You may own something that is a complete mystery. You may have come across it in an attic, under floorboards, via an inheritance, in a job lot from an auction. The thing itself might be a complete unknown - perhaps a strange piece of metal that somehow seems to have 'meaning'. It might be a document that hints at a fascinating story. Or it might be a painting that shows an intriguing scene. Whatever it is, it cries out for explanation.
The Revealing Secrets team have a panel of experts to consult about the mysterious objects they chose to investigate. However, you can equally well gain access to the experts you need - and perhaps go on to become one yourself. Tracking back through the past is mostly a matter of patience, determination and focusing on detail.
Oral history
Regardless of the wealth of information available in historic archives and in cyberspace (see below), you may find that the best clues about an object are the people associated with it. People have long memories, and a nonagenarian who is able to tell you something she heard from her great-grandmother when she was a little girl is providing you with personal information dating back nearly two centuries!
Encourage people to talk at their leisure and you may hear of an ancestor who worked at a local factory where your artefact was made, or of a traveller who returned to the town laden with gifts, war memorabilia or photographs that have somehow come into your possession.
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Archives: diamonds in the dust
Once you have some names of people or places connected with your mystery object, you can take your search further through the local archives. (These can also provide valuable information on the history of your house, and its previous owners, to help you in your quest.)
The best place to start is the local study centre in your county library (look in the Yellow Pages under 'Libraries'). Here you will be able to access old newspapers and parish magazines, which have an enormous amount of very local information, especially if there is a particular date you are interested in. Your local museum may also have useful material, and you should find out if there is a local history society to draw on. Your library should be able to advise you on where to make contact.
County record offices are mines of documentation, and some even offer leaflets containing advice on how to find out about your house via their records. If yours was built before the 19th century, your task will be harder, but you should be able to find parish registers, manorial records and electoral rolls. From the 19th century onwards, there will be a plethora of records - censuses, church records, town plans, Ordnance Survey maps, tax returns, wills, churchwardens' accounts and many more.
Through these documents, you can find out the names and ages of people who lived in your house or elsewhere, and sometimes their occupations and other information. Trade directories can tell you about the sorts of occupations that were carried out in specific locations. These and other clues can lead you to further research. The county library should be able to advise you where your county records office is.
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Tracking deeper
When you have exhausted local records, the next steps are the Public Record Office (PRO) and the Family Records Centre (FRC). The PRO holds 'all rolls, records, writs, books, proceedings, decrees, bills, warrants, accounts, papers and documents whatsoever of a public nature, belonging to Her Majesty'. The FRC has records for births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales since 1837 and for legal adoptions since 1927. (See Find out more for the equivalents in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire.)
You can visit the PRO and FRC archives in London, and both have excellent websites: you can check the galleries of the PRO's Virtual Museum for 1,000 years of British history, while the FRC offers a helpful guide for the family historian. If you cannot go to the PRO or FRC in person, you can ask for the name of a researcher whom you can hire to do the work for you.
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Other sources of information
Another great 21st-century source of information is the website of the Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC). It maintains the National Register of Archives (NRA), an information bank recording the nature and whereabouts of archives and manuscripts not held by the Public Records Office. It contains over 43,000 unpublished lists of historical papers as well as published catalogues. The indexes to the NRA are available through the HMC website, so you can simply do a search for the name you are looking for and discover where the documents containing it can be found in archives from Cumbria to Cornwall. The HMC also maintains the Manorial Documents Register (MDR), an index of surviving manorial records in England and Wales that is not yet fully online.
The NRA and MDR are both accessible free of charge to visitors to the HMC's public search room in London. No appointment is necessary, and a member of staff is always available to provide guidance and advice. Postal, faxed or e-mailed enquiries will also be answered: write to The Secretary, Historical Manuscripts Commission, Quality House, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1HP, fax: 020 7831 3550, e-mail: nra@hmc.gov.uk
While your local library is a handy source, the Internet Public Library is even closer to home. Here you can research a vast range of topics - from the weapons of ancient Greece to the tools of the agricultural revolution and the history of plumbing - so you may discover that the oddly shaped bit of metal piping you found in your loft was part of an early S-bend!
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Finding an expert
If you are flummoxed about the origin of an item, or perhaps want to get it valued, there is plenty of expert help available.
The famous London auction houses Sotheby's, Bonhams, Christie's and Phillips have networks of branches, representatives or associates nationwide. Their staff will be familiar with almost any collectable. Check your telephone book for contact details.
If you are trying to identify a piece of ephemera - something (usually printed) originally of short-lived interest or usefulness - contact the Ephemera Society.
A stunning archaeological find should clearly go straight to the big one - the British Museum in London, one of the world's greatest repositories of history. However, if you are dealing in humbler objects, your local museum should be able either to advise you or to point you in the direction of someone who can. Another good internet source is Museumnet, where you can search for museums by region, name or keyword.
There are special rules under the Treasure Act 1996 for coins and silver and gold objects that are more than 300 years old. In addition, if you dig up something interesting in England and Wales, you can add it to the official archaeological record through the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
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