b'The Cliff Farm DocumentsWendy Gilding based on research done by the late Kath NevensW hen I was given the documents I was dismayedLands and Holgates estimated 15 acres adjoining54 of them, some of many pages, and theyroad to Gowthorpe on North, a close formerly of were 29 x 54elephant size! The lawyers must haveAbraham Rogerson on East, and a close formerly enjoyed their income from this familythey did notof Mary Layton on South, and a close formerly of use one word when 6 would dotheir fees (a systemElizabeth Flint on West, formerly in tenure of Nicholas still current in 1960s) were calculated by folios of 72Blanshard and afterwards John Stilborn, with said words. closes are situate in Westfield of Bishop Wilton.In 1810 Thomas Williamson died leaving all hisOne rood lying at bottom end of a freehold garth property to his wife Mary; there were no childrencontaining 2 roods bounded by garths heretofore of this marriage. Mary married George Wilson inof Thomas Williamson and of Richard Walgate 1813; when she died in 1850 she left the estate torespectively to West, by Town Street to North and by her 8 children and their children who were alive atthe Backland on South.her death. There are 20 Admission Copies datedThere is a long list of these pieces of land, some 1852, the estate being divided into 24ths (are there 4of the land names are familiar, and the names of documents missing or was it an idea of the lawyer?)the plot holders have echoed down the centuriesThe copies are identical apart from the names of theRichardson, Walgate, Stilborn, Flint and Megginson.legatees. The holdings extend to Givendale, Yapham, The most interesting feature of the documents isMillington and Bolton. Most of the family sold their the meticulous detail describing the pieces of land,pieces of land (having moved away from the village giving the area, the field and the names of ownersto Leeds, Huddersfield and Hull) to Henry Parker of past and present in each case. For example: Sledmere, later of Ledbury, Herefordshire.Two closes of arable land called Low Brigett When Mike Tanner and the late Kath Nevensold documents that they had inherited.moved in to Cliff Farm they found a pile of oldWendy Gilding took on the task of listing the documents in the roof space which were wet anddocuments with a view to handing them over to wrapped in a sack. Over her years in the village,the Treasure House in Beverley for their safe-Kath began to investigate the people that werekeeping.mentioned in the documents and also started toWith the documents listed and sorted (see the do research into other local topics of historicalphotograph above) Wendy took them to the interest. Treasure House, with Kate Pratt, in April 2010 and After Kath died Mike handed over a stack of heran Accession Number of 5790 was obtained. They papers to the Local History Group and just beforewill be available for public access should anyone leaving the village asked if we could look after thewish to use them for research purposes.BULLETIN 20 409'