How to write the history of a parish

by J. Charles Cox

The Book of Exeter and the Book of Ely are of the same date, and no doubt copied from the same returns as Domesday Book itself, but they contain many more details. The former, preserved at Exeter Cathedral, comprises the counties of Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall; the latter, now in the British Museum, relates to Cambridge, Hertford, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Huntingdon. The Book of Winchester (Society of Antiquaries) relates to that borough; it was made in 1148. The Boldon Book is a survey of the county palatinate of Durham, taken in 1183; there are three copies, two at Durham, and one at the Bodleian. These four minor Surveys were published by the Record Commissioners in one volume in 1816.

Knight’s Fees. When England was subdivided by the Conqueror among his vassals, the feudal custom of supplying the crown with a certain number of knights was imposed upon them. The number of knights that had to be furnished was specified in the infeoffment. These knights, in their turn, held lands from the immediate tenants of the crown, which were owned by homage, fealty, and a great variety of tenures, as well as by direct payments in money. Some tenures were merely nominal, such as a grain of cummin, or a red rose; others were of more or less value, such as a pair of white gloves, a tun of wine, a gold spur, or a silver salver; and others by such service as holding the lord’s stirrup, keeping a pack of hounds, etc., etc. See Blount’s “Ancient Tenures.” The lands of these knights were termed “Fees,” and composed the barony of a crown vassal. A knight’s fee was supposed to be so much land as would suffice to maintain him, and to enable him to present himself and his retainers ready equipped for the field in times of emergency. Hence a “Knight’s Fee,” as applied to land, represents no definite quantity, but a variable amount, generally between one and five hundred acres of cultivable land. The term is also sometimes used for the rent paid to the lord for the fee.

It is easy, then, to see that it became essential to the Crown, both for monetary and judicial purposes, as well national as local, to know from time to time the exact position of their vassals and sub-vassals. Hence, Inquisitions were held up and down the country before local sworn juries, and the barons made returns of that which they held, and which was held under them. These returns are among the earliest of our national records; and though brief, are invaluable, from their absolute authenticity, to the genealogist and local historian. The chief documents of this class are the Black Book of the Exchequer, temp. Henry II., the original of which is in the P. R. O., but three manuscript copies are in the B. M., C., and B. respectively, and it was published (but imperfectly, and not from the original) by Hearn, in two vols., 8vo., last century; the Scutage and the Marshall Rolls, temp., Edw. I. & II., P. R. O.; various lists of Tenants in Capite in our different public libraries; and, most important, the Testa de Neville. The last-mentioned of these documents consists of two ancient volumes compiled temp. Edw. II., now in the P. R. O. They consist of Inquisitions, taken temp. Henry III. and Edw. I., respecting the Fees held immediately or otherwise of the King, throughout the whole of England, excepting the counties of Cambridge, Cheshire, Durham, Lancashire, and Monmouthshire. These records were officially printed in one vol., folio, in 1807; there are many errors in the spelling of place-names, but these can for the most part be readily detected by any one having local knowledge. Another folio volume, printed in 1802, is the Nonarum Inquisitiones; it is of some value, and may, perhaps, be fairly included under the head of “Knight’s Fees.” It consists, in the main, of the finding upon oath by the parishioners, of the value of the ninth lamb, fleece, and sheep, and in cities and boroughs of the ninth of goods and chattels, which by an Act 14 Edw. III. were to be levied as a tax for two years towards the expenditure in the Scotch and French wars. The rolls abound in the names of jurymen, commissioners, and landowners. The published volume only contains the returns from twenty-seven counties, but the Nona Rolls for most of the missing ones, e.g., Derby, Hertford, Northumberland, and Warwick, have since been found. MS. indexes of these will be found in the small books lettered “Exchequer Subsidies” in the search room of the P. R. O.

Rotuli. Under the general head of “Rolls,” some of the most important of our national documents have to be briefly considered.

The Great Rolls of the Exchequer, otherwise called the Pipe Rolls, are all but perfect from 2 Henry II. to the present time; and there is one roll of 31 Henry I., the oldest national document now extant after the Domesday Book. They relate to the revenues of the Crown, digested under the heads of the several counties. They are of much interest and utility in early pedigrees, and relate to a far wider range of subjects than Crown lands, as the Crown revenues come from so great a diversity of sources. The originals are in the P. R. O., but most of the rolls are in duplicate at the B. M. Several volumes of transcripts are in the B. M. and B. The Rolls for the 31 Henry I.; 3 John; 2, 3, and 4, Henry II.; and 1 Richard I., have been published by the Record Commissioners.

The Patent Rolls commence with 3 John, and are fairly perfect up to the present time. On them are entered all grants of lands, offices, honours, pensions, and particulars of individual or corporate privileges, etc., etc. These invaluable Rolls are unfortunately not indexed. A folio calendar of those from John to 23 Edward IV., was printed in 1802, but it is only a capriciously made selection. Those from the 3rd to 18th John have since been printed in full, with an admirable introduction. In the B. M. are many volumes of selections and extracts for particular periods. Manorial grants of “free warren” in these rolls will often supply a missing link in the history of a manor.

The difference between the documents entered on the Close Rolls, and the Patent Rolls, is that royal letters patent were delivered open, with the Great Seal appended, and were supposed to be of a public nature and addressed to all the king’s subjects; whilst the Close Rolls contain entries of such instruments as were despatched closed or sealed up, and were of a more private nature. These rolls begin in 1204. From that time to 11 Henry III., they have been printed in full in two folio volumes. There are various copies and transcripts of particular parts in the B.M., B., and C., and in the libraries of Lincoln’s Inn and Inner Temple. The rolls are of infinite variety and importance. Among the subjects treated of are—Royal Prerogatives, Homage, Fealty, Knight’s Service, Treasure Trove, Gold and Silver Mining, Bail and Pardons, Livery of Lands, Assignment of Dowers, Wardship of Minors, Repairs of Bridges, etc., etc. They often, therefore, contain unexpected fragments of local history connected with apparently insignificant parishes, and are even more fruitful than the better known Patent Rolls.

The Charter Rolls contain a good deal of duplicate matter to that on the Patent Rolls. They chiefly consist of grants of privileges to religious houses, cities, and towns, and grants of markets, fairs, and free warren to individuals. Charters, like Letters Patent, passed under the Great Seal; but a charter differed from a patent inasmuch as the former was witnessed by the council or by such persons as were present at its execution, and the latter was solely executed by the king. The Charter Rolls extend from 1199 to 1483. A complete calendar of these rolls, well indexed, was published in 1803, and the rolls themselves of the reign of John, were also published by the Record Commissioners in 1837.

The Fine Rolls contain accounts of fines paid to the Crown for licenses to alienate lands, for freedom from knight service, or being knighted, for renewals of various charters, etc., etc. They begin in the time of Richard I. The Fine Rolls of John, and extracts from those of Henry III., have been published by the Commissioners in three 8vo. volumes. They are to be distinguished from the important Pedes Finium, subsequently explained.

The Originalia are described in the Public Records Report as “the Estreats transmitted from the Court of Chancery into this (Exchequer) office, of all grants of the Crown inrolled on the Patent and other Rolls, whereon any rent is reserved, any salary payable, or any service performed.” These rolls commence early in the reign of Henry III. An abstract, in two folio volumes, of the Originalia from 20 Henry III. to the end of Edward III., was published by the Commissioners in 1805. Similar abstracts from 1 Richard II., to end of James II., were prepared for printing, but never published; the MS. of this work is in the B. M. An index to the Originalia was published in 1793, by Mr. Edward Jones, in two folio volumes. Those who have had occasion to use Mr. Jones’s index know that the judgment “very useful, but very imperfect,” is true in each particular.