Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Stoke-by-Clare. Nearby is a boathouse which had belonged to an ecclesiastical body called
Stoke College.
This vivid portrayal of a wetland landscape has added value for ecologists and local histor-
ians, as it is covered with notes. These record the state of the ground around the mere, who
owned it, what grew on it, and whether it was good land or marsh. Bullrushes are differenti-
ated from 'flag reeds', and woodland from meadow. At top left, land called 'the Wett Fenn'
is noted as an alder wood. All this detail was needed, as the boundaries of the mere were
hard to define, and fluctuated with the seasons and weather. The map must have been made
in summer, as a note tells us that what is shown as ground below the mere was so flooded in
winter that a number of boats could then row upon it.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Thomas Barnardiston, claimed that he had inherited fishing
rights both in the river which flowed into the mere, and 18 feet into the mere. However, Stoke
College had previously claimed all fishing rights over the mere and, when the College ceased
to exist in 1548 on the dissolution of the monasteries, these rights had supposedly reverted to
the Crown. Surviving papers in this case, dating from about 1571, include a list of questions
to be put on behalf of the Crown's representative as defendant. Answers given by the defend-
ant's witnesses state that Barnardiston had no boat, which would be needed to fish, while the
College kept one in its boathouse. A key witness was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew
Parker, who gave evidence as a former Dean of Stoke College. His testimony recalls that the
matter was discussed when he dined with Mr 'Barmston' on 2 June 1543, so this was an issue
which had caused difficulties for decades.
The mapmaker was John Hunt, a commissioner in the case, and related to Sir Ambrose
Cave, who was involved with the drawing of Knaresborough Castle. Hunt explained in a
signed note that he and the plaintiff's friend, Thomas Lark, differed on 'some points of small
weight', so Hunt made this map and Lark made another. This second map is not known to
survive, so we cannot compare the two, to judge the truth of Hunt's claim that the differen-
ces were 'not much material' to the case. We do have this map, which brings alive a summer
scene in a corner of the country.
