One of the volunteers working on the Lacock Abbey archives asked me to help with reading two unusual documents (2664bx61/60). They were two orders issued in June 1631 by Star Chamber, a much feared court which vigorously protected royal rights and privileges and became synonymous with misuse and abuse of power by the King and his circle.  The documents offer indemnity from arrest for any violence used in assisting the sheriff and trained band to apprehend several persons who were believed ‘in the night season’ to have destroyed the fences and enclosures in Braydon Forest, near Cricklade, and to have threatened similar action in Blackmore or Melksham forest. These royal forests had been recently disafforested, Braydon the previous year and Blackmore 19 years ago. This was a process which removed them from the jurisdiction of forest law and gave it the status of ordinary land. In effect it allowed the land to be divided into enclosed fields and coppices held by individual farmers, who paid rents to the royal agents who in turn paid the crown for the franchise. This was a controversial move, motivated to raise revenue for the crown, which ended common rights in the forest. The disaffected in Blackmore Forest were believed to have met the ‘Ryotters and Mutiners’ of Braydon Forest and thus posed a threat which prompted this pre-emptive action. The royal farmer had built ‘several faire houses’ for the tenants, and also a church for the inhabitants ‘to repaire to to heare devyne service’. Allowances had been given to the ‘pretended commoners’ and the tenants who by their great labours, charges industry have brought the ground into good tillage and pasture land. It was claimed that the would-be rioters were believed to come from Lacock. Of the seven named, four were among the fifty-five listed in the Braydon forest document, and were presumably the 17^th century equivalent of ‘flying pickets’.

Where was this church? I could find no reference to the licensing or serving of this church in the diocesan archives, or any indication of how long it lasted. This appears to be the only evidence of it that has come to light. Evidence of its probable location is provided by a deed of division of what remained of the forest, which appears to be the eastern part, in 1818 between Thomas Bruges and Edward Philips in another collection in Wiltshire and Swindon Archives (1985/1/1).


The map associated with the deed of dvision, 1818
Ref:1985/1/1

 The associated map describes Chapel Ground and Chapel Mead on the site of what became the grounds of Sandridge Park. By 1838, and the tithe apportionment, Chapel Ground has become The Park, although Chapel Mead retained its original name.


Section of the map showing Chapel Ground and Chapel Mead

 This little piece of research illustrates extremely well the importance of having different archives brought together in the History Centre. We do not know whether the church was built of wood or stone, and what evidence of its foundations may be discernable to archaeological investigation, although house platforms have been identified on the site. The documentary evidence suggests that this might be the hamlet established in the 1620’s for the forest land tenants, and this will be added to the Historic Environment Record maintained by the Archaeology Service also based in the History Centre. If you have enjoyed this article, the following entries may also be of interest:

The King of Limbs

A Hunting Lodge for King John?

New technology helps us appreciate Wiltshire's past

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In August 2011 Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund for just over £500,000 to help acquire, catalogue and make available the archives of the Lacock Abbey estate, which have been on deposit with Wiltshire and Swindon Archives since 1991. The owner needs to sell the collection and the Archives are their preferred purchaser. This extensive archive, occupying 100 boxes on 35 metres of shelving, documents the Talbot, Davenport and Feilding families and their estates from the 12^th-20^th centuries. It includes estate records, personal papers, naval records, and material relating to the East India Company, amongst others.
Map of Lacock, 1764
Ref: 2664

These records are very important for local history, and the family history of those who were tenants of the estate, as well as for the history of the owners themselves. Lacock itself is a very special village which has remained virtually unchanged for decades, thanks to the generous gift of the village by the Talbot family, to the National Trust. Since family connections and interests rarely remain within one county, the range of this collection extends to other parts of the country, including Shropshire and Worcestershire, and, even, overseas. However, material within a collection is often so inextricably linked it is not always feasible or appropriate to split it up among archive repositories. Any large estate or family archive is like a complex jigsaw puzzle – the pieces of it interlink and it is vitally important to keep this collection in public hands and to ensure it is not split up at auction and its historical value diminished.

This month (December 2011) we have just heard that our application has gone through to the next stage, where it will be developed into a detailed project. This is very good news – it means the HLF believe this is a worthwhile project – however there is still a lot of work to be done. The aim of the project is to make this wonderful collection more accessible to the public by cataloguing it, repairing any fragile material, and finding innovative ways to promote its use. One way of doing this will be through the creation of a website optimised for mobile phone use, which will not just include information about the archives but also images and oral history recordings of reminiscences by local residents. There will be a range of community participation activities to support the creation of content and to promote the collection’s use. There will also be separate on-line material specially designed for schools to use. The project will need full community support and lots of volunteer time if it is to be successful.

If you would like to get involved we would love to hear from you – all are welcome to attend  a public meeting on Thursday 26 January 2012, at 4 pm, at Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Cocklebury Road, Chippenham SN15 3QN.

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In November 2011, BBC TV will be broadcasting a series of four programmes based at Avebury Manor, a National Trust property in North Wiltshire set within the renowned, prehistoric stone circle of Avebury. The purpose of the collaboration between the National Trust and the BBC has been to restore parts of the interior of the Manor; features will include a Victorian kitchen, together with a kitchen garden of the same period. 

Avebury Manor
Ref: P45015

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The name Shrewton, the village set in the middle of Salisbury Plain, means the sheriff’s farm; the sheriff being Edward of Salisbury, Sheriff of Wiltshire who held the manor in the late 12^th and early 13^th centuries. But the present village of Shrewton is made up of seven medieval villages and hamlets, three of which were separate manors in 1086. One of these was Maddington – the maidens’ farm. The maidens were the nuns of Amesbury Abbey, later Priory, who held land here from Saxon times until the dissolution in 1539.

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