Robert Gunter, of Earl's Court Lodge, Kensington, was a Captain in the 4th Dragoon Guards.
The property was owned by William Holland, who died in 1874 leaving it to Louisa Froud. Louisa left the house to her daughter Jessie Blount in 1922. In 1938 the house was purchased by the London County Council for demolition in a road widening scheme.
The manor of Paris Garden covered almost the same territory as the parish of Christ Church, Southwark, a little less than 100 acres. The whole area is below high-water level and was prone to flooding. Consequently it was not built-up until after 1809 when new sewers were constructed. The land belonged to the Knights Templars from around 1113. After that order was supressed the manor was granted to the Knights Hospitallers, who leased it out. The first use of the name "Parish Garden" (later Paris Garden) to describe the estate was made in 1420.
In 1536 the Hospitallers surrendered the land to Henry VIII. It was held by the Crown until 1578 when it was granted to Henry Cary, Lord Hunsdon. Two years later he demised the demesne lands to one owner and the copyhold lands to another; thenceforward they have separate histories. The copyholder's lease was converted into a fee simple in 1881, but the manorial rights were not abolished until 1936. The manor was bought by William Angell in 1655, and was sold by him to George Baron. The Baron family held the manor until 1827, when Elizabeth Ann Baron married John Lethbridge, it then passed into the Lethbridge family, who still held it in the 1950s.
For a more detailed history see 'Paris Garden Manor', Survey of London: volume 22: Bankside (the parishes of St. Saviour and Christchurch Southwark) (1950), pp. 94-100 (available online).
Fenton House in Hampstead was built some time between 1686 and 1689. The first owner was Thomas Sympson, whose widow sold the house in 1706 to Joshua Gee, a merchant. Later owner Philip Fenton gave the house its name, while it was owned from 1936 by Lady Katherine Binning who was a keen collector of porcelain, furniture and needlework.
For more information see: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-fentonhouse (accessed August 2011).
24 Cheyne Row was constructed in 1708 on land owned by Lord Cheyne. In June 1834 the writer Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane moved into the property (then known as number 5, not 24). The couple rented the house until Carlyle's death in 1881 (Jane died in 1866). After 1881 the house continued to be rented out, although largely untouched. In 1895 the freehold was purchased by public subscription and the Carlyle's House Memorial Trust was formed to manage the property and open it to the public. It was transferred to the National Trust in 1936.
For more information see: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-carlyleshouse.htm (accessed August 2011).
The manor of Stepney, also known as Stebunheath, was recorded in the Domesday Book as owned by the Bishop of London, and was probably part of the lands included in the foundation grant of the see of London circa 604. At this date the manor included Stepney, Hackney, and parts of Shoreditch, Islington, Hornsey and Clerkenwell; although parcels of land were later granted to other institutions and people, such as lands in Clerkenwell given to the priory of St Mary, Clerkenwell, and the Knights Hospitallers.
In 1550 the manors of Stepney and Hackney were surrendered to the King, who granted them to Lord Chamberlain Sir Thomas Wentworth. The manor stayed in the Wentworth family until Thomas, Lord Wentworth, the earl of Cleveland. He incurred large debts and was forced to mortgage the manors. The family eventually lost Hackney manor but retained Stepney until 1695 when it was sold to William Herbert, Lord Montgomery. In 1710 he sold it to Windsor Sandys. By 1754 it belonged to the Colebrooke family who held it until 1939. In 1926 all remaining copyholds were converted into freeholds.
The manor house at Stepney was used as a residence of the bishops of London and the Stepney meadows provided hay for his household's horses. The house later became known as Bishopswood or Bishops Hall, and later Bonner Hall.
Information from: 'Stepney: Manors and Estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 19-52 (available online).
These papers relating to Battersea Park were collected by James Phillips for their general or antiquarian interest and relevance to the subject, rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).
Battersea Fields were converted into Battersea Park between 1846 and 1864, designed by Sir James Pennethorne.
Trades mentioned in the documents include carver, haberdasher, carman, fruiterer and loriner. Loriners made bits and bridles for horses.
Henry Andrade Harben was born in 1849, son of Sir Henry Harben, Director and Chairman of the Prudential Assurance Company. Harben studied to become a lawyer and was called to the bar in 1871. In 1879 he followed his father as Director of the Prudential (he succeeded him as Chairman in 1907). As well as his work as a lawyer Harben sat on several local administration committees and served as Mayor of Paddington. He was also an antiquarian and researcher, becoming fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1893. Harben died in 1910, leaving his collection of antiquarian books, maps, drawings, and prints to the London County Council. His major work was the Dictionary of London, which was published posthumously in 1917.
John Burns was formerly a member of London County Council. His private collection of documents was acquired by Lord Southwood, who gave them to the Library.
These statistics were prepared by local judicial administrators for the Home Office.
These 1473 photographs of London views, buildings, and sights appear to have been taken in sets relating to specific subjects during the period 1948-1981, as part of a deliberate project. Most of the photographs give descriptions on the reverse.
No administrative history has been traced for these photographs.
Paul Robeson was born on 9th April 1898 in Princeton to the Rev William Drew and Maria Louisa Robeson. His father was a former slave who had escaped to freedom at age 15 and earned a theological degree at Lincoln University. He worked as pastor of Princeton's Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church for twenty years until the authorities forced him to resign believing him to be a 'misfit' who fosters 'a general unrest and dissatisfaction on the part of others'. At age 55 William Drew had to support his family by driving coaches and hauling ashes. Further tragedy was to beset the Robeson family in 1904 when Maria Robeson was burned to death when her clothes caught fire over an open coal stove.
In 1907 the family moved to Westfield, where Paul's father built a small church and ministered a small congregation for the next 3 years before the family moved again to Somerville. Here the family finally settled. William Drew became pastor of St Thomas A.M.E Zion Church and Paul attended Somerville High School where his talent for academic study, music, oratory and athletics became apparent.
In 1915 Paul Robeson won a 4 year scholarship to Rutgers, and despite much physical intimidation he became one of the best football players of his generation. In May 1918 the Reverend Robeson died.
Paul Robeson graduated from Rutgers in 1919 and was accepted to Columbia University Law School where he financed his studies by tutoring in Latin and playing pro-football. In 1920 he met Eslanda 'Essie' Goode, the first black analytical chemist at Columbia Medical Centre whom he married in 1921.
His acting debut came in 1922 as Jim in Taboo at the Sam Harris Theatre, and after some hesitation he agreed to star in a British production of the play renamed Voodoo, where he met Lawrence Brown, a black American musician who was to become a life-long friend. In 1923 Paul Robeson was hired as the only African-American at the law firm of Stotesbury and Miner in New York but shortly after resigned his law career when a white secretary refused to take dictation from him.
Over the next ten years Paul Robeson's acting career made him an internationally known star. His films included Eugene O'Neill's All Gods Chillun' Got Wings, The Emperor Jones, Sanders of the River, Jericho and Song of Freedom, as well as stage productions of Show Boat, Porgy and most famously Othello in which Robeson was only the second black actor to portray Othello. By 1932 Robeson's marriage and his health were beginning to fail, but at the same time Robeson's interest in political and ethnic concerns were coming to the fore. In 1934 he made a whistlestop tour of the Soviet Union and considered resettling his family there in a country where he felt all races were treated equally. This tour however helped to fuel the hostility felt toward Robeson's outspoken opinions.
In 1937 at London's Albert Hall Robeson brought the Hall to a standstill by changing the lyrics of Ol' Man River from "I'm tired of livin' and scared of dyin'" to "I must keep fightin' until I'm dyin'"
Throughout the Second World War Robeson continued to fight for leftist and anti-fascist causes, inspite of being hounded by the House Committee on Un-American Activities as a communist and being placed under surveillance by the FBI.
In March 1947 Robeson announced that he would stop doing professional concerts for two years and devote himself to the fight against racial prejudice. In 1950 he was asked to give up his passport after denouncing the Korean War. Paul Robeson refused. In answer to his refusal the State department told him he could keep his passport if he swore he was not a communist, again he refused, filing a suit against the State demanding the return of his passport. It was not to be returned until 1958.
The last ten years of Robeson's life were beset with illness both himself suffering from exhaustion to chronic depression and Essie who had terminal cancer but kept it from Paul until her death in 1965 two days before her seventieth birthday. In 1974 the FBI concluded that 'no further investigation [of Robeson] is warranted'. In 1976 aged 77 Paul Robeson died in Philadelphia on January 23. Five thousand mourners attended his funeral, where they listened to recorded spirituals sung by Robeson.
Buildings featured include the:
Ritzy Cinema, Brixton;
The Palace, Denmark Hill;
Empire Music Hall, Camberwell;
Peckham Crown Theatre;
Hippodrome, Peckham;
Bingo Club, Peckham;
Empire, New Cross Road;
Broadway Theatre, Deptford;
Wellington Street, Woolwich;
Grand Theatre, Woolwich;
Hippodrome and Brownhill Road, Catford;
The Oxford, Oxford Street;
Palladium, London;
The Empire, Leicester Square;
The Alhambra, Leicester Square;
Daly's Theatre;
The Hippodrome, London;
Theatre Royal, Haymarket;
His Majesty's Theatre;
Lyric Theatre;
The Globe Theatre;
Cambridge Cross and Palace Theatre;
Wyndhams Theatre;
Garrick Theatre;
The Coliseum;
Duke of York's Theatre;
The Opera House, Covent Garden;
Drury Lane Theatre;
Vaudeville Theatre;
Adelphi Theatre;
Gaiety Theatre;
Waldorf Theatre, Kingsway;
The Old Vic;
St. James Theatre;
Imperial Theatre;
Euston Music Hall;
Camden Theatre, Camden;
Deacons Music Hall;
Sadler's Wells;
Collin's Music Hall, Islington;
Marlborough Theatre, Holloway;
Empire, Holloway Road;
Hackney Empire, Mare Street;
Finsbury Park Empire;
Alexandra Theatre;
The Palace, Stoke Newington Road;
Hippodrome, Golders Green;
Tottenham Palace;
Walthamstow Palace;
Hippodrome, Poplar;
Hippodrome, Harlesden;
Palace, East Ham;
Walham Green, The Broadway;
Coronet Theatre, Notting Hill Gate;
Grand Theatre, Fulham;
Shepherd's Bush Empire;
Kings Theatre, Hammersmith;
Chiswick Empire;
Ealing Hippodrome;
Grand Music Hall, Clapham Junction;
Hippodrome, Balham;
Duchess Theatre, Balham;
Wimbledon Theatre;
Prince of Wales Theatre, Richmond-upon-Thames;
Grand Theatre, Croydon;
Prince of Wales Theatre, Kennington;
Borough Theatre, Stratford; and
Grand Opera House, Croydon.
Actors featured include:
Sir Henry Irving;
Harry Tate;
Kitty Colyer;
Mr and Mrs Kendal;
Eugene Stratton;
Hetty King;
Marie Lloyd;
Alec Burley;
Little Tich;
George Robey;
Fanny Fields;
Fred Terry;
Julia Neilson;
Gertie Gitana;
Elsie Craven;
Beerholm Tree;
Sir Charles Wyndham;
Arthur Bouchier;
Maud Allen;
Fred Emney;
Harry Fragson;
Harry Randall;
Walter Passmore;
Camille Clifford;
Cyril Maude;
Gladys Cooper;
Seymour Hicks;
Ellaline Terriss;
George Alexander;
Lewis Waller;
Henry J. Wood;
Ellen Terry; and
Mrs Patrick Campbell.
Samuel and Henrietta Barnett were important figures in the social reform movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Samuel was the vicar of Saint Jude's Whitechapel, founder of Toynbee Hall, Whitechapel Art Gallery and the Education Reform League. Later he became Canon of Bristol and Canon and Sub-Dean of Westminster Abbey.
Henrietta was the founder of the London Pupil Teachers' Association, and is widely reknowned as the founder of Hampstead Garden Suburb.
There is no unifying factor to these papers (e.g. that they relate to property owned by one estate or family or the legal work of one office), they came into the possession of the Kansas City Museum who passed to the archive.
A most unusual form of Victorian country house guest book. Each guest has signed on arrival, but the book requires them to record their weight, and also indicate how they were dressed. Lord Bingham suceeded his father as Lord Lucan, and therefore the visitors are particularly high status. The final entries, dated February 1st 1910 are of Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, Princess Victoria Mary (soon to become Queen Mary) and the princesses Victoria and Mary. The Royal Family did not include thier weight entries! Other high status Victorians who do include notification of their weight include Hardinge of Penshurst, Prince Hermann of Saxeweimar, Prince Francis of Teck, the future Queen Mary, Earl Howe, Lord Dorchester, the Duke of Hamilton, George Duke of Cambridge, the Earl of Munster, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
Laleham House was the seat of the Earl of Lucan, situated to the south of the village of Laleham.
The manor of Isleworth or Isleworth Syon seems to have included land in Heston, Isleworth and Twickenham. In 1086 it belonged to Walter of Saint Valery, one of William the Conqueror's companions. The land subsequently passed into royal possession and was granted to Queen Isabel in 1327 and Queen Philippa in 1330. In 1421 the king granted Isleworth to the newly created abbey of Syon, in whose possession it remained until 1539. The Abbey was suppressed in 1539 and in 1547 the Duke of Somerset secured a grant of the estate to himself, which he held until his execution in 1552, although his widow continued to live at the manor until ordered to leave in 1554. The Crown leased the lands to various tenants until 1598 when Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, secured the tenancy rights. In 1604 he received a grant in fee of the house and manor with the park. The property descended to his heirs including Charles, Duke of Somerset (died 1748) and his son the Earl of Northumberland. Their descendants still owned Syon in 1958.
One notable event in the later history of the manor occurred in 1656. In that year articles of agreement were drawn up between Algernon, Earl of Northumberland, lord of the manor of Isleworth Syon, and Sir Thomas Ingram and other principal copyhold tenants. These articles established certain of the customs of the manor on a firm basis. Fines and heriots were to be certain and not arbitrary, at the will of the lord. The tenure of customary and was to be by Borough English, whereby the youngest son of a copy holder inherited on the death of his father. These articles were signed on 20 May 1656 and were confirmed by a decree in Chancery, 28 June 1656 (see ACC/1379/330 and partial transcript in History of Syon and Isleworth by G. Aungier, p.206). A printed tract called Isleworth Syon's Peace was to be published in 1657 and according to Aungier was to be placed in the Isleworth parish chest. London Metropolitan Archives possesses copies in ACC/0479 and ACC/1379.
There is no unifying factor to these papers (e.g. that they relate to property owned by one estate or family or the legal work of one office), they were simply collected or preserved for their antiquarian interest before being passed to the archive.
An 'indenture' was a deed or agreement between two or more parties. Two or more copies were written out, usually on one piece of parchment or paper, and then cut in a jagged or curvy line, so that when brought together again at any time, the two edges exactly matched and showed that they were parts of one and the same original document. A 'right hand indenture' is therefore the copy of the document which was on the right hand side when the parchment was cut in two.
A 'fine' was a fee, separate from the rent, paid by the tenant or vassal to the landlord on some alteration of the tenancy, or a sum of money paid for the granting of a lease or for admission to a copyhold tenement.
A bargain and sale was an early form of conveyance often used by executors to convey land. The bargainee, or person to whom the land was bargained and sold, took possession, often referred to as becoming 'seised' of the land.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
Harrow Manor belonged to the archbishops of Canterbury from the early middle ages until 1545 when Henry VIII forced Cranmer to sell the manor to him. Henry sold the estate to Sir Edward North. The North family sold the manor to the Pitt family, whence it came to Alice Pitt and her husbands, Edward Palmer and then Sir James Rushout. The Rushouts acquired the barony of Northwick in 1797. Harrow stayed in the family until the death of the 3rd Baron, Sir George Rushout-Bowles, in 1887. His widow left the estate to her grandson Captain E. G. Spencer-Churchill. He sold the land in the 1920s.
Harrow Manor described both the manorial rights over the whole area and the chief demesne farm in the centre of the parish. This was known as Sudbury Manor or Sudbury Court. The ownership of Sudbury Manor followed that of Harrow, hence the name Harrow alias Sudbury.
From: 'Harrow, including Pinner : Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 203-211 (available online).
The Manor of Harrow Rectory alias Harrow-on-the-Hill originated in land owned by priest Werhardt in the 9th century. From 1094-1845 Harrow Rectory was a peculiar of the archbishopric of Canterbury within the deanery of Croydon. The rector had sole manorial jurisdiction over Harrow-on-the-Hill and Roxborough, and collected tithes from a large area. This was a prized position which attracted ambitious and important men, and the rectory house was accordingly fine and spacious. In 1546 the rectory was impropriated to Christ Church, Oxford, but in 1547 the college alienated the rectory, the advowson of the vicarage, and (from 1550) the tithes to Sir Edward North, lord of Harrow alias Sudbury Manor. The grant was made in fee farm in perpetuity, North paying the College an annual fee. North sublet the rectory and tithes while retaining the manorial rights, and enjoyed the rights and profits of the rectory. In 1630 the rectory was conveyed to George Pitt and thereafter descended with Sudbury Court Manor until 1807, when the rectory house and 121 acres of land north of it were sold to James Edwards; the remaining land becoming part of Harrow Park.
'Harrow, including Pinner : Harrow church', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 249-255 (available online).
The Manor of Poplar was formed in 1200 when part of the lands of Bernard of Stepney were sold to Henry of Bedfont. In 1339 the manor was owned by Sir John Pulteney, the Mayor of London. From 1405 to 1538 the manor was the property of the abbey of Saint Mary Graces, who gave it to the Crown in 1539. It was subsequently broken up, the manor house and the lordship and lands being granted to different people.
Source of information: 'Stepney: Manors and Estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 19-52.
The Poynder family included Thomas Poynder, the younger, of Wimpole Street, Cavendish Square, Treasurer of Christ's Hospital; Edmund Samuel Poynder of Brasenose College, Oxford; Thomas Henry Allen Poynder of Wrotham Place, Wrotham, Kent and Sir John Poynder Dickson Poynder, of Hartham Park, Wiltshire, M.P.
The early history of the estate later known as Swakeleys manor is obscure. In the early 13th century the estate seems to have passed to John de Trumpinton whose son, also called John, still held it about 1260. By 1329, however, part of this land had apparently been acquired by Robert Swalcliffe of Swalcliffe. Four years later Robert and his wife conveyed their lands to William le Gauger of London, but the family name Swalcliffe, later contracted to Swakeleys, continued to attach to the estate. In 1751 the estate was sold to the Reverend Thomas Clarke, Rector of Ickenham. Members of the Clarke family held Swakeleys for over a century. Thomas Clarke died in 1796 and was succeeded by his son Thomas Truesdale Clarke. Thomas Truesdale's son, another Thomas Truesdale, succeeded in 1840 and bought the manor of Ickenham in 1859. He died in 1890 and was succeeded by his son William Capel Clarke, who had married Clara Thornhill and had added his wife's name to his own. William Capel Clarke-Thornhill died in 1898 and in 1922 his son Thomas Bryan Clarke-Thornhill sold most of the Swakeleys estate to agents for development as a residential suburb.
The extent of Swakeleys in the Middle Ages is unknown: from the 14th century the manor included much land outside the parish. In 1531 it was said to comprise more than 1,000 acres and in 1608 over 2,000 acres. At inclosure in 1780 Thomas Clarke held 368 acres in Ickenham. A park is mentioned in 1453 and again in 1517. This presumably was that surrounding Swakeleys manor-house.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 69-75 (available online).
There is no unifying factor to these papers (e.g. that they relate to property owned by one estate or family or the legal work of one office), they were simply collected by the Wiltshire Archaeological Society for their antiquarian or research interest before being passed to the archive.
The manor of Ealing or Ealingbury was presumably the 10 hides at Ealing granted in 693 by Ethelred, king of Mercia, to the bishop of London for the augmentation of monastic life in London. The manor passed through various owners until 1906 when most or all of the land was sold to the Prudential Assurance Company.
Northumberland Park, Tottenham, was a new avenue, lined by middle-class villas, running from the High Road towards the new railway line. It was laid out and developed in the 1850s.
Source of information: 'Ealing and Brentford: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 123-128 and 'Tottenham: Growth after 1850', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 317-324 (available online).
The Bullock family first appear in this collection in the early eighteenth century as leather dressers of some substance in London. Henry Bullock was admitted in 1711 as a freeman of the City of London (ACC/0132/240). In 1715 he and his father John Bullock entered into articles of partnership for the management of leather mills at Poyle in Stanwell which they first leased, and later purchased in 1742 (ACC/0132/191, ACC/0132/243). It is title deeds to Poyle Mills, and to other properties in Stanwell which the family subsequently owned, which make up the major part of the collection. The Stanwell deeds date mainly from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but the earliest is a grant of four acres dated 1366. The earliest deed which identifies the Mills is of 1612 (ACC/0132/145).
Besides title deeds the collection includes family settlements and wills of the Bullocks, and their connections the Bland and Maw families. It is clear from deposited account books of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (ACC/0132/285-286) that the family retained a connection with the City of London as well as being substantial citizens in Stanwell. Members of the family were from time to time churchwardens, as the presence of a group of Stanwell Parish Records shows, and Henry Bullock junior was appointed a trustee of the Bedfont to Bagshot, and treasurer of the Cranford Turnpike Trusts in 1760 and 1773 successively (ACC/0132/281-282). The Bland family papers include a series of commissions of Joseph Bland from practitioner engineer to lieutenant colonel in the East India Company Corps of Engineers between 1770 and 1801 (ACC/0132/288-296). There is also an extemely interesting letter from Alfred Bland describing in detail conditions in Zululand in 1879 (ACC/0132/297).
Deposited with the Bullock family papers, but having no apparent archival connection with them, is a group of three building leases of 1793 and 1794 from the Earl of Southampton to William and James Adam of Albemarle Street relating to houses in Fitzroy Square (ACC/0132/330-332).
In 1086 Twickenham was part of the manor of Isleworth Syon. It is not mentioned as a separate manor until 1445 when it was held by the York family. It was sold in 1538 to Edward Seymour, later the Lord Protector, who later swapped it with the Crown for other lands. It was granted to Queen Henrietta Maria in 1629. The Crown leased out the manor houses and lands, and finally sold the manorial rights in 1836. By 1909 the manorial rights had lapsed.
Source of information: 'Twickenham: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 147-150 (available online).
Common Recovery was a process by which land was transferred from one owner to another. It was a piece of legal fiction involving the party transferring the land, a notional tenant and the party acquiring the land; the tenant was ejected to effect the transfer. An exemplification was a formal copy of a court record issued with the court's seal.
A marriage settlement was a legal agreement drawn up before a marriage by the two parties, setting out terms with respect to rights of property and succession.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
A bargain and sale was an early form of conveyance often used by executors to convey land. The bargainee, or person to whom the land was bargained and sold, took possession, often referred to as becoming 'seised' of the land.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
The Manor of Sunbury was held by Westminster Abbey until 1222 when they transferred it to the Bishop of London to settle a dispute. It passed to the Crown in 1559 and was leased out until 1603 when it was granted to Robert Stratford. The manor subsequently passed through several hands and families until 1925 when it was considered virtually lapsed.
'Sunbury: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 53-57 (available online).
Hayes Manor was granted to Christ Church, Canterbury, in 832; and remained in the possession of the church until 1545 when it was taken over by the king. It was sold to the North family in 1546, who in turn sold it on in 1613. It subsequently passed through various owners. The estate was broken up in 1898.
Southall Manor has its origins in land held by William of Southall in 1212. In 1496 the manor was sold to Edward Cheeseman. His son gained the Manor of Norwood, and the two manors were henceforth united. The manors passed through various owners until 1757 when it passed to the Child family, and then the descent of the manor passed with Hayes Manor.
Information from 'Hayes: Manors and other estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 26-29 (available online).
Colham manor was in 1086 assessed at 8 hides, 6 of which were in demesne. At some time before 1594 Hillingdon manor was incorporated in that of Colham. Insulated within the lands of Colham lay the 'three little manors' of Cowley Hall, Colham Garden, and Cowley Peachey, and freehold estates belonging to a number of manors in other parishes, including Swakeleys in Ickenham. The manor passed through several owners before, in 1787, John Dodd sold the whole manor to Fysh de Burgh, lord of the manor of West Drayton. Fysh de Burgh died in 1800 leaving Colham subject to the life interest of his widow Easter (d 1823), in trust for his daughter Catherine (d 1809), wife of James G. Lill who assumed the name of De Burgh, with remainder to their son Hubert. The manor passed to Hubert de Burgh in 1832 and he immediately mortgaged the estate. Hubert retained actual possession of the property until his death in 1872.
Information from: 'Hillingdon, including Uxbridge: Manors and other estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 69-75 (available online).
The manor of Edgware Boys (or Edgware and Boys) was sold to William Lee of Totteridge Park in 1762. It passed to his son William, who changed his surname to Antonie in accordance with the will of Richard Antonie of Colworth. He left the manor to his nephew John Fiott, who assumed the name of Lee under the terms of the will of his uncle. John Fiott Lee died in 1866.
Information from: 'Edgware: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 155-157 (available online).
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
Feoffment was an early form of conveyance involving a simple transfer of freehold land by deed followed by in a ceremony called livery of seisin.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
The Pocock family appear to have leased their estate from part of the lands of the manor of Isleworth Syon, which was held by the Crown.
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
There is no unifying factor to these papers (e.g. that they relate to property owned by one estate or family or the legal work of one office), they were simply collected for their antiquarian interest before being passed to the archive.
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
Common Recovery was a process by which land was transferred from one owner to another. It was a piece of legal fiction involving the party transferring the land, a notional tenant and the party acquiring the land; the tenant was ejected to effect the transfer. An exemplification was a formal copy of a court record issued with the court's seal.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
An assignment of term, or assignment to attend the inheritance, was an assignment of the remaining term of years in a mortgage to a trustee after the mortgage itself has been redeemed. An assignment of a lease is the transfer of the rights laid out in the lease to another party, usually for a consideration (a sum of money).
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
The Bacon family owned extensive estates in the Finchley, Friern Barnet and Hornsey areas. See A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate (1980) for more information (available online).
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
Lease and release was the most common method of conveying freehold property from the later seventeenth century onwards, before the introduction of the modern conveyance in the late nineteenth century. The lease was granted for a year (sometimes six months), then on the following day the lessor released their right of ownership in return for the consideration (the thing for which land was transferred from one party to another, usually, of course, a sum of money).
Feoffment was an early form of conveyance involving a simple transfer of freehold land by deed followed by in a ceremony called livery of seisin.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
An 'indenture' was a deed or agreement between two or more parties. Two or more copies were written out, usually on one piece of parchment or paper, and then cut in a jagged or curvy line, so that when brought together again at any time, the two edges exactly matched and showed that they were parts of one and the same original document. A 'right hand indenture' is therefore the copy of the document which was on the right hand side when the parchment was cut in two.
Sir Lancelot Shadwell, the last Vice Chancellor of England, bought Northolt manor from George Villiers, Earl of Jersey, in 1827. The manor comprised 269 acres. The Shadwell family owned the manor until the early 20th century when the estate was broken up and sold.
From: 'Northolt: Manors and other estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 113-116 (available online).
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
Lease and release was the most common method of conveying freehold property from the later seventeenth century onwards, before the introduction of the modern conveyance in the late nineteenth century. The lease was granted for a year (sometimes six months), then on the following day the lessor released their right of ownership in return for the consideration (the thing for which land was transferred from one party to another, usually, of course, a sum of money).
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
The Breakspears Estate was the foremost manor in Harefield, Middlesex. It took its name from William Breakspear who owned it in 1376. It belonged to the Ashby family from 1447. In 1769 the last male Ashby died without a male heir and the house passed to a daughter, Elizabeth, who was married to Joseph Partridge. Their son left the estate to a relative of his wife. By 1877 the property belonged to Alfred Henry Tarleton, whose widow sold the house to the county council in 1942. The estate land was used as a park while the house became an old people's home.
Source of information: 'Harefield: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 240-246.
A marriage settlement was a legal agreement drawn up before a marriage by the two parties, setting out terms with respect to rights of property and succession.
Yeoveney Farm was a manor in Staines, formed in the 13th century. It comprised 200-300 acres situated east of Staines Moor. The land was usually farmed by tenants and the manorial rights lapsed soon after 1758. The land passed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.
The History of the County of Middlesex mentions a 'Batcher Field', comprising 63 acres, as situated east of Northolt village.
Source of information: 'Staines: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 18-20; and 'Northolt: Introduction', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 109-113.
Jonathan Passingham, a farmer from Heston, died in 1833, leaving most of his estate at Heston in trust for his wife Elizabeth and, after her death, to be divided between his two daughters. Ellen, who married Jonathan Passingham of Cornwall in December 1833, was to receive Heston Farm estate (143a 29p), and Emma, wife of James Basire, engraver of Chancery Lane, was to receive North Hyde Farm estate (132a 2r 3p). After their deaths the property was to be divided between their respective heirs. The executors and trustees of the will were Francis Sherborn, gentleman of Bedfont, and Charles Farnell, brewer of Isleworth.
The inheritance became a cause in Chancery in 1836 when the heirs accused Francis Sherborn of "a series of frauds, misconduct, negligence and breaches of trust", and Charles Farnell of "gross negligence" in failing to take steps to prevent this. Farnell stated he had been "a mere cypher in the business", as Sherborn had been the active trustee (see ACC/0328/033). The main charge of the plaintiffs concerned the mismanagement of Heston and North Hyde Farms which, soon after the death of Jonathan Passingham, had been leased by the trustees to Francis Sherborn and his brother Matthew as tenants in common. The plaintiffs claimed that the terms of the lease, which was drawn up by Henry Farnell, brother of Charles, were fraudulent, and resulted in "acts of waste and destruction" by the Sherborns. These were specified as ploughing up valuable meadow and pasture land, denuding the estate of timber, and allowing buildings to fall into decay and, in some cases, pulling them down. A further charge related to the sale of a brickfield called Tentlows in which the trustees had a beneficial interest. The decree in Chancery in 1839 discharged Sherborn and Farnell from their trusteeship.
George Robert Rowe, M.D. of Chigwell, Essex, and Francis Passingham of Truro, Cornwall, were subsequently appointed new trustees, to be accountable for the estate to the Master of the Rolls. An Act of Parliament in 1844 (7 and 8 Vict. c.22) enabled the trustees to grant leases for digging brick earth on the estate. The royalties from brick making were to be paid into two accounts at the Bank of England, one for Heston Farm and one for North Hyde Farm, in the name of the Accountant General of the Court of Chancery. Another act in 1847 (see ACC/0328/058) authorised the construction of a canal link for transporting bricks. This, however, was not undertaken, a tramway being built instead.
The Depot Estate was land originally purchased by HM Ordnance in 1814 from several owners. Three small pieces of land, copyhold of the manor of Heston, were added to the estate in 1817. When it was sold in 1832, the estate comprised barracks, storehouses, dwelling houses, lands and a private canal. Most of the Depot Estate was purchased in 1845 by Messrs. Allen and Holmes, solicitors to the Passingham trustees, and conveyed to the trustees in 1848. James Basire, widower of Emma, the daughter of Jonathan Passingham, held the life interest in the rents and profits of North Hyde Farm and the Depot Estate. When he died in 1869 the Basire heirs brought a further cause in Chancery for the sale or partition of the North Hyde Estates, and in 1871-2 the property was sold in twenty one lots, primarily for building development, (see ACC/0328/105-106).
The Manor of Osterley in Heston was purchased by property developer Nicholas Barbon in 1683. Barbon conveyed the Manor to two co-mortgagees including the banker Sir Francis Child the elder (1642-1718). Child took possession of the Manor on Barbon's death in 1698, while his son Robert Child (d 1721) bought out the co-mortgagee, so that the Child family owned the whole estate. The family expanded the estates by purchasing nearby Manors and commissioned Robert Adam to redesign the house.
The estates and Child's Bank were inherited by Sarah Anne (1764-1793), daughter and sole heir of Robert Child (d 1782). Under the terms of Robert Child's will the estates passed to Sarah Anne's daughter Lady Sarah Sophia Fane (1785-1867), who was said to have an income of £60,000 a year. Lady Sarah married George Villiers, the fifth Earl of Jersey (1773-1859) who took the name Child-Villiers in 1812. Osterley Park stayed in the Jersey family until 1949 when it was sold to the National Trust.
In 1800 the Manor of Hayes was sold to the executors of Robert Child's will and was therefore added to Osterley and passed to Lady Sarah Sophia Fane and her husband the Earl of Jersey. They sold the Manor in 1829 to Robert Willis Blencowe.
The Manors of Norwood and Southall were united in 1547. In 1754 they were sold to Agatha Child who left them to her son Francis Child. They were united with the Manor of Hayes and followed the same descent-passing to the Jersey family and then sold to Robert Willis Blencowe.
For more information about Osterley Park and Manor see 'Heston and Isleworth: Osterley Park', and 'Heston and Isleworth: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 100-111 (available online).
See also 'Hayes: Manors and other estates' and 'Norwood, including Southall: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 26-29 and pp. 43-45.