Vaggs Lane lease by Richard Stoy dated 1702.
We have twoStoys found by Jeremy Greenwood who lived on Vaggs Lane in about the center of the Hordle Parish.Jeremy is a historian who lives in the Hordle parish and contacted me through the Stay Family Web site.He had found a description of the lease in an abbreviated summary as follows:
1702 Lease for 3 lives; Sir Robert Smyth – Buckland,
Lymington (Lord of Manor) Richard
Stoy, Arnewood,husbandman, Tenement
near South End Vaggs Lane with orchard of 40 luggs in Arnewood all which
said premises wee in tenure of Ri Stoy elder deceased but are now in use
and occupation of said Richard Stoy jnr; for lives of Richard Stoy, Elizabeth
Holley, daughter of Samuel, Arnewood, weaver and William Stoy brother of
said Richard.
Mark of Richard Stoy
This has been a most significant finding. From this brief description, we have deducted the following:
-“for 3 lives” three generations
-“Sir Robert Smyth (Lord of Manor) we would assume Lord ofBuckland Manor who has holdings as a “freeholder” in the Hordle Parish. (see section about Sir Robert Smyth)
-“Richard Stoy, Arnewood, husbandman” We find a number of references to Arnewood.First, it is one of the two tithings of the Hordle Parish.Arnewood is a family name and we find wills for the family in Arnewood in 1602, 1606 and in Boldre, 1582, 1594, 1572, and in Hordle as early as 1551.A manor is located called Arnewood Manor as well as “Arnewood House”, (perhaps House and Manor are the same places) “Great Arnewood” and a “Little Arnewood” two farms near each other and a large area just West of Tiptoe called “Arnewood Common”.(1872 map) However on the 1799 map same location, only an “Arnolds” is located no Arnewood shown.The 1825/26 map shows a Sway at the north end of Vaggs lane, no Arnewood is listed on this map, but the same two farms are shown with no name listed. Arnewood was a tithing of the parish of Hordle, so the reference to Arnewood may be somewhere within the tithing rather than at the two farms seen on the maps.
-“Husbandman” A farmer, or a person involved in the cultivation of plants.
-“Tenement” indicates that a dwelling was included in the lease along with the orchard.
-“Orchard of 40 luggs”The Oxford Dictionary indicates that a “lug” is a measure of land, containing a pole, perch, or sixteen and one half feet square (1724 usage)Larry Stay did some research on Luggs.My reading shows 20 luggs equal and eight of an acre and so that 40 luggs would be one quarter of an acre.Depending on the size of the lugg used (it varied by local custom) there were between 100 and 160 square luggs per acre with the latter being more common.That gives a lugg length of 16.5 feet that was referenced in the lease.Therefore, an acre was 40 lugs by 4 luggs or the equivalent (40 x 16.5) +4 x 16.5) = 43,560 square feet or 160 square luggs.It follows that 40 luggs equals ¼ acre.
The lease however indicates that their tenement (cottage) situated and being near the South end of Vaggs Lane in Arnwood aforesaid with an orchard and garden thereunto adjoining containing by estimated forty luggs of ground be it more or less - - -.
The Survey with Sway Quarr. 1798 lists the property as follows:
“Richard Stay (note spelling, not Stoy as lease) 29 October 1778.All that cottage and garden cont. about half an acre and apiece of ground cont. about an acre in the Manor of Arnwood and in the parish of Hordle”.
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-“Orchard” What kind of orchard?We would assume apples, however could have been other fruit such as pears during this period.We need to see what kinds of orchards are grown in this area today. In our recent visit, we noted an apple orchard located across the street and one just down several houses.
-“Elizabeth Holley, daughter of Samuel, Arnewood Weaver” We may assume that Elizabeth was betrothed to Richard and that Samuel was a weaver in a cottage setting in that there was no village as such, known as Arnewood, he could have been from anywhere in the Arnewood area. We have confirmed by a document found 8M56/282 Survey with Sway Quarr. 1796, with the document dated 1778 that she was noted as “Elizabeth wife of the d.”
The first Stay entry in the Milford Parish Register was Richard Stay burial in 1724 that could well be our Richard Stay of Vaggs Lane. However, in the document listed above of 29 Oct. 1778, we see that the Vaggs Lane Richard was alive at that date.
Vaggs Lane geography.I have referenced three early Ordinance Survey maps of the Hordle area, 1799/80, 1825/26 and 1872:
The first, an Ordinance Survey map circa 1800 or 1799 and shows Vaggs lane running from Silver Street, which is an old Roman road running North North West from what was then known as Downton Common to a location called Sway (this is not the same as what is now known as Sway which is North and East of this location; this Sway location is called “Vaggs” on the 1872 map) The map shows a portion of the Downton Common on the West side of the lane for about two tenths of a mile to a point where a small tributary (branch) of Danes Stream terminated.The map shows six locations (buildings or plots) above this point, four on the West side of the lane and two on the East side.Two of these plots appear to have been an orchard.On this map the lane is just short of one mile in length and terminates on an East/West road.
1800/1799
Ordinance Survey Map Vaggs Lane
This first map of 1799, is the first Ordinance Survey map constructed for the area using a highly sophisticated method of triangulation and is considered quite accurate.This map does not show the enclosures indicated on the 1872 map, which likely were plots of farmland indicated on the tithing map of the parish. The enclosure act may have had something to do with the delineation of farm property between these three maps.This tithe map is located in the Hampshire Record Office.See Notation later this document.
A second, Ordinance Survey map of 1825, shows more buildings along Vaggs lane, 14 in all.These 14 units could be farm houses, squatter’s cottages or farm outbuildings.
The 1872 Ordinance Survey map
Note: this map does not show an orchard along the
1 mile stretch of Vaggs Lane. However the first Ordinance Survey Map of
1779/1800 does show what appears to be two orchards midway along the one-mile
stretch of the Lane. Note: from the tithe map in the Hampshire Record
Office, and from the lease description, we have now determined that the
property is in fact that listed adjacent to the “124” shown on the South
end of Vaggs Lane on the map.We
have been to the location and have proven that this is the property where
Richard Stoy leased the land.
Arnewood and Swaye are listed as one entry
in the Hampshire Lay Subsidy Rolls, 1586.This
record would lead us to believe that the Sway shown above on the early
map at the North end of Vaggs Lane was included in the Arnewood holdings
of land.We also note in one source
that the tithing of Arnewood was listed as the “Arnewood Sway tithing”.
Sir Robert Smyth
“The next one (lease) I got was 27M74/M26, this was an account book of Quit Rents and Back Rents for Lymington, Brockenhurst and Arnwood.It was about 40 pages of names and rent payments, the same 20 to 25 names reoccurring each half-year or year, during 1760’s and 70’s. But no Stoys that I could see.Finally I got 49M95/308/4. rentals 1710 White and Bowker, as being near the date of the lease.This one was two fragile sheets of paper.It says: 1710. A Rentrol of the Manor of Hordle in the county of Southton owned to (here a Christian name I can’t recognize, as it is abbreviated)Laver (Lewen) (my best guess of the surname, but it could be several names), Esq. Lord of the Manor payable yearly and due at Lady Day. (St. Lucy’s Day, Dec. 13thThe traditional day of the winter solstice)
No Stoys on this one either, but there is a Robert Smyth Barrt., a Freeholder paying 5 shillings.Barrt. Would I think be short for Baronet, meaning that he had the title of Sir, so I would think it is possibly the same man”.Thus, Richard Smyth then leased the land to Richard Stoy.
Recently Harry Stay found the following information about Sir Robert Smyth Buckland.Robert Smyth is mentioned by another contributor i.e.John Button (1) = Anne Whithead = Sir Robert Smyth the 3rd of the Manor of Buckland he was Baronet of Buckland House 1689 & 1705, Burgess of Lymington 1686 and Churchwarden 1703-04. This information confirms Sir Robert Smythe who leased land from the Lord of Hordle Manor was a Baronet and is the individual who leased land to the Richard Stays on Vaggs Lane.This may also lead us to believe that the land leased may have been part of the Buckland estate in Lymington.
Sir Robert Smyth Bt., is listed under “Gentry” in the Lymington Parish in the Parson and Parish in Eighteenth-Century Hampshire: replies to Bishops’ Visitations Hampshire County Council, Winchester 1995. Secondly that Sir Robert Smyth was listed in the same reference as a Trustees remaining of a free school in Lymington.
Lynda Watts found that in 1689 Sir Robert Smith Bart. Was a mayor of Lymington.She also found Sir Robert Smyth 1st, 2nd., 3rd, with wives, children etc.Sir Robert 3rd said to have died in 1743.
Richard Stoy’s Mark on actual lease