Notes and Extracts from the County Records
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BEDFORDSHIRE C OUNTY REC ORDS. N o t e s an d E x t rac t s FRO M TH E O U N TY RE C O RD C S , B E IN G A C A L EN DA R O F O L D DEED S F O U N D IN T H E C U NTY M U N IM E NT R M O OO , And an IN DEX TO T HE DOC U M ENTS C ONTA IN ED IN TH E U I E R M N M NT OOM . V O L U M E I I I . Th e C al end ar o D eed s was c om i l ed b Mes srs HARD Y cfi PAGE f p y . Y E D S EE COUNT R COR CO MMITT . o f The Chairman the County Council , 1 - o E x ofi a . V — o f The ice Chairman the Council , J b County Councillor Hugh Cum erland . M V A E P o . County lderman Rowland dmund rother , O A County lderman Rob ert Richmond . L County Alderman Edward Thurlow eeds Smi th . A W County lderman George arren . W County Alderman Samuel hit b read . o A P W W C unty lderman the Rev . aul illiams yatt INTRODUCTORY NOTE. HE pub lication o f this third volume is due to a fortunate In o f accident . a final sorting documents and volumes in the Muniment Room an old b rief b ag was discovered under b o ne o f o f the stairs y the senior Clerks, the contents which were at once shown by th e Clerk o f the Council to th e Memb ers o f the o f County R ecords Committee . The Clerk and the Chairman the o f f th e Committee were opinion, even rom a cursory inspection, that value o f some o f th e documents was suffi cient to warrant the expense o f x o f t h e b n e pert advice , and the whole u dles were accordingly P . handed over to Messrs. Hardy and age Their report confirmed the i m f o f suspic on , and the Com ittee urther ordered the translation several A D . b documents, especially those contained in . to The most valua le D h as f C i s . find that marked , which been photographed , a ramed opy b o f being hung in the Common Room . Other undles contain matter much local and national interest . - 2 8 c o n tain s a b o f D w The first Bundle (p p . 9 ) num er eeds hich f o f o f apart rom other points interest, illustrate the open field system f u o f 1 8th f f arming, under which , p to the middle the century, ully hal the land o f Bedford shire was cultivated . The arable land o f the village farm was divided generally into T . O f c ult uraa. three , more rarely into two , fields hese are the the three arab le fields one in each year was tilled fo r wheat or rye another was as b s under spring crops, such arley , oats , pea e or beans the third was f f lay fallow. It there ore necessary that each partner in the arm o f his o f should have a portion holding in each the fields. But equal f conditions could only b e secured by a urther division . In order that I b ad each partner might share n equal proportion the good , and ff u indi erent land , the holdings were cut p into strips, and scattered all over each field . 4 It b e W H o d k ns No . 1 0 6 I will seen that illiam g y ( 3) held , in 5 , 7 acres o f arable land in 1 8 separate parcels and that Reynold Squye r N o 1 2 0 I I . ( . 7 ) held, in 5 , 7 5 acres in separate parcels - was ff o f The sub division e ected thus . Each the three great was o f b o f b arable fields made up a num er parts, called y various ff o f names in di erent parts the country, and apparently known in “ f f f as f . o Bed ordshire urlongs In theory, each urlong was a square I O 4 0 poles containing acres ; in practice the size and shape varied . o f f b o f Breadths rough unploughed tur , known y a number provincial “ ” o f f names, which balks were most common, divided the urlongs f f f . o rom one another Two sides each urlong were always parallel , and the whole area was cut up into parallel strips corresponding to the f if f o . ridges and urrows a ploughed field These strips, they consisted 2 2 0 2 2 o f one acre were yards in length by yards (4 rods) broad . They might consist o f a larger or smaller area b ut the length was th e f f f o . same , being the urrow length the urlong It was the width which 2 - 8 f- 2 varied . Thus a acre strip would be rods ; a hal acre, rods ; a — W I . i s Ho d k n s quarter acre , rod , in width It these strips that illiam g y ” I 0 6 S u er 1 2 0 grants in 5 , and that Reynold q y sells in 5 4 These intermixed strips o f arab le land are called b y a great variety “ o f u N o I o f s lio ns local names. In B ndle . they are spoken as e “ ” “ ” “ “ ” (L incolnshire; lands (Notts . ) b alks (Cambs ) ; ridges (the rigs or “ ” o f S o rth umb erland f riggs cotland and N ) . It there ore seems that no was f one term peculiar to Bed ordshire . A ny portions o f land which did not fit In with the parallel arrange ment o f the furlong were called b y various names Pygh te l seems in Bedfordshire to b e the most common term . Gore also appears “ K ( G ore Hedge as in ensington Gore . ) When the strips were cut short i n length b y encountering some natural obstacle or boundary , i b as I these stunted port ons were called utts ( n Newington Butts . ) In N o 2 0 b e A . it will noticed that Thomas nglissaye sells In I 5 7 0 f . o f a headland In the common cultivation the village arm, each part th ner turned e plough on the headland . The plough in use was a a o f f i b . s x cumbrous implement , drawn y team rom to eight oxen, and s o long as to necessitate that sinuous approach which h as left i ts mark on many o f our old grasslands . Headlands could only themselves b e o h i s pl ughed , when every man had done own ploughing. They were f f In consequently o ten le t grass as rough pasture , subject to the right o f each partner in th e season o f plo ughing to turn on them No t f m m in requently, they changed hands separately the arab le land which f . O they served this practice this sale seems to have been an instance . O f f f B aste rfe ild s Bed ord surnames we have constant mention o the , o r B aske rfi e ld s i ar b , who surv ved to recent times . These e elieved to e f as re pr sent the once power ul Baskervilles, just the Trollys, who ' NU ' l‘ IC — A l l s i . in t e re t in g co ny o f a m an ( 1 840) o f t h e Te m nlo and To fto E s tat e s in S h am ' In o o k . no w in t h e os s s s i o n o f o un t C o unci ll o r Wh i t wo r h i ll us ra s h i p C y t , t s s s m e t te y te . f b e th e dwindled to one small and humble amily locally, are reputed to B amf rth s Traill s . A e t o de y gain, we g the Impies , Hawes, and , and Ursula O f b . Taylor, widow, who made many local charita le bequests street and site names and customs the most interesting are Sh e pysc h e pynge f P ’ S f A S St . alias ngel treet, running north rom auls quare in Bed ord ; - f E x n Butcher row, acing the New Corn cha ge ; the Maidenhead , in High ’ L as o f S. Street ; the Stonehouse or town prison ; St . oid s a variant L i f o f VVh ite - oyes, runn ng rom the north end horse street to the ’ f L F f o f boundaries o the Grey Friars St . eonards air and the trans er - B aulk e rights o f fishery and rush beds in the Ouse . O n e Balke or x f in o f th e e isted in Bed ord , the memory several older inhabitants, at “ o f W was fo r o f back old aterloo , which demolished the laying out the modern villas on the Embankment .