Court Rolls of the Manor of Acomb Vol. 1

edited by Harold Richardson (1969)

 

The manor of Acomb is now included within the boundaries of the city of York, where it forms two of the largest municipal wards, Acomb and Holgate. Prior to 1937 Acomb was a township within the wapentake of Ainsty in the West Riding of Yorkshire, situate about 2 miles to the west of the city. The village itself stands on the northern of two great crescents of morainic debris which sweep across the level valley of the Ouse, the morainic mound on which the church stands being conspicuous.

The manorial court was normally held by the lord’s steward and met in three capacities – the Court Baron for freehoders, the Court Customary for Copyholders, and the Court Leet, which was concerned with keeping the peace in the manor. In Acomb the courts were held twice a year, at Easter and Michaelmas, both courts generally having one or more adjournments

The court rolls printed in this volume cover the period 1544-1760. Included alongside the court rolls are leases, surrenders, call rolls, lists of presentments and pains bringing together documents held in York City Archives, The Borthwick Institute for Historical Research, and private collections.

Before 1680 most of the material is written in Latin (translated in this volume into English), with occasional sections in English. From 1680 onwards English is predominant and any Latin passages have been noted.