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WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGIGAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY 1Recorbs Jfirancb VOLUME XIII FOR THE YEAR 1957 Second Impression photographically reprinted by Anton Hain, 1969 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY NORTHUMBERLAND PRESS LIMITED GATESHEAD ON TYNE CONTENTS PREFACE vii INTRODUCTION ix PROGRESS NoTES FOR ALTON BARNES 1 PROGRESS NoTES FOR STERT 18 PROGRESS NoTES FOR COLERNE 39 APPENDICES I Court Roll for the Manor of Alton Barnes, 1663 73 II Court Roll for the Manor of Colerne, 1659 75 III Court Roll for the Manor of Stert, 1660 82 IV Terrier of the Manor of Alton Barnes, 1659 85 V Terrier of the Parsonage of Alton Barnes, 1661 87 VI Rental of the Manor of Colerne, 1665 89 VII Terriers of lands in Colerne, 1669 91 VIII Terrier of land in Stert, c. 1667 95 IX Extract from Rent Audit Account, 1665 97 GENERAL INDEX 101 LIST OF MEMBERS 107 PUBLICATIONS or THE BRANCH 1 1 3 PREFACE The Branch is indebted to the Warden and Fellows of New College for permission to print these Progress Notes and manorial documents from the College Archives, and to reproduce the photograph of \Varden \'Voodward's monument. This acknowledgement of assistance in furthering the publication of this volume is made all the more warmly since the College is a member of the Branch and still a \/Vilt- shire landowner. Mr. Rickard has devoted much of his leisure during the past ten years to a study of Warden Woodward’s progresses. He has already printed those for the main College properties in Oxfordshire as Volume XXVII of the Oxfordshire Record Society’s Publications (1949) and those for Norfolk in the Norfolk Record Society's Miscellanea, Volume XXII (1951). The Branch is grateful to him not only for editing here the Progress Notes for the Manors of Alton Barnes, Colerne and Stert, but also for printing the text of various Court Rolls and other manorial documents, which are complementary to the Progresses. Taken together they provide a remarkably detailed picture of the College's administration of these estates during the later seventeenth century. N. ]. WILLIAMS. Northwood, December 1956. vii INTRODUCTION PROGRESSES AND MANORIAL COURTS The three principal documents printed in this volume are three small note-books kept by Michael Woodward, Warden of New College, of the progresses he made round the Wiltshire Manors belong- ing to the College between 1659 and 1675. From the foundation of the College such visitations have regularly been made to inspect properties, discuss problems with the tenants and to hold courts in accordance with the Statutes laid down by the Founder, under rubric 54.1 With the abolition of copyhold tenures by the Law of Property Act of 1925, a large part of the business of the progress, the holding of the Court Baron, was abandoned; yet these progresses by the Warden and the Outrider are still held each year. The Outrider represents the body of Fellows of the College, and in Woodward's time kept the purse while on progress. The presiding officer in each Court Baron was, however, the Steward of the Manor, for custom did not permit the Warden to be present in court. Although a number of details about proceedings are mentioned in Woodward's notes, for a full record of the court we must turn to the court rolls, kept by the steward. The text of certain rolls for the manors of Alton 1 ' Statuimus etiam, ordinamus, et volumus, quod statim post autumnum sine aliqua dilatione vel excusatione, videlicet ad ultimum ante principium mensis Octobris, fiat circuitus et progressus per ipsum Custodem et aliquem Sociorum discretum, aptum, ct circumspectum, et ad hoc per Collegium eligendum et deputandum; seu, ipso Custode per gravem infirmitatem seu alias legitime impedito, per Vicecustodem et eundem Socium; quo etiam Vicecustode legitime impedjto, per alium Socium ipsius Collegii dlscretiorem, per dictum Collegium eligendum, una cum Socio alio supradicto et Clerico computi dicti Collegii, ad omnia maneria ct beneficia et boscos quoscunque ad dictum Collegium spectantia; ad supervidendumstatum maneriorum, beneficiorum, ct boscorum, staurumque vivum et mortuum, videlicet equos, aflros, boves, vaccas, et earum vitulos, oves, bidentes, ct omnia alia animalia et'pecora cuiuscunque generis, et ad aestimandum et aestimari faciendum blada ingrangiata et quod idem Custos seu Vicecustos vel Socii praedicti in dicto circuitu praemuniat, seu praemuniri faciat omnes et singulos ballivos, praepositos, firmarios, et alios ministros quoscunque, quod sint parati ad certum diem infra mensem S-eptembris, seu ad ultimum infra mensem Octobris praedicti, quam citius lieri poterit, per ipsum Custodem seu Vicecustodem vel Socium eis limitandum, pro computis suis in Colleglo praedicto apud Oxoniam vel in ecclesiis suis vel maneriis, tunc reddendis.’ The text of this rubric as given in Statutes of the Colleges of Oxford, printed by H.M. Commissioners for inquiring into the state of the University of Oxford (1853), Vol. 1, ‘ Statutes of New College ’, p. 91, contains various inaccuracies—-notably ‘ apms ' for ' alfros '. ix X INTRODUCTION Barnes, Colerne and Stert during this period are printed here in the Appendix, together with various terriers and rentals which Woodward ordered the bailiffs to produce, and the relevant portion of the rent audit accounts for a specimen year. These documents in conjunction with the Progress Notes provide a remarkably detailed picture of the administration of these Wiltshire properties during the later seven- teenth century. The three manors were purchased by William of Wykeham for the endowment of his new foundation of St. Mary's College of Winchester, in Oxford, commonly called New College. He began to acquire land belonging to the manor of Alton Barnes with Shawe as early as 1370, the final purchase was made in 1375. The Royal licence for the alienation of the manor along with the advowson to New College is dated 3rd ]une 1 385.’ In 1387 Wykeham purchased the reversions of the manors of Colerne and Stert from Elizabeth daughter of William and Margaret Burghesh and wife of Edward le Despenser for 700 marks,” and in the following year conveyed the two manors together with the advowson of Colerne to New College,‘ and although a period of 500 years has passed the College is still the owner of the land at Alton Barnes and Stert granted to it by William of Wykeham. The property belonging to the Manor of Colerne was sold by the College at various dates in the later part of the nineteenth century, but the advowson still belongs to the College as well as that of Alton Barnes. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE STEWARD The late Mr. E. C. Ouvry, a former Steward of the Manors, has set out the proceedings of the courts. The Courts Baron, or Customary Courts, of the Warden and Scholars of New College in every Manor are summoned by Notice attached to the door or in the porch of the Parish Church about a week before they are held. "The Court is attended by certain of the copyhold known as ' the Homage ’. The jury being assembled, the Bailiff repeats after the Steward: ‘ Oyez! Oyezl Oyezl All manner of persons that were summoned to attend at this time and place draw near a11d answer to your name as you shall be called.’ The Steward, having called the names of the Jury from a list supplied by the Bailiff, directs the election of the Foreman by the Homage, who on his election makes oath that he will ‘ true presentment make of all such matters and things as shall be given ‘Cart. No. 37, 3 June, 8 Ric. II, Reg-istrum Evidentiarum, Vol. I, fol. 169. ' Cart. No. 4, 9 Nov., 11 Ric. II, ibid., Vol. III, fol. 95. ‘Cart. No. 1, 1 Apr., 12 Ric. II, 1'b1'd., Vol. III, fol. 96. INTRODUCTION xi him in charge and present the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth’. The ]ury are then sworn, each declaring that ' the same oath that our Foreman hath taken to observe and keep on my part ’. The Steward then delivers the charge to the ]ury in the following form: -— " ' Gentlemen, The design of our meeting at this time and place is to hold a Court Baron and Customary Court for the Lords of the Manor; it is therefore incumbent on me as Steward to give you in charge such things as are proper and necessary for your Enquiry and Con- sideration and then it will become your Duty as ]urymen in ]ustice to yourselves and neighbours and in discharge of the Oath you have now just taken to make due presentment thereof. " ' First you are to enquire who those are that owe Suit and Service to this Court and whether they are here to do and perform the same. As a Homage of the Customary Court you are to enquire what advantages have happened to the Lords since the last Court, either by Death, Alienation or Forfeiture. If you find the death of any Tenant it is your duty to enquire what lands he held of this Manor, and who is the next Taker that he may come in and be admitted. Also, if there have been any Alienation of the Estate held of this Manor, who the purchasers are, that the Lords may know of whom to expect their Rents and Services. Forfeitures happen divers ways the most material of which are: -—If any Tenant neglects or refuses to pay and perform his Rents and Services, of which his attendance at this Court is a material part, or if he suffers his Copyhold Tene- ment to go to decay or fall down, or takes away the buildings from one Estate to repair another or leases it for more than one year without a Licence.

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