RECORDS FROM THE EXCHEQUER CHAMBER TAUNTON CASTLE

The documents catalogued below are those which were originally housed in the Exchequer rooms in Taunton Castle and which were briefly listed in Proc. S.A.S. vol.70, pp.97-103. They were transferred to the Somerset Record Office at various dates between 1936 and 1940.

As might be expected, the bulk of the records relate to the manor of Taunton Deane, but there are lesser holdings for the manors of Taunton (late)Priory and Fons George(Wilton), which used the same manorial officers and had adopted the same or similar customs. There are also limited (generally testamentary)records of the archdeaconry of Taunton, the reason for the presence of which is not clear.(With the single exception of a Visitation Comperta Book, 1623-1624, presented to the Archaeological Society in 1906 and edited as part of Som. Rec. Soc. vol.43(1928), no other records for this archdeaconry are known to have survived. It is possible that they were destroyed around 1906 when the local registry was closed.).

Other records of the manor of Taunton Deane

The Hampshire Record Office in Winchester holds the records formerly held by the Church Commissioners for the bishopric of Winchester. Notable among these are the compotus('Winchester Pipe')rolls which exist in broken series from 1208 and to a lesser extent court rolls of the 16th and 17th centuries. Photostat copies of all compotus rolls between 1208 and 1546 (ref. T/PH/win) have been purchased; these supplement and sometimes duplicate the series listed below as DD\SP 325.

Further compotus rolls and other records, almost certainly removed from the Exchequer in the 19th century by or for the Southwood family of Pitminster, have been deposited independently under reference DD\MT. The rolls date between 1408 and 1745 and again supplement or duplicate those in DD\SP 325. Index volumes to surrenders 1660-c. 1820 for Holway, Hull, Poundisford and Nailsbourne hundreds are to be found in DD\DP Box 98. (Staplegrave draft indices DD\SP 305)(Intel 1450-1666, DD\SP 317-18)(Taunton late priory index 405)

Published works on the manor of Taunton Deane include: H.B. Shillibeer, The Ancient Customs of the Manor of Taunton Deane(1821), W.A.Jones, Customs of the Manor of Taunton Deane (Proc. S.A.S. vol.17), R.G.H.Whitty, The Court of Taunton in the 16th and 17th Centuries(1934), and The Medieval Customs of the Manor of Taunton(Som. Rec. Soc. vol.66, 1962)

Survey 1566 = DD\SP 71

I THE MANOR OF TAUNTON DEANE

COURT RECORDS

1-17 Infaring division: court books

18-35 Infaring division: court papers

36-42 Outfaring division: court books

43-47 Outfaring division: court papers

48-57 Taunton Borough: court books

58-63 Taunton Borough: court papers

64-70 Misc. court records, including Rimpton

THE REGISTRATION AND TRANSFER OF PROPERTY

71-161 General volumes and surrenders

162-198 Holway hundred surrenders

199-219 Hull hundred surrenders

220-244 Poundisford hundred surrenders

245-268 Staplegrove hundred surrenders

269-288 Nailsbourne hundred surrenders

289-291 Otterford surrenders

292-296 Rimpton surrenders

297-300 Taunton Borough surrenders

301-303 Taunton Castle

304-318 General papers relating to property

317,318 Index vols. 1450-1660

319 Settlements and trust deeds deposited in Exchequer

320-324 Misc. papers

FINANCIAL RECORDS OF THE MANOR

325,326 Compotus rolls and reeves' accounts

327-329 Fee books and audit of accounts

330 Custumal

331-336 Rentals

337-340 Misc. financial records

341 Accounts for the Taunton Fairs

MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS OF THE MANOR AND ITS STEWARDS

342-358 Misc, papers, many being for the late 17th cent.

359-363 Personal and professional correspondence and papers of Wm.Harvey

364 George Musgrave

365 Manor of Thorn Falcon

366-372 Papers relating to various manors, properties and persons

II MANOR OF TAUNTON(LATE)PRIORY

COURT RECORDS

373-383 Court rolls, books and papers

THE REGISTRATION AND TRANSFER OF PROPERTY

384-406 Volumes, files, broken files and loose surrenders of all kinds

FINANCIAL RECORD

407,408 Compotus rolls and ministers' accounts

409-411 Rentals and surveys

MISCELLANEOUS RECORD

412-415 Misc. papers and fragments

416 Enfranchisements of estates

III MANOR OF FONS GEORGE

417 Surrenders of all kinds

IV GRAY'S ALMSHOUSES, TAUNTON

418-420 Almshouse accounts

421,422 Litigation

V ARCHDEACONRY OF TAUNTON

COURT RECORDS AND PROBATE BUSINESS

423 Deposition book

424-432 Court papers(incl. testamentary)

433-441 Testamentary business

DD\SP 438, 439 = wills

442,443 Administrators' accounts and inventories

OTHER RECORDS

444-446 Induction mandates and visitation records

447-451 Misc. records

• <corpname>Taunton Deane Manor, Somerset</corpname>
• <corpname>Church of England, Archdeaconry of Taunton, Somerset</corpname>

H/62, H/80, H/89, H/189, H/190, H/280, H/539

S/1624