James Fenner

  General Notes:

1841 Nutley,Maresfield age 35 Blacksmith with wife Ann
1851 Nutley,Maresfield age 46 M Blacksmith with wife Ann & father James
1861 Nutley,Maresfield age 56 M Blacksmith with wife Elizabeth
1871 Nutley,Maresfield age 66 M Blacksmith Master emp 1 man his brother with wife Elizabeth & grand-daughter Elizabeth Osborn age 8
1881 Nutley,Maresfield age 76 M Blacksmith Master with wife Elizabeth & brother George

Will - not yet checked 1/3/1886

During The Ashdown Forest Dispute 1876-1882 <bk.asp?bookid=srs080998> commoners and land owners were interviewed by the solicitor William Raper <bk.asp?bookid=scm10k223>. Their comments were recorded in a series of notebooks:
Fenner, James. 75. Blacksmith, born at Nutley 17 June 1804 and believes he was baptised at Maresfield and has lived at Nutley all his life and has never been away from it for a month at any one time. My Father, James Fenner, was a blacksmith at Nutley and was a keeper of the pound at Nutley, and I succeeded him and am still keeper of it. It is the Manor pound for Duddleswell and Lord De La Warr and his predecessors have kept it repaired. My Father occupied and afterwards bought a small property called "Bartletts" (No 31) which now belongs to John Ridley. My Father used to tell me that the property had rights on the Forest.
.........
From a copy Court Roll of Duddleswell Fenner's property is described as: Tenement and 3 acres at Nutley paying 7d. Garden adjoining consisting 1/2 acre paying 1d. Heriot 6d.

James married Ann Huggett on 16 Aug 1835 in Lindfield Parish Church.¹⁵ (Ann Huggett was born in 1807 in E Grinstead and died on 21 Dec 1854 in Nutley, Maresfield, Uckfield.)

James next married Elizabeth Gibbons, daughter of Stephen Gibbons and Unknown, on 12 Sep 1858 in Nutley. (Elizabeth Gibbons was born in 1800 in Speldhurst, ken, christened on 28 Mar 1800 in Speldhurst ¹⁵ and died in Sep 1881 in Uckfield Dist.)