Chideock Manor Index of tenants and residents 1602-1655
In the last year of the reign of Elizabeth I on the 27th March 1602, Richard Tremayne Esq and Edward ffurlenge gent came to Chideock to take a
survey of the property that was owned by the Arundell family of Lanherne in Cornwall. The Arundells had owned Chideock Manor since Katherine the daughter of Sir John de Chidiock had married John Arundell of Lanherne abt 1425. With a fortified house, deer park and over 2000 acres of land the manor at Chideock had been home to many families over the centuries, and the home of some members of the Arundell family.
The 1602 survey was the first of at least four that were conducted over the next 40 years. Only portions of the three other surveys have survived
making this full survey for 1602 the most complete view of the manor and parish of Chideock at the beginning of the 17th century.
These pre civil war records are of particular importance as there are no parish registers for Chideock before 1650. Probably most of the people
who lived in the parish and manor of Chideock appear in these records as the records include surveys of all tenants and residents taken in 1629 and
1634. The system of tenancy used meant that families could hold property on the manor for many years. The 1602 survey gives a view into the Tudor period, with copyholds made in the reign of Henry VIII.
If you are interested in learning more about any of the local people named in the document below, please email Email Antony