My interest in family history has grown out of a life-long love of history in general. My undergraduate studies focused on the Viking Age, looking at the history, language, literature, and archaeological traces of the period. I’m also a regular volunteer with English Heritage at Bolsover Castle, the retreat of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, built in the 17th century. Having not been worn out by Vikings and Cavaliers, my research interests have also landed on specific areas of my own family’s history, including the Culverhouse family of North Bradley, in Wiltshire.
I grew up in Southwick, a village just a (fairly hefty) stone’s throw from North Bradley. If you travel there from Southwick, the first left turn that you come across takes you down The Rank – an odd name for a narrow lane leading away from the main road that runs through the village. It lies a short distance from where some of my relatives and our family friends still live, and the church I attended every week throughout my childhood.
Through my research I discovered that many of my ancestors lived either on The Rank itself, or very nearby, so the place name that fascinated me so much as a child became an ideal subject for a one-place study, bringing together stories of the people who came before me with the story of the place they lived.
The Rank, North Bradley | One-Place Study 