A father-of-two has revealed how a passion project sparked on a single Kent street unexpectedly captured attention across the world.
Simon Warren set up Here Before Us after a wander down Folkestone’s Old High Street got him thinking about the buildings around him.
Simon Warren says his life as a photographer sparked his curiosity about the history of buildings. Pictures: Here Before Us
The hobby-turned-business, born during the Covid-19 pandemic, uncovers the hidden history of homes and shops and includes research about who once lived inside and creating blue vinyl stickers to display in their windows.
What started as a one-man band has since grown, with the 65-year-old having now joined forces with Folkestone historian Debby Jones and illustrator Darren Scotland.
Today, the business has created around 600 stickers across the country – two even reaching as far as California in the US.
Mr Warren, who has lived in Folkestone for five years, says his career as a photographer helped ignite his curiosity.
The business opted to create high-quality stickers instead of metal plaques for ease
“I must have been to 3,000 houses all over the country and while I was in these houses, I kept thinking to myself, I wonder who lived here before,” he explained.
“Everything stopped through the pandemic and to suddenly not be working every day was a bit of a shocker – and that’s when I moved to Folkestone.
“I walked through the Old High Street and, again, I thought to myself, what history does this street have, and I wondered what I could do to keep me in the town.”
Instead of traditional metal plaques, the business produces high-quality window stickers, making them easier to install and avoiding the need for planning permission.
Tenterden is now home to 30 vinyl stickers after the council commissioned research when a curious resident got in touch
Researching each property can take hours, Mr Warren says, with time spent flicking through archives, books and online records.
In Folkestone, he singled out two projects that left him in “complete amazement”.
One was the discovery of Queen Victoria’s Aide-de-Camp, Lewis Anstruther Hope, who once lived in the town and served as a personal assistant to the monarch.
After the find, the homeowner chose not to display a sticker, instead content simply knowing the hidden story behind her house.
Elsewhere, adventurer Bear Grylls’ grandfather once called Folkestone home, living in Cherry Garden Avenue.
Edward Grylls spent a year in the town, previously working for Winston Churchill in a specialised unit called T-Force.
Here Before Us discovered how Queen Victoria’s butler previously lived in Folkestone. Picture: iStock
The group’s mission was to race into Germany after the Second World War to seize Nazi documents before they could be destroyed.
“I was researching the house and went, wait a minute, look at that name, it’s G-R-Y-L-L-S,” Mr Warren revealed.
“I thought, could it be, could it be, could it be him and yes, it was Bear Grylls’ grandfather – I was super chuffed with that one.”
Here Before Us has since explored buildings across the county, including several in Tenterden.
It was there Mr Warren made the unusual discovery about a 14-year-old member of the “walnut gang”, who had been sentenced to six months of hard labour in Maidstone Jail for stealing walnuts in the 1870s.
The nutty heist is now part of a growing total of 30 stickers in Tenterden, after a resident spotted the stickers elsewhere and asked the council to commission them for their own area.
Asked what he enjoys most about the work, Mr Warren says it is the reactions from homeowners when they learn what came before them.
“Without a doubt, it’s people going, wow, I had no idea that was hiding in my house – now we understand who was here before,” he said.
He also relishes the research itself, describing it as “really interesting” rather than stressful.
In recent years, women have become a particular focus for the project, with Mr Warren keen on “addressing the balance” and “championing” women throughout history.
Here Before Us offers its blue window vinyl stickers for £95, while a “deep dive” package starts from £755 and includes more extensive research and illustrations of the property.