Lents Green Investigated John Lent November 2025
The Allen map of 1626 showing the family occupancy of a field near Chapel Plaister (courtesy Wiltshire History Centre\0
I am a direct descendant of Thomas Lent. I have been researing my family line for many years. The line back to ancestors in Bristol in the mid-1790s was reasonably straightforward (although time consuming in the pre-computer age) using civil registration documents cross referenced with the 1851 Census. It was a hop, skip and a jump to get back to Box via Bath and Bathampton but we got there.
Lent Family
According to the English Placenames Society, Lents Green was named after the family of Thomas Lent in the eighteenth century. Box parish registers record that Thomas had an adult baptism in 1727, making him born in 1705. He went on to raise a family with his wife Dorcas between 1731 and 1743 and he died in 1773. The Lent family was well established in Wadswick in the seventeenth century.
Edward Lint is recorded on the 1626 Allen map (marked EDW LINT as spellings of the name Edward Lent), occupying a tenement in Chapel Field opposite Wadswick Farm.[1] In 1641 Edward was described as a broad weaver in probate papers pertaining to William Jeffrey senior. In 1656 and 1664 Edward’s eldest son John was described as ‘of Wadswich’ in the Box parish registers. In 1689 the will of Anthony Gibbins of the Bell Inn at Chapel Plaister was witnessed by John Lent. In July 1698 a grandson Daniel carried out an inventory of the goods and chattels of another Wadswick resident Jane West.
According to the English Placenames Society, Lents Green was named after the family of Thomas Lent in the eighteenth century. Box parish registers record that Thomas had an adult baptism in 1727, making him born in 1705. He went on to raise a family with his wife Dorcas between 1731 and 1743 and he died in 1773. The Lent family was well established in Wadswick in the seventeenth century.
Edward Lint is recorded on the 1626 Allen map (marked EDW LINT as spellings of the name Edward Lent), occupying a tenement in Chapel Field opposite Wadswick Farm.[1] In 1641 Edward was described as a broad weaver in probate papers pertaining to William Jeffrey senior. In 1656 and 1664 Edward’s eldest son John was described as ‘of Wadswich’ in the Box parish registers. In 1689 the will of Anthony Gibbins of the Bell Inn at Chapel Plaister was witnessed by John Lent. In July 1698 a grandson Daniel carried out an inventory of the goods and chattels of another Wadswick resident Jane West.
Allen’s 1626 map showing the strips of land south of Lents Green Cottages (courtesy Wiltshire History Centre)
At some point the Lent family migrated a short distance down the hill to what became known as Lents Green. Interestingly, the will of William Jeffery, signed and dated 5 November 1716, referred to the Green as Davises Green. The parish registers show a marriage between David Davies and Alice Baker in 1684 and record the burials of David on 27 December 1707 and his widow Alice on 30 March 1709 when she was in receipt of Alms. The Davises were a Wadswick family and it is possible that Daniel Lent and his wife Elizabeth took up residence on the Green after Alice Davis’s death. Only over time did the name Lents Green supplant that of Davises Green.
Judging by their repeated citations in the Accounts of the Overseers of the Poor and Surveyors of the Highways, the Lent family was impoverished and intermittently dependent upon the parish during their time at Lents Green. The parish authorities repaired Thomas’s thatched roof in 1742 and paid his funeral expenses in 1773. It is hard not to conclude that the family lost status in the community following the loss of their tenement in Wadswick and their move to Lents Green. It was the practice of parish authorities to settle their poor on or near greens and commons so that they might benefit from free grazing for a few goats or geese.
Judging by their repeated citations in the Accounts of the Overseers of the Poor and Surveyors of the Highways, the Lent family was impoverished and intermittently dependent upon the parish during their time at Lents Green. The parish authorities repaired Thomas’s thatched roof in 1742 and paid his funeral expenses in 1773. It is hard not to conclude that the family lost status in the community following the loss of their tenement in Wadswick and their move to Lents Green. It was the practice of parish authorities to settle their poor on or near greens and commons so that they might benefit from free grazing for a few goats or geese.
Andrews and Drury map of 1773 which shows the Green at the end of the file (courtesy Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre)
In the eighteenth century Davises/Lents Green was considerably larger than today’s remnants. The 1626 map showed two dwellings fronting the unnamed Green (see headline image) - as does Andrew’s and Drury map of 1773. At these times the Green was undeveloped. This appears to have changed at some time after the deaths of Thomas and Dorcas, when the family may have left the Green. Some family members were recorded at Gable Cottage, further along Wadswick Lane. At some point between 1773 and 1840 the Green was redeveloped, possibly by the Jefferies-Brown estate, of which it formed a part. Incidentally, a dwelling house in Wadswick belonging to Peter Doorey was registered as a place of worship on 14 December 1827. This was for a congregation of Independents. I think this may be Chapel Cottage on Lents Green. If so, it would narrow the date of the new construction on the Green to between 1773 and 1827. The Green was trisected, two-thirds enclosed and built upon. The settlement then took on the configuration familiar today.
Extract of the WJ Brown estate map of 1840 (courtesy Pam & Chris Ward)
Ironically, the destruction of the actual Green ensured the survival of the placename Lents Green. Had there been no redevelopment, it is likely that such an inconsequential placename would have disappeared along with the old houses depicted on the 1773 map. However, the buildings between 1773 and 1812 still needed a name and on the Ordnance Survey map of 1886 some were designated Lents Green Cottages.
Lents Green Cottages and surrounding area in 1844+1888 Ordnance Survey (courtesy of Know Your Place)
Other Details of the Lent Family
Edward’s father John is described as a weaver living in Shaw (bordering on Whitley Common) in his will. Originally he was from Yatton Keynell. His grandmother left him some barley and malt in her will - presumably so he could make some beer! The will links John of Melksham to Yatton Keynell where a further will from 1601 indicates he’s the younger son of Henry Lint the Elder who was described as a yeoman.
The Daniel Lent who was recorded as a baker in the 1796 Militia Ballot List for St Thomas parish, Bristol, is the same Daniel Lent recorded as living at 2 Abbey Green in Bath - a bakehouse - in the 1792 Loyal Address. He was born in Bathampton where his parents married in 1767. His father, Reuben, was described as of Box on the certificate and appears in the Box registers as a son of Thomas. This makes Thomas Lent my 5x great grandfather. Because Thomas was baptised as an adult his parentage was not recorded so I have had to infer the connection to Daniel and John Lent using a recurring naming pattern - Thomas, Daniel, Abraham which repeats across the generations. That takes me back to Edward Lent who married in Box in 1617 - my 8x grandfather.
Edward’s father John is described as a weaver living in Shaw (bordering on Whitley Common) in his will. Originally he was from Yatton Keynell. His grandmother left him some barley and malt in her will - presumably so he could make some beer! The will links John of Melksham to Yatton Keynell where a further will from 1601 indicates he’s the younger son of Henry Lint the Elder who was described as a yeoman.
The Daniel Lent who was recorded as a baker in the 1796 Militia Ballot List for St Thomas parish, Bristol, is the same Daniel Lent recorded as living at 2 Abbey Green in Bath - a bakehouse - in the 1792 Loyal Address. He was born in Bathampton where his parents married in 1767. His father, Reuben, was described as of Box on the certificate and appears in the Box registers as a son of Thomas. This makes Thomas Lent my 5x great grandfather. Because Thomas was baptised as an adult his parentage was not recorded so I have had to infer the connection to Daniel and John Lent using a recurring naming pattern - Thomas, Daniel, Abraham which repeats across the generations. That takes me back to Edward Lent who married in Box in 1617 - my 8x grandfather.
Sources
JEB Gover, A Mawer and FM Stenton, The Place-names of Wiltshire, 1939, p.85
Box Parish Registers, originals Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre (WSHC) and available on Ancestry website.
Lent/Lyny/Lint are variant spellings of the family name
Will of William Jeffrey senior, 1641 WSHC P3/IJ/76 and Ancestry
Will of Anthony Gibbins, 1689, WSHC P3/G/339 and Ancestry
Will of Jane West, 1698, WSHC P1/W/462 and Ancestry
Will of William Jeffery, 1718, WSHC P3/IJ/205 and Ancestry
Wiltshire Record Society, vol 40 Wiltshire Dissenters Meeting House Certificates and Registrations 1689-1852 J H Chandler 1984, p.116
Accounts of the Overseers of the Poor, Box, WSHC, 1727-1748 WRO 1789/28 and 1767-1784 WRO 1719/16
Accounts of the Survyors of the Highways, Box, WSHC, 1751-1766 WRO 1719/11
JEB Gover, A Mawer and FM Stenton, The Place-names of Wiltshire, 1939, p.85
Box Parish Registers, originals Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre (WSHC) and available on Ancestry website.
Lent/Lyny/Lint are variant spellings of the family name
Will of William Jeffrey senior, 1641 WSHC P3/IJ/76 and Ancestry
Will of Anthony Gibbins, 1689, WSHC P3/G/339 and Ancestry
Will of Jane West, 1698, WSHC P1/W/462 and Ancestry
Will of William Jeffery, 1718, WSHC P3/IJ/205 and Ancestry
Wiltshire Record Society, vol 40 Wiltshire Dissenters Meeting House Certificates and Registrations 1689-1852 J H Chandler 1984, p.116
Accounts of the Overseers of the Poor, Box, WSHC, 1727-1748 WRO 1789/28 and 1767-1784 WRO 1719/16
Accounts of the Survyors of the Highways, Box, WSHC, 1751-1766 WRO 1719/11
Reference
[1] Edward Lynt married Dorithe Ford on 25 June 1617 at Box but was buried on 4 February 1668 as Edward Lent. He was baptised as Edwardus Lint on 12 September 1591 at Melksham. I think that we are dealing with a long vowel as in Leent which is sometimes recorded as Lint/Lynt and sometimes as Lent.
[1] Edward Lynt married Dorithe Ford on 25 June 1617 at Box but was buried on 4 February 1668 as Edward Lent. He was baptised as Edwardus Lint on 12 September 1591 at Melksham. I think that we are dealing with a long vowel as in Leent which is sometimes recorded as Lint/Lynt and sometimes as Lent.