Researching your heritage property
You may have just bought an old house and would like to know more about it, would like to restore your heritage property or find out about who lived in it. Researching your property can assist you in understanding it and what is important about it.
With the interactive map below, you can search and see HCAs and Heritage items and their details within Inner West Council's boundaries.
How to use the Interactive Heritage Map
- Search for an address in the search bar and click adequate one in the search results to go to the property and see information in a pop-up window.
- You can also just browse the map and click any heritage items or heritage conservation areas (HCAs) to see details.
- To download an HCA statement or visit the State Heritage Inventory website for a statement of heritage item, click the link under the "More Information" column on the first page of the pop-up window.
- The information for the heritage item or HCA can be seen individually by clicking the arrows on the top left of the pop-up window.
- Aerial imagery for the base map is available from "Controls" on the top right, next to "Legend", and also adjust the transparency of layers by clicking three dots next to each layer.
- View this map in its own window/tab here
Each heritage item and conservation area has an inventory that provides information as to its significance. These can be found under the links below:
Maps
- NSW Planning Portal provides current maps including planning layers.
- Parish and Historical maps may assist you find out who the original landowner was.
- Historical records from Land Registry Services
Library resources
Council’s Library holds a range of Local Studies material including:
- Council advertisements
- Local newspapers
The Heritage Branch, NSW office of Environment and Heritage, has prepared a number of Heritage maintenance guides that provide advice on the maintenance of buildings.
You can download from the link on the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage website and navigate to the heading 'Manage heritage items'. These documents are not a substitute for professional advice. Employing a conservation specialist is usually the easiest and often, in the long run, the most economical way of ensuring the job is done well.
The National Library of Australia Have a large amount of online content.
Local history societies
Discover the story behind your home
Whilst it may be difficult to always obtain the exact date of a house, there are a number of resources which may assist you in searching for the history of a house. As with any research activity, house history research requires patience, exactness and a touch of lateral thinking.
“What do I really want to know about my house?”
Your answer will help shape the best research approach.
The library has curated a House History Guide which can help you trace the history of your house and also provides a service to assist you if required.
The guide can help you find:
- When your house was built
- Names of the owners and occupiers
- Whether your house has a name
- Changes relating to your house
- Name of the subdivisions
Other Helpful Resources
Sustainable Heritage Building Guide