Alefounder on the Map

This section is concerned with the use of the surname Alefounder as the name of a place or topographical feature. In each case, I have attempted to discover precisely which Alefounder it was named after, usually one who owned it at some time.

• Alefounder Close, Colchester, Essex

• Alefounder's Yard, Norwich, Norfolk

• Alefounders Field, Great Wigborough, Essex

• Alefounders Fields, Burnham, Essex

• Alefounder's Wood, near Langham, Essex

• Alefounders House, Langham, Essex

• Alefounder bird sanctuary, Tobago, West Indies

Alefounders Field, Great Wigborough

Land Tax Assessments - land owned by George Alefounder
Place	Dates	Occupier	Assessment
Great Wigborough	1781, 1782	Jese Ward	£4 0s 0d
	1790	Jesse Ward	£4 0s 0d
	1798	Jas Merchant	£4 0s 0d
	1800	Jas Marchant	£4 0s 0d
	1810	Smith	£4 0s 0d
	1811	Joseph Smith	£4 0s 0d
Wix or Weeks	1781, 1782, 1790	Stephen Bareman	£2 0s 0d
	1798, 1800, 1810	Joseph Sorrell	£2 0s 0d
	1815, 1817-1820, 1825	Nathl Sorrell	£2 0s 0d
	1826, 1827	Bardox Land	£2 0s 0d
	1828-1831	Bardox Farm	£2 0s 0d

Alefounders Field is mentioned by Waller (1906), and the information appears to be from the tithe commutation awards. On the tithe award map (1833) for Great Wigborough appears a field called "Alefounders and Waylands", 8A 3R 13P, owned and occupied by William Hutley. Land Tax assessments for 1781 to 1811 list George Alefounder as the owner of land in Great Wigborough, and from 1781 to 1830 as owner of land in Wix. An extract (Essex Record Office D/DCm F1/22) of a will made by Sarah Burdock or Burdox shows that she left land in Great Wigborough and Wix to "my two Nephews or Grt. Nephews Geo: Alefounder & Jn^o. Alefounder (the Infant Grandchildⁿ. of my late sister Vaughan who have been since her death & now are under my care & tuition)". The land in Great Wigborough was occupied by Jesse Ward or his assigns, just as in the Land Tax assessments. I think that there can be no doubt that the field derived its name from George Alefounder, 1755-1840 (Colchester pedigree).

Click on map to enlarge

Although many of the fields have since been merged, there is still a good correspondence between the boundaries of those that remain and the field boundaries as shown on the tithe map for Great Wigborough, certainly sufficient to allow identification of the field in question. On the map on the right, present day field boundaries are shown in red, those from the tithe map in yellow and the field designated as "Alefounders and Waylands" is shown in green.

Alefounders Fields, Burnham

This appears in the Land Tax Assessments, 1782 (Essex Record Office ref Q/RP1 264), in the ownership of John Challans, who also owned "House" and "Lavers". A certain Daniel Alefounder owned "Romans". Daniel Alefounder married Hannah Tytch in Burnham in 1776, and a Thomas Alefounder was buried there in 1781. These are the earliest Alefounder references that I have for Burnham, and I cannot say how the fields acquired their name.

Alefounder's Wood

Mary Blyth of Langham, Essex 1801 left "Unto said James Blyth, with whom I now reside: (1) Freehold and copyhold tenements, etc., called Lyrches, Alefounder's Wood, and Cattswent Wood, at Langham, which my late husband, Thomas Blythe, bought of Henry Nunn of Manningtree, surgeon ..."
- C. Partridge, Essex Review, vol xlviii (I1939) p 167

I have not found Alefounder's Wood marked on any map. The mention of Langham led me to examine the manorial records for that place. The earliest reference to the Wood in the available records is in 1654, a sale by Ezekiel Cole to John Clerk, its area being given as 22 acres. Earlier purchases (1609-1616) by Robert Alefounder are for much smaller parcels of woodland: all three parts of 5 acres to which three sisters had become co-heirs. There can be no certainty that this is the same land which he sold to Ezekiel Cole in 1629, nor that this then formed part of, or gave the name to, Alefounder's Wood, but I have no better idea for the source of the name. The Robert Alefounder mentioned is likely to be the one who lived from about 1551 to 1630 (Dedham pedigree).

Alefounders House, Langham

According to A History of the County of Essex: Vol. 10, Alefounders is now a cottage, having been converted from a 14th or 15th century granary which had been part of New House farm. The term cottage is a little misleading: this is in fact a substantial house with outbuildings, including a thatched cottage. Alefounders House was put up for sale in August 2007 with an asking price of £735000.

The house was again offered for sale, with offers around £750000 being sought, apparently in July 2019. Particulars, including photographs and a plan, can be seen here.

Last updated 23rd February 2023 by Peter Alefounder