House history

What do you already know about your home?

Before you come to the record office, find out as much as possible. Title deeds and associated documents may be kept by your building society or bank. Architectural features may help date the property. Contacting the local land registry may provide useful information. Check whether property is a listed building or in a conservation area.

It is also worth visiting your local studies library and doing some background reading on the surrounding area. This will give you a basic knowledge of the place names, local family names and history, which will help as your research progresses.

Sources held at the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office

Maps and plans

• Ordnance survey maps for Plymouth and south west Devon areas. Scales 1:2500 (25" to 1 mile) various editions 1855-post 1945; 1:10560 (6") 1855 onwards; and 1:500 (Plymouth only - 10.56 to 1 mile) circa 1855 and 1894.
• Tithe maps and apportionments for Devon dating from the late 1830's to 1840's, some with later amendments, most held on microfiche. The numbers correspond to those in a separate apportionment which lists land owners and occupiers, name of the property or field, its state of cultivation and acreage.
• Estate maps exist for some large land holdings within the West Devon area. These may yield information on a particular property. A list of pre-1850 maps is available.
• Reference should be made to the place name index and subject index (under maps, plans) in the searchroom for plans drawn up by architectural firms and the local authority. Smaller plans may appear within the deeds of a property.
• Plymouth City Council's building control plans (planning applications) dating from around 1851 to the mid 1970's. Details of the first 17,000 of these plans can be found on our online catalogue.

Estate collections

Research may indicate that a property formed part of a local estate. Estate records may include title deeds and leases, rentals and surveys and sale catalogues as well as inventories and marriage settlements. Check the place name index for the existence of such collections. Occasionally, manorial records exist for earlier properties, however some may be written in Latin.

Official records

Include local authority plans mainly 20th century, rental books, rate books, land tax assessments and Finance Act 1909/10 inland revenue valuation books. See also records of war damage (and compensation) to houses within Plymouth 1941 to 1954. Solicitors' and surveyors' papers also include details of sales, photographs, plans and correspondence.

Photographs

Mainly post-war local authority housing development. See the place name index for details.

Special categories of houses

Consult the searchroom indexes for further sources for the following: Almshouses, hotels, public houses, schools and vicarages.

Local directories and census indexes

Local directories for Devon and Plymouth from Kelly, 19th Century to mid 20th Century and Devon Census Indexes.

Documents held elsewhere

• Plymouth Local Studies Library, Drake Circus, Plymouth: Trade directories, photographs, Ordnance  Survey maps, files on large houses and electoral rolls
• Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery: Extensive photograph collection
• Devon Record Office, Castle Street, Exeter: Hearth and Land Tax assessments, glebe terriers, and estate collections
• Plymouth and District Land Registry, Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Crownhill, Plymouth

Bibliography

The following are available in the searchroom:

• Discovering Your Old House, David Iredale (Shire Publications Ltd, 1987)
• Sources for the History of Houses, John H Harvey (British Records Association, 1974)
• Small Houses in England 1520 to 1820, Peter Eden (Historical Association, 1979)
• The English House in the Nineteenth Century, Vanessa Parker (Historical Association, 1970)
• Title Deeds, A A Dibben (Historical Association, 1971)
• The Tithe Surveys of England and Wales, R J P Kain and H C Prince (Cambridge, 1985)
• Census Returns 1841 to 1881 on Microfilm, Jeremy Gibson (Federation of Family History Societies, 1988)
• Land Tax Assessments c1690 to 1950, Jeremy Gibson and Dennis Mills (Federation of Family History Societies, 1983)
• Manorial Records, Denis Stuart (Phillimore, 1992)
• Old Title Deeds, N W Alcock (Phillimore, 1986)

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