ROLLS OF COURT BARON OF WINTERBORNE WASTE. 45 



which does not take into account the contents of the court rolls 

 of the manor to which it belonged. 



Yet, though an innumerable number of rolls exist in many 

 parishes, nothing is known of them even by their possessors, who 

 are sometimes quite unconscious that such interesting historical 

 documents are in their deed chests, and they are so little 

 regarded that many have been sold fora song to London second- 

 hand booksellers, and may often be purchased from them for 

 a few shillings. 



On looking over the new index to our volumes, I do not find 

 that the court rolls of a single parish in Dorset have been 

 brought under the notice of the Members, and it is strange that, 

 though there must be in the county so many highly-interesting 

 manorial court rolls, the first to be noticed in these pages should 

 be those of a very unimportant manor. 



The Rolls of the Court Baron of the Manor of Winterborne 

 Waste, alias Mounckton, now known as Winterborne Monkton, 

 Dorset, are believed to be in private hands, but rough drafts of 

 some of them probably the minutes of the several meetings of 

 the court from which the rolls were engrossed, as they bear the 

 autographs of the members of the homage present at them 

 have been put into my hands ; they are a very imperfect series. 

 The earliest is dated October 3oth, 1673, the latest, April 3rd, 

 1788. From them it appears that two courts were generally held 

 in each year. Sometimes a special court was held in addition for 

 accepting a surrender or transacting other business, which came 

 out of course. The following is a list of the years of which 

 there are minutes of the court. When the minutes of both 

 courts held in a year exist a (2) in brackets is added after the 

 date of the year: 1673, 1675 (2), 1677 (2), 1679, 1682 (2), 

 1683, 1685, 1686 (2), 1693, 1695, 1696, 1698, 1699, 1705, 1707, 

 1712 (2), 1717, 1730, 1750, 1753, 1754, 1758, 1761, 1764, 1765, 

 1767, 1770, 1771, 1772, 1776, 1778, 1781, 1782, 1784(2), 1786, 

 and 1788. 



I will now give specimens of two of the earliest rolls, those for 

 October, 1673, and April, 1675, and two of the later ones for 



