Deopham Manor Lease 1538 xxx

This page is still WIP

Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Lease
3. Points of Interest
   1. Agricultural
   2. Responsibilities of the Lessees
   3. Contents Received by the Lessees
   4. Ecclesiastical
   5. What it doesn’t say
4. Historical Context
5. Canterbury seal on the document
6. Footnotes
7. Navigation

Introduction

This lease was drawn up immediately prior to the dissolution of the monasteries and gives an insight into the earlier arrangements for the Manor of Deopham.
There follows below a rendering of this lease in modern English; there are footnotes where the meaning of terms used are not immediately apparent.
Paragraph numbers have been added to simplify references to the document.
A literal translation of the lease is available here and a copy of the source document itself here. The Canterbury Cathedral Archive holds two copies of this indenture – the one would have been retained by the Cathedral, the other by the new lessees. On completion of the lease, the old lease was surrendered to the Cathedral.
Following the lease text below there is a summary of points of interest in this lease.

The Lease

Under preparation

Points of Interest

Agricultural

• All animal waste had to be kept within the Manor, and ensuring that the animals were not folded outside the Manor.

Responsibilities of the Lessees

• To make good any damage caused by themselves;
• To keep books with records of all lands within the Manor and the income from these.

Contents Received by the Lessees

• Two acres of oats stored in the barn;
• A table with trestles;
• A lead with a fleyth;
• Keys to the four doors;

Ecclesiastical

• The agreement is between the lessees and the prior and convent of Canterbury. Following the dissolution of the monasteries, which had already started at the time of this indenture, leases for the Manor of Deopham were struck with the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral.

What it doesn’t say

• There is no responsibility on the part of the lessees to contribute to the salary of the vicar, as was part of later leases, nor is there any agreement that the lessees should be responsible for the maintenance of the chancel of Deopham church;
• The Lordship of the Manor is not passed to the lessees.

Historical Context

Henry VII had started to disband the monasteries in 1530 so by the time this lease was signed in 1538 the process was well advanced. The Prior of “of Christchurch in Canterbury & the Convent of the same place” was Thomas Goldwell: he finally surrendered the priory to Henry VIII’s Commissioners on April 4^th 1539 – just under five months after this lease had been agreed.
Cromwell transferred many of the assets of the priory to the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral, which included the Manor of Deopham – subsequently known as “The Manor of Deopham of the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury”. Thomas Goldwell was granted a pension of £80.

Canterbury seal on the document

The front of the seal represents the cathedral building, whilst the reverse symbolises the Christian Trinity.

Reproduced courtesy of the Chapter of Canterbury; their ref CCA-U63/72890

Footnotes

Navigation

Date	Change
4/7/26	Links to literal transcription and source document
25/7/25	Published – 20250108_161411