Around a hundred people braved a damp January evening to hear Frances Kerner talking about Booker in the 18th century at St Birinus & St John’s Church. They were rewarded with a fascinating description of the growth of the settlement of Booker and its role in the Manor of West Wycombe during that period.

We learned that the Dashwood family’s involvement with the Manor of West Wycombe began in 1670 when Thomas Lewes bought the manor for the then substantial sum of £17,500. Thomas Lewes was married to Elizabeth Dashwood. After his death, the manor was bought by Elizabeth’s brothers Francis and Samuel, the latter being subsequently bought out by his brother. The manorial court decreed that only those with commons rights could allow their cattle to graze on the common. Anyone else would be liable to a penalty of 10s for doing so. Thomas Lewes’ aim, like that of other Lords of the Manor, was to manage and conserve the common for the good of the community. Despite this, the story of Booker has been one of persistent encroachment on the common.

It probably came as a surprise to everyone to hear that there used to be a blacksmith’s forge in Booker. John Carr set up his smithy on common land on the site now occupied by the cottages on Horns Lane. Strategically placed as it was between the bridle way and Horns Lane, John Carr’s business appears to have flourished, to the extent that he was able to shrug off fines which were regularly levied on him for his encroachment on the common. However, the Lord of the Manor seems to have decided that his best option was to tolerate the presence of Mr Carr and other similarly persistent encroachers so that eventually the regular fines became the equivalent of rent. The level of fines appears to have been calculated on the basis of the ability of the encroacher to pay and Mr Carr’s fine of 13s 4d in 1752 was an indication of the strength of his business. Topical, in these times of ‘credit crunch’, was the fact that encroachment was particularly prevalent when times were bad. 1800, a year of national and local poverty, was also a year when encroachment was a particular problem throughout the manor.

Another feature of 18th century Booker was absentee landlords, rich men who thought it worthwhile to ‘buy to let’ properties in Booker. Booker (more recently Smith’s) Farm was, for example, at one time held by Richard Hoare a wealthy London butcher who rented it out to tenant farmers. Whether Mr Hoare saw the farm as a source of stock as well as income is not known.

At the turn of the 18th century, Booker was heavily wooded in places, predominantly with beech. Figures from 1696-1698, for example, demonstrate the importance of Booker to the woodland economy of the manor. While Booker represented only 2.5% of the acreage of the manor, it accounted for 20% of the manor’s wood and timber income. It was gratifying to learn that Booker beech was of high quality, commanding a price of 22s per load compared with an average of 18s per load.

At 74 acres, Booker Common is now considerably smaller than it was in the 18th century but it remains a registered common, although with no commons rights. Frances’ research has included the study of two beautiful hand drawn maps of the Manor of West Wycombe from the 18th century. By comparing sections of these with up to the minute Google Earth views from space she was able to demonstrate that the lines of ancient field boundaries and areas of habitation laid down by people who encroached on the common some 200 or 300 years ago are still visible in the structure of Booker today.