Shottesbrook & White Waltham Inclosure Award 1810

This document is available at Berkshire Records Office under reference T/PCp 14A & 14B. The ‘p’ indicates a photostat copy of an enrolled record held in the National Archives. Also the “parish” copy is available under D/P 142/26A & 26B. Examined by Ross Kennedy at BRO on the 10th March 2004.

The document is hand written, and mostly clearly legible.

Unusually, this Inclosure jointly covers two parishes in a single award.

To begin with, the document initially sets down those involved, naming – Commissioner –Thomas Wyatt, late of Ives Place in Bray. He was sworn in by Moris Ximenes, JP If the surveyor was identified, I didn’t find it.

Next, the Acts of Parliament authorising the Inclosures are cited; GeoIII 47th year – “An Act for inclosing Lands within the Parishes of Shottesbrook and White Waltham otherwise Waltham Abbotts in the County of Berks” (this Act available at BRO under D/EX 27/1) GeoIII 41st year – “An Act for consolidating in one Act certain Provisons usually inserted in Acts of Inclosure and for facilitating the mode of proving the several facts usually required on the passing of such Acts” (this is a Public act available in most Statute references)

The Commissioner opens the awards proper by setting out the public & private roads; in the main these follow existing routes (indicated by the phrase “in its present course”)

AND I do hereby set out and appoint the following Public Carriage Roads and Highways and also Private Roads or Ways through and over the Lands and Grounds intended to be divided allotted and inclosed (that is to say) –

Private Roads

No.I The Turnpike Road One Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of Sixty feet in its present course being part of the Turnpike Road from Maidenhead to Reading.

No.II Bisham Road One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet branching out of the last described Road near the Cottage of Stephen Stuart and extending in its present course to the Parish of Bisham.

No.III Woolley Green Road to Cherry Garden Lane One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet branching out of the Parish of Cookham near the Cottage of William Grove and extending in its present course into a Lane leading from Woolley Green to White Waltham.

No.IV Littlewick Green Road All that Right of Road and Drift Way branching out of the Common in Hurley Parish. One other Road and Drift Way branching out of the same common between the Cottage Gardens belonging to Hannah Hudson and James Payne. And also between the Old Inclosures belonging to John Loveday and William Keeley and both extending over the Common of Pasture called Littlewick Green to a certain Lane at the South corne between Old Inclosures leading towards White Waltham. And also branching between the Old Inclosures of Mrs.Hudson and an Allotment to the said John Loveday.

No.V Shottesbrook Marsh Road One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet extending East and West over Shottesbrook Marsh on the South side of the Fish Ponds and branching Northward along the East side of the said Marsh towards the village of White Waltham and from the same point Southwards towards Smewins Farm.

No.VI South Lodge to Binfield One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet and of the length of two hundred and twenty yards or thereabouts extending from the South Lodge of Shottesbrook Park in a Southward direction and in its present course to a Lane leading towards Binfield.

No.VII Smewin’s Bridge Road One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet extending in a Southward direction from Shottesbrook Marsh to an ancient Lane between Old Inclosures continuing along the said Lane to and over Smewins Green to Smewins Bridge and from there into Bonfield Common in its present course.

No.VIII Pond Farm Road One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet branching out of the last described road on Smewins Green over the same in its present course to Pond Farm and from there into the next described Public Carriage Road near Brick Bridge

No.IX Brick Bridge to Red Stone One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet branching from the South end of the Road No.7 and extending Eastward in part along the South Boundary of the said Parish of Shottesbrook White Waltham to Brick Bridge and continuing Eastward to a place called Red Stone into the Parish of Bray.

No.X How Lane to Punters Bridge One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet branching out of Heathfield Lane in the Parish of Binfield near a bridge called Punters Bridge and extending in its present course crossing the last described Road to and along How Lane into the next described Road on Littlefield Green.

No.XI The Windsor Road on Littlefield Green One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet extending in its present course from near the premises of George Grant Esquire over Littlefield Green into the Parish of Bray near the premises of Richard Dix.

No.XII One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet branching out of the last described road near the Cottage of Richard Dix and extending in a Southward direction along Sheepcot Lane and from there Eastward into the Parish of Bray near the Old Elm at Tutrain[?] Lane End.

No.XIII One other Public Carriage Road and Drift Way of the breadth of thirty feet branching out of the said Public Road no.X near Punters Bridge and extending in a Southeastward direction along the boundary of the Parish of White Waltham to Westley Mill, and branching Eastward to New Mill and also to Strattons Wood.

Private Roads a. One Private Carriage Road of the breadth of thirty feet branching from the Angle of the Road No.XII near the Windmill and extending Southward to the Orchard of the said Mill and Westward between Allotments to William Watkins the Younger and to the Overseers of White Waltham to an Allotment to John Sawyer Esquire. b. One other Private Carriage Road of the breadth of twenty feet branching out of the Public Road No.IX near the Cottage of Benjamin Norris and extending Southward in front of the said Cottage to a certain Old Inclosure in the Parish of Bray in the Occupation of Thomas Parmenter. c. One other Private Carriage Road of the breadth of twenty five feet near the Cottage of Moses Foster from the Road No.XI to an Old Inclosure of Zachariah Foxhall. d. One other Private Carriage Road of the breadth of twenty feet branching out of the Public Road No.XI between allotments to John Sawyer Esquire and Moses Foster and extending Southwestward and Southeastward between certain Old Inclosures of Samuel Snowdon and Allotments to the Poor of White Waltham and to Elizabeth Goodchild to an Allotement to John Sawyer Esquire. e. One other Private Carriage Road of the breadth of twenty feet branching out of the Public Road No.XI between allotments to Samuel Snowdon into a Private Lane leading to a Farm belonging to the said Samuel Snowdon.

Which said several Private Roads are set out and appointed to and for the sole use of the Proprietors and Occupiers of the Lands to which such Private Roads may respectively lead and adjoin. And I do order and direct that the several Proprietors or Occupiers for the time being using the said respective Roads shall at all times for ever support and keep the same in repair in proportion to their interests therein and which together with the Public Roads before mentioned contain Eight Acres one Rood and twenty five Perches.

Herbage of Roads

And I do hereby Direct and Award that the Grass or Herbage which shall everafter arise within or upon the aforesaid Public and Private Carriage Roads and Highways herein before Awarded shall belong to and be the separate Property of the Occupier or Occupiers of the adjoining Allotments from the front of each Allotemnt to the centre of the said Roads respectively.

Watering Places

And I have set out and Allotted and do hereby Award unto the Proprietors of Lands within the said respective Parishes of White Waltham and Shottesbrook for the time being for ever the following parts of the Commons and Waste Lands as and for Public Watering Places for Cattle (that is to say) –

No.47 One Public Pond or Watering Place containing one rood and fifteen perches situate on Littlefield Green bounded on the East by an Allotment to James Smith on the South by the Road No.XI on the East and North by an Allotment and an Old Inclosure of the Overseers of the Poor of White Waltham.

No.57 One other Public Pond or Watering Place situate near Sheepcot Lane containing one rood and thirty perches bounded on the North by the Road numbered XI on the East by a Cottage Garden of John Headington on the South by an Old Inclosure of Richard Skinner and on the West by an Old Inclosure of and an Allotment to John Golding.

Gravel and Chalk

And I have also set out and Allotted and do hereby Award unto the Proprietors of Lands an the Surevyors of the Highways within the said respective Parishes of Shottesbrook and White Waltham for the time being the following parts of the Commons or Waste Grounds as and for Public Chalk or Gravel Pits for the use of such Surveyors of the Highways and the Proprietors of Lands Tenements and Heriditaments within the said Parishes respectively and their Tenants for the time being, that is to say –

No.95 All that piece or parcel of Land containing one acre situate near Hollirks[?] Wood bounded on the East and South by an Allotment to and the said Old Inclosed Wood of Arthur Vansittart Esquire on the South West by an Allotment to the Reverend William Vansittart, as Vicar, and on the North West by the Road No.X

No.22 And also all that piece or parcel of Land containing two acres and one perch situate near New England Wood bounded on the East and South by an Allotment to and the said Wood of the said Arthur Vansittart and on the North by the Road No.IX.

No.10 And also all that piece or parcel of Land containing one acre one rood and seventeen perches situate on Woolley Green bounded on the East by the Parish of Bray on the South by an Allotment to John Grove. The Fence to this Allotment being made shall be maintained by the Surveyors of the Highways for the time being for ever along the East side against the Parish of Bray.

No.4 And also all that piece or parcel of Land containing two roods and four perches situate near Wolley Green bounded on the North East by the Road No.II on part of the South by the Road No.I on the East and remainder of the South by the Cottage Garden of Stephen Stuart and on the North by the Parish of Bisham. The Fence to this Allotment being made to be maintained by the Surveyors of the Highways for the time being for ever along the North side against the Parish of Bisham.

No.2 And also all that piece or parcel of Land containing three roods and twenty four perches situate near the last, bounded on the East by an Allotment to the said Stephen Stuart, on the South by the Road No.I and on the North by the Parish of Bisham. The Fence to this Allotment having been made shall be maintained by the Surveyors of the Highways for the time being for ever along the North side against the said Parish of Bisham.

The remainder of the document sets out the individual allotments. The roads get mentioned many times as boundary references ; but none of these mentions adds any further understanding of contemporary status. Many of the land allotments comprise the excess width of the old highways. The grazing rights on Littlewick Green are set out in some detail. Maps

Two maps are associated with the Inclosure, covering the northern and southern areas of the joint parishes. Only detail of the areas affected by Inclosure is drawn – for example existing inclosures for Shottesbrook Park and White Waltham village are not detailed. Large areas of the parishes are not shown. Farms, bridges etc. are named to aid identification. The maps are oriented with north-east at the top approximately.

Most of the roads mapped are annotated; but not all – the remainder can be identified to particular awards from the descriptions. As an anomaly, the road from Road No.X to Westley Mill is annotated ‘Road C’ on the map. This would imply a ‘Private’ road; however, the description of Road C does not match up here (it is located off Road XI) whilst the description of Public Road XIII clearly matches the road drawn. As XIII is the last on the list, it may have been a late amendment to the Awards and the equivalent alteration to the map overlooked. Examination of another copy of the award map may resolve any query here.

Several footpaths are indicated on the maps, drawn as dotted lines and annotated “Foot way”. No footpaths were awarded, but neither is their any clause to stop up pre-existing ways over awarded lands.

I have transcribed the information as a coloured overlay onto a modern OS map. Railway, Aerodrome, Motorway and parish boundary moves have all effected change since 1810.