Joseph Gratton's will, 1829, d 1830. A few questions.

[oldohiohome]

The will of my gr gr gr grandfather, Joseph Gratton, is dated 3 August 1829, Greater Barlow. He died the following year on 4 February 1830. I have a few questions about it, most of them because I am not familiar with English wills.

1) In his will Joseph says "Next I give and devise (with the approbation of His Grace the Duke of Rutland) the good will and tenant rights of my farm at Brendwood Gate to my son Joseph Gratton ... " Why does he include that phrase referring to the Duke of Rutland?

2) As mentioned, he leaves his farm to his son Joseph. He mentions a deceased son Thomas, who would have been older than Joseph, according to a tree at ancestry. But, also according to that tree, Joseph [Senior] had another son, George, who was older than his son Joseph. Why would he not leave the farm to the oldest surviving son? What might that tell me about George? What does it tell me about the estate? Note: I have not yet verified the information on the tree.

3) Joseph signed as Joseph Gratton, His X Mark. Does that mean he could not write as I have seen elsewhere, or was that the formal way people signed their will?

4) I have been able to find the first two pages of the will, which includes everything down to a statement by the witnesses that they have subscribed their names. But that is all I have. Does anyone have access to a possible third page with the witnesses names and whatever follows? If so, could you transcribe and post it? I don't think a transcription violates any copyright, but if it does, just say so.

Thank you.

[MollyC]

1)  The farm apparently belonged to the Duke of Rutland, and Joseph Gratton was his tenant.  Tenantright is a concept of added value created by the tenant.  At a change of tenancy it is valued, and the incoming tenant pays the "offgoing" tenant a capital sum, separately from the rent due to the landlord.  In this case the tenantright is being given to the son as a bequest.  Sons frequently took over their father's tenancy, but it was not a right, and depended upon the goodwill of the Duke to allow the tenancy to be transferred.

2)  Farms often passed to younger sons because older sons tended to have acquired their own tenancies earlier and were already settled elsewhere.  Younger sons often stayed on the family farm and assisted their father.

[oldohiohome]

Thank you very much.  I will make a note of both those points.

[MollyC]

Further detail:
Tenantright may consist of:
Assets valued when the tenant entered, such as fittings in the house and buildings.
Improvements made by the current tenant, including construction of field drains, new fencing, gates etc.
"Live and dead stock": animals, hay, straw and other harvested crops on the premises.
Part-grown crops in the fields, ploughing completed, manure and lime added to fields during the last few years etc. etc.
There were deductions made for "dilapidations" where items were in a less good condition than when the tenancy began.
Tenancies normally changed hands at certain dates in the year, but a valuation for probate would be slightly different.

[oldohiohome]

So could the offgoing tenant ask the incoming tenant for more for the land than he paid when he bought it?

[MollyC]

The valuations were conducted by professional valuers.   The tenant could point out discrepancies and in theory someone could ask for a second opinion but I don't think that happened often.  There would be another fee charged by a second valuer who would have the incoming valuation to refer to.  It would not surprise me if the Rutland estate office still has copies as well.

The reason I know about this is because I have followed various farms tenanted by my family through a collection which consists of about 900 hardbacked notebooks approx. 1840-1920, accumulated by a valuer's business which had taken over two others, and eventually deposited them in a local archive c1984.

[BushInn1746]

Some records for the Duke of Rutland came under Belvoir Castle and it seems the records are at more than one archive.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_dss=range&_ro=any&_q=%22Belvoir+Castle%22

The transfer may be listed in the:-

Court Rolls if they have survived or the

Manor Rentals (depending upon the exact type of Tenure or holding)

Also look to see if the Transfer is listed in the:-

Copyhold Book, sometimes called the Admissions Book (if it has survived for the time period)

The Book of Fines or Fines Book (if it has survived)


If the Landowner / Manor Records have survived for that date and place you should be able to work out if this was a transfer of a:-

Rented property

Leased property (Manor Leases seen at another Manor were 25 years, but they vary)

Copyhold property (but not Freehold)

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Not sure if answered, but leaving his mark would strongly suggest he could not sign his name.

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I have seen the Tenant right reference in a Scottish Will saying Three Sisters had the Tenant right of their Mother's Freehold house (Mother owned her house outright). In that instance it meant I bequeath or give to my daughters my house ...


But because your transfer needs the Approval of the Landowner or Lord and you or the Will have not mentioned Copyhold, then without an examination of the Landowner or Manor records it is not always possible to confirm the exact Tenure, which may be Leased or another type.


My family owned land within a Manor that was "Copyhold" and that land could be left in a Will and when the Copyholder died, the person/s to whom it was left to, would apply to the Manor Court to have it transferred, but it was not Freehold.

On the day of transfer it was the Custom of this Manor for the new Copyholder to appear in person and hold a piece of Straw in Court whilst the transfer took place.

Because my family built a house on the land, we had to ask the Manor if the property should be revalued and if so pay a percentage of the valuation.

If you couldn't pay any revaluation, you could sometimes sell or transfer to another person, subject to the Manor approval and rules.

Mark

Added: Reference to the Admissions Book (I forgot last night)

[mckha489]

4) I have been able to find the first two pages of the will, which includes everything down to a statement by the witnesses that they have subscribed their names. But that is all I have. Does anyone have access to a possible third page with the witnesses names and whatever follows? If so, could you transcribe and post it? I don't think a transcription violates any copyright, but if it does, just say so.

Did you see pages 1 & 2 on FindMyPast?  click on the little arrow to page through to the next pages.
This is the crucial one

3rd page


This is a codicil of my last will and which I direct
and order to be performed. Viz that should my
Grandaughter Martha Grattan, the daughter of my
late son Thomas Grattan happen to be destitute of
a Home (?) and unprovided for, that my son Joseph
Gratton my Executor provide her a maintenance
and find her a home upon my farm at Bundwood-
gate above named untill she can provide for herself
And I further order and direct that the Legacies
herein before devised to my sons George Grattan, John
Gratton & James Grattan and to my Daughters
Nanney Hollingworth, Elizabeth Wolstenholme & Jane
Gratton be paid at the decease of my dear wife. In
witness whereof I have to this my last Will and testament
set my Hand and seal. This third day of August
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and twenty nine

Joseph Gratton

His X mark

signed in the presence of us who have set our
names in the presence of the testator and of one another

George Stevenson
Adam Wilson

[MollyC]

Copyhold was an earlier form, a manorial tenancy, which changed hands at a manor court "by copy of court roll" and the payment of a heriot to the lord of the manor.  The occupiers were copyholders rather than simply tenants.  I think this system started to die out in the 18th cent. after widespread enclosure of common fields (cultivated) and common grazing, leading to consolidated farms.

Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire is the centre of the Rutland estate but lands probably extended to several counties, including Derbyshire.