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 and 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 | source | owner/buyer | occupier | comment |
| 1576 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | Richard Ansell | Tenement. Next To West Well 20ac | |
| 1652 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | Joseph Ansell transferred ownership to Joseph Ansell | Edward Ansell | Westwell. half an acre of land where it standeth & 3 roods joseph Ansell is son of joseph Ansell |
| 1663 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | Joseph Ansell | Westwell. Joseph Ansell 2 hearths | |
| 1693 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | John Ferryan transferred ownership to James King | Westwell. 1 orchard &1 acre &1 rood this descended to James King after death of John Ferryan, James is the nephew and heir of Joseph Ansell | |
| 1707 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | James King transferred ownership to William Hale | Westwell. 3 roods in Upper Crofts | |
| 1719 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | William Hale transferred ownership to Robert Smart | The Crofts, Shillington Road 3 roods in Upper Crofts | |
| 1732 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | Robert Smart transferred ownership to Benjamin Smart | Messuage. 3 roods in Upper Crofts Benjamin Smart is Robert’s grandson | |
| 1742 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | Benjamin Smart transferred ownership to William Rawbone | William Rawbone | Messuage Orchard. 3 roods in Upper Crofts |
| 1781 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | Messuage Orchard. 3 roods in Upper Crofts | ||
| 1791 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | William Rawbone transferred ownership to Issac Coxall | Messuage Orchard. 3 roods in Upper Crofts | |
| 1791 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | William Rawbons transferred ownership to Issac Coxall | Cottage. Hill End orchard | |
| 1791 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | Issac Coxall transferred ownership to John Turner | Cottage. Hill End | |
| 1811 | Pre enclosure Plan/Hofton | John Turner | John Turner | |
| 1818 | Enclosure award/HALS | John Turner | House and orchard. 1 rood 24 perch | |
| 1818 | Manor of Pirton rectory court Book/HALS | John Turner | Messuage. Orchard 1 rood 24p | |
| 1841 | Register of electors/HALS | John Turner | House and land | |
| 1841 | Census 1841 | John Turner | Near Burge End. John Turner – Carpenter age 75 | |
| 1842 | Register of electors/HALS | John Turner | House and land | |
| 1844 | Register of electors/HALS | John Turner | House and land Near Burge End | |
| 1845 | Register of electors/HALS | John Turner | House and land Near Burge End | |
| 1846 | Register of electors/HALS | John Turner | House and land Near Burge End | |
| 1847 | Register of electors/HALS | John Turner | House and land Near Burge End | |
| 1858 | Court book/ St Johns College Cambridge | Charles Kingsley transferred ownership to Lavinia Kingsley | Messuage. with a close or orchard Charles Kingsley died 1849 and Lavinia produced a sale notice between James King and Mary Ann Kingsley and Lavinia | |
| 1891 | Census 1891 | Thomas Ashton | Near Burge End. Thomas Ashton – Baker, Own Account age 55 | |
| 1901 | Census 1901 | Thomas Ashton | Pirton. Thomas Ashton – Baker age 65 | |
| 1909 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Hedley Ashton | Hedley Ashton was a lodger bedroom first floor, furnished |
| 1910 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Hedley Ashton | Hedley Ashton was a lodger bedroom first floor, furnished |
| 1910 | Rates/HALS | Francis Ashton | Thomas Ashton | Land. Near Burge End 2 acre 3 rood 9 perch gross value £5 13s rateable value £5 10s |
| 1910 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | House. division can be P =separate list of parochial electors can vote at parochial elections | |
| 1911 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Hedley Ashton | Hedley Ashton was a lodger bedroom first floor, furnished |
| 1911 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Thomas Ashton | House. |
| 1911 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | House. division can be P =separate list of parochial electors can vote at parochial elections | |
| 1911 | Census 1911 | Thomas Ashton | Thomas Ashton – Baker age 75 | |
| 1911 | Census 1911 | Hedley Ashton | Hedley Ashton – Baker age 31 | |
| 1911 | Census 1911 | Thomas Ashton | 7 rooms 3 in household Thomas Ashton Baker – age 75 | |
| 1911 | Census 1911 | Hedley Ashton | 7 rooms 3 in household Hedley Ashton Baker – age 31 | |
| 1912 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Hedley Ashton | Hedley Ashton was a lodger bedroom first floor, furnished |
| 1912 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Thomas Ashton | House. Village |
| 1912 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | House. division can be P =separate list of parochial electors can vote at parochial elections | |
| 1912 | Kelly – trade directory/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Baker. | |
| 1913 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Hedley Ashton | Near Burge End. Hedley Ashton was a lodger bedroom first floor, furnished |
| 1913 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Thomas Ashton | House. Village |
| 1913 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | House. Near Burge End division can be P =separate list of parochial electors can vote at parochial elections | |
| 1914 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Hedley Ashton | Near Burge End. Hedley Ashton was a lodger bedroom first floor, furnished |
| 1914 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Thomas Ashton | House. Village |
| 1914 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | House. Near Burge End division can be P =separate list of parochial electors can vote at parochial elections | |
| 1915 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | Thomas Ashton | House. |
| 1915 | Register of electors/HALS | Thomas Ashton | House. Near Burge End division can be P =separate list of parochial electors can vote at parochial elections | |
| 1926 | Kelly – trade directory/HALS | George Thomas Ashton | The Crofts, Shillington Road private resident | |
| 1929 | Kelly – trade directory/HALS | George Thomas Ashton | The Crofts, Shillington Road private resident | |
| 1935 | Original rates/Hofton | Hannah Potter | Hannah Potter | House and premises. gross value 26 rateable value 19 |
