Scope and Content
INTRODUCTION
General Description
An atlas of Estate maps and terriers prepared in 1718-1719 by Edward Laurance, surveyor, for Henry, Duke of Kent. To the original atlas have been appended a further ten maps of Eighteenth
century date, and two terriers of 1777-8 have been inserted on blank folios.
Binding
The volume is bound in red Morocco, on which the original covers were re-mounted at the time of a subsequent re-binding. The original covers probably date from 1719. They are also of red Morocco,
with eleborate tooling in gold leaf round the outer edges. In the centre appears the coat of arms of Henry, Duke of Kent, for whom the atlas was drawn up in 1719. The arms include the motto, ' HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE ', and (below) 'STAT RELIGIONE'. Around the arms there is an oblong of plain tooling in gold leaf, measuring 15 1/2 inches by 10 ½ inches, and on the four corners of the oblong there are elaborate diamond shaped markings angled towards the corners of the volume. The
remaining parts of the original covers (front and back) measure approximately 23 inches by 17 3/4 inches.
Dimensions
The overall dimensions of the volume are approximately 23 1/2 inches by 19 1/2 inches
Make-up
The original composition of the volume appears to have been retained in subsequent rebinding(s) and repairs, although maps for three manors and two terriers listed on the original title page are no
longer present. In its present form, the atlas comprises two introductory pages, with seventeen manuscript maps, and thirty three folios of handwritten text. The whole is interleaved with blank folios with ruled columns, and two of these have been used for the incorporation of later terriers dated 1777-8. A further ten maps of Eighteenth century date have been subsequently sewn or mounted in the back of the volume after the end of the main text - the 1769 map of Pavenham, in two separate parts, being counted as one.
Paper
The original atlas was drawn on good quality hand-made paper, with a distinctive watermark. [two line drawings in catalogue in searchroom show fleur de lis to the top of shield with scroll-eared top and lobed base and diagonal stripe from top right to bottom left. Initials LVG below one.
Note: actual size of watermarks is approximately 5 inches by 2 inches.
Foliation
The volume is not foliated or paginated continuously throughout, but the folios are numbered consecutively within each section of the atlas. For each manor the maps and pages of the text are numbered serially and marked in the top right-hand corner. The blank interleaved folios are not numbered or marked. A separate system of foliation has been devised for the purposes of this calender, and this is explained below
Repair
In consequence of the volume having been stored in damp conditions, it deteriorated badly and repair came necessary. Unfortunately, the repair was inexpertly done, and matters were made
worse by the fact that it was afterwards returned to poor storage conditions with the eventual result that further work became necessary. Most of the folios have been backed (or partly backed) with paper, but some evidence concerning the original composition of the volume was destroyed in trimming the repaired sheets. In addition, the pages were not mounted on guards for binding but merely sewn together, and here too some material evidence has been lost. Strips of paper of inferior quality have been pasted down the sides of some folios in order to reinforce the edges.
Maps
All the original maps were drawn in ink and watercolour on paper. Some of them are of uniform size with the volume itself, but the larger maps are folded. The maps appended to the original atlas are on paper and parchment, and full details of the materials of each item are given in the calendar description below.
Text
The text of the terriers, abstracts and summaries are entered throughout the volume on the recto of each folio (or right-hand page). No doubt to admit of later additions and corrections, the text is liberally interleaved with blank folios and folios with ruled columns in the original format. The format of the terriers is as follows:
Column 1; Tenants Names & Rents. Contents: Name of tenant; Reference to abstract by symbol; Terms of tenure; Particulars of property (brief); Rent payable (in £.s.d.); Notes on allowances and tithes etc
Column 2: Particular Lands. Contents: Detail (itemised) of land held, Field names etc.
Column 3: Page. Contents: Reference to numbered maps
Column 4: Arable or Pasture Inclosed. Contents: Superficial area (in A.r.p.) of arable or pasture inclosed land described in col. 2
Column 5: Common – Arable. Contents: Superficial area (in A.r.p.) of common or arable open field land described in col. 2
Column 6: Meadow. Contents: Superficial area (in A.r.p.) of Meadow land in open fields, as described in col. 2
Column 7: Totals. Contents: The total area of land held by each tenant - arrived at by addition of sub-totals in cols. 4-6.
Note: the columns are ruled in parallel red lines, and each folio is numbered in black in the top right-hand corner.
The format for each summary, headed in each case ' An Abstract from the aforegoing terrier' is as follows:
Column Heading Actual contents
Column 1: References. Contents: Alphabetical reference or symbol from col.1 of the terrier
Column 2: Tenants' names etc. Contents: Details from col.1 of the terrier
Column 3-6: (as cols.4-7 of the terrier). Contents: Sub-totals under each heading from the terrier
Column 7: Yearly rents and improved values. Contents: Rents as given in col.1 of the terrier
A full text transcription of the terriers etc. will be available in the Record Office searchroom, and the details in the calendar below are intended to give only the main details from the text.
Calendar
The maps have been calendared throughout as individual items, so that each description will be self-contained. Thus details omitted from the actual map titles (e.g. date and name of surveyor) have been supplied in brackets. Likewise full details are given of the materials, inks, and colouring, even though there is a fair degree of consistency within the original atlas. The calendar of the text aims only to describe the main features of the original volume, but all blank pages are enumerated and their markings are described. Throughout the calendar each folio in the original atlas is described in the order in which it appears in the volume, and for this purpose only continuous folio numbers are used. Likewise the maps appended have been numbered I - XI. These numbers do not appear on the original document, and they have been given mainly to facilitate cross-reference between the atlas and the working copies of the maps and terriers.
Photography
A complete set of photographs of the atlas and its appendices has been made by the Bedfordshire County Council photographic unit. This is for Record Office use only (see paragraph on working copies, below) and no further copies can be made without the written permission of the depositor. The photographic unit has negatives of all the maps from which black and white prints can be made, and the negative number is PU 46/1984.
Working copies
In view of the condition of the atlas, the County Record Office has prepared a number of working copies of the maps and terriers so that use of the original may be kept to a minimum. The copies should answer most routine queries, and the atlas will therefore not normally be produced unless the archivist on duty is satisfied that it is necessary to consult the original. The available copies are as follows:
Photographs - Complete set of black and white photographs (as noted above - photographic unit negative number PU 46/1984) of all the maps and terriers. For full details and reference numbers, see catalogue for X1/97/1-41
Maps on open access - Mounted copies of all the maps are available in the map drawers in the searchroom filed by parish.
Terriers Full text transcripts of the terriers are available in the searchroom, reference CRT 120/104.
Colour transparencies - The Record office has a set of colour transparencies illustrating the main features of the maps. Full details may be found in the slide catalogues, and the numbers of the slides are 9087-9149