The History Society recently held the third of its Local Studies Library Archive sessions at the library in Keighley. We’ve been organising these sessions because we know that between our 70+ members, we have some people working on individual projects who use these sessions as a spur to progress them further, and because we know that some members won’t be fully aware what a terrific resource the Local Studies Library is with its comprehensive collection of documents, maps, directories, photographs, plans and so on.

This time a couple of committee members thought it would be helpful to focus on how to research the history of particular properties (most usually the one people now live in). I personally had attended an open-session on this very topic at the library a couple of years ago, so I knew how beneficial it would be, plus I’d moved house in the meantime and had a new property I wanted to find out more about! Properties of interest to other members included a former vicarage, a converted barn, a farmhouse, a manor house, a nursery and numerous other properties dating from the seventeenth to early twentieth centuries.

The session started with Angela and Gina giving a presentation on the various collections and resources available within the library. These included the more obvious (you might think) local maps, and building plans, and expanded to census records and electoral records which would help you discover who was in your property before you. But then they talked about resources like court records from the 17^th century, taxation records and rate books, and a whole host of other avenues to take your research down.

After the presentation, Angela, Gina and Janet were on hand to take our members through the various examples of records they had brought out, and that covered virtually every available surface in the upstairs library. They had also prepared a number of packs for individuals with details for some of the properties people were interested in. This included, for myself, a plan of a property linked with my own, that I am now keen to share with my neighbours who occupy said property.

Over twenty members of the History Society came along to the session (including one member who actually came to donate a plan of her previous home to the library). The morning was extremely well-received by our members. But I’ll let them say that in their own words…

“I found Saturday’s Archive session most helpful and enjoyable. The librarian ladies had gone to great lengths to help us further our study of the property we are researching which I greatly appreciate and wish to thank them again for the print outs of various documents and maps. Without their expertise and great knowledge of our Library’s resources I would have been overwhelmed.” – Eveline Rhodes

“I really enjoyed the session at the Library on Saturday. The preparation and presentation of archive materials was as always extensive. The members of the Team were knowledgeable and informative, offering links to people at various stages of their genealogical journey in addition to those seeking information about houses and buildings of interest, the two of course being closely intertwined. The Team are enthusiastic and readily accessed individual historical materials when requested. Keep up the good work.” – Eileen Whitley

“The Library Ladies, Angela, Gina and Janet, presented an impressively comprehensive array of information sources for us to consider.  They had also prepared an individual pack of ‘site-specific’ information plus maps, to identify the age of my particular dwelling.  This was immensely helpful and I am grateful for their time and focussed effort.” – Graham Mitchell

“I found the library session very useful and the staff gave a good presentation on what resources were available – and where to find them in the library. A few good tips too on which resource to use and when. I had not realised there were so many useful sources of information other than old OS maps and I can see myself calling in quite often now to try and dig out bits of history relating to a couple of projects I am working on; some listed buildings in Cross Roads and the history behind bridges in the Worth Valley and Keighley.” – Roger Grimes

“The library team are very knowledgeable and organised. Always helpful and will help with ideas on how to move forward. The archives themselves are well kept and organised and on Saturday they pulled together a lot of useful books and documents. Their handout is a very helpful and informative document. The session was really useful and it has inspired me to get back into my research on our house and local hamlet.” – Sally Morgan

“Following an interest in when my barn in Ingrow was built and its history, I attended the recent Property History Research lecture at the Local Studies library. I was amazed and excited by the range and depth of the physical records held in the library. This demonstrates to me how vital the Local Studies library is in curating and preserving the history of our town.” – John Rodger

We are all looking forward to future archive sessions in 2026.

Tim Neal

Keighley & District Local History Society