I am currently trying to use Harrison's 1637 survey of the manor of Sheffield to help unravel various lines of a C17th family in Sheffield and have a few questions. 1) Does anyone have access to high resolution images (or link to an online repository) of the maps that were produced by G Scurfield in 1986 recreating the map that Harrison produced in 1637 but didn't survive and as printed on pp147-171 of Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Volume 58? I'm looking for better resolution than that available on the online copy of the journal hosted at the internet archive (archive.org) where some of the text on the maps is not clear when zooming in. 2) I am trying to correlate the maps produced by Scurfield and the survey descriptions in a copy of the Ronksley transcription of the survey published in 1908. Noting that I am only looking for particular names, i.e. just a small fraction of the survey, I was surprised at the apparent number of disparities between the two, e.g. relative location of land, e.g. described as north of, south of etc., which do not align, and also indications that plot numbers do not align and that some plot numbers in the Ronksley transcript might be incorrect or missing. Has anyone else noticed any issues with the accuracy of the Ronksley transcript in terms of compass point references to land locations and plot numbers? The Ronksley transcript does cite some corrections based on the "Duke of Norfolk's" copy of the survey but does it document all instances where there are differences? 3) Is the "Duke of Norfolk's" copy of Harrison's survey cited by Ronksley currently accessible for viewing by the general public - with a view to cross referencing certain entries? Has a transcript of the "Duke of Norfolk" copy ever been produced or published?

Thanks in advance for any feedback or assistance.

I have put various copies of the maps on my Drobox account here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gtsmj6nin7l2u0w/AADKvR5T7SLThKLo458lBqvta?dl=0

The copies in the Y.A.J. are "fold out" and only A4 at best.

Ronksley stated that reconcilng the Tibbitts and the Duke of Norfolk versions was "a most laborious and trying business" but that he managed to reduce them to a minimum. I have never seen a transcription of the D.O.N. version, but presumably the original is at Arundel Castle?. I also really struggle to relate Harrison's descriptions of fields, dwellings and roads to the maps, even without consideration of any inaccuracies.

Best of luck with it!

Ted,

Many thanks for your reply and for the link to the maps on your dropbox account which I've just downloaded - much appreciated. The resolution on the PDF files in particular is just what I was looking for.

Thank-you for your feedback on the alignment between the two copies of the survey and the maps. The first two entries I attempted to cross reference both presented issues and so it was interesting to note these are not isolated examples. Conscious that I'm focusing on issues with these records, I should add that I don't under estimate the scale of the task faced by Scurfield and the work involved in recreating these maps - this is a very valuable resource for researching families in C17th Sheffield.

Thanks also for your feedback on the Duke of Norfolk copy - I'll investigate further.


Thanks again for your help.

I have just dug out a copy of Rosamund Meredith's 1965 "Catalogue of the Arundel Castle Manuscripts in Sheffield City Library", which records a bundle of items passed to Sheffield Libraries in 1960. On page 16 it states:
"S 75 76 Two copies of John Harrison's Survey of the Manor of Sheffield. 1637. Both copies were probably made in the late 17th century. Original bindings. (Edited by J.G.Ronksley and published 1908)"
Looking at the Sheffield Archives database they still have them as items JC/22/242 and ACM/W/27. So the Duke's copy seems to now be in Sheffield not Arundel Castle. The Archives also seem to have some of Ronksley's working papers which may assist your project (ref RC) They also have a reconstruction of Sheffield Park at 1637 by Thomas Winder, made in 1912, 6 inches to a mile (ref ACM/MAPS/She/155L)

http://www.calmview.eu/SheffieldArchives/CalmView/Overview.aspx

Ted,

Many thanks for taking the time to dig out this additional information on the surveys (and Ronksley's working notes) and where they are kept - very helpful and much appreciated. I will add this to my list for my next visit to Sheffield (from Yorkshire originally - but live some distance away these days). Also interested in the map recreated of Sheffield Park in 1912 as one member of the family I'm researching appears to have held land on the west side of the park near Little Sheffield.

Noting your familiarity with the survey, could I ask your thoughts on another point regarding the dating of the survey. Although published in Sep 1637, it is my understanding that the survey itself was conducted over the period 1633-1637 based on references to Harrison receiving payments in the manorial accounts. My question is whether it is reasonable to assume that some of those individuals in the survey may have been recorded earlier than 1637 and so the survey results do not necessarily reflect all those who were still tenants in late 1637. For example, one person I'm researching died in October 1636 and I'm speculating whether he may be present in the published survey but had been recorded as part of Harrison's survey prior to Oct 1636? The ambiguity arises because in the family I am researching there were at least 5 adult individuals living in Sheffield at this time with the same forename. I appreciate it could well be impossible to answer this question with any certainty but would welcome your opinion. Many thanks.

No doubt Harrison compiled his list of tenants etc from the Manor Court Rolls and similar, and I would guess that these were kept up to date to ensure continuing revenue as tenants died or moved on. Presumably the records would have been moved from the Castle to the Manour for safe-keeping in 1642 and the run up to the Civil War. They may then have been requisitioned by the Protectorate with a view to squeezing money from the Manor, and for calculating compounding charges on John Talbot (hopefully being treated with respect after their use...)

The court rolls for 1636-7 are not amongst those transcribed by T Walter Hall, and I guess (if they are in existence)were not a priority for historians as Harrison documented them and his work may be easier to rely on for many purposes. Many of the unpublished "Talbot Papers", after Nathaniel Johnson rescued them in the 1670's, were sent to Lambeth Palace Library and the College of Arms. I believe that many have come home and are in the Sheffield Archives. G.R.Batho calendared them in 1966 and 1971 but I don't think there is a digitised version - but the Archives have both Batho volumes.

It may be a plan to find a tame Archivist to check what they have?

Sorry for the delayed response. Many thanks for your informative reply. Good points regarding Harrison using the manor court rolls and ensuring rental income was maintained. I have seen a few snippets of the court roll entries in a couple of the early Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society but have not seen any for the C17th to date. As you suggest, I think Sheffield Archives should be my next port of call in this research - both for the manorial records and to dig further into the 1637 survey.

Many thanks again for all your help.