Genealogy Chat

hi. could anyone tell me if your ancesters lived in a private house,did it mean that you owned the house or just rented from the home owner?x

A private house is just a normal dwelling house........as opposed to a public house, lodging house, or boarding house.

one possible way to tell is to see if they live in that house for several years ..... eg, from census to census


If they continually seem to be moving, then they are most likely to be renting



sylvia

My family lived in the same house in a small Yorkshire village for over 80 years. In fact I was the 5th generation to have lived there.

The house, as was most of the village, was owned by the local landowner, the Earl of Datmouth, and my ggg grandfather was an estate employee, working as a Rent Collector and farmer up to his death in 1878. We finally moved out in 1956 when my parents were able to buy their own house.

In 1900, only about 10% of the population owned their own homes, 90% being privately rented. By 1939 ownership had risen to around 27% and grew steadily to around 70% by the end of the 20th century.

The National Archives has an article on researching house history

http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=House_history_research_-_an_introduction

Some of the pre-War 2 electoral lists had notes beside voters names which indicated the reason for their eligibility to vote in that area.
Sorry.... I can't remember details, but think house-owners were noted there.

Gwyn

thank you everyone for your comments.i find it hard to believe that my g g grandfather owned his own house,he had 6 children and although he was always in work he was only a hay carter and then in 1911 he became a hay dealer.thanks everyone.x

He almost certainly didn't...................

One shouldn't jump to conclusions!!

My gg grandfather bought his own house in 1845.
Albeit on a 99 year leasehold from the local church, and in the docks area ofSouthampton.
What high-flying job did he do? He was a merchant seaman!!
The house was a 2 up 2 down, and, certainly when my mum lived there, another family lived upstairs and both families shared the scullery and outside loo.
My Suffolk ancestors were farm labourers. Two of them owned their own houses, and one had the 'area' bread oven, so would cook bread for the rest of the village.
How did these farm labourers come by their own houses? They built them themselves!! Having travelled to Suffolk to see them, they are fairly substantial cottages - still standing 150 years after they were built.

However, my g x 4 grandfather, who was a builder, and who one would have presumed could have built his own house, lived in a house he rented from his grandfather (also a builder), but owned a pub - that he hadn't built! BUT he also had part ownership in houses the family firm HAD built - and rented out!

Don't forget, a dwelling can be little more than a shack,or even a discarded railway waggon- but it's still a home!!

thanks for comments,my ancesters lived alone in a 2 up 2down,they were the only family, but they did have 6 kids.x