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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: jonwicken on Thursday 19 July 18 23:12 BST (UK)
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Hi I have come across this document in Dorset:
Ref No D-MHM/8929A&B
Title Indenture of fine. John Bragge, esquire and John Gummer and Edith his wife. House and land in Broadwindsor. Mentioned: John Bovett son of George Bovett and Susannah Case daughter of John Case.
Date 26 Mar 1734
I wonder if anyone could please tell me what it is and whether the named people could have been related. I am not sure what this type of document is and would really appreciate some help.
Many thanks,
Jonny
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In legal use, a fine is used in conveyancing.
A fee paid by a tenant to the landlord at the commencement of the tenancy to reduce the rent payments. A money payment from a tenant to the tenant's lord is also called fine.
A special kind of conveyance used to disentail an estate. It was an amicable final agreement or compromise of a fictitious or actual suit to determine the true possessor of land. This puts an end, not only to the suit thus commenced, but also to all other suits and controversies concerning the same matter.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fine_of_lands
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Thank you. So does it look likely from this that John and Edith Gummer were paying John Bragge?
I know I would need to see the original document to know for sure but wondered if you please had any thoughts, especially on why the other individuals named Bovett and Case would be named.
Thanks again,
Jon
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I saw this yesterday but thought I would wait to see what other replies you got first.
From looking around my interpretation of Indenture of fine is a final accord or agreement made to settle a legal dispute by agreement. This is based on the following
A. "Fine" is short for a final accord - see 1 and 2
B. "Indenture" is A legal agreement, contract, or document see 3
1. http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/fines/index.shtml
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feet_of_fines
3. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/indenture
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An additional resource related to Feet of Fines is here:
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/researchguidance/deedsindepth/freehold/finalconcord.aspx
Unfortunately, from your catalogue description it's not possible to tell whether the people are related.
This document is also right on the border between the use of Latin and English for legal documents.
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So does it look likely from this that John and Edith Gummer were paying John Bragge?
I think it might be the other way round, since the 'plaintiff' (the person acquiring the property) is usually listed first. But without seeing the document it’s largely guesswork.
If you’re thinking of ordering a copy, it might be worth asking the record office first if they would give you any more information about it?
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On the other hand, I think that John Bragge is the freeholder and John and Edith Gummer the incoming tenants because:
(1) It is usual in summaries of conveyancing documents to list the lessor / transferor first
(2) John Bragge is afforded the title "esquire", indicating he is a gentleman - a man who does not toil to earn his living - and therefore he is likely to be an owner of freehold property from which he derives a letting income
(3) It was comparatively uncommon for a married man and his wife to be joint owners of freehold property (especially freehold property to let), much less so for them to be joint tenants of leasehold property (so there could be no issue as to the wife succeeding to tenancy on widowhood)