Resources for discovering, verifying and locating where people lived
Online resources
Ancestry
Ancestry is a convenient way to explore a very wide range of documents, such as census returns, electoral rolls, Post Office street and telephone directories, wills & probate, etc. It requires a subscription for home use, but can be accessed for free on public computers in Camden and City of London libraries. Links to Ancestry in the Camden Notables database go to the ‘Facts’ page for the individual. These are user-created pages and vary in accuracy. Some are good but others are very incomplete or contain spurious records for a different person who happened to have the same name. Nevertheless, even a poor ‘Facts’ page is a convenient starting point for further investigation.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB)
High quality, concise biographies that often contain some address information. ODNB is behind a paywall, but can be used for free by signing in with a Camden or City of London library card number.
Wikipedia
Many biographical entries are based on out-of-copyright editions of the Dictionary of National Biography
Survey of London
Includes information on past residents from rate books. Parts of Camden are covered, as shown on this key.
Vol 3, St Giles-in-The-Fields, Pt I: Lincoln’s Inn Fields
Vol 5, St Giles-in-The-Fields, Pt II
Vol 17, the Parish of St Pancras Part 1: the Village of Highgate
Vol 19, the Parish of St Pancras Part 2: Old St Pancras and Kentish Town
Vol 21, the Parish of St Pancras Part 3: Tottenham Court Road and Neighbourhood
Vol 24, the Parish of St Pancras Part 4: King’s Cross Neighbourhood
Vol 47, Northern Clerkenwell and Pentonville
London Remembers
Many organisations besides English Heritage put up memorial plaques. London Remembers is doing a good job of trying to document all of them.
Victoria County History – Middlesex
Vol 9, Hampstead, Paddington
Vol 6, Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey With Highgate
The Royal Academy of Arts; a complete dictionary of contributors and their work from its foundation in 1769 to 1904
Vol. I ABBAYNE TO CARRINGTON
Vol. II CARROLL TO DYER
Vol. III EADIE TO HARRADEN
Vol. IV HARRAL TO LAWRANSON
Vol. V LAWRENCE TO NYE
Vol. VI OAKES TO RYMSDYK
Vol. VII SACCO TO TOFANO
Vol. VIII TOFT TO ZWECKER
Individual catalogues for RA Summer Exhibitions from 1769 to 2018 can be viewed at https://chronicle250.com/
National Heritage List for England
Listed buildings
Indication of houses of historical interest in London
Only volumes 1 and 3 (out of 4) are available online
Memorable London Houses, Wilmot Harrison (1889)
Mapping Sculpture
A database of sculptors from 1851 to 1951
Grove Music Online
Grove is behind a paywall, but can be used for free by signing in with a City of London library card number.
Camden New Town history
Topics related to the history of Camden New Town
Camden Planning
Major planning applications may include a well-researched ‘Archaeological Report’ or ‘Heritage Statement’
London Street name changes
Information extracted from Names of Streets and Places in the Administrative County of London, published by the LCC
Street index for Camden History Society ‘Streets’ series
Also useful for street name changes
Horwood’s Plan (1792-9 & 1819)
Historic OS Maps
Choose from many large-scale, georeferenced OS maps. Note that the London/TQ 1:1,250 1947-1964 includes house numbers
Goad Insurance plans
Georeferenced, high resolution images for areas with significant commercial activity. (Zoom in to the street of interest then choose The British Library in the side bar followed by one or more insurance plans.)
Bomb damage maps (1945)
Check Use this overlay then use Overlay tools to hide Bombing density.
Old Maps Online
Georeferenced maps from the British Library, National Library of Scotland, and other collections
Map And Plan Collection Online
Particularly useful for maps for the period between Horwood and the first edition Ordnance Survey
Printed resources
A biographical dictionary of British Architects, 1660-1840, Howard Colvin, J. Murray, 1978
Directory of British Architects, 1834-1914, Antonia Brodie et al., Bloomsbury Academic, 2001
Literary London, A Street by Street Exploration of the Capital’s Literary Heritage, Ed Glinert, Penguin, 2007
Guide to literary London, George Williams, Batsford, 1973
The Dictionary of Nineteenth Century British Scientists, Bernard Lightman (Ed.) Thoemmes Continuum, 2004
Where Great Men Lived in London, G. E. Mitton, Adam and Charles Black, 1911
Artists’ houses in London 1764-1914, Giles Walkley, Scolar Press, 1994
Mid-Georgian London, Hugh Phillips, Collins, 1964
Includes plans of some squares and information on past residents from rate books.
Names of Streets and Places in the Administrative County of London, London County Council, 1955
When streets were re-named, re-numbered or merged. A supplement was issued to cover 1955-1966.
Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre
Rate assessments, valuation lists, electoral rolls, etc.
Camden History Society ‘Streets’ series
Essential guides to the history and architecture of Camden’s districts, each volume organised around a set of walks.
