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I have a number of documents concerning Number 2. Notes with them suggest they were for a long time stored by Lloyd’s Bank for safe-keeping and from time to time transferred to solicitors as different things happened eg transfer of the garden and shed to different ownership.

Key documents include:

Date	Type	Detail
26 Dec 1890	Conveyance	Mr & Mrs Mew and  and Mrs Bissett (beneficiaries of Thomas Lethbridge) to Mrs Mary Richards
2 Mar 1900	Probate	Extract of Will of Mary Richards, (inheritance by Elizabeth Brady)
13 Apr 1910	Conveyance	Mr James Brady to Mr John Brady following death of Elizabeth intestate
1924	Abstract	Abstract of title
27 Sep 1924	Conveyance	John Brady (deceased) to James Neill
28 March 1927	Probate	Copy  Will of James Neill deceased
24 Dec 1927	Conveyance	Executors of James Neill to Maria Palmer
1959	Abstract	Abstract of Title
22 Apr 1959	Assent	Mrs Maria Palmer deceased
1959	Searches
11 Dec 1959	Conveyance	B.W. Palmer to Charles Bowden Esq.

From these it should be straight forward to build a list of owners. Of course they were not necessarily the occupiers, and deeds don’t mention many other family members. The Census and possibly directories can help with occupiers. Though often specific addresses are not stated in the census we can sometimes make an educated guess knowing who their neighbours were. For Sticklepath it seems the enumerator often did put entries in order. Just ‘The Old Cottage’ lies between the terrace and the village hall, which is also mentioned on the census helps.

Just to re-cap: It seems Mr Thomas Lethbridge had the terrace of 4 Ska View Cottages built, which may or may not have been completed in his lifetime. The New cottages were sold at auction 1890 by his daughters and son-in-law who had inherited the properties. There is no suggestion they were lived in at the time. Mrs Mary Richards, widow of William Richards formerly of Ball Farm, Sampford Courtenay, bought the property in 1890. Her will states her address as Ska View Cottages, good evidence she lived in No.2. She made a number of interesting bequests (lots of extra people named), but left the main part of her £561 8s 11d estate to her niece Elizabeth Brady wife of John Brady, gentleman of Barnstaple in 1900.

10 June 1909 Elizabeth Brady died intestate (no will). Mr James Brady her son of St.Paul-des-metis in the Province of Alberta, Canada, gave the property to his father, husband of Elizabeth, in a Conveyance dated 13 April 1910 for his use on the understanding it was passed back to himself on the death of the father. “In consideration of natural love and affection”. This conveyance notes that a stable and coach house had recently been erected on the garden plot.

The newspaper report of her funeral and requiem mass at the Catholic Church in Barnstaple (Western. Times Tuesday 15 June 1909) as well as knowing she is the niece of Mary Richards, would allow a basic family tree to be drawn up. It does not look like either Elizabeth or her husband actually lived in the property at No 2 Ska View.

18 May 1915 John Brady made his Will. 1 July 1924 he died. Probate granted 24 Sept 1924. His executors were another son Bernard Brady and solicitor William Edwin Pitts Tucker. There is no mention of James Brady the son in Canada in the conveyance. On 27 Sept 1924 No. 2 Ska View Cottages was sold to James Neill of No. 3 Ska View Cottages for £380. (His son-in-law Frank Richards and daughter Beatrice lived in No. 4). The property at No.2 was occupied by Mrs Portrey (Portsey/Portrey).

The documents jump from one owner’s death to the next. James Neill wrote his Will on 2 Oct 1926. He died 26 Feb 1927 at No.3 Ska View Cottages. Estate valued at £4313 19s 1d Probate was granted. No. 2 passed to his daughter Maria Palmer 24th December 1927.

At first glance No. 2 passing from father to daughter looks straight forward. However the conveyance adds a further sad part to the story. Tomorrow is another day and another installment!

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Exploration of Ska View Cottages continues with a detailed look at the first indenture or conveyance document, written in 1890.

This row of cottages is not listed although both Cleave House and The Old Cottage on either side are. From the 1890 auction notice (accessed through the British Newspaper Archive ) we know Ska View Cottages were Freehold and Newly Built. The auction was due 27 August 1890, and if the 4 cottages were not sold in one lot they would be separately auctioned. It seems no one was interested in all four. Luckily I have the deeds – indentures, conveyances and will extracts, that allow a picture of the ownership of No 2 Ska View Cottages to be built up.

 At first sight Indentures are rather intimidating, however after finding your way around one or two, the mysteries seem to unfold rather more easily!  This one is almost a metre square, dated 26 December 1890, the Conveyance of a dwelling house.  It includes a garden a short way distant (in the allotments still in existence on Back Lane).  It dates from the time when ‘Indentures’, though still known by this name, did not any longer have a zig zag cut edge to show they were matching other copies of the same agreement. 

Payment of the taxes due, £2 10/- is shown by the attachment of two embossed stamps, firmly glued in place with something on the rear as well as shown below. There is also a green ribbon woven through the parchment on which the solicitor has placed his wax seal 4 times to confirm the signatories. 

It appears that Mr Thomas Lethbridge of Sticklepath had had the cottages built, or at least had started building them, but then died.  His daughters, Rebecca, wife of John Mew, draper of Barnstaple, and Dinah Bissett, widow of Dolton, inherited them and were selling the properties, along with the son-in-law, John Mew.

Indentures are legal documents covering a range of situations, mortgage or conveyance, apprenticeship etc etc. Early ones are on parchment.  They are written in ‘secretary hand’ which probably took about 3 years to fully master but which means standard script is used across England for all such legal documents. Where a property is conveyed in ‘fee simple’ this is the freehold given in perpetuity.  For more information about deeds including much older ones see Nottingham University.

All Indentures start with “This Indenture dated XXXX” and then state the parties involved in the contract.  Words in ‘bold’ then go on to note the start of each new point. (Overall sections are known as: the Testatum or what the contract concerns; the Hebendum which is the legal provisos usually ignored by genealogists; and the Testimonium, the signatures and seals). My summary interpretation follows, with CAPITALS to indicate new sections (though not using the same words as the original):

THIS INDENTURE dated 26 December 1890

BETWEEN the three people mentioned above and Mary Richards of 29 Port Street Barnstaple, widow. 

WHEREAS – Mr Thomas Lethbridge was “seized of the hereditaments and premises” (owned the property) at the time of his death and “hereby granted for an estate of inheritance in fee simple” (gave the freehold) in

HIS WILL dated 10 November 1873 (lots of details given) which came into effect when he

DIED 12 March 1876 and the Will was proved 12 April 1876. The property was inherited in by his two daughters.

THE SALE of 2 Ska View to Mary Richards is now agreed by the vendors in Fee Simple for £100.

THIS INDENTURE witnesses this sale and that the sellers acknowledge receipt of the £100.

EACH seller agrees

ALL “that Messuage or dwelling house being Number 2 Ska View Cottages in the Village of Sticklepath in the County of Devon with the outhouse held therewith all which premises are now in the occupation of “  (here a large blank space is left, suggesting to me it was unoccupied)

AND ALSO the garden area, to both of which Mary Richards and her “heirs or assigns” can take vehicles or animals as they wish.

ALLOWING access by the other cottage owners as needed

PARTY walls explained and current owners of neighbouring properties named. 

SIGNATURES AND WITNESSES of the sellers and their solicitors. 

If you picture the document folded in half with the fold to your left.  The front ‘page’ and second page  are taken up with the statement as summarised so far (Images as shown above). On the front page there are some pencil marks in the margins and a small purple stamp mark which do not have any meaning for me. 

The third ‘page’  is divided into two with the plan at the top and an interesting statement on the lower part. 

The plan

Thomas Lethbridge had left the property to his daughters solely, free from husbands wishes or debts, a statement therefore was needed to clarify that Rebecca was completing the sale “freely and voluntarily”.  She had to discuss this with the solicitor without her husband present. This is signed by “A Perpetual Commissioner for taking acknowledgements of Deeds by married women”. This statement was completed 17 Dec 1890. 

The final quarter of the document is blank other than the labelling of the document when folded up.  

Looking at this legal document in some detail has been a learning process. I now feel more confident to look at others, perhaps even older ones if the chance arises. Next time a brief overview of No 2 owners from 1890 – 2015.

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Three things have happened in this last week: while preparing for #OnePlacePubs I spotted an auction for the new Ska View cottages in Sticklepath (1890 advert image below); I heard a Zoom talk by Ivan Bunn at The Voice Cloud helpfully going through house deeds in some detail; and yesterday’s @househistoryhour with the amazing Steve Jackson @oneplacestudies – together these have spurred me on to consider the history of at least one house within that row of cottages.

Ska View Cottages (also known as Skaigh View Cottages) could have been built by one of the employers in Sticklepath to house their employees, perhaps Pearse to house some woollen mill workers or Finch for his Foundry workers.  However, this theory does not seem to have any basis in fact. No mention within the traditional stories of either family handed down through the generations as far as I can see. Though more recently, 1960s-early 1970s, at least one was used as a ‘tied cottage’ for a long distance lorry driver working for Bowden’s Haulage. 

Where to start?  The best place is probably to speak to the current owners and work back.  One cottage has been occupied by the same family for 60 years.  If only I lived locally I would have started with an oral history. Sadly I am far away. 

Another option is to study ‘The Deeds’.  Unfortunately in recent times many sets of deeds have been lost.  Since land registry became essential, the deeds and history of who has owned the property is no longer needed. House conveyancing has become slightly easier but so much history lost!  Luckily, when clearing out a deep dark cupboard of Cleave House in 2015 some dusty deeds surfaced. They have sat in a box moving around the country with me ever since. 

Time to blow away the cobwebs and take a step back into history…..