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Funded and Managed by
City of London Corporation
The London Archives

House history

Research Guide
boundary-estate

1. About this guide

There are a wide range of documents available at The London Archives for researching the history of a London house, its occupants and the local streets. This guide outlines the most useful original records and digital sources available.

Some records in this guide are available on Ancestry.co.uk. A subscription is required to access Ancestry.co.uk at home but free access is provided at The London Archives.

2. Title deeds

Title deeds are documents showing the chain of ownership for land and property. They can include mortgages, conveyances, contracts for sale, wills, and leases affecting land and may record:

  • sale dates
  • purchase prices and rents
  • names and addresses of owners and occupants
  • property size, construction and use
  • sketches and plans

We hold a significant collection of deeds covering 1709 to 1938 in the Middlesex Deeds Registry. This was created for the registration of all deeds relating to property transactions such as mortgages, freehold transfers, leases over 21 years and wills affecting land in the former county of Middlesex (excluding the City of London). From the late 18th century, the registers also contain maps and plans and from 1892 a separate series of tracings of maps and plans bound into volumes was made.

Further information can be found in our research guide on the Middlesex Deeds Registry, 1709-1938.

3. Tithe apportionments and maps

After 1836, tithe dues to the church were replaced by fixed rent payments. Tithe apportionments list occupiers within a parish and the sum they paid to their landowners. Although they do not describe individual properties, they do show what the land or property was used for. Large-scale tithe maps show the land and properties described in the apportionments, with details such as roads, boundaries, waterways, and woodlands.

We hold tithe records for over 50 parishes with records dating from 1835 to 1934, mainly in the Diocese of London collection in DL/TI.

Many tithe maps are held at The National Archives and can be viewed on The Genealogist website - see Tithe Records for England and Wales (charges apply).

4. Fire insurance policy registers

From the eighteenth century onwards, many people insured their property and its contents against damage by fire. Fire insurance policies can reveal:

  • date and number of policies
  • names, addresses and occupations of policy holders and/or tenants
  • age, location and type of building
  • value at which property was insured

We registers from several insurance companies including the Sun Insurance Office (1710-1863), Hand-in-Hand Fire and Life Insurance Society (1696-1865) and Royal Exchange (1753-1883) which insured properties throughout Britain.

Further information can be found in our research guide on fire insurance records.

5. Electoral registers

Electoral registers are lists of names of people entitled to vote in parliamentary and local government elections. Electoral Registers were first produced 1832 and continue to the present day, although only certain classes of men could vote before 1918. After 1945, registers only include voters’ names and addresses but before that, they may record their:

  • residential address
  • qualification entitling them to vote
  • properties owned and those rented out to tenants

We hold electoral registers from the former counties of Middlesex and London to 1963 and from 1964 the area within the present boundaries of Greater London. Registers from 1832 to 1965 can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk. See Electoral Registers, 1832-1965.

Further information can be found in our research guide on electoral registers.

6. Commercial directories

Commercial directories (also known as trade or business directories) list the names of professionals and traders followed by their occupations and street and house number. The amount of information they can contain varies but householders may also be included for certain periods. We hold the directories of several publishers covering the City of London, Greater London and the Home Counties. Directories from 1736 to 1943 can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk. See City Directories, 1736-1943.

Further information can be found in our research guide on trade directories.

7. Building Act case files

Building Act case files were created when planning applications were made to the local authority for new streets and buildings, including some domestic properties and housing estates. Files may include correspondence, structural and cost calculations, building inspection reports and planning permissions. A large series of building and architectural plans also provide information about both the internal and external structure and design of buildings.

We hold Building Act case files from 1855 to 1986 from the Architect’s Department of the Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW), London County Council (LCC), Greater London Council (GLC). In order to find these, please search the catalogue for the name of the property followed by the words 'building act'.

A short summary of Building Act applications can also often be found in the main series of minutes of the MBW, LCC and GLC.

8. Drainage applications

Drainage applications were made to lay sewers and drains, usually for new buildings and sometimes entire estates. Application registers may record:

  • approximate building dates
  • names of applicants
  • sketched plans of the house or street in question.

We hold drainage applications from various commissions of sewers (c.1812-1848), the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers (1847-1855), the Metropolitan Board of Works (1855-1889) and London County Council (1889-1936).

Further information can be found in our research guide on drainage applications and plans.

9. Sewer rate books

Sewer rate books record sums of money paid for the construction of new sewers from residents, landowners and builders and for the maintenance of existing sewers. Large scale plans were also prepared for rating assessments. Together with minute books and applications, these records may show:

  • approximate dates of construction
  • names of owners or occupiers paying rates
  • names of landowners, builders and architects
  • details of existing sewers and watercourses
  • plans of proposed new buildings and streets

We hold the records of the various commissions of sewers, including the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers, from the sixteenth century to 1855. Plans date from the 1740s to 1855.

10. District Surveyors' records

Records were created by surveyors employed by the local authority to supervise the building and inspection of new buildings. Records may include exact construction dates, names and addresses of of builders and owners, the size and construction of the building and an indication of the building work carried out.

We hold the following records:

  • Surveyors’ affidivits and certificates for Middlesex, 1766-1846 in MR/B/C
  • Registers of surveyors’ affidivits and certificates for Middlesex, 1764-1846 in MR/B/R
  • District Surveyors' returns for the metropolitan area within Middlesex. See MR/B/SR and MBO/DS for 1845-1855 and MBW/1619-1771 for 1871-1888
  • District Surveyors' returns for the County of London, 1889-1939 in LCC/AR/BA/04
  • District surveyors’ case files on some individual premises, c.1875-1985 in GLC/AR/DS

11. Land tax assessments

Land tax assessments describe portions of land evaluated for land tax purposes and usually include:

  • location (and sometimes description) of properties
  • names of owners and/or occupiers
  • the amount at which each person was assessed

We hold assessments from 1692 to 1932, for the City of London, the county of Middlesex, and certain parishes in Kent and Surrey and these can be searched on Ancestry.co.uk. See Land Tax Records, 1692-1932.

12. Social housing

The City of London Corporation, London County Council and Greater London Council built flats in London and cottage estates in and around Greater London. If a property formed part of a larger estate or development scheme, we may hold records such as plans, deeds, planning schemes, development orders, case files, meeting minutes and presented papers. Virtually no records of individual tenants survive.

We hold the records of charitable societies which worked to improve living conditions in London. Records of the Peabody Trust in ACC/3445) and Guinness Trust in LMA/4656 include property records, tenant registers, plans and photographs. The collection of the Hampstead Garden Suburb Archive Trust in ACC/3816 includes a significant number of plans and photographs of the suburb and of individual properties.

13. London Picture Archive

The London Picture Archive provides free online access to images of London, including many streets and houses, from the collections at The London Archives and Guildhall Art Gallery. Over 250,000 photographs, prints and drawings as well as over 1,000 maps from the fifteenth century to the present day.

Maps include:

See more maps on the London Picture Archive

14. Goad fire insurance plans

Goad fire insurance plans were created to help assess risk to property from fire. Focused on commercial areas but frequently covering surrounding residential streets, showing:

  • detailed drawings of individual properties with their use
  • structural details including number of storeys and building materials
  • street numbers, sometimes with a list of occupiers

We hold Goad fire insurance plans from 1886 to c1970 in SC/GL/GOA and from 1923 to 1957 in LCC/VA/GOAD. Goad fire insurance plans for the City of London are available to view on London Picture Archive.

15. Street naming and numbering plans

We hold plans recording the changes to street names and house numbers in the County of London:

Plan numbers can be found in the following books which available from the team in the public rooms:

  • Names of Streets and Places in the Administrative County of London variously published in 1901, 1912, 1929, 1955

16. Library sources

Browse our library catalogue for relevant books. Here are some recommendations:

Researching London’s Houses by Colin Thom on shelfmark R45.62 THO.

Victoria County History -  encyclopaedic histories of each county, including topics such as topography, landscape and the built environment. It is available in our reference library and on British History Online:

Survey of London – details the topographical and architectural evolution of an area, giving a description of the buildings in a single parish or part of a parish. Volumes 1-47 can be viewed on British History Online: Survey of London. Drafts texts of Volumes 48-55 are available on UCL's Survey of London website. The full series of published books can be viewed in our reference library.