BACKGROUND
Carol set up Benchmark House Histories in 2010 after producing a photographic book of her parents’ home as a gift, then bumping into a researcher/writer friend who, it turned out, had just researched her house as a birthday present for her husband! Over lunch the idea emerged of encapsulating the story
of a property in a lavish hardback book.
Benchmark offers an entirely bespoke service - professionally researched text in narrative form, incorporating archival material (excerpts from old maps, deeds, valuation records, surveys, census returns, sales particulars and where possible, photos and/or illustrations) about the history of a your home (pub, school or hotel etc), presented in either book or print format. There is also the option of including photography as part of your chosen package.
We have worked on a wide range of properties from cottages to castles: our first project was Chilham Castle in Kent. Other subjects include Victorian and Georgian terraces, mills, rectories, thatched cottages, court lodges, medieval hall houses, forges and more. See here for some of our past book projects.
We have been featured in the Financial Times (01 March 2025), Telegraph, Sunday Times, Independent, Tatler, Country Life, House & Garden, Grand Designs, Period Living and on BBC TV South East.
