Learn how to uncover your home’s hidden history at North Yorkshire’s County Record Office

Researching house history is second only to family history when it comes to topics about which staff at North Yorkshire’s County Record Office are asked.

To help all those curious to know more about their home – and perhaps to spark new interest – the County Record Office is staging an exhibition and launching an online guide that will show people the resources available locally to help them learn more about their home.

The exhibition is not about exploring the history of a specific house, but guiding people in their own search to learn about their own home.It can be a complex study and which of the Record Office’s resources will be relevant depends on the age and location of the house.

“Everybody’s home is unique and each house will have its own story to tell,” said Margaret Boustead, head of archives and record management. “This exhibition is not about country houses or elite residences, it is about everyday homes and what people might be able to find out about them.”

The exhibition highlights resources people can use to discover the fascinating history of their home and the people that lived there in the past.

Items from the archive spanning nearly 700 years, from the early 1300s to the 1970s, will be on display, including historic maps, architectural drawings, old photographs and property deeds.

This includes a series of maps charting 250 years in the development of the village of Alne, near Easingwold.

A map of Fingall, between Bedale and Leyburn, from 1627 includes the names of the inhabitants of every house, and a bird’s eye view of Richmond from 1724 depicts houses in the town.

A later map of 1773, which numbers each house can be cross-referenced with numbers in an associated burgage book revealing who lived in each home.

The exhibition, at the County Record Office in Malpas Road, Northallerton, runs until Tuesday, January 31, except between December 24 and January 2 inclusive.

It is open Tuesday to Friday from 9.30am to 4pm.

Admission is free and there is no need to book.

There will be drop-in sessions on Monday, October 31, from 1.30pm to 4.30pm and Wednesday, November 9, from 4pm to 6pm when archivists will be on hand to answer your questions and you can find out where to begin your research.

The online guide to researching house history takes people through the different kinds of records and what they can find out from them. Read it at www.nycroblog.com/house-history.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member responsible for the County Record Office, Cllr Greg White, said: “Researching house history can tell us so much about the past and the places that we call home. It can also help us learn about the people who lived there and strengthen our connection with our past and where we live.

“Our County Record Office holds a wonderful range of resources that you can use to start your journey of discovery.”