YEATMAN - BIGGS, THOMAS AND BURGE FAMILIES OF SOMERSET.

This collection, consisting mainly of deeds and leases, was deposited in three stages in the form of two loans and one gift. The first and largest loan was received in 1931, followed by the loan of a single document (survey of the manor of Martock, c.1760) in 1933. The third accession, a gift of twenty eight miscellaneous documents extracted from a Wiltshire collection (Wiltshire Record Office, accession no. 166), was received from the Wiltshire Record Office in 1951. In listing this collection these three accessions have been merged. Accession number N/84 forms bundle number 86. Accession number C/347 can be found in the following bundles: 15-17, 25, 26, 30, 32, 34, 36, 39, 46, 75, 82, 115, 117, 126, 127, 129.

The relationship of the Yeatman-Biggs family to the properties contained in this collection is obscure, there being no documentary evidence to make the connection plain. The collection does, however, contain a considerable amount of material relating to the descent of the estates of the Thomas family of Evercreech and the Burge family of Castle Cary. There are also numerous bundles of apparently unrelated deeds apertaining to properties in the parishes situated in the south-eastern portion of the county along the border with Dorset and for the parish of Trent (transf. to Dorset, 1895). The interests of several families are reflected in this subsidiary body of documents, prominent among whom are the Hannam family of Ditcheat, the Hallett family of Henstridge, the Noake and Brett families of Milborne Port, the Beaton family of West Camel and the Penny family of Yeovil.

The descent of the Thomas and Burge family estates

The estate of the Thomas family concerns principally properties in Evercreech and Milton Clevedon acquired by Matthew Thomas. These he bequeathed to his son, Casbert, in 1778. The death of Casbert Thomas in 1785 resulted in the division of the estate between a nephew, Benjamin Milward and a niece, Elizabeth Burge Milward, who were both the issue of the Reverand Benjamin Milward and his wife Grace (née Thomas). The moiety of the estate as vested in Elizabeth Burge descended by her will to her eldest son, William, in 1804, who used it as the security to raise a mortgage in 1808. 1808 also saw his interest in the moiety of the mortgaged estate being vested in the hands of trustees who were instructed to perfect a partition of all the property involved, which finally took place in 1815.

Although many of the salient deeds would appear to be missing, use of the recital clauses of the extant deeds relating to the Burge family allows something of the descent of the family estate in Castle Cary to be established. The estate was seemingly conveyed by William Burge of Castle Cary to trustees in 1808, who were instructed to sell each of the properties concerned and apply the proceeds to the remaining issue of John and Elizabeth Burge - Benjamin Milward Burge, Jane Burge and Amelia Burge. The remainder of the estate, not disposed of in this fashion, was eventually conveyed by William Burge to Samuel Foot of Salisbury, co. Wilts., in 1847.

The title deeds relating to the descent of the estates of both the Thomas and the Burge families have been brought together in DD/YB 13.

The organisation of the final list reflects the above situation with sections being created to accommodate material relating to the Thomas and Burge families, followed by a separate section for the various miscellaneous deeds and leases arranged alphabetically by parish.

In the process of listing, four bundles of apparently unrelated groups of documents relating to Millborne Port (one bundle), Yeovil (one bundle) and Trent (two bundles), respectively have been separated to form the following bundles: Milborne Port DD/YB 87-97; Yeovil DD/YB 115-123 and Trent DD/YB 129-137. The deeds for Castle Cary were found loose in one box and have been sorted into original bundles whereever possible.

<p>[For further material relating to the Burge family see DD/BR/hk. 1]</p>

• <famname>Yeatman-Biggs family of Somerset</famname>
• <famname>Biggs, Yeatman-, family of Somerset</famname>
• <famname>Thomas family of Evercreech, Somerset</famname>
• <famname>Burge family of Castle Cary, Somerset</famname>

N/18, N/84, C/347