Volume 1

Hertford County records.

  • Hertfordshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1905-
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Hertford County records. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    132/544 (page 86)
    128. The inhabitants of Ware Upland present to the justices the premisses following:— The parish of Ware is distinguished by the titles of Ware Infra, and Ware Extra, and two several courts are kept by the lord of the Manor, From time immemorial Ware Infra has had the following officers, viz :—two churchwardens, two con- stables, two overseers for the poor, and surveyors for the highways as appears by the court rolls. Ware Extra has had one churchwarden, one con- stable, one overseer, and one surveyor. The surveyors of Ware Infra have commonly amended the highway leading to Wadsmyle, so far as the parish extended that way, being about a mile, also the highways leading to Westmill, so far as the parish extended. The surveyor of Ware Extra have commonly amended the highways from Ware town’s end to Widford Mill, being above three miles in length. The great decay of all the ways arises through the unreasonable loads of malt brought into and through Ware to Hodsdon from remote parts, and the bringing of great loads of malt from both the Hadhams, Alburie, Starford, all the Pelhams and Clavering, through Ware Extra, and the excessive loads from Norwich, Bury and Cambridge weekly, the teams often consisting of seven or eight horses. There is a great increase of malsters in Ware. The surveyors neglect to warn all owners of teams in the parish, and others that have draft horses, to perform their day’s work, and also neglect to present defaulters in this respect. Moreover, landholders in Ware hire teams from other parishes to plough their lands, which lands are amenable to contribution towards the repair of the said ways. If the malsters would carry lighter loads with only four horses as they used to, and each person would duly perform his works, the ways could be sufficiently amended. The surveyor and inhabitants of Ware Extra are content to help the surveyors of Ware Infra on such days as may be spared, but not to neglect their own highways.