Taxing the Past:

Researching the development of Cranleigh in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, taxation records like Lay Subsidies and the Hearth Tax reveal insights into the community. While both records require careful interpretation, they offer valuable links to properties and families, helping to reconstruct the village’s historical narrative over time.

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A Visit to the Parliamentary Archives at Kew

This week, I visited The National Archives at Kew to explore newly available House of Lords records. I learned about Santobrite, a fungicide used for preservation, which necessitated extra handling procedures for certain documents. This experience highlighted the evolving nature of archival materials and the importance of understanding their histories for research.

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Looking Beyond the Obvious: What I’ve Been Working On Recently

Over the summer, I focused on archival research for my Licentiateship, particularly examining Chancery records and land documentation. I aim to help others navigate historical archives, encouraging them to explore beyond expected sources. This approach reveals personal stories behind the records, highlighting the interconnectedness of family transactions and disputes.

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Beyond the Bill:

The author explores seventeenth-century Chancery records from an inheritance dispute in Surrey, focusing on interrogatories and depositions. These documents provide detailed insights into family relationships, ownership, and local perceptions. Unlike typical legal papers, they offer rich genealogical information and reveal a complex narrative that extends beyond a single lawsuit, highlighting their significance for researchers.

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Lost in Translation?

Transcribing medieval manorial court records presents challenges due to inconsistent Latin spelling and unfamiliar handwriting. While translation can be manageable with known phrases, understanding clerks' writings is crucial. Recognising patterns aids comprehension, revealing details about daily life and the medieval landscape. Each transcription helps reconstruct histories hidden for centuries.

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Hidden Stories in Chancery Records

The author reflects on preparing a lecture about Chancery records for genealogical research, highlighting their value as rich sources of family history. These records provide insights into familial disputes and relationships, turning ancestors into relatable figures. Despite their complexity, they can elucidate why things happened, beyond mere facts, enriching the understanding of family stories.

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More Than Just an Inheritance

Inquisitions Post Mortem (IPM) are vital medieval land records that provide insights into landownership, inheritance, and family relationships following a tenant's death. They assist family historians and genealogists in reconstructing personal and local histories, revealing complex ownership dynamics over generations despite challenges in interpretation. IPMs are invaluable resources for understanding medieval society.

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Spring Cleaning… in Summer!

The post reflects on the tradition of spring cleaning, linking it to historical practices across cultures that symbolise renewal. It highlights its Victorian significance due to the necessity of cleaning after winter. While modern conveniences have diminished the need for thorough cleans, the desire to declutter remains, connecting us to our ancestors' routines.

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Don’t overlook Particulars of Sale!

Auction sale particulars, often overlooked, offer significant insights into a property's history. Examining details from Northease Farm's 1919 catalogue reveals its scale, tenant, and community aspects, alongside descriptions of buildings and land use. This documentation serves as a valuable resource for historians, providing a comprehensive view of past agricultural life.

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Those Eureka Moments

This week, I experienced multiple breakthroughs while researching a client's ancestor. Initially stumped by missing baptism records, I uncovered the family's history through Land Tax records and a burial entry, leading to the discovery of the ancestor's baptism. However, questions remain about the siblings' upbringing after their parents' deaths.

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Sailing Through History

During the spring half term, a family enjoyed sailing around the picturesque South Ionian Islands of Greece, reflecting on their rich maritime history. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Sailing Holidays has made sailing accessible to many. The Ionian, known for its beauty and relaxed sailing conditions, remains a beloved destination for families and adventurers alike.

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Tracing the origins of a grand Georgian house

This week, I researched the ownership history of Cranley House in Cranleigh, Surrey, a Georgian property built between 1770 and 1830. Formerly a hotel, it was demolished in the 1980s. My findings linked its architectural changes, such as bricked windows, to the historical Window Tax, revealing insights into local heritage.

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The Story Hidden in Your Surname

English surnames, originating primarily post-Norman Conquest, embody stories of ancestry, occupation, and geography. Initially ephemeral, they transitioned into hereditary labels reflecting personal lineage, place, or character traits. Surnames serve as historical records, revealing influences from Vikings to Normans, encapsulating traces of cultural and occupational heritage within single words.

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The World of Millers

In early 17th-century England, millers along the River Loddon played a crucial yet complex role in rural communities. Responsible for transforming grain into flour, they navigated economic challenges and maintained trust with local farmers, while their mills shaped both landscapes and social dynamics. They epitomised the interplay between technology and community.

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Tracing Lines of Identity: A Week of Heraldic Research Across Borders

This week’s exploration of heraldry ignited a newfound passion. I delved into the connection between English and Scottish coats of arms, revealing key differences in their systems of descent and entitlement. Scottish heraldry demands formal documentation, contrasting with the more flexible English approach. This shift in perspective enhanced my understanding of heraldic traditions.

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The world of probate records

Wills serve as vital resources for family historians, revealing intricate relationships and social structures across generations. They detail familial connections, property inheritance, and can even highlight wider community links. While some wills offer limited information, a combined examination of multiple documents can uncover a comprehensive family narrative, enhancing genealogical research.

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Making the Most of a Sunny Easter

This week, we embraced the sunny weather during the Easter holidays, prioritising family time over work. Our adventures included exploring Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the Mary Rose Museum, as well as experiencing the Gatwick Aviation Museum. With no agenda, we cherished the moments spent together, creating lasting memories amid the sunshine.

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Is the Meaning of Easter Lost to Chocolate Eggs?

The article explores whether children's understanding of Easter's meaning is overshadowed by their excitement for chocolate eggs. It traces the origin of the egg as a symbol of renewal, linking it to spring festivals and Christianity. The modern chocolate egg emerged in the 19th century, blending ancient traditions with contemporary celebrations.

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Poor law records for C18th and C19th Research

This week took me into parich chest records to try and identify the ancestors in a project i am working. These can be some of the most valuable records when researching ancestors in the early modern period, but aren’t the most obvious ones. Tucked away in parish chests are documents that reveal not just names and dates—but movements, relationships, and personal circumstances.

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Tracing Family Connections in the Early Modern Period (1500–1600)

Researching family history in the early modern period (c.1500–1600) can be challenging. Parish registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials—often the foundation of genealogical research—frequently do not survive from this period. Even where they do, gaps and inconsistencies are common. So how can you trace your ancestors when the usual records are missing? Despite these challenges, this is one of the most rewarding periods to explore.

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The Story of Mary Jones

In 1859, nineteen-year-old Mary Jones of Hambledon, Surrey, was convicted of the murder of her newborn child and sentenced to death. But her case was clearly one of seduction with the trial judge sought mercy. This is a story of a young woman facing the gallows and finding a path back to society.

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Lodging House Keepers and Survival in Victorian London

This week has been a bit varied, but one theme coming out of my research and talk preparations over the last couple of weeks, which I thought I would explore further, is 19th-century female lodging house keepers in London and Surrey — not least because of the complex relationship between women recorded as lodging house keepers and those prosecuted for keeping a “house of ill-repute” (a brothel).

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Hidden lives, Industrial Change and Historic Walls

This week’s research focused on three distinct projects involving family genealogy and local history. The challenges ranged from tracing an elusive ancestor with ambiguous marital status to investigating a historical coaching inn's origins. Each project highlighted the importance of diverse methodologies and the need for patience when overcoming research obstacles.

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A week of Wildlife, History & Adventure

With half term this week, little work has been done but the children and I packed our days with adventure, learning, fresh air, and just a little bit of time travel! Animals galore Our adventure began at Marwell Zoo, where excitement levels were high from the moment we arrived. The children loved spotting their favourite animals — from towering giraffes to majestic big cats — and asking endless (and brilliant!) questions along the way.

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One parchment at a time

This week, I have been engaged in writing about manorial records, exploring their depth regarding landholding and community life from medieval England to the twentieth century. The process includes transcription, translation, and interpretation, revealing the historical context and intricacies of feudal systems. It's a rewarding endeavour, blending precise research with storytelling.

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Battling with Census Returns

If you’ve ever traced a family through census records, you may have hit a confusing moment: the same household, the same street, but a different house number? Or the same house number and neighbours, but a completely different street name? Did the family move? Did the census taker make a mistake? Often, the answer is simpler—and sneakier. The street numbers or name, or both, changed!

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Brick Walls and Master Mariners

The author grapples with genealogy challenges uncovering details about their great-grandfathers. The search involves overcoming 'brick walls' such as mismatched records and common surnames. Significant discoveries include familial connections and tragic histories, emphasising that genealogy requires patience, flexibility, and a broader perspective. Each finding adds depth to their family history research.

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Putney House History: A Converted Victorian Stable and Its Market Garden Past

A Former Stable Hidden Among Victorian Houses in Putney This week, a house history project took me to a charming little converted Victorian stable in Putney, built in the late 1800s. Nestled among larger semi-detached Victorian homes, this small house has a fascinating past that reflects the transformation of Putney from open farmland to suburban London. The land on which the stable was built was originally part of Putney’s market gardens, documented in the Tithe Apportionment records of the 1840s.

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Deeds and Criminals!

This week offered a unique mix of ongoing research, from exploring Victorian female criminals in Surrey for an upcoming talk to delving into 17th-century deeds for Harmondsworth. Additionally, projects continue on a medieval cottage in Cranleigh, believed to be the first cottage hospital, enhancing local historical understanding.

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