The Manorial Documents Register (MDR) records documents produced in the honour courts. An honour is an administrative unit based on a number of manors, the tenants of which owed suit to an honour court in addition to, or in place of, the normal manor court. As explained in one of our earlier blogs the two main types of manor court are the Court Baron and the Court Leet. However there were other smaller courts dealing with specific types of business, these are not recorded on the MDR but it is useful to be aware of their function.
Pigs in woodland
The Forest Court had jurisdiction over woodland and was sometimes called the Woodmote or Swainmote Court. The Court of Pannage dealt with the business of releasing domestic pigs into the forests to feed on acorns, beech mast and chestnuts. This was often a right or privilege given to local people or in some places pigs were customarily presented to the lord of the manor. In some areas of the country a unit of administration existed between the shire and parish, this was called a Hundred and had its own court. In Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire the Hundred Court was referred to as the Wapentake Court.
ZHE 2/2, reference to the Piepowder court highlighted.
The Court of Piepowders was held in a borough on the occasion of a fair or market.
This document from the Allendale papers mentions a Court of Piepowder in 1685. The court had unlimited jurisdiction over events taking place in the market and tended to deal with disputes between merchants, theft, and acts of violence. The court was held in front of the mayor and bailiffs of the borough or the steward, if the market or fair was held by a lord. The jury comprised of three or four men and punishment ranged from a fine to the pillory. Trials were short and informal. If the court ruled against the defendant and the defendant could not pay his property could be seized and sold to cover the costs.
These courts existed to administer speedy justice over people who were not permanent residents of the place where the market was held. The name referred to the dusty feet (in French, pieds poudrés) of travelers and vagabonds, and was only later applied to the courts which dealt with such people. Court members themselves also wandered around the fair rather than sitting on a bench often getting their feet dusty in the process. In modern French, the word pied-poudreux is still occasionally used for travelling beggars.
As the Stannington Sanatorium Digitisation Assistant I am responsible for digitising over 4,000 patient case files and their contents, redacting personal identifiable information from these and uploading digital copies of the core documents to our publicly accessible, searchable, online catalogue. Before I can do this, my colleague, the Project Assistant has already sorted the forms, charts and various other items contained in each file into core and non-core documents and repackaged them in acid free folders for long term preservation. You can read more about this here.
The documents of patient file HOSP-STAN 07/01/01/2261 prior to digitisation
Before being digitised the pages in each file are checked to make sure they are in the correct order and any dog eared corners or folds are straightened out. The pages in the folder are then photographed on both the front and reverse sides to make sure that all the information in each folder is captured. The number of images captured varies from file to file and can be from just a few up to around fifty. Most files have around 10 to 15 pages, but the largest digitised to date contains over 140 pages!
We digitise the files using a high specification digital SLR camera connected to a computer. This allows us to take high resolution photographs of each page and is much quicker than digitising each page separately on a flatbed scanner. Using a flatbed would be the normal approach however the time constraints on the project mean we are digitising over 1,500 pages every week so this approach isn’t feasible.
The camera stand and laptop used to digitise each file.
The images are then processed and saved to nationally recognised standards set by The National Archives. Each file is saved in Tiff and Jpeg formats. The Tiff format creates files of a large size, but ensures that all the original information from the photograph is retained. Because of this and the sensitive nature of information in the un-redacted files they are stored on DVD in the Northumberland Archives strong rooms for security and long term preservation. The smaller Jpeg format allows us to keep these digital files on our own servers and readily accessible to staff and researchers if required.
The core documents from each folder (cover, case notes, x-ray card and discharge report) then have any information which could identify patients or is considered sensitive removed. This process involves using photo editing software on a computer, and reading each page to check for information such as names, addresses and dates of birth, and redacting it. This is a time consuming process not made easier by having to read a lot of hand written doctors’ notes!
Adobe Photoshop is used to redact sensitive information from the core documents.
The final stage of the process is to upload the images to the relevant records on our online catalogue. Once this has been done a selection of pages from each file are publicly viewable along with each file’s catalogue entry and the digitisation process is complete. Currently over 18,000 pages have been digitised from over 1,400 patient files. Over 6,000 core documents are already viewable online via our catalogue in addition to a large number of radiographs and early patient files which were digitised during the first phase of the project.
A typical set of core documents from the file of a patient suffering from tuberculosis admitted to Stannington Sanatorium in the early 1950s can be seen below.
The boom of the Berwick Coastguard mortar on Sunday afternoon announced that some vessel was in distress on the coast, and that the services of the lifeboat were in requisition. The boom came as a surprise to most of people, the weather being decidedly calm, though there was a somewhat heavy ground swell running at the river’s trast to the preceding one when a strong easterly gale prevailed. The danger signal was the sequel to the ugly weather which had prevailed in the earlier part of the week. There was naturally a big rush of the inhabitants to the ramparts and the pier. Very soon these points of vantage, as well as Spittal sands, were thickly dotted by many hundreds of spectators. They were privileged to witness a very smart performance of an extemporised lifeboat crew which accomplished the rescue of five hands from a Swedish schooner, which had stranded on the seaward side of Spittal Point. The task of removing the men from the vessel was completed in half an hour, itself indicative of the care with which the Berwick lifeboat was handled in somewhat difficult and broken water, though the absence of any wind was a factor which considerably helped the completion of the mission of merey. A gratifying feature was that for the first time in its history the lifeboat brew was composed of a joint crew from Berwick and Spittal. Many of the regular crew are presently away on military and naval service, and the local Lifeboat Committee are particularly pleased at the able assistance rendered by the Spittal men, no less than eight of these forming part of the crew, the others coming from the Greenses. The coxswain was Mr James Jameison, who rendered many acts of conspicuous service.
The vessel in distress turned out to be the Swedish schooner Ruth, under the command of skipper Gustav A. Nelsen, and a crew of other four. She belongs to Holmstead, and is 87 tons register. She left on her voyage on Wednesday 16th February, with a cargo of pit props for the Tyne, encountering very bad weather on the voyage. So violent was the storm that the little craft anchored for two days in Elsinore Roads. On venturing out she was severely buffeted in the North Sea, and hove to on Saturday night to await day break so as to make land. At 10 a.m. on Sunday morning she found herself abreast of Berwick ten miles out. She was then on a lea shore, and in bad weather. The crew decided to make for Berwick, as the steering gear had been damaged. In attempting to take the river the vessel was driven into the back of Spittal point where she stranded. The heavy ground swell continued to break over the vessel and it was in such circumstances that the lifeboat crew affected the rescue. The skilful manner in which the lifeboat was taken through the breakers to the lea of the vessel, and the crew removed one after another was done with judgement and skill. The members of the crew took most of their personal effects with them in kit bags. The short homeward journey was also admirably taken, the lifeboat’s head being held well up to the breakers. Once these were passed and the river entered the remainder of the journey was easily undertaken. As the lifeboat glided up the estuary the crew received a well-merited cheer from the large crowds lining both sides of the river. On landing the crew were taken in charge of by the Swedish Consul (Mr A. Logan), and accommodated in the Hen and Chickens Hotel. On Monday the crew had to register at the Police Station under the Aliens’ Order. The vessel was some five years old, and was not originally intended for this trade, but owing to the absence of transport due to the war her services were requished. She commenced to break up in the course of the evening with the incoming tide and quantities of the cargo floating ashore were salved by Spittal fishermen. Dr C. l. Fraser, V.D., hon. Secretary of the Berwick Lifeboat Committee; and Mr Toohey, Collector of Customs, were in attendance when the crew landed at the Lifeboat House.
LOCAL NEWS
Record Salmon Catch by a Berwick Gentleman – The many friends of Mr Thomas Davison, second officer, Customs and Excise, Berwick, will be pleased to learn of his having caught a record large salmon. Mr Davison is presently on holiday, and, fishing on Friday last at Major Scott’s water at Grandtully on Tay, near Aberfeldy, he hooked and landed a splendid clean run salmon after two hours play, weighing 47 ½ lbs. Its length was 50 inches and girth 28 inches. It is believed to be the largest salmon which has been caught by rod and line in the Tay for a number of years, constituting a record for this part of the river, the nearest approach being a fish of 44 lbs caught three years ago. In a letter to a Berwick friend Mr Davison stated that his left arm was still sore with the severe strain.
Sunday last was the anniversary of laying of the foundation stone of Berwick Pier, on Feb. 27th 1810. It was a red-letter day in the old Border town. The different lodges of Freemasons from the neighbouring towns, together with that of Berwick, assembled in the Town hall, along with the magistrates, Commissioners, and townspeople, and walked thence in procession to the church, where a service was held. Afterwards they set forth, attended by a band and a detachment of the Forfarshire Militia, then quartered in the town, and after the stone was laid a royal salute was fired from the cannon on the ramparts and the ships in the harbour.
Extraordinary Incident in a Tweedmouth Church – An extraordinary incident occurred on Sunday afternoon in the Scotch Church, Tweedmouth, at the close of some pathetic remarks the minister (the Rev. Mr Bryson) had made on Belgium and its refugees. A prominent member rose in his seat and shouted – “Are we downhearted? No!” He gave great emphasis to the last word, and wound up by a hearty clap of his hands. It is needless to say the unusual incident came as a great surprise to the minister as well as the congregation, many of whom could not suppress a smile. The minister was evidently considerably perturbed at the outburst, but took no notice of it.
PIGEON SHOOT AT WOOLER
The pigeon shoot, open to all England, inaugurated by Mr A. D. Morton of the Red Lion Hotel Wooler, last year was such a success that he decided to continue it as an annual event. Favoured with fine weather, there was a large gathering and considerable interest was taken in the shooting, which was good, and speculation was brisk. As an extra inducement Mr Morton, in addition to guaranteeing £20 for a Handicap, gave a handsome silver cup to be won outright. Shooters responded in great force, and the proceedings were an unqualified success. Mr J Hall was handicapper; and H. Gibson acted as trapper. The birds were supplied by Mr G. Gallon, Wooler; and proved to be strong on the wing. A tent was erected on the ground where soup and light refreshments were provided by Mr Morton. After the shooting a considerable number sat down in the Red Lion Hotel, when a sociable evening was spent. Shooting commenced with a sweep stake but the handicap was the great attraction, and it resulted in a division of eight, but three of these had two lots. The cup was won outright by Mr. J. Sisterton, and his victory was a very popular one. The shoot took place in a field on Wooler Bridgend Farm.
During the First and Second World War, carrier pigeons were used to transport messages back to their home coop behind the lines. When they landed, wires in the coop would sound a bell or buzzer and a soldier of the Signal Corps would know a message had arrived. He would go to the coop, remove the message from the canister, and send it to its destination by telegraph, field phone, or personal messenger.
