Surveys – Manorial

Compiled by Fenton Lawyer, Newcastle under Lyme. The lists include the years 1633,1654 and 1655 the last year being a combination of two lists six months apart.

They are standard format of names of copyholders, land occupied and rentals due to the King.

Two x A4 pages.

Survery of Penkhull and Boothen for Lady Day and Michaelmass 1654 and 1655. Starts with the largest land owner John Lovatt of Shelton with lands in both Shelton and Penkhull and Boothen. This follows with lists of all cottagers paying the Kings tax for both years.

If used with other documents this survey helps to complete the picture of local cottagers and their status and land holding.

This document in the first instance lists the districts within the Manor of Newcastle under Lyme, eight in number with plans of the area of which encroachments are shown and further forms list of names of occupants. It’s a very important series. The Duchy of Lancaster, as Lord of the Manor, had a number of documents prepared 1777 -1781, for the renewal of the Lease of the Manor to the Right Honourable Granville Leveson Earl Gower, on the 2nd day of March 1781 for 31 years [to 1812]. Copies of these documents are in the City Museum & Art Gallery at Stoke on Trent. The documents are numbered and inclusive of plans of cottages that have been erected and lands enclosed from the manorial waste appear within this survey. The reasons for this were that buildings had been erected without prior agreement of the Lessee of the manor.
A very interesting series of plans and of huge benefit for historians who can ten identify buildings and occupiers.

This document refers to rental of all the copyholder’s names, rents and  acreage within the said Manor of Newcastle under Lyme which have compounded with the Kings Majesties Commissioners appointed for the confirmation of their customary estates and ascertaining of these fines – Herriott’s for which they are to pay to his higher 40 years rent as follow us (Charles II) (between 1660-1685)

Again a worthy document for those keen of documenting occupation, value and acreage under a single family occupation.

This document has many uses and is extracted from the old Rate Book for Stoke 1914. This list contains all the streets that are applicable to Penkhull itself containing the following:
Name of Street; Head of family; description of property (house, beer houses etc; Rentable Value; Ratable value.
With all these variables as it is set in Excel cab be used in social sciences, school projects and social history all of which can be valuable in the study of social occupations, population interpretations and more.

Lease of the Manor of Newcastle under Lyme to the Right Honourable Granville This survey of the Manor of Newcastle under Lyme has been transcribed into English and relates to King Henry V and the raising of funds to maintain the wars with France.
The document lists every copyholder tenant within the township of Shelton, the status of their tenure, measurement and the amount of tax due to the King to support the war in France.
Great asset for those who study their family tree as the is the earliest survey of the Manor that has survived.

Thomas Davson holds 11/2 cottages and 8 lands of socage previously belonging to the aforesaid William and afterwards belonging to the said Thomas, and pays yearly at the usual terms:

Five x A4 pages

This is a Survey of the Manor of Newcastle dated 8 Henry VIII 1516-17 taken by Richard Lovatt and held in the British Library Harley Roll K.9
Sadly, unable to trace why except that was the rental of the Manor charged to each copyholder listing also the lands held by each in the assessment of rent doe to the crown.
This document can be of great importance to those studying their family tree but also to the academic who can calculate land holdings and thereby identify the main landowners.
Five pages
Note that a copy of this rental was delivered to the King’s tenant at
Penkhull by the hands of John Kendall in the month of September in the
year 26 Henry VIII (1534) why it is not known put perhaps the original could not be found.

Lease of the Manor of Newcastle under Lyme to the Right Honourable Granville This survey of the Manor of Newcastle under Lyme has been transcribed into English and relates to King Henry V and the raising of funds to maintain the wars with France.
The document lists every copyholder tenant within the township of Penkhull, the status of their tenure, measurement and the amount of tax due to the King to support the war in France.
Great asset for those who study their family tree as the is the earliest survey of the Manor that has survived.
The introductio: The presentm[en]t of the Jurors impanelled for the survey of the Manor
of newcastle vnder lyme in the countie of Staff[ord] the Last daye of
October in the 13th yeare of the Rayne of o[u]r sou[er]aigne
Lord Kinge James over England.
We present and saye that we have called before vs the p[ar]ticuler copieholders of this mannor. And do fynde that their Copiehold Landes to be Auncientlie holden and inioyed by Copie of Courte Roolle to them and their heyres.
This survey is without doubt the most important of all at thirty-one pages. It covers areas from Longton, Bradwell, Dimsdale, Penkhull (at about 5 pages long) The significance of this survey is the extent of detail the compiler goes to in listing almost every field with description of each copyholder. Certainly, to the academic or students in high education it isa wonderful opportunity to study and analyse the manor in a presentable format.
Thirty-one pages long.