1000 AD to 1600 AD

After the Conquest in 1066, the new King, William, Duke of Normandy, rewarded his Norman followers by bestowing lands upon them. To ensure a complete record of the lands of his new kingdom, he decreed a Survey of the land he held. This was completed in 1086 and is the famous Domesday Book.

As said above, the King gave lands to his Barons, and they -further subdivided them among their personal favourites. In return for land, the lords of the manors would have to provide military services, the Knight's Fee, to their overlord. The transfer, sale or rental agreements were recorded in court, with payment of a "Fine" upon entry to the property. Many of these ancient records of land transaction have survived, especially the Court copies or "Feet of Fines", so-called because the court copy was written across the foot of the document and cut off after the official seals had been applied. The Fines for Derbyshire are collated in two series; the first, for 1196-IS24, was published in volumes VII to XVIII of the Derbyshire Archaeological Journal; and the second, for 1325-1546, was published by the Derbyshire Record Society. A considerable number of other land transactions are collated in Derbyshire Charters, by I. H. Jeayes, for 1129-1550.

To fund State activities, especially the expensive business of military campaigns, taxes were regularly levied. The Exchequer records give details of those who were paying tax and the type of tax being levied. Among the relevant taxation records are the "Pipe Rolls" (1155-1507) and the "Feudal Aids" (1284-1451). With the founding of numerous monasteries in the 12th and 15th Centuries, land holdings, tithes or rents were bestowed upon religious houses, no doubt to better secure the soul of the donor or that of a well-loved relative. These gifts were recorded in the "Cartularies", books of Charters or deeds, of the monasteries. The Cartularies of the Abbeys of Dale, Darley, Rufford and Burton are of particular use in South Derbyshire. In general, in this area most gifts were of land holdings outside the main Manor in which the donor lived. Thus, there is considerable detail for some places but little or nothing other than the name of the location associated with a donor for other places. For example, in the Dale Cartulary, much of Kirk Hallam was given to the Abbey and, therefore, it is described extensively but the main lands of the donors, such as Walter of Morley, hardly are mentioned. Because of this, many townships, or vills, such as Mapperley, became a curious mixture of land holdings.

Because of its proximity and its importance in the post-Conquest era, the County of Nottinghamshire has records that include many of the landholders of south-east Derbyshire. Similarly, the City of Nottingham with its castle and the stronghold of the Sheriff of both Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire has early charters bearing the names of those landholders. The Derbyshire Archaeological Journal, particularly its earlier volumes, has published extracts and transcripts of a number of mediaeval charters, tax rolls, parish registers and other such records.

Post 1600 AD

A major holding of the Miller Mundy family papers is in the Derbyshire County Record Office - these contain items on numerous aspects of the Shipley Estate, such as Abstracts of Title, Account Books including for the family coalmines, Rent Lists, inventories, and personal letters. The Leche ownership as well as that of the Miller Mundy family is included; as are properties other than Shipley, such as Allestrey, near Derby, the former home of the branch of the Mundy family which acquired Shipley by marriage.

Some early manuscripts of the Mundy and Miller Mundy families are held in the Local Studies Library at the Derbyshire Central Library, Derby. This library also has the Kerry manuscripts with much early Derbyshire material. A study of the manuscript material for the 16th and 19th centuries needs to take into account the Charlton Papers, which are deposited at the Nottinghamshire County Record Office. This family had joint mining agreements with the Miller Mundy family and the collection deals with the Heanor and Langley Mill land ownership. Papers of the Drury Lowe family and of the Middleton (Willoughby) family are in the University of Nottingham Library. Some of these involve land dealings and related matters concerning Shipley and there are a large number of documents concerning Mapperley.

The Public Record Office (Chancery Lane, London) has, firstly, the proceedings and depositions of witnesses for the numerous Chancery Court cases involving Shipley from 1570 to the 18th century, and, secondly, the records of the various taxation returns and rental's levied during the same period.

The Nottinghamshire Central Library has a useful archives section and a local studies section.

A number of the wills and inventories of local relevance are held in the Lichfield Joint Record Office, Lichfield Public Library.

Books containing information relevant to the area are listed in the overall bibliography.

Chapter 2 - Forests

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Comments to dr.brian.taylor@ntlworld.com

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