There is an interesting reference to 6 houses in St. Margaret's Street and Morgan's Hill in Bradford owned by Zachariah Shrapnell(II) in 1723 which form part of his marriage settlement. He is referred to as living at that time in a new built house at Wingfield (Midway Manor) and the houses are let to John Bailward(455)Aony Sims, Sarah Hopkins, James Morris, Robert Deverall(484) Elianor Alderwick(482) Uncle, Zachaariah (I) inherits Shrapnell House (7 St. Margaret's Street) and it`s substantial grounds extending over St. Margaret's Hill in 1688 on the death of his father Henry. Shrapnel - a successful Cooper. Zachariah (I) becomes a wealthy Clothier and initially rents out parcels of ground on St. Margaret's Hill for £1 a year on 1,000 year leases from 1689 to 1698. During this time a number of gabled house are built amongst which are the 6 mentioned in the marriage settlement. The building which now is used by the firm Ourdnet (no. 5) was no doubt built by him before he died in 1723. This could well be that which is rented by the Clothier John Bailward, whose family lived at Frankley. His Will of 1743 describes him as a Gentleman of Bradford who leaves his properties to his wife Constance and then his only son John Bailward.

Will of Henry Shrapnell 1680
daughter Mary Deverell the wife of Anthony Deverell
my daughter Edith Hodges, wife of John Hodges
my daughter Alice Marvin, wife of Robert Marvin
I give unto my grandchild Hanna Shrapnell, daughter of John Shrapnell
. I give unto my daughter Ann Webb, wife of Francis Webb
Sarah Webb, my Grandchild
I do give unto my son John Shrapnell of Trowbridge, in the County of Wiltshire, Cooper

Deeds for Garage (484)
Lease 5 Sept, 1692, for consideration Grant to Edward Deverell of Bradford , Rough Mason all that cottage or dwelling house
1692 between Z. Shrapnell 1st part and George Lowell
Z. Shrapnell 1st part and Richard Gardener other part All that new erected Messuage, tenemant 35 feet in length and 201/2 feet in breadth situate and being in Bradford adjoining to the Orchard of said Z. Shrapnell on the north- east side thereof to the way enjoyed in common between Zachariah Shrapnell and Richard Gardener and their tenants on the south & near and adjoining to the Tenement of William Wastfield an the south west side , there of and about 27 feet in length on South west Corner of said Tenement(484) & running even there with down towards the said William Wastfield's House there being only a way 6 feet wide to part the same from the ground granted to William Wastfield (489?) (No Where Lane)
Item I give my cousin John Bailward of Bradford aforesaid dark grey Cloth sufficient to make him a suit of Mourning - (Will of Zachariah Shrapnell 17th May1723)

112/1/21 - date: 26 June 1690
1. John Hodges in Bradford. 2. William Kendall and Mary, daughter of John Hodges.
Will of John Hodges, father in law of William Kendall 1715
my daughter in law Mary Hodges the house that Richard Hollyday lives in on Morgans Hill
Mary Kendall, daughter of William Kendall and her assigns all that the House that George Foxell (?) lives in on Morgans Hill
I give to my son in law William Kendall and Mary his wife the House that Mr Mathew Smith lives in on Morgans Hill

1837/1 1820-1936 Deeds relating to properties in Morgans Hill, Nowhere Lane and St. Margaret's Street adjoining the Particular Baptist Chapel, Bradford-on-Avon, formerly part of the Bishoprick estates of the Manor of Monkton Farleigh and Cumberwell
All that piece or parcel of void ground being the site of 3 messuages formerly in the occupation of Thomas Brown, widow Baily and Haar Gibbs and afterwards of William Holbrook and William Hanny. But now untenanted the tenements formerly standing thereon having sometime fallen down and also that messuage in St. Margarets Street formerly occupied by Ebenezer Brown Apothecary, now by Joseph Mundy and also that messuage in No Whers Lane formerly occupied by Thgomas Crook and also that messuage in Morgans Hill formerly in occupation of William Gerrish afterwards and of late by Jane Abrahams and that messuage in Morgans Hill in occupation of Thomas Paul afterwards of James Mead and now Nathaniel (?) Mead and also those 3 messuages adjoining each other on Morgan`s Hill formerly in occupation of Jane Sara Orchard, John Holbrook and Widow Dicks (?) and now of John Gibbs, Jane Green and Joanna Piles and all houses, outhouses … Zacahriah Shrapnel Warren said John Lutin as tenant.

947/1472
John Long of Tilshead Ldge & Joseph Mundy of Bradford Clothier , 1820 granted by Rev. Zachariah Shrapnell Warren of Oakham , Rutland 20 year lease sum of £4 formerly in the possession of William Hood, but now in possession of Robert Barton N. Side and a house formerly in possession of Ebenezer Brown now Joseph Mundy on or towards south part , rent of 2/- to John Long suit & service to court of John Long kept in Manor of Monkton Farleigh and Cumberwell.

The Development of St. Margaret's Hill

In 1001A.D.Ethelred gives the Monastery and Vill of Bradford to the Abbey of Shaftesbury. A copy of the Charter still exists and defines the boundaries of the hundred of Bradford including the town and surrounding villages. In Domesday Book there is a record of the lands of Humphrey de Lisle including Cumberwell, Broughton and Castle Combe.By 1426 Holt had been granted to the Lisle family, who held it until c.1740. The Hall Family from at least the 13th Century were major landowners in Bradford with the Lisle's. At the close of the 15th century (as appears by a deed dated 21st Edward iv.) Henry Hall who had lately succeeded to the estates of his father, Nicholas Hall, had lands in Bradford, Lye, Troll Parva, Slade, Ford, Wraxall, Holt, Broughton, Marlborough, Okeburn Maeyset, in Wiltshire and at Freshford, Iford, Mitford, Frome, Fleete, Widcombe, Portishead, and other places in Somerset.
The Abbess of Shaftesbury owned the Prebendal Manor and the Ley Manor.
The ' Prebendal Manor' was given to the Dean and Chapter of Bristol by Henry VIII in 1543. In this gift was included all that hitherto had appertained to the Abbess as ' Hector' of Bradford. They hold the glebe farms and lands, (the latter lying dispersedly in small portions throughout the whole parish),-the houses built on them in the town itself - the great Tithes, the advowson of the living. The land possessed by them amounts to some 530 acres, more than half of which is in the -Tithing of Winsley.
The Lay Manor remained with the crown until granted to Sir Francis Walsingham in 1576 by Queen Elizabeth I. Then given as a dowry for his daughter Frances when she married Sir Philip Sidney. She later married The Earl of Essex and finally the Earl of Clanricarde. By 1613 they were in financial difficulties and sold off much of the estate to John Bayley, Richard Dicke, Edward Long, Robert Graunt, Walter Yerbury and others. What was left of the borough of Bradford was passed on to John Powlett, Marquis of Winchester who had married their daughter Honora do Burgh in 1633.A descendant Mr Powlett Wright sold the Manor of Bradford except Barton Farm and some other properties to Paul Methuen of Corsham Court in 1774.
Anthony Rogers died in 1583, and his estates passed to his son-in-Iaw, John Hall, but his widow, Anne, was succeeded in Holt Manor by Anthony Lisle, who was the son of Thomas Lisle, Anne's son by her first husband, Lancelot Lisle.
From looking at the Kingston Papers at Nottingham University the Hall Estate stretched from Troll to where the Halls Alms House is today. The Prebend Manor had grounds to the river on the other side of St. Margaret's Street to the river. The Lisles lands were on St Margaret's Hill
Deeds relating to properties in Morgans Hill, Nowhere Lane and St. Margaret's Street adjoining the Particular Baptist Chapel, Bradford-on-Avon, formerly part of the Bishoprick estates of the Manor of Monkton Farleigh and Cumberwell (Domesday- belonged to the Lisle family).
212B/489 - date: 1723/4 February 12
[from Scope and Content] Bottome, Little Inclosure, Wettmeads Bottom pasture, Withy Bed, Adams's Mead, Withy Mead, Lady Mead, Two Acres in Backleighs, Blackleighs, Fresford Mead, all in Winfield, Bradford, Westwood, Hungerford Farley, Co. Wilts. and Somerset. Part of Vyleaze Mead, Velleaze, land in the common field of Westwood, formerly part of Rowley Farm. Comerwell mead close in Bradford; a messuage and Moores 2 closes, land in Elmercross field, Littlefield, Wilderness alias Winterless field; 6 messuages in St. Margaretts street and Morgans Hill in Bradford.


The Area in 1600
Pam Slocombe from the Wiltshire Building Record has carried out a thorough survey of building .Her report shows that it was built c.1600 and extended a further 6 feet nearer no 5 St. Margarets Street. The present frontage was altered in 1690 and 1850. Her theory is that it was a non domestic building at this time and may probably have been a School, similar in lay out to that of Jenners School in Crickslade. Could House have been similar to the Prebend House and built for the Steward to the Lisle family who had considerable property in Bradford at the time.

The building is situated at the tip of a wedge-shaped plot bounded by Bridge Street and St Margaret's Street with steeply rising ground towards the rear. It is above flood levels of the river Avon. Original Building and land purchased by Henry Shrapnell Senior. A series of 1,000 year leases from 1690 to 1698 show that the ground was bounded by the line of St. Margaret's Hill and could well have extended to St. Margaret's Place (Bush's Alley) as in 1850 they still own a number of cottages in the Square. Directly opposite was the large Prebend House with an Estate owned by the Dean and Chapter of Bristol Cathedral from lands given by Henry Viii in 1550.
Three possible land owners in 1600 the Hall Family, Lord Powlett or the Lisle Family
The extracts are of the date 1629-1631
Freeholders fines for Respite of Suite to the Courts.
Sir William Lisle payeth yearly for Suite fine .. 0-3-0d
Sir William Eire payeth yearly for the like ....... 0-1-0d
John Hall, Esq. for the like............................ 0-0-8d
William Powlett, Esq. for the like...................... 0-1-0d
Thomas Westley, Gent.for the like ............... 0-1-0d
Thomas Barnfield, Gent. for the like ................. 0-0-8d
Samuel Yerbury ...................................... 0-0-4d
Land probably owned by the Lisle family, lords of the manor of Holt as in 1732 Edward Lisle of Crooks Easton to James Miles of Bradford. Oaky Coppice [near Belcombe Court] totalling 4 acres,
also a tenement, backside and garden 'situated near the South West end of the bridge in Bradford'. All for £100, the tenement probably for around £60. This property is title 460 on Tithe Map and today includes 3 Gables and the Millenium Garden" Lot 461 is Bridge Tea Room which has R.H. 1675 above it referring to Richard Halliday who in 1675 probably built his house on land purchased from the Lisle`s in 1675 .
In 1600 Buildings are: St. Margaret's Hospital (founded 1235), Prebendal House (c.1500), St. Katherines Hospital (pre 1535)

The main range appears to date from about the period 1600-1620. The evidence for this is the thickness of the exterior walls, the carpentry of the roof which is all one build and the beam stops. The roof is a type used with early gable dormers and these would be much larger than the present dormers. The original plan seems to have been a kitchen at the S end with a newel stair adjoining and a beam running N/S. Any further original partitioning of the ground floor is not easy to determine and the remaining beams run E/W without mortices in the soffits for studs. The large lateral stack at the rear has been much altered over the years but it straddles the central room and the N room (see reconstruction drawing). There were first floor and attic rooms. There were no rear extensions.
If the original building was a house, it had a heated kitchen and staircase at the S end, with perhaps a cross passage and a large hall. However, it is not convincing as a house plan and I wonder if it was a public building, perhaps a school. There are similarities with the 1651 Jenner's School at Cricklade and the 1668 schoolroom at the Hungerford Almshouses, Corsham. The only hint that Bradford had a school somewhere in the 17th century comes from an item in the Jackson Collection, held by the Society of Geneology which refers to a grant of rents by Edward Norton(SAL/MS/817/2) to found a grammar School in 1584. There is also a letter of inquiry sent in 1672 to a school in the town (K. Berry 'Bradford on Avon's Schools' page 19).
Anthony Methuen leased from 1695 plots of land for periods of 99 years on the understanding that those buyinmg the leases would ertect dwelling houses and so the Lower Rank and Middle Rank.
Morgans Hill Site
The deeds for the site go back to 1693, when Richard Gardener, a carpenter, sold two messuages or tenements adjoining each other, with a stable, in or near St. Margaret's Street to John Plurrett, a fellmonger (who was also the first Pastor of the nearby Baptist Chapel). These two cottages (demolished in 1964) stood on the north-west side of our pathway. Included in the sale was a close of pasture land, which was 50 feet long by 42 feet wide (Meeting House site), bounded by the garden wall of William Beasor and also by a garden adjoining a tenement being erected by Edward Deverell, which seems likely to be one of those still there in St. Margaret's Place. Part of the sale also included the strip of land where our pathway is, and John Plurrett was allowed to build a tenement which could abut up against the south-west poyne end of Vllllan Beasor's tenement. The Plurretts did build, and sold it, and the adjoining house, to James and Ann Smith.The other house, which was on the corner of Beasor Street and Morgan's Hill, was bought by Sarah Grant, and also the land, then being used as a garden and orchard, for £164 4s 0d from Mary Tidcombe, a widow, and Richard Chubb, inn holder, who had lent money to Bbenezer Plurrett. In the deed of sale dated the 10th of July 1740, the plot of ground was bounded on the south-east side by a garden adjoining a brewhouse, which had once been owned by James Villet and Thomas Bush. This is probably why St. Margaret's Place was formerly called Bush's Alley.

1670 a deed refers to Henry Shrapnel the younger (died 1688). Say if he was 20 then, born 1650, father born at least 1630 (died 1680).

Deed for 1936 Schedule
1. ALL THAT building then used as a Garage (formerly two messuages or dwelling houses) situated on Morgan's Hill Bradford-on-Avon aforesaid at the junction of the lane called Nowhere Lane with that called Saint Margaret's Hill (formerly Morgan's Hill) Bradford-on-Avon aforesaid late in the occupation of the Testatrix and then of the said Elizabeth Sarah Beaven and Agnes Beaven Which said building of the premises numbered 484 on the Tithe Commutation Map for the said Parish of Bradford and in the Book of Reference thereto described as three tenements containing 6 perches
2. ALL THAT piece of garden land (formerly the site of 6 cottages known as 8. 9, 10, 11, Saint Margaret's Hill) situate in Nowhere Lane Bradford-on-Avon aforesaid adjoining the premise above described on the North side late in the occupation of the Testatrix and then of the Beaven and A. Beaven which said premises were nos. 485 on the said Tithe Commutation Map
3. ALL THAT piece of garden land (formerly the site of a small tenement) situate in Nowhere Lane aforesaid bound in the North by property of the said E.S. and A. Beaven and on the south and west by premises formerly owned by Julius Augustus Fricker and on the east by Nowhere Lane aforesaid which said land was formerly in the occupation of the Testatrix and then of the said E.S. and A. Beaven.

 


1794 Zachariah Shrapnell Will
all that Messuage or tenement near adjoining to the said Mansion House in St. Margaret's Street aforesaid with New Workshop and other Appurtenances thereunto belonging now in the Occupation and Renting of Benjamin Richardson, Cloth worker. Also all that Messuage or Tenement Situate at the Bottom of a place called "Nowhere Lane" in Bradford aforesaid with the New Building adjoining and Appurtenances belonging now in the occupation and renting of Richard Sheppard.

1841 Tithe Map
488 Three houses, Robert Smith, Samuel Hedges, Fred Frankling, James Grinell.

1868 Fricker Purchase document
All those workshops with the land, outbuildings and erections and premises belonging thereto adjoining the last described hereditaments leading out into Nowhere Lane and numbered 488 and the said Tithe Map and in the said Book of Reference therefore said stated 8 perches and which said workshops formally consisted of three cottages or tenements but have recently been converted into workshops by the said Henry Fricker and which are now in or lately was in his possession and part of the same in the occupation of Charles Long Builder.

Extract from tape interviews by Margaret Dobson for "Bradford Voices"
July 1989 Mrs. Bancroft (b.1913) who grew up at 7 St. Margaret's Street & Mrs. Granville, her niece, (b.1925)
We were lucky really, we didn't have a bathroom ( you used to have a tin bath), but we were snobbish enough to have an inside toilet and we had 4 bedrooms.That's next to the Liberal Club They've joined them together in some way, there's one couple living there (now). I don't know what they wanted all that space for,but there are 7 bedrooms between the two houses besides my Grandpa's workshop and there's a living room and sitting room in each one and we had what we used to call a scullery in those days.
Ours was the double fronted one and Grandpa's was the single fronted one but it went back. Our gardens went right back to where St Margaret's Court is now. The Liberal Club had a tennis court and our garden went right back to there,and in the garden there were 2 dilapidated houses. One house we daren't go in but the other house was quite a nice place actually. Upstairs and downstairs- it gradually went to rack and ruin and Grandpa kept fowls downstairs, pigeons upstairs and round the walled gardens he had a greenhouse and the rest was rabbit hutches. Now attached to that one there a stable for the horse. He had the horse stabled in there and a little place in there room for the carriage as well And they used to go out and come out by the side of St Margaret's Court where St Margaret's Court is, there were lovely houses there. Barton houses. and also houses opposite where they've made the garages. We used to call that Morgan's Hill.(now St. Margaret`s Hill).

16-17 St Margaret's Hill
Deeds- earliest 1840 executors of Edward Luxford, builder. Rates 1 st February 1692 between Z. Shrapnell 1st part and George Lowell other part goes on to describe land of 105 feet on the north side ranged from westside of 16 -17 to the Orchard Wall thereof of said Z. Shrapnell (term of 1000 years)… whereas by indenture of lease 5th May 1697
Z. Shrapnell 1st part and Richard Gardener other part All that new erected Messuage, tenemant 35 feet in length and 201/2 feet in breadth situate and being in Bradford adjoining to the Orchard of said Z. Shrapnell on the north- east side thereof to the way enjoyed in common between Zachariah Shrapnell and Richard Gardener and their tenants on the south & near and adjoining to the Tenement of William Wastfield an the south west side , there of and about 27 feet in length on South west Corner of said Tenement(484) & running even there with down towards the said William Wastfield's House there being only a way 6 feet wide to part the same from the ground granted to William Wastfield (489?) (No Where Lane)
Meddlycott Somerset Wills
Shrapnell An P. St Magdalen. Taunton A 1702 Mgr Noah Gent, Taunton. W d.1740 MON/3/B Monday Collection at S.R.S. Taunton, Parish of St. Magdalen.
1727 Thomas Burgis of Trowbridge, Richard Hawkins, Zachariah Shrapnell, late of Bradford, Clothier, Lease 5 Sept, 1692, for consideration Grant to Edward Deverell of Bradford , Rough Mason all that cottage or dwelling house, wherein he dwelt on land called "the Halfe" and 26 feet of 1/2 in length lands of Richard Gardner…

This Indenture made the thirteenth day of December 1915, between Arthur Edward Scrope Shrapnel
of 18 High Street, Harbone, Birmingham in the county of Warwick, Motor Mechanic of one part and Thomas Andrews of 41 Castle Street, Trowbridge in the County of Wilts. Engineer of the other part Whereas the said Arthur Edward Scrope Shrapnel iss seized of the lands. Messuages, heridiaments and premises described in the Schedule hereto subject to the Lease or respoective leases hereafter mentioned and to he term of years thereby created and is possessed of and otherewise well and sufficiently entitled to the quit or ground rents issuing and payable out of the same lands, messuages , herediaments and premises whereas the said Thomas Andrews is possessed of an otherewise entitled to the messuages, herediaments and premises described in the first part of the schedule for the unexpired residue of the terms of 1,000 years subject to the annual rents od o£1 and £1 10s. Reserved by indentures of lease dated respectively 1st February, 1695 and 5th May, 1697, and of the messuages described in the second part of the said schedule for the unexpired residue of a term of 1,000 years created by the Indenture of a lease dated 22nd October, 1689 ….. And whereas the said Arthur Edward Scrope Shrapnel has agreed with the said Thomas Andrews for the sale to him of the reversion of the said Lands, Messuages, Hereidiaments and premises and of the said rents issuing thereto of the price or sum of £30
Schedule referred to First Part

I give unto my daughter Mary Deverell the wife of Anthony Deverell one shilling. I give unto the four children of my daughter Rebecca Alderwicke the sums of five shillings a year of good money. I give unto my daughter Edith Hodges, wife of John Hodges one shilling. I give unto my daughter Alice Marvin, wife of Robert Marvin one shilling And my will so that forty shillings which there fore Robert Marvin (extract from 1680 Henry Shrapnell`s Will)
Item I give my cousin John Bailward of Bradford aforesaid dark grey Cloth sufficient to make him a suit of Mourning - (Will of Zachariah Shrapnell 17th May1723)
A Marriage settlement for the wedding of Zaccariah Shrapnell to Elizabeth Minifree in 1724 (W.R.O. 212b - 489)
six several messuages or tenements and premises with their appurtenances there to belonging situate and being in a street or place called St. Margaret`s Street and Morgans Hill in Bradford aforesaid and now or lately were in the Tenure or occupation of the said John Bailward, Anthony Sims, Sarah Hopkins, James Morris, Robert Deverall, and Elianor Alderwick,
Will of Zachariah Shrapnell 1794
All that Messuage or tenement near adjoining to the said Mansion House in St. Margaret's Street aforesaid with New Workshop and other Appurtenances thereunto belonging now in the Occupation and Renting of Benjamin Richardson, Cloth worker.
all that Messuage or Tenement Situate at the Bottom of a place called "Nowhere Lane" in Bradford aforesaid with the New Building adjoining and Appurtenances belonging now in the occupation and renting of Richard Sheppard
All and my said Messuages in St Margarets Street, Morgan`s Hill and Nowhere Lane in Bradford aforesaid and now in the Occupation of Renting of the widow Baily, Issac Gibbs, Thomas Brown, Dr. Browne (Apothecary) James Mead, William Gerrish, Thomas Paul John Holbrook, Widow Dicks(?)
8 St Margaret's St (Bindings Electic Shop)
Owner James Batten (son of Isaac deceased) Lease & Release 13th & 14th Feb. 1824 from Rev. Zachariah Shrapnell Warren to Issac Batten & Trustee (Issaac Batten Builder. All that piece or parcel of void ground late the site of 3 messuages or tenements and garden formerly in the occupation of Thomas Brown, Widow Bayly and Issac Gibbs and afterwards of William Holbrook and William Henry (Hanny). Situate and being in St. Margaret's St in Bradford containing about 10 1/2 perches more or less, bounded northerly and by in part eastwards by a messuage cottage and premises belonging to General Shrapnell and in the occupation of William Wrightman & others. Southward and in other part towards east by a messuage, cottage and premises called "The French Horn", belonging to Samuel Provuis and in occupation of John Holby and others and Westward by St Margaret's St. William Hamilton Warren married by license to Elizabeth Shrapnel H.T. 1794, Elizabeth Shrapnell baptised 1757 daughter of Zachariah. & Lydia.
Will of John Hodges, father in law of William Kendall, Tenant of 6 St. Margarets St.in the year 1715
In the name of God amen I John Hodges of Ashley in the Parish of Bradford in the County of Wiltshire, Serge maker, being of sound and perfect mind and memory do make this my last will and Testament in manner and form following first I commit my soul unto the hands of god looking for salvation by the merits death and passion of Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour, my Body I commit unto the earth to be decently buried at the discretion of my Executrix, limiting the expense of my funeral unto £10 , and in touching my worldly Estate I give and dispose thereof in manner and form following. Imp. I give unto my daughter Mary Kendall and her assigns all that my tiled houses at Ashley in the parish of Bradford and all that Close of Ground called House Croft and Street Closes that I purchased of the Commissioners of the Statue of Bankrupt with the Appurtenances for and during the term of 2 years after my decease and after that term then to my son John Hodges for his life if he comes personally unto Great Britain to enjoy it but in case he come not then my will is that Joseph Hodges his son shall have and enjoy it after the expiration of the said 2 years until his father comes personally as aforesaid. And also after the expiration of the said 2 years I give unto my Grandson Joseph Hodges the little Closet in the Cellar and the Cupboard and great Barrel Horse and Shelves drawers and Boiler under in the Kitchen all the shelves a board under them and the petition that makes the whitehouse all the shelves therein. I give him at the time of my decease the wrench and pan and the comb pot and one pair of Combs and my Black Coat or 5 yards of Serge or Drugett to make him one.
Item I give unto my Grandson Joseph Hodges , son of Joseph Hodges all the goods that in the two thatched houses of mine and 6 yards of Drugget to make him some cloths and in money 5 shillings and like wise I give him the bed and bedstead and the appurtenances in the cellar Chamber. Item I give unto James Hodges, son of John Hodges my Silver Tankard if he comes personally into Great Britain to demand the said Tankard, And if he comes not to demand the said Tankard I give the said Tankard to my Daughter Mary Kendall and the heirs of her body for ever Item I give to my granddaughter Martha Hodges, daughter of James Hodges and the Heirs of her body the Lords rent and the inheritances of William Harvies house for ever and in default of such heirs of her body then to Joseph Hodges , son of Joseph Hodges and his heirs for ever. Item I give unto Martha Hodges , daughter of James Hodges the house and garden that Goody Skrine lived in for her life and 6 foot broad of Ground the length of the house on the south side of him.
Item I give to the said Martha Hodges the bed and bedstead as I lent to her father and a kettle and platter and the Loom that was John Hawkins or in lieu of the loom the £3 that he owes on the said Loom and 6 yards of Druggett to make her some cloths.
Item I give her the sum of £3 when she shall come of Age and 30 shillings in household goods if the dye before then to my executrix. And after her desease I give the House that Goody Skrine lived in to Martha Kendall her heir and Assigns for ever.
Item I give to my daughter in law Mary Hodges the house that Richard Hollyday lives in on Morgans Hill during ye term of her life & the bed & bedstead and all belonging to him and the coffer and chest all in the Middle Garrett of the house I now live in for her life and 20 shillings to buy her some clothes and after her decease I give the said House to Henry Kendall & his Heirs during the whole term that is on it and also after decease I give the said goods in the middle garret to the said Henry Kendall his heirs and assigns and also I give the said Henry 6 yards of Druggett to make him a Coat and also I give him £3 in money.
Item I give to Mary Kendall, daughter of William Kendall and her assigns all that the House that George Foxell (?) lives in on Morgans Hill and backside and way there to belonging during the term that is on if thee paying the Lord sent to Mr Shrapnell and also I give to the said Mary £10 in money.
Item I give to my son in law William Kendall and Mary his wife the House that Mr Mathew Smith lives in on Morgans Hill aforesaid during their lives and the longest liver of then and after their decease then unto William Kendall their son his heirs and assigns during ye said term that is to come on it and after ye decease of William the father and Mary their mother I give to the said William Kendall the furnace and boiler of mine that is in the brewhouse thereof belonging also I give him £5 in money.
Item I give unto John Kendall , son of William Kendall the house and Garden and all the Ground below the wall, that William Kelston lives in Bearfield to him and his heirs for ever and also I give to said John the Loom that is in the said house and 40 shillings in money.
Item I give unto Edith , now daughter of the said William Kendall the House and garden that John Hawkins lives in Bearfield , and 8 foot breadth of Ground from the south side of the house ranging the whole length of the house to her for her life. And after her decease I give the said house and garden to her son William now and his heirs for ever never the less subjecting the said house and garden to be let unto the said William Kendall and Mary Kendall father and mother of the said Edith all the rent of 40 shillings per annum to be paid quarterly for as long time and term as they shall think fit to occupy the same also I give the said Edith now £5 in money. Item I give the lower part of North Close to my daughter Mary Kendall during her life.
Item I give the upper part of North Close also to my daughter Mary Kendall during her life never the less subjecting the same to the payment of 35 shillings per annum to her daughter Martha during that term and after the death of my daughter Mary the upper and lower part of North close I give to John Kendall and Mary Kendall son and daughter of said William Kendall and Mary Equally to be divided betwixt them & to their heirs and assigns for ever never the less subjecting the Upper part to the paying of 35 shillings per annum to the said Martha her heirs and assigns for ever otherwise she shall have liberty to take to the same .
Item I give to my Sister Francis Bland in money £5 and 6 yards of Black Serge to make her a Gown and to her husband Thomas Bland most part of my wearing Apparel.
Item I give to the poor of the Baptists meeting 20 shillings to be divided by the Minister .
Item I give unto my daughter Mary Kendall the bed and bedstead and all belonging to the same that I lye on for her life and after her decease to Mary Kendall her daughter and all the rest of my household goods not herein before given I give unto my grandchildren which are Mary Kendall's children to be equally divided between them after my daughter Mary Kendall decease or as they have occasion for it at the discretion of my trustees. And Whereas John Talbott doth owe now £5 on Bond my will is .. the said £5 that in case the said John Talbott shall pay a acuse to be said unto my Grandson Joseph Hodges, son of Joseph Hodges the sum of 30 shillings, and unto Joseph Hodges, son of John the sum of 30 shillings within the space of 2 years then the said Bond shall be void I do nominate and appoint my daughter Mary Kendall to be whole and sole executrix of this my last will and testatment .. Thomas Bush, John Brouse and John Willett to be Trustess of thisn my last will and Testament unto whom I do give 5 shillings appoint in Witness whereof I do hereunto lett my hand and seal this second day of January 1715, sealed, signed and published in presence of Edward Baily, Thomas Holbrook, Thomas Bush Jnr.
The Quakers were at one time a numerous and influential body in Bradford. Their first meeting-house seems to have been at Curnberwell (or rather, Frankley) now converted into a School. They afterwards (1710) built one in the court leading out of St. Margaret Street, and this, long disused by them, has been occupied for some years past as a British School. [This is no longer the case.] Many notices of interment in the " Cumberwell burial-ground" (especially in the year 1701) arc to be seen in the Parish Begister. In the year 1660 an attack was made upon them at Cumberwell, and one Robert Storr sent, for being concerned in it, as a prisoner to Sarum. John Clark, a Bradford Quaker, held, in 1695, a public disputation with a member of another section of non-conformists at Melksham, on the premises of Thomas Bevan. William Penn was in the chair as moderator, and, after the trial of skill had gone on for some time, closed the proceedings. Amongst the Quakers of Bradford-on-Avon too is to be reckoned ' Joseph Yerbury,' who lived at Well-close.
1841 Census
459 Four tenements, unoccupied, Jas. Marshman, John Sims, unoccupied.
1868 Fricker Purchase
occupations of Thomas Jones, Frederick King, James Holton and one void
W.B.A.1696
The Area in 1600
Pam Slocombe from the Wiltshire Building Record has carried ou a thorough survey of building .Her report shows that it was built c.1600 and extended a further 6 feet nearer no 5 St. Maragetrets Street. The present frontage was altered in 1690 and 1850. Her theory is that it was a non domestic building at this time and may probably have been a School, similar in lay out to that of Jenners School in Crickslade. Could House have been similar to the Prebend House and built for the Steward to the Lisle family who had considerable property in Bradford at the time.

The building is situated at the tip of a wedge-shaped plot bounded by Bridge Street and St Margaret's Street with steeply rising ground towards the rear. It is above flood levels of the river Avon. Original Building and land purchased by Henry Shrapnell Senior. A series of 1,000 year leases from 1690 to 1698 show that the ground was bounded by the line of St. Margaret's Hill and could well have extended to St. Margaret's Place (Bush's Alley) as in 1850 they still own a number of cottages in the Square. Directly opposite was the large Prebend House with an Estate owned by the Dean and Chapter of Bristol Cathedral from lands given by Henry Viii in 1550.
Three possible land owners in 1600 the Hall Family, Lord Powlett or the Lisle Family
The extracts are of the date 1629-1631
Freeholders fines for Respite of Suite to the Courts.
Sir William Lisle payeth yearly for Suite fine .. 0 3 0
Sir William Eire payeth yearly for the like ....... 0 1 0
John Hall, Esq. for the like............................ 0 0 8
William Powlett, Esq. for the like...................... 0 1 o
Thomas Westley, Gent.for the like ............... 0 1 0
Thomas Barnfield, Gent. for the like ................. 0 0 8
Samuel Yerbury ...................................... 0 0 4
Land probably owned by the Lisle family, lords of the manor of Holt as in 1732 Edward Lisle of Crooks Easton to James Miles of Bradford. Oaky Coppice [near Belcombe Court] totalling 4 acres,
also a tenement, backside and garden 'situated near the South West end of the bridge in Bradford'. All for £100, the tenement probably for around £60. This property is title 460 on Tithe Map and today includes 3 Gables and the Millenium Garden" Lot 461 is Bridge Tea Room which has R.H. 1675 above it referring to Richard Halliday who in 1675 probably built his house on land purchased from the Lisle`s in 1675 .
In 1600 Buildings are: St. Margaret's Hospital (founded 1235), Prebendal House (c.1500), St. Katherines Hospital (pre 1535)

The main range appears to date from about the period 1600-1620. The evidence for this is the thickness of the exterior walls, the carpentry of the roof which is all one build and the beam stops. The roof is a type used with early gable dormers and these would be much larger than the present dormers. The original plan seems to have been a kitchen at the S end with a newel stair adjoining and a beam running N/S. Any further original partitioning of the ground floor is not easy to determine and the remaining beams run E/W without mortices in the soffits for studs. The large lateral stack at the rear has been much altered over the years but it straddles the central room and the N room (see reconstruction drawing). There were first floor and attic rooms. There were no rear extensions.
If the original building was a house, it had a heated kitchen and staircase at the S end, with perhaps a cross passage and a large hall. However, it is not convincing as a house plan and I wonder if it was a public building, perhaps a school. There are similarities with the 1651 Jenner's School at Cricklade and the 1668 schoolroom at the Hungerford Almshouses, Corsham. The only hint that Bradford had a school somewhere in the 17th century comes from an item in the Jackson Collection, held by the Society of Geneology which refers to a grant of rents by Edward Norton(SAL/MS/817/2) to found a grammar School in 1584. There is also a letter of inquiry sent in 1672 to a school in the town (K. Berry 'Bradford on Avon's Schools' page 19).
Anthony Methuen leased from 1695 plots of land for periods of 99 years on the understanding that those buyinmg the leases would ertect dwelling houses and so the Lower Rank and Middle Rank.
Morgans Hill Site
The deeds for the site go back to 1693, when Richard Gardener, a carpenter, sold two messuages or tenements adjoining each other, with a stable, in or near St. Margaret's Street to John Plurrett, a fellmonger (who was also the first Pastor of the nearby Baptist Chapel). These two cottages (demolished in 1964) stood on the north-west side of our pathway. Included in the sale was a close of pasture land, which was 50 feet long by 42 feet wide (Meeting House site), bounded by the garden wall of William Beasor and also by a garden adjoining a tenement being erected by Edward Deverell, which seems likely to be one of those still there in St. Margaret's Place. Part of the sale also included the strip of land where our pathway is, and John Plurrett was allowed to build a tenement which could abut up against the south-west poyne end of Vllllan Beasor's tenement. The Plurretts did build, and sold it, and the adjoining house, to James and Ann Smith.The other house, which was on the corner of Beasor Street and Morgan's Hill, was bought by Sarah Grant, and also the land, then being used as a garden and orchard, for £164 4s 0d from Mary Tidcombe, a widow, and Richard Chubb, inn holder, who had lent money to Bbenezer Plurrett. In the deed of sale dated the 10th of July 1740, the plot of ground was bounded on the south-east side by a garden adjoining a brewhouse, which had once been owned by James Villet and Thomas Bush. This is probably why St. Margaret's Place was formerly called Bush's Alley.

1670 a deed refers to Henry Shrapnel the younger (died 1688). Say if he was 20 then, born 1650, father born at least 1630 (died 1680).
It would seem that there were occasions in which the Crown asserted its rights as Chief Lord. On the appointment for instance of a newly elected Abbess, the King not only gave his formal sanction to it, but directed the Sheriffs of the various counties, in which lands belonging to the Abbey were situate, to deliver seisin of the same to the Abbess BO appointed. This was the case on the election of ' Amicia Busaell ' in the year 1225. ( The document ia printed iu Hardy's ' Calendar of Ctoaa Rolls,' I. 553. The following is a translation of it. - " The King to the Sheriff of Dorset ', Health, - Know ye that we have given our royal consent and approval to the election of Amicia Russell, a nun of Shaftosbury, aa Abbess of Shaftes-bury. Wherefore we direct you without delay to deliver full seisin to her of all lands, rents, chattels, and other possessions belonging to the eaid Abbey. Witness, Henry, the King, at Eveaham, July 3, 12J3. The Bishop ot Saturn IB commanded to do hi a part in this matter ; " - viz-, of iiulUvtirtg the Abbes* to the eooleuHtieal right* pertaining to her offioe).

We have already observed that great as were the privileges and exemptions of the Abbess she was bound nevertheless to assist in some public works, and more especially to provide a certain number of fighting men to attend the King, her chief Lord, in his wars undertaken for the protection of his dominions. Agnes de Ferrar who was Abbess from 1252 to 1267, and Juliana Bauceyn, her successor, were both called upon for such help by Edward I. in his expeditions against Llewellyn, King of Wales. To enable her to provide such help, the Abbess, like all other tenants in chief, exacted from those who held a certain amount of land within the Manor the same free service which the king exacted from her. The portions of land held under such conditions were called Knights' Fees. The annual value of a knights' fee in England was fixed at £20, and every estate supposed to be of this value, or assessed at that amount, was bound to contribute the service of a soldier, or to pay, in the stead of this, a proportionate amercement called Escuage. The length of seryice demanded, or the amount of payment required, diminished with the quantity of land. For half a knight's fee 20 days' service was due, for an eighth part but 5 ; and when this was commuted for the pecuniary assessment above alluded to, a similar proportion
observed. We have many instances of tenures by Snight-within the Manor of Bradford. In the record for 1629 __John Hall, at Bradford, - John Blanchard, at Great Ashley, _Sir William Lisle, at Holte, - Daniel Yerbury, at Wrasall, _and others are said to have held lands by this tenure. [Queen Elizabeth's grant of the manor to Walsingham was for £13 : 16 : fij and A knight's fee.]
Every tenant within the Manor by Knight- Service was bonnd to render fealty, if not homage, to the Abbess. From both these obligations, she, as the head of a religions house, was exempted, and as the latter could only be received by the Lord in person, and the affairs of the Abbess were managed through her Steward or Seneschall, (as he was termed), it is conceived that an oath of fealty was all that was demanded from the superior tenants within this Manor. What was implied in this service is best explained in the words of Littleton- " Fealty is the same that fidelitas Is in Latin - And when a freeholder doth fealty to his Lord, he shall holde his right hand upon a booke, and shall say thus : - ' Know ye this, my Lord, that I shall be faithfull and true unto you, and faith to you shall beare for the lands which I claime to hold of you, and that I shall lawfully doe to you the cue tomes and service which I ought to doe, at the terms assigned, so help me God ud his saints ; ' and he shall kisse the booke."1
But in addition to this obligation which was thns binding on the higher order of Tenants within the Manor, all the vassals, of whatever degree, were bound to attend the Lord's courts, and 'do suit and service,' as it was termed. Of the courts themselves we shall speak presently : all that we will now say IB that in course of years this practice fell into desuetude, and was commuted into a money payment instead of personal attendance. Here we find such entries as the following, shewing to what a late period these payments to the Lord of the Manor were continued. The extracts are of the date1629-1631
" Freeholders fines for Respite of Suite to the Courts. Sir William Lisle payeth yearly for Suite fine ............ 0 3 Q
Sir William Sire payeth yearly for the like .............. 0 1 Q
John Hall, Esqrefor the like............................ 0 0 8
William Powlett, Esqre for the like...................... 0 1 o
Thomas Westley, Gentn for the like .................... 0 1 0
Thomas Barnfield, Gentn for the like .................... 0 0 8
SamuelYerbury ...................................... 0 0 4
Intoto............O 6 8"
In the following extract from the same record we have similar charges made on the several Tythings and Parishes within the Hundred. In the case of one Tything, Leigb. *nii Woolley, it seems that through their ' Tythingman' they were wont, even as recently aa two centuries ago, to render personal service and suit of Court.
" Yearly psymentB paid at the Law-days by the Tythingraan.
11 The Tything of Attford payeth by the Ty thing-man at the Lady-day Leot, in the came of Law-day silver, 2s. Gd., and at Michas Law-day 3s. 6d., and for respite of suite to the Three-WeeJcen Court yearly at Michas Low-day 13d. in toto per aan. .060
" The Tyihing of Holte payeth by the Tythingman the like sum, and in manner as before ..................................0 6 0
" Tie Tything of Ligho and Wooley yearly payeth by the T^thing-tnan at Lady-day Leet, in tbe name of certain money as Law-day silver, 3s. 4d. and Michas Law-da;, 2s. 4d., but nothing for respite of suite to this Court, because lie conimonly appeareth in
person
" The Tything of Trowlo by the Tythingman payeth yearly at either Law-day, 31d., and at Micbas for suite of Court, 12d. in toto ....................................................
" The Tything of Winnsaley and Stoke by tho TytWngnwn payeth yearly at either Law-day, 4s,, and at Michas 2s. for suite fine,
I.* Lnl_
046
046
toto
.............................................. 0 JO 0
" More tho said Tything payeth yearly at Michas a payment called
Vel-noble'................................................ 0 6 8
" The Tything of Wraiall payeth yearly by the Tythingman at
either Law-day, 2s. 43., and at Michae for suite fine, 16d..... 060 11 The Tything of Winkfield and Eowlaigh payeth no Law-day
silver, but at Michas for suite fine, 12d. ....................0 1 0
" Tho Tything of Chalfield payeth nothing ....................0 0 0
" Tlie Tithing of Comurwdl payeth no Law-day silver, but at
Michas for suite fine ...................................... 0 0 8
* Fel-jio&fc. Elsewhere this la called VaH-Mm\ey- Formerly the tenants of the Minor at Wlnslsj hod to pay this aaseHnicnt In kind: afterwords it was commuted for 6e. Sd., tbe value ot o, ' noble,' hence tho name Vel-itobfe. In the margin o' 'he U.S., quoted above, we have the following entry, " Tbe Homage of the copyhold*" gathereth within themaelvei jetflj. to be paid at one payment, vis. villd."
By the Bm>. W. H, Jones. 79
The Tythlng of Broughton also pa,yeth at Michw only 16d. 1^1- for [MS. illegible] (suite fines J) ....................0 1 4
*^ Som paid, 16a. lOd."
The whole spirit of the Feudal Tenures was based on the
oabjection of the vassal to the Tenant in capite, and hence we "pmnionly find inserted in old deeds some special service due to the chief lord of the fee. These services were often merely nominal; still they preserved the memorial of the relation in wDioh the various under-tenants, however numerous, stood to the Lady of the Manor. A very frequent condition is the gift of " a rose at the festival of the nativity of St. John Baptist;"
-sometimes it is " one halfpenny paid at the same time, or at the festival of S. Michael" (unum obolum domino capitaK feodi):-in other deeds we find mentioned, " two capons at Michaelmas,"-" a pair of gloves and one farthing,"-half a pound of cummin,-one pound of pepper,-one pound of wax. In other cases, moreover, it is some service in husbandry to be performed for the lord, the original condition of the tenure of villenage of which we have already spoken, the last, however, being ultimately commuted for a money payment. The following extracts from the record of 1629 will illustrate our
remarks.
" WALTBB GBAUBT holdeth by fealty, suite of Court, and IB. Id. rent, ud 1 Ib. of wax;-one burgago in St. Olaves Street pr rent ISd.,-one messuage with a Dovecote in the same street pr rent 124.,-and one other house, sometimes a backhouse, pr rent 2s.; in all 4s. Id."
" DASIEI YSHBUBY holdeth freely [certain lands therein described at Wrajall] by Knight -service, and 13s. rent, and one mounctuary* viz,, one horso with his harness, suite of Court to the Hundred and Court of the Manor, and 2s. yearly for certain works to be done yearly in earinge\ of too acres of the Lord's land at seed time, and carriage of thru load of hay J°f the Lard from Micliel Mead to Barton JTarme, which work were time °ut of mind turned to \deest~] rent pr ann. in lieu thereof."
" ELIZABETH BLANCH A an, SUBAB BLAHCBABD, and JOANE BLANCHAED, i and coheirs of JOHH BLANCHAHD .... hold freely, one messuage
l.c. Murtunry. This was a payment mode on the decease of a tenant, ^he difference between a Mortiiary and a Iferiot, was, that the latter waa paid oa a l BQbieotion to tbo lendal Lord, the former na n supposed compensation for omitted to ba patd to the Sector. As onr Abbess occnpiod both o( theae B In Bradford, she, ol course, enjoyed bothprlvllegeB. Hart's' Eccleaiaaticiil s,1 p. 305.
* ^ortiiss i.e. jilougJiinjr,- as in Eiod. mlr. SI, "In earing time and in hatvesti ™" ahslt rest," Yto-land or EarO-land la an eipresuion olten used In Anglo-Saion ""^tars lor ploughed land.
mesne (i.e. middle or intermediate) lords. In course of time, nearly every one of the tythings into which Bradford was divided had its Lord of the Manor, each of whom held his court, at which the various tenants were required to do suit and service. We often meet in old deeds with references to " the court of Anthony Eogers, Esq., at Holte." In one of the documents found at the Hall, an account of which was given in [the Wiltshire Magazine] (vol. i. 290), of the date 1545, by which one ' Eichard Drewis of Holte' has certain lands ' in the Parke, Lowsly and Holes in Holte, and also a tenement in Little Holte' granted to him by lease, it is expressly added,-" to sue (i.e. to do suit) at Eogers's Court at Holte." To this day, moreover, there is a payment due annually from the proprietor of the Manor House at Winsley, with which is held the Lordship of that Tything, of twenty-five shillings and eight-pence, to the Lord of the Manor of Bradford, a traditional acknowledgement of' the suit and service ' owned by him, as well as by all mesne lords, to the chief lord.
But besides these mesne Lords of Manors in the Hundred of Bradford, there were others who, though not exercising any jurisdiction within the Hundred demanded fealty, and perhaps rather more substantial acknowledgements, from some of the tenants within the domain of our Abbess. The Manor of Cumberwell, for example, was held under the Barony of Castle Combe, and Humphrey de Lisle (Hunfredus de Insula) the Lord of that Manor claimed from the tenant at Cumber-well-(in early times one named Pageri)-suit and service for the same.f The Prior of Monkton Farleigh, moreover, who held the Lordship of that Manor, claimed payment for lands in this parish r1 -there is in existence a deed (of the time of Edward I.) by which Walter Fayrchild of Wroxale grants to
f [The Gumbrewell of Domesday, as has been already stated, was mare probably Compton Cumberwell, near Calne, Brictric (Brictric Algarsonl) held ffarleigh in the Conqueror's time, and the addition of Cumberwell to that manor probably took place at a later date.}
1 As early as 1397, we find Sir Thomas Hungerford giving to Monkton Farleigh Priory 'a house and two ploughlands at Bradeford.'
By the Bev. W. H. Jones.
73
Alice la Loche, amongst other lands and tenements, some called " Clifcroft and Bradcroft, and a croft above Hanecleye paying 13d. per annum to the Lord Prior and Court of Farlege, viz., at Hockeday 12d. and at Michaelmas Id."1 To this day certain property in the town of Bradford is held under the Manor of Monkton Farleigh. A field called ' the Conigre," (one of several pieces of ground bearing that name in the parish) just behind the house occupied by Mr. Adye, in Woolley street, and some houses in St. Margaret street, nearly opposite the present Railway Station, are still held under leases granted by the lessee of "the Manor of Monkton Farleigh and Cumberwell," as it is termed.
Since the date of the grant of the Manor and Hundred to the Abbess of Shaftesbury, certain changes have taken place. In a previous page we have explained at some length its original boundaries (pp. 18-22). Westwood, which at the first clearly formed part of it, has been removed; and the parishes of Broughton, Chalfield, and Monkton Farleigh have been added to it; for they do not seem to be included within the limits described in Ethelred's charter. The removal of Westwood, though so intermixed with the other lands, and not on the confines of the domain, into a distinct Hundred, that of Elstub and Everley, is not easily accounted for. In the time of Domesday, Westwood belonged to the Priory of St. Swithin, Winchester, to which it had been given by Emma, mother of Edward the Confessor, and its revenue was allotted for the sustenance of the monks of that society, (pro victu monachorum).2 The Lordship of the Manor of West-wood now belongs to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester.
The Abbess of Shaftesbury held not only what is now called the Lay Manor of Bradford, but that also which is termed the Prebendal Manor. She held, in fact, the impropriate Eectory of Bradford. Amongst the valuations of the ecclesiastical revenue of Bradford (of which there are several) the portion of
1 Wilts Archaeological Magazine, i. 281. a Wyndham's ' Domesday,' p. 60.
oo!' o 'o 'o