Tracing a House

[Nick_]

Hi guys, merry christmas to you all.

I am starting on a project to trace the owners of my family home back through the centuries, but I am having difficulty knowing where to start with this. I know my own family, of course, as well as the preceding two sets of owners, but that's where the trail stops. On top of that, I cannot find any reference to the house in the 1901 or 1911 online census data. I am wondering A) whether those records are incomplete, or B) whether the house might've been registered under a different name.

I am pretty new to this whole genealogy subject, so would be grateful for any tips. The house is very old (I am not sure of the exact date, but the older parts date back to the 17th Century I believe) and, from what I gather, has a rather eclectic history. I am just not sure where to begin. Would I be advised to go to the land registry or parish records? Or can I do most of my research online?

All the best and many thanks for any help you can give!

[keyboard86]

Hi, and welcome to Rootschat, if you can give us the name of the house, the road and area it is in, it may give us clues to its whereabouts in the census for you

Keyboard86

[Nick_]

Hi, and welcome to Rootschat, if you can give us the name of the house, the road and area it is in, it may give us clues to its whereabouts in the census for you

Keyboard86

Thanks for getting back to me.

The house is called Ley House (some variants are occasionally used, such as Leyhouse and Lay House) and it's on a private road (which, to the best of my knowledge of the area, has no name) just off a road called the Old Hollow. It's in Worth in West Sussex.

Really grateful for your help! 

[emmygee]

Hi,
Have a look for Leyhouse Farm Cottage on Google Earth. In Street View it appears to be down a private road but I cannot read the signs by the gate.
 

[Celticgoddess]

As you say you may find a search of the land registry will be helpful at this point. If census records aren't coming up with anything there is a pretty good chance it changed names/had no name. Could it have been a cottage that was once part of an estate?

[Nick_]

I've never known the lane to formally have a name, though it's entirely possible that it does. If so, it's not marked on OS maps and the house's address is that of the larger road. I think that, some years ago, the house may have been the old farm house, but, as it currently is, it's a 9 bedroom house that I can't believe has left no impression on historical data!

I can find the house on English Heritage listings, because it's Grade II listed: http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1025570 so I can't quite understand why it wouldn't show up in census data. It says on that listing that the house may have been previously registered as Lay House, but, even so, that doesn't provide me with many clues from the census data.

I'm wondering whether there are paid-for services that I need to join before I'll be able to properly access the census data? Maybe I'm hitting a wall because I haven't entered payment details or anything... Thanks for the help!

[keyboard86]

Hi it looks like in at least 1901 the area was Copthorne, Worth, East Grinstead, as their is an Elizabeth Awcock b c 1828 Balcombe, Sussex living at Ley House Cottage Rowfant?, scanning the original/s may give a guide as to whether this is in the correct area of Old Hollow perhaps?
Census Ref RG13/906/91/11

Keyboard86

[Celticgoddess]

Heritage couldn't help?
I found this
http://www.1901censusonline.com/results.asp?wci=ad_results&searchwci=ad_search
 

[Celticgoddess]

This might help too. Haven't read through it but looks like there is some good resources.