Part 2

The volumes known as the _Year Books_ contain reports in Norman-French of cases argued and decided in the Courts of Common Law. They form the basis of the “_lex non scripta_” of English jurisprudence, and are worthy of attention on account of the historical information and the notices of public and private persons which they contain. The frequent disputes about heirship cause them often to be of value in manorial history. These Reports begin in 1220, and an account of the different books, their dates, etc., may be found in Worrall’s “_Bibliotheca Legum Angliæ_,” 1788. Serjeant Maynard published an edition of early Year Books, in eleven volumes, in 1679. Several of those of the reign of Edward I. have been edited by the Record Commissioners. Lincoln’s Inn Library, and the University Library, Cambridge, have a great number of MS. Year Books. A work of much research, by Mr. Bigelow, has just been published, entitled “_Placita Anglo-Normannica_,” it is a history of the litigation and legal procedure of the temporal courts during the period from the Norman Conquest to the middle of the reign of Richard I. If there has been any early dispute about the manor or manorial rights, this volume should certainly be consulted.

INQUISITIONES. _Inquisitiones post mortem_, are not unfrequently termed “Escheats,” from the writs being directed to the county official called the Escheator; but the term is incorrect, and should never be used, for there is a class of documents correctly called _Escheat Rolls_, which differ altogether from these inquisitions, and refer to the escheator’s accounts of lands and property escheated to the crown from various causes, and the profits and value of the same at different periods. The _Inquisitio post mortem_, on the contrary, was an inquiry held on oath by a jury of the district, summoned by virtue of a writ directed to the county Escheator, on the death of every tenant in capite. The jury had to inquire (1) of what lands the person died seized, (2) by what rents or services the same were held, and (3) who was his next heir and of what age; they had also to ascertain whether the tenant was attainted of treason, or an alien, in which case the lands reverted to the crown. The return of the jury, together with the writ authorising the inquiry, were returned to the King’s Chancery, whence a transcript was sent to the Exchequer, so that the proper officers might be able to levy the duties and services thereupon due; for on the death of each tenant in capite, a tax termed a “relief” was due to the crown, and the heir could not take possession until the relief was paid and homage done. Moreover, if the heir was a minor, the crown administered the estates until he could make proof of his legal age and perform homage. The Exchequer transcripts of these Inquisitions, together in most cases with the writ, are still extant from the time of Henry III. down to the end of the reign of Charles I., that is, until the feudal land system was finally overthrown. Calendars, or short abstracts of these Inquisitions, carefully indexed, have been printed in four folio volumes by the Record Commissioners, 1806-1828, up to the end of the reign of Richard III. These calendars, which are invaluable for reference, must be used with caution, and should never be quoted as proving the death of any person by a particular date, for unfortunately not a few inquisitions that are not _post mortem_, but _ad quod damnum_, are included amongst them. There are also many errors in nomenclature, and in assigning manors to special counties; it is therefore wisest to make the rule of never quoting these inquisitions, unless the original has been seen, or a full transcript obtained. The inquisitions subsequent to the time of Richard III. have not been calendared. Private enterprise has more than once announced that such a work would be taken in hand, and subscribers names obtained, but up to the present time (1879) there seems no immediate prospect of publication.

The Record Commissioners have also published a Calendar to the Inquisitions of this class, pertaining to the Duchy of Lancaster, from the time of Edward I. to Charles I.

Extracts and abstracts from these Inquisitions, covering particular periods, or for particular counties, are numerous in our public libraries; for lists of such MSS., see Sims’ _Manual_, pp. 125-8.

Another form of inquisition was the _Inquisitio ad quod damnum_, which was a judicial inquiry, held by virtue of a writ directed to the Escheator of the county, when any license of alienation of lands, or grant of a market, fair, or other privilege was solicited. A local jury was sworn to inquire whether if the claim was granted it would interfere with any vested right, or be to the detriment of the crown or some of its subjects--hence the name _ad quod damnum_. These inquisitions, especially with relation to alienating lands to religious houses, are often very valuable to the local historian, for the jury in such cases had to state the amount, value, and nature of the remainder of the lands of the intended donor. A calendar of these records from 1 Edward II. to 38 Henry VI., was officially published in 1803, and is bound up with the previously mentioned calendar of the Charter Rolls. It should be remembered, as already stated, that many inquisitions _ad quod damnum_, particularly the earlier ones, are wrongly catalogued and arranged among the _post mortem_ inquests.

PEDES FINIUM. The _Pedes Finium_, or “Feet of Fines,” must be clearly distinguished from the previously mentioned Fine Rolls, which are quite a different class of record. The Fine here signified is no mulct of money, but is so called because it is the _final_ agreement between persons concerning any lands or rents or other matters whereof there is any suit between them. The fine, or solemn contract recorded before a competent judge, is described as having five parts--(1) the original writ taken out against the cognisor, (2) the license of the crown giving the parties liberty to accord, (3) the concord itself, (4) the note of the fine, which is an abstract of the original concord, and (5) the _foot of the fine_, which always began thus--“Hæc est _finalis_ concordia facta in curia Dom. Regis apud Westm” etc. This foot of the fine, which was the official summary of the concord, was cut off in an indented line (hence the word _indenture_), so as to tally with the part delivered to the suitor and prove its authenticity, and retained by the court. There is no class of documents that has been so continuously preserved in uninterrupted succession as these Feet of Fines. No manorial history can be considered satisfactory until these records have been carefully consulted, for they contain the proceedings which have been adopted to convey estates, as well as to free them from their entailment to issue, or from the dower of wives. The earliest of these documents, viz., from 7 Richard I. to 16 John, have been officially published in two 8vo. volumes, under the title--“_Fines, sive Pedes Finium; sive Finales Concordiæ, in Curia Domini Regis_.”

Having thus run through the chief classes of documents bearing, with more or less directness, on manorial history, it may be added that further information should be sought in Mr. Thomas’ “Handbook to the Public Records.” It may also be well to mention, that those who require accurate transcripts of any of the records in Fetter Lane, need not apply for officially certified copies; for reliable transcribers can readily be met with who will do the work for less than half the sum required for certified copies. If the amateur searcher does not know any transcribers, the courteous gentlemen in charge of the Search Room will probably make no difficulty about giving their address.

Those who may be desirous of gaining some knowledge of the character or handwriting of ancient records, which can only be efficiently learnt by practice, are recommended to consult Wright’s “Court-Hand Restored.” It not only gives numerous alphabets and plates, illustrative of the different styles in vogue at different periods, but has valuable lists of abbreviations, of ancient place-names, and of debased Latin words that are only to be found in legal or monastic documents. Each of the earlier reigns appears to have had a set or uniform character of its own; but in the reign of Elizabeth and subsequently, this clerical mode seems to have been to a great extent abandoned, and each scribe to have written after his own fancy. It is hence very noticeable that, as was remarked by a late keeper of the Records, “the English records of the 16th and 17th centuries are in general more difficult to be read than the Latin records of preceding ages.”

Civil or Domestic Architecture.

Any British, Roman, Danish, or Anglo-Saxon remains that there may be in the parish, had, perhaps, better be described before the manorial history is given. Every earthwork, mound, or ancient roadway should be carefully noted. It is not possible to refer to any one, or even three or four, satisfactory books on such subjects. Fosbrooke’s “Encyclopædia of Antiquities” is out of date, but we know of no better compendious work of reference. The two volumes of Wright’s “Essays on Archæological Subjects,” will be found of much general use. Worsae’s “Primeval Antiquities of Denmark,” translated and applied to the illustration of similar remains in England, by W. J. Thoms, may be read with advantage, but with the recollection that the hard and fast “ages” of Danish antiquaries are, with greater knowledge, becoming exploded.

But all description of civil or domestic architecture, of the Norman or subsequent periods, should be deferred until after the history of the manor has been written, because that history will very likely throw light on any such architectural remains.

If there is a castle, or its relics, within the parish, the probability is considerable that it has already been well described by a county historian, or in one or other of the numerous journals of our Archæological societies. But it is equally probable that its history has not been thoroughly written, and special search should be made with that object at the P. R. O., beginning with the indexes to the printed calendars already enumerated. There is no one efficient volume treating of our mediæval castles that corresponds with Viollet-le-Duc’s “Military Architecture of the Middle Ages,” but a translation of this French work has been published by Parker, and it would be well to read either that or the original.

Every effort should be made to identify the old manor-house, or its site (often marked by a grass grown moat), and this should of course be done with each manor, where, as is usually the case, the parish has contained more than one. Oral tradition, in this as in other particulars, will often be found a useful handmaid. Should the exterior of the reputed manor-house be altogether unpromising, that should not check further investigation. Several instances are known to us in which modern brick casing or sash windows are but a screen to some of the oldest domestic architecture extant, which may be found in the back premises or outbuildings, or contain fine old chimney-pieces, carved oak panelling, or ceilings of elaborate pargetting. Nor should attention be only directed to manor-houses. All old domestic work is worth chronicling, so rapidly is it disappearing both in town and country; and the annalist of a parish should not be above transcribing all the initials and dates so frequently seen on lintel stones. As a rule, every house or cottage, not obviously modern, that has stone buttresses, a moulded wall-plate or string-course, or bevelled stone mullions to the windows, is worthy of careful examination. Many interesting details, such as the site of chantry-houses, may be thus brought to light, and the history in stone, and the history on parchment, be found to tally in unexpected ways.

Domestic architecture should always be described by the century, and not by the “periods” into which ecclesiastical architecture is usually divided. The only book worth purchasing on the subject, is the somewhat costly but admirable four volume edition of Parker’s “Mediæval Domestic Architecture.” For the general “History of Architecture,” both civil and religious, of all ages and countries, nothing can surpass Fergusson’s last edition in four volumes, published by Murray in 1874.

Personal History.

The pedigrees and brief particulars of the Nobility can be readily found. The most useful standard works are Dugdale’s “Baronage,” Collins’ “Peerage and Baronetage,” Banks’ “Dormant and Extinct Baronage,” and the “Baronagium Genealogicum,” or pedigrees of English Peers, in five folio volumes, by Joseph Edmondson. Burke’s “Landed Gentry” gives much information with respect to the principal families of commoners, but the earlier genealogical statements that he prints are often purely mythical. Several indexes to the many thousands of printed pedigrees that are scattered up and down in topographical and other works have been published, of a more or less faulty and incomplete description, but a work of this class, now (1879) in the press, entitled “The Genealogist’s Guide,” by Mr. George W. Marshall, promises to be all that can be desired.

But a large portion of family history and pedigree, which will often be essential to the elucidation of the monumental history of a parish, to completing the links in lists of the lords of the manor, or furnishing particulars with regard to smaller landholders, yet remains in MS. The most accurate of such MSS. are at the College of Arms, and are not ordinarily accessible except on payment of fees; but there is a fine collection of heraldic visitations at the B. M., the chief of which are among the Harleian MSS.

HERALDS’ VISITATIONS are said to have commenced in the reign of Henry IV., but it was not until 20 Henry VIII. that a commission proceeding from royal authority was issued. From then until the latter half of the seventeenth century, visitations were made every twenty-five or thirty years. The register books, kept by the heralds and their assistants, contain the pedigrees and arms of the gentry of the respective counties, and are often also illustrated by copies and excerpts from charters and private documents. Many of these books are lost, and the rest scattered throughout public and private libraries. The archives of the College of Arms have the most important collection, and next comes the B. M. There are a large number at the B., fifty-four volumes in the library of Caius College, Cambridge, and forty in that of the Queen’s College, Oxford. The earliest heralds’ registers for the counties of Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucester, Hampshire, Kent, Notts, Oxford, Surrey, Sussex, Wilts, Worcester, and Yorks, are of the year 1530; for Berks, Devon, and Somerset, 1531; for Cheshire and Lancashire, 1533; for Essex and Herts, 1552; for Suffolk, 1561; for Lincoln, 1562; for Leicester, Norfolk, Stafford, and Warwick, 1563; for Hunts, and Northampton, 1564; for Beds, and Bucks, 1566; for Derby, Hereford, and Salop, 1569; for Middlesex, 1572; for Cambridge, Durham, and Northumberland, 1575; for Cumberland and Westmoreland, 1615; and for Rutland, 1618. The last visitation of several counties was taken in 1634, but the majority were visited in 1662-4; and the last of all was that of the county of Southampton, made by Sir Henry St. George, in 1686. The general genealogist and antiquary cannot but long for the issue of another royal commission, whereby the heralds might be empowered, as of old, to destroy all false and self-assumed arms, whether on carriages, plate, or monuments.

Sims’ “Index to the Pedigrees and Arms” contained in the Heralds’ Visitations in the B. M., is an accurate and useful book of reference. The “Manual for the Topographer and Genealogist,” by the same gentleman, is quite indispensable. Careful lists of family histories, of all the principal topographical works, and of all MSS. of worth in public libraries, are therein classified under the different counties.

WILLS are too obvious a source of information to need a word of comment. At Somerset House is the most important and largest collection, viz., those of the province of Canterbury. The original wills in this office begin in 1404, and the transcripts in 1383. They are complete only from December, 1660. In the office at York, for that province, the wills begin in 1590, and the transcripts in 1389. Owing to the probate privileges enjoyed by the various ecclesiastical courts, there were not only registries for wills in every diocese, but numerous peculiar and exempt jurisdictions in each diocese. The dates at which wills begin in the different minor registries are so very varied, and their condition and facilities, or even possibilities, of search so multifarious, that it is impossible to give any useful abstract. The Report on Public Records for 1837, and Sir Harris Nicolas’ “Notitia Historica,” should be consulted. The power of probate was taken away from the ecclesiastical courts by the Act of 1857.

The little-known RECUSANT ROLLS of the time of Elizabeth, give information as to the humblest as well as the wealthiest parishioner who refused to attend the services of the Established Church. These, and many other similar class of documents, relative to the fining and other grievous penalties attached to profession of the Roman Catholic faith, extending up to a recent date, are to be found at the P. R. O.

Records of ATTAINDERS, FORFEITURES, SEQUESTRATIONS, and PARDONS, some from the time of Edward II., will also be found at the same office, and may be consulted with advantage by those tracing personal history, if there is any cause to suspect their complicity in any of the multitude of baronial feuds, rebellions, or religious persecutions that led to the existence of so large a class of offenders. Sims’ “Manual” should be consulted for exhaustive lists of this class of documents, as well as for numerous lists of GENTRY and FREEHOLDERS of different dates, pertaining to their respective counties.

MUSTER ROLLS, which give the names, rank, dwelling, and often other particulars, of those able to bear arms in each county, may be of interest to the local historian. The earliest of these returns, now at the P. R. O., are of the reign of Henry III.; there are great deficiencies up to the time of Henry VIII., but from that reign to the time of Charles II, they are very voluminous. Lists of SHERIFFS, MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, and MAYORS OF BOROUGHS, have been printed for almost every county from an early date, and can readily be found at public libraries. The names of lords of the manor, or other individuals connected with the special parish treated of, should always be collated with such lists, in order to see if they held any of these important offices.

COUNTY RECORDS. The various documents that are or ought to be in charge of the Clerk of the Peace, relative to all the multifarious business transacted at Quarter Sessions, contain much that is of value relative to personal or local history. But it would only be tantalising to enumerate the different class of records that should be in the custody of the county officials, for in the great majority of cases they are in so much confusion as to be practically useless for any literary purpose. Among the exceptions may be mentioned Leicestershire and Derbyshire, in the latter of which counties they have been recently admirably arranged; and also, to a certain extent, Devonshire, the salient points of whose records have lately been published--see “Quarter Sessions from Queen Elizabeth to Queen Anne,” by A. H. Hamilton, a volume that aptly illustrates local government, and which is useful as showing the class of information that may be gleaned from such documents. They do not, as a rule, extend further back than the time of Elizabeth.

BOROUGH RECORDS. These are in many instances of great antiquity; some charters going back to the time of John. But their condition and value are much varied, and there is no trustworthy general report. It is hoped that a “Borough Records Society” will soon be formed for the publication of our Municipal Archives.

In the six Reports already issued by the Historical Manuscripts Commission the Archives of the following English boroughs have been reported on:--Abingdon, Axbridge, Berwick-on-Tweed, Bridgewater, Bridport, Cambridge, Coventry, Dartmouth, Faversham, Folkestone, Fordwich, High Wycombe, Hythe, Kingston-on-Thames, Launceston, Lydd, Morpeth, New Romney, Norwich, Nottingham, Rye, St. Albans, Sandwich, Tenterden, Totnes, Wallingford, Wells, Weymouth, Winchester, and York.

The Report of the Municipal Corporation Commissioners, 1835, gives certain information, more or less meagre, of all boroughs. See also Merewether and Stephen’s “History of the Boroughs and Municipal Corporations of the United Kingdom.”

Under the head of WORTHIES it may be worth while to consider whether the parish has ever had amongst its residents, or on its baptismal registers, the names of men of marked celebrity in any walk of life. Nuttall’s edition of Fuller’s “Worthies of England,” published in 1840, in three vols. 8vo., Wood’s “Athenæ,” and any good Biographical Dictionaries (_e.g._ Chalmers’), should be consulted.

Parochial Records.

Foremost under this head come PARISH REGISTERS. Burn’s “History of Parish Registers in England” is the standard work on this subject. The first mandate for keeping registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials, in each parish was issued in 1538, but it is quite the exception to find registers of this early date. This mandate was repeated in more rigorous terms on the accession of Elizabeth, 1558, but not being regularly observed, it was ordained in 1597 that parchment register books should be purchased at the expense of each parish, and that all the names from the older books (mostly of paper) should be therein transcribed from 1558; hence it happens that so many parish registers begin with that year. It was at the same time ordered that copies of the registers should be annually forwarded to the episcopal registrar, to be preserved in the episcopal archives. This injunction, however, was so imperfectly carried out, and the duplicates when forwarded were so carelessly kept, that the diocesan copies of registers are mere fragments of what they should be, and are in several cases still in such confusion as to be practically inaccessible. The earliest transcripts at Lincoln begin in 1587, and at Gloucester in 1571, but there are few dioceses that have any earlier than 1660.

Many parishes have lost their early registers, and they are usually deficient or wanting during the Commonwealth. Official inquiries were made of all the clergy in 1831, as to the exact date, condition, and number of the parish registers in their custody, and abstracts of their replies were published in a Blue Book in 1833. But it is not generally known that the returns themselves, often containing more information than was printed, are at the British Museum (Add. MSS. 9,335, etc.). The dates there given are not, however, to be implicitly relied upon, as unfortunately some registers have been lost or stolen since that date, whilst others of an earlier date have happily, in some cases, been restored or discovered in the like period.