| Description | A series of annual account books of rents, viscontiel for the Hundred of Swanborough, reserved for Hilcott and North Newnton and Bratton (from 1819), quit and chief rents, receipts, accounts, wages, vouchers & tax; payments for repairs to buildings; sales of coppice timber and bark at Stanton St Quintin; references in the accounts for Corston, Christian Malford and Stanton estates incl accounts for the Hungerford almshouses, Corsham. Beanacre (the fishery, Shaw farm and land in Whitley) was sold to Mr Methuen in 1772. From 1777 (1946/2/1C/21) there are two copies of the accounts (for the earl and the steward) both annotated, with the earl's copy having documents (letters, agreements, surveys etc) pasted in or interleaved and pinned. Only items of particular interest are mentioned in the catalogue and any substantial research into any of the manors or estates should involve examing the whole series. From 1801-1819 gamekeepers are named in the indexes of manors and estates. The stewards were solicitors from Chippenham between 1736-1818; Samuel Martyn, 1736-1739; Mr Tuck, 1740-1742; James Hall, 1742-1751; William Pinniger, Chippenham, 1751-1785; John Heath (assisted latterly by his son Christopher), 1785-1818. From 1819 the format alters and the books have separate and more detailed sections on estate accounts (mainly repairs to farms). Accounts for Corsham almshouse (in Stanton section). F J Kelsy of Harnham was steward from 1819 until 1839. He was succeeded by Charles Bailey under whose stewardship the accounts were much less detailed and the series covered only the Wiltshire estates, to his death in 1859 (1946/2/1C/84-101). Messrs Bailey and Norman, later Norman, Brown and Norman, kept the accounts from 1859 on. These include cash accounts that continued into the year after the rents for each volume. |