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Making sense of census address details

PostPosted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 6:07 pm
by YorksClare
Sometimes on the census records on LDS, there are locations such as villages - though I find them rather variable sometimes - and sometimes there are genuine addresses such as 2, George Street. However, in two records I have looked up there are lines that look tantalisingly like real addresses. One says "Woodland Cottage" and the other says "Village Cottage".

Now: Are these addresses proper, or just a description of the type of residence? I did try google maps on the Woodland Cottage address in Beetham/Bentham but got nowhere. I will try the other, but if someone has definitive advice I would be glad to know!

Re: Making sense of census address details

PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 9:16 am
by SRD
Sometimes the properties do still exist and can be found but there are other options:
It was usual to refer to cottages tied to estates by the name of the estate itself, similarly to business properties e.g. Mill Cottage if those properties still exist sometimes, when the link with the estate or business has been broken, they've been renamed.
Renaming occurs elsewhere so, although the property still exists, it can't always be found although following areas census by census can sometimes show name changes.
Many properties have been redeveloped with many houses built where there used to be one or two cottages. Also there was the war with damage done by bombing etc.

The National Archives have information as does [urlhttp://www.british-history.ac.uk/]British History Online[/url] and English Heritage.

I found a pretty, flint & red brick, two bed-roomed, semi-detached cottage that my step-father's family, agricultural labourers all and around 7 of them, lived in in the late 19th century. It was on the market for over £750,000 (it's in Kent, in a rural setting, just inside the M25).