Property and Land in Codsall, 1596

Description:The second Indenture was made between ‘S[i]r Walter Leveson of Lilleshall in ye countie of of Salop knight’ and a man named ‘Roger Merryton of Wrotesleye in the countie of Staff’. The document is dated ‘the last daie of April in the Eighthe & thirtieth yeare of ye Reigne of our Sov[er]eygne Lady Elizabeth’, indicating that the agreement was made in April 1596.

The Indenture gave to Roger ‘one mesuage or ten[na]mente one garden one orchard’ and also ‘vj acres of pasture land tenne acres of field land’ situated in ‘Codsall in ye seid countie of Staff’ which belonged to Sir Walter Leveson.

These documents tell us about sixteenth century Codsall, and the use which land was put to in the area during the later 1500s. The Leveson family ensured that they made the most from their lands by leasing property to tenants who would pay rent and utilise the land for agricultural purposes.