This is an indispensable, practical guide for anyone interested in discovering the history of their home. Following on from the huge surge of interest in tracing family history, more and more people are turning their attention to the fascinating story of the home they live in. For anyone who has ever wondered how to date an architectural feature, or why those windows have always been bricked up, or just what kind of lives previous inhabitants lived within the same four walls, this is the definitive handbook. The starting point for home history research is wonderfully close at hand - the most obvious clues are literally all around you and local archives are also a rich source. The book kicks off by showing how someone completely new to the subject can date their home, track down deeds, and start piecing together the lives of previous occupiers through local history archives, census records and other sources. Increasingly, the archives are available on-line so the book is packed with up-to-date website contacts. And for those who want to take their search further, Anthony provides the tools to dig deeper and investigate everything from intricate architectural details to the geology of the land on which your home is built. The book covers all ages of home so is a wonderful universal sourcebook, whether you live in a 16th-century cottage, a Victorian terrace or a 60's flat. Anthony's approach throughout is to pepper authoritative information with plenty of useful personal tips and fascinating anecdotes and examples, bringing alive the subjects he talks about and painting a compelling picture of the lives of our forbears.