I have always been a curious person, working in a field which merges my love of all things historical and a background in conveyancing has meant that my curiosity is piqued on a daily basis!

We have a bundle of deeds that relate to properties in Larkhill Terrace and Primrose Bank, Burnley, Lancashire which I investigated as part of our transcription process, and I was determined to locate the original properties. I used all the usual mapping resources but was unable to locate the properties in modern day Burnley. Using the wonderful Ordnance Survey Side by Side tool on the National Library of Scotland’s website (maps.nls.uk) I was able to locate Larkhill Terrace, and the plot of land I was looking for is now actually a slip road for the A666 trunk road! The majority of the bundle relates to correspondence in the 1950s which we cannot include in our database at this time for data protection reasons, but we will be able to include the following documents that relate to these long since demolished properties:

• An Assignment dated 2 February 1779
• A Conveyance dated 18 June 1856
• An Abstract of Title dated 1856

My own family research has led me to find that my great grandfather once ran a pub which is now under Junction 2 of the M54 Motorway, and a census return for another ancestor has led me to the Aller Cross roundabout on the A361 North Devon link road! This might go some way to explaining my fascination with locating properties long since demolished to make way for major roads – it certainly explains why I am so delighted that we can share these documents with people who are researching these properties and their occupants.