Town houses
Lost in the skyline of a modern cityscape, residential squares, terraces and town mansions lie in the heart of our urban areas. Though hidden, each is a witness of social change. Through wars and peace, 'progress' and restoration, the lives of their inhabitants were documented along the way in such material as census returns, street directories and announcements in the national papers.
Title deeds are often the first port of call when tracing the history of a period residence, providing the names of previous owners, curtilage and sale price of the property at a given date. If the deeds have not survived, then a methodical search through electoral registers and city rates usually provides a basic list of names. Further investigative work follows; each owner/occupier is researched in detail and, in most cases, a biography or life story of a resident can be pieced together.
Kate has researched the social history of a number of town houses, the results providing a fascinating insight into other people's lives now lost in history. From Generals who served in the Crimean War to rich widows and successful bankers, the spectrum of people who successively lived at the same address can be diverse. So too can the purpose of a town house. With the passing of time, a once elegant town house was often divided into apartments or served as multiple-occupancy boarding houses only to be returned to a single dwelling in the late-20th century. In some cases a residence remained trapped in time, passed down from one generation to the next until it was sold out of the family estate.
Whether you are the current owner of a town house, or perhaps an agent acting on behalf of a vendor or prospective purchaser, discovering the history of a city residence can answer myriad questions which have remained a mystery for decades.
