Upon inspection they turn out to be deeds of transfer, searches and other documents about the house dating right back to 1901. It seems the house was built in 1892 and the purchase documented in the 1901 document states a sum of around £470 paid for it! It is a beautifully hand-written document of thick vellum, signed and sealed with wax seals.
The other documents are dated 1903, 1919, 1920, 1929, 1939, 1948, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1988 and 1989.
Look at the amazing copperplate handwriting.
In a strange coincidence, the day before I received these documents I had taken a book out of the library called Home: The Story of Everyone Who Ever Lived in Our House. The blurb on it says, "Ever wondered who lived in your house before you? Well, come and meet them all in this enthralling history of an ordinary British family home. An emotional detective story that digs up more than a century of past lives, it throws heart-stopping light on what we mean when we say 'home.'"
And then these documents, complete with names and former addresses and witness names, turns up.
A sign maybe? Do I sense a project in my future?
