Dorney Manor Court Rolls

The Dorney History Group has been given access to the Dorney Manor Court Rolls from 1514 to 1970. We would like to thank the Palmer family for their kind assistance to enable these important records of the village life of Dorney to be made public.

Dates of the Dorney Manor Court Rolls:

Each of these Rolls may be accessed by following the link on the left hand side of this page.

The Dorney Manor Court Rolls: Why We Don't Have a Complete Set

Introduction

Visitors to our archive may wonder why the transcribed Manor Court Rolls of Dorney and Boveney have significant gaps - sometimes decades between surviving records. The answer lies not in the courts failing to meet, but in the practical and financial realities of preserving these ancient documents for modern use.

The Original Records: A Treasure Trove Under Threat

The Manor Court Rolls of Dorney and Boveney represent one of England's most complete surviving sets of manorial records, spanning over 400 years from the early 16th to mid-20th centuries. These parchment and paper documents, written in Latin until 1732 and then in English, contain extraordinary detail about village life, agricultural practices, and local governance.

However, by the 1960s, these irreplaceable documents faced serious preservation challenges:

• Physical deterioration: Many rolls show evidence of damage from mice, damp, and age
• Language barriers: Medieval and early modern Latin, combined with archaic legal terminology, made them inaccessible to most researchers
• Storage conditions: Proper archival storage was expensive and not always available

The Cost of Transcription in the 1960s

Professional transcription and translation of medieval documents was extremely expensive in the 1960s. The process required:

• Specialist palaeographers trained in reading medieval handwriting and Latin legal terminology
• Legal historians familiar with manorial court procedures and terminology
• Multiple drafts to ensure accuracy, as errors could have legal consequences
• Professional typing and formatting for final presentation

A rough estimate suggests that transcribing a single court roll of moderate length could cost the equivalent of £500-1,000 in today's money. With potentially hundreds of court sessions recorded over four centuries, complete transcription could have cost tens of thousands of pounds - far beyond the resources of most private estates or local historical societies.

Strategic Selection: The Commons Registration Crisis

The key to understanding our surviving transcriptions lies in the Commons Registration Act 1965. This groundbreaking legislation required all common rights to be registered by 1970 or be lost forever. Philip Dayrell Stewart Palmer (1902 – 1979), the then Lord of the Manor, faced a legal crisis that demanded immediate historical research. The legal transcriptions he initiated in the 60s were managed by the Palmer’s legal advisers.

What Philip Palmer Needed

To successfully register Dorney and Lake End Commons and protect centuries-old grazing rights, Philip Palmer required documentary evidence of:

1. The evolution of "stint" systems (limits on animals per commoner)
2. Historical continuity of common rights
3. Legal precedents for current allocations
4. Evidence of consistent management over centuries
5. Proof of boundaries and traditional practices

Targeted Transcription Strategy

Rather than attempting comprehensive transcription, Philip Palmer appears to have adopted a strategic approach, selecting court rolls that contained:

• 1526: First recorded limitation of grazing rights by rental value
• 1537: Introduction of the definitive acreage-based stint system that survived until modern times
• 1692-1693: Detailed confirmations of livestock regulations
• 1730, 1782: Court sessions with comprehensive stint schedules attached
• 1911, 1949: Modern adaptations showing continuity into the 20th century

This selective approach explains why we have detailed transcriptions of these crucial periods while missing many routine administrative sessions.

What's Missing and Why

The gaps in our transcribed records likely represent court sessions that dealt with:

• Routine land transfers: Standard copyhold transactions without stint implications
• Minor disputes: Boundary disagreements, small fines, and local quarrels
• Administrative appointments: Annual selection of haywards, constables, and bailiffs
• Routine maintenance orders: Standard requirements for ditch cleaning and fence repair
• Financial accounts: Rent collection and expense records

While historically interesting, these records wouldn't have provided the specific legal evidence needed for commons registration.

The Survival Challenge

It's worth noting that even having these selected transcriptions represents remarkable foresight. Many English manors lost their common rights entirely because they lacked adequate historical documentation. Philip Palmer's strategic transcription programme, despite its limitations, successfully preserved Dorney and Boveney's commons for future generations.

Physical Survival of Original Records

The original court rolls have had a varied preservation history:

• Some remain in private hands with the Palmer family archives
• Others are deposited in county record offices
• A few may have been lost to damage or deterioration over the centuries
• The 1960s transcription project itself helped identify and preserve the most important documents

Modern Implications

Today, these transcribed records serve multiple purposes beyond their original legal function:

• Local history research: Providing insights into village life across four centuries
• Family history: Recording names and activities of local families
• Agricultural history: Documenting the evolution from open field systems to modern farming
• Legal precedent: Still consulted for common rights disputes
• Educational resource: Teaching about English rural governance and society

Conclusion

The incomplete nature of our Manor Court transcriptions reflects practical realities rather than historical gaps. The courts met regularly throughout their 400-year history, but the expense of professional transcription meant that only the most legally and historically significant sessions could be preserved in accessible form.

Philip Palmer's strategic selection, driven by the urgent need to protect common rights under the 1965 Act, has given us a focused but invaluable window into the evolution of English rural governance. While we may wish for complete records, what survives provides an exceptional resource for understanding how communities managed shared resources and resolved disputes across centuries of social and economic change.

For researchers seeking information about periods not covered in our transcriptions, the original court rolls may still exist in archives, though accessing them requires specialist palaeographical and Latin skills. The transcribed records we do have represent the core of Dorney and Boveney's legal and social evolution - a carefully curated selection that serves both historical understanding and practical legal needs.

Bill Dax

This report is based on analysis of the surviving Manor Court transcriptions and Philip Palmer's 1966 correspondence regarding Commons Registration.

What are Manorial Rolls? A Guide for Dorney Manor

The file below provides more information on the Rolls and their purpose