Starting your house history

Before you come in -

• do your homework - collect as much information as you can about the house from old deeds and local people. Find out whether it had ever had a different use such as a school or chapel because this can affect the types of records that you use.
• ask a local expert - many towns and villages in Gloucestershire have a local history society so someone might have already investigated the history of your house.  You can find information about these societies from the Gloucestershire Local History Association.
• read a book - there are several books about house history that will give you information about the range of sources that can help you find out about your house.
• go on a course.
• decide what you want to do - do you want to find out when your house was built or do you want to try to discover who lived there before you?  You can research both!
• check the Online catalogue - this shows the sources available for your area. If you find references to original documents you would like to see you can pre-order them so they are ready for you when you arrive.