Are you a curious family historian?

You’ve probably uncovered many facts about your ancestors’ lives. 

✔️When they were born.
✔️When they married.
✔️When they died.

But how about where they lived? Do you know that part of their lives? 

👉 Imagine what you could be missing if you don’t research the story of their homes! 

👉Maybe a scandal involving an ancestor took place between their four walls? 

👉Perhaps they lived in a Victorian workers’ cottage built by the town's early industrialist?

👉Perhaps they "lived above" the shop? 

Family history is not just about people. 

But it’s about places too.

As a family historian, you will have gained considerable detective talents and skills. 

✔️ Put those talents to further use. 

✔️ Learn from an expert how you can harness those skills to unpick the story of your ancestors' homes.

✔️ Join this mini-course to research the story of your ancestor's home from the comfort of your armchair 

Get my insider tips and tricks...
Come join my mini-course

Do you own a fascinating home?

You don’t have to live in a palace or a medieval mansion for it to have an enthralling secret past. 

Even a humble one-up/one down Victorian cottage has its story just begging to be discovered. 

What stories is your home hiding?

📰 Tales of scandals hastily forgotten?

🧙‍♀️ Of carefully buried witches-bottles protecting your home?

🥾Or forgotten hob-nailed boots, left to warm in ancient boarded-up fireplaces...

🔥🔥And strange marks on chimney-breasts protecting long dead people...

👻👻  Imagine the tales you can tell as you uncover your home’s secrets!☠️☠️

✔️ Join this mini-course to research the story of your home from the comfort of your armchair 

Learn how you can unravel
your home’s bygone days.

Course Contents

🗒️Printable Workbook to work through with details of your own home. Or your ancestor's home.

🗒️Sample Workbook showing how your workbook could be completed.

📚Extensive Reading List full of house-history sources.

Six modules: 

📽️ Module 1: How to use your family history skills for house-histories

📽️ Module 2: How local history plays its part

📽️ Module 3: Start to unlock your home's past. 

📽️ Module 4: Uncovering your home's secrets.

📽️ Module 5: Court Cases.

📽️ Module 6: Newspapers.

✔️Each module consists of a video (between 5 and 14 minutes in length) and an accompanying worksheet in the Workbook. 

🎞️There is a total of approximately an hour of video content.

📖Each module is accompanied by a printable pdf of its slides. Modules 3 & 4 also has audio files and transcripts of each video.

✔️This mini-course concentrates on some (but not all) of the sources available for house-histories. The course is a short introduction into house-history research. For a longer, more detailed approach, my 14 week course "If walls could talk..." is also available.

Prerequisites

Computers/iPads

💻 If you want to electronically complete the accompanying Workbook, then you will need a computer/MacBook with Microsoft Word (or an equivalent word processing system).

📓 If you don't have a computer/MacBook, the Workbook can be printed out and completed by hand. 

🎥The videos within this course can be viewed on your Smart phone (or computer/MacBook).

💻 You must be prepared to search the internet for information.

Computer Experience

If you are completing the Workbook electronically, you must be experienced with 

💻 Using word-processing software - such as Microsoft's Word -  including the basic manipulation of a document's tables.  This can either be on a Windows PC or an Apple MacBook.

You should be familiar with the following. Or willing to learn (outside of this course):-

💻 How to upload digital photographs or images onto your computer

💻 How to insert digital photographs/images into documents created on word-processing software. 

💻 How to download information from the internet. 

Paid-for subscription sites 

📜 It would be helpful if you have a basic understanding of using genealogical and historical research paid-for websites (such as Ancestry, FindMyPast, The Genealogist, The National Archives) .

📜The course does not include access to these payment subscription sites. If you need their resources, you must be prepared to pay for them. Or you can use these services free-of-charge at your local library or county record office/archives.

Meet your instructor

Kate J Cole

I’m a social and local historian specialising in house-histories and genealogy.

I’ve written seven social history books on a variety of historical topics.  These include towns and villages across the east of England. And a book about the First World War using eye-witness accounts of the conflict. 

I also write local history articles for magazines, present talks about social history to groups and societies. And I’ve been interviewed by various radio stations. 

I have a Masters degree in local history from Cambridge University, an Advanced Diploma in English Local History from Oxford University and a First Class Honours degree in history from the Open University. 

A former techie working for City of London corporates, I also hold a post-graduate diploma in the management of software projects, and post-graduate certificate in technology management.

I am passionate about helping you unlock the past.

Any questions?

  • How much is this course?

    ✔️Normal full price for this unique course is £39.99. Currently there's a special offer of 25% discount for a limited period. Discount price is £29.99

  • Do I need previous research skills?

    ✔️This course is for family historians/genealogists who want to research the history of their home. Or the history of an ancestor's home. There is an assumption on this mini-course that you have already conducted some family history research. So are familiar with some of the resources.

  • Do I need a computer/laptop/Mac

    ✔️If you want to electronically complete the accompanying Workbook, then you will need a computer/MacBook with Microsoft Word (or an equivalent word processing system). If you don't have a computer/MacBook, the Workbook can be printed out and completed by hand. The videos within this course can be viewed on your Smart phone. Any third-party programmes you use (such as FindMyPast or Ancestry) may require you to have a computer (as opposed to just a Smart phone or iPad).

  • When does access to the course end?

    ✔️Access to the course will end six months after your enrolment. The Workbook and Reading List can be downloaded to your computer and completed whenever you are ready.

  • How long is each video?

    ✔️Each video is between 9 minutes and 15 minutes in length.

  • I am from outside the UK, is this relevant to me?

    ✔️If you had ancestors who lived in England or Wales, then yes this mini-course will fascinate you. Property holding laws are different in different countries (for example, Scotland is different to England & Wales). So if you are researching your own house's history, then this course is only if your home is in England or Wales.

  • Do I have to "keep up"?

    ✔️No! You can watch each video and complete the Workbook as and when is convenient to you.

  • Is this a self-paced course?

    ✔️Yes this is a self-paced/self-learning course. You can pick it up to study whenever you like. There is no set schedule.

  • Is there a set start and end date?

    ✔️No! You can start it at any time you like. But you have access to the online videos and learning portal for six months.

What people are saying about my courses...

✔️Your material [is] most approachable... 

✔️All your practicable tips [are] really useful opened up a new world of research... 

✔️I have started a "book" where I will be using the material I discover to tell the story of my home... 

✔️You have sent me off in search of chimneys and graffiti!... 

✔️Very helpful resources.

✔️ The advice on collating information, keeping a research notebook and noting sources makes a lot of sense and have helped me to be much more organised in my work... 

✔️ I now know considerably more about online resources! 

✔️ I had not considered items such as Pevsner before and have never really looked at Domesday in any detail prior to this exercise... 

✔️ I had never looked at items produced by diarists, gazetteers etc., which I found interesting...

Books by 

Kate J Cole



Happy clients for Kate's social history talks


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