House ownership - Wrights Farm Shillington Road

The table below gives details about who owned and occupied the house. The sources for information vary; the records pre 1800 are mainly manor court rolls. Every time a property changed hands, even between family members, the transaction had to be recorded at the manorial court. The names of those who surrendered and those who were admitted and the entry fines they paid were written in the rolls of parchment by the clerk. An entry fine was paid to the lord of the manor and the new owner was given a written copy of the transaction, hence the term copyhold.

All records were in abbreviated medieval latin until 1752 except for a short period during the commonwealth between 1650 and 1660.Freehold property is rarely mentioned but can sometimes be found in the manor rentals. It is difficult to trace the history of a house as addresses are never given ad therefore the only way is to use the owners name or very occasionally the name of the house.

Post 1800 there are many more sources of information although actual addresses are not used until mid 20th century. One method of identifying a house in the records is by the description of the land that went with it or the annual rent paid to the lord of the manor which often didn’t change over a hundred years.

The table is arranged over five columns. The first gives the year of the record and the second is the source document sometimes with a reference number. The next two columns record the transfer of ownership and the occupier of the property. Click on the names to link to the people database. Sometimes there is no link to the database so go to the people page on the top navigation bar and simply type in the name you are searching for. The search function returns all documents where the name searched for appears in that document. Click on a name match to view the document in which that name appears. When viewing a record that contains other names, it is possible to perform a new search on that name by clicking on the name link.

The last column shows information about the property and any comments.

Date Table Owner/buyer Occupier Comment
1656 Manor rolls 48778 Manor of Pirton Rectory Christopher Farmer (Senior) Transferred Ownership To Christopher Farmer (Junior) John Farmer Christopher Farmer messuage where Christopher dwells   close of pasture on north & pightle of pasture on south containing 3 roods
1663 Hearthtax Christopher  Farmer
1680 Manor rolls 48779 Manor of Pirton Rectory Christopher Farmer Transferred Ownership To Oliver Farmer     messuage    close of pasture on north & pightle of pasture on south containing 3 roods
1722 pollbook Oliver  Farmer Of Pirton Herts  
1739 Manor rolls 48780 Manor of Pirton Rectory Oliver Farmer Transferred Ownership To William Coleman     messuage    close of pasture on north & pightle of pasture on south containing 3 roods
1754 pollbook William Coleman Esq Of Cranfield Beds  William Axham
1767 William Coleman Transferred Ownership To Baker Coleman     messuage    
1767 Baker Coleman Transferred Ownership To Mary Coleman   William Axham messuage    
1811 owners John Wright James Abbiss Cottage And Garden
1811 owners John Wright Jos Sinfield Cottage And Garden
1818 enclosure John Wright Snr James Mann Cottage And Garden
1832 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burghend farm & land  
1833 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near farm rent rent of more than £50 a year
1834 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near farm rent rent of more than £50 a year
1835 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burg End near farm  
1836 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burg End near farm  
1837 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near farm  
1838 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near farm  
1839 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near farm  
1840 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near farm  
1841 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near farm  
1841 census Thomas  Wright – Farmer
1842 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near farm  
1844 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near   
1845 register of electors     Thomas Wright Burgend near   
1846 register of electors     Thomas Wright Near Burge End   
1847 register of electors     Thomas Wright Near Burge End   
1849 register of electors     Thomas Wright Near Burge End   
1850 register of electors     Thomas Wright Near Burge End   
1851 census Hagar  Wright – Farmer 96A 4 Labs
1861 census Hagar  Wright – Retired Farmer
1863 rates J.J. Acres J.J. Acres Farm
1868 Manor rolls 71792 Manor of Pirton Rectory   Transferred Ownership To     William Woolston homestead    82 acres
1871 census Hagar  Wright – Farmers Widow
1871 census James  Topham – Groom
1876 register of electors  William Dennis Parrit Bradshaw Burge End   
1877 register of electors  William Dennis Parrit Bradshaw Burge End   
1877 sanitation Mr Acres Mrs Wright Shared Farmhouse With Farm Yard. Well, Drainage-None. 6 Inmates Sharing 0 Living Rooms, 0 Sleeping Rooms And Privy
1878 register of electors  William Dennis Parrit Bradshaw Burge End   
1879 register of electors  William Dennis Parrit Bradshaw Burge End   
1880 register of electors  William Dennis Parrit Bradshaw Burge End   
1881 register of electors  William Dennis Parrit Bradshaw Burge End   
1881 census Fanny  Wright – Seamstress
1882 register of electors  William Dennis Parrit Bradshaw Burge End   
1883 register of electors  William Dennis Parrit Bradshaw Burge End   
1884 register of electors  William Dennis Parrit Bradshaw Burge End   
1901 census Frederick  Arnold – Farmer
1909 register of electors     William Arnold Wright’s Farm dwelling house  
1910 register of electors     Bertram   Walker Wright’s Farm dwelling house  
1910 rates William  Hanscombe Albert  Nicholls House & Homestead
1911 register of electors     Albert Nicholls Wright’s Farm land  
1911 register of electors  Bertram   Walker Wright’s Farm dwelling house  
1911 census Henry  Davis – Farm Labourer
1912 register of electors     Albert Nicholls Wright’s Farm land  
1912 register of electors  Henry Davis Wright’s Farm dwelling house  
1913 register of electors     Albert Nicholls Wright’s Farm land  
1913 register of electors  Henry Davis Wright’s Farm dwelling house  
1914 register of electors     George Weeden Wright’s Farm dwelling house  
1915 register of electors     George Weeden Wright’s Farm dwelling house  
1935 rates J A B Hanscombe   Agricultural Dwelling Hse
1941 Farm survey Hertfordshire Cc Of County Hall Hertford G&Ls Weedon, Full Time Farmer
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