Houses with a name may sound easy to research. They can, however, cause problems, as in the case of James Farish Danvers’ devotion to the name of Swithland. He lived in four houses named Swithland, three of them in St Leonards. The name probably comes from Swithland Hall, Leicestershire, which was lived in by a Read on…

I was looking for someone in the 1901 census when I came across an unusual household at 37 Pevensey Road, St Leonards on Sea. Matthew Makalua, age 35, surgeon, born Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian subject, was married to wife Annie, 39, born Oxfordshire, with his son James, 10, born London. There was also a visitor and Read on…