TARRANT VALLEY. Iv. 



Dorchester, but has no ' rights ' or room of its own therein. Can you suggest 

 any plan by which these deeds, while being the Club's property, could be 

 available to anyone for inspection or copying, if the Museum authorities will 

 house and be responsible for them? The number of deeds is about 1,200, and 

 they fill a box measuring 6ft. by 3ft. by 3ft., done up as they are now in bundles. 

 I have prepared a card catalogue of them arranged under parishes, of which I 

 enclose a few specimens ; but to be of general use they want further calendaring 

 with more details of field names, tenants' names, signatures, &c. My object in 

 presenting this collection to the Club is to form a nucleus around which may 

 gather other gifts of similar deeds and documents relating to the county. Many 

 land and property owners, no doubt, have quantities of deeds, &c., put away as 

 lumber which are of great interest historically, and, if it were known that our 

 Club had already a collection to which they could add them, I feel sure many 

 gentlemen would be glad to send their old deeds and get rid of them usefully. 

 This collection does not pretend to include many very old deeds, charters, or 

 Court or Manor Rolls, but I know there is plenty of information to be found in 

 them which can be found nowhere else. The only condition I should like to 

 make in offering them to the Dorset Field Club is that some competent person be 

 employed in making a really detailed calendar of them, which in course of time 

 might be printed, the sale of which would probably cover the cost (if any) of 

 such calendaring. I enclose a rough list of names of parishes. The deeds 

 themselves are arranged under their parishes in chronological order. There is 

 also a small collection of local Acts of Parliament. Yours very truly, EDW. 

 ALEX. FEY." 



Mr. Pentin added that when he received this letter he sub- 

 mitted it to the Executive of the Field Club, and they said that 

 they would be very pleased to accept Mr. Fry's generous gift, 

 and also to pay for the calendaring of the deeds if necessary. 

 Then the Council of the County Museum were willing to house the 

 deeds given to the Club. The PRESIDENT said that they ought 

 to be most grateful to Mr. Fry, since that was the first gift of the 

 kind that the Club had received, and he hoped that it would 

 form a nucleus around which other deeds would be gathered. 

 (Hear, hear.) The Rev. F. W. WEAVER, in seconding the vote 

 of thanks, said that not less had they to thank Mr. Fry for the 

 very interesting and valuable abstracts of the Inquisitiones post 

 mortem, upon making which he had spent much time and money. 

 These deeds were very valuable, and, if they could be calendared 

 and printed in the Club's " Proceedings," it would be a great 

 work for Dorset people to refer to. Mr. FRY, in responding to 



