1617 Survey of the Manor of Framfield

I've just come back from Brian Philips' reading of some of the 1617 Survey of the Manor of Framfield.  As he read from a facsimile of the old manuscript the noises of a modern bank holiday seemed to fade away as the old words took us back to a time when traffic meant horses and parcels were plots of land, not something to be delivered by a harassed courier.

Brian's audience beginning to gather outside Bridge Cottage.

Brian did his reading outside Bridge Cottage, which stands a little way back from the High Street, or  "Uckfield Street", as it was known in 1617. Of course, the town would have been very small then and surrounded by farms and fields. The survey speaks of pastures, meadows, arable, orchards, coppices and commons. 

The survey was taken 400 years and one day ago today (28th of August, 2017).  I haven't tried to take accurate notes of who owned what but have tried to capture a little of the half-familiar and half-strange picture of the Uckfield that the old manuscript conjured up.

I was struck by the familiarity of the old place names including:

• lands adjacent to Harlings
• Ridgewood
• Boothland
• Horsted Pond
• Luxford
• Hempstead Lane
• Ringles Cross.

I found myself wondering where Ridgewood Common was. Where were Budney Lane, Ridgelands, Ridge lane and Stuckle stones? Brian later explained that the latter was at the end of Snatts Road.

I was intrigued by people's names. There were a couple of esquires mixed amongst the more humble men. A woman's name suddenly stood out in this man's word of property. I wondered what Widow Saunders was like. Was she considered an attractive catch? or a bit of a dragon? or both?

My breath caught a little when the word "Workhouse" was mentioned. The Act for the Relief of the Poor 1601 meant that each Parish had to have a workhouse. The old Uckfield of the 400 year-old manuscript suddenly sounded a lot less idyllic.

A little of the magic returned when I had a chance to look at the old writing in the copy.

Sample of the Manuscript. It mentions Richard Snatt.

Until a few years ago, some of our relations lived in Snatts Road so I was particularly intrigued by mention of Richard and William Snatt who both had land in the area. The sample of manuscript shown mentions Richard Snatt's land when describing the land that belonged to Richard Dinard. 

As I walked back home through Hempstead Meadow nature reserve and along Hempstead Lane, I thought about how much had changed. Even the magnificent, ancient trees of Lime Tree Avenue would not even have been planted when the survey was taken.

Refs:
The survey is kept in the Keep. ADA 137.
1617 Survey of the Manor of Framfield.