Resources
Information on old village buildings is more common than many might expect. Families in the village still possess old property documents. These can include old legal documents which sometimes going back centuries. These can frequently provide details about property ownership and, sometimes, about occupancy.
Buildings are created the for the people who live or work in them; sometimes, understanding the “people” information leads us to an improved understanding of those buildings and places, too.
Auctions were a common method for buying and selling property. Property auctions would usually include printed sales documentation and some of this was very detailed. Reading these auction leaflets, today, can provide insights into how people organised their home or work environments.
Picture postcards were very popular in the early 1900s. It was common for these to show local scenes – in some of the smallest villages and hamlets, too. Many of these have been saved and there are a great many which provide pictorial records of Wreningham from that period. Whilst postcard pictures usually can’t identify individuals, they often show buildings which are still with us, today. Photographs can provide a sense of “place” – and often give us a better idea of how everything sat in its landscape.
Maps are vital. They provide us with a framework for all the other information. Fortunately, some of the more significant events in Wreningham’s story resulted in the creation of maps which were not only useful, at the time, but which help our understanding, today.