House history is something we frequently get asked about here at Dorset History Centre. There are a whole variety of reasons why knowing about a property can be important, be them legal, academic or just plain curiosity. We hold a range of sources which can help house historians find more information about their property.
Maps
Maps are the quickest visual method of identifying when a property might have been built. We possess an almost complete set of the 2nd edition of the Ordnance Survey ‘County’ series of maps, published in 1901 – 1903. The scale of these maps is 1:2,500, which is sufficient to show outlines of detached buildings, and usually the demarcations within terraced houses. We also have some copies of the 1st edition (c. 1890), and later editions of these maps. Larger properties and public buildings are often labelled on these maps.
Further map sources for Dorset are the tithe maps, produced c.1840. The tithe was the tax of one-tenth of the annual produce of land or labour that was levied to support the clergy and the Church. By the beginning of the nineteenth century taxes in kind such as this were becoming less appropriate and so under the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 the tithes were converted into a monetary payment or rent charge. In order for this to be done Commissioners were appointed to assess land values in parishes around the country. Large-scale maps were drawn up for each parish, with numbered plots of land. To accompany the maps a list was compiled of information for each plot of land, including the name of the owners, the occupier, the name of the premises or land, its use, its area and the amount of tithe payable on it. The quality of the map and the information can vary, but they are often useful.
After 1792 enclosure awards were carried out by Commissioners who appointed a surveyor to draw up a map of the parish, the land was then allotted to the land holders in the parish and a written survey or award was drawn up. These enclosure maps and awards list the landowners and occupiers and give a description of the land in each parish. An Enclosure Map does not exist for every parish as many parishes were enclosed before the Act was passed, but where they do exist they provide valuable information on land holding in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Land Tax
Originally Land Tax was a tax on personal estate, public offices and land. It was introduced in the late 17th century and finally abolished in 1963. After 1698 it was usually levied only on land. From 1745 (in practice 1780) it was used as a voting qualification – a land owner who paid land tax on freehold property worth £2 or more per annum had the right to vote. As a result of this administrative function the returns had to be lodged with the Clerk of the Peace. The survival of the early land tax records is variable, but most counties have surviving assessments for the years 1780 and 1832 as these were the returns that had to be lodged with the Clerk of the Peace with the Quarter Sessions Records.
The records consist of an annual list of the names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and the amount of tax to be levied. They sometimes include a description of the property though this may not be very helpful. Since the assessment was written out in the same order each year it is sometimes possible to work backwards using the information of the owner or occupier on the Tithe or Enclosure map and the amount of tax levied to identify the property. The Dorset History Centre holds returns for all divisions (except Poole) between 1780 and 1832.
Title Deeds
Landed estates often held title deeds for the properties on their lands. Title deeds, like now, can be long and complicated things, full of legal phrases which can be difficult to navigate. Often properties were only identified by their former occupants, rather than their specific location. Where information about a location is given, this is usually in context of landmarks which may no longer exist. There are usually references to other people’s land holdings in an attempt to contextualise the location of the property or land.
This means that often you find yourself looking for people as much as you are looking for places. Typically you see generations of families staying in the same property, or at least, in the same village.
Estate surveys
Larger estates often surveyed their lands, and these surveys are another source of potential information. Sometimes these surveys included maps of the lands, and details about the names of the tenants living in properties on the estate. Utilising these land-survey records alongside other sources (such as title deeds) you can begin to piece together something of the history of a plot of land and a property.
Photographs
There may also be photographs of the property, or a location, from the beginning of the 20th Century. Dorset Photograph Archive (D-DPA) holds a wide variety of images of various locations across the county. Please be aware though that photographs, as with everything else, are subject to copyright law!
