©  Anthony Green  2010

First Steps   

• Look at the property and guess an approximate date based on style.
• Examine the title deeds (if available) and the Land Registry entry
• Start tracing the past inhabitants
• Research Local Archives (either physically or, if available, via the internet) including
•    Census records
•   Ordnance survey maps
•    Directories and electoral records
•   Local histories and societies
•   Picture archives

The next step is the move deeper by:

• Tracing descendants of inhabitants
• Looking at old maps and specialist regional maps
•  Reading histories of the county.
•  Evaluating specialist archives - charters, Domesday Book, fire insurance etc

And, you can go deeper still by:

• If deeds not available search in archives and private collections
• Look at additional records - parish, estate, newspapers, planning, court cases etc
• Have a detailed look at architectural detail
• Research the archaeology of the site
• Research the property name and the heraldry if these are relevant