Merry Lees
The hamlet of Merry Lees lies between Thornton, Desford and Botcheston, nowadays a few houses and a small industrial estate with a hump-backed bridge over the railway line.
Previously, there was even less there, prior to the railway line being built there were a few houses centred on what was the crossroads, one arm of which is now a footpath.
Documentary sources for Merry Lees are sparse, the majority come from the church records for baptisms, marriages and burials. The earliest of these records is that of Nicholas Geary of Merry Lees who was buried at Thornton in 1669. Pre-dating this however are a series of legal documents relating to the ownership of Merry Lees, these date from 1647 to 1666.
These legal documents are the best clue to the origins of the hamlet. The first document dated 1647 is for the sale of the field called Merry Lees, sold by Thomas Baker, a felt maker, to William Orton, a shoemaker and John Willson, a tailor, all of Leicester, for the sum of £84. The property came with a sitting tenant, one William Blithe and was noted as being part of Botcheston.
The document goes on to state “commonly called or knowne by the severall names of the pasture Merry Lee, those lately devided into three closes, Townend these al(ia)s Lindridge feilds, the Nether crofte the Lammas close and the over yard”. From this we know that the pasture was variously called Merry Lees, Townsend and Lindridge Field and that sometime prior to 1647 the field had been divided into 3 smaller enclosures, Nether Croft, Lammas Close and the Over Yard. So where are these enclosures or indeed the original field? For more clues we can look at the next document, this is dated 1652 and relates to another sale.
The name of the hamlet has been seen in various written forms, Merry Lees, Mary Lees and Maerlies. The question is do they mean anything? The first word Merry, I think could be a corruption of the old English word “mere” also spelt as “meere”, meaning a boundary, or in the early 17th century, a road serving as a boundary. It also has the old meaning of a lake or pond; there is an old lake just off Coley Lane and that area is prone to flooding. The other part of the name, Lees, an old English word “lease”, pronounced as lees, this means pasture or meadow land. A lee shore also means sheltered from the wind, it is not a flat piece of land. One other possibility for those with a macabre taste could be yet another variation of the spelling for Merry, another old English word, a corruption of the word “mere”, that is “mare” used in the late 17th century, the 3 legged mare, another name for the gallows.
Gallows were often placed at a crossroads it also where suicides and those convicted of witch craft were buried, as happened in 1707, when a woman who took her own life was buried at the cross roads of Merry Lees.
Looking at old maps does help and the first appearance of Merry Lees on a map is one dated 1804, the map shows a number of houses on both sides of the road and a different layout to that of today. That layout remained the same after the railway was built.
To conclude, what is the history of the hamlet? Does its name mean the boundary between the parishes of Thornton and Desford, an old lake sheltered from the wind or less likely a more macabre meaning?
The list that I have for Merry Lees baptisms, marriages and burials is as follows;
1669, Nicholas Geary, of Merry Lees, buried at Thornton.
1720, John Geary, of Mary Lees (sic), buried at Thornton.
1720, James Payne, of Mary Lees (sic), buried at Thornton.
1721, the marriage of David Jee and Mary Gery, a widow, both of Merry Lees.
1726, Samuel Carter, of Merry Lees, son of George of Maerlies (sic), buried, aged 27.
1727, Samuel & Mary Shevyn, children of Mary Gee of Mary Lees (sic), buried at Thornton.
1727, Sarah Wilkins, of Mary Lees (sic), buried at Thornton.
1728, John Storer, of Mary Lees (sic), buried at Thornton.
1728, Thomas Renford, of Mary Lees (sic), buried at Thornton.
1728, John Storer, of Mary Lees (sic), buried at Thornton.
1729, John Wilkinson, of Mary Lees (sic), buried at Thornton.
1730, Sarah Wilkinson of Mary Lees (sic), married William Beavins at Thornton.
1732, William Usher, christened at Thornton, child of James & Sarah of Mary Lees (sic) of Bagworth Liberty.
1740, the marriage of John Walker of Merry Lees to Ann Bot of Ratby.
1750, Ann Carter, baptised in Ratby, daughter of Thomas and Ann of Merelees (sic).
1796, Thomas Thirlby of Merry Lees, buried in Ratby.
1824, Joseph Drakley, baptised, child of Thomas & Mary of Merry Lees, farmer.
1828, William Drackly, of Merry Lees, buried at Thornton, died aged 21.
1828, Joseph Drackly, of Merry Lees, buried at Thornton, died aged 5.
1831, Mary Marvin, of Merry Lees, buried at Thornton, died aged 83.
1835, David Drackley, of Merry Lees, christened at Thornton, child of Thomas, a farmer & Charlotte.
1846, Thomas Drackley, a farmer in Merry Lees.
1850, Sarah Anne Geary, of Merry Lees, daughter of John, a game-keeper and Anne.
Researched and written by Peter Leadbetter
Merry Lees 1.1
Some time ago I wrote about the origins of Merry Lees, mostly this was about the name of the hamlet with very knowledge of when Merry Lees came into being. Since then I have found several legal documents in the Nottinghamshire Records Office which have helped establish when Merry Lees came into being.
It transpires that in 1647 George Baker, a yeoman, and Humfrey Baker, a tailor, both from Earl Shilton, paid £84 to Thomas Baker, a feltmaker from Leicester, on behalf of William Orton, a shoemaker, and John Willson, a tailor, both from Leicester for a pasture, “Merry Lee those lately devided into three closes Townend alias Lindridge fields the Nether croft the Lammas close and the over yard”. Just to add to the list of names there was also a sitting tenant, one William Blithe. Mind you, transcribing legal documents is one thing, being sure about the English is another!!
So we know that there was a pasture called Merry Lees which had been divided into 3 smaller fields or closes, by 1647, in at least one of those smaller fields there was a building or buildings and that Merry Lees was part of the parish of Botcheston and not Thornton.
There is another legal document dated to 1652 which confirms that Merry Lees is still part of Botcheston and that William Blithe had bought the close that he had been a tenant on and was now selling it, along with another man, Richard Harrison to Humfrey Baker, now a resident in Botcheston.
The last legal document is dated to 1666 which repeats everything about Merry Lees being divided into 3 closes but now says that it is part of the Parish of Thornton. The buyers this time are Nathaniel Ash of Ayseleys, near Merry Lees, and Thomas Sykes of Bagworth.
So what have we learnt from these documents?
Firstly, I would like to say that if you ever want to lose the will to live, I still have some 17th century legal documents that need to be transcribed. Any volunteers, call me via the Samaritans!!
Secondly, there is another document which I have to obtain in the Lincolnshire Records Office cover which is connected to the 1666 document. There will be more information there.
Thirdly, Merry Lees being part of Botcheston until at least 1666 does explain why there is no mention of Merry Lees in the Thornton Parish records until 1669.
Fourthly, £84 was a lot of money in 1647 so either Merry Lees was a very large field or a very productive one.
And now to the questions raised.
Where is Ayseleys? This is near Merry Leys and is probably 2 words, Ayse Leys, mind you that doesn’t help a lot!
Does anyone know where Townsend Field alias Lindridge Field, Nether Croft and Lammas Close are? Added together these 3 were the original Merry Lees, and ideas, let me know.
Researched and written by Peter Leadbetter
Thornton 