Unlocking the secrets from our past using wills and inventories
Another workshop to help people interested in local history and house history was run by Warwickshire County Council with th chairman of warwickshire County Council in attendance.
On Saturday 3 July, Warwickshire County Record Office hosted a workshop looking specifically at wills and inventories and the information they contain. The most personal records to be left by your ancestor or a previous occupant of your house are often their will and the inventory, or list, of their possessions at the time of their death. These documents can contain information on other family relatives, occupations, details of land held by the family and also their possessions, giving an indication of their wealth and status. They are therefore of use to local historians, house historians and family historians.
The workshop was run by experienced local historian Christine Hodgetts. Christine explained how to locate wills and inventories before showing how to get essential information from them. There will then be some practice at reading these documents yourself.
Rowan Fisher, Learning and Outreach Officer at Warwickshire County Record Office, says: “Wills and inventories offer a unique insight into the lives and families of our ancestors and we hope we helped people to unlock their secrets in this workshop.”
Warwickshire County Record Office is involved in safeguarding, managing and developing Warwickshire’s archives so that they can be accessed, interpreted and enjoyed by all those with an interest in Warwickshire’s past and its people. We hold records dating from the twelfth century up to the twenty first.
Visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/countyrecordoffice for more information on general opening times, directions and other useful information.