I wonder if any sleuth who knows the area around Long Hanborough might solve a puzzle I have, or otherwise anyone might suggest a different course of research. I am trying to work out exactly which house my great grandfather Archie DUNKLEY occupied in Hanborough in the period between 1910 and 1918, when he died. I thought this might be fairly simple, given that there was a census, but no. My grandmother Dorothy grew up in the house and once told me a little about it, though at the time I did not think to ask further about its exact location. Here's the clues: 1. Several postcards to the family simply show the address as 'Hanborough, Woodstock'. 2. Archie was Clerk of Works at Blenheim, working at Combe Mill, and was thus well paid. Dorothy remembered moving into the house, which she said consisted of two cottages 'knocked into one by the Duke for us', which suggests that the house was then in Estate ownership and also that the renovations were recent. 3. She described the garden as having a lawn for children to play on, with a tennis court and bowling green, and gardeners supplied by the Duke to tend them. So, even if not still there now, at that time there was plenty of space around the house. 4. The 1911 census only gives the address as 'Hanborough' but it does indicate that the house had seven rooms. 5. The Victoria County History doesn't reveal much about individual houses, though it does say that in 1910 the Estate was selling building plots. It hasn't helped with identification 6. Google Earth has granted a bird's eye view of the village, but there is nothing obvious revealed as a likely candidate other than, perhaps, the Manor House where there are imprints in the lawn and perhaps some old buildings to the west. I'm not convinced ... Nothing particular yells at me from the old maps on old-maps.co.uk Which leaves my question: what would once have had an address as simple as 'Hanborough, Woodstock' (while the 1911 census has many houses addressed as this, there are also a number identified by name and/or street, which might imply that the simplicity of having no name or street indicates the main street through Hanborough)? Has anyone any idea which house this might be, or where to look next for information? How might I work out which houses were being modified (and which owned) by the Estate in 1910? Chris Howes

Hi Chris If you can get to TNA then the IR58 series - Rates survey - might help, the rate books show (in most cases) who was living at a property circa 1910 to 1915, this ties up with a large scale map which shows individual properties. I have managed to identify a few ancestors houses this way. Try the TNA labs site as a starting point - http://labs.nationalarchives.gov.uk/wordpress/index.php/2010/04/valuation-office-map-finder/ Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Howes" <descent@wildplaces.co.uk> To: "Oxfordshire genealogy group" <OXFORDSHIRE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 10:12 PM Subject: [OXF] House in Hanborough >I wonder if any sleuth who knows the area around Long Hanborough might >solve > a puzzle I have, or otherwise anyone might suggest a different course of > research. > > I am trying to work out exactly which house my great grandfather Archie > DUNKLEY occupied in Hanborough in the period between 1910 and 1918, when > he > died. I thought this might be fairly simple, given that there was a > census, > but no. My grandmother Dorothy grew up in the house and once told me a > little about it, though at the time I did not think to ask further about > its > exact location. Here's the clues: > > 1. Several postcards to the family simply show the address as 'Hanborough, > Woodstock'. > > 2. Archie was Clerk of Works at Blenheim, working at Combe Mill, and was > thus well paid. Dorothy remembered moving into the house, which she said > consisted of two cottages 'knocked into one by the Duke for us', which > suggests that the house was then in Estate ownership and also that the > renovations were recent. > > 3. She described the garden as having a lawn for children to play on, with > a > tennis court and bowling green, and gardeners supplied by the Duke to tend > them. So, even if not still there now, at that time there was plenty of > space around the house. > > 4. The 1911 census only gives the address as 'Hanborough' but it does > indicate that the house had seven rooms. > > 5. The Victoria County History doesn't reveal much about individual > houses, > though it does say that in 1910 the Estate was selling building plots. It > hasn't helped with identification > > 6. Google Earth has granted a bird's eye view of the village, but there is > nothing obvious revealed as a likely candidate other than, perhaps, the > Manor House where there are imprints in the lawn and perhaps some old > buildings to the west. I'm not convinced ... Nothing particular yells at > me > from the old maps on old-maps.co.uk > > Which leaves my question: what would once have had an address as simple as > 'Hanborough, Woodstock' (while the 1911 census has many houses addressed > as > this, there are also a number identified by name and/or street, which > might > imply that the simplicity of having no name or street indicates the main > street through Hanborough)? > > Has anyone any idea which house this might be, or where to look next for > information? How might I work out which houses were being modified (and > which owned) by the Estate in 1910? > > Chris Howes > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > OFHS "Wills Library" : > Can you submit any wills, please?http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1390 / Virus Database: 1518/3774 - Release Date: 07/19/11 >

> I am trying to work out exactly which house my great grandfather Archie > DUNKLEY occupied in Hanborough in the period between 1910 and 1918, Should be easy - the Lloyd George valuation of 1910 will show precisely where everyone livced (and its plot size and value) Apart from the National Archives, there is (surely) a copy at the Oxford Archives. It should list owners and occupiers for each house EVE Author of The McLaughlin Guides for Family Historians Secretary, Bucks Genealogical Society