[Chalcots Estate, near Haverstock Hill [Hampstead].] Five seventeenth-century indentures, all on vellum, between the signatories Phillip Barret, William Watkins and Thomas Allen, and the freeholders Eton College.

The five documents are all in good condition, on five half-skins, the vellum having discoloured and aged in the usual way. Eton College was granted Chalcots by Henry VI in 1448. The history of the estate is dealt with in detail in the Victoria County History for Middlesex, vol.9 (Hamstead, Paddington), which includes the following relating to the present five items: 'In 1615-16 Eton leased Chalcots and Wyldes for 21 years to Philip Barrett (d. 1630), who left it to his wife Elizabeth. The college made 21-year leases in 1632 to William Watkins and from 1639 until 1676, usually at 7-year intervals, to Sir Thomas Allen (d. 1681) of Finchley.'