[Mortgage deeds containing a plan for the area of Shad in London]. Dieser Artikel ist nicht verfügbar.[Mortgage deeds containing a plan for the area of Shad in London]

Eighteenth century manuscript map of Shad Thames, London Set of three vellum mortgage documents, first document consisting of 4 sheets (three sheets of manuscript text, and one manuscript map); second document consisting of 3 sheets with manuscript text; third document on one sheet with manuscript text, the first two documents stabbed and sewn, all with wax seals, some minor loss to old folds and dust soiling, map with some discolouration. Rare evidence of the way in which land and property were traditionally exchanged under English law, with a large-scale manuscript map of Shad Thames, London. The process of leasing, renting, buying and selling land or property in England has historically been (and many would argue still is) a complex and tedious affair. From 1536, it was required by law that all transfers of land must be officially enrolled by a court or local clerk of the peace. The contracts made between buyer and seller, or landlord and tenant, were recorded as physical documents known as 'Close Rolls'. These often included descriptions and plans of the property, a history of its use and, most importantly, details of the cost and legal arrangements. This requirement called for specialised and costly intermediaries, such as scriveners and attorneys, to produce long and detailed deeds. It also gave rise to the increased prominence of private land surveys, as owners were keen to ensure that their property was properly valued. As a result, mortgage law emerged as an important aspect of the legal system, with professional attorneys specialising in the drafting and registering of deeds. Nunez argues that the greatest transformation of English property law occurred during the seventeenth century, when the modern mortgage appeared for the first time. Perhaps because there was no clear system for the safekeeping of deeds, 'information about property rights and existing mortgages became a valuable asset' (Van Bochove). People could be called upon to produce their documents as evidence of ownership, to prove that they had the right to reside, or to show that they were entitled to payment. Some enterprising laymen took advantage of the situation by charging a fee for the service of retrieving one's contract from the various court archives. These unwieldy paper documents persisted in use until the Land Registry was established in 1862, after which the registration of deeds on Close Rolls dwindled, although some private transfers continued to be enrolled in this way as late as 1903. These deeds illustrate this traditional process, and demonstrate just how detailed these contracts were required to be. They consist of three documents pertaining to the property of various members of the Wheatley family. The first, dated from 1721, concerns a one year lease issued by mother and son, Deborah and Thomas Wheatley, to a tenant named Thomas Jenkin. The manuscript contract shows that, as leaseholder, Jenkin would have rights to a loft, yard and small warehouse, indicating that this property was intended for commercial or industrial use. Since there is evidence that at least one of the later Wheatleys worked as a ship chandler, it is possible that the family owned property in the London dockyards. There are records of a Jenkin family living in Southwark at the time, where the Wheatleys are known to have held other land. In fact, they appear to have been quite the property magnates, with records of various possessions across the capital, from 'the tenure of William Wheatley.[in] St.Mildreses in London' to the riverside estate examined in the second of these documents. This deed is longer than the first, and records a contract made the following year by William Wheatley. The eldest son of the aforementioned Deborah, William had inherited a large estate in Shad Thames after the death of his father, Henry Wheatley, in 1713. Included in this document is "a plan or map of the estate of Mr William Wheatley in St Olave's Southwark". This manuscript plan.…