Landowners

From the Archives list, number 4 is the most interesting so far with a beautiful plan that shows the Digby land (blue on the overlay map) along with three pieces of land to the north of New Forge Pool being sold to the Hartopps for £5,384 18s 6d.

Number 7 was not relevant - very nice to look at but referring to land north of the railway line in the area of the current Ladywood and Four Oaks Park estates. Perhaps the one relevance is that it belonged to the Hartopps and indicates their accumulation of land in this area. Nice plans for a race course here!

Number 1 consisted of reams of sloping copperplate that was a fine work of Op Art. Skim read it but couldn't really fathom it out apart from Wriothesley Digby gained land from the will of Sir Lester Holte Baronet in 1769. He was one of many beneficiaries after the Aston Hall and grounds, etc. was left to Lady Holte and debts were paid. For 1818, there was something about land as security for a loan and Noel Digby which references Booths Farm in the occupation of Thomas Kendrick, along with various pools and mills and land. Some occupied by a Sir Edmund Hartopp'.

Number 6 details the exchange of land between the Cradock Hartopps and the Warden & Society in 1827. There is no definite identification of filed names but essentially the Hartopps gave 93 acres 3 roods and 36 perches in exchange for 63 acres and 31 perches. They also agreed to build a road 517 yards long and 30 feet wide at their own expense for the W & S that went from Sutton C. town to the Park and it crossed the land of various fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and others including Wriothesley Digby.

The land the Hartopps were given was "a slip of land adjoining Four Oaks Park and the greater part of Lady Wood and land adjoining." The land they sold to the W & S included "two closes of land and the greater part of the third close of land adjoining Sutton Park and to the New Forge Pool." Two closes of land called the Moors adjoining Sutton Park, and various parcels of land adjoining the Moors.

Towards the end the following: 'a conveyance for a valuable consideration from Wriothesley Digby of Meriden in the County of Warwick Esq. subject to the limitations contained in the Will of Sir Lester Holte Baronet deceased to the issue male of said Wriothesley Digby who was then of the advanced age of 80 years or thereabouts and had not any male issue and if he should have any the said Warden and Society would have a right of re-entrance of the lands so proposed to be given to them in exchange...' It is noted that WD died 26th October last [1826?] without male issue.

Unsurprisingly the W & S got the deal passed as it was said to be beneficial to the inhabitants of the town and parish. The road alone was reckoned to add £1000 in value!