H/WS1-797

Shillington

The Shillington deeds date from the early 16th century. Copyhold admissions and surrenders of the two manors, Shillington and Shillington Recotry, make up a large proportion of the total number of title deeds, and it was not until the early 19th century that any of this copyhold was enfranchised (the total copyhold of Shillington manor alone in 1673 was about 58 messuages and over 1250 acres (HA155). There are two early accumulations of land: 1) William Burr and his son-in-law John Ireland were yeoman-gentry who built up their estate piece by piece from the mid 17th century (H/WS1-113). It probably amounted to well over 100 acres. 2) Charles Nicholls was an attorney at Hitchin and likewise gradually built up an estate in Shillington from the latter half of the 17th century (H/WS469-580). The total area was about 160 acres. Farms grew bigger at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. George Hicks, a surgeon at Shefford bought up several properties and amalgamated them to make one consolidated farm between 1776 and 1786 (H/WS114-268). Wilshere, however was not interested in maintaining this farm intact: he negotiated for its purchase in about 1803, at the time of the parliamentary enclosure movement, so that he could split it up and lay the land to his other farms in lieu of land given for tithe - he had no interest in the farmhouse itself (H/WS262). Similarly Chibley farm was formerly two or three farms before the end of the 18th century, and part at least had grown up by numerous small purchases. It may be too that the properties purchased by Whitbread (H/WS269-433) were all amalgamated into one farm in the hands of Wilshere.

sub-fonds

Burr, William,
Ireland, John,
Nicholls, Charles,
Hicks, George

SHILLINGTON, Shillington Manor, Shillington Rectory Manor, AGRICULTURE, Shillington farms