Bespoke House History Research

Why I Turn House Histories Into Display-Worthy Art

The inspiration behind Oak & Willow Cottages came directly from personal experience. For years, I’ve been obsessed with researching old buildings. Not just the grand ones — but the everyday old homes too. Both the homes that people passed down through generations or simply lived in quietly for decades.

I always find myself wondering who lived there, what their lives were like, and what milestones they celebrated within those four walls. The more I researched, the more I began to build stories in my head. Narratives that connected the records and brought context to the dry facts.

What starts as looking into one family in one house quickly branches out. You notice the same names appearing in different records — neighbours, relatives, work colleagues. They all marry at the same church, often with the same vicar officiating. That vicar’s name pops up again in a newspaper report about the village cricket match, or in a programme for the summer fete. Bit by bit, those separate pieces start to connect, and you see the house’s story as part of a much bigger picture… a community.

When I bought my own old home, I finally had a reason to turn one of those narratives into something tangible. Instead of a folder filled with census returns, newspaper clippings, and downloaded maps, I wanted something that told the story visually — and beautifully. Something I could hang on the wall.

And that got me thinking.

Maybe I’m not the only one who wants that.

Maybe there are other people who’ve just bought an old home — or have lived in one for years — and would love to know more about its past. Maybe someone is looking for a thoughtful, one-of-a-kind housewarming gift that’s actually meaningful.

That’s where Oak & Willow began.

The Reality of Reading Old Records

House history is for everyone, in theory. But after more than a decade of digging through historical records, I’ve learned it takes patience, and a lot of it. It’s fascinating — but also frustrating.

Records were never written for future historians. They were designed to document the present, not to help someone 100 years later figure out who lived at No. 10 or whether a family stayed in the same house between censuses.

House names and numbers are often missing. Street names vary. Women disappear from records with no explanation. Children aren’t always listed. Some people didn’t participate at all. The information very rarely presents itself in a tidy timeline.

I know how quickly your curiosity can fade when you’re faced with pages of unclear or conflicting data. That’s exactly why I wanted to create a version of house history that’s easier to digest. One that brings the records to life, without the hours of trawling through research on your own.

What’s Included in a House History Package

Every Oak & Willow house history package includes research into historical records associated with your address. There are two options to choose from to add-on to how your research is presented – either a fine-art A4 or A3 wall print, or a high-quality A5 storybook. Both designed from scratch, based on original records, and tailored to your specific home.

The contents vary depending on the package you choose, but may include:

• The origins of your home or the land it was built on
• The names and lives of past residents
• Details about how the house and area changed over time
• Local historical events that shaped the neighbourhood

My most detailed option, the Full Story includes research across the broadest range of historical record collections to provide deep insight into former occupants of your home and their lives within its walls.

Other packages: The Snapshot and The Heritage Summary.

Whether your home is centuries old or relatively modern, each package is designed to uncover the stories hidden in its walls — and present them in a way that’s ready to display.

How to Order

You can browse and compare the different house history products here. With options that include an A4 or A3 wall print on Giclee fine-art paper, with the choice to add framing to your order.