Peterborough land records

[matgeorges]

 

An ancestor Elizabeth Bailey died in London but originated from Peterborough,. In her will she refers to her real estate in Peterborough and requests it is sold for the benefit of her children. How do I find out the name of the property? I have searched the 1869 owners of land  but she does not appear on it.

[seahall]

Hi matgeorges.

Maybe if you could give some more details we could help further.

Was Elizabeth married therefore Bailey being her married surname
or a spinster.

How old was she when she died.

Sandy

[matgeorges]

 
Many thanks for your help.
Elizabeth Bailey was 85 when she died in 1870. Her husband John died before her in the 1840's.
They were born in Peterborough but moved to Shoreditch circa 1806. John was a tailor. Elizabeth left £20 in her will so the property was small.

[lizdb]

Strange she was living in Almshouses if she owned property?

What is the exact wording of that part of the Will about the Peterborough property?

[matgeorges]

 :)Thanks for your reply.
I did think it was odd as well.
The wording is "all my real estate at the count of Northampton or also here. Upon ? to sell and dispose and of the same for the most money that can be obtained."
I did wonder if her parents may have left her something. She was Elizabeth Bingham before she married. I have checked the index of the online catalogue at Northampton RO. I could see if her parents left a will.

[lizdb]

So, it is Northampton, not Peterborough.

Must admit I have never seen the term "real estate" in an old Will before - I thought it was a 20/21st century American term!

It might be worth looking in Northampton newspapers for the following few weeks, to see if there are any "auction" notices. I know for one of mine who had a bit of property, there were "for sale by auction" adverts in the paper, saying it was being sold by the executors of XYZ.

[matgeorges]

 :)Many thanks I will do that.

[peter13]

If the only location given is "County of Northampton" then the property could have been in Peterborough. The British Newspaper Archive has Stamford Mercurys which are excellent for property auction adverts for Peterborough and surrounding area.
I've found it surprisingly common around this time for someone to own a small property that is rented out whilst living in a property that they rent from someone else.
If the property was in Peterborough you could look at the land tax records at Northampton Archives. I think this is rather unusual but the records for the Soke of Peterborough go right through the 19th Century. I've looked at these for some villages in the area - I've never checked that they include the town (city if you prefer) of Peterborough, but they may do. They don't necessarily tell you everything you want to know, but could potentially be cross referenced with other records.