Catalogue description DEEDS, MAINLY RELATING TO NUNNEY

This collection consists for the main part of leases for lives of various properties in Nunney. There appear to have been two or possibly three manors in the parish under the names of Nunney Maudley (Mawdley, Maundley, Mandley), Nunney Castle alias Nunney Glaston and Nunney.

In 1655 the manor of Nunney Maudley was owned jointly by Thomas Sambourne and his wife Elizabeth, and Ephraim Mounsell of Upton Noble and his wife Margaret, Thomas's sister. This joint lordship lasted until at least 1663 but by 1668 Ephraim Mounsell was sole lord. By this time he was no longer resident at Upton Noble but had moved to Limerick in Ireland. Between 1673 and 1681 he was succeeded by his son Thomas, also of Limerick, but by 1694 the manor had passed to William Whitchurch of Frome Selwood. Unfortunately, there are no title deeds in this collection relating to the transfer. It was, perhaps, due to the failure on the part of Thomas Mounsell to redeem a mortgage on the property (See History of Limerick, by Maurice Leniham, 1866), but, more likely, the family now permanently settled in Ireland found it uneconomic to manage a limited estate in Somerset (See S.R.O. corresp. file 4(122) Feb. 1974, for corresp. on this subject)

A few years later in 1700, William Whitchurch purchased the manor of Nunney Castle alias Nunney Glaston from Richard Prater of Nunney Castle (See DD\LW 245 for pedigree of Prater family). The manors remained in the possession of the Whitchurch family until c.1749 when both passed into the possession of James Theobald of Waltham Place, White Waltham, Berks., later of Gray's Thurrock, Essex, esq., but again there is no original material in the deposit relative to the transfer. There is, however, an abstract of title, 1835 (See DD\BR\ls 19 for abstract of title of James Theobald, 1835), from which it appears that the estates were bequeathed to James Theobald by his cousin Elizabeth, wife of John Whitchurch of Sharpshaw, Nunney, in a codicil to her will dated 1749.

From the middle of the 18th century the names Nunney Castle and Nunney Maudley are used sometimes together, i.e. manor of Nunney Castle and Nunney Maudley, and sometimes as alternatives, i.e. manor of Nunney Castle otherwise Nunney Maudley.

Although the Whitchurch family did not acquire either of these manors until the end of the 17th century, they had had an interest in the parish from at least 1624. The manor of Nunney is mentioned specifically from 1668 but references to it are few, becoming increasingly so in the 18th century

1. Surveys, rentals, plans 1726-1886

2,3 Mounsell leases 1655-1713

4-6 Prater leases 1662-1701

7-12 Whitchurch leases 1624-1747

13-19 Theobald leases 1749-1871

20 Out county 1577-1710

Open

W/26 a; C/176 a

• Nunney, Somerset

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