Tag Archives: old documents

In the blue chamber, a bedstead

Posted on June 12, 2011 by

I don’t suppose probate inventories feature among many people’s favourite reading material, but for me they embody, if you’ll excuse the phrase, a remarkable record of the contents of someone’s house from three or four hundred years ago – and … Continue reading →

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Inside knowledge

Posted on April 4, 2011 by

I may soon be featuring in someone else’s house history and it feels weird. My brother recently spotted that our childhood family home was up for sale and looked up the estate agent’s website. Nowadays anyone can browse through the … Continue reading →

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Shopping in 1804

Posted on February 3, 2011 by

One of the great delights of researching the history of houses is finding an unusual source that gives you a real insight into some aspect of people’s lives that still has resonance today. Take shopping, for instance. I recently discovered … Continue reading →

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Biting the dust myth

Posted on May 25, 2010 by

One of the most common misconceptions about archives is that they are dark and dusty places frequented only by scholars studying medieval texts. Nothing could be further from the truth. In my experience they are bright, clean, and welcoming places … Continue reading →

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