Gina Birdsall and Angela Speight who delivered our recent courses on the subject of House History agreed to write a blog for us about the course.
Following the recent popularity of television programs like ‘A House Through Time’ on BBC 2 that aired earlier this year which looked into the social history, occupants and architecture of a house throughout different periods of history we decided to embark on delivering a course on that often neglected and sometimes difficult area of research: the history of your house.
Condensing such a wide area of research down into a manageable two hour course was a bit of a challenge. Ultimately, we opted for an introductory level course with a one hour talk and slideshow divided into three main areas possible to research: Site, Building and People. There was a small fee for this course which included printing and hand-outs, some concessions applied.
After addressing these research options we then embarked on trying to help get people started or further their research.
Some people opted to look at the computerised resources and used ancestrylibrary.com and findmyppast.co.uk to look at the Census and 1939 Register. These websites can be used free of charge in all Bradford Council libraries.
With some help people did have some success in finding who had lived in their properties. Others took a look at some of our vast resources that we had on display including the conservation area assessments and the Tithe Awards for the local area.
With such a wide range of properties and different areas to cover, time seemed to fly and we soon had to finish up, with most people keen and inspired to continue their research. Still the course seemed to be a great success so much so that we hope to run the course again sometime during the New Year.
Gina and Angela
Many thanks to all who have been on courses and left such useful feedback.
‘An excellent session thanks’, ‘Really enjoyed it’ were a couple of comments received.
For more information about further courses contact Keighley Local Studies Library on 01535 618215 or email keighleylocalstudies@bradford.gov.uk
Bradford and District Local Studies 