - see e-mapping Victorian Cheshire - a very useful addition to my list of finding aids for images. 23 May 2009.
Google Street View
Yesterday Google extended its Street View to the UK with coverage of 25 cities from Aberdeen to Southampton. The BBC has the full list. Video was made along British streets by customised camera cars. I tested it out for Bristol and found it excellent. The photography is clear. It is very easy to navigate and with 360-degree views, you can get a good look at the frontage of an historic building and its setting. You can take a virtual walk along streets and around corners, while your position is marked on a handy inset map.
The Tate has added value by creating a feature that places a topographical image from its collection side-by-side with a present-day view of the same location. Only a small selection of artworks is included. The Tate has been restricted in its choice by Street View's city focus. 20 March 2009
More private chapel
sources
Colin Blanshard Withers has helpfully pointed out additional sources for private chapels, which have been added to the chapels page. 13 March 2009
Connacht Landed Estates
Database
Why did no-one tell me about this? The Connacht Landed Estates Database went online last year. It aims to be a comprehensive and integrated resource guide to landed estates and gentry houses in Connacht, c. 1700-1914. It lists a mass of estate records in the National Archives of Ireland, and includes data from Griffith's Valuation. For many country houses there is a photograph, as well as a brief history, and locations are plotted on a map. 4 March 2009