The following is an excerpt of a talk given to the Hartland Society by Mr. S. J. Hobbs (1995).

As many of you will know Hartland has a unique history in so many ways. The ancient Hundred of Hartland as such was a Royal Manor, held by Gytha who was a Danish princess and wife of Godwin, Earl of Wessex. She was the Mother of King Harold who died at the battle of Hastings in 1066. Harold was born at Gidliegh on Dartmoor, that parish taking its name from the Danish for Gytha.

The manor at Hartland was seized by the Norman King and held on his behalf by Baldwin who was ‘Sherriffe’. He had his administrative castle at Okehampton. The ruins of the castle can still be visited and English Heritage are restoring the fabric at present. Shortly after the death of William the Conqueror, the Manor was granted to the Dynham family, who held it until the reign of Henry the 7th.

In 1290 one Oliver De Dynham granted writings establishing the first Borough of Hartland. Generally it is accepted that the size of the Borough is 168 acres and it's marking stones are placed at Hartland Mill, Cutcliff Lane, Rose Down Farm, Ball Hill, Ford Lane, Larkabourough gate and Thorn cross. There could have been a further stone at Harton Cross.  Two of these stone are still in place. and all were replaced in the mid 1800’s. As part of the millennium year the Town Trust is going to have new stones made and placed to compliment the existing ones. We have a document supporting the Dynham Grant which details how the Borough is to be administered.  

A grant of the right to hold fairs and markets was given to Oliver De Dynham in 1286. In 1560 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First there was a further grant of the rights to hold the fairs and markets. I understand the original document is held at the Hartland Abbey where it was stored by Paul Orchard. We have a true copy of this plus a receipt from Paul Orchard Esq. for the original. This gives two fairs annually plus a weekly market on a Saturday. These would have been held in the Town square, this being the site of the Town Hall. Remember that the first Town Hall was further west than now and lined east-west. To the east was the site of the Bull pit, and at what is now Springfield there was a Bowling Green. The Town expended large amounts of money on these forms of entertainment. The New Town Hall was built on the site of what is now St Johns. The Hall was a building mainly of wood and a thatched roof built on two levels with the shambles below, this being let out to trades people. It is often suggested that the entrance to St John's is as existed for the Town Hall. The Town clock within the entrance is one of the earliest in England, dated 1622 and still working.  

The cattle markets moved after the demolition of the Hall, in the late 1840’s, to Springfield and continued in various places up to the 1950’s when a purpose built market was constructed on what is now the playing fields.  The running of the market was transferred to Messers Kivells at around this time. The account books of the Borough are full of the records of monies collected via the markets by the Portreeve for the profit of the Borough. These account books are intact from 1612 right up until today with only a few omissions.

Upon the Death of William Abbot, in 1609, in his will he bequeathed the sum of £40 annually to the Borough for its costs and maintenance. The Borough was administered by a Portreeve, Baliffe, and a body of Governors ( possibly 13 at times) who were all elected, and had considerable rights to raise revenue.

There must have been some merit in this system as it existed over many years. Around 1660 things must have begun to go astray as at a meeting of inhabitants of the Borough a document was drawn up establishing a method for the "better government of the Borough." It lists 16 sections, and details various aspects of life in Hartland one of the features of this document, on Parchment, is that it contains seventy five signatures. When compared with the list of inhabitants of the Town this is a high proportion and all but three could sign their name.

It must be noted for farmers present that paragraph 11 states that should any of you cause a pig to run free during the fair or market the Portreeve has the lawful right to cause you to forfeit the pig plus a fine of four pence for each such offence.

Similarly paragraph 14 refers to all housekeepers of the Borough who upon warning from the Baliffe you are required to keep ready by your door, water to stop any fire, failure to do so will cost you 5 shillings. I shall be going around later to check and would expect to increase the Town Trust bank account considerably by the morning.

Hartland would appear to have run fairly smoothly from this period, with a mix of Church, Borough and various gentlemen farmers/landowners overseeing matters. Most of the records of the Parish are between the Church and the Borough, each with a distinct responsibility. By 1880 an official inspection established the extent of the responsibilities and by 1894 with the setting up of Parish Councils a body of elected ratepayers took on the civic duties and is funded from taxes and rates (sound familiar) the Church withdrew to Ecclesiastical duties and. the Town Trust was left to operate the remnants. Unfortunately for the Town Trust the small matter of money was overlooked.

The Town Trust held the responsibility for all remaining aspects of the Borough, its lands, properties inc. the Square, Springfield, and other streets, the Town wells and Pumps ( the successors to the Pumps still exist around the Town). The operation of the fairs and markets, keeping the Town Clock, library and reading room and optimistically with any money left over to relieve the poor. The Town trust was also instrumental in the provision of the Street lighting.

The rents and income to the Trust was small, the properties generally in poor condition, therefore over the years it has been inevitable that the sale of properties was undertaken. This proved to be a two edged sword as by the 1950’s the Charity Commission ordered that the proceeds of any sale had to be invested to provide an income for the Trust. This further restricted money available to maintain its obligations and it was not until local government grants became available for the repair of dwellings that the tide turned for the Trust as it enabled the upgrading of the dwellings.  

The last two years with the new Charity laws has forced the Trust to become more commercial in the investments it has and the operation of the trust. So you can see from this brief description of the Borough the present Trustees can trace their responsibilities back directly to the first grant in 1290.

The operation of the Trust is overseen by 7 Trustees, 2 being representatives of the Parish Council and 5 persons having particular knowledge of Hartland. We operate under a Charity Commission scheme to maintain the property of the Trust and can provide at our discretion funds for certain projects within the borough. We have recently made funds available to the Primary School to bring a classroom back into use and to complete a new library facility. This year has been expensive due to refurbishing a cottage but we have a small amount of funds and are always interested in schemes to further the Borough .

With the restraints placed on local government with regard to the provision of housing, the Trust is actually in a good position to become a vehicle through which social housing could be provided. We are fortunate enough to have been willed a cottage this year and are sure that this kind gift will be of great benefit in the future.

Photographs (SJH): Cottages under care of the Trust, all are listed buildings.

S. J. Hobbs
1995