I have started researching the history of our amazing house and it is proving extremely exciting.
The farm's original name was Ball Farm and it had been that for several hundred years, in fact I have not yet found out where the name originated from, I know it was changed sometime around 1987 because a previous owner thought the name was rather 'testicular' so added the Hill to the name. A slightly confusing name as Ball Hill is nowhere near our farm. It is on Dartmoor, just above Okehampton.
Ball Farm is in the parish of Sampford Courtenay which in itself is famous for the 'prayer book riots' of 1549. The Prayer Book Rebellion was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon, in
1549. In 1549 the Book of Common Prayer, presenting the theology of the
English Reformation, was introduced. The change was widely unpopular —
particularly in areas of still firmly Catholic religious loyalty (even
after the Act of Supremacy in 1534 ), for example, in Cornwall and
Devon, but also in Lancashire. Along with poor economic conditions, the
attack on the Church led to an explosion of anger. In Cornwall, rebel
forces of peasants and local businessmen gathered. In response, the Lord
Protector the Duke of Somerset, ordered an army composed largely of
German and Italian mercenaries sent to impose a military solution.
We knew our property was old, it is detailed in our listing as being 16th century, with a later extension built in the 17th century and we have heard various rumours about who has lived here, and our resident 'grey lady'. However in researching our history we have discovered a most exciting piece of its history.
We have not got any deeds for this property, no historical documents, in fact all we have is fairly recent documentation, so i searched on line, I checked census data and discovered details of apprentices of 10 and 11 years old who worked on this farm, I dicovered tennants whose names are linked to local families and i found out that this property was owned until the 1920's by the Provost and scholars of Kings College Cambridge.
So I contacted the archivist at Cambridge University to ask about how a farm in Sampford Courtenay, Devon came to be owned by Cambridge University and the response is fantastic.
Ball Farm was one of several properties in Sampford Courtenay that were swapped for properties in Sussex and given to Queen Elizabeth 1. She gave these properties into the safe keeping of the Provost and Scholars of Kings college Cambridge. Who kept them until the1920's when Ball Farm was sold into private ownership for the first time in 400 years.
The archivist from Cambridge University has invited me over to view all the documents they hold, and initial investigations suggest the documentation will reveal the original deeds of the property, Details of the transfer to the University and also information on all the tennants who have lived here during the university ownership. I have been told that all the documents from 1700 and before are in latin and the university will provide a latin scholar to help with my research.
I am so excited about this, I will be going over to Cambridge this summer (2011) to look through the archives and copy everything relevant to this wonderful house. Hopefully I will discover who 'Ball' was and why these properties were given to Queen Elizabeth, and then get confirmation on how old the house is.
