| Description | Cartulary containing transcribed medieval deeds relating to his family's estates in North Derbyshire
This cartulary contains transcripts of many medieval deeds of which the originals are not known to survive. It comprises 412 pages but pages 128 to 360 are blank. Pages 1-127 contain transcripts of deeds relating to Leake property in the parishes of North Wingfield, Morton, Tupton, Duckmanton, Sutton Scarsdale, Ault Hucknall, Rowthorne, Bolsover, Harwood Grange, Killamarsh, Dore, Tibshelf, Temple Normanton, Brampton and Scarcliffe. The sources for these seem to have been the Coucher books possibly now lost, of the Abbeys of Louth, Lincolnshire, Welbeck and Newstead, Nottinghamshire [see p.25]
Miscellaneous late 16th – early 17th century transcripts include:
Page 361 list of free tenants in town of Derby c1570
Pages 362-377 lists of freeholders in each hundred of the county c1570
Pages 381-198 rental of Sir Francis Leake’s estate 1574
Pages 405-411 Terriers of Leake land at Newark 1612, 1614
Page 412 List of persons who have made agreement for payment of the prince’s rent for Empringham’s land at Newark, 1623 |
| Administrative History | This cartulary may have been taken from Coucher Books, possibly now lost, of the Abbeys of Louth in Lincolnshire and Welbeck and Newstead in Nottinghamshire. This volume was lent to the antiquary Samuel Pegge of Whittington in 1795 who prepared an abstract of contents
Sir Francis Leake or Leeke (c. 1510-1580) of Sutton Scarsdale, Derbyshire and Eakring, Nottinghamshire, was a soldier, Member of Parliament and local commissioner. In the 1530s he sued his former guardian, Sir Godfey Foljambe, for return of title deeds to Leake family properties.
Sir Francis Leake’s son, also Francis, became Lord Deincourt of Sutton and later Earl of Scarsdale. The mansion at Sutton Scarsdale was built by the Leake family in the late 17th century, but the family line came to an end with the death of the 4th Earl of Scarsdale in 1736. |
| Custodial History | This document was purchased by Derbyshire Record Office in 1971. |