HARROW ALIAS SUDBURY MANOR

Survey of the Manor of Harrow

ANALYSIS

Title

The description, in Latin, on the title-page explains that this is an "extent and survey of all the messuages, tenements, cottages, arrable lands, meadows, grazing, pastures, woods, underwoods, common marsh and any other hereditaments whatsoever, as well from, customary and hold at will as demesne of the manor of Harrow, and the hamlets divided of the same, with its lawful members and appurtenances everywhere, belonging to Edward North, knight, Chancellor to the Sovereign King of his Court of Augmentations and Revenues of his Crown, made on inquest by jury of Richard Page, William Page, and Thomas Page of Sudbury; Thomas Page, John Cannon, and John Hedger of Alperton; Henry Page, John Lambe and John Page of Wembeley; William Bollamy, gent., and John Page [of] Uxendon; John Lyon and Hugh Mond of Preston; John Parson B B of Kempton, William Greenhill and Henry Fynch of Greenhill; John Edlyn, Robert Hacche, William Warren senior and Richard Bagborde of Walda (Weald); Robert Bowrennay, Richard Reding, John Birds and Thomas Birde of Pynnor; William Greenhill, John Page, John Burton and Thomas Burton of Roxhoth and many others, tenants of the aforesaid manor, there made by William Humberstone in the time of Lent in the first year of the reign of the most Christian Prince our Sovereign Edward VI by the grace of God, King of England, France and Ireland, defender of the faith and Supreme Head of the Church in England and Ireland and in the year of our Lord 1547.

Description of Manor

The introduction to the Survey (in English) includes a description of the bounds and area covered by the manor, explaining that it includes the ten hamlets of: Sudbury, Alperton, Wembley, Uxendon, Preston, Kempton (i.e. Kenton), Greenhill, Weald, Pinner and Roxeth. The hamlets are distinct, each having at least three common fields where the tenants "have their lands intermedled," and the right of pasture at open or "shackke" time belongs only to the tenants of the respective hamlets. It also states that there are "dyvers straunge customs" which the Lord and his officers need to know. Moreover for want of good officers in the past some customary lands have become accepted as freehold and so the surveyor "thought mete" to extend the whole Lordship including freehold and demesne lands, woods, etc. (fol. 2).

Customs

Folios III - XII explain (in English) the customs of tenure, suit of court, reliefs, the lete court and court baron and other liberties, the reeve, beadle and bailiff, measures of land, hide-holders, head-tenants, cottyers, etc.

Survey

The survey itself begins on folio XIII and is in Latin. Each hamlet is surveyed separately, field by field and furlong by furlong, noting each tenant's name and the size and limits of each holding. There are blank folios following some hamlets, for example folios 157 - 159 and 302 - 310.

Extents of "farms" and woods

Extents of "farms" (property leased or farmed to another) sometimes also called manors, made in 1545, have been entered, in English, usually following the hamlet in which they were situated. The extent of the manor of Sudbury follows the hamlet of Sudbury, on folio XXV and includes the information that the site of the farm, called Sudbury Court, has a "mansion house mete for a farmer with stables, gardings and other houses". Also entered are copies of leases of the Sudbury farm made in 1543 to Richard Page for 40 years and in 1541 to Thomas Knight for 80 years. The extent of the farm of the manor of Roxeth (fol.CCCCXXIII) notes that it has no mansion house and also includes a copy of John Webb's lease of 1540.

Woodhall Farm (fol. CCCCXXXIX d) had "a dwelling house mete and necessary for a Farm with a stable, a haye house ..." situated south of the common called Bury Pond Hill. There is a copy of Henry Edlyn's lease of 1536. Hegeston (Headstone) farm included several closes and was leased to Richard Redyng in 1540 (fol. CCCCXLVII). Pinner Park, 205 acres of arable and pasture enclosed with a pale, was leased to Richard Redyng of Hegeston and John Birde of Pinner in 1538 (fol. CCCCIL).

There are also extents of the woods of Hegeston, Woodhall and Pinner (fol. CCCLIII) and a copy has been added of the lease of Pinner Woods for 99 years from Edward North and Alice to Richard Tavener in consideration of 100 marks, dated 1550. Weald Wood (fol. CCCCLV) was leased to Hugh Losse of Cannons in 1550.

Table

At the end of the volume is a table of contents, but part is torn.

Notes

This volume gives valuable information about Harrow Manor, its organisation and division into smaller hamlets, as well as the names of tenants, their holdings and rents in 1547. There is also incidental information on the state of the land and other matters. One example may be quoted:

"The said parke of Pynner enclosed about with a pale, whereof parte is in Tillage by estimacon 80 acres, conteynith in the hole tonne score and five acres whereof 80 acres of arrable land worth yerly 20d th'acre and 120 and 5 acres residue in pasture is for the moste parte over growen with Russhes and cannot be distroyed without converting the same into tyllage which wilbe varie costly because the rotes of the trees which were solde as yet remayne in the grounde therefore every acre of the same rated yerly at 2s 4d. which is yerly in thole.

And in the said parke be growing 240 okes of 60 and 80 yeres growth wherof 80 valued at 20d. the tree, 80 valued at 12d the tree and 80 residue at 8d the tree which is in thole." (fol. CCCCIL).

The Chantry of Harrow is noted as holding several pieces of land in the fields of Kenton.

This Survey is referred to by Lord Northwick about 1815; "... in the list of records and papers belonging to the Manor made out in my Grandf(ather's) (then J(ohn) R(ushout's) writing mention is made of 'an Ancient Book of Survey kept amongst the Ancient Rolls and Evidences of the Manors, presented by the recognition of the tenants of the Manors the first year of the reign of Edward VI' and this is marked in the list as a document of Great Importance. This Book is missing as 12 of my more Ancient Rolls ... " (GLRO.M.ACC/76/2232). The rolls referred to were found and later used with others by W. O. Hewlett and quoted in his article on the History of Harrow in Harrow School ed. Howson (1898), by permission of Lady Northwick, and were eventually deposited in the Middlesex Record Office (ACC/76/2410-2423). The Survey is not referred to by Hewlett and it is almost certain that he had not seen it. The style of binding, however, suggests that it was rebound slightly later than 1815.

Listed by PSK/KMH 21.8.1969

• <corpname>Harrow Manor</corpname>
• <corpname>Sudbury Manor</corpname>