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Document Research
Surrey History Centre in Woking.
This is a fantastic and exciting resource. Do not be intimidated. The staff are very friendly, willing to help and as they already know all about this project, they understand exactly the kind of things you need to find out and how to do it.
Ring them on 01483 518737 or email: shs@surreycc.gov.uk but it is not necessary to make an appointment before you go. And you can find out a lot about how to use the centre by visiting the website www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreyhistorycentre.
Janet Nixon, Learning Officer for Archives at the Surrey History Centre, ran our second workshop, introducing the various avenues of research that are most likely to reveal information on the history of the landscape and the people who farmed it.
Sources
include parish census returns,
trade directories and newspapers, the Manorial Documents Register, Ordinance
Survey 6” maps dating from the 1870s-80s and Tithe Maps made in 1836.
Farm/village/manor can be traced in the Victoria County History and
place-names checked in the Place Names of Surrey by Gover, Mawer and Stenton.
Some material is stored on microfiche, others are original documents.
Discoveries made so far include fascinating and funny field names that mutate and evolve over the centuries, diaries of 17th and 18th century farmers and villagers which shed wonderful light on farming techniques and wills and deeds of sale that show how farms have passed from hand to hand.
You arrive!
Bags, coats, pens etc have to be stashed in the lockers so make sure you have a 20p coin and a pencil to take in with you instead.
Bring some identification with a photograph on it, to enable you to get the special library research ticket to access the records.
The first thing to do is explain to a member of staff what you are researching so they can help guide you to the right archives.
Use the computers near the door to search the catalogues, making a note of any reference number of a document that looks promising.
Check out the Access to Archives programme on the computers, which brings together sources from right across the country.
Search the Manorial Documents Register (MDR).
There are useful local history books you can browse direct from the shelves, a huge archive of postcards and thousands of photographs. Digital copies of maps, pictures and documents will be very useful when you come to turn your historical research into a leaflet or display boards.
To get you in the right mood to delve into historic agriculture, have a read of Samuel Marshall’s leaflet Life of a Successful Farmer in Surrey. Samuel came from Puttenham.
You may be handling documents on vellum (calf hide) or parchment that are 700 or 800 years old! Here are some commonsense do’s and don’ts for all research involving fragile historical material:
· Handle documents carefully by the edges and use the special sponge lecterns to support bound books
· Don’t run your finger over the text or take records out of the building
· Always ask for help – that’s what the staff are there for
· They may be able to provide you with digital images
· Use the special research forms to keep a record of your detective work and provide you with proper references for your findings
Maps:
These are essential for your research
Start with the Ordinance Survey 6” maps dating from the 1870s-80s. The third edition is 1909-10. These maps are stored in the cupboard near the door.
Tithe Maps are brilliant. They were made in 1836 when tithes traditionally paid in kind, with grain or stock, were commuted to cash. Every field was numbered and listed with owner, farmer, size, crop etc. Very similar in many ways to today’s bureaucratic system. The tithe maps give a snapshot of farm management in early Victorian England.
This should give you a good starting point and you can always ask for guidance on where your research should go next.