John Paine Tudway

The Tudway Proprietorship in Somerset

The Tudways a prosperous middle-class Somerset family who served as MP's from Wells for many generations. While much of their prosperity came from their ownership of a sugar plantation called Parham in Antigua, they also owned land in Wells, Wookey, Wellesley, Dinder, Chilcote and Dulcote.

Association of the Tudway family with slavery: two 1821 documents list a total of 583 slaves working on two Antiguan estates belonging to John Paine Tudway; the document clarifies that none of the slaves had been "imported" (see Tudway Antiguan estate papers, Somerset PRO)

Tudways increased their prominence as landowners in Dulcote in the C18th. Leased out most of their Dulcote land for farming, mill operations, quarrying and private residences as part of their familial annuity income.

Land records first list the interest of Charles Tudway (b 1713) in Dulcote.  By 1766, he paid land directly on about 8% of the total land in Dulcote, more than the Bishop of Bath and Wells even by this time.

Charles' young brother Robert Tudway had a small land interest in Dulcote at this time as well.

In 1771, Clement Tudway purchased the land belonging to Francis Lord Brooke (Earl of Warwick) involving approximately 737 acres of land, occupied by 30 leasers, held in 40 leases.  Tudway paid Lord Brooke £8,500 for "the manor of Dulcote and Chilcote", including " all and singular houses, outhouses, barns, stables, buildings, gardens, orchards, ways, waters, watercourses, fishings, woods, under woods, hedges, ditches, fences ... mines quarries"  as well as "waifs, strays, ...fugitives,  felons" (see full lease amongst the Tudway papers, Somerset Record Office)

Clement’s son, John Paine Tudway, became a real presence in Dulcote, occupying about 45% of Dulcote for his direct use and leasing out the rest.  He kept meticulous records of this estate including maps of his (and Robert Charles Tudway's) lands which extended from East Wells to Dulcote, Wellesley Farm and adjoining parts of Dinder.

http://www.dulcote.com/webpages/dulcote_in_georgian_times.htm