Finding the History of Your House

Local Studies Collection Researching Your House Researching Your House Sources of Information: Title Deeds If the title deeds exist they provide information on former owners, dates of sale, dates of building mortgages and the extents of the property etc.. These may not be complete and will not cover leaseholds of less than 21 years. The West Yorkshire Archives Service (WYAS) at Wakefield holds the Registry of Deeds from 1704 – 1970: West Yorkshire Archives Service, Registry of Deeds, Newstead Road, Wakefield WF1 2DE. Telephone 01274 732931. Email [email protected] Maps Ordnance Survey Maps – these maps cover the period from 1847 to the present day and come in various scales depending on the date and area. Those that cover the Bradford Metropolitan District are held at the Local Studies Library, Bradford Central Library, Prince’s Way, Bradford BD1 1NN. Telephone 01274 433688 or email [email protected] , or ask staff for details of what we hold. Tithe Maps – large-scale maps produced after the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836. With the Tithe Award they give information on the owners, occupiers and uses of land along with field names etc.. Many Yorkshire Tithe Awards and Maps are held at the WYAS Office in Leeds. Copies of those for Allerton, Baildon, Bolton, Bowling, Bradford, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Eccleshill, Heaton, Idle, Manningham, Menston, Shipley and Wilsden have been deposited at the Bradford Office of the West Yorkshire Archives Service, (Ref. 55D93), at Bradford Central Library, Prince’s Way, Bradford BD1 1NN, telephone 01274 435099, email [email protected] . The Local Studies library has a few copies of Tithe Maps (see Map Index), including Wilsden and Tyersal. Enclosure Maps – large-scale maps produced after a private Enclosure Act, usually in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries, or the General Enclosure Acts of 1836 and 1845, to accompany Enclosure Awards by which land was enclosed. These give information on owners, tenants, public roads, footpaths etc. within the enclosed area. Most are held by the WYAS but copies of Heaton, Thornton, Wibsey Slack and Low Moor are held in the Local Studies Library. Miscellaneous Maps and Plans We hold a large selection of other maps and plans. These are listed in the Map Index under the relevant area, please ask the staff. Manorial Records The National Archives has a section called “Manorial Documents” on its website: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr which lists where manorial records are kept. Census The 1841 to 1911 censuses are available on www.ancestrylibrary.com or www.findmypast.co.uk for free at all Bradford Libraries, but at Local Studies, the computers are reserved for the use of family and local historians and staff are experienced in assisting you. The census provides information on who lived in a property, including servants and lodgers, but does not prove ownership. However, the website is only indexed by street for 1911, but Local Studies has street indexes for the census of Bradford. Trade and Postal Directories The 1845 J. Ibbetson Directory of the Borough of Bradford is the first held in Local Studies that lists people by street and house number. Prior to that, they list people by trade and name only. Electoral/Voters Lists These list people who are entitled to vote in national and local elections by address, but there were many restrictions on who could vote in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Local Studies holds those for Bradford from 1848. The Bradford office of WYAS holds some West Riding registers on microfiche. An index is available in Local Studies. Local Newspapers Bradford’s earliest complete run of a newspaper is the Bradford (later Yorkshire) Observer from 1834. They contain a wealth of local information and include advertisements for sales of land, descriptions of building projects, property sales, articles on architects and local builders can be found. The 19 th Century Newspaper database can be accessed from any PC using a Bradford Library ticket. Search facility by key word(s) and gives access to millions of pages of original scanned newspapers. www.bradford.gov.uk/libraries247 Land Tax Records Where they exist, these provide information on land holdings and the value of properties. They are more useful from 1780 onwards when a distinction was made between proprietors and occupiers. The WYAS holds some of these records. Rate Books These list owners and occupiers, street names etc. Local Studies has the index of those held at the WYAS Office in Bradford SC 03/2013 .

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