Introduction

There were a number of Draycot Estate Surveys in the 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s, which covered both Draycot Cerne and Sutton Benger, as well as other parishes and properties which were part of the Draycot Estate.

They 'Surveys and Leases' documents provide similar information to Censuses but are less detailed. As indicated in their names, some of the records are actually just collections of leases. The Surveys and Leases give the name of the head of family; sometimes they include the age of the head of the family, and sometimes they include other family members. The later records provide clues about where the family was living.

The leases in each collection cover a wide range of dates, and the year in the title is purely a notional date in order to give each collection a name.

The Surveys, Inspections and Leases

There are various documents in the Archives, loosely categroised as 'Surveys'. Some of these documents were not actually detailed surveys but were simply collections of leases. However, they tend to give similar information to Surveys or Censuses. The 1730 document was an 'Inspection' and is effectively part-Survey, part-summary of leases.

See the separate documents about Estate Surveys for details of:

The 1730 Inspection
The '1744 Leases'
The 1808 Survey
The 1851 Survey
The 1860s Leases
The 1872 Survey
The 1900s Leases