NOTE:- The extract below shows 4 cases brought before the Manor Court at Fordington on 3rd March 1566/7. They relate to :-
(1) At this Court today came John WHITEHORNE and Johanna WHITEHORNE -- notifying the Court of the death of Thomas WHITEHORNE
(2) At this Court today came Alice WARREN -- notifying the Court of the death of William WARREN
(3) At this Court today came William BUNNE -- notifying the Court of the death of Robert BUNNE. (He left a Will which needs translation from Latin dated 6 Oct 1566 - Probate 28 May 1567)
(4) At this Court there came William BARON - (Link to background information about the BARON and BARNES Families and an enlarged image of this section of the Manor Roll )
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NOTE:- As can be seen the Court Roll is written in Latin and needs proper translation. The cost however is well beyond our means as for example I paid £210 to have the small extract relating to 4 above professionally translated. I have shared the results with everyone below. We can often work out roughly what is going on but even this takes an inordinate amount of time and effort and at the end of it we cannot be sure we have interpreted it correctly. If anyone with knowledge of Latin can help we would of course be grateful and give credit for information provided. Michael Russell FIPD Online Parish Clerk for Dorchester and Fordington.
(4) The BARON / BARNES Family
This extract from the above Fordington Manor Court Roll clearly relates to the BARON Family who we know had arrived at Dorchester by 1419, and became burgesses of Dorchester. Walter BARON and his wife Margaret, members of that family, owned a burgage with curtilage at East Street Dorchester from 1431.
Walter BARON died soon after writing his will on 18th March 1440 in which he refers to himself as being of Fordington', and asks for 'his body to be buried in the cemetery of the church of St George Fordyngton', and leaves 'To John my elder son , and his heirs, my tenement with curtilage in East Street'.
[Note:- I have had the above extract from the Manor Court Roll translated by the company dictate2us
Michael Russell FIPD (rt)]
Fine £4:
At this [court] there came William Baron and he took of the said lady queen the reversion of
one entire tenement called ‘a whole place’ with every single one of their appurtenances, lying
and being in the east tithing within the aforesaid manor, which same entire tenement called ‘a
whole place’ with its appurtenances Christiana Baron, mother of the said William Barne, now
holds and occupies, according to the custom of the manor there by the rents, works and
services thereupon previously due and accustomed. To have and to hold the aforesaid entire
tenement with all and singular their appurtenances to the aforesaid William Barne the elder,
John Barne and William Barne the younger, his brothers, for the term of their lives and that of
the one of them living the longer successively according to the custom of the manor there
[by] the rents, works and services thereupon previously due and accustomed. … … when it
happens to befall after the death, surrender or forfeiture of the aforesaid Christiana Barne or
… to the hands of the said lady queen, his heirs and successors … the aforesaid William
Barne gives to the said lady queen as a fine £4 … … fealty is respited until he comes to age,
by pledge of William … and Robert Baron.
Sum of this court … …
Appraisements nothing.
The survey in 1607 is particularly helpful in confirming William's plot was previously held by "Christian his mother relict of John Barnes his father."
As stated above we already know that the BARNES Family plot with it's tenement in East Street originally descended from Walter Baron of Fordington in 1440 via his eldest son John BARON. This is almost certainly the same John Baron with his wife Alianor, who bought another property in Pease lane Dorchester in 1446, and when his wife Alianor dies John sells that property in 1485, which leaves him in Fordington at East Street..
The above translation shows that the property in East Street has from there descended to William BARON (probably John's son) who appears before the Court in 1566 as he still holds the reversion rights. It goes on to confirm that Christiana BARON is the mother of William BARNES Senior and currently holds and occupies the tenement and plot according to custom of the Manor. It is then to descend at her death or earlier surrender by custom of the Manor to their 3 male children. Interestingly her son William Barnes Senior is under age. We only have one other indication of his age from the 1615 Survey of Fordington Manor when they rounded up his age then to be about 70 (i.e. born c1545) so he was probably only just under the age of 21.
In my view the above shows that Christiana BARON was the daughter of William BARON and brought to her marriage to John BARNES (1513-1567) around the year 1542 the right to the tenement and whole place plot in East Street, her father retaining the reversion rights.
Further down the same Court Roll dated 3rd March 1566/7 is another entry (image below- also kindly provided by Peta Winzar )
Although this has not been formally translated it is fairly clear that it is a presentation to the Court by the tithing-man of the East tithing of Fordington Manor of the death of John BARON a tenant there, and on payment of the customary heriot of five shillings Christiana BARNE the wife of the said John BARNE is admitted as the tenant of a whole place on the pledge of William Cossen senior and Robert Barne. The bottom heading left states 'vidua (widow) admitted'
