There are a few options you can try when you're tracing the history of a house.
Search online
Try searching for the property name or street name in our Online Archive Catalogue and Hertfordshire Names Online. Check both - they contain different collections.
Sources include:
- Maps - search our large collection of historical maps spanning the past 400 years.
- Images - photographs, prints and drawings dating from the 1600s.
- Books - search the library catalogue for books on architecture, buildings, local history
- Ownership - see pamphlets, electoral registers, directories, land tax and deeds. Get free access to Census records in all Hertfordshire libraries.
- Listed buildings - Hertfordshire buildings are on the Historic England website.
Pictures of buildings in the archives
If you're interested in Hertfordshire buildings, check the Gordon Moodey collection.
He was a member of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society but his interest in old buildings covered all of Hertfordshire. You can view his drawings, notes and scrapbooks of newspapers cuttings from 1935 to 1978.
Come and visit the archives
There's more to see if you visit the archives in Hertford. You don't have to make an appointment, though some items may not be available on Saturdays.
Ask us to find a document
We can search for a document on your behalf.