Deopham Manor Lease 1814

Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas

Contents

Notes

The Lease as originally written is one solid block of text with no spaces and minimal punctuation. The text has been reformatted and some punctuation added below for ease of reading, but the wording remains the same.
1814 spellings have been retained.
Words in bold correspond to those so written in the original indenture.
Please see the 1742 lease for notes on meanings of some of the terms used.
The highlighted text indicates passages changed as a result of the 1812 Inclosure Act, implemented in 1814.

The Lease

This Indenture made the Ninth Day of December in the Fifty Fifth Year of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lord George the Third by the Grace of God King of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith &c

Between the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ Canterbury of the one part and Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas both of the City of Bath in the the County of Somerset Spinsters, the Daughters of the Reverend John Amyas late Rector of Hempstead in the County of Suffolk deceased of the other part

Witnesseth that the said Dean and Chapter as well for and in Consideration of the Surrender of a Lease of the things in part hereby again demised before this Time made and granted by them the said Dean and Chapter to The Reverend Bence Bence which Lease bears Date the Ninth Day of December in the Forty eighth year of his present Majesty’s Reign and which said Lease they the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas do surrender accordingly as also for divers other good Causes and Considerations them hereunto moving
Have with their Common Assent and Consent demised, granted and to Farm letten and by these presents for them and their Successors Do demise grant and to Farm Lett unto the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas

All that their Manor, Rectory or Parsonage of Deopham in the County of Norfolk including therein certain Lands comprised in an Allotment made to the said Dean and Chapter under an Act of Parliament passed in the Fifty second Year of His present Majesty’s Reign Intituled “An Act for dividing and inclosing Lands in the Parish of Deopham in the County of Norfolk”
And also including therein certain other Lands in Deopham and Morley lately taken in Exchange by the said Dean and Chapter under or by virtue of the said Act from the Right Honourable John Lord Wodehouse and the said Bence Bence (as Committee of M^r Bevil Amyas) respectively

And also all

Rents and Services
Lands
Meadows
Pastures and
Feedings

together with all

Tythes
Pensions
Portions
Ways
Wastes
Profits
Commons
Commodities and
Hereditaments

to the said Manor and Parsonage or either of them, belonging or appertaining together with all

Court Leets
Views of Frank Pledge and the Profits thereunto belonging, with
all Waifs
Strays
Escheats
Deodands
Felons’ Goods
Fugitives’ Goods and
all Chattels Goods of Outlawed and Condemned Persons
Fines
Issues and
Amerciaments and
all other things whatsoever which to the Franchises and Liberties of the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors in the said Manor or parsonage belonging or appertaining with all and singular the Appurtenances

(Except and always to the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors reserved the Advowson, Gift and Patronage of the Vicarage of Deopham whensoever the same shall happen to become void)

To have and to hold the said Manor and Parsonage with all and singular other the Premises with the Appurtenances (except before excepted) to the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns from the Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist last past before the date hereof unto the full end and Term of twenty one Years from thence next ensuing and fully to be compleat and ended

Yielding and paying therefore yearly during the said Term to the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors the sum of Sixteen pounds of good and lawful money of Great Britain on the Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist at or in the Treasury House of the said Church

And also yielding, and paying, therefore over and above the said yearly Rent above reserved to the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors to and for the Use of the Vicar of the Parish Church of Deopham aforesaid for the time being yearly and every year during the said Term the Sum of Six Pounds of good and lawful money of Great Britain at the Feasts of the Birth of our Lord Christ, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Michael the Archangel by even Portions to be paid without any Demand to be made of the same free and clear of all and all manner of Taxes, Sesses, Scots Lots and other Impositions and Burthens ordinary and extraordinary whatsoever

And also yielding, and paying yearly during the said Term to the Dean and Chapter and their Successors at or in the Treasury House aforesaid the further sum of Eight pounds and sixteen shillings of like lawful money being the Annual Amount of Land Tax which was Charged upon the Estate and premises hereby demised and which hath been redeemed by the said Dean and Chapter under the Powers and Provisions of the Act made for the redemption and purchase of the Land Tax the same to be paid in Equal proportion upon the same Feast or Day upon which the said yearly Rent of sixteen Pounds is Reserved and made payable

And the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas for themselves, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns do and each of them doth covenant and grant to and with the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors by these presents that they the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns shall and will at their own proper Costs and Charges in all Things during the said Term repair, uphold, sustain and maintain all the Houses, Barns, Stables, Edifices and Buildings of the Manor and Parsonage of Deopham aforesaid and all the Inclosures of the Lands before demised together with the Chancel of the Parish Church of Deopham aforesaid as oft as need shall require
And in the End of the said Term the said Houses, Barns, Stables, Edifices, Buildings, Inclosures and Chancel well and sufficiently repaired done and maintained to the Hands of the Dean and Chapter and their Successors shall leave and yield up

And the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas for themselves, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns do and each of them doth covenant and grant to and with the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors by these presents to make, or cause to be made, Two Terrars or Books distinctly written in parchment containing in them and either of them the Certainty and Quantity of the Demesne Lands, Tenements, Meadows, Pastures and Wood belonging to the said Manor and the Glebe Lands and Tenements to the said Parsonage belonging and appertaining with the true Meets and Bounds of every piece and parcel of the same as they do severally or jointly lie, and in what Town and Hamlet;
And also, Two Rentals fair and distinctly written in parchment containing in them and either of them the Name and Names of all and every Tenant and Tenants whatsoever as well Freeholders as Copyholders holding of the said Manor together with the true and several Rents and Customs which they and every of them do yearly owe and pay And also the several Names, Meets and Bounds of the Lands for which the said Rents, Services and Customs are due and where the said Lands do severally or jointly lie and in what Town or Hamlet;
And the same Terrars and Rentals to deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors in manner and Form following (that is to say): the First Terrar and Rental to be delivered to the Receiver General or Auditor of the said Dean and Chapter for the time being at and upon the Account of the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas in form hereafter mentioned to be made in the first year of the said Term; And the second Terrar and Rental to be delivered likewise in the Tenth year of the said Term

And the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas for themselves, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns do and each of them doth covenant and grant to and with the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors by these presents that they the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns shall yearly during the said Term pay, or cause to be paid, to the Dean, Receiver General or Surveyor of the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors for the time being towards their yearly Charges in visiting and surveying (that is to say): To the Dean Forty Shillings and to the Receiver and other Officers twenty Shillings of lawful money of Great Britain at the Election and Choice of the said Dean or Receiver whether to take their Entertainment in Kind or so much money in lieu thereof, whether they visit that particular Parsonage or not and so as the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns shall not hereby be charged either to make such Entertainment or to pay the said Three pounds in Lieu thereof more than once in a year during the said Term

And further that they the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, their Executors, Administrators or Assigns shall yearly during the said Term in the month of October after the End of every year during the said Term at the time of the Audit to be kept for the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors at the Treasury House aforesaid appear before the Receiver General or Auditor then and there to make an Account and payment of the Rent Farm and Stipend above reserved and then also to deliver to the said Receiver or Auditor the Transcript of the Court Rolls of every Court by them or their Assigns or the Steward of the Court there to be kept fair and truly ingrossed in parchment and therewithall a Roll or Book fair written in Parchment containing therein all and singular the profits of the precedent year that shall accrue, grow and be received or recovered by the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, their Executors, Administrators or Assigns of or for the Franchises and Liberties of the said Dean and Chapter within the said Manor and Rectory of Deopham

And also the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas for themselves, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns do and each of them doth covenant and grant to and with the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors by these presents at her and their own proper Costs and Charges to find and provide a sufficient, honest, learned Steward to keep the Courts and Law Days as hath been accustomed

And if it shall happen the said yearly Rent or Farm of Sixteen Pounds or the said stipend of six Pounds to be behind and unpaid in part or in all by the space of Fourteen Days next after the feasts above said in which it ought to be paid so as aforesaid

or if the Reparations of the said Houses, Edifices and Buildings be not within One whole year next after Monition and Warning by the Receiver General or Surveyor of the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors for the Time being to the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, their Executors or Assigns or to the then Occupier of the Premises for the due and needful keeping and repairing of the same given and declared well and sufficiently made and done

or if the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas or any other person or persons to whose use and possession this present Lease and Term of years shall remain and come do alienate, bargain and sell this present Indenture and Lease or any part thereof to any person or persons without the Special Licence of the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors under their common Seal first had and obtained

or if such person or persons to whose use and possession this present Lease and Term of years or any part thereof shall remain and come by Bargain and Sale, Devise, Legacy or otherwise by or from the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas do not within One whole year next after the having and enjoying of this said Lease make surrender of the same and of the Term of years therein then to come to the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors so that he, she or they may then, or within convenient Time after, receive of the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors a like good, sufficient and lawful new Lease of all the predemised premises for so many years as shall be then to come of the Term aforesaid paying only therefore the ordinary Charges and Fees for sealing and Writing the same that then and from thenceforth this present Indenture and Lease and every Clause and Article therein above on the Behalf of the said Dean and Chapter and their Successors made and granted shall be utterly void and of none effect, any thing aforesaid to the contrary notwithstanding

And the said Dean and Chapter do covenant, promise and grant to and with the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas their Executors, Administrators and Assigns by these presents that they the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, their Executors, Administrators and Assigns shall or may, for and under the Rents and Covenants aforesaid, peaceably and quietly have, hold, possess and enjoy all and singular the premises by these presents demised with their Appurtenances for and during the said Term of twenty one Years without any manner of Let, Eviction, Expulsion, Interruption or Incumbrance to be had or made by them the said Dean and Chapter or by any other person or persons lawfully claiming for, by or under them by their Assent, Consent, Means or Procurement.

In Witness whereof to one part of this Indenture remaining with the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, the said Dean and Chapter have set their Common Seal and to the other part remaining with the said Dean and Chapter the said Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas hath set their Hands and Seals

Dated in the Chapter House of the said Dean and Chapter the Day and year first above written.
(1814)

A note on the reverse records:
Signed Sealed and Delivered by Anne Elizabeth Amyas and Frances Amyas, in the Presence of:
Elizabeth Clark
S.H.L.N. Gilman

Chapter of Canterbury Archives U63 68974/2
Transcription © G. Sankey

Difficulties surrounding the Lease renewal

Mr. Gilman wrote to the Dean and Chapter’s Auditor in January 1812 asking for the Amyas sisters to be treated kindly and also that previous understandings concerning inclosures should be carried forward. It is clear however from the wording of this lease that the exchanges of land under the Inclosures Act had already taken place (see highlighted texts above).
Although the lease is dated 1814, the correspondence with the Dean and Chapter’s surveyor Thomas Starr, shows that the deal was not finalised until November 11th 1815.

The Inclosures Act

The terms of the Inclosures Act of 1812 put the onus on the lessee, specified as being Bence Bence, to pick up all charges and expenses incurred in carrying the act into execution. The Dean and Chapter of Canterbury were to be exempt from all costs thereby incurred. As something of a compensation, the lessee was entitled to favoured terms when the lease came up for renewal.

XXXVIII. Provided nevertheless, That the said Dean and Chapter shall and do within Seven Years from the Day of the Date of the aforesaid Lease, if thereunto requested by the said Bence Bence, his Executors, Administrators or Assigns, grant unto the said Bence Bence, his Executors, Administrators or Assigns, a new Lease of the said Manor, Rectory or Parsonage, with their Rights and Appurtenances, and of the Lands to be allotted in lieu or in respect thereof, for a Term of Twenty-one Years, such new Lease to commence at the Expiration of Seven Years from the Feast Day of Saint Luke the Evangelist next preceding the Day of the Date of the present subsisting Lease; and also that the said Dean and Chapter shall and do, upon the Renewal to be made as aforesaid, take no greater Sum for a Fine upon such Renewal than shall be equal to One full Year and One half of another Year’s annual Value of the said Manor, Rectory and Parsonage, with their Rights, Members and Appurtenances, deducting the present reserved Rent, and estimating such annual Value of the said Manor, Rectory and Parsonage, with their Rights, Members and Appurtenances, without regard to any additional Allotment of Land, or to any additional Income or Emoluments whatsoever, which shall be derived to the said Dean and Chapter, or to the said Bence Bence as their Lessee as aforesaid, in respect of the said Manor, Rectory and Parsonage, by, from, under or in consequence of the present Act.

Comments

The first paragraph shows that George III is no longer king of France.
The terms of this lease are essentially the same as those agreed with the Rev. Bence Bence in the preceding 1807 lease. A few minor formatting changes have been made from the previous lease.
Additional wording has been incorporated (as highlighted above) to cover the changes arising from the Inclosures Act.
The date of the surrendered lease corresponds to that of the preceding 1807 Indenture.
This lease is for a period of 21 years, as specified in the Inclosures Act of 1812.
The renewal fine was eventually agreed at £444 : 4s : 8d – see here.

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Date	Change
28/10/24	Terms of renewal defined in 1812 Act
2/2/24	Link to renewal correspondence
10/1/24	Published