This 1826 enclosure map was drawn up for the Parish of Moreton, signed, sealed, deposited – then forgotten for 190 years.

That was until 20 years ago when retired assistant bank manager, Alan Dalleywater, unearthed it from the vaults of Lloyds Bank.

“You could say it was my curiosity. This old tin box had been lying there for years. I knew it belonged to the parish council but I never knew what it was. It was just moved around every now and then so I took it to a parish council meeting,” said Mr Dalleywater.

The box had been labelled with a bank number ‘761’ and writing on the front of the box had worn over the years but still quite distinct were the words ‘Parish Award. Deposited by Lord Dulverton.’ Twenty-two manuscript sheets of hand-written law detailed all the Common Land for Moreton in the year the Common Land was to be enclosed during the reign of King George IV.

“It is all terribly complicated but it does look as though the land was worth about £10 an acre. We took copies of the actual map on the first page of the parchments and it is our intention to copy the rest of the manuscripts,” said Mr Dalleywater.

“It is our intention to make this available to the public and the County Archive in Gloucester have agreed we can keep the original here in Moreton,” he added.