Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    R6/1/1/15
  • Title
    Survey of Beckerings Park in Ridgmont, Steppingley, Lidlington and Millbrook of Jan 1649 [1650]: (a) impaled ground called Beckerings Park bounded by Ridgmont fields to N and NW, Millbrook Warren to S and SE in occupation of Robert Chester, esquire, underkeeper and containing 707 acres; (b) lodge "built in the fashion of a Roman "T"" in middle of park in Ridgmont; built of timber and brick; head 50ft long and 20ft broad the other part 40ft long and 24ft broad; contained a hall, two parlours (one wholly wainscotted), buttery, staircase, kitchen, pantry, larder, boulting house [poss. A room for sifting grain] and other small rooms downstairs, fair dining room and three useful lodging chambers and four other chambers upstairs with necessary closets; brewhouse, washhouse, stable and small barn; site of 1.5 acres; (c) underkeeper's lodge in Steppingley part of the park of three rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs with orchard and yard containing half an acre; note that (b) and (c) were "not fit to be demolished but are all in very good repair"; (d) 130 red deer of which 33 had antlers, of which there were seven braces of stags, four and a half braces of "staggerds" and five braces of "stagerells", the other 97 being "rascall deer"; (e) 4,799 trees not marked for use of the navy, of which 4,301 were oak and 497 ash, mostly good small timber trees, the rest "good for little save the fire"; (f) the park included a warren of conies; (g) 349 acres lay in Ridgmont, 233 acres in Steppingley, 104 acres in Lidlington and 21 acres in Millbrook; 250 acres were pasture, the rest feeding and warren ground; (h) the park was tythe free; (i) no franchise beyond the pale of the park and no commonage; (j) Thomas, Earl of Elgin claimed the park by letters patent from James I of 18 Feb 1613 to Edward, Lord Bruce, Sir William Cavendish, late Earl of Devon and Thomas, Lord Bruce, now Earl of Elgin and by letters patent of Charles I of 24 Feb 1640 to Earl of Bedford and Lord Andover in trust for Robert, Lord Bruce; (k) Robert [above written "Henry"] Chester was underkeeper; (l) additional survey of Jan 1649 [1650] found 530 trees marked for use by the navy Surveyed by Walter Blyth, Thomas Fowle and John Ward, examined by William Webb
  • Production date
    From: 1613 To: 1650
  • Level of description
    item
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