Volunteers – Allendale

The Allen Valleys Local History Group have focused their transcription work on manorial documents for Allendale. Their chosen collection consists of ‘notices of intent to surrender’ from 1813-1818.

These documents give notice that at the next court a tenant will surrender their lands. Manorial copyhold land had to pass through manorial courts and even if passing from father to eldest son and heir, the previous tenant would have to attend a court, surrender their land and pay a fine, before the next heir could be admitted. These notices of intent to surrender can tell us a lot about the lands in the manor at the time, who owned them, the requirements of their tenancy and how the land passed.

Some of the volunteers working on these have been lucky enough to find their own homes and ancestors named in the documents, already showcasing their use as a resource.