Meet your ancestors and uncover the history of the home by joining 10-week local history courses at the University of Essex starting in January.

The evening courses, which attract people from across the region, are organised by the University’s Centre for Local and Regional History.

Patrick Denney will teach Meeting Your Ancestors (II): Adding Flesh to the Bones from Monday 16 January. Dr Jane Pearson will teach Histories of House and Home in Essex, 1700-1900 from Wednesday 18 January.

Those taking the courses can take them as stand-alone courses for general interest without completing any form of assessment. Alternatively they can take the courses as assessed modules and by successfully completing four modules they can achieve a Certificate of Continuing Education in Local Historical Studies.

The Meeting Your Ancestors (II) module is part of the new certificate pathway in Family and Community History. It provides an understanding of the main social and economic issues relating to family and community life over the last 200 years in a national and local context. Subjects covered include the educational opportunities available; how families coped with poverty and ill-health; and why some people ended up in work-houses or living lives of crime. This is the second in a three-part series of family history modules but can also be taken as a ‘stand-alone’ option.

The Histories of House and Home in Essex module traces the history of the Essex home during the 18th and 19th centuries. Using a range of primary sources Dr Pearson explores the homes and gardens of the rich and the poor, the gendered use of space and the notion of privacy. She also examines the economic and cultural influences that brought about changes in the exterior appearance and the interior social life within the home.

Further courses on archaeology and family history start in March and April.

For more details visit the Department of History website.