Sumersham with Soke
The Bishop of Ely holds the manor of Somersham in trust from the Lord King but it is not known with whose warrant or from whose time he holds it. Likewise the bishop holds 6 carucates of profitable land in the demesne of the said manor and holds 165 acres of pasture land fit to mow in the demesne of the said manor and holds in the same place an enclosed manor with gardens of 4 acres and 2 fishponds which cover 2 acres. And he holds in the said manor a park of 200 acres with marshes and several pastures accustomed to be common pasture just as he holds the great woods from the time of King Henry the father of the current King Edward but on whose warrant is not known. And in the same manor he holds one great wood which contains 300 acres in which the men from nearby villages Warboys, Wood Hirst, Old Hirst, St Ives, Needingworth and Holywell feed their animals as on common pasture. The Soke of Somersham holds a certain alder grove containing 12 acres of the said manor in which his (the bishops) villains owe him cutting work. He holds several fisheries belonging to the said manor extending from Altoneslake to Archalemuth for 5 leagues.


Likewise the bishop has the right of free chace relating to the forests in his aforesaid soke of Summersham, and this he has as a feoffment from the predecessors of the Lord King but it is not known from whose time.


Transcribed from the latin entries which are themselves a nineteenth century transcription from the original rolls.