CHAPEL BOOKS

Chapel Cottage, Llanishen, Chepstow NP16 6QT

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STAFFORDSHIRE

UK Customers please add postage @ £2.00 per book (£4.00 maximum)
Overseas customers will be charged Surface or Airmail as requested

Hammersley Will
This is the probated copy of the 1779 will of William Hammersley of Shelton.   Mentions wife and children, will proved the following year.  Manuscript on paper, extensively torn but lucky to have survived in any condition.  (ref 143/2)  £6.00 post-free  Not for export

[Lockitt of Leek document]  Prosecution Brief
This brief was drawn up for the trial of Timothy Lockitt at the Midsummer Staffordshire Assize 1834.  The prisoner,  'a laborer of indifferent character residing in the town of Leek' was accused of wilful and corrupt perjury in giving a false alibi to a man (William Mark) accused of causing criminal damage at the residence of prostitutes Mary Fallows and Ann Wright.  Manuscript on paper, covers three sides with a fourth (torn, and with piece missing) as the covering sheet.  (ref S337)   £25.00 post-free  Not for export

[Allen of Leek document]  Prosecution Brief
This brief was used by the prosecution attorney at the July 1839 trial of George Allen for manslaughter at the Staffordshire Midsummer Assizes. The brief starts 'The prisoner a youth about 17 years of age is the son of John Allen a labourer residing in the town of Leek, he stands charged with killing and slaying one James Walmsley at the parish of Cheddleton in this county on Wednesday the 20th of March last. The prisoner and deceased (who was an old man about 68 years of age) were both employed at the silk dye houses of Messrs Wardle & Milner of Leek Brook situate about 1/2 mile from the town of Leek but in the parish of Cheddleton'. The brief goes on to say that due to the sacking of one of their colleagues, all 30 or so workers at the silkmill walked out, and eventually met up at a beerhouse (apparently owned by John Allen). According to the brief 'they were drinking all day and in the evening were all drunk' and George Allen started a fight with a William Olarenshaw. James Walmsley came into the room to see what was going on, took sides with William Olarenshaw and squared off against George Allen. There was a scuffle during which Walmsley was punched in the chest and they both fell to the floor. It seems that either the punches or the fall broke 5 ribs, one of which penetrated a lung. He died 6 days later. There follows the various testimonies already given by witnesses and it is very interesting to read the character assassinations in the margin - a young lad who ran errands for Wardle & Milner is described as ' a very stupid boy' and Olarenshaw's lady friend Ann Smith is described a 'formerly a common prostitute'. Perhaps the most telling piece of evidence came from another of Wardle & Milner's employees (George Dale) who was told by George Allen that 'I gave the old bugger a good punch under the short ribs' whereas the case for the defence was that Walmsley had fallen against a chair. On the front of the brief is shown the fee (2 guineas) paid to the attorney, and - ominously- the word 'guilty'. The brief is in manuscript on 9 large paper sheets with a 10th as the covering sheet. With the brief comes a manuscript copy of the statements of the various witnesses taken in March 1839, presumably by the local constabulary, which we'd originally priced at £10 but now include with the prosecution brief as the two documents clearly belong together. (S395 and S540)  £30.00 post-free  Not for export

[Smith of Cauldon document]  Security for Loan
This 1865 document records the borrowing of £61/16/6 by farmer George Smith against his house & land at Lower Cauldon Grange, land at Cauldon Grange, and a house (occupied by George Ball) & land at Cauldon.  The loan was paid off in 1870.   Paper, 3 sides which include many details of field names & acreages, bears the signature George Smith.  (ref 5727)  £8.00 post-free  Not for export

[Smith of Cauldon document]  Security for Loan
This 1869 document records the borrowing of £80 by farmer George Smith against his house & land at Lower Cauldon Grange, land at Cauldon Grange, and a house (occupied by George Ball) & land at Cauldon.  The loan was paid off in 1876.   Paper, 3 sides which include many details of field names & acreages, bears the signature George Smith.  (ref 5728)  £8.00 post-free  Not for export

[Townsend Family] Small bundle of Townsend documents
Includes 4 copy wills (2 Leek, 2 Waterfall), various extracts from parish registers and a 12pp typescript extract of (all?) Townsend wills at Lichfield from 1530-1555. (ref R665/44) £20.00 post-free  Not for export

Document signed by Uttoxeter Surgeon Richard Warner
This is a 1771 affidavit, signed Rd Warner, that a house in Cheadle he'd recently sold was not the subject of any other legal commitment.  Mentions his wife and son.  Manuscript on single sheet of paper approx 8"x13".  (ref 143/3)  £8.00 post-free  Not for export

The Story of St Anne's [Girls School], Abbots Bromley 1874-1924
Violet Mary MacPherson, nd but surely 1924. 144pp interleaved with 116 photo plate-ills. Soft card covers are very worn, contents mostly clean though first & last few leaves are spotted. G. (ref 0000) £8.50

[Alrewas]  Documents to Copyhold Property
This group of documents concerns a 2a 1r 15p plot described in 1925 as a 'half-timbered dwelling house with range of buildings adjoining, together with garden orchard and land.....situated in the main street of the village of Alrewas.....has a long road frontage.....'.  Between them, two very useful abstracts of title drawn up in 1847 and 1925 give us details of copyholders going back to 1795, the principal names being Dugmore (1795-1828), Shemmonds (1828-1847) and Tunley (1847-1925).  Interesting group of 13 paper and parchment documents ranging in dates from 1828 to 1925.  The collection (ref 47/11)  £42.50 post-free   Not for export

[Alrewas]  Documents concerning Salterhouse Meadow
This 2 acre plot, close to Rykneld Street is very closely associated with Broadmore Hay, alternatively known as Cote Hay, and the 3 acre Holm Intake.  It really needs far more local knowledge than we have to identify the exact land involved.   This is a collection of 19 documents on both parchment and paper, covering the years 1820-1921, and for most of that 101 years the lands were very much the concern of successive members of the Fitchard family.  (ref 47/12)  £60.00 post-free   Not for export

[Alrewas]  Documents for Property called Furlong
A series of documents ranging in dates from 1896 to 1933 for a near-6 acre plot of land on the Burton-Lichfield road at the junction of the Alreewas road.  In 1896 the plot was occupied by Arthur Dagley, and an abstract of title dated that year shows that Charles Leedham had purchased the copyhold in 1875.  It was his death 20 years later that prompted the sale of the copyhold.  Joseph Smith became the copyholder until his death in 1919.  Immediately upon being enfranchised (1922) Furlong was put up for sale.  With the documents is a 1933 sale of a 45 yard strip of the land.  8 items in all, mostly on paper.  (ref 47/14)  £25.00 post-free   Not for export

[Alrewas]  Documents concerning Furlong Piece
A collection of mainly parchment documents (mostly copyhold admittances and surrenders) concerning the 4 acre Furlong Piece, identified as being 'bounded on the North by a private carriage way called Furlong Road.....'.  The 6 documents span the period 1813-1921 and two families dominate:  Hanson 1813-1844 and Fitchard 1845-1921.   The collection (ref 47/15)  £22.50 post-free  Not for export

[Alrewas]  Documents concerning Lydiatt's Close
A broken sequence, with an isolated pair of documents dated 1851 and 4 document dated 1915/1916.  A mixture of parchment and paper.  The collection (ref 47/16)  £22.50   Not for export

A History of the Manor of Beresford
Rev W Beresford & Samuel B Beresford, 1908. 4to, 106pp followed by index, 11 ills inc Beresford pedigree tracing family from 1087. A few spots here & there but still a very fresh clean copy, F. (ref 2137) £45.00

[Bradnop] Plan of Stile House Estate
This is a coloured plan of the land surrounding Stile House Farm which appears to have come up for sale in 1903. The plan would originally have accompanied the printed particulars of the sale, not here present. The plan measures approx 28"x20" and there are some small tears along folds. (ref 72/25) £8.00 UK post-free

[Bradnop & Onecote] Farm Sales Particulars
1913 printed particulars of Wellington Farm, Bradnop, and Willow Meadow Farm and The Nursery Land in Onecote. Occupants were James Deaville, Charles Hampson and William Wheeldon. The sale to be held at the Red Lion in Leek. (ref S439) 2 copies available, each £6.00 UK post-free

[Burslem] Abstract of Title to a Share of Property in Dale Street, Dale Hall
This 1914 abstract provides details of property transactions, and the persons involved in them, going back to 1867. The property concerned is shown to be 8 houses (actually nos 38-52 even) 'on the east side and fronting Dale Street'. Carbon copy of typescript on 5 large sheets of paper. Grubby. (ref B140/594) £5.00 UK post-free

[Burslem/Newcastle/Penkhull] Sale Particulars of 3 Inns etc
1895 printed particulars of the Crewe Arms at Middleport (& the house next door, 55 Wharfe Street), The Bird in Hand at Newcastle (& the house next door, 4 Hassell Street), The Marquis of Granby & the adjoining slaughter-house 'pleasantly situated' near to Penkhull Church. Shows names of occupiers. (ref S562) Several copies available at £2.50 each UK post-free

[Chesterton] Plan of Land to be sold
A 1900 plan of land alongside Broad Street. No buildings shown. Strong paper, approx 25"x19". Grubby. (ref B140/589) £8.00 UK post-free

[Kingsley]  Abstract of Title to The Swan Inn
This 1887 abstract gives details of deeds and documents going back just 13 years, yet The Swan was the subject of much legal documentation.  In 1874 it was described as being 'All that messuage or tenement.....and then used as a Beerhouse and know by the name or sign of the Swan Inn.....And also all that Joiners and Wheelwrights shop (formerly a stable and workshop) situate near to the said Swan Inn.....'   Manuscript on 16 large paper sheets.  The paper is damp-affected and not in particularly good condition, so we've priced it accordingly.  (ref 214/11)  £8.00 post-free  Not for export

[Leek] Report on Leek Almshouses
A brief 2pp 1906 report. 'I was much surprised to find the houses so dark, dilapidated and insanitary....'. Several rust marks. (ref B140/601) £4.50 UK post-free

[Leek]  Sale Particulars of Building Land
Printed particulars for the 1889 sale held at The Swan Hotel, of 71 lots of building land in Gladstone Street, Strangman Street and Westwood Road, also the as-yet unmade North Street and North Avenue.  Only the barest detail is given - plot numbers, length of street frontage and area in square yards - but the two coloured multifolding plans show the layout of where all the plots were.  Evidently taken to the sale as there's much ink and pencil notes.  Front and back (as folded) a bit grubby,the rest clean.  An important document concerning the early development of this part of Leek.  (ref 55/29)  £17.50 UK post-free

[Leek]  Draft Copy of Abstract of Title to 3 Plots of Land near Bridge End
This is the draft copy of an abstract drawn up in 1872.  It gives us a 22 year list of persons involved in 'all those 3 several plots pieces or parcels of land lying contiguous to the North Staffs Railway' amounting to about an acre and a half, bought by silk manufacturer Philp Wamsley from the NSRCo in 1850.  Within 10 years he was bankrupt and by 1872 had 'emigrated' to America, his creditors being awarded the property which were sold by them to Thomas & Elizabeth Bowers and Thomas & Margaret Jewsbury.  Manuscript on 4 large paper sheets.  (ref 214/78)  £6.00 post-free  Not for export

[Leekfrith, Bradnop, Ipstones]  Farm Sale Particulars & Plans
Printed particulars for the 1897 sale of:-
Leekfrith - the 31 acre Hillswood End Farm (tenanted by Joseph Moss).
Leekfrith - the 149 acre North Hillswood Farm (Thomas Hine).
Bradnop - the 53 acre Hare House Farm (Andrew Morton/Benjamin Barnett).
Ipstones - the 34 acre Above Church Farm (John Henry Dean).
The particulars are accompanied by 3 large coloured multifolding site plans, the larger one rather torn along old folds but the others (that of Hare House Farm and Above Church Farm) are unaffected.  (ref 55/20)  £15.00 UK post-free

Another Copy - and a better one with no tears to the large folding plan.  Moreover this copy was used to record the bidding - the results being:-
Hillswood End Farm was sold to Fernyhough
North Hillswood and Hare House farms were unsold
Above Church Farm was sold to Smith
(ref 55/21)  £20.00 UK post-free

A Sentimental Journey in and about the Ancient and Loyal City of Lichfield
Alfred D Parker, 1925.  4to, 180pp inc index, teg, rest untrimmed.   Spine sunned, a few small splash-marks on back board, some spotting inside though mostly confined to 1st & last few leaves, G.  (ref 2775)  £20.00

[Lichfield poster]  Sale Poster for Walled-In Garden and Greenhouses in Gaia Lane
Large [approx 20"x24"] printed poster announcing the sale to be held at the George Hotel in 1907 consequent upon the death of Rev Canon Lonsdale who for 'many years past' must have lovingly tended his 1362 sq yd plot, and who was probably turning in his grave at his beloved walled garden being advertised as a 'capital building site'.  Wonder if its still there?  Inevitably there's some offsetting after having been folded for so long, and there's an inch-or-so tear where old folds cross.   Would look good in a frame.  (ref 3717)  £17.50 UK post-free

[Onecote - see Bradnop]

The History of Penn
Prebendary E Hartill, 1950. Small 8vo, just 32pp, 5 plates inc one from a drawing of the church in the early 19^th century. This is a church history rather than a village history. G. (ref 8283) £8.00 UK post-free

Stafford in Olden Times
J L Cherry, 1991 ltd ed facsimile rep of 1890. 152pp, several ills. The 1890 ed was itself a reprint of a series of articles which originally featured in the Staffordshire Advertiser. VG. (ref 2553) £10.00

[Stafford]  Conveyance of House etc in Queensgate Street
This indenture records the 1678 sale by William Feake to Michael Moseley of 'All that messuage burgage or tenement.....now in the holding of the said Michael Moseley.....' for £60.  Manuscript on single strong parchment sheet, bears signature Will Feake.   (ref 324/14)  £35.00 post-free  Not for export

Researches into the History of the Parish and Parish Church of Stone, Staffordshire
W H Bowers and J W Clough, 1929.  28+319pp, all 38 plates intact with tissue-guards, prelims include list of just 264 subscribers and 2 indexes.  Super local history with the family historian very much in mind.  The relatively low print run has resulted in this being a scarce-ish book to find, particularly in this clean condition - indeed the only fault we feel the need to comment on is the dull gilt lettering on the spine and front board.  (ref 550/46)  £75.00 UK post-free

[Stone]  Sale Particulars for The Mount and Mount Row
These 1886 printed particulars contain a coloured folding plan showing the 14 house comprising Mount Row on Mount Road;  The Mount was a pair of semis reached by a driveway from Mount Road.  Nice clean condition.  (ref 55/39)  £12.00 UK post-free

St Thomas's Priory or The Story of St Austin's, Stafford
Joseph Gillow, nd but 1894.  Small 8vo, 175pp inc index, 3 plates inc interior photo, appendix A is an 11pp pedigree of Fowler commencing with Sir Richard   Fowler of Foxley (Bucks) who accompanied Richard the Lionheart to the Holy Land in 1190 and maintained at his own expense a body of English bowman, all his own tenants, to serve in the Holy Wars.  The book provides much detail on the Catholics in Staffordshire and the often harsh way they were treated in the early days.  Teg, rest untrimmed, some foxing here & there, nicely rebacked with maroon calf, gilt lettering, a decent copy of this scarce title.  (ref 2383)  £30.00

[Tamworth]  Contract for rebuilding Bole Bridge
This is a contract awarded in 1876 by the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Tamworth to the Nottingham company of ironfounders engineers and boilermakers  Goddard and Massey.  The need to widen the bridge led to a decision to rebuild it - Goddard and Massey won the ironwork contract.  With the contract comes a bond, signed by both Frederick Goddard and Edward Massey.  The contact is just that - there are no attached plans, drawings or anything to illustrate what was involved.  Both documents are in manuscript on paper, the contract bears the borough seal and the mayor's signature.  (refs 5871 & 5882)  £12.50 post-free  Not for export

[Tamworth]  Approval to seek Loan for Water Supply
This 1892 approval by the Local Government Board gives the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Tamworth the go-ahead to borrow £133 'for works of water supply'.  There's no indication as whether this was to supply the whole of the borough or just a part, nor any indication asd to how or where the water would be obtained.  Paper, rather grubby and dogeared.  (ref 5183)  £4.50 post-free    Not for export

Tamworth Remembered
Sketches by Mary Edwards, Tamworth Civic Society, nd but the (full-page) inscription inside front cover is dated 1989. Oblong A4, blue card covers, 20 b&w sketches highly suitable for framing. G. (ref 7231) £4.50

[Tamworth] Approval of Loan for Water Supply
This 1892 approval bears the seal of the Local Government Board as their agreement to lend the Borough of Tamworth £133 for up to 28 years. (ref 133) £3.00 UK post-free

[Tettenhall Wood documents]  Deeds to Ivy House, 10 Mount Road
A 1903 conveyance (Barker to Rhodes) and a 1929 mortgage (Jones), the former in manuscript on parchment, the latter typescript on paper.  The pair (refs 4266, 4374)  £10.00 post-free  Not for export

[Tunstall] Closing Order on House
This 1914 Order was imposed on 22 High Street as it had become unfit for human habitation. Grubby and a bit frayed. (ref 172) £3.00 post-free  Not for export

[Tunstall]  Correspondence re Black Works
The company Charles Cope & co were manufacturers of egyptian black, jet and rockingham.  This is a small collection of day-to-day correspondence both from and about them.  22 papers ranging in dates from 1890 to 1904.  Mostly grubby.   (ref S563)  £5.00 post-free  Not for export

Memories of Walsall
Alton Douglas (and signed by him), 1990. A4 format in plum photo card covers, 100pp of photos, newspaper articles etc. Some mild creasing of front cover, G. (ref 8143) £5.00

[Wetley Rocks and Cheddleton]  Sale Poster - Farm, Houses, Shops, Cottages
1858 poster, printed by Nall & Son of Leek, for:-
Mount Pleasant Farm, near Wetley Rocks, tenanted by Jesse Hope.
An adjoining cottage tenanted by Isaac Shenton.
A pair of houses in Cheddleton (Richard Turner & John Stoddard).
4 cottages in Cheddleton (Enoch Craddock, George Brown, Samuel Simpson, Thomas Willey).
House & butchers shop Wetley Rocks (Isaac Wood).
2 nearby cottages (Zachariah & Edward Corden).
2 cottages near The Plough Inn (William Shenton & James Gibson).
2 other cottages with shoemakers shop near The Plough Inn (Thomas Bailey & Joseph James).
A nearby cottage (Joseph Smith).
2 nearby cottages (unoccupied but formerly Catherine Poyser).
3 cottages under the Rocks (lately Phoebe Goldstraw, Daniel Goldstraw & George Pickford).
Lovely clean condition with a 2" tear along a fold and a hole where old folds cross, highly suitable for framing.  (ref 55/15)  £20.00 UK post-free

A 3rd Copy - not quite as good, but still a remarkable survival in any condition.  (ref 55/30)  £17.50 UK post-free

[Wolstanton]  Lease of Cooks Croft
This 1721 lease of Cooks Croft is to Joseph and Sarah Mountford.  They paid £28 for the 99 year lease, and the annual rent payable was two hens a year, payable every 25th December.  Being the lessors, there was no need for the Mountfords to sign the document, so the only signatures are of the lessees John and Thomas Bowyer.   Manuscript on single large parchment sheet.  (ref 324/12)  £18.00 post-free   Not for export

[Wolverhampton Church] The Churchwarden, January 1911
Monthly journal in paper covers (detached). This particular issue contains a page-and-a-half article on the recently built St Chad's church. (ref 56/18) £6.00 UK post-free

[Wordsley Plan]  Plan of Property at Wordsley to be sold by auction June 19th 1893
Large multifolding hand-coloured plan on waxed linen, now rather stained and foxed with age.  Shows outline of a small block of properties on Bells Mill Lane somewhere between Wordsley and Bells Mill.  Scaled at half a chain to the inch, size of plan approx 28"x20".  (ref 81/82)  £10.00 post-free.   Not for export

Historic Staffordshire
Robert K Dent & Joseph Hill, 1975 facsimile rep of 1896. 4to, 332pp inc index, approaching 150 ills, mostly photos. The blurb inside the d/w says that the print run of the original was small & copies were 'very difficult to obtain'. However, after 25 years this rep is proving to be scarcer than the original which sells for anything between £50 and £100. A quite nice copy, VG in price-clipped and faded (particularly the spine) d/w. (ref 8282) £25.00

The River Trent
J H Ingram, 1955. 196pp inc index, 49 photo-ills. The Trent rises in Staffordshire and passes through Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire where it merges with the Ouse to form the Humber. Nice copy, VG despite the rather dulled spine. (ref 7049) £5.00

Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting Houses - Shropshire & Staffordshire
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1986.   Pp191-224 in pictorial card covers, descriptions of 118 Shropshire and 109 Staffordshire buildings, many of which are ill'd (inc 59 photos).  VG copy (ref 1899)   £5.00 UK post-free

A Topographical History of Staffordshire:   Including its Agriculture, Mines and Manufactures, Memoirs of Eminent Natives, Statistical Tables, and Every Species of Information Connected with the Local History of the County
William Pitt, 1817.  Large thick 8vo, 2 parts in 1, a total of 789pp followed by separate indexes for both parts.  Ex-private library with at least 3 shelf marks on feps (no labels, though), title-page and blank fep mounted on linen.   Half calf, gilt lettering on spine, some wear to corners, odd scrape (obliteration of shelf-mark, perhaps?) towards foot of spine.  Untimmed copy with nice wide margins, no foxing to speak of, 2 leaves (pp181/182 & 179/180) out of sequence.   (ref 6363)  £225.00 post-free

NB the few documents listed amongst the books above are just a small selection from our stock of perhaps 15,000 items covering much of Britain - many of which relate either to Staffordshire people or Staffordshire property - for example here's the current [May 2006] list of marriage settlements involving Staffordshire people.

Email the names or locations you are researching and we'll provide details of anything we have that might link up.  Sorry but it is our policy not to export historical documents.