Catalogue description BOWCOMBE AND BRIGHSTONE ESTATES

The estates of Bowcombe and Brighstone were purchased together in 1873 by Charles Seely from Sir John Stephen Barrington Simeon, JER/SEL/48/1. Earlier title deeds to Bowcombe, dating back to the Crown sale of 1625, form a lengthy series of their own, section 50. Four properties adjacent to Bowcombe, namely Rowridge, Idlecombe, Warders alias Richards and Miller's Land, were acquired by the then owners of Bowcombe in the late 18th century. Each of these has its own set of records prior to its incorporation into the Bowcombe estate, as do Rowborough Farm, Frosthills and the former copyhold of Philps alias Tills, sections 51-57.

There is a short, rather imperfect, series of Bowcombe court rolls dating back to 1653, section 61. Also included in this section are the manorial rentals which cover both of the detached homages of Northwood and Billingham, as well as Bowcombe itself. A rental for 1726-1738, now at the British Library, is transcribed here in Appendix I.

In listing the leases, section 60, a distinction has been drawn between the demesne lands and the ancient copyhold tenements. The copyhold series, following the order established in contemporary rentals, has been broken down into the three constituent homages. There is an unusual series of sub-leases, JER/SEL/60/55-60, for the tenement called Whitelane alias Jeromes. Leases for the subsidiary properties will also be found in this section.

A small assortment of Blachford records, the property of Jeremy Sturges, a descendant of Robert Blachford Mansfield, executor of the will of Isabella Eliza Blachford (d. 1891) was received some years ago from the Hampshire Record Ofice. The most important of these is 6M58/60, a splendid volume of accounts for the entire Blachford estate, including Bowcombe, 1789-1798. Other items of particular interest are 6M58/28-30, 33-34, 39, 41-43, 47-48, 55, 57-58, 66 and 69-71. In 1912 Percy Stone, author of the Isle of Wight section of the Victoria County History, had a survey of Bowcombe dated 1728. Its present whereabouts are not know.

Deeds to the manor of Brighstone prior to JER/SEL/48/1 could not be separated from the title to the main portion of the Simeon estate at Swainston, so there is no separate section of Brighstone deeds here and no ancient court rolls nor rentals. Information on earlier events at Brighstone is to be sought amongst the Swainston archives held at the Isle of Wight Record Office but currently in the course of reorganization. However, like Bowcombe, Charles Seely's purchase at Brighstone was already of a composite nature and he and his descendants added further small purchase to it. Title deeds for these subsidiary properties form sections 63-82. Among the more complete of these are the deeds to Stitch Cottage, section 64, Grange Farm, section 71 and Sheat Farm, section 73.

Though the leases for Brighstone manor, section 49, deal mostly with small cottage properties they were considered numerous enough to warrant a series of their own in this part of the catalogue. Dozens more leases for properties at Brighstone, however, will be found amongst the Swainston papers.

A general introduction to the tithes which belonged anciently to the Norman Abbey of Lyra is attached to the Bagster section of the Jerome deposit. The documents listed here, section 62, were kept to provide title to the tithes in Carisbrooke parish which were sold to John Blachford of London in 1758. Substantial conveyances of the tithes to individual farms took place before the sale to Charles Seely in 1891. An earlier schedule, JER/SEL/62/2, provides a complete directory to tenancy in the titheable part of Carisbrooke parish in the 18th century.