The Hampshire Family Historian | Vol.48 No.3 | December 2021

Member’s article

married as Isaac Horlick, four of his older children were baptised as Horlock alias Gearle but the younger ones as Gearle. All of Isaac’s descendants use the name Gurl/Girl/Gearle and not Horlock. Records show several Gearle families in The Wallops, mostly active before 1700, but they seem to have no connection with my Isaac. I started to look outside of the church registers and fortunately found that Nether Wallop is rich in manor and court baron documents and happily the majority are held at the Hampshire Record Office. Initially I found a copyhold entry dated 1742 which referred to an earlier lease as follows: His Grace Charles Duke of Bolton contracted with Isaac Horlock otherwise Girl of Wallop Yeoman that for surrender of Copy dated 24th April 1727 whereby Martha Batt late Atneave held a customary messuage of one yard land with the appurtances lying in Cossaton Common within the manor for her life and the lives of the said Isaac Horlock otherwise Girl and Phillis Cowdry and for the fine of £26 secured to be paid at Lady Day next to the said Charles Duke of Bolton is to grant by Copy to the said Isaac Horlock otherwise Girl the aforesaid premises to hold the same unto the said Isaac Horlock otherwise Girl (age 25) for his life and the lives of Martha (age 2) and Sarah (age 1) his daughters and the life of the longest liver of them by the yearly rent of 10s 9d and a heriot. Signed: Isaac Horlick This left us more confused. Who were Martha BATT late ATNEAVE and Phillis COWDRY ? What was their relationship to our Isaac? We assumed there must have been some relationship as they are ‘lives’ on a copyhold.

Also, the Gurls in Oxford were a poor family in the 1800s, but their roots appear to be relatively wealthy. We needed to find the original 1726/7 copyhold entry in the manor records. Eventually I managed to track down the relevant Nether Wallop Court Baron Book which is held by the Dorset Record Office in Dorchester. The entry was in Latin but the sections of interest to us were translated as follows: “Martha Attneave widow – one customary messuage and one yard land with the appurtances lying in Cossaton Common within the Manor….. Martha Attneave now aged 37 years …. Isaac Horlock Alias Girl (9 years) son of Martha Atneave and Phillis Cowdry (4 years) daughter of William Cowdry of Wallop. …… Isaac Horlock alias Girl joint purchaser …… The cost is £145 with 10s 9d yearly rent” This was great news for us, as it proved that Isaac was Martha’s son! It also confirmed Isaac’s estimated year of birth (1717/8) and his mother’s year of birth (1689/90). But how did Martha and Isaac get the money to buy the copyhold? Searches outside of the area of The Wallops found a marriage of Martha GIRLL to Richard AKNAVE in December 1722 in Old Alresford. He was a wealthy man, who owned several copyhold estates in Nether Wallop. This was definitely the right Martha because when Richard died in 1724, he left a will in which she and Isaac are named. The bulk of his estate was left to his son Richard by his previous wife. Martha was left £20 and the

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