[p443]APPENDIX.THE MANOR OF HITCHIN (PORTMAN AND FOREIGN) IN THE COUNTY OF HERTFORD.1891. Oct. 21'At the Court [Leet and] of the View of Frank pledge of our Sovereign Lord the King with the General Court Baron of William Wilshere, Esquire, Lord Firmar of the said manor of his Majesty, holden in and for the manor aforesaid, on Thursday, the twenty-first day of October, One thousand eight hundred and nineteen, Before Joseph Eade, Gentleman, Steward of the said manor, and by adjournment on Monday, the first day of November next following, before the said Joseph Eade, the Steward aforesaid.
[p443]
1891. Oct. 21
'At the Court [Leet and] of the View of Frank pledge of our Sovereign Lord the King with the General Court Baron of William Wilshere, Esquire, Lord Firmar of the said manor of his Majesty, holden in and for the manor aforesaid, on Thursday, the twenty-first day of October, One thousand eight hundred and nineteen, Before Joseph Eade, Gentleman, Steward of the said manor, and by adjournment on Monday, the first day of November next following, before the said Joseph Eade, the Steward aforesaid.
'The jurors for our Lord the King and the Homage of this Court having diligently enquired into the boundaries, extent, rights, jurisdictions, and customs of the said manor, and the rights, powers, and duties of the lord and tenants thereof, and having also enquired what lands in the township of Hitchin and in the hamlet of Walsworth respectively within this manor are subject to common of pasture for the commonable cattle of the occupiers of messuages, cottages, and land within the said township and hamlet respectively, and for what descriptions and number of cattle, and at what times of the year and in what manner such rights of common are by the custom of this manor to be exercised, and what payments are by such custom due in respect thereof, they do upon their oaths find and present asfollows:—
'That the manor comprises the township of Hitchin and the hamlet of Walsworth, in the parish of Hitchin, the[p444]lesser manors of the Rectory of Hitchin, of Moremead, otherwise Charlton, and of the Priory of the Biggin, being comprehended within the boundaries of the said manor of Hitchin, which also extends into the hamlets of Langley and Preston in the said parish of Hitchin, and into the parishes of Ickleford, Ippollitts, Kimpton, Kingswalden, and Offley.
Boundaries.
'That the following are the boundaries of the township of Hitchin with the hamlet of Walsworth (that is to say), beginning at Orton Head, proceeding from thence to Burford Ray, and from thence to a water mill called Hide Mill, and from thence to Wilberry Hills; from thence to a place called Bossendell, from thence to a water mill called Purwell Mill, and from thence to a brook or river called Ippollitts' Brook, and from thence to Maydencroft Lane, and from thence to a place called Wellhead, and from thence to a place called Stubborn Bush, and from thence to a place called Offley Cross, and from thence to Five Borough Hills, and from thence back to Orton Head, where the boundaries commenced. And that all the land in the parish of Hitchin lying on the north side of the river which runneth from Purwell Mill to Hide Mill is within the hamlet of Walsworth, and that the following lands on the south side of the same river are also within the same hamlet of Walsworth (vizt.), Walsworth Common, containing about fourteen acres; the land of Sir Francis Sykes called the Leys, on the south side of Walsworth Common, containing about four acres; the land of William Lucas and Joseph Lucas, called the Hills, containing about two acres; and nine acres or thereabouts, part of the land of Sir Francis Sykes, called the Shadwells, the residue of the land called the Shadwells on the north side of the river.
Jurisdiction.
'That the lord of the manor of Hitchin hath Court Leet View of Frank pledge and Court Baron, and that the jurisdiction of the Court Leet and View of Frank pledge extendeth over the whole of the township of Hitchin and the hamlet of Walsworth. That a Court Leet and Court of the View of Frank pledge and Great Court Baron are accustomed to be holden for the said manor within one month[p445]after the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel in every year, and may also be holden within one month after the Feast of Easter. And that general or special Courts Baron and customary Courts are holden at the pleasure of the lord or of his steward.
'That in the Court Leet yearly holden after the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel the jurors for our Lord the King are accustomed to elect and present to the lord two constables and six headboroughs (vizt.), two headboroughs for Bancroft Ward, two for Bridge Ward, and two for Tilehouse Street Ward (each such constable and headborough having right and being bound to execute the office through the whole leet), and likewise two ale conners, two leather searchers and sealers, and a bellman who is also the watchman and cryer of the town. And they present that Bancroft Ward contains Bancroft Street, including the Swan Inn, Silver Street, Portmill Lane, and the churchyard, church and vicarage house, and the alley leading out of Bancroft now called Quaker's Alley. That Bridge Ward contains the east and north sides of the market place, and part of the south side thereof to the house of John Whitney, formerly called the Maidenhead Inn, Mary's Street, otherwise Angel Street, now called Sun Street, Bull Street, now called Bridge Street, to the river; Bull Corner, Back Street, otherwise Dead Street, from the south to the north extremities thereof; Biggin Lane with the Biggin and Hollow Lane. And that Tilehouse Street Ward contains Tilehouse Street, Bucklersbury to the Swan Inn, and the west side and the remainder of the south side of the market place.
Reliefs.
'And the Homage of this Court do also further present that freeholders holding of the said manor do pay to the lord by way of relief upon the death of the preceding tenant one year's quitrent, but that nothing is due to the lord upon the alienation of freehold.
Fines on admissions.
'That the fines upon admissions of copyholders, whether by descent or purchase, are, and beyond the memory of[p446]man have been, certain (to wit), half a year's quitrent; and that where any number of tenants are admitted jointly in one copy, no greater fine than one half year's quitrent is due for the admission of all the joint tenants.
Power of leasing.
'The Homage also present that by the custom of the manor the customary tenants may without licence let their copyholds for three years and no longer, but that they may by licence of the lord let the same for any term not exceeding twenty-one years; and that the lord is upon every such licence entitled to a fine of one year's quitrent of the premises to be demised.
Forfeiture.
'The Homage present that the freehold tenants of the said manor forfeit their estates to the lord thereof for treason and for murders and other felonies; and that the copyholders forfeit their estates for the like crimes, and for committing or suffering their copyholds to be wasted, for wilfully refusing to perform their services, and for leasing their copyholds for more than three years without licence.
'The Homage also present that by the custom of this manor copyholds are granted by copy or court roll for the term of forty years, and that a tenant outliving the said term is entitled to be re-admitted for the like term upon payment of the customary fine of half a year's quitrent.
Heriots.
'The Homage present that there are no heriots due or payable to the lord of this manor for any of the tenements holden thereof.
Woods and trees.
'The Homage also present that, all woods, underwoods, and trees growing upon the copyhold lands holden of the said manor were by King James the First, by his Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of England, bearing date the fourteenth day of March, in the 6th year of his reign (in consideration of two hundred and sixty-six pounds sixteen shillings paid to his Majesty's use), granted to Thomas Goddesden and Thomas Chapman, two copyholders of the said manor, and their heirs and assigns, in trust to the use of themselves and the rest of the copyholders of the said manor; and that the copyhold tenants of the said manor are by virtue of such grant entitled to cut all timber and[p447]other trees growing on their copyholds, and to dispose thereof at their will.
Grain sold in the market toll free.
'The Homage also present that no toll has ever been paid or ought to be paid for any kind of corn or grain sold in the market of Hitchin.
Common pound and stocks.
'They also present that from the time whereof the memory of man is not to the contrary, the lord of this manor has been used to find and provide a common pound and stocks for the use of the tenants of this manor.
'And the Homage do further present that by the custom of this manor the lord may, with the consent of the Homage, grant by copy of court roll any part of the waste thereof, to be holden in fee according to the custom of the manor, at a reasonable rent and by the customary services, or may with such consent grant or demise the same for any lesser estate or interest.
'And the Homage of this Court do further present that the commonable land within the manor and township of Hitchin consistsof—
1st. Green Commons in the township of Hitchin.
'Divers parcels of ground called the Green Commons, the soil whereof remains in the lord of the said manor (that is to say):
'Butts Close, containing eight acres or thereabouts; Orton Mead, containing forty acres or thereabouts, exclusively of the Haydons, and extending from the Old Road from Hitchin to Pirton by Orton Head Spring west unto the way which passes through Orton Mill Yard east; and that the Haydons on the east of the last mentioned way, containing four acres or thereabouts, are parts of the same common, and include a parcel of ground containing one rood and thirteen perches or thereabouts adjoining the river, which have been fenced from the rest of the common by Samuel Allen; and the ground called the Plats lying between Bury Mead and Cock Mead, containing two acres or thereabouts, including the slip of ground between the river and the way leading to the mill of the said John[p448]Ransom, lately called Burnt Mill, and now called Grove Mill, which hath been fenced off and planted by John Ransom.
2nd. Lammas Meadows.
'And of the lands of divers persons called the Lammas Meadows in Cock Mead, which contain eighteen acres or thereabouts, and in Bury Mead, which contains forty-five acres or thereabouts, including a parcel of land of the Rev. Woollaston Pym, clerk, called Old Hale.
3rd. Common fields.
'And of the open and unenclosed land within the several common fields, called Purwell Field, Welshman's Croft, Burford Field, Spital Field, Moremead Field, and Bury Field.
Right of common.
'That the occupier of every ancient messuage or cottage within the township of Hitchin hath a right of common for such cattle and at such times as are hereinafter specified upon the Green Commons and the Lammas Meadows, but no person hath any right of common within this township as appurtenant to or in respect of any messuage or cottage built since the expiration of the 13th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, unless the same shall have been erected on the site of an ancient messuage then standing.
'That any person having right of common in respect of the messuage or cottage in his actual occupation may turn on the Green Commons and the Lammas Meadows two cows and one bullock, or cow calf under the age of two years.
Common bull.
'That the rectors impropriate of the rectory of the parish of Hitchin or their lessees of the said rectory are bound to find a bull for the cows of the said township, and to go with the herd thereof, and that no other bull or bull calf may be turned on the commons.
'That Butts Close is the sole cow common from the 6th day of April, being Old Lady-day inclusive, to the 12th day of May also inclusive, and after that time is used for collecting in the morning the herd going out to the other commons.
'That Orton Mead, including the Haydons, is an open common upon and from the thirteenth day of May, called Old May-day, till the fourteenth day of February, called Old Candlemas Day.[p449]
'That the Plats are an open common upon and from Whitsunday till the 6th day of April.
'That Cock Mead and Bury Mead became commonable on the thirteenth day of August, called Old Lammas Day, and continue open till the 6th day of April.
'That the common fields called Bury Field and Welshman's Croft are commonable for cows only from the time when the corn is cut and carried therefrom until the twelfth day of November, called All Saints', and that the close of Thomas Wilshire, gentleman, called Bury Field Close, is part of the common field called Bury Field, and the closes of John Crouch Priest, called Ickleford Closes, are part of Welshman's Croft, and are respectively commonable at the same times with the other parts of such respective common fields.
'That every occupier of an ancient messuage or cottage hath right of common upon the Green Commons, except Butts Close, for one gelding from and after the thirteenth day of August until the fourteenth day of February.
'That no person entitled to common for his cattle may turn or suffer the same to remain on any of the commons between the hours of six in the evening and six in the morning.
'That it is the duty of the Homage at every Great Court Baron holden next after the Feast of St. Michael to appoint a herdsman for this township, and that every commoner turning his cows upon the commons is bound to pay a reasonable sum, to be from time to time assessed by the Homage, for the expenses of scouring the ditches, repairing the fences and hedges, and doing other necessary works for the preservation of the commons and for the wages of the herdsman. And the Homage of this Court assess and present such payments at one shilling for every head of cattle turned on the commons, payable by each commoner on the first day in every year on which he shall turn his cattle upon the commons, to be paid to the foreman of the Homage of the preceding Court Baron, and applied in and towards such expenses. And that the further sum of threepence be paid on Monday weekly for every head of cattle which any[p450]commoner shall turn or keep on the commons for the wages of the herdsman.
'That the cattle to be depastured on the commons ought to be delivered or sent by the owners to Butts Close between the hours of six and eight of the morning from the sixth day of April to the eleventh day of October, both inclusive; and after the eleventh of October between the hours of seven and nine of the morning. And that it is the duty of the herdsman to attend there during such hours, and to receive into his care the cattle brought to him, and to conduct them to the proper commons, and to attend and watch them there during the day, and to return them to the respective owners at six o'clock in the evening or as near thereto as may be; but no cow which is not brought to the herdsman within the hours before appointed for collecting the herd is considered as part of the herd or to be under the herdsman's care; and that no horned cattle ought to be received into the herd without sufficient knobs on their horns.
The common fields.
'That every occupier of unenclosed land in any of the common fields of the said township hath common of pasture for his sheep levant and couchant thereon over the residue of the unenclosed land in the same common field, in every year from the time when the corn is cut and carried until the same be again sown with corn, and during the whole of the fallow season, save that no sheep may be depastured on the land in Bury Field and Welshman's Croft between the harvest and the twelfth day of November, the herbage thereof from the harvest to the twelfth day of November being reserved for the cows.
The three seasons.
'That the common fields within the township of Hitchin have immemorially been and ought to be kept and cultivated in three successive seasons of tilthgrain, etchgrain, and fallow.
'That the last fallow season of Purwell Field and Welshman's Croft was from the harvest of 1816 until the wheat sowing in the autumn of 1817; and that the fallow season[p451]of those fields commenced again at the close of the last harvest. That the last fallow season of Burford Field and Spital Field was from the harvest of the year 1817 until the wheat sowing in the autumn of the year 1818. And the last fallow season of Moremead Field and Bury Field was from the harvest of 1818 until the wheat sowing of 1819.
'That no person hath any right of common for sheep on any of the Green Commons or Lammas ground within this township except on Old Hale and on the closes of John Crouch Priest, called Ickleford Closes, which are commonable for sheep at the same time with the field called Welshman's Croft.
Right of enclosure giving up right of common.
'The Homage find and present that every owner and every occupier of land in any of the common fields of this township may at his will and pleasure enclose and fence any of his land lying in the common fields of this township (other than and except land in Bury Field and Welshman's Croft), and may, so long as the same shall remain so enclosed and fenced, hold such land, whether the same belong to one or to more than one proprietor, exempt from any right or power of any other owner or occupier of land in the said township to common or depasture his sheep on the land so enclosed and fenced (no right of common on other land being claimed in respect of the land so enclosed and fenced).
'The Homage also find and present that the commonable lands in the hamlet of Walsworth within this manor consist of—
Walsworth Common.
'A parcel of meadow ground called Walsworth Common, containing fourteen acres or thereabouts, the soil whereof remains in the lord of the manor.
'And of certain parcels of meadow called Lammas Meadow (that is to say), the Leys, part of the estate of Sir Francis Sykes adjoining to Walsworth Common, and containing four acres or thereabouts; Ickleford Mead, containing two acres or thereabouts; Ralph's Pightle, adjoining to Highover Moor, containing one acre or thereabouts, Woolgroves, containing three acres or thereabouts, lying near to the mill of John Ransom, heretofore called Burnt Mill, and now called Grove Mill.[p452]
'A close called the Hills, containing two acres or thereabouts, on the west side of the road from Hitchin to Baldock, and a parcel of land called the Shadwells on the east side of the same road, and divided by the river, containing twelve acres or thereabouts.
'And they find and present that four several parcels of land hereinafter described have been by John Ransom enclosed and fenced out from the said Lammas ground called Woolgroves, and are now by him held in severalty.
'And that the same are and always have been parts of the commonable land of the said hamlet (to wit): A piece of land containing twenty-one perches or thereabouts on the south-west side of the present course of the river, and between the same and the old course; a piece of land containing twelve perches or thereabouts, now by the alteration of the course of the river surrounded by water; a piece of land on the north-east side of Woolgroves, containing one rood and twenty-two perches or thereabouts; and a piece of land at the south-east corner of Woolgroves, containing one rood or thereabouts.
'And the Homage find and present that the occupier of every ancient messuage or cottage within the hamlet of Walsworth hath a right to turn and depasture on the commonable land thereof, in respect of and as appurtenant to his messuage or cottage, two cows and a bullock or yearling cow calf upon and from the thirteenth day of May, called Old May-day, until the sixth day of April, called Old Lady-day, and one horse upon and from the said thirteenth day of May until the thirteenth day of August, called Old Lammas-day, and hath a right to turn the like number of cattle upon the Lammas ground in Walsworth upon and from Old Lammas-day until Old Lady-day. That no person hath a right to common or turn any sheep upon the said common called Walsworth Commons, and that no sheep may be turned on the Lammas ground of Walsworth between Old Lammas-day and the last day of November.
'The Homage also present that it is the duty of the Homage of this Court at every Great Court Baron yearly holden next after the Feast of St. Michael, upon the[p453]application and request of any of the persons entitled to common the cattle upon the commons within the hamlet of Walsworth, to appoint a herdsman for the said hamlet, and to fix and assess a reasonable sum to be paid to him for his wages, and also a reasonable sum to be paid by the commoners for draining and fencing the commons.
'This Court was then adjourned to Monday, the first day of November next.'SignedThos. Jeeves(Foreman).Samuel Smith.John Marshall.Willm. Dunnage.Wm. Bloom.Robt. Newton.Willm. Hall.Wm. Martin.Thos. Waller.Geo. Beaver.W. Sworder.John Moore.'
'This Court was then adjourned to Monday, the first day of November next.
'SignedThos. Jeeves(Foreman).Samuel Smith.John Marshall.Willm. Dunnage.Wm. Bloom.Robt. Newton.Willm. Hall.Wm. Martin.Thos. Waller.Geo. Beaver.W. Sworder.John Moore.'