Description:One of the most intriguing documents amongst the Manor Court Papers for Longton (1696-1733) is a letter written to Obadiah Lane, Lord of the Manor of Longton by a man called William Fowler.
Fowler, who describes himself as a 'poore sufferer' complained to Obadiah Lane 'concerning the Ambulation of your Lordships bandrey Deed'.
Fowler's complaint was based on his belief that the boundary of Longton, which had recently been defined by Obadiah Lane in his ambulation of Longton, was inaccurate. Caught up in disputes between 'in habitants of Trentham parish' and 'Stoke parish', Fowler appealed to 'Lord Leaveson Gower' and Obadiah Lane in an attempt to remedy the 'fals judgement' of Obadiah Lane himself and inhabitants of Trentham who contradicted Fowler's perception of Longton's boundary. He writes 'if my complaint be fals let ye coppy of my Lords Deeds that you haue in your custody disproue me'.
Frustrated that nobody was taking any notice of him, Fowler's letter conveys bitterness and disgust. Writing 'let them mock on for I know I am a scoff', Fowler remarks that he was a 'defitient foole in many others oppinnion' before warning his enemies that 'their coccatrice egs in time they may be crushet'. Fowler particularly hated a man named Mr. Proctor, who he describes as an 'old Ennemy of aboue fourty years'. According to Fowler, Proctor was 'a deceitful cruel merciles peice'. Although Mr. Proctor remains unidentified, it is possible that he was a person of high profile involved in the boundary dispute.
William Fowler's letter demonstrates how local people could become enraged when involved in disputes over their land, particularly when their sense of location and identity as residents of Longton was challenged by landowners and neighbouring tenants.