George STEER 
George was born in 1765 in Crowhurst, Surrey..1 George's father was John STEER and his mother was Johanna ARNOLD. His paternal grandparents were John STEER and Elizabeth FRITH. He had two brothers and three sisters, named William, Thomas, Mary, Ann and Sarah. He was the second oldest of the six children. He died at the age of 66 in April 1831 in Godstone Surrey. He was buried on April 6th, 1831 in St Nicholas, Godstone, Surrey..2 1 General Notes
Took over the tenancies of Comforts Place Farm, Blindley Heath,Godstone in 1806 after his father John's death. Listed in theLand Returns until his own death in 1831. An agreement dated 8September 1815 (Ref.181/2/2) states that George is to continuethe lease of Comforts Place Farm and lands called Bysh fields ona year to year basis, as in his fathers time, at a rent of £130,payable at Michaelmas, together with 'two couple of good fatcapons at Christmas'.COMFORTS PLACE FARM, BLINDLEY HEATH, GODSTONE: FARM ACCOUNTS,1807-1814, Reference Number: 557. Provenance: Deposited by theRevd. K G Hoare in February 1960, who was given the volume whenRector of Godstone. Presumably it was presented by a member ofthe Steer family: the book is certainly mentioned in a newspaperreport of the burial of Mrs A M Steer in 1932 inserted in theback of the volume. Introduction: George Steer's parents JohnSteer and Joanna Arnold were married by licence at Godstoneparish church on 10 November 1762. (P25/1/44). They were atTandridge, John's native parish, for the baptism of their firstson William on 1 November 1763 (P24/9/1), and were still'Tandridge parishioners' when George's baptism was registered atCrowhurst on 30 January 1765 (P51/1/2). Thereafter the familymoved to Godstone; further children were baptized there from1767 onwards (P25/1/43). [Their mother, although clearly signingherself Joanna in the marriage register, is always entered as'Hannah' in the baptism registers]. The Godstone vestry minutes(P25/3/1) show that by the age of 30 George was involved inparish administration - in 1796 he acted as overseer of the pooron his father's behalf. He continued these duties until 1800 andin later years served on several occasions as churchwarden andsurveyor of the highways as well as acting again as overseer,the last time being in 1826. On 18 April 1804 he married MariaSelmes at Godstone (P25/1/46). Details of their six children,born between 1807 and 1822, are recorded at the beginning of thefarm account book. Financial transactions with various membersof the Selmes family appear in the accounts, particularlythatching materials, livestock and corn sold to 'Messrs Selmes'.The accounts also show that George's brother William took anactive part in running the farm. After George's death in 1831,aged 66, Maria continued to hold the farm: she is described as'farmer' in County Directories of 1845 and 1855. The family'sconnection with Comforts Place Farm seems to have ceased afterher death in 1858 (aged 77), although George, the eldest son,was still at Godstone in 1867 as licensee of the White Hart Inn.(Kelly's Directory). Comforts Place farmhouse is illustrated anddescribed in sale particulars of 1911 (SP8/4) as a latesixteenth century manor house of Sussex type, of brick and halftimbering, with Horsham stone roof, and barn of equal age. InAntiquities and Conservation Areas of Surrey (S.C.C Town &Country Planning Committee) 6th ed., 1976, the house and barnare mentioned as listed buildings dating from the fifteenth andseventeeth centuries. For a long period the farm was owned bythe Budgen family of Nutfield; a deed of 1675/6 records itspurchase by John Budgen from John Newneham of Newdigate, son andheir of the last owner. (212/53/13). An abstract of title(181/2/3) reveals that the Comforts Place estate was mortgagedthroughout the period 1750-1825 by three generations of Budgens.John Smith Budgen (d.1805) and Thomas Budgen were the ownersduring the Steer family's tenancy: Thomas is frequently recordedin the farm accounts. John Steer presumably moved from Tandridgeafter George's birth to take up the lease of Comforts PlaceFarm, although there is no documentary evidence earlier than thefirst surviving land tax returns of 1780. He is there listed asoccupier of J S Budgen's property and also as occupier of landowned by the Merchant Taylors Company. In 1806 George Steer tookover both tenancies on his father's death and is listed in theland tax returns until his own death in 1831. An agreement dated8 September 1815 (181/2/2) states that George is to continue thelease of Comforts Place Farm and lands called Bysh fields on ayear to year basis, as in his father's time, at a rent of £130,payable at Michaelmas, together with 'two couple of good fatcapons at Christmas'. Sale particulars, dated July 1830(181/2/4), give details of the farmhouse and buildings and thenames and acreages of the fields. The farm was estimated toextend to just over 229 acres: annotations on the particularsshow that it was sold for £3650. Earlier sale particulars(181/2/1) relate to the Bysh fields at Hatchgate, mentioned inthe 1815 agreement. These lands were offered for sale in 1806and were presumably purchased by Thomas Budgen with George Steeras sitting tenant. The farm account book includes a reference tothe farm cottage accompanying these lands being let to WilliamHeath in 1809.Bishops Transcript of St Nicholas, Godstone: Burial, Page 44,no.345, April 6, 1831, George STEER, Godstone, Age 66.
Details of George's family with Maria SELMES
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