Houses

First Things First

In order to make your search easier, consult all possible printed sources before looking at the records themselves. The following are held in the Berkshire Record Office library:

General works
        * Harvey, J E, Sources for the History of Houses (British Records Association, 1974).
        * Ireland, D, This Old House (1968).
        * Henstock, A, Tracing the History of Your House (1988).
        * Richardson, R and Thorne, R, The Builder illustrations index 1843-1883 (1994).

Works relating to Berkshire
        * Newbury District Museum, House Detectives: how to investigate the history of your home (1995). An excellent introduction.
        * Page, W, and Ditchfield, P H, Victoria County History: Berkshire (4 vols, 1906-24).
        * Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Berkshire (1966).
        * Betjeman, J and Piper, J, Berkshire Architectural Guide (1949).
        * Gold, S M, A Biographical Dictionary of Architects at Reading to 1930 (1999).
        * Department of Environment, Lists of buildings of architectural and historical interest.

Consult the Record Office library index for additional works on individual localities, architecture and architects. A wider selection is available at the Reading Local Studies Library.

Original records

Tracing the history of a house can be a fascinating experience, but it can also be a frustrating one. Sometimes there will be many records surviving for the building you are studying, sometimes none at all, and the likelihood of finding relevant material decreases the further back you go in time. You may also be surprised at how time-consuming the research can be.

The Record Office holds the following, which you may find useful:

Maps and plans
        * Ordnance Survey maps, 6" and 25", 1870s-1930s.
        * Tithe maps, c.1840, for most Berkshire parishes.
        * Enclosure maps, late 18th and early 19th century, for many Berkshire parishes.
        * Parliamentary deposited plans, 19th and 20th century, with a few 18th century (useful if your house was situated near a railway, turnpike road or canal).
        * Building control plans.

Prints and photographs

Domesday books, 1910 (records of property valuations made by Board of Inland Revenue valuation offices). These survive for most Berkshire parishes, together with the working sheet maps that go with them.

Rate books, 18th to 20th century, with a few 17th century, among some parish, borough and district council records.

Electoral registers, 1830s-present day (virtually complete set).

Sale particulars, 19th and 20th century, a few 18th century.

Title deeds for some properties.

Berkshire census returns, 1841-1901, indexed for 1851 and 1881.

Local trade directories, Pigot, Kelly, etc., 1823-1976.

Surveys and rentals in borough and estate collections for properties previously owned by landed estates.

Manorial court books, for property on what was manorial land.

Berkshire hearth tax returns, 1662-1664.

Wills and inventories for Berkshire Archdeaconry, 1508-1857, and Faringdon peculiar, 1547-1853. National Probate Index (England and Wales), 1858-1943.

Licensing records, for public houses.