House ownership - Docwra Manor Hitchin 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.

It is exceedingly difficult to trace the history of these houses before 1811 and the table may be inaccurate. I know that this area of the village belonged to the Manor of Pirton. Information about these houses was only recorded in Manorial Rolls when the whole estate changed hands unlike copyhold houses. Looking at manorial rentals and estate papers leads me to think that the Lord of the Manor Docwra, Warburton and later Radcliffe sublet, which is more difficult to trace. All these properties then passed to Priory Estates in Hitchin because the Delme Radcliffes lived at the Priory. After 1811 the pre-enclosure plan and book the properties identifies owners and tenants

date source owner/buyer occupier comment
1504 VCH Thomas Docwra   This house was leased by the manor and estate
1597 lay subsidy national archives Thomas Docwra
1599 VCH Thomas Docwra transferred ownership to Thomas Docwra Docwra. married Jane Periam
1617 Manor of Pirton Court roll/HALS Agnes Richte transferred ownership to Thomas Docwra Messuage. Chepyng Grene 0
1620 VCH Thomas Docwra transferred ownership to Periam Docwra Thomas died father to son
1642 VCH Periam Docwra transferred ownership to Thomas Docwra    Died and left to his son Thomas
1663 Hearth Tax/ National Archives John Field    John  Field  5 hearths
1680 VCH Thomas Docwra transferred ownership to Martha Warburton    It passed from Thomas to his only daughter Martha wife of Sir Peter Warburton of Cheshire. Martha died 1707 and the Pirton estate passed to her son George.
1706 Delme Radcliffe collection / HALS Thomas Docwra transferred ownership to Dorothy Docwra Messuage.
1726 VCH George Warburton transferred ownership to Ralph Radcliffe    Ralph Radcliffe bought the manor of Pirton and its estate
1811 pre enclosure plan/Hofton Emilius Radcliffe William Abbiss    Docwra manor
1818 Enclosure award/HALS Emilius Henry Delme Radcliffe House and garden old enclosure 3 rood 23 perch
1851 Census 1851 William Males  William  Males – Carpenter age 38
1855 Kelly – trade directory/HALS William Males  Old Hall.  beer retailer & carpenter
1861 Census 1861 William Males  William  Males – Carpenter age 47
1863 Rates/HALS  Radcliffe William Males Beershop. Great Green  rateable value £8 0s 0d
1864 Cassey – trade directory/HALS William Males  Beer retailer & carpenter
1871 Census 1871 William Males  William  Males – Carpenter & beerhouse keeper age 57
1874 Licensees/HALS William Males   Old Hall. Pirton 27 Aug 1872 – 25 Aug 1874
1877 Sanitation report/HALS Messrs Lucas William Males Old Hall.   Old Hall with Yard & Garden. Well, drainage-into main. 5 inmates sharing 3 living rooms, 3 sleeping rooms and privy
1880 School Admission Register/HALS George Males    James Males born 8/3/1877 enrolled 22/3/1880
1880 Licensees/HALS Lucy Males   Old Hall. Pirton 24 Aug 1880
1881 Census 1881 Lucy Males    Lucy  Males – Beerhouse keeper age 66
1885 Licensees/HALS Lucy Males   Old Hall. Pirton 25 Aug 1885
1886 Kelly – trade directory/HALS Lucy Males    Beer retailer
1887 Licensees/HALS Lucy Males   Old Hall. Pirton 23 Aug 1887
1888 Licensees/HALS Lucy Males   Old Hall. Pirton 21 Aug 1888
1889 Licensees/HALS Lucy Males   Old Hall. Pirton 20 Aug 1889
1890 Kelly – trade directory/HALS Lucy Males    Beer retailer
1891 Census 1891 Lucy Males  Old Hall.  Lucy  Males – Beerhouse Keeper age 75
1891 Licensees/HALS Lucy Males   Old Hall. Pirton 25 Aug 1891
1893 Licensees/HALS Lucy Males   Old Hall. Pirton 29 Aug 1893
1893 Licensees/HALS Lucy Males   Old Hall. Pirton 23 Aug 1893
1894 Licensees/HALS Lucy Males   Old Hall. Pirton 28 Aug 1894
1895 Kelly – trade directory/HALS George Males    Beer retailer
1895 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton 27 Aug 1895
1895 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton 11 Jun 1895
1897 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton 24 Aug 1897
1898 Kelly – trade directory/HALS George Males    Beer retailer
1899 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton 22 Aug 1899
1901 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton
1902 Kelly – trade directory/HALS George Males    Beer retailer
1903 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton
1905 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton [07 Feb 1905]
1907 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton
1909 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton
1910 Rates/HALS W Lucas George Males Beer house & garden. Old Hall 2 rood 2 perch gross value £17 10s rateable value £13 10s
1911 Census 1911 George Males  Old Hall. 5 rooms. 3 in household George  Males Carpenter – age 58
1911 Census 1911 Emma Males  Old Hall 5 rooms. 3 in household Emma  Males Housekeeper – age 60
1911 Census 1911 Jane Males  Old Hall. 5 rooms. 3 in household. Jane  Males Servant – age 27
1911 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall. Pirton 01 Feb 1910 – 07 Feb 1911
1912 Kelly – trade directory/HALS George Males    Beer retailer
1913 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall Pirton
1914 Register of electors/HALS George Males  House  Old Hall
1915 Register of electors/HALS George Males   Old Hall
1916 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall Pirton
1918 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall Pirton
1919 Delme Radcliffe collection / HALS   Old Hall. Great Green  Pub sold by Priory Estates Hitchin
1919 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall Pirton
1922 Licensees/HALS George Males   Old Hall Pirton
1929 Kelly – trade directory/HALS William Thomas Winkworth The Old Hall   private resident,m.a.vicar
1935 Original rates/Hofton Rev William Winkworth house and premises   gross value 35 rateable value 26
1935 Kelly – trade directory/HALS Henry Albert Chidson The Old Hall   gentry
1937 Kelly – trade directory/HALS Henry Albert Chidson The Old Hall   private resident
1939 National Registration Identity Cards/National Archives Arthur Jg Lindsell  The Old Hall. married   DOB 9/9/1880 Solicitor Age 59
1939 National Registration Identity Cards/National Archives Frances May Lindsell  The Old Hall. married   DOB 17/3/1884 Unpaid domestic duties Age 55
1939 National Registration Identity Cards/National Archives Lena Slater   Married.   DOB 20/2/1892 Teacher of domestic study Age 47
1939 National Registration Identity Cards/National Archives Elizabeth B Lindsell  The Old Hall. single   DOB 1/7/1909 Private secretary Age 30
1939 National Registration Identity Cards/National Archives  The Old Hall. single   DOB 1/7/1909 private secretary Age 30
1939 National Registration Identity Cards/National Archives Margaret Rose Turner   single   DOB 6/12/1892 Cook general Age 47

 

Share this page: