The origins and development of Bayleaf are unclear. The name ‘Bayleaf’ is a corruption of the word ‘Bailey’ and it is probable that it was named after its original occupant, Henry Bailey. We know that at the end of the 14th century Henry Bailey was holding about 100 acres of land in the area that later became Bayleaf farm and that he died in around 1430. He may therefore have been responsible for building the original house. The earliest reference to  Bayleaf (‘Bayles’) is in the will of John Alphegh dated 1489, and it thereafter appears regularly in rentals and other documents throughout the 16th century as ‘Baylys’, ‘Bailes’, ‘Bayleaze’ and ‘Baylies’.

Bayleaf on its original site at Chiddingstone, Kent

During dismantling

Bayleaf, re-erected at the Museum

From the early 16th century Bayleaf is described as a ‘fee farm’ and the tenants paid an annual rent of 110s. The exact acreage at this date is unknown although it is reasonable to assume on the basis of earlier and later evidence that it was somewhere in the region of 100-130 acres. The description of the tenants as ‘farmers’ (firmarius) and the fact that they were paying a fixed rent indicates that Bayleaf was being held on a long-term lease, for a term of years or for a succession of lives (usually three – e.g. father, son, grandson). This means that the tenants were unaffected by the custom of ‘gavelkind’ which was distinctive to Kent and was characterised by partible inheritance amongst male heirs (that is, land was split equally amongst them).

The evidence for tenure of Bayleaf during the 16th century is relatively clear, although the exact dates for each tenant are not. It is likely that Thomas Wells (the first) held Bayleaf from at least 1500 to 1510, Edward Wells held Bayleaf from about 1510 to 1520, Richard Scoriar held Bayleaf from about 1520 to 1540 and Thomas Wells (the second) held Bayleaf from about 1550 to about 1590. The exact relationship between these men is unknown: an obvious explanation would be Thomas Wells (the first) was the father of Edward Wells who was the father of Thomas Wells (the second), but other relationships are possible. Why Richard
Scoriar was holding the lease is unclear: possibly it was during the minority of Thomas Wells (the second). The only one of these men about whom anything is known is the second Thomas Wells. No wills survive for any of them, one of the most useful sources of information for men and women at this date.