About me

I'm Sheridan Parsons, and I live with my husband Mike and my youngest son, by Glascote Locks in Tamworth, the ancient capital of Mercia. Fun fact: we're 9 miles from the UK's furthest point from the sea, and 13 miles from England's centre of gravity! I'm a bit quirky, in fact I'm quite public about the fact that I probably have Asperger’s, although I’ve never been officially diagnosed. Far from being a disadvantage, this gives me a no nonsense, straight talking, hyperfocused, honest approach, which some people find quite resfreshing!

My social accounts are listed on LinkTree

Writing

My books include my mother's memoirs, Greenwich Girl, the series ‘Wootton Bassett 100 Years Ago’, the ‘Family History Record Book’, and the 'Narrowboat Log Book'. My husband Mike has written two murder mysteries based on the canals. You'll find them all here.

Estate agency services

I currently provide freelance estate agency services to agents in my local area. I am not a regulated estate agent, so I am not able to introduce or negotiate, and I cannot deal directly with your solicitor, broker, or lender.

Selling a canalside home, or a house in France?

For £15 I can create a page on my website to advertise your property, and send out a mail-out to everyone on my mailing list. You or your estate agent will need to provide the photos and text.

Genealogy, house history, archives

I am an experienced and qualified house history researcher with a PGDip in Local and Family History. I love local history and family history, and I have a particular interest in canal heritage and WW1. I have researched literally hundreds of houses and families. I am happy to help with genealogy and house history projects in my spare time. I charge £100 for 8 hours or £300 for 30 hours plus one site visit and one archive visit.

I have a Post Graduate Diploma in Local and Family History which included the following modules:

• Skills And Sources for Family And Local History In England
• House History
• The Theory and Context of Recordkeeping
• Archive Management Principles And Practice
• English Palaeography And Diplomatic
• Public History
• Oral History

I am proud that my previous experience includes working on several contracts for the Royal Voluntary Service Archives.

• Metatagging 2884 archive images using Adobe Lightroom, correcting cataloguing errors, and writing a guide for my successor.
• Digitising approximately 7250 narrative reports.
• Selecting archive content with strong media potential for a high profile national fundraising campaign, and obtaining clearances from copyright holders.
• Answering internal and external enquiries, accessioning and appraising new material, cataloguing using CALM, and more.
• Social media management, increasing Twitter followers from 72 to over 1800, and filming a 'behind the scenes' video.

Canal volunteering

I'm well known for my passion for canals and canalside property. I used to volunteer as a 'greeter' on The Admiral, the Canal and River Trust's widebeam boat, moored at Caen Hill Locks in Devizes. In Tamworth, I volunteer with the local Towpath Taskforce whenever I can. I'm pretty handy with a windlass, a litter picker, or a paintbrush.

Teasmades

I'm considered to be the world expert on the history of teasmades. I used to have the world's biggest collection of teasmades - 172 of them!

Other qualifications

In the dim distant past I qualified with an honours degree in Social Psychology, as a Suzuki Violin Teacher, and as a Shoe Fitter. I also have a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and I'm working on a Diploma.