Tracing your House History
Heritage Hub Source List
Tracing your house history can involve looking at different aspects - owners and occupiers of the property, the local community in which the house stands and the building itself. As with family history it can be a process of checking records back in time to research the property.
Examples are given here of the type of material available at the Heritage Hub, online and at other organisations. Staff are happy to advise further, whether in person or by letter or e-mail.
Owners and Occupiers
Census Returns
These can be one of the most useful sets of records for finding out who lived in your house in the past, with details of:
- Names of residents
- Ages
- Marital status,
- Relationship to head of household
- Occupation,
- Birthplace.
1841 is the first census for which records survive. Censuses take place every 10 years. There is a 100-year closure on access to the records, so the 1901 census is the latest available.
The Heritage Hub holds all censuses for all parishes in the Scottish Borders 1841-1901, with many indexed. However the indexes are by personal name of the residents, so be prepared for a search to find a specific property.
Valuation Rolls
From 1855 onwards, annual valuation rolls of property were kept for each burgh and county and record the name of owner, tenant and occupier. To some extent, the information supplements the 10 yearly census returns, but do note that valuation rolls do not list other residents in the property.
The rolls are not indexed and the lack of street names, house names or numbers means it is not always straightforward to find the property you are looking for.
After 1989, only non-domestic properties are listed on valuation rolls.
The “cess” was a land tax, prior to 1855.
See National Archives of Scotland website www.nas.gov.uk for the Research Guide Valuation Rolls which gives more details, together with information on the online project for Virtual Volumes.
| Archive Collection: | Ref. No. |
|---|---|
| Berwickshire – cess & valuation roll, 1779-1853 | B/CS/1/1-3 |
| Hawick valuation roll, printed by R. Armstrong, 1811 | SBA/6/1 |
| Hawick - writs of land in Hawick 1610-1688 | D/10/1-7 |
| Peeblesshire – valued roll. 1657 | P/CS/1/13 |
| Peeblesshire – valuation roll, 1818 | P/CS/1/14 |
Peeblesshire – cess book, 1831-1841 |
P/CS/1/15 |
Selkirk - cess & roll 1753-1755 |
SC/S/12/4 |
| Selkirk Burgh land tax 1752-1893 – a collection of over 800 documents | SC/S/26/3 |
Selkirk valuations 1698-1712 |
SC/S/12/25 |
Selkirk valuation rolls, cess rolls & poll tax 1614-1721 [copies] |
D/4/11/1-6 |
Electoral Registers
The Heritage Hub holds a range of electoral lists from the respective local government councils of the day – burgh, county, district and region. Most of these date from the second half of the 20th century and are arranged geographically by town/village and street name.
| Archive Collection: | Ref. No. |
|---|---|
| Galashiels 1890-1891 | S/ERO/1/1-5 |
| Peeblesshire register of electors, 1899 | SBA/23/1 |
| Roxburghshire register of electors, 1894-1895 | SBA/253/4 |
Please note: It was not until 1928 when all men and women over the age of 21 years were entitled to vote.
Directories
The Heritage Hub holds a range of directories, dating from 1825. They give a brief description of the town or village, with lists of nobility, gentry, clergy, schools, societies, professional people, farmers, manufacturers, shopkeepers, tradesmen, coaches and carriers etc. Details vary, with some including lists of addresses and householders.
Sasines
Sasines are legal documents recording the transfer of ownership of land or of a building and have been the mainstay of land ownership records from the 17th century. .
| Archive Collection: | Ref. No. |
|---|---|
| Register of Sasines - Selkirkshire, 1781-1947 | SBA/142/1-91 |
Registers of Scotland
This is the Government Department responsible for compiling and maintaining Scotland's land and property registers. A fee is charged for searches of the Land Register (established in 1979) and Register of Sasines (dating from 17th century) Website: www.ros.gov.uk
Wills and Inventories
Wills and inventories are a good source of information on property, and wills 1513-1901 can be accessed online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
Estate Records
The Heritage Hub holds archive material on a number of estates across the Borders and these can be traced in the Index to the Archive Collection.
Most estate records, however are held nationally or are in private hands. See the websites of the National Archives of Scotland at www.nas.gov.ukwww.nas.gov. and the National Register of Archives at www.nas.gov.uk.nra
The Local Community
Maps
The Heritage Hub holds a large map collection that includes:
- Ordnance Survey maps 6 inches to 1 mile – 1st edition 1854-1891
- Ordnance Survey 6 inches to 1 mile – 2nd edition 1885-1900
- Ordnance Survey 6 inches to 1 mile – 3rd edition 1903-1912
- 6 inches to 1 mile – later 20th century editions
- 25 inches to the mile – 2nd edition maps 1890’s – 1930’s
Detailed indexes, which include farm names etc. are available to help trace the appropriate map.
Other maps in the collection include:
- John Wood Maps – town environs and plans 1818-1826
- Book of plans of Hawick & surrounding are c.1791-1855 SBA/430
- Fueing plans for Selkirk 1836-1869 SBA/72/3/5
Online
You can view the free website of Scottish Borders Council at www.scotborders.gov.uk/localview. This offers current maps and allows you to pinpoint a locality to find information on services and amenities.
The National Library of Scotland Maps Department holds an extensive collection. Many maps are available online with zoom options to view detail and print copies. Website: www.nls.uk/collections/mapswww.nls.uyk/collections.maps
Publications
The Heritage Hub holds a local studies book collection that includes publications dating from the 19th century, many of them histories on Border towns and villages. These are worth consulting for potential information on specific streets and property and also for the history of the locality and its people.
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland are detailed contemporary parish reports on the economic and social state of Scotland at the time, giving background information on how people lived. The “Old Statistical Account” was written 1791-99, and the “New Statistical Account” 1834-45. The “Third Statistical Account “was published in the second half of the 20th century – volumes for Peeblesshire and Selkirkshire 1964, and for Berwickshire and Roxburghshire 1992. Website: http://stat-acc-scot.edina.ac.uk/sas
Postcards and Photographs
The Heritage Hub has a large indexed collection of postcards, dating from the beginning of the 20th century and featuring houses, streets, shops, churches, historic buildings etc.
The book collection includes publications of old photographs on Border towns and villages.
Buildings
Architectural Guides - available at the Heritage Hub.
- Borders ( Buildings of Scotland series) by Kitty Cruft, John Dunbar & Richard Fawcett
- Borders and Berwick; an illustrated architectural guide to the Scottish Borders and Tweed Valley, by Charles Strang.
- Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments – volumes for Berwickshire, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire.
Listed Buildings
- See the website of Historic Scotland to search for a historic or listed building: www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
Building Plans
| Archive Collection: | Ref. No. |
|---|---|
| Borders Regional Council Planning & Development papers | BRC/PD |
| Local plans 1977-1987 | SBA/354 |
| Country of Roxburgh planning records, – a major collection | SBA/9/3 |
| Plans of property owned at one stage by local authorities, 1900-1974 – a major collection | D/11 |
Scottish Borders Council Planning Dept. can be accessed on the website: www.scotborders.gov.uk/life/planningandbuilding. This includes information on building warrants, planning applications and local development plans.
