How to do a one-place study

A one-place study explores all the people, events and records connected to a single location, building a detailed picture of that community over time. 

To conduct a one-place study, you need to focus on a particular area and get into the details on a granular level. 

For inspiration, explore projects listed in the One Place Study Directory, which features thousands of studies from across the globe. These showcase how researchers have documented everything from small rural parishes to bustling urban streets. From this directory, you can explore individual websites that showcase the work of a specific researcher, like this project on Cornwall Parish Clerks. 

You can also learn more about best practices, resources and events by engaging with organisations like the Society for One Place Studies, which offers guidance for beginners and experienced researchers alike. 

Begin by choosing a place that matters to your research. This could be an ancestral village, a townland, or even a single street where your family lived for generations. 

Start small and work methodically. Build a timeline of the community and map households as they change over time. As you gather information, record every name, date and address you encounter. Using tools like Findmypast’s Workspaces can help you organise notes, while clippings of old British and Irish newspapers can be saved into Collections for easy reference. 

The research process will feel familiar if you’ve worked on a family tree before. Key sources include: 

• Census records
• Parish registers  
• Electoral registers  
• Local newspapers
• Address search tools on Findmypast  

By combining these sources, you can begin to understand how people lived, worked and interacted within the community. 

A one-place study expands on ‘FAN’ research (Friends, Associates, Neighbours), encouraging you to look beyond a single family and explore the wider network around them. As you analyse records, recurring names and families will begin to stand out, revealing influential figures and close-knit connections. 

For example, if researching a County Durham village in the early 20th century, you might examine census returns from 1901, 1911 and 1921 alongside parish records and school registers. Newspaper reports can highlight local events, while official reports provide insight into population, employment and living conditions. 

Over time, you’ll build a broader picture of the community, from economic shifts and migration to the impact of national events like war or public health crises. 

As your study grows, organisation becomes essential. Consider creating separate family trees for key surnames within your chosen location. This can help you track relationships and uncover connections between households. 

Findmypast’s Workspaces offer a flexible way to store records, notes and ideas outside of a traditional family tree. Meanwhile, Collections allow you to group newspaper clippings and other discoveries by theme or location. 

You may also find it useful to maintain a timeline or spreadsheet to track individuals, properties and events. While online trees can generate useful hints and connect you with other researchers, structured notes ensure your research remains clear and manageable. 

In exploring the lives of everyone in one place, such local history projects may illuminate your own family's past more clearly than ever before, discovering not just their names and dates, but the world that shaped them.