Cheshire Farms - BOSLEY

[mike1979]

Hi All
I'd be grateful for some advice if any of you have experience in tracing farming households back from 1800 ish (other than parish records).
I have the SHAW family of BOSLEY who in the 1840ish Tithe Map occupy Swans Lake Farm in Bosley.  The family had been there in 1819 (Elizabeth dau of Samuel Shaw was born there according to the Bosley parish register).  In 1804 Samuel Shaw's mother Sarah (nee Goodwin) left him her tenement in Bosley so one may assume that this is the same Swans Lake Farm but how could I confirm this?
The Shaw family are in the Bosley parish registers back to 1728 so I know they are in the area.
Are there any tax or landowner records which would give a clue to the location of farms etc between 1600 and 1800?  I think there was a Poll and Hearth tax in 1660 and 1664 - are these records available?
thanks for any suggestions you can give
M

[mshrmh]

Mike - my suggestion would be to keep searching archive catalogues and asking staff when you visit for their ideas - particularly Cheshire's but also the National Archives and A2A If you try names of people, property and places you may find some holdings that could provide more detail:
http://archive.cheshire.gov.uk/calmview/
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/

I was lucky to find a local landowner's listing of his tenants and their plots in Staffordshire c 1810 that included one of my ancestors - I found that by asking staff what they had on that village as there were no surviving tithe maps.

Archives often have collections from a major landowner in the area - the tithe maps will have given you the landowner at that time, so this is another name you could search on & see if the estate records have been passed to a public archive.

Good luck!

[elzabels]

Have you looked at Cheshire mapping on line?

[mike1979]

Thanks both - Im not sure what Cheshire Mapping online is?
thanks again
M

[elzabels]

Type 'Cheshire mapping'  into google and you will be given options, this is all I do to look at it!

Jx

[mshrmh]

I think elzabels is referring to the online tithemaps site which also has maps from later dates - as you've mentioned the tithe map in your OP you've probably already been there, but in case:
http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/tithemaps/

[AshbrookCheshire]

I presume you've looked through the Wills?  Potentially a lot of info in there.

Findmypast has been saying 'soon' for Cheshire land tax records for while, hopefully they will have them soon!
 
The tithemap site is another useful thing, but I think you have the family at that point, although it does tell you what land they had.

If you can find the landlords name on either the land tax or tithe, then you can look to see if their records survive.

I just had a look at the Land Tax Redemption for 1798, and there is a Matthew Shaw in Bosely, with the land owned by the The Earl of Harrington. Not sure what records survive, but it's a suggestion.

Hope some, or any, of that helps,

[Jayson]

Another really useful source which one should never overlook are old newspapers.  I've found masses of information on the various farms that I've researched.

If a tenant farmer died or relinquished the tenancy there's a good chance you'll find a sale of his property at that particular farm.

Jayson

[mike1979]

Ashbrook, Jayson - thanks, great suggestions.

Jayson - any particular newspapers you know for the Cheshire region?

M