[The Tropenell Cartulary].
Thomas Tropenell (c. 1405 - 1488)
Category
Manuscripts and documents
Date
c. 1464 - c. 1488
Materials
Parchment
Measurements
355 x 280 x 110 mm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Great Chalfield, Wiltshire
NT 3069461
Summary
Bound volume describing Thomas Tropenell's steady acquisition of manors and land in Wiltshire, during the 15th century, including Great Chalfield.
Bibliographic description
982 leaves . coloured armorials . 35.5 x 11 cm. (text block 33 cm. x 25 cm. x 9cm.). Commissioned by Thomas Tropenell in 1464. On parchment. Heavily rubricated. Pages 341-350 contain a small selection of coloured armorials. The cartulary is a rare example of a surviving secular cartulary, containing transcripts of documents relating to the Percy family and the history of Wiltshire from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. The entries are arranged topographically, by estate, and include substantial sections on the manors of Corsham, Laverstock, Allington, Chippenham, Fisherton, Old and New Sarum (including details of the building of Salisbury Cathedral and the two charters), Great Chalfield and a group of smaller Gloucestershire estates. Provenance: Donated to the National Trust in 1943 by Robert F. Fuller (1875-1955), who had purchased Great Chalfield Manor from his father G. P. Fuller in 1912. The cartulary has not been at the manor continuously since Tropenell’s time, although until 1896 it remained in the hands of the families who successively inherited the estate. By 1901 it belonged to William Howard Bell (fol. 1v) and was purchased from him by Robert Fuller in December 1923. Binding: Bound in parchment over wooden boards; medieval-style tacketed binding with leather thongs and two brass clasps.
Makers and roles
Thomas Tropenell (c. 1405 - 1488), commissioner
References
100 Books from the Libraries of the National Trust 2023