Part 1

HOW TO WRITE THE HISTORY OF A PARISH.

HOW TO WRITE THE HISTORY OF A PARISH.

BY J. CHARLES COX,

AUTHOR OF “NOTES ON THE CHURCHES OF DERBYSHIRE,” ETC.

“Every man’s concern with the place where he lives, has something more in it than the mere amount of rates and taxes that he has to pay.”--_Toulmin Smith._

LONDON: BEMROSE & SONS, 10, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS; AND DERBY. 1879.

ENTERED AT STATIONERS’ HALL.

TO THE REV. THOMAS PRESTON NOWELL BAXTER, M.A., (LATE FELLOW OF ST. CATHARINE’S COLL., CAMBRIDGE.) RECTOR OF HAWERBY, AND RURAL DEAN, WHO FIRST SUGGESTED THE WRITING OF THIS LITTLE HAND-BOOK, THESE PAGES ARE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

PREFACE.

Some of the Clergy of the Diocese of Lincoln are responsible for the issue of this booklet. A much-needed county history of Lincolnshire is now being projected, upon the basis of separate parochial histories. A circular put forth in one of the rural deaneries was good enough to refer in laudatory terms to the introduction to the first volume of my _Notes on the Churches of Derbyshire_. This led to my being asked to re-publish that introduction; but it applied so peculiarly to Derbyshire that I felt it would be of small avail to those outside the county. Hence I decided to put together some hints that might prove a help to those who may be desirous of undertaking parochial history in any part of the kingdom, whether manorial, ecclesiastical, or both. In the first part of these pages I am indebted to Thomas’s “Handbook to the Public Records,” and more especially to Sims’s invaluable “Manual for the Topographer and Genealogist;” but I have not referred to any class of documents with which I am not in some measure personally conversant.

Those who have been engaged in any literary work are well aware how large a portion of time is often spent in merely learning the titles and somewhat of the contents of those books that treat of the different branches of the subject selected. Various books connected with parochial history, especially those that have been proved by experience to be the best hand-books, are therefore mentioned in these pages to facilitate reference. Space only has prevented me from considerably adding both to their number and description, but any further knowledge that I may have gleaned on topographical literature is heartily at the disposal of any _worker_ who may privately apply to me.

I shall be grateful for any correction of errors, or for any suggestion as to deficiencies.

ABBREVIATIONS.

P.R.O.--For the Public Record Office. Almost the whole of our national records, which were until recently in upwards of half-a-dozen different buildings, are now under one roof in Fetter Lane, Fleet Street. All documents mentioned in the following pages must be understood to be at the Public Record Office, unless it is otherwise stated. Several of the earlier folio publications of the Record Commissioners, to which reference is herein made, are out of print, but they are to be found in most of our public libraries.

B. M.--For the Library of the British Museum.

B.--For the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

C.--For the University Library, Cambridge.

HOW TO WRITE THE HISTORY OF A PARISH.

Etymology.

Not only should the etymology of the name of the parish be carefully considered, and its various forms of spelling be collected, from Domesday Book downwards, but a list should be made of the whole of the names of the physical features, such as hills, streams, and lanes, and especially of the field-names. Field-names--which will often establish the sites of disused chapels or manor-houses, of Celtic burials or Roman roads, as well as help to decide the nationality of the colonists that predominated in the district--can be sometimes gleaned from old private estate maps, or other exceptional sources, but the “Award” maps of Inclosure Commissioners from 1710 downwards, or the Tithe Commutation maps of 1836, are the chief and most reliable sources. These maps should be in most parish chests, but they have often illegally strayed into the private hands of solicitors, churchwardens, etc. When lost or difficult of access, the original maps can usually be seen at the offices of the Copyhold Inclosure and Tithe Commission, 3, St. James’s Square, on payment of 2s. 6d.; but under certain Acts the originals will be found, or rather ought to be found and to be accessible, at the Clerk of the Peace’s office for the county.

The best hand-books on local etymology are--Taylor’s “Words and Places,” and Edmund’s “Names of Places.” Leo on “The Local Nomenclature of the Anglo-Saxons,” Charnock’s “Local Etymology and Derivative Dictionary,” and Ferguson’s “River Names,” and “Teutonic Name System” may also be consulted with advantage.

“Prehistoric” Remains.

If there are any so-called “Druidical” (almost invariably a complete misnomer) or other “prehistoric” remains of that class, not a word should be written respecting them until Fergusson’s “Rude Stone Monuments” has been thoroughly digested. Though published in 1872, not one of the old-fashioned antiquaries has made any serious attempt to refute its conclusions.

The best work on tumuli, or barrows, is Canon Greenwell’s “British Barrows.” See also Bateman’s “Ten Years’ Diggings in Celtic and Saxon Grave Hills.” The two last essays of Sir John Lubbock’s “Scientific Lectures” give a popular account of that branch of prehistoric archæology which deals with the palæolithic and neolithic periods, _i.e._, with the races who respectively used the chipped and ground weapons of stone.

History of the Manor.

THE ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE, and other Old English chronicles, should be consulted for possible early mention of the parish. Most of these have been cheaply printed in an English dress in Bohn’s Antiquarian Series. In Kemble’s “Saxons in England” will be found a good list of the old tribal divisions into “marks.” Thorpe’s _Diplomatarium Anglicum Ævi Saxonici_ is an admirable collection of early charters (with translations); some of the wills contain many place-names; the volume is indifferently indexed.

THE DOMESDAY BOOK, compiled in 1085-6, is preserved at the Chapter House, Westminster. It gives particulars of all the different manors throughout England, excepting those of Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Durham. It was printed in two large volumes in 1783, and a third volume of indexes and introductory matter added in 1811. A most valuable “General Introduction” was published in 1833, by Sir Henry Ellis. The Ordnance Survey have recently brought out a fac-simile edition of the Domesday Book, produced by Photo-zincography, which can be obtained in separate counties. The extended text and translation of most counties can also be procured.

The Book of Exeter and the Book of Ely are of the same date, and no doubt copied from the same returns as Domesday Book itself, but they contain many more details. The former, preserved at Exeter Cathedral, comprises the counties of Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall; the latter, now in the British Museum, relates to Cambridge, Hertford, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Huntingdon. The Book of Winchester (Society of Antiquaries) relates to that borough; it was made in 1148. The Boldon Book is a survey of the county palatinate of Durham, taken in 1183; there are three copies, two at Durham, and one at the Bodleian. These four minor Surveys were published by the Record Commissioners in one volume in 1816.

KNIGHT’S FEES. When England was subdivided by the Conqueror among his vassals, the feudal custom of supplying the crown with a certain number of knights was imposed upon them. The number of knights that had to be furnished was specified in the infeoffment. These knights, in their turn, held lands from the immediate tenants of the crown, which were owned by homage, fealty, and a great variety of tenures, as well as by direct payments in money. Some tenures were merely nominal, such as a grain of cummin, or a red rose; others were of more or less value, such as a pair of white gloves, a tun of wine, a gold spur, or a silver salver; and others by such service as holding the lord’s stirrup, keeping a pack of hounds, etc., etc. See Blount’s “Ancient Tenures.” The lands of these knights were termed “Fees,” and composed the barony of a crown vassal. A knight’s fee was supposed to be so much land as would suffice to maintain him, and to enable him to present himself and his retainers ready equipped for the field in times of emergency. Hence a “Knight’s Fee,” as applied to land, represents no definite quantity, but a variable amount, generally between one and five hundred acres of cultivable land. The term is also sometimes used for the rent paid to the lord for the fee.

It is easy, then, to see that it became essential to the Crown, both for monetary and judicial purposes, as well national as local, to know from time to time the exact position of their vassals and sub-vassals. Hence, Inquisitions were held up and down the country before local sworn juries, and the barons made returns of that which they held, and which was held under them. These returns are among the earliest of our national records; and though brief, are invaluable, from their absolute authenticity, to the genealogist and local historian. The chief documents of this class are the _Black Book of the Exchequer, temp._ Henry II., the original of which is in the P. R. O., but three manuscript copies are in the B. M., C., and B. respectively, and it was published (but imperfectly, and not from the original) by Hearn, in two vols., 8vo., last century; the _Scutage_ and the _Marshall Rolls, temp._, Edw. I. & II., P. R. O.; various lists of Tenants in Capite in our different public libraries; and, most important, the _Testa de Neville_. The last-mentioned of these documents consists of two ancient volumes compiled _temp._ Edw. II., now in the P. R. O. They consist of Inquisitions, taken _temp._ Henry III. and Edw. I., respecting the Fees held immediately or otherwise of the King, throughout the whole of England, excepting the counties of Cambridge, Cheshire, Durham, Lancashire, and Monmouthshire. These records were officially printed in one vol., folio, in 1807; there are many errors in the spelling of place-names, but these can for the most part be readily detected by any one having local knowledge. Another folio volume, printed in 1802, is the _Nonarum Inquisitiones_; it is of some value, and may, perhaps, be fairly included under the head of “Knight’s Fees.” It consists, in the main, of the finding upon oath by the parishioners, of the value of the ninth lamb, fleece, and sheep, and in cities and boroughs of the ninth of goods and chattels, which by an Act 14 Edw. III. were to be levied as a tax for two years towards the expenditure in the Scotch and French wars. The rolls abound in the names of jurymen, commissioners, and landowners. The published volume only contains the returns from twenty-seven counties, but the Nona Rolls for most of the missing ones, _e.g._, Derby, Hertford, Northumberland, and Warwick, have since been found. MS. indexes of these will be found in the small books lettered “Exchequer Subsidies” in the search room of the P. R. O.

ROTULI. Under the general head of “Rolls,” some of the most important of our national documents have to be briefly considered.

The Great Rolls of the Exchequer, otherwise called the _Pipe Rolls_, are all but perfect from 2 Henry II. to the present time; and there is one roll of 31 Henry I., the oldest national document now extant after the Domesday Book. They relate to the revenues of the Crown, digested under the heads of the several counties. They are of much interest and utility in early pedigrees, and relate to a far wider range of subjects than Crown lands, as the Crown revenues come from so great a diversity of sources. The originals are in the P. R. O., but most of the rolls are in duplicate at the B. M. Several volumes of transcripts are in the B. M. and B. The Rolls for the 31 Henry I.; 3 John; 2, 3, and 4, Henry II.; and 1 Richard I., have been published by the Record Commissioners.

The _Patent Rolls_ commence with 3 John, and are fairly perfect up to the present time. On them are entered all grants of lands, offices, honours, pensions, and particulars of individual or corporate privileges, etc., etc. These invaluable Rolls are unfortunately not indexed. A folio calendar of those from John to 23 Edward IV., was printed in 1802, but it is only a capriciously made selection. Those from the 3rd to 18th John have since been printed in full, with an admirable introduction. In the B. M. are many volumes of selections and extracts for particular periods. Manorial grants of “free warren” in these rolls will often supply a missing link in the history of a manor.

The difference between the documents entered on the _Close Rolls_, and the Patent Rolls, is that royal letters patent were delivered _open_, with the Great Seal appended, and were supposed to be of a public nature and addressed to all the king’s subjects; whilst the Close Rolls contain entries of such instruments as were despatched _closed_ or sealed up, and were of a more private nature. These rolls begin in 1204. From that time to 11 Henry III., they have been printed in full in two folio volumes. There are various copies and transcripts of particular parts in the B.M., B., and C., and in the libraries of Lincoln’s Inn and Inner Temple. The rolls are of infinite variety and importance. Among the subjects treated of are--Royal Prerogatives, Homage, Fealty, Knight’s Service, Treasure Trove, Gold and Silver Mining, Bail and Pardons, Livery of Lands, Assignment of Dowers, Wardship of Minors, Repairs of Bridges, etc., etc. They often, therefore, contain unexpected fragments of local history connected with apparently insignificant parishes, and are even more fruitful than the better known Patent Rolls.

The _Charter Rolls_ contain a good deal of duplicate matter to that on the Patent Rolls. They chiefly consist of grants of privileges to religious houses, cities, and towns, and grants of markets, fairs, and free warren to individuals. Charters, like Letters Patent, passed under the Great Seal; but a charter differed from a patent inasmuch as the former was witnessed by the council or by such persons as were present at its execution, and the latter was solely executed by the king. The Charter Rolls extend from 1199 to 1483. A complete calendar of these rolls, well indexed, was published in 1803, and the rolls themselves of the reign of John, were also published by the Record Commissioners in 1837.

The _Fine Rolls_ contain accounts of fines paid to the Crown for licenses to alienate lands, for freedom from knight service, or being knighted, for renewals of various charters, etc., etc. They begin in the time of Richard I. The Fine Rolls of John, and extracts from those of Henry III., have been published by the Commissioners in three 8vo. volumes. They are to be distinguished from the important _Pedes Finium_, subsequently explained.

The _Originalia_ are described in the Public Records Report as “the Estreats transmitted from the Court of Chancery into this (Exchequer) office, of all grants of the Crown inrolled on the Patent and other Rolls, whereon any rent is reserved, any salary payable, or any service performed.” These rolls commence early in the reign of Henry III. An abstract, in two folio volumes, of the Originalia from 20 Henry III. to the end of Edward III., was published by the Commissioners in 1805. Similar abstracts from 1 Richard II., to end of James II., were prepared for printing, but never published; the MS. of this work is in the B. M. An index to the Originalia was published in 1793, by Mr. Edward Jones, in two folio volumes. Those who have had occasion to use Mr. Jones’s index know that the judgment “very useful, but very imperfect,” is true in each particular.

The _Hundred Rolls_ will often prove to be of the greatest interest for one period of manorial history. During the turbulent reign of Henry III., the Crown revenues had been much diminished by the Tenants in Capite alienating lands without license, and by powerful ecclesiastics and laymen usurping the rights of holding courts, and committing other encroachments. The people, too, had been greatly oppressed by exactions and oppressions at the hands of sheriffs and other officers, and by false claims to free warren and illegal tolls. One of the first acts of Edward I., on his return from the Holy Land, at his father’s death, was to remedy these abuses. The circuit of the itinerant justices was only usually made once in seven years, therefore the king appointed Special Commissioners for inquiring into these grievances throughout the realm. These rolls are the result of the inquisitions taken in pursuance of this commission. They afford evidence, upon the oath of a jury of each hundred and town of--all demesne lands and manors then or formerly in the hands of the Crown--all tenants in capite and tenants in ancient demesne--alienations to the Church--rights of free warren, fisheries, etc.--oppressions of nobility and clergy--exactions of excessive toll--unlawful trading--encroachments on highways, etc., etc. The whole of these rolls were published by the Record Commissioners in 1812-18, in two large folio volumes, but are not now to be purchased. “The genealogist may estimate the assistance these volumes are capable of affording, when it is mentioned that the Indices of Names contain references to about 70,000 persons.” The mis-spelling of place-names is sometimes a little misleading, but ordinary care will rectify this, as the returns are arranged in counties. The rolls, as printed, may be fairly relied on for historical purposes, without the trouble of collating the originals.

PLACITA. The pleadings of our several courts, with the judgments thereon, have been for many centuries entered on rolls. The greater part of these are termed Placita, or pleading Rolls. Their important bearing on manorial history is obvious. There is scarcely a manor in the kingdom that had not occasion, on an average of at least once a century, to put in an appearance in one or other of the courts on some matter involving litigation.

Under our Norman kings, all pleadings were originally heard _Aula sive Curia Regis_, in the hall or court of the king’s palace. In aid of the King’s Court, itinerant justices were first appointed _temp._ Henry I., and were finally established 22 Henry II. Towards the end of the reign of Richard I., the Curia Regis was subdivided into courts of Exchequer and Chancery, whilst the king’s court still retained pleas immediately touching the Crown, and also common pleas, both civil and criminal. The Magna Charta, 17 John, separated the Common Pleas from the royal court, after which the Curia Regis continued to be the superior court of law for criminal matters, and early in the reign of Edward I. lost its more ancient title and became known as the Court of King’s Bench.

The _Rotuli Curia Regis_ have been printed in full, from 6 Richard I. to 1 John, by the Record Commissioners, in two 8vo. volumes. The same rolls, in addition to those of the King’s Bench, down to the end of the reign of Edward II., were, in 1811, elaborately calendared and indexed by the Commissioners in a valuable folio volume, under the title--_Placitorum in Domo Capitulari Westmonasteriensi asservatorum Abbreviatio_, but the rolls are now in the P. R. O. The abstract has been made after a fickle fashion, some pleadings are given in full, whilst many others of more importance are condensed into a couple of lines; and there is nothing in the volume to tell the student whether they are abbreviated or not.

The earliest provincial courts were those of the Itinerant Justices, or Justices in Eyre (from the Norman-French word _erre_, a journey); they held criminal and common pleas, and also pleas of the forest. These justices afterwards gave way to Circuit Judges, and the Justices in Eyre then became only another name for the _Justices of the Forest_. If there is or has been any royal Forest or Chace within the parish under consideration, special search should be made for its records. Most of the early proceedings relative to forests are entered on the Patent Rolls; a considerable number of the ancient perambulations and inquisitions have been printed in various reports made at different dates. Copies of these reports, bound in two large volumes, can be consulted at the P. R. O. Extracts from the rolls, relative to the forests, for special periods may be found both at the P. R. O. and the B. M. The forest perambulations for the reigns of Henry III. and Edward I. have been completely indexed.

Those rolls that may properly be termed _Records of Assize_ commence 6 Richard I., and end with the reign of Edward IV. In the B. M. are many MS. volumes of _Placita Itinerum_ pertaining to different reigns and different counties.

In 1818 the Record Commissioners published an important folio volume, entitled _Placita de Quo Warranto temporibus Edw. I., II., III._, which forms an interesting sequel to the Hundred Rolls. The Hundred Rolls, as already mentioned, gave a great mass of sworn information as to abuses. Those persons thus charged were summoned to answer “_Quo Warranto_” such and such things were done or left undone? or by what right such and such manors, etc., were held? This volume contains a full transcript of the roll of the pleadings in answer to these summonses, and the judgments thereon. Its utility in manorial history cannot be exaggerated, as the descent of the manor is often traced back in these pleadings to the time of John or even earlier. The rolls are arranged under counties, and include the whole of England, with the exception of the palatinate of Durham.

The earliest records of the _Court of Chancery_ are of the 17th year of Richard II., the previous documents having been destroyed in the Wat Tyler rebellion. There are no petitions extant to the Chancellor of the reign of Henry IV., and but few of Henry V., but from the beginning of the reign of Henry VI. they seem to have been kept with much regularity. Calendars of the Chancery proceedings of the reign of Elizabeth were published in three volumes folio, 1827-32. In the introduction to this work are many examples of the earlier proceedings of that court from Richard II. downwards. It is hardly necessary to add that the bills of complaint, and their answers, filed in this court, often contain abundant information as to manorial descent. Numerous MS. volumes of indexes to Chancery proceedings are at the service of the searcher in the P. R. O.