The Bell House estate was owned and occupied by a branch of the Petre family for much of the 17th and 18th centuries. An account book in the Essex Record Office reveals a little of part of its history, as well as the extent of the estate in the first half of the 18th century. It is clear that, by 1738, the property was seriously encumbered by debts run up by William Petre. The annual income from rents amounted to just over £1061. However, bonds and mortgages, secured on the estate, amounted to £4500, and Petre also had personal debts amounting to about £1750, including unpaid bills to a periwig maker, a coal merchant and a wine merchant. These difficulties were overcome by the 8th Baron Petre, of Thorndon Hall, taking over the administration of the estate. William Petre was to be paid £350 pa tax free, and the rest of the income was devoted to paying off debts, and the interest on the mortgages and bonds, as well as the outstanding capital repayments. All the details are clearly laid out in the account book, and all debts were cleared within six years - quite an achievement!
The main interest, however, is the list of farms and properties comprising the estate, though unfortunately only the annual rent, rather the acreage, of each is listed. Those with a good knowledge of the parish may be able to identify some of the more obscure names, including the rather sinisterly named “Creepers Lane”. The properties listed (in their original spelling) are:
Bellhouse Farm: rental £100
Merrills Farm: rental £156
Teraceys Farm: rental £156
Barwick Farm: rental £150
Stanford Hall Farm: rental £160
Herdhouse Farm: rental £130
Wallers farm: rental £45
Hollingford Farm: rental £43
Godsafe Cottage: rental £5
Thorogood Cottage: rental £5
Ramseys Cottage; rental £2-15s
Gibbs Cottage; rental £2
Green Cottage; rental £1-16s
Cottage adjoining; rental 18s
Groves windmill: rental 10s
Jones Wassh: rental 10s 6d
Part of Creepers Lane; rental 7s 6d
Herdhouse, Wallers and Hollingford farms seem to have disappeared (small farms - judging by their rental - which were presumably amalgamated subsequently with larger neighbours). “Groves windmill” was perhaps the one that stood on the south side of the chase leading to Littlebury Hall, as the Toot Hill mill was not built until the 19th century. Any guesses on the whereabouts of Creepers Lane?
[Editor: Epping Road, Toot Hill, near Does Farm was known locally as ‘Creepers Hill’]