House explosions in Cheltenham 1904

A House History

Six years ago we made the decision to make a move from Gloucestershire, our home county of 20 years, to Somerset. Moving from a 1980s estate house to an old cottage of some 200+ years old was a great adventure and the historian in me began investigating the history well before the contract was signed.

I was fortunate to have a trip to The National Archives prior to the move and was able to get a copy of the 1910 Land Valuation Survey but other than that it was online resources such as census and maps.

Maps 

Maps are a wonderful resource that can tell us so much about the development of a place or property. The standard map resource freely available nationally comes from the National Library of Scotland website. Ordnance Survey maps are the prime series available for Somerset.

Another  resource that is more localised is the Know Your Place website which covers South West England counties. Gloucestershire, Bristol and South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset and most recently Devon are all covered. The site includes some wonderful map collections from Ordnance Survey, Tithe maps, Enclosures, Sewer Maps, Town Plans - each county varies that which is put up for use and by means of a slider you can compare one map with another.

The Somerset Historic Environment  also offers a map range from modern Ordnance Survey and the Tithe maps. The Tithe maps also offer a transcript of the entry relating to the selected property. This set of maps also shows listed property and conservation zones. The Tithe Maps and Apportionments collection taken from the National Archives series IR29 is available from The Genealogist website.

Of course not all maps are online and once moved a trip to Somerset Heritage Centre was made. Here they hold some records relating to the Manor of Old Cleeve which includes an estate map dating to 1806. Estate maps are something to behold and can be the most beautiful creations. These were drawn up for the landowner to show the detail of his land holdings and may not be 100% accurate, some being described as 'vanity maps' i.e. exaggerated to make it look as though the holdings were greater than they really were. For example, the small section of the map below shows our property at plot 365 but the supposed 'lane' running alongside plots 364 and 363 is in fact now a watercourse

SHC ref.DD/L 248M

However, at the top of this now watercourse is a modern bungalow and within its grounds is an old water cistern that provided water for the village therefore this track could well have been a lane at the time of surveying and drawing of the map. More investigation will be required from other records that may describe the plot in more detail.

The Tithe Map of 1839 shows the same lane and the first O.S. map (1887) shows a building to one side and a W[ater] T[ap] symbol on the north side of property 365. Clearly the use of the water cistern had been replaced by more modern means.

In summary, by discovering maps of your local area and/or property it is possible to begin putting approximate dates to features that may relate to the development and modernisation of your home.