Manorial Court document, dated 1591

 

At the Courte of Ravenstonedaille holden there the

Xixth of October In the xxxth yeare of the Regne

of our Soveragne Ladie Quene Elizabeth etc 1591

by John Wharton and John Rigge esquires Mathewe

Blenkynsoppe and Edmunde Braithwaite gen[tlemen]

Ravenstonedaille

[in margin]

Gr[essum][1] xlis viid[2]

rec per[3] Edm Braithwaite

19 october 1591 41s

7d

William Adamthwaite sone of Robte Adamthwaite

is admitted Tenante of the moytie[4] of a Tenement

laute[5] in the tenure of the said Robert which moytie of

the yearlie Rente of xs id viz of auncyente

grounde[6] vs viid and newe improvementes[7]

iiiis vid. And the said William to paye fyne[8] for

the said auncyente one yeare Rente vs iid and

for the said newe grounde eighte yeares Rente[9]

xxxvis beinge in all as in the head

and the said William was admitted Tenente of

the rest of the Tenemente Before

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Gressum: regional term for an irregular fine, in the north-west usually on a change of tenant, or the death of the lord of the manor.

[2] xlis viid: i.e. 41 shillings 7 pence.

[3] rec per: ‘received by’.

[4] moytie: i.e. one half.

[5] laute: ‘late’.

[6] auncyente grounde: ‘ancient ground’, i.e. older enclosures.

[7] newe improvements: newer enclosures. These are often found in the sixteenth century fells and moors and represent attempts to expand the cultivated area, usually with the acquiescence of the landlord, in response to a major growth in the national population at the time.

[8] fyne: not in the modern sense of a penalty, but here representing a certain sum of rent paid up front to the lord of the manor.

[9] eighte yeares Rente: what this probably represents is an agreement between the Lord of the Manor and his tenants that he would allow the new enclosures that had already been made, for a yearly rent plus a lump sum, in this case eight years’ rent.

  

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