Parish of St. James, Isle of Grain, Kent — Rose Court Manor
Property Description
The Manor of Rose Court comprised arable land, fresh marsh, and salt marsh on the Isle of Grain in Kent containing between 600 and 700 acres let from 1577 in two tenancies: the first described only as "the manoure of Rose Court alias Reyes court, and all those Landes meadowes pastures marshes feedings and other groundes within the Isle of Greyn in the Countie of Kent aforesaid" and the second as "eight score acres of salte marshe with appurtenances". The land in the main lease was surveyed as 414a.3r.32p. in 1674, 470a.3r.17p. in 1716, 463a.0r.9p. in c.1748, and 479a.1r.29p. in 1812. The secondary lease, originally described as containing 160 acres and from 1684 as "containing by Estimacon fforty and Three acres bee the same more or lesse" in Mill Marsh and part of Burr Marsh "containing by Estimacon one hundred and Sixteene acres bee the same more or lesse", was actually found to contain 185a.1r.14p. in 1716, 197a.0r.39p. in c.1748, and 193a.2r.28p. in 1812. The two leases, supposedly containing between them 673a.0r.17p., were combined into one lease in 1828; however, a new survey in 1858 measured the combined acreage as 641a.2r.27p. The 1874 survey, as plotted on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map, shows a total acreage of 641a.2r.14p. and describes the property as follows: "Rose Court Farm, Grain. In the occupation of Messrs. Richard Knight Boorman and William Manwaring, with a newly erected brick and tiled bailiff's house and cottage each containing 6 rooms, a stable for 4 horses, chaff room, nag stable and harness room, and open cart shed, open cattle shed and wagon shed with granary over and in the marsh a barn and 2 open cattle sheds".
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