Woodborough’s Heritage

Woodborough, a Sherwood Forest Village, recorded in Domesday



Enclosure of Woodborough 1795 - An introduction (and modern interpretation)



As can be seen below, the original transcription was devoid of both punctuation and paragraphs. The style of our version is faithful to the spellings in the archived copy. Place names and names of owners or tenants are retained despite there being numerous inconsistencies throughout the whole document. To enable Enclosure to be more easily read, punctuation has been added and the text broken down into paragraphs and sub-paragraphs.


It is interesting to discover where the 321 individual plots were located, and also who owned or tenanted them. The Inclosure Act also sets out the roads and bridleways, including their widths between boarder hedging. The names of the roads and where, and by whom, the drainage is to be maintained, all things that we take for granted today. So as you drive or walk our lanes, notice where the hedges are and consider that they were first stipulated in 1795.



____________________________________________________________________________________________________



The Enclosure document was written virtually without any punctuation or paragraphs as shown below:-

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME WE JONAS BETTISON of Holme Pierrepont in the County of Nottingham Esquire and JOHN BAILEY of the Town of Nottingham Land Surveyor (who have survived John Ince late of Southwell in the said County of Nottingham Gentleman deceased) the Commissioners named and authorised in and by an Act of Parliament passed in the Thirty fifth year of the Reign of his present Majesty George the Third King of Great Britain and so forth intitled “An Act for dividing allotting and inclosing the open and Common Fields Commonable Lands and Waste Grounds within the parish of Woodborough in the County of Nottingham” and also the Chapter of the Collegiate Church of Southwell aforesaid Henry Howson Clerk as parish Vicar of Southwell aforesaid William Beecher as Prebend of the Prebendary of Woodborough in the said Collegiate Church of Southwell aforesaid (and also Lessee for Life under the same Prebend (Philip Story Clerk in respect of the Estate of the late Elizabeth Bainbrigge, John Taylor Esquire, Samuel Thorpe (who since the passing of the said Act hath purchased Estates of Robert Foster Esquire), William Cliffe, William Denman, Thomas Donnally, John Harvey, Henry Hollins, Samuel Mitchell (Trustee and Guardian of and on the behalf of John Hopkinson a Minor), John Lee, William Raynor, the said William Raynor and Charles Twells as Trustees of Elizabeth Sardison, William Thompson Clerk (Trustee and Guardian of and on the behalf Eleanor Smith Spinster a Minor), Gervas Thorpe, John Thorpe, The Parish Officers of the Woodborough aforesaid for the time being namely Joseph Wylde and John Glover, John Warton and John Wylde proprietors of Lands and Grounds allotted and hereinafter awarded in Exchange Send Greeting  KNOW YE that we the said Jonas Bettison and John Bailey having (together with the said John Ince deceased) according to the said Act of Parliament held our first Meeting and taken and subscribed the Oaths prescribed by the said Act which said Oaths are hereunto annexed and the said John Bailey having made a Survey of all the said open and Common Fields Commonable Lands and Waste Grounds and of the present inclosed Lands within the said Parish of Woodborough and laid the same before us at one or more of our Meetings held in pursuance of the said Act and as directed by the said Act and taken and subscribed the Oath prescribed and directed by the said Act which Oath is hereunto also annexed And we the said Commissioners having in all other things acted agreeable to and in pursuance of the said Act and duly examined into and impartially considered of the several Matters and Things referred to and belonging to us in and by virtue of the said Act of Parliament  Do make form and draw up this our Award of Instrument in writing as directed by the said Act of in and concerning the premises in manner and form following (that is to say)  WE find by the said Survey and Admeasurement that the said Lands and Grounds to be divided allotted and inclosed by virtue of the said Act contain together in the whole by Statute Measure including Roads One thousand two hundred and ninety Acres three roods and fifteen perches or thereabouts And that the old or present inclosed Lands within the said parish contain together in the whole by Statute Measure Six hundred and Twenty Six Acres and Thirty six perches or thereabouts  And we have caused to Maps or plans of the said parish of Woodborough to be fairly drawn up on Vellum which we have signed and in which all the Public and private Roads and Ways and the Drains and Allotments hereinafter awarded and the old Inclosures are delineated and will appear one of which said Maps or plans is hereunto annexed (and is to be taken as part of our Award) We do set out and appoint and award such Public Carriage Horse and Drift Roads and Ways as now set out and made in over and through the said Lands and Grounds to be divided allotted and inclosed as are hereinafter mentioned (that is to say) One Road leading from Woodborough aforesaid to Arnold of the breadth of Forty five feet from a Lane in the Town of Woodborough called Southward Bank Lane in the Southward direction over the Southward Bank Common to a Lane in the parish of Lambley  One other Road of the breadth of Forty feet from the Westward End of the Town of Woodborough aforesaid in a North West direction over certain places called the Shutt Field. Foxwood Gorze Common and Foxwood Coppice to a Lane in the parish of Calverton at the top of Bonor Hill being the Road from Woodborough to Calverton  One other Road of the breadth of Forty feet from the parish of Calverton aforesaid in an Eastward direction over the Grimesmoor Common to a Lane in the parish of Epperstone (being the Road from Calverton to Epperstone) One other Road from the Eastward end of the Town of Woodborough along a Lane called Moor Lane and from thence of the breadth of Forty feet in a Northward direction over the said Common called Grimesmoor to a Lane in the parish of Epperstone (being the Road from Woodborough to Epperstone) One other Road of the breadth of Forty feet from the Eastward end of the said Town of Woodborough in an Eastward direction over the Hawley Field and Nether Field in Woodborough aforesaid to a Lane in the parish of Lowdham (being the Road from Woodborough to Lowdham) One other Road of the breadth of Forty feet from a Lane in the said Town of Woodborough called Church Lane over the said Field called Hawley Field along by the side of Lingwood Hedge to a Lane called Lingwood Hedge Lane and after passing along the said Lane from the other end thereof in a Southward direction to a Lane in the parish of Lambley near Agram Wells Spring (being the Road from Woodborough to Lambley) And We do also set out appoint and award one Public Horse or Bridle Road of the breadth of Twelve feet from the Eastward end of the said Town of Woodborough in a Southward direction over the said Field called Hawley Field to a Lane in the said parish of Woodborough called Stracts Lane (being the Public Bridle Road from Woodborough to Lambley) And we do award order and direct that part of the Town Street of Woodborough from the Church




This style continues throughout the whole document making it a very difficult read.



The plan below, as far as is known, was not included in the Enclosure Award, but it is useful to see how the lands would have been allocated before Enclosure, neighbouring parish names are also shown:-

Back to top Next page