Hello Paula, For such a small and insignificant settlement, the old Borough of Droitwich's internal administrative areas were of a complexity that would've suited a VERY much larger and important city.... So I'll largely ignore it, andstart with Dodderhill, for that - at least - is comparatively simple. It was a large-for-the-County Parish, lying immediately to the North-East of the Borough Boundary, and was without any 'Central Point' that might've been named Dodderhill - even the Church (St Augustines) was tucked-away in a corner, with the churchyard on the boundary of the Borough. It comprised a number of scattered hamlets - some in 'detached portions' - as well as two (separated) contiguous portions and three detached parts that were INside the Borough Boundary. These five pieces were collectively known as "In Liberties", and they 'maintained their own poor' under the "old" Poor Law Acts. Marlborough is a little simpler - although in strict accuracy it was in two separate portions - "Marlborough" and "Marlborough (in the) Vines". It/they were Extra-Parochial Areas within Droitwich Borough. A large-scale Map would be of great assistance here to be able to ascertain just where all these bits'n'bobs were located - but to the best of my knowledge there is no such single map in existence that shows all their boundaries, for both In Liberties and Marlborough were abolished in 1884 (under the Divided Parishes Acts) - and the earliest large-scale Ordnance Survey Plans were published in 1885, showing only the new internal arrangements :-( But - broadly - the area you are interested in is the part of Droitwich to the North of the Canal. The Marlborough your ancestors were from is *probably* the tiny patch of land [say about 60 yards square] that's presently bounded: to the West - the Eastern edge of Dodderhill churchyard; to the South - the railway line; to the East - Bromsgrove Road ("the old A38"); to the North - an East-West line through the junction with Crutch Lane. But if they were in Marlborough Vines, then I'm unable to help other than suggesting that it was between Vines Lane and Dodderhill churchyard, and probably approximately centred on the footpath level crossing... *Reputedly* Marlborough's inhabitants were exempt from all forms of taxation - a very pretty thought, but that seems Extreme even for Droitwich :-) Gus ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paula Goodfellow" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 5:49 AM Subject: [WOR] Dodderhill, Droitwich, Marlborough and "In the Liberties" I've been reading the parish register for Dodderhill today, and I'm terribly confused by place names. I have old family records which refer to some of my ancestors living in Libbery, Droitwich, or Libbery, Dodderhill. I realize that this is probably "in the Liberties" . I also think that I understand correctly that if the entry in the parish register says "in the Liberties" it refers to a part of Dodderhill which is "In the Liberties" of Droitwich. Am I correct? Now the question here-- for one of the families I'm interested in the abode is listed as "The place called Marlborough" or "the place commonly called Marlborough". Anyone know why it doesn't just say "Marlborough"? And today, is Dodderhill a part of another town? And actually, another question-- is all of the area known as "In the LIberties" in Dodderhill? Or is part of that area also in the part of Droitwich that is not a part of Dodderhill? Thanks, Paula ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message