The catalogue for a collection of records documenting community life in England from the Middle Ages to the present day is to become available online, thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

King’s College, Cambridge has announced that its Archive Centre has received more than £30,000 to improve access to the College’s estates records.

The collection of records of 164 manors, properties and land in 30 counties documents a vital part of the history of the college, including records of estates in England given to the college by Henry VI following its foundation in 1441. Many of these were the lands of the so-called alien priories, such as the Norman Abbey of Bec, confiscated by the Crown in 1414.

These lands brought their written memory with them in the form of charters and court records, in some cases dating back to the 11th Century. Estates in the collection range west to St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, east to Toft Monks in Norfolk, north to Allerton Mauleverer in Yorkshire and south to Hooe in Sussex.

The catalogue is currently held on a card index available only in the King’s College Archive Centre. The funding covers the cost of a qualified archivist who is now converting this into an archival database which will be made available online.

Under Cambridge, items catalogued include a Bond for £10 from John Finch of Cambridge, tobacco seller, to John Wythe of Cambridge, barber, dated 1664. There is a Remittance of Rent, dated 3 February 1350, from six listed tenements, from Ralph, Prior of Barnwell, to Katharine, Prioress of St Radegund of Cambridge. A beautifully decorated Letters Patent of Henry VIII from 1536 features a fine example of the Great Seal. More recent documents include the original proposals and plans for Cambridge Arts Theatre from the early 1930s.

Researchers investigating early manorial governance, religious houses, farming practices, genealogy or alterations to land boundaries or properties will find evidence in such records as court rolls, accounts, maps, tenancy agreements and leases.

Project Archivist Jude Brimmer, said:

“King’s College is very fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Heritage Lottery Fund to bring the estates records to a wider audience. It really is a marvellous collection, with a great deal to offer local and family historians from all over the country – as well as to anyone with an interest in the development of the College itself. Catalogues for Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Norfolk are already online with Suffolk to follow soon, and we are anticipating a great deal of interest.”

The King’s College Archive Centre's catalogued collections are available for consultation, free of charge, Monday to Thursday, 9.30 am - 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm - 5.15 pm. Visits are by appointment, please telephone (0)1223-331444 or e-mail: archivist@kings.cam.ac.uk

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.