Cannanore District is one of the 14districts in the state of Kerala, India The town of Kannur is the district headquarters, and gives the district its name. The old name 'Cannanore' is the anglicised form of the malayalam name Kannur. Kannur District is bounded by Kasaragod District to the north and Kozhikode District to the south. To the east the district is bounded by the western gahts range, which forms the border with Karnataka state, in its districts of Kodagu and Chamarajanagar. The Arabian Sea lies to the west. Kannur District is known as the land of looms and lores, because of the number of looms functioning in the district and festivals held in temples. The district is a major centre of Theyyam, a ritual dance of northern Kerala, and small shrines known as kavus associated with the Theyyam dot the district.

There are several myths and legends associated with Kannur. The name Kannur is said to have been derived from two  Malayalam words 'Kannan' (Krishna) and 'Ur' (place). It is quite common in India that the names of villages and districts are associated with Indian mythological characters, even if there is no mention of such a village in the respective mythology. The name 'Kannur' also is not an exception. According to another version, 'Kannur' is a derivation of Kanathur, an ancient village, the name of which survives even today in one of the wards of Kannur municipality. Another version is that Kannur might have assumed its name from one of the deities of the Hindu pantheon, a compound of two words, 'Kannan' (Lord Krishna) and 'ur' (place) making it the place of Lord Krishna.

The Portuguese explorer Vasco da gama visited Kannur in1498, and shortly thereafter it became a Portuguese settlement. The Portuguese built St.Angelo`s Fort north of Kannur in1505. In1558, the Kolathiris came openly into the field against the Portuguese by providing active support to Kunjali Marakkars of Kozhikode. The Kolathiris and the Zamorins of Kozhikode fought a common war against Portuguese and the besieged Fort St. Angelo .In1564the mid- 17th century control of Kannur passed to the Dutch from whom the British captured it in1783. The ‘East India Company got its first foothold in the district towards the closing years of the17th century, when it acquired a site at Thalassery for the erection of a fort and a factory. In the latter half of the 18th century, Hyder Ali andTipu Sultan, rulers of Mysore, conquered much of the district and came into conflict with the British. In1792, at the conclusion of theThird Anglo Mysore War , the British took over Kannur and the surrounding region, which became the new Malabar District of British India's Madras Presidency

 This plantation was started by the English East India Company in 1767, Spices like pepper, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon were cultivated here, but finally cinnamon alone flourished   Asia's largest plantation of cinnamon, the famous Brown's Plantation is situated at Anjarakandy near Thalassery. It has an area of nearly 500 acres

Though oblivious of it, Lord Murdoch Brown was creating history at ‘Ancharakkandy’ in Kannur District a century and of half ago while demarcating boundaries of landed properties of local people. He might not have thought that this demarcation was the starting point of a new model of administration or Department of its kind not only in Kerala or India but also in Asia.  This was the modest beginning of a core department, registration, is a fact not known to many. As is the case with many other enterprises and Administrative systems, this too came into being from the felt need of the British.  In the case of Registration Department, it was the scheming sharp intellect of the British to grab and subjugate the land and people of this land.

 Lord Murdoch Brown was of Aristocratic lineage. He reached ‘Ancharakkandy’ through the East India Company in 1850. He settled at ‘Randuthara’.  Gradually, with the help of military, he brought the local areas under his control and arrogated to himself its governance

 His foremost objective and mission was to acquire as much landed property as he could. He succeeded well in his mission. He started to measure the length and breadth of the landed property acquired and started to keep records of the same.

 Lord Murdoch Brown’s demarcation of the landed property was the first attempt of its kind in history. Along with this he started to publicise among the local people that this kind of records are necessary and useful to them also. He opened an office in his bungalow and appointed officers to demarcate and prepare records for local people. This was the actual beginning of Registration Department.  At first he started to sign and deliver the records of properties to those it belonged. Later on it came to his notice that inter lineations are made in the documents without his knowledge and with a view to circumvent this possibility he started to keep and maintain a copy of the document in his office after delivering the original. Gradually the British Government started give approval to these records.

 At last on 1st February1865, the first Government approved Sub Registry office commenced operation from his bungalow. Lord Murdoch Brown assumed charge as Deputy Registrar and stated to register documents.

 Though stamp papers and stamp laws were not in vogue at that point of time, Lord Murdoch Brown’s sharp intellect had a solution for everything. He brought the stamp papers from Madras specially prepared by the stamp office there and he himself donned the mantle of stamp vendor and affixed signature on stamp papers in that capacity also and sold it to the needy.

 As time went on, the local people also moved the way Lord Murdoch Brown led them. As the rush of those came for registration at the office housed in his bungalow mounted he brought matter to the notice of the Government and donated land from his holding and built a building in 1876. Even today, the ‘Ancharakkandy’ Sub Registry office is housed in this very same building. This building stands out as a rare model for its ingenuity in construction marvel. The Sub Registrar sits atop the seat on the same dais that was built in 1876. The pulley through which passed the rope that was used to manually operate the fan hung from the roof in those days when electricity was unavailable. The other officers use the very same old tables and chairs of that age. The clock with the British stamp, though not in working condition, still perches between the shelves. The same old almirahs are being used to preserve copies of registered documents. To prevent termite attacks, the footrests of iron shelves were made to rest on small bowls filled with water. Those bowls placed during the period of Lord Murdoch Brown still guards the footrests of the shelves at ‘Ancharakkandy’ Sub Registry office. The ink used at that point of time was made of a solution prepared from a decoction from ‘Kadukka’ (Entric Myrobelan) remains without any damage even today, whereas the documents prepared since independence have started to fade and smudge and are being copied afresh.  Thalassery District office was opened and Madras was made the head quarters. Later on Sub Registry offices were opened in other states also. Offices were opened at places like Mumbai, Calcutta, Lahore, Allahabad, Nagpur, Assam, Ajmere etc As it was felt that India required a common Stamp Act and Registration Act, these laws were enacted in 1899 and the administration of registration was consolidated. Later on separate laws were enacted for other states. 
The Registration Department started functioning from 1-1-1865 in Malabar Area, from 1st Dhanu 1043 Malayalam Era (1868 AD) in Travancore Area, and from 1st Edavam 1050 Malayalam Era (1875 AD) in Cochin area. The three units have been integrated to form the present Registration Department with the formation of the Kerala State from 1st November 1956 and the Registration Act 1908 is in force throughout the State.
The Registration Department started functioning from 1-1-1865 in Malabar Area at Thalassery District Office in Kannur and the first Sub Registry office started at Anjarakandy from 1-2-1865.