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-enclosur e plan and book the properties identifies owners and tenants

Date	Source	Owner/Buyer	Occupier	Comment
1811	Pre enclosure	Emilius Radcliffe	William Davis	Cottage and garden.
1818	enclosure	Emilius Radcliffe
1841	census		John  Parkins – Agricultural Labourer
1851	census		John Parkins	Agricultural labourer aged 30 .
1861	census		John Parkins	Agricultural labourer aged 40 with a family of 8.
1863	rates	F Radcliffe	John Parkins	Cottage Rateable value £3.
1871	census		Charles Parkins	Agricultural labourer.
1877	sanitation	Squire Radcliffe	Charles Parkins	Cottage With Garden. Well, Drainage-Into Main. 6 Inmates Sharing 3 Living Rooms, 3 Sleeping Rooms And Privy
1877	School admission register		John  Parkins born 11/9/1869	living with Charles  Parkins
1881	census		Charles Parkins	Gardener aged 37 with a family of 7.
1881	School admission register		Frederic  Parkins born 28/3/1874	Last school – Infant Department,  living with Charles  Parkins
1886	School admission books		Nellie Parkins	living with Charles  Parkins
1887	School admission books		Grace Parkins	living with Charles  Parkins
1888	School admission books		Grace Parkins	living with Charles  Parkins
1890	School admission register		Nellie  Parkins born 30/9/1882	living with Charles  Parkins
1890	School admission books		Frank Parkins	living with Charles Stapleton  Parkins
1891	census		Charles Parkins	Gardener aged 47.
1896	School admission register		Frank  Parkins born 15/5/1888	living with Chas  Stephen Parkins
1901	census		Herbert Sheppard	Under gardener domestic.
1906	School admission register		Eldred  Hubbard born 25/11/1896	Last school – Pirton Infants,  living with Eldred  Hubbard
1906	School admission register		Eleanor M  Hubbard born 22/2/1898	Last school – Pirton Infants,  living with Eldred  Hubbard
1909	register of electors		Eldred Hubbard	Great Green dwelling house
1910	rates	F Radcliffe	Eldred Hubbard	Gardener at Highdown.
1910	1910 rates	F Radcliffe	Eldred  Hubbard	Cottage
1910	School admission register		John    Hubbard born 12/7/1903	Last school – Pirton Infants,  living with Eldred  Hubbard
1910	register of electors		Eldred Hubbard	Great Green dwelling house
1911	census		Eldred Hubbard	Domestic gardener aged 38 working at Highdown.
1911	register of electors		Eldred Hubbard	Great Green dwelling house
1912	register of electors		Eldred Hubbard	Great Green dwelling house
1913	register of electors		Eldred Hubbard	Great Green dwelling house
1914	School admission register		Ruth  Hubbard born 25/3/1907	Last school – Pirton Infants,  living with Eldred  Hubbard
1914	register of electors		Eldred Hubbard	Great Green dwelling house
1915	register of electors		Eldred Hubbard	Great Green dwelling house
1917		F Radcliffe	Harry Handscome	.
1935	1935 rates	Harry Hanscombe	Harry Hanscombe	Cottage And Premises
1936	rates	Harry Handscome	Harry Handscome	cottage and premises Rateable value £5.
1941	1941 Farm survey	Rev C Hewitt of The Vicarage Pirton	Harry  Handscombe, Full Time Farmer
1974		Harry Handscome sold to Michael Gander	Michael  Gander	See house sale document.
2012		Michael  Gander	Michael  Gander	.
1930	oral		Harry Handscome	Harry was a smallholder with land down Hambridge Way near the Shoulder of Mutton and the Glebe..  Thatch removed in 1926