The two versions of Hutchins occasionally differ which is hardly surprising as the third edition was published some eighty three years after the first. Mostly this is simply an updating of the ownership of the manors but sometimes the later addition adds something ‘extra’. Despite his great interest in the history of manors Hutchins rarely contains any of the nuts and bolts about them. In this case however the later editors had discovered an estate survey of the parish from 1665.

At that time the demesne lands “consisted of a dwelling house together with 105 acres of arable land, 43 acres of meadow and 690 acres of pasture. There were belonging to the tenants four great arable fields called Hullfield, Golding, Southfield and Northfield, containing together 187 acres. The tenants’ down for pasture contained about 600 acres which was divided and set out to the tenants from the lord’s demesne grounds as near as they could guess. The tenants keeping there was for about 1,200 sheep, which was likewise the number of the lord’s flock upon the down grounds. The lands except near the village are chiefly uninclosed; in the bottom arable; upon the hills down and sheep walks.”

Here then was a typical manor; the lords grounds presumably inclosed and separated from the tenantry who continued to farm in the old open field system. It is unlikely that much had changed between then and 1835 when a notice published in the newspapers announced the intention to inclose. On November 16th 1835;

“Notice is hereby given to the Proprietors of Lands and Estates within the Manor and Parish of Godmanstone in the county of Dorset and to all other Persons whom it may concern that in the next Session of Parliament a Petition will be presented to the Honourable House of Commons for leave to bring in a Bill in order to obtain and Act of Parliament for DIVIDING, ALLOTTING and INCLOSING all the OPEN and COMMONABLE FIELDS, MEADOWS, PASTURES, COMMONABLE LANDS and WASTE GROUNDS within the Manor and Parish of Godmanstone aforesaid. WM Bridge”.

The petition was laid before Parliament on the same day as the one at Briantspiddle, February 16th 1836. The inclosure proceeded quickly, conducted by John Baverstock Knight with Martin as the surveyor. The parish was just over 1000 acres in size and belonged to the Bridge family. It is likely that William Bridge was the clerk to the inclosure as the tithe apportionment of 1838 gives the lord of the manor as John Gawler Bridge. The award was enrolled in the quarter sessions of 1838.

The tithe apportionment was completed in the same year [1838] but was not conducted by John Martin. In a nod perhaps to his seniority in such matters, John Baverstock Knight undertook the apportionment; it is difficult to believe that he did not use John Martin’s inclosure map as the basis for the tithe map.

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