IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0074 M/93
Held at: London Metropolitan Archives
Title: STEPNEY MANOR
Date(s): 1584-1935
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 8.47 linear metres.
Name of creator(s): Manor of Stepney x Manor of Stebunheath
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The manor of Stepney, also known as Stebunheath, was recorded in the Domesday Book as owned by the Bishop of London, and was probably part of the lands included in the foundation grant of the see of London circa 604. At this date the manor included Stepney, Hackney, and parts of Shoreditch, Islington, Hornsey and Clerkenwell; although parcels of land were later granted to other institutions and people, such as lands in Clerkenwell given to the priory of St Mary, Clerkenwell, and the Knights Hospitallers.
In 1550 the manors of Stepney and Hackney were surrendered to the King, who granted them to Lord Chamberlain Sir Thomas Wentworth. The manor stayed in the Wentworth family until Thomas, Lord Wentworth, the earl of Cleveland. He incurred large debts and was forced to mortgage the manors. The family eventually lost Hackney manor but retained Stepney until 1695 when it was sold to William Herbert, Lord Montgomery. In 1710 he sold it to Windsor Sandys. By 1754 it belonged to the Colebrooke family who held it until 1939. In 1926 all remaining copyholds were converted into freeholds.
The manor house at Stepney was used as a residence of the bishops of London and the Stepney meadows provided hay for his household's horses. The house later became known as Bishopswood or Bishops Hall, and later Bonner Hall.
Information from: 'Stepney: Manors and Estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 19-52 (available online).
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Records of the Manor of Stepney, also known as the Manor of Stebunheath, including court baron books; abstracts of court baron rolls; homage books; enfranchisement books; quit rent books; surveys of manorial lands; maps and plans; records relating to property including leases, assignments, conveyances, abstracts of title, wills, marriage settlements and agreements; and correspondence.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
M/93/001-127: Court records;
M/93/128-156: Estate management;
M/93/157-159: Surveys, maps and plans;
M/93/165-392, 412-520: Title deeds and property transactions;
M/93/393-411: Correspondence.
Conditions governing access:
Available for general access.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.
Physical characteristics:
Fit
Finding aids:
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Records deposited in 1946 and 1955.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Related material:
For further material at LMA relating to Stepney Manor see the Diocese of London Estate records (reference DL/D), reference O/559, and reference E/PHI.
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note:
Date(s) of descriptions: Records prepared May to September 2011.