Genealogy Chat

Oh how lovely Pat, I havent found anything like that yet.

Well done Heather! The only advantage to the continued use of such archaic language is that the words are nearly always in any good dictionary. I worked - extremely briefly - in a legal office and it was explained to me that many legal documents are a continuation, or variation, of a previous document and so on, back to time immemorial, a fact which has been extremely helpful to me in tracing ancestors - the same piece of land being in their tenure for nearly 600 years, messuages,land measured in selions, rent paid in "one good iron-tipped arrow to be payed at the feast of St Stephen for eight yeares then ten markes at the feast of St Stephen". The rent went up over the years, but Rent day didnt change in nearly 600 years! Marjorie

Yes Margaret, I was helping someone a few years back (in my private capacity) making an appeal against a rate rise. I was amazed how they still used such ancient language on documents. I am sure it is so that it is a sort of secret society, as my friend was about to throw in the towel on her appeal until I explained words like abutment and messuage! We won by the way!

Hi Heather And it is still used today by some solicitors, despite the move to update legal language! Marjorie.

A messuage is a dwelling place, cottage or house (usually with outbuildings) with agricultural land. I used to work for a solicitor and it was a word often used in old documents.

Could any body tell me what is a messuage the info goes like this messuage 10 acre's and a meadow and the next goes built messuage 22 acre's and a meadow