Feudal Title Index & Research ~ K-O

Lot #24 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

THE LORDSHIP of the Manor of Kaber is situated mainly in the parish of Kirkby Stephen. Kaber is a large and scattered village, a good proportion of which lies in the southern division of the forest of Stainmore. The northern part of the Lordship lies on the north side of the river Belo and is in the parish of Brough. The township measures some 3,962 acres and contains the hamlets of Higher Scales and Rookby, as well as the main village of Kaber.

It is not known exactly how the Lordship came by its name. It is possible that it refers, in the Anglo-Saxcon, to the town of kay. Who this individual was is lost to history. The earliest recorded Lord of the Manor of Kaber was the Kabergh family. During the reign of Henry II (1154-1189) it was found to be held by Robert de Kabergh. In the reign of John (1199-1216) it had passed to Robert’s son, Robert. Evidently it continued in the possession of this family until the reign of Edward II (1307-1327). In 1314, at an inquisition taken after the death Robert de Clifford, Baron of Westmoreland, from whom the Lordship was held, it was found that the Lord of the Manor of Kaber was Allan de Kabergh who had owed to his lord, by way of homage, the cornage (rental) of 17s. 8d.

Allan may well have been the last member of this family since by the time of the reign of Edward III (1327-1377) the ownership had passed to the Rookby family. Thomas de Rookby was Lord here in 1336 and in that year was granted free warren over his lands in Kaber. After Thomas’ death the Lordship passed to his son, John, who was levied a fine for his moiety of Rookby in the Lordship, in 1360. Soon after this however the Lordship passed into the hands of the Fulthorp family. Firstly it was held by Roger de Fulthorp, who may have come by it to marriage to a Rookby heiress. From him it passed to his son, William, who is recorded as being Lord here in 1392. From him it passed to either his son, or grandson, Thomas Fulthorp, who was justice of the court of common please.

On the death of Thomas Fulthorp, the Lordship of Kaber descended to his eldest son, Allan. In an inquisition into the death of Henry , Lord Clifford, in 1504 it was found that Allan held the Lordship from the Cliffords by payment of cornage worth 17s. In addition Fulthorp was required to do suit of court every month at the Baron’s castle at Appleby. After Allan’s death he was succeeded in his estates by his son, Christopher. In 1533 there is record of an Ambrose Middleton, tenant of Henry, earl of Cumberland, paying out 100s for the relief of John Fulthorp, son and heir of Christopher Fulthorp, for his Lordship of Kaber, held of the Earl by service of one knight’s fee.

It is not known whether John succeeded his father since in the reign of Mary (1553-1558) it was in the possession of Thomas Fulthorp. 

On the death of Thomas Fulthorp, Kaber seems to have passed, either through purchase or by will, to George Wandesforth of Kirlington in Yorkshire. In 1605 he sold it on to Robert Wadeson of Yafforth. Wadeson was succeeded by his son Sir John Wadeson. He sold the Lordship for £1,200 to Robert Jackson of Brough, Thomas Robinson of Nateby and Robert Hindmore of Kirkby Stephen and Anthony Fothergill of Trannahill, in trust for the inhabitants and landowners of Kaber. The history of this agreement is rather obscure and in the 19th century the Lordship was purchased by the earls of Thanet. The current descendent of this family, Lord Hothfield is the present Lord of the Manor of Kaber.

Kaber is notable for being the venue of a rebellion in 1663. This was an unusual event since the rebellion in question was fomented by a group of republicans, angry at the restoration of Charles II. A clandestine meeting of the rebel leaders was called, to be held at a place known as Kaber Rigg. A great number of men are said to have arrived for the meeting but intelligence had got out and they were intercepted by the local militia. Most of the conspirators, of which was known as the Kaber Rigg Plot, escaped but some of the leaders, among then a Captain Atkinson, were arrested. They were transported to Appleby Castle and in March of the following year were executed in the castle grounds.

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Lot #9 of Stanford & Son's 'Second Auction' - Dec 1955

(Identical histories provided for lots 8 & 10 of this auction - those being the Manors of Wereham Hall and Iron  Hall respectively.)

Although these three Manors are and always have been quite separate for the purpose of administration and the holding of courts, the y are geographically very much intermixed. They lie in the three Parishes of Wereham, Stoke-Ferry, and Wretton which are contiguous and lie in the North of the River Wissey on the main road from Thetford to Kings Lynn in the Hundred of Clackclose.

In Domesday Book the following is the description of Wereham (alias Wigreham) and Stoke-Ferry (Stockes):

2 Ploughlands was held by Toli, a Freeman, 

T.R.E. then (there were) 15 villeins afterwards, and now 11; 

There are now 8 Bordars. 

Then (there were) 6 serfs, now 4 and 20 acres of meadow. 

Wood (land) for 12 swine.

Then as now (there were) 2 plush on the Demesne.

Then 1 1/2 Ploughs belonging to them now 1; 

Then as now half a mill and 1 Fishery,

then as now *there was) 1 Rouncey and 28 Mares (eque) and 25 foals (pulli) and 2 beasts. 

Then (there were) 15 swine, now 7. Then 90 sheep, now 260.

And it is worth 100 shillings, but it rendered 8 pounds for (ad) all custom.

To this Manor belong 4 Freemen *with) 12 acres.

In Stokes (Stoke Ferry) (there are) 4 Freemen by commendation and all custom, with (d) 12 acres and 1 Freeman with (2) 2 acres. 

There also Rogers and Hugh held 2 sokemen with (de) 74 acres. 

Then as now (there were) 1 1/2 (ploughs) and 10 acres of meadow. 

All this is worth 20 shillings. 

The whole of Wigreham (Wereham) is half a league by length and (the same) in breadth and renders 6 1/2 pence in (every) 20 shillings of the King's Gled.

Blomefield, writing of Wereham, says that it takes its name from a stream or run of water, issuing out of a pond in the midst of the town. There is in fact a largish pond with seven weeping-willow trees lying close to the Church and Wereham Hall, the Manor House. 

King William granted the Manor of Wereham Hall to Rainold, son of Ivo, one of the Norman adventurers. His great possessions later came to the Earls of Clare, who were the capital Lords of the town. Jeffrey Fitz-Piers Earl of Essex held the Manor of Cavenham (Kavenham) in the reign of King John of the Earl of Clare, and on his founding the Priory of Shouldham gave a moiety of the town to the said Priory. In the thirty-third year of the reign of Henry III the Prior had a charter for free warren, free bull and boar, the amercements of Brewers and Bakers in hi s homage, and owed once a years suit of court at Clare. "In three Edw. I the Prior was found to have the leet a gallows, etc." After the Dissolution it was granted to Sir Edmund Bedingfield of Oxburgh by the name of Manor and Grange of Cavenham. According to Blomfield Cavenham Grange lay about a mile North-East of the town of Wereham and in the same Parish. In 1570 the rent of assize of the free tenants was four pounds four and ten pence. In 1718 Sir Henry Bedingfield conveyed the Manor to Sir Edward Nightingale of Kneesworth in Cambridgeshire. It remained in this family until about 1816 when it passed to G. R. Eyres. He was soon followed by Charles Sanders. The Stewards during the Nightingale ownership were members of the Micklefield family, during the earlier years, and later Charles Sanders and John Houchen. In 1826 J. B. S. Bradfield was Lord and R. B. Sanders was Steward. Mr. Bradfield remained Lord until 1874 and was followed by the Rev. Sanders Etheridge and Edward Etheridge. By 1878 the Manor had been acquired by Henry Edwards Paine and Richard Brettell of Chertsey and two years later Mr. Paine acquired Mr. Brettell's half-share of the Manor. Hie remained Lord until 1917 when he died and the Manor was thereafter vested in the devisees under his will and their Trustees  until recently sold y them to the present Vendor. During the early part of Mr. Paine's ownership, Mr. H. B. D. Mason acted as his Steward, but later on the Stewardship was taken over by George Frederick Beaumont of Coggeshall, Essex. 

The Manor of Wereham Hall was, according to Blomfield, held in 1235 by Robert Bardolf and Thomas Rede of the Earl of Gloucester and Clare. During the reign of Edwards I it came to Sir Ingelram Belet K.B., through his marriage to Bardolf's daughter, and his son Robert succeeded on his death. Subsequent owners were members of the Belet , Benstead, de Wesenham, de Hinton, Walkfare, de Fransham and Tooth families. Later Lords were Roger Davy, Sir Lewis Orrell, Sir Thomas Lovell, K.G., Sir Francis Lovell, Sir Thomas Derham (1615), Stephen Edgar, 1652, Benjamin Dethick, 1683. During these years it would seem that the Manor House descended together with the Lordship of the Manor, but in 1751 John Dethick, son of Benjamin, conveyed the Lordship o the Manor and demesne without the Hall to John  Heaton of London. Blomfield gives a pedigree of the Dethick family which comes from Dethick Hall in Derbyshrire.

As regards Wretton, Blomfield informs us that there are no capital Lordship in the Parish and it was not therefore mentioned in the Domesday Book. He refers for an account of it to his remark under the other Manors in this group. He does however, make an interesting reference to proceedings taken in 1240 by the Prior of Shouldham, whose Manor of Kavenham extended into Wretton, in which he claimed "merchettam" from William de la Ferte, who was acquitted because he proved that he was a Freeman and no villein. Blomfield gives this explanation of Merchetta: "This was the Fine paid to be free from a savage custom which used to exist i many Manors, by which exemption was obtained by the bride of a tenant from lying the last night with the Lord of the Manor." This would seem to be the same custom or practice which is usually referred to as "Droit de Seigneur" or "Jus primae noctis" but it differs in that the right was apparently exercised on the last night before the marriage instead of the first night of the the marriage. 

The Courts of this group of Manors were held from Wereham Hall, when the Estate and Lordship of the Manor were in the same ownership, at the Manor  House itself, but when they became separated most of the Courts were held at the Crow Hotel, Stoke Ferry. On on e occasion the Duke's Head in Stoke Ferry was chosen. 

With regard to the Manor of Iron (alias Wyrun) Hall which extended into all three Parishes, according to Blomefield it was held in 1231 by Stephen de Stokes and his wife Basilea. The Capital Lord was Earl of Gloucester and Clare. In the reign of Henry III, John de Stokes held it of Peter de Narford, and in 1321 Robert de Sale had an interest. Later Lords were Nicholas Gamage, and his wife Alianore; Guy St. Clare and his wife Margery; John Flynn (1346) who paid a sum towards making Edward III's son a knight: John Bray (1350); John de Wessenham; John de Denham; Richard Tooth; Roger Davy and John Heaton. In 1839 Abraham Sewell was Lord and in in 1857 the Manor was purchased by H.B.B. Mason, whose Steward was Richard Scarle. 

The customs in all o these Manors were the same. On testacy copyhold properties descended to the oldest sons s at Common Law, while the Fines on Death or Alienation were "arbitrary," i.e. based upon two years' annual value, instead of "certain," i.e. fixed sum of a sum all amount. The Lords had the usual right to take a third of the proceeds of the sale of any timber felled on copyhold properties.

The following are a few extracts of interesting entries to be found in the Court Boos of the manor of Kavenham-Stoke-Wereham: 

Court Baron held 5th December 1743

Thomas Rumball appointed Guardian "as well to take care of the body of the said Ann Harvey as to receive the rents and profits of the said premises during her minority...rendering account thereof." 

Court Baron held 24th October, 1757

Lord: Geoffrey Nightingale

Steward: Roger Micklefield

And the said Homage presented all Persons that owe suit and service at this Court and have this day made default in their appearance and amerce the m six pence apiece and refer their names to the suit rolls. 

General or Customary Court, held 12th November, 1824

Lord: Charles Sanders

Steward: John Houchen

Also at this Court the Homage present that John Sparrow Springfield hath encroached upon the Rights of the Lord of this Manor by also and also by building upon a certain part of the Waste Lands adjoining the Estate of James Bradfield Sanders Bradfield Esquire int he occupation of Charles Sanders Esquire Lord of this Manor.

General Court Baron held 27th October, 1762

At a court held on this date at the Crown Inn, Stoke Ferry, by Jeffrey Nightingale the Byelaws for the Manor of Kavenham-Stoek-Wereham were recorded in the form of the Verdict of the Homage. These are too long to be set out, but are most interesting. Amongst the various subjects dealt with are the method of assessing Fines, the felling of Timber, the keeping of Sheep in the Common Drove or Waste Ground, impounding by the Pindar, letting Beasts stray into fields growing cord and grass, digging of Turf, etc.

At a later Court held on 9th November 1773, the Verdict was substantially the same as at the previous Court with the addition of three more clauses, one of them dealing with the powers of  Fen Reeves and the division of penalties for offences between the Lord of the Manor and the Poor of the three respective Parishes wherein such penalties or forfeiture might from time to time happen. 

The following is a cutting from the Provincial Paper, which will be handed over with the Records of Lot 9, as a showing that the Lords of the Manor in 1877 were alive to the value of the Sporting Rights over the Wastes of the Manor. 

Manor of Kavenham, Stoke, Wereham and Wretton, 

IN THE COUNTY OF NORFOLK

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WE, the undersigned, Lords of the above Manor,

hereby give notice that we have delegated to 

Samuel Henry Winfield, Esq., of Stoke Ferry the

right and power to deal with trespassers in the above

Manor; also the right to shoot over and exercise the

Lord's rights in and upon the waste lands within 

the Manor

PAINE & BRETTELL.

Chertsey, 17th September, 1877.

There is an Enclosure Award dated 1818 for the Parishes of Stoke Ferry, Wretton, Wereham and the little Hamlet of Winnold deposited at the office of the Clerk of the County Council, Norwich. The Vendor has a photocopy of this which has been coloured. It is a most interesting Map as it not only shows the bounds of the three Manors but also shows for instance Wereham Church with the Village Pond and Wereham Hall - the Manor House in close proximity.  It also shows how intermixed the lands of the three Manors are and it gives the names of many tenants which appear also in the Court Records. The copy of this Map will be available for inspection at 53, Chancery Lane, W. C. 2 prior to the Sale and also at the exhibition on the morning of the Sale (see Remarks and Stipulations). If required, couloured or uncoloured copies could be supplied to interested persons.

Negotiations are being opened with the Telegraph, Telephone and Electricity Authorities for wayleave agreements in respect of poles, stays, kiosks, etc., erected on the wastes of the Manor ant it is expected that further information will be available for giving out at the Auction. 

The Records which will be handed over to the Purchaser of each Manor will be as under:

Lot 8 - Manor of Wereham Hall

Court Books: 1839-1894; 1894-1920

Minute Book: 1881-1887

Enfranchisement Particulars

Insurance of Records:  £100, premium 5/- p.a. 

Commencement of Title: 1st October, 1881

Lot 9 - Manor of Kavenham-Stoke-Wereham

Court Books: (all the foregoing include Iron Hall) 1536-1597; 1602-1615; 1615-1633; 1633-1641; 1642-1653; 1674-1686; 1700-1793; 1794-1819; 1819-1841; 1842-1867; 1867-1920 (including a rental)

Minutes and Minute Books: 1664-88; 1720-45; 1745-59; 1799-1814; 1815-1882; 1881-87- 1888-91; 1908; 1932

Rentals: 1887-1900

Particulars: 1813-1914

docket Book: 1697-1806

Index Book: 1801-1819

Print of Enclosure Act: 1815

Insurance of Records:  £400, premium £1 p.a.

Commencement of Title: 11th April, 1876

Lot 10 - Manor of Iron Hall

Court Roll: 1387

Court Book: 1839-1900

Commencement of Title: 1st October, 1881

Insurance of Records:  £200, premium 10/- p.a.

The Purchaser of this Lot will receive an acknowledgment of his rights to production of those Court Books to be handed to the purchaser of Lot 9 which relate also to his Manor.

There is an Enclosure Award dated 1818 for the Parishes of Wereham, Stoke-Ferry, and two with a Map attached, a coloured copy of which will be available for inspection and will be displayed at the exhibition. 

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Lot #25 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

THE LORDSHIP of Kings Meaburn lies in the parish of Marton, which is bounded on the East by the parishes of Kirby Thore and St Michael’s, Appleby. It is separated from them by the river Eden. To the south lie the parishes of St Laurence Appleby and Shap. To the north and west it is bounded by Brampton, Lowther and Cliburn. King’s Meaburn is a village and township in a pleasant location, standing on an eminence on the eastern banks of the the Lyvennet rivulet. It consists of 2,380 acres of pasture and arable land.

It is likely that after the Norman invasion of 1066 the Lordship of King’s Meaburn formed part of the manor of Morland. This was in the hands of the Talebois family. Ivo Talebois had arrived in England with William and had probably been a retainer of the Meschines family who were early Barons of Westmoreland. He was succeeded in his estates by his son Eldred, whose Saxon Christian name indicates that his father may have married‚ into an existing landowning family. Eldred was succeeded in his possession of Morland by his son Ketel, who gifted two carucates of land to St Mary’s Abbey in York.   

Soon after this time, King’s Meaburn passed out of the Talebois family into that of the Morvilles. The first Morville we know of in the areas was Simon who was married to Ada, heiress of William Engayne, Baron of Westmoreland. Simon was succeeded by his son Roger and from him the Lordship descended to his son Hugh. This Morville is infamous for being one of the four knights who murdered Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. After this his lands were seised by Henry II. It if from this date that the Lordship receives its name. In the aftermath of Morvilles disgrace (though he was later rehabilitated at court) it was found the Meaburn was divided into three Lordships, one belonged to Morville’s sister, Maud, therefore becoming Maud’s Meaburn, another was Meaburn Matilde, owned by another of Morville’s sisters and finally King’s Meaburn, which was the portion taken by the crown. Perhaps as penance, before his lands were taken by the king, Morville granted two ox-gangs (around 35 acres) to Carlisle Priory. Henry II later confirmed this grant, which lay in the open land known as Meburn Field.

After the demise of Morville’s estates, King’s Meaburn, perhaps then reunited with Maud’s and Matilde, was granted to Robert de Veteripont as part of the gift of the Barony of Westmorland. We hear little more of the Lordship until the death of the last Veteripont, Robert. He was succeeded by his two daughter, Idonea and Isabella. In the division of the estate, three quarters of King’s Meaburn came to Isabella and one quarter to Idonea. The whole Lordship was valued at a rather impressive £50. Idonea later married John Crombwell, perhaps one of the ancestors of the Cromwell family, and in 1300 gave a grant of six acres of land in King’s Meaburn to Stephen Meaburne and his heirs.

After the death of Roger, Lord Clifford in 1328 the inquisiton into his estate found that he; ‘died seized at King’s Meaburne, of a capital messuage, the herbage wherof was worth by the year 3s; in demesne lands 217 acres by the greater hundred, all of which lie uncultivated, by reason of want of tenants, and the destruction made by the Socts, the herbage wherof is worth by the year 21s 5d, 22 acres of meadow, worth 22s, rent of one free tenant, 2s 8d, 48 ox-gangs in the hands of tenants at will worth yearly £4 16s; 16 cottages, worth yearly 16sz; water mill, 50s; pleas and perquisites of court’.

In the aftermath of Edward II’s half-hearted war with Scotland and his final demise at the hands of his Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer, the Scot’s took the opportunity to wreak havoc in the border country. The Barony of Westmoreland was overrun and King’s Meaburn was obviously destroyed as an economic unit. The farmers and tenant were driven from their land and the lord’s demesne was rendered useless. Like all the other areas locally destroyed by the Scots it took the best part of a century before the Lordship produced the same return as it had done before the attack.

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Lot #1 of Manorial Services Auction - Winter 2025 - Stephen Johnson

Kirkham lies midway between Preston and Blackpool and was one of the largest parishes in the county,  comprising some 45,000 acres.

This is an ancient place. In 70AD, when the Roman army entered Lancashire, they built a fort at Carr Hill,  near the modern town centre. A more permanent structure was built in 120 AD and became an important  garrison for the Roman Legions. The town later developed on the site of the vicus which would have grown  up along side the fort. Many finds of Roman artefacts have been found in the town , including a 2nd Century  shield boss or umbro, which is held by the British Museum and was unearth in 1792. 

After the Norman invasion of 1066 the manor became part of the estate of William I. He held most of the  land in this part of Lancashire, known as Amounderness, but later granted it to Roger de Poictou. In 1100  Roger gifted it to the priory of St. Mary’s, Lancaster, a monastic institution founded by him from the Abbey of  Sees in Normandy. This grant lasted only a few years before it was regranted to the Shrewsbury Abbey. This  grant was later to cause a legal fight between the monks of Shrewsbury and Theobald Walter, who claimed to  have received a similar such grant of the advowson of the parish church from King John. Amazingly this case  rumbled on through the long reign of Henry III (1216-1272) and was only settled by his successor, Edward  I in 1280. The manor and the advowson were then given by Edward to the Cistercian monks of Vale Royal  Abbey in Cheshire. Six years later the town was granted borough status by the King but the Abbots remained  as Lords of the Manor and controlled the local market through a grant originally made in 1207.  

The issue of the advowson of the parish church proved to be a thorn in the side of subsequent abbots. In  1327 the abbot, Peter, was summoned by the Archbishop of York to account for their claim. He had to  produce both the grant from Edward I and four witnesses to attest that this had been the case since 1286.  At the same time, Adam, a monk from Shrewsbury launched a counter claim, arguing that his house held the advowson from the time of Theobald Walter. One can only assume that the income from the church by  way of tithes was of great value. This suit settled after 15 years in favour of Vale Royal, by which time Peter  had been murdered in 1340 after an armed raid on Vale Royal Abbey by unknown assailants who destroyed  a number of buildings. It may well be that this was related to Peter’s legal battle as in 1337 he had been  at violent odds with his tenants in Kirkham who had objected to his attempts to assert the abbey’s feudal  rights over them. They claimed that since the grant of 1286 they had been freemen and not subject to the  abbey’s feudal jurisdiction. The dispute was so ferocious that many tenants followed Peter on his journey from  Cheshire to Rutland. There they captured him, held him prisoner and one of the abbot’s servants was killed  trying to protect him. It took an intervention by Edward III to free Peter but is seems that bitterness toward  him eventually led to his death three years later. 

Further legal troubles were only ended by Edward III in 1364 when he declared that the abbots of Vale Royal  were the Lords of Kirkham and held its church and that was the end the matter. The succeeding abbots held  Kirkham until it was dissolved by order of Henry VIII in 1538. It was noted at the time that; 

Walter, abbot of Vale Royal, in 24 Edward I., obtained a grant of the manor of Kirkham in free alms, with the  privilege of a free market there; and at the same time a grant to the burgesses of Kirkham, that the said borough  be a free borough for ever; that the burgesses have a free guild, with a prison, pillory, and ducking-stool; assize of  bread, beer, measures, and weights: and that the said abbot grant to the said burgesses two bailiffs, who shall have  and hold courts, and enjoy the perquisites of those courts. The market and fair were confirmed to the abbot by  charter, dated 15th January 14 Edward IV. 

After the Dissolution the manor was then granted to Christchurch College, Oxford but was leased out to  the Clifton family of Lytham making them the de facto lords of the manor: 

The fee farmer (Clifton) convenes annually a jury of thirteen inhabitants, who constitute a court leet, and meet  in June, when they nominate two bailiffs for the borough, a constable for the borough, town, and township, with  tax layers, viewers of fish, flesh, and other provisions; scavengers, by-law men, affeerers, swine ringers, pinders or  pounders, assizers of bread and beer, and leather searchers. The lord himself appoints a collector of tolls. The bailiffs and twelve or more burgesses constitute a corporation in virtue of charters in the town’s chest. 

Thomas Clifton had in fact leased the manor three years before the dissolution of Vale Royal and it was left  to his son Thomas in 1582.  

When the manor was assessed by Parliament in 1650 it was found to be in the possession of Thomas  Clifton, a papist delinquent who paid a yearly rent to Christchurch the said rent being uncertain rysing or falling  according to the prise of corn or greyne sold at the markett att Oxford. 

The Clifton lease of the manor was of a remarkable longevity. The family could trace its lineage to at least  1257 when William de Clifton is recorded as holding land in Amounderness. In 1662 Sir Thomas Clifton was  created a Baronet (presumably for loyal support of the Crown during the Civil War) but the title became  extinct on his death in 1694 and the lease passed to his nephew. The family remained in possession of the  lease until the end of the 19th century.  

In 1933 the manor was sold by Christchurch College for £300 to Edward Sergeant of the town. The family  have retained the Lordship ever since. Claims to market and fair have been asserted by the Vendor’s family  in the past but Manorial Services has no current information on the status of the market.  

A Selection of Manorial Documents in in the Public Domain:

1500-1600: court roll Oxford University: Christ Church Archives 

1582-1582: court roll Lancashire Archives 

1588-1588: court roll 

1591-1591: court roll (poor condition) 

1611-1612: court roll (in a book), with other manors 

1611-1612: court roll 

1640-1640: rental, with other manors 

1653-1653: particulars (for sale of Earl of Derby’s estates) 

1680-1811: court book 

1689-1689: rents 

1703-1703: surveys of tenements, with other manors 

1703-1703: survey, with other manors 

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Lot #26 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

THE LORDSHIP of Knock was anciently known as Knock Shalcock, perhaps after a former owner. It lies in the parish of Marton and is two miles from the centre of this village. Knock is a small village, bounded on the north by Knock Pike, on the edges of the north Pennines. On the east it is bounded by Dufton Pike, which rises to a height of 2,518 feet at Meidon Hill.

The Lordship of Knock has always been part of the Barony of Westmoreland and has been held by the Barons since the Norman Conquest. After 1070 it came into the hands of the Meschines family and from them to the Morvilles, the Veteriponts, the Cliffords and finally, in the 17th century, the Tuftons, who were Earls of Thanet. The current Lord of the Manor is Lord Hothfield, the present representative of the Tufton family. Under them the Lordship has been held by a number of tenant farmers. The earliest known of these are the Boyville family. They are found to be farming Knock in 1315. John de Boyville was found to be holding the Lordship of Knock Shalcock, with the wardship being worth £13 and the cornage, or rental to the Baron being 3s 4d. In 1330, John, or perhaps his son, is found to be in possession of the lordship, which appeared to be divided into two unidentified part. At this time the inquisition mentions that his son and heir, Robert was then 16 years of age.  

During the reign of Edward III (1327-1377) the Lordship of Knock passed out of the control of the Boyville family to that of Rookby. In 1370 it was held by John de Rookby. At this point it was still referred to as Knock Shalcock. The Rookby tenure was short, since by the reign of the next king, Richard II (1377-1399) it passed to William de Soulby. This family had been landowners, of the Lordship of Soulby, in the parish of Kirkby Stephen since the reign of King John (1199-1216). In 1297, the son of William de Souleby was a ward of Isabella de Clifford. The families ownership of Soulby is lost in the early 14th century but a remnant of the family obviously survived.

In 1422 Knock was in possession of the Rookby’s again, this time , Thomas. After his death it descended to his eldest son John. He was the last of the male line and Knock passed, on the marriage of his daughter, Joan, to John Lancaster of Howgill. In 1453 he was found to be holding the Lordship by right of his wife’s inheritance. Lancaster died without issue and left four daughters as co-heiresses. On the partition of his estates Knock to given to Christian and Elizabeth. The former was married to Sir Robert Harrington, the latter to Robert Crackenthorp. The Crackenthorps were a prominent local family and took their name from a township in the parish of St Michaels, Appleby. The Crackenthorps were Lords of the Manor of nearby Newbiggin and first appeared during the reign of Edward I. During the reign of Richard II John de Crackenthorpe served as a Member of Parliament for Westmorland and was then under-sheriff of the county. His grandson was Robert Crackenthorpe who married Elizabeth Lancaster. He also served in Parliament, during the reign of Henry V and IV. 

The coheirs of John Lancaster appear to have possessed Knock for only a short time. They sold it to the Clifford family and it has since descended with the Barony of Westmorland.

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Lot #8 of Manorial Services Auction - Winter 2024 - Stephen Johnson

Lamerton is a large parish lying three miles from Tavistock. It includes the villages of North Brent-Tor,  Ottery and Hilltown. The named manor of Lamer ton is one of a number of lordships within the parish; as is usual for Devon where the rich soil meant that parishes could support a number of manorial holdings. The village was once more populous than it is now and was a centre of manganese mining, an important  component in the production of glass.  

At the time of Domesday Book, the Manor of Lamer ton was held by Reynold Adobede, but it notes that Roger Giffard holds Lamer thon from the Honour of Plympton in Fee. It is almost certain that Giffard was a tenant of Adobede, of whom little is recorded. Certainly in succeeding decades the Manor became the possession of the Giffard family. Sir Walter Giffard of Weare Giffard is recorded as Lord of Lamerton during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272). He seems to have been the last of the line since he left his daughter Emma, as his sole heir, though she appears to have held it jointly with her mother. An entry from 1276 notes that: 

Lamerton, Aveton, Withchurche and Were. The manors, held of Is[abel] countess of Albemarle by service of  13½ knights’ fees.

The countess was the overlord as Lord of the Honour of Plympton.

Emma was married three times, firstly to Sir Hugh Widworthy, secondly to Sir William Trewin and lastly to Sir Robert Dynham. She had one child, with her second husband, who hailed from an estate at Modbury. This was their son William, who inherited both Lamer ton and Weare-Gifford from his mother. He adopted the surname Weare from his mother. The manor passed to his son and then to his grandson, also  William (II) who was known as Trewin alias Weare.  

Lamerton was a wealthy manor. In 1389 one of the Weare’s tenant, Richard Northcote was declared  to be ‘an idiot’ and his land was escheated to the Crown. It was described in the Calendar of Inquisition Post  Mortem as being; 

Two-thirds of 12 cottages, of a mill, and of a carucate of land, held of the lord of Lamerton by knight’s  service and service of 4d. yearly and suit to the court of Lamerton every three weeks. And the said two-thirds  render 8d. to the prior of Launceston for the weir of the afore-said mill.  

A knight’s service was the estimated cost of keeping a knight in the field for a year and many whole manors were held by this service.  

During the reign of Henry IV (1399-1413) We are married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John de Filleigh but died shortly after Henry VI ascended to the throne. His daughter and heiress, Joan, married Richard Denzell and thereby the Manor of Lamerton and the rest of her estates passed to this family. In time Richard Denzell inherited the manor and he left a daughter Elizabeth to inherit his estates. She married Martin Fortescue in 1454 and brought the manor to the family who would hold Lamer ton for the next five centuries. 

The Fortescue family hailed from Filleigh in the County. The family could trace its origins back to Sir  Richard le Forte who arrived in England with the Conqueror in 1066 but by the 17th century had split into  a number of branches both in Cornwall and in Devon. Arthur Fortescue lived at Penwarne in Mevagissey and it was his son, Hugh, who married Bridget Boscawen. Hugh was successful politician, sitting in Parliament for five seats over several decades. His son, also Hugh, succeeded his father in 1719. Hugh was appointed a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to George, Prince of Wales in 1723 but was ousted from his position after  refusing to support Prime Minister Walpole’s Excise Bill in 1733. After Walpole fell from power, Fortescue  was rehabilitated in Parliament before being raised to the Peerage as Baron Fortesuce. The family estate,  including the Manor of Lamer ton, passed to his younger brother, Matthew, when Hugh died childless in 1751. Matthew’s only son, Hugh inherited in 1785.The Manor remained in the hands of the family until the later 20th Century. 

Documents in the Public Domain Associated with this Lordship:

1423-1597: court rolls (extracts), Devon Archives 

1424-1431: court roll (non-consecutive) 

1465-1483: rents and profits account 

1522-1593: court rolls and books 

1600-1700: valuation 

1600-1625: survey 

1600-1625: list of tenants 

1600-1625: rent rolls  

1613-1619: court rolls  

1625-1648: court rolls  

1647-1671: rentals 

1661-1676: court book 

1678-1678: presentments 

1681-1681: appointment of steward 

1682-1682: rent roll 

1700-1725: rentals  

1717-1735: accounts 

1754-1824: rentals 

1846-1846: rental, with other manors 

1868-1876: chief and conventionary rental, with other manors 

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Lot #2 of Manorial Services Auction - Winter 2025 - Stephen Johnson

Lying in the low clay lands of Bedfordshire is the Saxon village of Langford. The earliest reference to  it dates from 944 when a settlement arose on the banks of the River Ivel at a convenient ford.  

Before the Norman invasion, the manor was held by the thegn, Lewin. His tenure did not survive the  aftermath of 1066 and he was soon displaced by Walter Fleming, who was given the manor by William the  Conqueror. Walter was the founder of the Wahull family, who remained as Lords of the Langford for 550  years. 

The Domesday entry for the manor is extensive and notes that it consisted of; 

12 villagers. 7 smallholders. 5 slaves. 16 ploughlands. 

4 lord’s plough teams 1 lord’s plough teams possible 9 men’s plough teams. 

Meadow 16 ploughs.  

Pasture 300 sheep. Woodland 16 pigs. 

2 mills, value 1 pound 6 shillings and 7 pence. Annual value to lord: 

15 pounds 10 shillings in 1086; 

10 pounds when acquired by the 1086 owner; 15 pounds  in 1066. 

This was a valuable and well populated manor and formed an important part of Walter’s Bedfordshire Estate  which was centred on his castle at Odell in the north of the county. Then it was known as Wahull and Walter  was made Baron of Wahull. The genealogy of the Wahull line is as follows; 

Walter the Fleming; 

Walter de Wahull, son of Walter the Fleming; 

Simon de Wahull, son of Walter - flourished around the middle of the 12th century; 

Walter de Wahull son of Simon, Baron by 1160 -1172; 

Simon de Wahull, son of Walter - died before 1197; 

John de Wahull, son of Simon - died about 1217; 

Rose, wife of Robert Lisle and Agnes, wife of Robert Basingham sisters of John; 

Rose died in 1222 without  issue, leaving Agnes Baroness in her own right, she died in 1238; 

John de Basingham, son of Agnes - died 1239; 

Saher de Wahull, died in 1250; 

Walter de Wahull, son of Saher - died before 1269; 

John de Wahull, son of Walter - died 1296; 

Thomas de Wahull, son of John - died 1303; 

John de Wahull, son of Thomas - born 1302 -1336; 

John de Wahull, son of John - born about 1320 -1348; 

John de Wahull, son of John died 1367; 

Nicholas de Wahull, 1410; 

Thomas de Wahull, son of Nicholas - born about 1387 -1421; 

Thomas de Wahull, son of Thomas - died in 1441; 

John de Wahull, son of Thomas - born 1436 -1490; 

Fulk de Wahull, son of John - died in 511; 

Nicholas de Wahull, son of Fulk - died in 1531; 

Anthony de Wahull, son of Nicholas - died in 1542; 

Anthony was the last male member of the family to be Lord of Langford. She was before three weeks old at  the time of her father’s death and later married Richard Chetwood when still a young woman. Chetwood  died soon after they were married and she then married Sir George Claverly. Her eldest son, Richard  Chetwood, succeeded to the manor as a young boy and became Lord of Langford in around 1580. In 1628  he sold the manor to Charles Nodes, who held the manor of Shephall, in Hertfordshire. He was Sheriff of  Hertfordshire in 1646 and died in 1651. He was succeeded by his son, George, who sold the Lordship of  Langford in 1704, to John Draper.  

Draper sold Langford 12 years later to Thomas Browne. The descent after Browne is rather uncertain but it  appears that by 1775 it was held by John Schutz, who had married Mary Browne, but in the same year sold  it to Edward Kynaston. Later it was held by John Jackson, who sold it in 1820 to Samuel Edwards. He was one  of the instigators of the Enclosure of Langford open fields in 1827. The Lordship later passed to the Rainsford  family and then the Gurneys before being purchased by Henry Chaundler, a solicitor from Biggleswade. The  manor then passed to his daughter, Anne, who married James Comyn, a High Court Judge and became Lady  Comyn when her husband was knighted in in 1978. She sold the manor to the current owner in 1989.  

Please note that commons and wastes are excluded from the sale. 

A Selection of Manorial Documents in in the Public Domain:

1641-1649: court rolls Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies 

1650-1652: court book 

1721-1745: court book Birmingham: Archives 

1675-1690: minute book Bedfordshire Archives 

1683-1745: court papers 

1697-1745: minute books  

1697-1697: rental and terrier 

1700-1750: index to court book 

1747-1936: court books 

1799-1820: surrenders and admissions  

1800-1802: quit rental 

1806-1806: schedule of court rolls 

1806-1823: stewards papers 

1807-1816: minute book 

1807-1816: draft court roll 

1821-1832: quit rentals 

1821-1935: books of fees  

1821-1907: minute books 

1824-1824: list of quit rents payable for cottages and land on the waste 

1840-1901: quit rentals, with some correspondence 

1840-1840: rental of quit rents 

1885-1902: steward’s correspondence 

1885-1885: appointment of steward 

1902-1908: rent rolls 

1902-1902: appointment of steward 

1905-1931: quit rent rolls 

1916-1916: minutes 

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Lot #27 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

IN COMMON with a number of Lordships of the Manor in the vicinity of Appleby , Langton has always been in the possession of the feudal Barons of Westmorland. It derives its name from Long Town, and in the Middle Ages it was a village of some size. At some point there was a church here, and it is a possibility that it may have formed a parish in its own right. Today Langton forms a township alongside Bongates and the two cover an area of some 4,250 acres. It is 2 miles from Appleby.

The ownership of the Lordship of Langton descends from a number of families from the Norman invasion of 1066. First it was granted to Ralph Meschines, earl of Chester, from his family is passed to the Morvilles, the last of which was Hugh, one of the four knights who murder Thomas Becket at Canterbury cathedral in 1170. Langton was seised by the Crown and granted then to Robert de Veteripont. It remained in this family until the male line became extinct and it passed to the Veteripont heiresÚses, Isabella and Idonea. From them it came to the family of Isabella’s husband, Roger de Clifford. They held it for three centuries until is passed from the last of the family, Anne, Countess of Pembroke, to the Tuftons, the earls of Thanet. The Tufton’s have continued to hold it until today and the current Lord of the Manor is the present representative of the family, Lord Hothfield.

As was mentioned above, during the early part of the Middle Ages it appears that Langton was far more populous and important than it is today. Its decline can be placed firmly at the feet of the Scots. Warfare between the two old enemies had raged throughout this border region since the Normans had Conquered England. Westmorland was the front line in the continuing aggression and during the end of the reign of Edward II (1307-1327) the Scots were in a particularly strong position. Edward had conducted a number of failed campaigns against the Scots, most famously being defeated comprehensively at Bannockburn in 1314. In 1327 Edward had withdrawn to the south in a desperate bid to fend of an impending rebellion from the Barons, who despised his despotic rule an his close advisor, Hugh Despencer. The Scots, led by Robert Bruce saw their chance and staged a major invasion. Westmorland saw the brunt of the attack and a great deal of demesne was destroyed and farmers driven of the land. Langton appears to have suffered more than most, with a once thriving village utterly destroyed. We know this because at the inquisition in the death of Roger, Lord Clifford, in 1328 the following was recorded; 

At Langeton, the site of a certain manor burned by the Scots, worth yearly

nothing, for want of tenants, and for reason of the destruction made by

the Scots. And there are 30 acres of demesne land, which lie untilled for

the reason aforesaid, the herbage whereof is worth yearly 18d. Thirty ox-gangs

of land, which lie untilled for the cause aforesaid, the herbage whereof is

worth 15s 6d a year. 16 acres of demesne meadow, worth yearly 3s and

no more, for too great abundance of meadow and pasture in those parts. Four

cottages yield yearly 2s. One water mill, worth yearly, 13s 4d. Please

and perquisites of the court of Appleby and Langton, worth yearly, 4s.

Clearly the Scots had rendered the whole area a wreck and the farmers were either dead or had fled. However, in this year peace, although very transient was declared and some normality could return. For Langton though the thriving mediaeval economy it boasted before 1327 had gone. An inquisition in 1422, almost a century later, reveals that Langton had barely recovered its losses;

At Langton there are 10 messuages, worth nothing is issues above reprises;

40 oxgangs of land as 3s 4d each, for score acres of meadow at 6d each; water

mill 13s 4d, one fulling mill, 6s 8d, one hundred fourscore acres of pasture

at one penny each.

Langton did recover, in time and became part of the economic system of the parish of Appleby.

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Lot #7 of Manorial Services Auction - Summer 2020 - Stephen Johnson

Lying midway between Plymouth and Penzance the Manor of Lanhadron is recorded in Domesday Book as a possession  of Robert of Mortain. William the Conqueror’s great survey notes that Lanhadron consisted of

3 ploughlands, 1 lord’s plough team 

60 acres of pasture 

5 acres of woodland 

4 smallholders, 2 slaves  

Worth 10 shillings. 

Lanhadron forms part of the parish of St Ewe, a few miles south of St Austell. Until the 19th century an ancient Celtic  cross stood here near a place known as Nunnery Hill. In 1873 a local farmer decided that this might be good prospect  for treasure and tore down the cross head and shaft, leaving the base, which remains today. Fifty years earlier the manor  had its own antimony mine, south of Lanhadron Farm, known as Wheal Prosper. Antimony, was used as an alloy in  printers type as well as variety of industrial uses such as in pottery glazes. These mines were extremely rare in Britain.  The name Lanhadron probably derives from the celtic forms of church of St Hadron.

The name of the Manor has had various spellings over the centuries including Lansladron, Lanshadron and Lanlaran,  before it settled on the more modern form of Lanharon. At the time of Domesday, when its overlord was Earl Robert,  its local lord was Reginald de Valletort. He had likely inherited from his father, Godfrey, a Norman who had arrived the  the Conqueror in 1066. Reginald held numerous manors and estates in Cornwall and Devon, including Appledore and  Bigbury. The Valletorts held the manor into the early 13th century when, at some point unrecorded it passed to a local  landowner, Sir Serlo de Lansladron. He was summoned to attend the first parliament of Edward I in 1275. The manor  remained with this family for two further generations until the line failed and it passed to the Trerice family. They were  the descendants of the marriage of Sir Serlo’s daughter Miranda. From them the manor passed either by descent or  purchase, to the Arundel family of Lanherne.  

This family were one of the most important gentry family in Cornwall and claimed their lineage to the Norman invasion.  The family estate was based at Lanherne and Trerice and throughout the 15th and 16th centuries gradually increased  their wealth and influence. Though never one of the most powerful families in western England they nevertheless  served both the Lancastrian and Yorkist monarchs in the 15th century, mainly as local royal enforcers. They added  land in Devon and Dorset and were reputedly the largest free tenants in Cornwall by 1500. When Prince Henry (the  future Henry VIII) was made duke of York in 1494, Sir John Arundel was made a knight of the Bath and led his own  troops against Cornish rebels in 1497. Though the family were wealthy they were not among the richest in society. In  1525, Sir Thomas Arundell turned down a barony because he knew that he was unable to afford the rank. However, in  Cornwall, were there few if any aristocrats the family were known as the Great Arundells. They reached their peak of  influence in the 1540s but as a strictly Catholic family they were forced into a decline on the when Queen Elizabeth  ascended to the throne. Sir John, the last of the Great Arundells prospered during the reign of Mary but was sidelined  under Elizabeth when he refused to accept the Act of Uniformity in 1570.  

The Arundells of Laherne continued as Lords of Lanhadron into the 17th century. The manor was described in the  17th century by the antiquary, John Norden, as an auntient howse of the Arondells, where was the moste statelieste parke  within the shire, now utterly decayde, and the woodes rooted up and the land sowed with corne. There is an oke within the  circuit of this decayde parke, called Arondell’s oke, which is sayde to beare leaves as whyte as whyte paper. Some suche leaves  are ordinarye on manie others, but to be so generall is more straunge. 

In the 18th century the property of the Arundells of Lantern and the Arundells of Trerice became united in the figure  of Mary, who married Henry, the seventh Baron Arundell of Wardour and Lanhadron then passed to this line. In 1801  the manor was sold the Cood family but was repurchased by the Arundells not long afterwards. The family retained  Lanhadron until the last quarter of the 20th century when it was sold by Lord Talbot of Malahide, to a private purchaser  and thence to the current owners. 

Manorial Documents Associated With This Manor:

Account Roll 1398-1401 Cornwall Record Office Court Roll 

1459-1460 Court Roll 

1470-1471  Court Roll 

1494-1499 Court Roll 

1490-1500 Court Roll 

1539-1540 Court Book 

1664-1671 Court Book 

1678-1731 Rental 

1797 Particulars of Tenements 1788 

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Lot #5 of Manorial Services Auction - Spring 2024 - Stephen Johnson

At the time of William the Conqueror’s Domesday Book of 1086 the Lordship of the Manor of Lawshall was held by the Abbey and Convent at Ramsey in Cambridgeshire. Its ownership was the result of a  grant, made in 972 by the Saxon thegn, Alfwinus, son of Bricious. This was a wealthy manor, being worth £12  according to the Survey and unusual in Suffolk in that it was, and is, the only manor in the parish. The existing  manor house, Lawshall Hall, which was built in the 1550s replaced a building which had been originally built  for the Abbey’s administrator in the 11th century. By the 13th century the Hall was held by a tenant of the  Abbey, who, in 1269, was recorded as Alexander Henming. 

A court roll of the Manor from 1393 survives and this describes the extent of the manor as being  971 acres, including 48 ‘custumars’ or tenants of the manor who between them held 600 acres. A further 17 tenants held 125 acres and the monks themselves had 215 acres of demesne land on which their tenants  were expected to work. The manor was under the control of several officials. The reeve, who arranged and accounted for all work carried out was chosen by the tenants at the manorial court. He (always a man) also  collected rents. In addition there was a seneschal who supervised the Abbey’s manors in the area, a kind of  regional manager and the bailiff, who lived in the manor. The effect of the Black Death which killed as many  as half of the population of the village was still felt in a number of vacant tenancies. It is possible that the  relatively large amount of demesne land was caused by the Abbey taking empty land in hand. 

The Lordship continued in the possession of the Abbey until the house was finally Dissolved in 1539. It was granted by the Crown to John Rither, or Ryther. He was born into a family of landed gentry in  Yorkshire and at an early age entered the household of the Earl of Oxford. In 1537 he was employed by Thomas Cromwell to report on embezzlement at Colchester Abbey and in the aftermath purchased £25 of the abbey’s household stuff. Ryther appears to have used his connection to Cromwell to further his own  fortune by buying land from Dissolved monasteries, Lawshall among them. He became what would today be  called a speculator, and sold Lawshall within a few years to Sir William Drury for a healthy profit. When Drury was Lord of the Manor he resided at the manor house and in 1578 it is remembered that the Queens highness  in her progress riding from Melford to Bury (St Edmunds) on August 5 1578 dined at Lawshall Hall to the great  rejoycing of ye said Parish and the Country thereabouts. The author visited the manor house some twenty years ago when it was an empty ruin and several photographs of this visit are included in this history.

In 1595, Elizabeth Drury, Sir William’s daughter, appeared on a list of Papist Recusants. A report noted  that she hath bin prisoner to Sir John Heygham. The Drury family were Protestants but Elizabeth had married Catholic and seemingly converted to the “Old Religion” By this time the manor had passed out of the hands of the Drury family and had been purchased firstly by Thomas Lovell and then by Edward Rookwood, a cousin of the Gunpowder Plot conspirator, Ambrose Rookwood. In 1598 he sold Lawshall for £4400 to Sir Robert Lee. Lee was a cloth merchant from London and was a member of the Worshipful Company of  Taylors. He was was Lord Mayor of London in 1602. The manor remained in the Lee family for the next 90  years. Subsequent holders include Baptist Lee of Livermore Parva, and the lawyer Nathaniel Lee Acton who  was Sheriff of Suffolk in 1789. He lived until 1836 but died childless. His estates, including Lawshall, passed to his sister, Harriet, Lady Middleton. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Sir William Fowle Middleton whose  father had purchased the Shrubland Estate, 20 miles to the east. He too died childless in 1860 and the estate passed to his cousin, Sir George Broke Middleton.  

Sir George was a sailor and entered service as a midshipman in 1825. In 1840 he was awarded the rank of Commander and five years later made Captain. He saw active service during the Crimean War on HMS Gladiator and later HMS Hero. When he retired from service in 1863 he had been raised to the rank of Rear Admiral and was finally made a full Admiral in 1877. He died unmarried in 1887 and Lawshall passed to his niece, Jane Ana Broke. She was the wife of James St Vincent Suumarez, 4th Lord Saumarez who came to possess both this manor and the larger estate of Shrubland Park. Lawshall remained in the hands of the  Saumarez (pronounced ‘Sommeray’) for the next 100 years before being sold to a private buyer in the late 20th Century.

Lawshall lies between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury. It derives it name from hlaw-gesella meaning  a shelter on high ground and has being spelt in a remarkable number of differing way in Suffolk records  including the following; Lausel, Lausele, Lausell, Lauselle, Laushalle, Laushill, Laushille, Laushull, Laushulle, Lausill,  Lawcell, Laweshill, Laweshille, Lawishille, Lawsall, Lawschyll, Lawsele and Lawsell. 

Documents in the Public Domain Associated with this Lordship:

 1466-1466: court roll, British Library, Manuscript Collections 

1278-1280: serjeant’s accounts, The National Archives 

1334-1337: reeve’s accounts (2) 

1347-1374: reeve’s accounts (4) 

1364-1368: court roll 

1367-1421: rental (non-consecutive) 

1397-1398: rental 

1374-1392: bailiff ’s accounts (5) 

1398-1400: collector’s accounts 

1484-1535: court roll (non-consecutive) 

1544-1545: estreats, with receipt 

1336-1366: reeve’s accounts (non-consecutive), Suffolk Archives - Bury St Edmunds Branch 

1560-1608: court rolls (4) 

1567-1575: survey 

1610-1667: court books 1611-1611: map 

1644-1726: rentals (non-consecutive) 

1660-1902: steward’s papers 

1667-1672: court roll, incl index to admissions 

1673-1925: court books 

1700-1713: court rolls (3) 

1744-1862: minute books 

1807-1807: rental 

1836-1843: account book of court fees 

1837-1838: rental, with Hanningfields (draft) 

1838-1838: rental 

1849-1858: accounts of fines, with Hanningfields 

1922-1924: minute book 

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Lot #1 of 'Beaumont Collection' Auction - Nov 1954

Layer Breton lies six miles South West of Colchester on the road to Tollesbury. A feature of the Village is the Heath, which has an area of about 32 acres, the greater part of which is in the Parish of Layer Breton, while a very small portion - about 2 acres - is in the Parish of Birch. 

All the title and interest of the vendors in the Heath and in such roadside verges as lie within the Parish of Layer Breton are included in the Sale. An ordinance Map of the Parish can be inspected at the office of Messrs. C.M. Stanford & Son, High Street, Colchester, on which the Heath has been coloured to correspond with a plan held by the Lexden & Winstree R.D.C., Rebow Chambers, Sir Isaac's Walk, Colchester. The Council's plan shows only the Heath coloured and it is presumed that this is the only part affected by the Council's bye-Laws. The Vendors, nevertheless, claim that the roadside verges form part of the wastes of the Manor. 

The Manor is sold subject to the following: 

1. An easement in favour of the South Essex Waterworks Company dated 26th May, 1936.
2. A scheme under the Commons Act 1899 and the Lexden and Winstree R.D.C. Bye-Laws made under it and brought into operation on 1st September, 1948.
3. A right of way granted to Mrs. M. A. Renwick by a deed dated 28th September, 1953.
4. The Wayleave agreements referred to below. 
5. The rights as the Lexden and Winstree R.D.C. have in respect of water pipes laid under the Heath following a notice given to the Vendors on 22nd September, 1934. 

Copies of the documents referred to above can be seen at the offices of the Solicitors. 

Income in this Manor is derived from: 

1. Two Wayleave agreements with Eastern Electricity Board, with rents totaling £1 16s. 6d. per annum.
2. Rent for grazing on the Heath, £5 per annum having been paid for this up to a few years ago. It is not now let. The right to let the grazing is subject to the rights of commoners, so far as thy can be shown to exist, but no right to graze has , to the best of the vendors' knowledge, been claimed by any commoner since the Manor was purchased by the late Mr. G.F. Beaumont in 1906. 
3. Payments from time to time of £7 by a travelling Showman for the Vendors' consent to placing his roundabouts and sideshows on part of the Heath, such consent being given after consultation with the Police, R.D.C. and the Chairman of the Parish meeting. 
4. The sporting rights over the heath have from time to time been let, but they are not let at the present time. 

According to Morant (History and Antiquities of the County of Essex Vol. 1, Page 409) the owner of the land in this Parish in Edward the Confessor's reign was Ailmar, while Ralph Piperell and his undertenant held the Manor at the time of the Domesday Survey. It later came to Isaac Rebow, who was knighted on 27th March, 1693. (His name is kept alive in Colchester by the name given to the Lexden and Winstree R.D.C. Office - Rebow Chambers). His grandson Charles Chamberlain Rebow inherited the Manor and died in 1754 leaving an only daughter (by his wife, Mary Nevill, sister of the Rt. Hon. William Lord Abergavenny) who married Thomas Adams. In 1789 the Manor was in the hands of John and Elizabeth Gripper, who were Quakers, and their Steward was William Francis. On 11th May, 1804, a Court was held for John Gripper and it is interesting to know that it was held at Layer Breton Hall, though the Manor House abuts on the Heath. A Court was also held for Edward Gripper on 19th May, 1828 at Layer Breton Hall, but his Court of 17th October, 1839 was held at the house of Jonathan Powell. This gentleman, with John Tiffen, formed the Homage, or Jury, and it is recorded that the former affirmed, being a Quaker, instead of being sworn in the usual manner. John Tiffin, a farmer of Layer Breton, purchased the Manor from Edward Gripper's Executors on 30th September, 1867 and held his first Court at the "Hare and Hounds", Charles H. T. Marshall, the Colchester Solicitor, being Steward. Charles Digby Garrod was the next Lord and on his death in 1905 the Manor was sold by his Executors to the late George Frederick Beaumont of Coggeshall. His only Court was held on the 27th June, 1907, the Steward being his eldest son, Horace Frederick Beaumont, one of the Vendors. 

There are many interesting entries in the records of this Manor, such as examples of payment of quit rents in kind, viz. a capon and a race of ginger, and for students of place names there are numerous curious words, viz. Stamps and Crows, Trowers and Wrights, Farthing Garden, Downings, Washings, Mary Lay's Plot, The Bushes, Golding's Garden, Bigwoods and Littlemans, Hocklays, and Ladylands. 

The little church standing on the Heath was erected in 1906 in memory of the Rt. Hon. James Round, from money raised by public subscription, upon a site given by the late Mr. G. F. Beaumont, then Lord of the Manor. 

The lifting of turf from roadside waste in this Manor by one of the Lords gave rise to articles in the Essex County Standard in April and May, 1951 and the Sunday Despatch in May of the same year. This publicity resulted in applications being received from several hundred persons for particulars of the proposed auction. 

The Manorial Records (insured for £200, premium 10/0 p.a.) to be handed over are: 

• Court Rolls: 1668-1712; 1728-97; 1803-05; 1807-12
• Court Books: 1789-1818; 1818-1889; 1890-1933
• Minute Book: 1789-1855
• Draft of Courts: 1789-1812
• Sundry: Rentals, draft admissions, surrenders, enfranchisement deeds, etc. 
• 
  

In connection with the above reference to Lord Abergavenny it is interesting to note in a recent Obituary in the Times that the eight Earl of Abergavenny "as Lord of the Manor of Ditchling, sold the common rights in 1950 to 20 residents for £100 to help in preserving the character of the common, and as Lord of the Manor of Rottingdean he fought against the scheme of the Brighton Corporation to build on sites surrounding the downland village." 

Mr. Bert Osborne, licensee of the "Hare and Hounds" has recently been appointed Bailiff of this Manor. A former Bailiff, who will sill be remembered in the district, was the late Mr. Norman Smith. 

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Lot #8 of 'Beaumont Collection' Auction - Nov 1954

in the Parish of Purleigh

Purleigh lies 4 miles south of Maldon in the direction of Southend. 

Morant does not mention this Manor under Purleigh, but, under Lalling Hall, one of the Lachingdon Manors, he mentions that "Lalling has a Court Leet kept at Lalling Hall, the title to which is Lawling with Snoreham; and to it belongs Leigh-how in the parish of Purley, and Runsell-hamlet in Danbury." (Vol. I p. 355).

The eldest record in the Books which will be h anded over shows William Hanbury as Lord of the Manor (1778) and Robert Tindal as his Steward.

On the 28th of August 1800, was held the first Court of Gregory Blaxland. In 1805 we find John Spurden and Michael Boyle in joint Lordship and their only Court was held on the 12th August, 1805. Thomas Green was Lord in 1806, with Robert Tindal, Steward. The last Court of this Lord was held on the 15th October, 1816. The next recorded shows David King, John Saunders and Hannah Green, Widow, as joint Lords and Lady (31st May, 1821). 

The first Court of John Kinnard was held on 28th November, 1835, and that of the Rev. Charles Owen on the 12th June, 1838. After his death his sisters, the Misses Owen, were for some years Ladies of the Manor. In 1870 the Rev. John Jackson held his first court and Joseph Beaumont purchased the Manor from  him in 1870. 

The Manorial documents (insured for £200 premium 10/- per annum) to be handed over are: 

Court Rolls: 1778-1800; 1801-1811; 1812-16; 1818-38

Court Books: 1778-1838 (Copy); 1818-46; 1847-70; 1870-1919

Extracts from Court Rolls (with Rentals) 1673-1844

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Lot #28 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

HOW THIS Lordship of the Manor came by its unusual name is not known but it was probably based on a farm within the ancient Lordship of Ripton which itself was later divided into three separate manors. Licktopp lies within the parish of Ashford which is ten miles from Folkstone and around 50 miles from London. At the time of Domesday Book, in 1086, therefore Licktopp is included in the entry for Repetone, and this entry reads;

The Abbot himself hold one yoke, Repentone and Answered of him.

It was taxed at one yoke.

The arable land is two caracutes. 

In demesne there is one, with four borderers.

There are 11 acres of meadows and the 4th part of a mill, of 15 pence,

And wood for the pannage of 10 hogs, and as yet there are two yokes,

which the Abbot gave to it of his demesne,

And there are two villeins, with eight borderers.

In the time of King Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was worth

three pounds, now four pounds.

The abbey was that of St Augtustine in Canterbury which was founded as early as 598, just 150 years after the Romans had left the island. Little is known of the priory’s existence between the 8th and 11th centuries, but when the Normans arrived in 1066 William placed his own man, called Scotland, in charge and the monks were cowed. He proved to be very capable and renewed the abbey’s land holding and improved the state of production at Ripton. 

It was during the next two hundred years the estate at Ripton was subinfeudated, producing three Lordships of which Licktopp was one. In reality the abbey acted as feudal overlord and Licktopp was held from the abbot by the Valoigns family who resided here. During the reign of Stephen (1135-1154) it was in the hands of Ruellion de Valoigns. From him it came to his son, or grandson, Allan who was sheriff of Kent from 1184 to 1189. Sir William de Valoignes was recorded as attending Edward I into Scotland and may well have been present when the king visited St Augustines. Sir William served a sheriff of Kent on a number of occasions, in 1275 and 1278. A later member of the family was Henry de Valoigns, who was resident at Ripton during the reign of Edward III. In 1341 he received a grant of free-warren for all his land and manors in Kent and paid aid at the making of Edward, the Black Prince, a knight. The last of the male line was Waretius de Valoyns, who, on his death left Licktopp to his co-heirs, one of whom married Thomas de Aldon and the other to Sir Francis Fogge. On the partition of their father’s estate Licktopp passed to the latter.

The Fogge family originally came from Lancashire and Otho Fogge came to Kent at the begining of the reign of Edward I (1272-1307). It appears that this may have been to take up an inheritance because the Fogges are noted in a number of parishes in the east of the county during this period. Otho was succeeded by his son, John who in turn was succeeded by his son Francis. It was he who married the daughter of Waretius de Valoyns and from this union he came into possession of Licktopp. Through this marriage the Lordship passed to Sir Thomas Fogge who was taken prisoner by the French in 1377 and Parliament was successfully petitioned to obtain funds for his release. On his return to England he seved as sheriff of Kent, which he did again at the beginning of the reign of Richard II (1377-1399). On his death Sir Thomas was buried at Glastonbury and Licktopp passed to his son Sir Thomas Fogge. He was a man of high repute and was an advisor to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster on his voyage to Spain to claim the throne of Castile in 1385. He was also a member of all the Parliaments called during the reign of Richard II and those in the early reign of Henry IV (1399-1413). He died in 1407 and is buried in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral.

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his son Sir William who in turn passed Licktopp to his son Sir John who was resident at Ripton House during the reign of Edward IV (1461-1483). For this king Fogge served as comptroller and treasurer, and was highly trusted by Edward. He served as sheriff of Kent on a number of occasions and as knight of the shire in Parliament. Such was his attachment to Edward that when Richard III came to the throne in 1483, Fogge was attainted and his lands seized. After Richard himself was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, in 1485, the new king, Henry Tudor reinstated Fogge to all his previous possessions and he died in 1490. He portrait was formerly captured in stained glass in the window of Ashford parish church. His son and heir was Sir Thomas, who served as sergeant-porter of Calais during the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509). He died in 1533 and Licktopp came to his son Sir John. 

Sir John Fogge is recorded as being granted in full, the Lordship of the Manor of Licktopp, in 1538, after its overlord, the abbey of St Augustine, had been dissolved. He died in 1564 and was succeeded by his son Edward. He died four years later, unmarried, and the Lordship then came to his uncle, George Fogge of Braborne. He soon sold it to Sir Michael Sundes who in turn conveyed it to John Tufton. Licktopp has since remained in the Tufton family. Lord Hothfield, the present representative of the family is the current Lord of the Manor.

The manorial court for Licktopp was traditionally held at a great stone lying by the road heading northwest from Ashford and near to Ripton House.

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Lot #29 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

CENTRED ON the village of Little Asby, this Lordship was anciently known as Little Askby, after the Norman family who possessed it. Little Asby is a small village, lying 2 miles from the centre of the parish at Great Asby. Nearby by is the great cavern known as Pate Hole, which is a 1,000 yards long, cut by the Asby Gill stream.

Little of known of this manor until the reign of Henry II (1154-1189). Before this time it is likely to have formed part of a united Manor of Asby. By this reign however it was divided between three lords, Richard de Cotesford, William de Askby and Richard English. The latter was Lord of the Manor of Little Asby. Either the same Richard, or his son, was recorded in 1203 as settling a small area of land from the Lordship on Robert Le Scot. This Richard was succeeded in the Lordship by his son William, who is recorded as witnessing a grant made by the Baron of Westmoreland, Robert de Veteripont, to nearby Shap Abbey. The family were obviously of some local renown since William’s descendent was knighted. Sir Robert English acted as a juror at Appleby in a dispute between the king, Edward I (1272--1307) and the abbot of St Mary’s Priory in York, in 1292. Sir Robert’s son, Robert, represented the county of Westmoreland at Parliament, from 1309 to 1311, almost certainly as a retainer or associate of the Clifford family, who were now Barons of the county. 

Robert was succeeded in the Lordship by his son, William, who , together with his wife, Elena, are recorded as having a fine levied against them for their possession of the Lordship of Little Asby. The family had by now developed considerably as landholders since in 1339, William English was recorded as emparking 100 acres of demesne land at his manor of Kirklevington in Cumberland and a similar amount at Tibbay and Runthwaite in Westmorland and at Affmudeby in Yorkshire. For most of the Parliaments from 1339 to 1349, William represented the county. During an inquisition into the possession of knight fees in Westmorland in 1370 it was found that the Lordship of Little Asby was held by Robert English. Robert’s son and heir, Thomas died before his father and accordingly the Lordship passed to Robert’s granddaughter, Idonea, (perhaps named after Idonea de Veteripont, who had been the co-baroness of Westmoreland).

Idonea was married to Sir Edmund de Sandford, a wealthy local landowner, whose family were seated at nearby Warcup. Together the couple settled in Hughill and founded that family. In 1423 it was found that, at the death of John de Clifford, Baron of Westmoreland the Lordship of Little Asby was held by Robert de Sandford, who seems to have been the second son of Idonea and Edmund. Robert, or more probably, his son, was found to be lord in 1453 and was found to pay cornage, or rental, of 2s 10d to the Baron, Thomas de Clifford.

The Lordship remained with the Sandford family for a number of further generations, which established themselves as wealthy landlords in the area, based at Howgill. In 1641 the family achieved its social zenith when Thomas Sandford was made a baronet by Charles I (1625-1649). He was succeeded in his lands and titles by his eldest son, Sir Richard Sandford. Here the Sandford line was almost ignominiously made extinct when Sir Richard was murdered, at White Fryars, in London by Henry Symbal and William Jones. The reasons for the murder are not known, possibly it was a botched street robbery or a private vendetta. Whatever their motive it did not prevent the two been hanged shortly afterwards. Sir Richard’s son, also Richard was said to have been born in the exact same hour as his father’s death. In this Sir Richard the Sandfords did indeed die out since he passed away, unmarried, in 1723. 

Little Asby then passed to the murdered Sir Richard’s daughter, Mary, who was married to Robert Honywood of Mark’s Hall in Essex. The Honywood family could date their lineage back to the 12th century in the person of William Henewood. The family had established themselves at Mark’s Hall under Robert, the second son of John Honyood, in the 16th century. Among Robert’s nine children was Michael, who was born in 1597, went on to become dead of Lincoln Cathedral. He was educated at Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he studied with Henry More and the poet, Milton. During the Commonwealth period he placed himself in self-imposed exile in Holland and returned to England on the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Honywood was obviously a man of high and unswerving principle. On his return to his parish of Kegworth, in Leicestershire he discovered that a quaker, Richard Gibson, had refused to pay his tithes. Honywood promptly had the man imprisoned and detained there for several years. In October 1660 he was appointed dean of Lincoln and spent much of his energy in repairing the damage wreaked on the cathedral by puritans during the Commonwealth. At his own expense (£780) he erected the library, to designs by Christopher Wren on the site of the long ruined north walk of the cloister. He died, unmarried, at the age of 84, in 1681. He was described by one contemporary as a’holy and humble man and a living library for learning’. 

Michael’s elder brother, and later Lord of the Manor of Little Asby, was Sir Thomas Honywood, who was born in 1586. Thomas inherited his father’s estates in 1627 and was knighted by Charles I on 1632. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1641, Sir Thomas sided with the Parliamentarians and Mark’s Hall became the local headquarters of the Roundhead army. His zeal for the Puritan cause may partly explain his brother’s exile to Holland. He served effectively in raising troops for Parliament and was present with Fairfax at the surrender of Colchester in 1648. He himself commanded 2,000 men. He was then ordered to dismantle Colchester Castle, but, luckily for posterity, he ignored the order. After the death of Charles in 1649 and the triumph of Cromwell, Honywood continued to serve in the New Model Army. In 1654 he assisted Cromwell in putting down a rebellion. During this period he also sat in Parliament and in 1657 became a member of Cromwell’s Upper House. At court, Honywood was said to be powerful and charismatic. In 1659 he was made a member of the ruling Council of State. but he survived the Restoration, since he was not tainted by the execution of Charles, and lived until 1666.

The Honywood’s continued to hold the Lordship of Little Asby until the 19th century when the estate was sold to the Earls of Thanet. One of the later Honywood Lords was Lieutenant-General Philip Honywood, who distinguished himself during the Napoleonic War. The current Lord of the Manor of Little Asby is Lord Hothfield.

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Lot #30 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

IN THE PARISH of Ashford, lies the Lordship of the Manor of Little Ripton ten miles from the English Channel at Folkstone. At the time of Domesday Book, in 1086, Little Ripton, was part of a larger Lordship, referred to as Repentone. The entry reads;

The Abbot himself hold one yoke, Repentone and Answered of him.

It was taxed at one yoke.

The arable land is two caracutes. 

Ián demesne there is one, with four borderers.

There are 11 acres of meadows and the 4th part of a mill, of 15 pence,

And wood for the pannage of 10 hogs, and as yet there are two yokes,

which the Abbot gave to it of his demesne,

And there are two villeins, with eight borderers.

In the time of King Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was worth

three pounds, now four pounds.

In the Survey, the lands here belonged to the abbey of St Augustine, in Canterbury, and had done for some time before the Norman Conquest since St Augustine’s was one of most ancient institutions in England. It was founded as early as 598 by King Ethelbert of Kent, after spending Christmas in Canterbury in the company of St Augustine. So early in the existence of Christianity in England was this that for the first years of worship monks used an old Roman alter to conduct their services. A church was built for them in 613 and St Augustine was buried in its church yard along with King Ethelbert and the first ten archbishops of Canterbury.

During the next two hundred years the estate at Ripton was subinfeudated, producing three Lordships of which Little Ripton was one. During its overlordship the manor was held from the abbot by the Valoignes family for a knight’s fee and they made this their residence. During the reign of Stephen (1135-1154) it was in the hands of Ruellion de Valoignes. From him it came to his son, or grandson, Allan who was sheriff of Kent from 1184 to 1189. The family had originated Valognes in the Cotentin area of France and had arrived with Conqueror in 1066. Peter de Valoignes was said to have been given ‘fifty-seven lordships in the counties of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hertford, Cambridge and Lincoln’ and was high sheriff of Essex in 1087. After Ruellion, Little Ripton may have descended to Philip Valoignes after Allan’s death. As a young man he had spent a Little deal of time on Scotland, towards the end of the reign of Malcolm IV, who died in 1165. Philip was described as being a constant companion of Malcolm’s successor, William the Lion. In 1174 when William purchased his own release from the hands of Henry II (1154-1189) by acknowledging the English king’s overlordship of Scotland, Valoignes was one of the hostages given to Henry instead of William. As a reward for his loyalty, William granted Valoignes the Scottish lordships of Panmure and Benvie in Forfarshire. In 1208 he was recorded as holding lands in Yorkshire, for which he paid £300 and it may have been at this point when he took control of Little Ripton. However he could not have enjoyed his estates long since in 1209 he was again used as a hostage in return for the second release of William, this time from the clutches of King John (1199-1216). After this he was made chamberlain of Scotland, a position in which he continued until his death in 1215. 

Later in the 13th century Sir William de Valoignes was recorded as attending Edward I into Scotland and may well have been present when the king visited the abbey of St Augustine. Sir William served a sheriff of Kent on a number of occasions, particularly in 1275 and 1278. A later member of the family was Henry de Valoignes, who was resident at Ripton during the reign of Edward III. In 1341 he received a grant of free-warren for all his land and manors in Kent and paid aid at the making of Edward, the Black Prince, a knight. The last of the male line was Waretius de Valoyns, who, on his death left Little Ripton to his co-heirs, one of whom married Thomas de Aldon and the other to Sir Francis Fogge. On the partition of there father’s estate Little Ripton passed to the latter.

The Fogge family were anciently of Kent, though originally came from Lancashire. A previous member of the family had married a daughter of a Valoigne so the two seem to have been connected for a number of generations.

During the reign of Edward IV (1461-1483) Sir John Fogge was resident at Ripton House and to this king Fogge was comptroller and treasurer, highly trusted by Edward. Fogge served as sheriff of Kent on a number of occasions and as knight of the shire in Parliament. Such was his attachment to Edward that when Richard III came to the throne in 1483, Fogge was attainted and his lands seized. After Richard himself was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, in 1485, the new king, Henry Tudor reinstated Fogge to all his previous possessions and he died in 1490. At the Dissolution of the abbey of St Augustine the Lordship of Little Ripton came in full to Fogge’s descendent, Sir John. He died in 1564 and was succeeded by his son Edward. He died four years later, unmarried, and the Lordship then came to his uncle, George Fogge of Braborne. He soon sold it to Sir Michael Sundes who in turn conveyed it to John Tufton. Little Ripton has since remained in the Tufton family. Lord Hothfield, the present representative of the family is the current Lord of the Manor.

The manorial court for Little Ripton was traditionally held at a Little stone lying by the road heading northwest from Ashford and near to Ripton House

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Lot #30 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

IN THE PARISH of Ashford, lies the Lordship of the Manor of Little Ripton ten miles from the English Channel at Folkstone. At the time of Domesday Book, in 1086, Little Ripton, was part of a larger Lordship, referred to as Repentone. The entry reads;

The Abbot himself hold one yoke, Repentone and Answered of him.

It was taxed at one yoke.

The arable land is two caracutes. 

Ián demesne there is one, with four borderers.

There are 11 acres of meadows and the 4th part of a mill, of 15 pence,

And wood for the pannage of 10 hogs, and as yet there are two yokes,

which the Abbot gave to it of his demesne,

And there are two villeins, with eight borderers.

In the time of King Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was worth

three pounds, now four pounds.

In the Survey, the lands here belonged to the abbey of St Augustine, in Canterbury, and had done for some time before the Norman Conquest since St Augustine’s was one of most ancient institutions in England. It was founded as early as 598 by King Ethelbert of Kent, after spending Christmas in Canterbury in the company of St Augustine. So early in the existence of Christianity in England was this that for the first years of worship monks used an old Roman alter to conduct their services. A church was built for them in 613 and St Augustine was buried in its church yard along with King Ethelbert and the first ten archbishops of Canterbury.

During the next two hundred years the estate at Ripton was subinfeudated, producing three Lordships of which Little Ripton was one. During its overlordship the manor was held from the abbot by the Valoignes family for a knight’s fee and they made this their residence. During the reign of Stephen (1135-1154) it was in the hands of Ruellion de Valoignes. From him it came to his son, or grandson, Allan who was sheriff of Kent from 1184 to 1189. The family had originated Valognes in the Cotentin area of France and had arrived with Conqueror in 1066. Peter de Valoignes was said to have been given ‘fifty-seven lordships in the counties of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hertford, Cambridge and Lincoln’ and was high sheriff of Essex in 1087. After Ruellion, Little Ripton may have descended to Philip Valoignes after Allan’s death. As a young man he had spent a Little deal of time on Scotland, towards the end of the reign of Malcolm IV, who died in 1165. Philip was described as being a constant companion of Malcolm’s successor, William the Lion. In 1174 when William purchased his own release from the hands of Henry II (1154-1189) by acknowledging the English king’s overlordship of Scotland, Valoignes was one of the hostages given to Henry instead of William. As a reward for his loyalty, William granted Valoignes the Scottish lordships of Panmure and Benvie in Forfarshire. In 1208 he was recorded as holding lands in Yorkshire, for which he paid £300 and it may have been at this point when he took control of Little Ripton. However he could not have enjoyed his estates long since in 1209 he was again used as a hostage in return for the second release of William, this time from the clutches of King John (1199-1216). After this he was made chamberlain of Scotland, a position in which he continued until his death in 1215. 

Later in the 13th century Sir William de Valoignes was recorded as attending Edward I into Scotland and may well have been present when the king visited the abbey of St Augustine. Sir William served a sheriff of Kent on a number of occasions, particularly in 1275 and 1278. A later member of the family was Henry de Valoignes, who was resident at Ripton during the reign of Edward III. In 1341 he received a grant of free-warren for all his land and manors in Kent and paid aid at the making of Edward, the Black Prince, a knight. The last of the male line was Waretius de Valoyns, who, on his death left Little Ripton to his co-heirs, one of whom married Thomas de Aldon and the other to Sir Francis Fogge. On the partition of there father’s estate Little Ripton passed to the latter.

The Fogge family were anciently of Kent, though originally came from Lancashire. A previous member of the family had married a daughter of a Valoigne so the two seem to have been connected for a number of generations.

During the reign of Edward IV (1461-1483) Sir John Fogge was resident at Ripton House and to this king Fogge was comptroller and treasurer, highly trusted by Edward. Fogge served as sheriff of Kent on a number of occasions and as knight of the shire in Parliament. Such was his attachment to Edward that when Richard III came to the throne in 1483, Fogge was attainted and his lands seized. After Richard himself was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, in 1485, the new king, Henry Tudor reinstated Fogge to all his previous possessions and he died in 1490. At the Dissolution of the abbey of St Augustine the Lordship of Little Ripton came in full to Fogge’s descendent, Sir John. He died in 1564 and was succeeded by his son Edward. He died four years later, unmarried, and the Lordship then came to his uncle, George Fogge of Braborne. He soon sold it to Sir Michael Sundes who in turn conveyed it to John Tufton. Little Ripton has since remained in the Tufton family. Lord Hothfield, the present representative of the family is the current Lord of the Manor.

The manorial court for Little Ripton was traditionally held at a Little stone lying by the road heading northwest from Ashford and near to Ripton House

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Lot #2 of Manorial Services Auction - Nov 2022 - Stephen Johnson

(In association with Strutt & Parker)

On the banks of the River Chelmer, lies the  parish of Little Waltham. This is an ancient settlement:  when the road through the village was upgraded, the  site of an Iron Age village was found. When the area  was recorded for Domesday Book in 1086 it was  found that it was held by Earl Eustace. Powers Hall  was once a separate manor which was later merged  into that of Little Waltham. It survived as a house into  the 18th century. 

After the death of Eudo, the manor passed  to his son Hugh Fitz-Eudo and thence to his son  Robert Fitz-Hugh. It remained with his descendants  until 1189 when it came to Robert de Tatteshall. In  1205 he served as sheriff of Huntingdonshire and  Cambridgeshire, dying in 1211. His son Robert,  married Mabel, daughter of the Earl of Arundel and  through this marriage he obtained considerable  estates including the manor and castle of Buckenham  in Norfolk. In 1263 his son and heir, Robert (II) was granted charter to turn some of his demesne land in  Little Waltham into a park. Two further Robert de Tateshull followed. The fourth of that name died in 1302  and his lands and estates were divided among a number of relatives. Little Waltham came to Thomas de Caili  who was summoned to four Parliaments during the reign of Edward II and died childless in 1316. 

The manor passed to his nephew, Adam de Clifton. After his death Little Waltham passed to his  grandson John who succeeded to the whole estate in 1363 after the death his mother. He was summoned  to Parliament in 1377 and 1388 but died whilst on the island of Rhodes soon afterwards, leaving his estate  to his son Constantine who died only a few years later, in 1396. His son and heir, Sir John de Clifton (II) did  not inherit Little Waltham since John de Clifton, before his death abroad, had actually sold Little Waltham to  a local man, Richard de Waltham and his wife Margaret in order to raise money for his trip to the Holy Land.  Sadly he only made it as far as Rhodes since there is no record of him arriving in Jerusalem. 

Richard de Waltham was succeeded by his son John, who died in 1418 and is buried beneath the  chancel of St Martins, the parish church. His son and heir, Richard, was also buried here on his death in 1426.  The next recorded Lord of the Manor was John Mabon who died in 1447. He was likely a relation of the De  Waltham family but the relationship is not certain. It then passed to the Mildmay family, who held it for two  centuries. Sir Thomas Mildmay, the fourth of that family to be Lord of Little Waltham served as High Sheriff  of Essex and Hertfordshire and sat as a member of Parliament for Bodmin. In 1625 the manor was sold to  the Sir William Luckyn of neighbouring Great Waltham. This family of landed gentry were the social equals of  the Mildmays and very much the backbone of county life. Sir Capel Luckyn, who succeeded his father, sat as  member of Parliament at various times between 1647 and 1679. More specifically he sat as MP for Hawrich  during the Long Parliament which lasted through the years of the Commonwealth until the Restoration of  Charles II in 1660. 

Sir William Luckyn succeeded to his father’s estates after the death of his elder brother and he was  created a baronet in 1661. He was last of the Luckyn line, his only heir was his daughter Anne. It appears that  after she inherited the title she sold it to John Edwards of Huntingdon who married Susanna, the daughter  of Sir Richard Munden who commanded the naval squadron which retook St Helana from the Dutch in  Mildmay Arms 9 Monument to Sir Willam Luckyn Little Waltham the war of 1673. From him it passed to his son Henry, who was a lawyer of Lincoln’s Inn and a master in  Chancery. He died in 1726. His son and heir, John, sold Little Waltham in 1761 to Daniel Harrington. The  date of Harrington’s death is uncertain, but in 1801 the manor was being administered by his son Thomas.  The admission of William Kirkham as a manorial tenant on 18 June 1801 confirms this and a will of his father  dated from 1795 suggests that he died before the turn of the 18th century.

In 1874 the Lord of the Manor was Rev. Henry Savile Young. He was son of Rev Henry Tufnell Young  and was born in 1843. Henry Tufnell Young married Josephine Savill of Little Waltham and it is possible that  the manor passed to the Young family through this marriage. In 1896 Henry Savile Young sold the Lordship  to Adolphus Maskell and it has remained in the possession of his descendants until the present day.

Documents in the Public Domain Associated with this Lordship:

1415-1415: rental Essex Record Office 

1639-1912: court rolls/books 

1810: schedule of court rolls and rentals 

1813: rental 

1834 rental 

1899: rental 

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Lot #11 of Manorial Services Auction - Fall 2025 - Stephen Johnson

Rutland is England’s smallest county, but nevertheless has a rich manorial history and the Lordship of  Manton can be counted as part of it. The village lies a few miles south of the county town of Oakham and  on the southern shore of Rutland Water, the largest reservoir in England.  

It is thought that Manton formed one of the seven berewicks of the royal manor of Hambleton  Churchsoke. Half of the manor was given separately to Cluny Abbey by Henry I and this remained a  possession of the abbey until its lands were seized by Henry V in 1414. Since Cluny abbey was an ‘alien’ house,  being near Lyon, when England was periodically at war with France, Manton was taken over by the Crown.  This occurred in 1342 when a lease of the manor was made to John de Ufford, a clerk of Edward III who  was also the proctor of the Abbot of Cluny in England. In 1355 Manton was returned to the Abbot and it  was then leased to Nicholas de Tamworth and his wife Joan for the rest of their lives. When the manor was  seized again, in 1377, Nicholas and Joan were allowed to retain it and Joan inherited the whole estate on her  husband’s death.  

Joan’s second husband, Sir Gilbert Talbot, became Lord of Manton in around 1392 and on his death  in 1399 it was granted to Sir Simon Felbrigge. Talbot was the grandfather of the famous warrior knight,  John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. In 1412, the king’s esquire, William Porter obtained a licence to travel to  France to negotiate the purchase of the manor from the Abbot of Cluny and he was unsuccessful but after  the abbey’s English estates were seized by Henry V in 1414, Porter was granted custody of the manor and a  year later it was granted to him in fee by the service of presenting a rose to the king every year. The whole  manor was confirmed on Porter by a grant of 1423 but he sold it soon afterwards to Ralph, Lord Cromwell. 

Cromwell never resided at Manton and instead gifted the estate to the trustees of the Holy Trinity  Almshouses in Tattershall, Lincolnshire which he had founded in 1438. On Cromwell’s death, in 1455, the  grant was confirmed by his heirs, Joan and Maud. Edward IV himself confirmed their ownership by royal grant  in 1478.  

Like almost all religious houses, the almshouses in Tattershall were dissolved under the auspices of  Thomas Cromwell in 1539. Manton was found to have an annual value of £6 2s 7d. It was held by the Crown  until 1545 when it was granted to Charles, Duke of Suffolk. His tenure lasted a few short weeks before his  death and Manton passed to his son, Henry. Henry was just six years old when he died in 1551 and the Suffolk Estates were divided amongst a number of his kin. Manton was finally  awarded to Sir Henry Sidney but he soon sold it to Michael Lewis  of Collyweston in Northamptonshire. He was survived by his wife,  Elizabeth and his brother, Clement who then sold Manton to William  Kirkham of Fineshade. Kirkham then sold it to Roger Dale, a lawyer  of the Inner Temple. However, this appears to have been some kind  of mortgage and Kirkham found himself hauled before the Court  of Star Chamber for financial malpractice. Though he was fined a  colossal £31,000 for divers very heinous practices and great abuses  by him committed this was later reduced to £200. Kirkham, it seems  did not learn a lesson from this continued his crooked ways and the  original fine was re-imposed. It appears that Roger Dale purchased  Manton from Kirkham, knowing of this full well but expecting the  fine to be remitted anyway. Despite King James intervening to remit  the fine in 1609, Kirkham and his son continued their deceits carrying  unconscionable minds not only to defeat their creditors but to trouble  and encomber. Eventually Dale was able to take control of the manor.

This rather troubled period for the manor continued into the 17th century. In 1625 Roger Dale the younger  sued his own mother, Margaret for withholding goods from him which had belonged to his own wife and  for failing to carry out the terms of his father’s will. Eventually the manor passed to his son Charles and he  made a settlement of it in 1656 and it was sold by his four daughters to the Rev. Abraham Wright of Oakham  in 1682. Wright died a few weeks later and his son, James then sold it to a cousin, James Wright. He was a  successful lawyer of the Middle Temple and the author of the History of Rutland, which he published in 1684.  Wright controversially converted to Roman Catholicism during the reign of Charles II and died, unmarried  in 1716. His heirs appear to have been his nieces, Elizabeth Shield and Penelope Smith, who sold the manor  two years before Wrights’ death, in 1714. The purchasers were Thomas Roberts and John Sharpe. It seems as though more sales took place since the Lord of the Manor in 1741 was Kenelm Johnson, Sheriff of Rutland.  He sold Manton to Thomas Jackson.   

The Lordship continued change hands frequently over the next fifty years. In 1821 it was purchased  by George Watson Smyth who passed it to his son, Edward in 1830. On his death in 1869 it descended to  George Bradley and Edward Westwood. From these gentlemen it passed to Benjamin Pulleyne of Headingly  in Yorkshire. It came into the hands of his Trustees in 1907 and later descended to the Nicholson family who  sold it to the family of the present owner in 1989.  

A selection of manorial documents in the public domain:

1473-1474: bailiff’s accounts Kent History and Library Centre 

1491-1492: bailiff’s accounts (2) 

1504-1504: court roll (draft) 

1516-1517: bailiff’s accounts 

1535-1535: survey 

1518-1518: court roll Lincolnshire Archives 

1548-1548: court roll 

1550-1551: court roll 

1563-1563: survey Longleat House 

1757-1757: presentments Burghley House 

1767-1934: court books (3) Leicester and Rutland, Record Office 

1791-1808: court book, with other manors 

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Lot #9 of 'Beaumont Collection' Auction - Nov 1954

Ardleigh lies 5 miles north-east of Colchester, on the road to Manningtree. 

The name is derived from the family of Martell who were under-tenants in the Manor soon after the Domesday Survey, when Geoffrey de Magnaville was Lord. Morant tells us that "in the reign of Henry II, Ralph de Martell held on e Knight's fee here of Geffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex." It passed to Elias Dorewood in 1424 and was left to David Mortimer in 1438. It was bought ninety years later by William Mannock. 

The first General Court Baron of Willian Mannock was held on the 6th November, 1733. In a View of Frank Pledge and General Court Baron under the same Lord in 1738, the Inquisition of the Leet appointed two Constables and we read, "They also chuse Robert Luckin and Ambrose Cooper to be Bread and Ale Tasters within the Precincts of this Manor for the year ensuing." ON 29th December, 1778 is recorded the "View of Frank Pledge and First General Court Baron" of Sir Thomas Mannock, Baronet. Constables and Bread and Ale Tasters were again elected and the Amercements at this Court were only 4d. instead of the customary 6d. in previous Courts. At the next Court (25th November, 1783) Sir George Mannock is Lord and the Court is held before Thomas Brands, Deputy Steward of John Round, who was then Chief Steward. 

After belonging to Abram Newman and William Webb the Lordship was acquired by Alexander Baring, later Lord Ashburton. This family was in possession of the Manor for the rest of the century; the Hon. and Rev. Frederick Baring's first Court was held on the 19th June, 1850 and that of Francis Denzil Baron Asburton on the 8th September, 1892. It was from the latter that the late George Frederick Beaumont purchased the Lordship in 1917. 

Among interesting entries in these records are the presentment on the 3rd October, 1726 of the death of "Sir Ralph Creffield Knight who held of the Lady of the Manor by deed and by fealty suit of Court" properties known as Abells on the Hill, Barbers and 20 acres of arable land abutting upon Barbers Hall, Fillies, and 4 1/2 acres of meadow and two acres of wood abutting upon Barbers Heath. The total of the rents was 17/- and reliefs payable were of a like amount. The Bailiff was commanded to distrain for the same. 

At a Court held on the 6th November, 1798 there are entries which record the power of the Lord to carve up the Common land and create fresh holdings, for which rents had to be paid by the tenants. There were sixteen grants of pieces of Crockleford Heath and three pieces of Smythes Heath, and in some of the grants the "timber and other rights" were reserved to the Lord. This wholesale enclosure of what was formerly Heath land explains why, although Crockleford Heath is marked in large letters on the Ordinance Map of Ardleigh, there is in fact no heath land apart from roadside verges. Barbers Heath and Smythes Heath seem to have been dealt with just as drastically, for their names do not appear at all on the Ordinance Map to remind villagers of their lost open spaces. Had the Commons, Footpaths and Open Spaces Preservation Society been in existence then the greedy Lords would have had opposition to these ruthless enclosures. 

In this Manor the Eldest son succeeded to copyhold properties on the intestacy of a tenant. 

The documents (insured for  £200, premium 10/0 per annum) to be handed over are: 

Court Books: 1726-98; 1798-1815; 1816-41; 1843-92; 1892-1925

Minute Books: 1744-98; 1828-45; 1844-67; 1871-1910

Fee Book: 1848-73

Sundry draft admissions, surrenders, etc. 

The following enfranchisement rent charges issuing out of lands formerly copyhold of the Manor of Bovills  Hall, Ardleigh, are included in the sale of this lot:

(Image detailing two rent charges & tenants - totaling 19s. 5d per annum, payable 1st Jan & 1st July)

It might be interesting to students of old customs and franchises to note here that at a Court held on 28th October, 1754 for the Manor of Bovills Hall, which is not included in this sale, the following entry appears: 

It was presented that William Meakings, a copyhold tenant was accidentally killed by a cart since the last court, whereby the said cart became forfeited to the Lord of the Manor as a deodand for which the widow being poor the Lord compounded for 10/-.

Deodand, a franchise only accruing for the benefit of the Lord if expressly granted by the Crown, was abolished by Act of Parliament in 1846 probably because Railway Directors feared that their trains might be forfeited on the occasion of accidents. 

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Lot #9 of Manorial Services Auction - Winter 2025 - Stephen Johnson

Lying near the head of the River Deben a few miles east of Ipswich, Martlesham the village took its name martles ham (the mooring-place) from its position next to the winding creeks and stream which feed  the river. The Romans came here in the first century BC and there is evidence enough to suggest they had  a settlement here. 

In Domesday the manor was the property of Ranulf and consisted of around 300 acres of demesne along  with a mill, 20 cattle, 27 pigs, 212 sheep and 12 bee hives. These exact numbers illustrate the exacting  details which the Domesday commissioners included in their assessments. In addition there are attributed  to Martlesham, 3 ‘rouncies,’ which is a terms for horses.  

The descent of the manor, also known as Martlesham Hall, is rather obscure after the 11th century, and its  next appearance in the record dates from 1316 when it was held by Richard Brewse. He was the son of Sir  Giles de Brewse and it seems likely that he had held the manor at the end of the 13th century, but this cannot  be established with any certainly. Richard died in 1323 and five years later it was found that the manor was  held by Sir John de Verdon of Brisingham in Norfolk, where his family had resided for many generations.  Verdon was regarded as man of great hospitality and was famed for treating his tenants well and for spreading  his generosity wherever he travelled. It is thought that he was summoned to attend Parliament in the early  years of the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). In 1344 he settled Martlesham on his son Thomas but on his  death in 1346 he was succeeded by his grandson, Sir Thomas. 

 Sir Thomas was still a very young man when he died a few months later and the manor and estate then  passed to his uncle, Sir John de Verdon and his aunt, Maud. After Maud’s death, Sir John remarried, and he  settled Martlesham upon his second wife, Isobel, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Visdelieu of Shelfhanger in  Norfolk. His only child by this marriage was also Isobel, and she married Sir Imbert Noon whereby the manor  passed to him by right of this marriage.

The singularly named Noon sadly appears not to have left much of an impression in the history books  other than his marriage and ownership of Martlesham, which was brief, since he died in 1412. The manor  subsequently passed to his eldest son, Sir Edmund Noon. From Noon’s Parliamentary biography we find that  his family hailed from Tilney, near to King’s Lynn. Noon had fought for Edward III in Gascony in the early  1370s and he was an esquire in the household of Richard, Prince Wales (later Richard II). He held a number of lucrative government sinecures, including the office of gauger of wines in the principal ports of Norfolk.  He seems to have survived the downfall of Richard in 1399 without trouble and he passed into the services  of Henry IV and was assigned to the household and service as steward of Henry’s second son, Thomas of  Lancaster. He was elected as a knight of the shire for Norfolk in 1406 and after his wife’s death a year later  he withdrew from public life and died in 1412. 

 Sir Henry Noon inherited the lordship of Martlesham and his father’s other estates as well as his services  and sinecures. Sir Henry fought with Henry V in France and was granted seisin of the castle and lordship of  Condé-sur-Noireau in Normandy, worth 2,000 écus a year (roughly equivalent to £333). At his death in 1422 he  was the Master of the King’s Horse.  

The Lordship remained in the hands of the Noon family for the rest of the 15th century. In 1531 Sir Thomas  Jermyn of Rushbrooke Hall in Norfolk is recorded as paying relief for the manor. This was likely because his  son-in-law, Francis Noon, who had inherited from his father Henry, was unable to make the payment himself  or was a minor. Thirty years later Francis was involved in a legal action against Roger Warren in connection  with the manor, the details of which are unknown, but it is likely that Noon had taken out a mortgage from  Warren. When he died in 1574 he still had possession of Martlesham and it passed to his son, Thomas. He  was also involved in legal proceedings, against William Pilbrowe in order to recover the title deeds to 100  acres in the manor. Thomas died in 1606. 

Between then and 1639 the manor f passed out of the hands of the Noons, after 200 years of ownership  and it was found to be the possession of William Goodwin at the time of his death in 1639. Having no  children, the manor passed to his brother, John. He died in 1644 when Martlesham descended to his son  John. He married three times and died in 1699 when his estates passed to his third wife, and widow, Elizabeth.  She held the manor in her own right, presenting to the church in 1724 and died in 1736. He son, John  Goodwin became Lord of Martlesham, but died a few years later in 1746. The Lordship eventually passed  to his granddaughter, Anne, who married George Doughty of Theberton Hall, a 20 miles to the north. He is  recorded as Lord of the Manor at the time of his death in 1798. Members of the Doughty family served as  rectors of Martlesham for almost 200 years.  

The Lordship was eventually acquired by the political George Tomline, who established the port of  Felixstowe. After his death in 1889 his estates, including Martlesham and several manors in the area near  Ipswich, passed to his kinsman Ernest Preytman. He was a member of Parliament for Woodbridge in Suffolk  from 1895 to 1906 and served as Civil Lord to the Admiralty from 1900 to 1903. He was made a Privy  Counsellor in 1917. The Lordship remained with the Pretyman family until 1989 when it was sold to the  family of the present holder. There is a large collection of manorial papers connected to this manor held at  Suffolk Archives.

A Selection of Manorial Documents in in the Public Domain:

1413-1460 court rolls Suffolk Archives - Ipswich 

1460-1460: court roll 

1488-1509: court roll 

1500-1600: survey 

1500-1600: rental 

1520-1557: court rolls  

1570-1580: court roll  

1600-1700: suit roll (within minute book) 

1603-1613: court roll Suffolk Archives - Ipswich 

1615-1625: court book 

1619-1619: rental 

1632-1669: court books 

1633-1641: court roll 

1639-1799: steward’s papers 

1644-1739: minute book 

1663-1684: rentals 

1678-1701: court book 

1709-1709: rentals  

1716-1800: court books 

1723-1723: rental 

1745: rentals (2) 

1745-1786: minute book 

1756-1758: rentals (4) 

1784-1799: rentals (3) 

1798-1798: minute book 

1800-1862: steward’s papers, 

1807-1865: minute book 

1807-1917: court book 

1863-1863: rental 

1869-1876: statement of account of profits 

1870-1870: rental 36 

1873-1873: particulars of tenancies 

1879-1882: statement of account of profits 

1880-1903: rentals, with other manors (2) 

1888-1921: minute book 

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Lot #19 of Stanford & Son's 'Second Auction' - Dec 1955

Copinger in his "Suffolk Manors" (vol. 3, page 277) states that this place was among the lands of Ralph, "kept in hand for the King by Goodrich, the Steward, and there was only one manor. It consisted of seven carucates, and 42 acres of land, 33 villeins, 19 bordars, plough teams in demeans and 15 1/2 belonging to the men, 12 acres of meadow, and wood to support 1,000 hogs. Of livestock there were two rounceies, 11 beast, 90 hogs and 35 goats. Also a hamlet with 26 acres, one bordar, and one plough team and Mendlesham later became divided between five Lordships, viz.: 1. Mendlesham, 2. Winchesters, 3. Cordboef's or Free Tent, Corbornes, 4. Bussshes or  Buces alias Busses, 5. Flede Hall or Fledds Hall (or Walkers)."

Henry I granted the Manor to Manasser or Mansey de Danmartin, and in the reign of Henry II, it is said that Odo held it. Hugh de Maundeville sold it to Nicholas de Lewkenore. In 1263 he gave it to his son Sir Roger de Lewkenore. Hugh, son of Otho de Danmartin or  Hugh Fitz-Otho, as he was more usually called, had the Lordship in the early part of the reign of Edward I, for in the 9th year of that reign a patent was granted to him for a market and fair. In 1283 Lady Maud de Botetourt who was Administrator of the Norfolk coast was lady of the Manor; from 1295 the Manor was in the Botetourt and Knivet families, eventually passing to Sir Philip Knivet (see also Manor of Middleton - Lot 13 - for this family). It came later to John Eldred of London who sold it to Ambrose Goodwyn in 1615. Ambrose Goodwyn was the next Lord and he mortgaged the Manor in 1642 to Dame Jane Bacon; it was subsequently vested in Sir Edmund Duke, Bt., and passed to his nephew Edward Tyrell of Gipping, who held it in 1740. Later on it belonged to Charles Tyrell of Plashwood in the parish of Haughley who died on 1st August, 1887. By his will he devised all his manors including this manor to his trustees upon trust for sale. These trustees proved the will and sold the manor in 1892 to Henry Edwards Paine and Richard Brettell for £580, and in the following year Mr. Paine purchased Mr. Brettell's half share. it remained in the hands of Mr. Paine until his death in 1917 and since then has been in the hands of the devisees under his will and their trustees, until recently sold to the present vendor. 

The fines in this manor were "arbitrary" i.e. based upon annual value instead of "certain." 

The custom of descent in the manor was Borough-English, ie. the youngest, instead of the eldest son, succeeding on intestacy. An illustration of the seizure of a property belonging to a copyhold tenant can be found in the proceedings at a Court held on the 30th August, 1834: 

"Also at this Court...the Right Hon. John Minet Major  Baron  Henniker...who held to him and his heirs Lands and Tenements...lately died seized thereof - Whereupon comes into Court the Hon. William Chafe Esquire, youngest son and heir according to the custom of this manor...duly authorised by leave of the Court and by his said attorney prays the Lord of this manor to admit him Tenant to the Premises..." 

The records contain proceedings relating to many distinguished Suffolk families. A document is enrolled dated 4th January, 1864, from which it appears that Sir John Major Henniker (3rd Baron Henniker) became entitled to certain copyhold properties in the manor and on his death in 1832, without having barred the estate tail, his son inherited. By a deed dated January 5th, 1837 (made between the son, then Baron Henniker), Sir Edward Kerrison and Ann Kerrison, the Hon. Major Henniker and George Simon Harcourt, the Right Hon. John Edward Cornwallis (Earl of Stradbroke), the Hon. Philip Henry Stanhope (commonly called Viscount Mahon) and Edward Clarence Kerrison made before the marriage of Baron Henniker and Ann Kerrison certain properties were settled on the Earl of Stradbroke and John  Heaton upon trusts to secure an annuity of £3,000.

The records include the making of the 5th proclamation (only three proclamations were necessary) for the heirs of Mary Ann Roper to come in and be admitted to the testator's property. Upon failure of the heir to attend the court, pay customary dues, and be admitted to the property in question, a precept was usually issued to the Bailiff of the manor to sieze the property into the hands of the Lord for want of a tenant." The property then became the Lord's own freehold, though occasionally at a later Court he re-granted the property to a belated claimant as an act of grace. The property then reverted to copyhold tenure. 

At the same Court as is referred to above there is an entry of the appointment of Harriet Wilson, wife of the Rev. Robert Wilson of Ashwell Thorpe, widow, as Guardian of the person and lands of John G. Sheppard until he should attain the age of 21, when the Guardian would have to render a true account of her Guardianship. This shows how closely the Lord of the Manor was associated with the every day life of his tenants. It might be mentioned that in some manors, though not apparently in this, the Lord was entitled to the whole or part of the income from the tenant's estate during his minority. 

The following are a few other instances of entries in the records: 

14th Jan., 1876: James Whistlecarft produced an Absolute Surrender from Sophia Hall, of Mendlesham, of 11 acres, all lands, buildings, etc.

20th Oct., 1891: A Deed to Bar an estate tail was presented by one of the  Henniker family. 

29th March, 1893: John Carnham a copyhold tenant having died, and no one claiming his property, the 3rd default is recorded and the warrant of seizure awarded.

20th July, 1893: Warrant of seizure awarded in respect of property purhcased by William Brandish from the executors of Charles Arbin.

It is of interest to note that a certain Richard Pizzey of Gipping, Yeoman, was admitted to five acres of land adjoining lands of the "Vicaridge of Mendlesham" at a Court held on 13th October, 1757, and that the very last entry in the current Court Book is a receipt dated 7th May, 1934, given to Victor Pizzey of Mendlesham, Butcher, for £19 18s. 4d. This receipt is signed by the present vendor, who was then steward of the manor. There is, therefore, an interval of 177 years between the first Pizzey to be mentioned and the last, which shows the value of these old records for genealogical purposes. 

In the Volume covering the year 1735-1764 the following is written on the inside of the top cover: 

"The Customes:

• The youngest is heir.
• The two Annall Courts held for this Manor according to the Custome thereof are kept on the Thursday after Saint ffaith and on Monday fforghtnight after Easter called Hor Monday.
• 
  

Note: Saint ffaith is always on the 6th day of October and Hor Monday is the second Monday after Easter Monday.

Rot. Sparrow, Steward." 

Records to be handed over are:

Court Books: 1735-64; 1765-97; 1797-1829; 1895-1934

Book containing particulars of Admissions granted 1893-1909

Enfranchisements agreed upon 1893-1905

Rentals Book: 1921

Particulars of Tenants, etc.: 1892-1906

Copy: Confirmed Apportionment of tithe for Mendlesam 1839

Map: of the Parish of Mendlesham, 57in by 40in traced at the Board of Agriculture from 2nd class tithe map 1893 upon which are marked numerous copyhold properties and inset is an enlarged plan of the village. 

Ordinance Survey map: (1886 edition) showing the village, Mendlesham Hall, Poplar Farm, Park Farm, Blue House, Hill Farm and Denter's Hill.

Insurance of Records £350, premium 17/6 p.a.

Commencement of Title: Deed dated 4th November, 1892.  

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Lot #31 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

THE FIRST records for this Lordship show that it was in the possession of the family which gave it its name. During the reign of King John (1199-1216) it was held by Peter d Mere. From him it passed to his son, Walter who in turn passed it to his son, Geoffrey. 

Mere remained within the Mere family until the reign of Henry III (1216-1272) when it was found to be the property of Roger de Leyborne. An entry in the Patent Rolls for 1268 records that Roger de Leyborne should hold in fee for all his hereditaments and tenements in gavelkinde, in Rainham, Upchurch and Herclep, of the King, by the service of the fourth part of a knight’s fee. Leyborne was an important man in Kent. He was warden of the cinque ports and heir to his father’s considerable estates. He inherited Mere in 1251, the same year in which he killed Arnold de Montigny at a joust. Though he expressed his sorrow and claimed that it had been an accident, it was found that his lance’s point was not covered by a socket, as it should have been. He was then under suspicion of murder because de Montigny had broken Leyborne’s leg in a previous joust. In penance he assumed the cross and took a pardon from the king, whom he accompanied to Gascony in 1253. By this time he was an intimate friend of Edward, later Edward I, and went with him on the many jousts the Prince enjoyed in England and France. In 1260 he went with Edward to France and there received grant of the Lordship of the Manor of Eltham. On his return the Queen, Eleanor of Provence grew jealous of Leyborne’s friendship with Edward and she stirred up the Exchequer to look into his finances. He was falsely found to owe £1,000 and this was demanded for immediate payment. A writ was issued against him and goods were seized from Mere and other estates; then the estates were seised as a whole. Stripped of all his income, Leyborne took to marauding and forcibly placed his son as Lord of the Manor of Detling. Not long after this he joined the Baronial party in opposition to Henry. Led by Simon de Montford, the barons cut a swathe across England. Leyborne however, was approached by Edward and he reverted to his previous loyalty after being made a steward of the royal household. As the Barons continued to press, Leyborne commanded a Royal army at the siege of Rochester but was badly wounded during an action there. After de Montford’s triumph a the Battle of Lewes in May 1264, Leyborne was captured but freed on condition he attended de Montford’s Parliament. Leyborne refused and joiKned in a royalist army which tried to free Edward from imprisonment at Wallingford Castle. 

In 1265 Leyborne and Roger de Clifford were given passes to visit Edward and they helped the future king escape. He joined the Prince at the battle of Evesham at which the Crown regained control of the state. After de Montford’s party had finally been defeated Leyborne was well rewarded with 13 manors and was given wardship of over Idonea de Veteripont, co-heiress of the Barony of Westmoreland. He died in 1271.

After Leyborne’s death Mere descended to his son, Sir William, who is noted as possessing 200 acres of pasture and 300 acres of wood. It is recorded that Sir William held the Lordship of Mere by the service of walking principal Lardner at the King’s coronation. It is not known whether this service was performed.

After the death of Sir William, in 1330, Mere then passed to his granddaughter, Juliana. Such was the size of her inheritance that she was given the nickname, the Infanta of Kent. She was married three times and all three husbands died before her. Unfortunately she had children from none of them so on her death in 1368, she died siesed of the estate. Remarkably no one could be found with any familial claim to the estate so all her lordships, including Mere, were escheated to the Crown. It therefore became a possession of Edward III (1327-1377) and then Richard II (1377-1399). During the latter’s reign it was then purchased by John, Duke of Lancaster who granted out its use to Simon de Burley. He died in 1387 and the interest came to the Deans and Canons of Westminster Abbey who were granted the rents and profits from the Lordship.

This gift was confirmed by Letter Patent in 1398 and the canons continued in possession of it until the reign of Edward VI (1553-1558) when the priory was dissolved by a special Act of Parliament. Once more the Lordship was in the hands of the Crown. Here it remained for only a short while before being granted out to Sir Thomas Cheney, treasurer of the Royal household. He died in 1558 and Mere then passed to his son Henry Cheney of Toddington. He then alienated his entire estate to his kinsman, Richard Thornhill, in 1675.

On the death of Richard Thornhill, Mere passed to his son, Samuel. He was succeeded by his second son, Sir John Thornhill, of Bromley in Kent and in turn his son, Charles, sold Mere, during the reign of Charles II (1660-1685) to Sir John Banks. He then sold it on to John Tufton, the Earl of Thanet. His descendent, Lord Hothfield is the current Lord of the Manor of Mere.

Mere lies in the parish of Rainham, three miles east of Gillingham.

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Lot #18 of 'Beaumont Collection' Auction - Nov 1954

in the Parish of Glemsford

This Manor is in the same Parish as the manor sold under Lot 17. 

About the time of Henry VII it was held by the Methwolds family and we are told by Copinger (Vol. I, p. 106) that amongst the Charters in the Bodleian will be found a note that a Court of the Manor of "Methowlds and Wimbolds hold the Tuesday of the feast of St. Dionysius 7 Henry VIII 1515) by William Medewold Esq., a grant was made to Margery Jakis, widow of one tenement called 'culstone' with a garden etc. by the service of 6/8 annually and one capon." 

William Methwold, or Medewold, as he is so often referred to in records, sold the Manor and all his lands called Methwold's and Wimbold's to John Smith. In 1569 it was sold by George Smith with the Manor of Callis to John Allen. 

Copinger does not trace the history of the Manor further than to say that "Sir Isaac Appleton in 1598 obtained this Manor from Thomas (Appleton or Allen?) and died seised in 1608 leaving a son, Isaac Appleton, who died without issue." 

Although it is in fact one with Methwods and Wimbolds, Copinger treats Callis separately. "Little is known," he said, "regarding this small Manor. It was no doubt called after the Caley's family who for many generations held land in Glemsford." The will of Thomas Caleys, dated 1439, is amongst the Suffolk Charters, etc., and we are told that there is also a note of a grant from the Manor of "Calsis" (1509) in Glemsford to Walter Toppyng of land opposite "Mille Streete." As mentioned above, John Allen bought Callis from George Smith in 1569 and thereafter the history of this Manor is the same as that of the other two Manors and, until the date of the earliest of our Court Records, about as indefinite. There is no doubt, however, that all three Manors were united into one by the time of the first of these entries, and that dated 1726 shows Samuel Warner as the Lord of the Manor of "Callis Metholds and Wimbolds in Glemsford in the County of Suffolk." Subsequent Lords included Sirt Thomas Bunbury, Bart., Job Hanmer (1788) and Joseh Lee (1847). Towards the end of the Century it had been acquired by Durrant Edward Cardinall who sold it in 1888 to Joseph Beaumont of Coggeshall.

The Custom of descent was to the eldest son. 

The Manorial documents (insured for £200, premium 10/- per annum) to be handed over are: 

Court Books: dated 1725-60; 1764-88; 1791-46; and 1847-1919.

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Lot #9 of Manorial Services Auction - Winter 2024 - Stephen Johnson

(In association with Strutt & Parker)

Many manors were created after 1066 by a process known as sub-infeudation. A large manorial  estate was divided into two or more estates and the feudal characteristics which made up a ‘manor’ were  transferred to the new manor which became self administering. This process can be seen in the creation of  the Lordship of the Manor of Michaelotts, which lies in the Cambridgeshire parish of Linton, a few miles from  the county town. This was created in around 1267 by Sir Simon de Furneaux from his manor of Barham. He took 60 acres of demesne and 50 acres of tenant’s land to create a new Lordship which was held by a knight’s  fee from the Lords of Barham and was granted to his son Michael.

The Furneaux family had held Barham since the Norman invasion and the manor formed part of the  Honour of Richmond. They remained landowners in the parish until the 1370s, but Michaelotts (Michael’s Lot) was conveyed by Michael de Furneaux in the late 13th century to Simon de St Omer who then granted  it to his brother, Ralph, in 1315. The family of de St Omer could trace their lineage to 11th century Normandy  and a Baron of that name had come to England with The Conqueror. They had a number of estates in the  east of England, including Brundale and Thraston in Norfolk. 

The descent of the manor in the 14th century is a little obscure but in 1397 it was found to be in  the possession of Nicholas Parys (Paris) who owned the largest manor in the parish, namely Linton. He died in 1425 and his lands passed to his nephew, Henry Parys. His son was aged just 3 years old when his father died in 1427 and at his death in 1466 his own son Robert was also a minor. He lived until 1504 when he was succeeded by his son John. His son and heir, Philip was treasurer to Bishop Gardiner during the 1530s and became a wealthy courtier. In the same decade he purchased the wardship of Anne Bolyen’s cousin,  Edward Bolyen, which allowed him an income from Bolyen’s land and gave him the right to marry the young  man to whomever he chose. In 1540 he was given the lucrative position of receiver-general of the Court of  Augmentations and married Edward to his own daughter, Agnes. Parys was a staunch Catholic and on the  accession of Mary in 1553 was knighted after publicly disavowing the crowning of Lady Jane Grey.

Philip was succeeded in his estates at Linton, including the Lordship of Michaelotts, by his grandson, Robert but he died whilst still a minor in 1572. The title therefore passed to Sir Philip’s younger son, Ferdinand  who died in 1601. It descended then to his eldest son, Philip who died in 1617. His heir was his eldest son, Charles, who was still a child. He appears not to have married and died without having had children in 1658. The family remained Catholics and Charles was fined by the Commonwealth government in the 1650s, but did not have his estates seized. There is no record of him having taken par t in the Civil War. His brother and heir, John, was also fined as a papist and a royalist and was forced to raise a mor tgage on the Linton estates from two Londoners, Robert Tempest and John Carter, who are briefly named as Lords of the Manor. John died in 1667, having taken back control of his lands and Michaelotts passed to his son Philip. 

Philip Parys was the last male member of this long lived family and he died without leaving an heir, in  1672. His lands and estates were sold to pay off his debts but Michaelotts was retained by Philip’s mother, Anne, and her husband, Sir Joseph Colston. The Parys estate was then bought by Sir Thomas Sclater. Born in  Halifax, Sclater attended Trinity College, Cambridge and became a doctor of medicine in 1649. In 1659 he was elected to the third and final Protectorate Parliament but supported the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, for which he was created a baronet in the same year. He became a wealthy man in the 1660s and bought Catley Park in Linton and later Michaelotts in 1677.  

Scalter was Lord of the Manor for only a few years before his death in 1684. He settled his lands on Thomas, the son of the his nephew Edward Sclater. Edward trained as a lawyer and through his many  connections sat as Member of Parliament for Bodmin in Cornwall from 1713. Though a relatively wealthy  man in his own right, Thomas married Elizabeth Bacon who appears to have been his own ward. She was the heir of a London merchant who had purchased considerable estates in Huntingdonshire. Unusually, Edward adopted her surname and at the time of his death, in 1736, was said to have been worth £200,000; around  £25 million today. It was reported at the time that he died not having made a will but this was later shown  to be incorrect when a will of 1724 was produced leaving his estates to a ‘kinswoman’ Sarah, the wife of his  coachman, Edward King, and her two sons.  

Both Robert King or his brother Thomas, appear to have earned the reputation of being disreputable.  His life was described by the Reverend William Cole in the 1740s; 

He was at college when he inherited, and was married while at school to a porter’s daughter in Bishopsgate-street, a very good sort of woman and makes him an admirable wife. His son by her died about 1746. Mr. King’s  father was a coachman and the estate came to his family by means of his wife. Mr. King died of drink at Bath in  1749.

His brother, Thomas faired little better and had run through the for tune by 1777. By this time the Linton estate, including Michaelotts had been sold to Thomas Bromley, Lord Montfort. In 1772 it was  sold again, to Edmund Keene, Bishop of Ely. It then passed to his son, Benjamin, who died in 1837 and was  succeeded by his son, the Revd. Charles Edmund Ruck-Keene in 1837. He died in 1880 and Michaelotts passed to his son, Edmund. At his death in 1888 the manor came to his son, Capt. Charles Edmund Ruck-Keene who sold the Catley Park estate in 1904 to Sir Walter Henry Wilkin, retaining the lordships of the manor, which passed on his death in 1919 to his daughter Olive, who married Lt. N. Nightingale in 1936. The  family sold the title in 1987 to David Broad. 

Documents in the Public Domain Associated with this Lordship:

1577-1577: terrier, Cambridgeshire Archives 

1775-1775: notes  

1800-1850: notes relating to a terrier 

1800-1850: copy of a terrier 

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Lot #2 of Manorial Services Auction - Fall 2025 - Stephen Johnson

Few manors can be traced back to before the Norman Conquest of 1066 but Micklefield is one that can. Lying the in parish of Rickmansworth, the manor is said to have been granted to the abbey of St Albans by  King Offa, who was King of Mercia from 757 to 796. The grant was made in 793 and is recorded on the  Arundel Manuscripts.  

The descent of the manor, which is also known as Micklefield Hall, in the centuries after this is in not really understood but it appears that the manor passed from the Abbey to local landowners in the 12th and  13th Centuries with the latter remaining as overlords. It is likely that the abbots would have leased out the manor rather than administered it themselves and eventually one of their lessees purchased it. Thomas de  Micklefield is recorded as Lord in 1308 and that he held it from the Abbot. 50 years later it was found to be a possession of John de Chilterne when he settled the manor on his grandsons Richard de Hemington and  John de Radeswelle with the remainder to Henry and Pain, sons of John de Chilterne, and others in tail male  (i.e. limited to male inheritance). By 1392 the Lordship had come into the hands of Henry de Chilterne from  who it passed to his daughter Katherine and ultimately to her husband, William Creke. 

William was succeeded by his son William and then by his son, Thomas, in turn, in 1475. In 1518 Thomas, and his brother John, sold Micklefield to Sir Rober t Brudenell but merely as a device to settle the manor on Thomas’ son, William and then upon his son, John de Creke. When John died, a relatively young  man, he left three young sons; William, Stephen and Bonaventure and at this point the Abbot of St Albans,  Robert Catton (who had succeeded Thomas Wolsey) claimed custody of the boys and claiming that the  manor was held from him by knight service. The boys’ mother, Joan, disputed the claim, arguing that the manor  was held in socage, essentially free of feudal duties. She wrote to Thomas Cromwell that,

four score years ago the then abbot of St. Albans had, wrongfully, my husband’s grandfather to his ward. When he was fourteen years old the abbot sold him to a fishmonger of London, who kept him two years. The child then ran away from the fishmonger to a knight, Sir Davy Philip, who married him to Mr. St. John’s daughter,  of Kent. The friends of the wife sued the abbot, and proved that he was not his ward, when the abbot gave him,  in recompense for the injury, a farm called Ballards beside Luton, and when the young man was dissatisfied, the  abbot made him master of his game.  

In 1537 the two par ties made a private agreement whereby the abbot gave up his custody claim.The agreement was, in any case, voided by the dissolution of the Abbey in 1539.

In 1551 the manor was settled on Joan, and her second husband, Thomas Bright for the remainder of their lives and hence it would pass to her son, Stephen Creke. In 1573 Stephen sold Micklefield to William Revett and 18 years later, Revett’s son, Thomas, was lord of the manor. The Revetts were responsible for  building The Great Barn at Micklefield Hall, which still stands today. Thomas later sold the manor to John Robinson. This family remained as Lords of Micklefield for the next hundred years. 

In 1700 Sir John Robinson sold the manor to John Merrick, whose son, John, sold it to John Putnam 12 years later. Putnam remained as Lord of the Manor for just five years, selling Micklefield, along with its pew in the parish church, to William Emmott. He rebuilt the existing manor house and had it designed by one of  the leading architects of the 18th Century, Sir John Soane, who is remembered as the architect of both the  Bank of England and 10 Downing Street. Emmott also had the Great Barn moved from nearby Micklefield Green to the Hall Estate. Emmott held onto the property and it passed to his son Thomas, who, on his death  in 1774 left it to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband, Joseph Skidmore.  

Joseph Skidmore was a malt manufacturer from Rickmansworth, having inherited the thieving  business from his father. This was situated at Mill End in the parish and the family also owned three pubs in  the town. In 1844 their son Thomas sold the manor to Thomas Clutterbuck and the manor then descended with his descendants until 1987. 

A document associated with this manor and found in the Public Domain:

1350 Rental, British Library 

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Lot #13 of Stanford & Son's 'Second Auction' - Dec 1955

Middleton lies 3 1/2 miles south-east of Kings Lynn, in the Hundred of Freebridge, on the road to Swaffham. 

In Saxon times, according to Blomefield (Vol. IX, p. 20), it (Middleton) belonged to Bundo, a Thane, who was deprived of it at the Conquest when it was given to Hugh de Montfort and Aeled held it of him. "There were 2 carucates of land, 12 villains, 17 borderers, 4 servi etc. with 32 acres, and 2 carucates in demean; there were also 3 carucates among the tenants, a mill, a fishery, and 10 salt-works; then valued in all at 100s. at the survey at 6L per ann. and 2 socmen belonged to it who had 84 acres, and a carucate, who held under him, valued at 5s. and they could sell their land." 

The main manor was Scales Hall and Blomefield devotes eight pages to its most interesting history, which cannot begiven here in full. It's devolution, so far as given by him, was under:

Henry II. Roger de Scales was Lord

13 King John. His son Robert gave £59 for scutage

19 Henry III. Robert (having married Margery 3rd daughter and coheir of Fulk de Beaufoe, (Lord of Hockwold) "was found to hold half a fee in this town, of the honour of Hagenet or Haughley in Suffolk (this manor sold in the First Auction) and was summoned to parliament by the title of Lord Scales." 

34 Hen. III. His son Robert paid £21 5s. relief for the lands he held in capite.

51 Hen. III. This Robert died and "Sir William de Clifford escheator on this side of the Trent accounted for £31 8s. 4d. issues of the land of Robert de Scales in this  town and Reynham in Norfolk and Wridlington in Suffolk, for the use of Joan of Britannia." 

52 Hen. III. His son Robert was found to be the King's ward. His mother Alice was daughter of Sir Ralph de Rochester. She brought into the family the Manor of Neweels or Newcells and Reevehall (Rivinghale or Rivenhall) in Essex, which, sold in the first Auction, was known as Rivenhall Hall. 

3 Edw. I. Alice was alive and recovered damage for her swans being taken out of her Lordships of Hockwold and Wilton.

22 Edw. I. Another Robert "had summons to be at Portsmouth to attend the King into Gascoign."

23 Edw. I. "He was summoned to be at Carlisle with horse and arms in an expedition into Scotland." 

33 Edw. I. "He died seized of this lordship, by one fee and an half, and paying 45s. to the castle guard of Dover. His lady Isabel was a great benefactress to the Priory of Blackburg, where she was buried, and gave a silver chesible, with several vestments for the priests, with her arms thereon, and ornaments, etc., to lay over the sepulcher on the day of her anniversary." 

At this Blomefield, from whose work all the above is extracted, says that he is "sensible that his account of the family differs much from that of Sir WIlliam Dugdale in his  Baronage, but as it is collected from ancient evidences only, I am persuaded it may be acceptable." He continues tracing the devolution of the Manor with the following: 

34 Edw. I. Robert Lord Scales, son of Robert and Isabel, created Knight of the Bath with Prince Edward.

1 Edw. II. Summoned to attend his coronation.

9 Edw. II. Robert's mother, on his marriage to Egelina, daughter of Sir Hugh Courtney and sister of Hugh Courtney, Earl of Devonshire, settled on the pair the Manors of Scales-How and Islington.

18 Edw. II. This Robert died leaving a son of the same name of whom in the same year "his mother, paying 200 marks, had a grant of custody," he being then a minor.

7 Edw. III. The young Robert had livery.

9 Edw. III. William de Littleford, rector of Revenhall (Rivenhall) in Essex delivered seisin to him and Catherine his wife, daughter of Robert, sister and co-heir of William de Ufford Ear of Suffolk. Later Robert "had the King's writ to provide 10 men at arms and 10 archers to be sent into Brittany for the honour of his King and Country; and if he would go himself with them, the King would be mightily pleased."

31 Edw. III. "He was summoned to come immediately at the siege of Calais, not staying for the embarkement of his horses, with all the power he could raise, the King fearing that the French King would come with all his power to raise the siege." 

This and other entries go to show that the ownership of Manors in those days was no sinecure, but the King was not necessarily satisfied with a given number of archers and cross-bowmen; sometimes he demanded personal service. While this summons was in gracious language, failure to obey might have serious consequences.

30 Edw. III. The same Robert "had letters of protection, being to accompany the Prince of Wales into Gascoign, and give to the priory of Blackburgh, the church of Islington.

43 Edw. IV. He died leaving Roger his son and heir, aged 22.

4 Rich. II. He had the misfortune to be "seized by the Norfolk rebels and four years later was summoned to meet the King at Newcastle-on-Tyne, with his whole service of horse and arms, as by allegiance bound, to attend him into Scotland." 

9 Rich. II. Next year he was with John, Duke of Lancaster, in the Spanish expedition, so like his father he must have had his fill of military service for King and Country.

10 Rich. II. He died in this year and was buried in the Priory of Blackburgh possessed of the Manor and leaving Robert, aged 14, his son and heir by Joan, daughter and heir of Sir Robert Norwood, of Norwood in Kent. His widow afterwards married Sir Edmund Thorpe of Ashwell-Thorpe in Norfolk. Thus there is a link with another notable Norfolk family, which according to Blomefield (vol. V, pp. 142-169), seems to go back to Earl Eustace, shown as fifth in the list of Holders of Lands at the Survey.  His name is preceded only by the Conqueror himself, the Bishop of Bayeaux, the Count of Mortain and Count Alan. The Thorpe family followed by the Berners, Bouchiers, Knivet (Knyvet) and Wilson families. They were Lords not only of the Manor of Ashwelthorpe, but also of Wreningham, Fundenhall and Hapton down to the time when they were conveyed to the late George Frederick Beaumont in 1919 (see Particulars of Sale of the first Auction Lots 23 and 24).  The Manors of Ashwelthorpe and Wreningham were sold at the auction to Mrs. Anderson-Wilson of East Barsham Manor, Norfolk, and it is believed that she is a descendant of the Roger Wilson who married Elizabeth Knyvet, grand-daughter of Sir Thomas Knyvet the writer, while a prisoner of the Roundheads at Lowestoft, of "The Knyvet Letters" (Constable &* Col, 1949) referred to in the Particulars of Sale mentioned above. A descent of the Manors from the Conquest to the present day, with a break of only 35 years in the present century - if the compiler's information is correct - is surely remarkable and surpasses even the long connection of the Scales family with this Manor of Middleton. 

1415. Joan Thorp, mentioned above before this digression, died in this year and was buried at Ashwelthorpe. She gave her Manor to her son Robert, Lord Scales. His heir Robert died unmarried and Blomefield surmises that he was the Lord Scales said to have been "killed with the Lord Darcy and Sir Edmund Thorp at the siege of Lovers Castle in Normandy on the march of King Henry V from Caen to the city of Rouen."

9 Hen. V. Robert succeeded his brother, had to supply 20 men at arms and 60 archers on horseback and went on active service like his forbears and is said to have behaved gallantly in the field. He became Seneschall of Normandy. 

77 Hen. VI. "He was taken prisoner in France and redeemed." He married Emme, daughter of Sir Simon Whalesborough.

38 Hen. VI. He, with other Lords, took possession of the Tower of London for the King, but after the battle of Northampton he was killed endeavoring to escape from the Tower towards Westminster. Later the Manor got into the hands of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford

1635. Sir John Heveningham was Lord.

Sir Wm. Paston Bt. was Lord in 1649 and paid castleward to Dover Castle for the Manor. Richard Berney of Reedham was Lord at hi death in 1699; he held many manors in the County. 

Isaac le Heup was next Lord, followed by two daughters, one of whom married Sir Edward Williams Bt., of Wales, and the other, Elizbeth, John Lloyd of Epping in Essex. Sir Edward sold the Manor in 1757 to Vice-Admiral Savage Mostyn who, dying in 1757, left it to his nephew Roger Mostyn, Bt. Subsequently it came to Henry Edwards Paine by purchase and thence to his trustees to the present vendors. 

Among many interesting entries of Courts Baron are the following: 

26th October 1738

Lord: Isaac le Heup

Steward: Christopher Bedingford

Thomas Shoone was presented for felling 3 ash trees and 9 elm trees being timber trees standing in north Runcton upon six acres of land copyhold of the Manor. 

20th March, 1752

Lord: Isaac le Heup

Steward: Philip Case

The Right Hon. George, Earl of Orford (sp?) acknowledged that the held of the Lord in free and common socage 17 acres of land by fealty suit of court and the annual rent of sixpence and paid sixpence for a relief. 

27th October, 1762

Thomas Wright forfeited a cottage for failure to keep it in a satisfactory state of repair. 

23rd April, 1777 

Elizabeth Carey, widow, of Middleton given a license by the Lord to enclose 8 perches of waste land lying between the lands of Edward Everard Esquire East the Almshouses, of Middleton West, and the King's Highway South and to build a cottage thereon. She had to pay 1/0 to the Lord as an acknowledgement for the license, 2/6 to the present steward for entering it in the Court Book, and it was recorded that on any future death or alienation a like sum would be payable to the Steward for the time being of the Manor. 

2nd July, 1829

Lord: Not stated

Steward: L.W. Jarvis

Robert Bone and Charles Bone were presented because since the holding of the last Court they have "erected two cottages or tenements on the waste land belonging to this Manor." 

Records to be handed over are:

Court Books: 1672-91; 1693-1723; 1726-63; 1768-1829; 1830-85; 1896-1929

Minute Books: 1753-88; 1814-36

Rental: 1928

Insurance of Records: £350, premium 17/6 p.a.

Commencement of Title: Deed dated 10th February 1893

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Lot #32 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

THIS LORDSHIP lies in the most northern part of the old county of Westmorland. Now a parish in its own right, Milburn, measuring some 7,955 acres, originally formed part of the vast parish of Kirkby Thore. Milburn receives is name from there being a water-mill on the stream which runs through the village. Its boundary with Cumberland is formed by the river known as Blencarn Beck. In the parish is an place called Green Castle, a round earthen fortification, surrounded with deep trenches. This was evidently a Roman fort since an alter was later found here bearing the inscription, DEO SILVANO. Also in the parish is Howgill Castle, which was home to various Lords of the Manor of Milburn. Though called a castle is was more like a fortified manor house. It stands on an impressive mountain elevation and in some places the wall are up to ten feet thick. It fell out of use as a fortification in the 15th century and was for a long time used as a winter barn for farm animals.

The first mention of the Lordship of Milburn occurs during the reign of King John, when it was held by William de Stuteville, Baron of Westmorland. His son, Nicholas granted it to Robert Veteripont. It appears that during one of the many wars between England and Scotland at this time, Milburn came into the hands of Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, and he was found to be holding the Lordship in 1309. As well as being the tenth Earl of Dunbar he was also the second earl of March. He was a fierce adherent of England and Milburn may well have been granted to him after some useful service to his southern peers. Given that the border between England and Scotland was fairly fluid at that time many English Lords owned estates north of this and vice versa, it is no surprise to find a Scottish peer holding an English Lordship. Dunbar proved such a friend of England that after the disastrous defeat of Bannockburn in 1314, Edward II sheltered at Dunbar Castle, before returning to London. Shortly after this however, Dunbar came to terms with the Scottish leader, Robert Bruce. The nature of mediaeval politics was to forgive powerful nobles and Dunbar appeared at the Scottish Parliament at Ayr which settled the succession of the Scottish Crown. For the next 15 years Dunbar provided loyal support for Robert and his successor, David II. This change of heart meant that when war again broke out with England Dunbar was fighting with his compatriots. He helped to capture Berwick Castle and commanded one of David’s armies at the battle of Dupplin. As governor of Berwick Castle he oversaw its defence against Edward III. After the Scots defeat at Halidon Hill in 1333 Dunbar put himself at the mercy of Edward and he commanded a garrison of English troops at Dunbar castle. In the next year he changed sides again, renouncing the English King, this time for the remainder of his life. When Edward mounted an invasion of Scotland in 1337, Dunbar was called to arms. He commanded the left wing of the Scottish army at Durham. This defeat for the Scots led to the capture of David and Dunbar used his influence to try to obtain the king’s release. During this campaign, Dunbar’s wife, known from her swarthy complexion as Black Agnes, undertook a spirited defence of Dunbar Castle. 

When David was released by Edward, Dunbar was one of the group of Scottish nobles who took his place as sureties. Later David rewarded Dunbar with land and grants. For a reason lost to history, Dunbar rebelled against David in 1363 but this was quickly suppressed and Dunbar was stripped of his titles. He died in 1369, known simply as Sir Patrick Dunbar.

The Earl’s decision to support his fellow Scots against England meant that the Lordship of Milburn was taken from him and granted to Bertrine de Johnby and Robert de Vallinbus. From them it came into the possession of the Lancaster family, who resided at Howgill Castle in Milburn. This family were the feudal Lords of Kendal and had descended from Ivo Tailbois, one of the knights who arrived in England with William the Conqueror. The Howgill Lancasters had descended from Roger, bastard brother of William de Lancaster, the third Baron of Kendal. John de Lancaster held Milburn until 1352 when, on his death it passed to his eldest son, Sir William . In 1360 he received a licence from the bishop of Carlisle for a chaplain for that year for his family. He died in 1399 and Milburn passed to his son, also Sir William. From him it passed to his son Sir John de Lancaster, who represented Westmorland in the Parliaments of Henry IV (1399-1413). In an inquisition of 1423 it was found that Sir John held Milburn from John, Lord Clifford for an annual rental of 21s 8d. He died during the reign of Henry VI (1422-1461) leaving for daughters as co-heirs. From this partition Milburn passed to Elizabeth, who was married to Robert Crackenthorpe. Their son and heir was Ambrose Crackenthorpe who had been one of the arbiters of Henry V in a dispute between the king and Hugh Machel over the alleged beating of a chantry priest at Crackenthorpe parish. After the death of Ambrose Milburn passed to his brother Anthony. On his death the estate was again divided between daughters and this Lordship passed to the eldest daughter, Anne. She was married to Sir Thomas Sandford of Askham. When their son, Richard, succeeded to the Sandford’s considerable estates, he removed to family to Howgill Castle in Milburn. He was succeeded in the Lordship by his son, the eldest of 18 children, Sir Thomas Sandford. His grandson, Sir Thomas was created a baronet but was murdered in 1675.  

From the Sandfords this Lordship of Milburn passed to the Honywood family and then was purchased by the Earls of Thanet. The current descendent of this family, Lord Hothfield is the present Lord of the Manor of Milburn.

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Lot #26 of 'Beaumont Collection' Auction - Nov 1954

Blomefield, in his history of the Antiquities of Norfolk writes very little about this Manor. He does not even mention the primary title of Mills on the Moor, but refers to the Manor merely as Great Fransham. In Domesday Book it is spelt "Frandesham," and it was one of the Manors allotted to Earl Warren. At an Inquisition in 1275, Sir William de Fransham was found to be Lord and to have the assize of bread and beer. 

Apart from the ordinary General Customary Courts and Courts Baron there are enrolled in the Court Books of this Manor a number of Courts Leet. One of these is quoted in full below: 

(See original catalogue, page 38, for this image)

The price of wheat appears from other entries to have varied considerably from yar to year. At Courts Leet held on 4th December, 1788, 1st February, 1789, 14th March 1791, 20th January, 1792, 2nd December, 1794, and 1st December, 1795, it appears that the values were 42/-, 52/-, 48/-, 44/-, 48/- and 60/- respectively. 

In addition to the appointment of Constables, of which examples are given above, Pindars for the Towns and Parishes of Great and Little Fransham were appointed "for the year ensuing or until another shall be appointed in his stead." 

The Manor passed from the Rt. Hon. Harriot, Dowager Countess of Essex, to Arthur Algenon Capel, Esq., who held his first Court of 30th January, 1822. He later became Earl of Essex and it was from him that John Hudson, who held his first Court in this Manor on the 8th November, 1851, acquired the Manor. It passed later to John Hewitt who hold his Courts at the Crown Inn at Little Fransham and was purchased from M. S. Emerson by Joseph Beaumont in the year 1887. 

The only Manorial Records in the possession of the Vendors and included in the Sale are a bundle of Court Rolls covering the period 1670-1706 and a Court Book commencing 4th January, 1787, an ending in 1873. These are insured for £100 at an annual premium of  5/-. 

It has been ascertained that there are other records in existence going back to 1335 which were apparently held by the Ear of Essex at Cassiobury Park, Watford, and are now deposited at the Central Library, Norwich. 

These include:

Court Rolls: 1339-1583 with Omissions

Bailiff's Account: 1429-34

Rentals: 1510-1614 with omissions

Seven Survey  Books: 

Also deposited are Great and Little Fransham records as under:

Court Rolls 1501-4; 1644-5; 1780-85

Rolls of Rents and Customs: 1384-5

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Lot #16 of Manorial Services Auction - Winter 2024 - Stephen Johnson

This Lordship is a sub-manor of the Manor of Playford, in the parish of the same name. It has been  recorded with a number of different spellings, including Mitchelis, Michels and Mitchells. It lies a few miles east  of Ipswich.

This manor seems to have been been allied with Playford from a fairly early period, although its  history from Domesday to the late 12th century is rather obscure. In 1086 it was held by Humphrey, son of Robert under the overlordship of Robert Malet. Later it passed to the Playford family. Before 1400 the  manor became the property of Sir George Felbrigg whose family were a cadet branch of the powerful, Earls  of Norfolk. Sir George rebuilt much of the parish church of St Mary’s and was buried there. His monument is still in the church and was described by Gough in Sepulchral Monuments; 

His slab remains, and on it his figure incomplete armour, appointed helmet, whiskers and gorget of mail,  and gauntlets, a lion rampant on his breast, a sword and dagger, spiked shoes, a lion at his feet. The canopy over  him rests on double pillars, with an embattled base of quarter foils; in the point of the arch a lion rampant. Upon  opening the graves in 1784, at 5 feet depth with found bones a skull, a jaw, a tibia, vertebrae, and a rusty nail in  wood 

Sir George was succeeded by his son, Sir John, who was married to Margaret de Waldegrave. A  few years later, Sir John’s cousin Sir Simon Felbrigg died and Sir John felt that he should have inherited the  manor house at Felbrigg itself but his cousin had instead sold them to John Wymondham to pay off his  debts. Furious, Sir John took a par ty of men and broke into Felbrigg Manor and finding Wydondham away, threatened to burn it down. Wymondham’s wife, Margery was at home and when she refused to leave, Sir  John grabbed her by the hair, threw her from the front door and claimed the house for himself. On hearing  of this the king (Henry V) ordered that Felbrigg should vacate the house at once and he was further ordered to pay 200 marks to Wymondham.  

After John’s death in 1423, Mitchells, along with Playford, passed to his daughter Margery and her  husband Thomas Sampson. She survived her husband by many years and died in 1476 and Mitchells passed  to her grandson Thomas Samspon. Thomas died in 1483 and his estates passed to his son, Sir Thomas. He died without an heir in 1511 and so Mitchells became a possession of his widow, Catherine. After her death  in 1556 it was inherited by her nephew, Thomas Felton of Shotley. 

The Feltons were an old family, tracing their lineage to 13th century Northumberland. Thomas Felton  married Mary, the daughter of Sir Richard Cavendish of Trimley and he died in 1578. His son and heir Sir Anthony Felton was Sherrif of the county in 1597 and was married to Elizabeth the daughter of Henry, Baron Grey of Hoby. Like many of his forbears, he was buried at St Mary’s. Mitchells passed to his son, Henry, who was created a Baronet in 1620 but died just four years later. His son, also Sir Henry, was just five years old at the time of his father’s death and was made a ward of chancery to his grandmother, Elizabeth. He sat as a Member of Parliament for Suffolk in the last Commonwealth Parliament of 1659 but became a public  Royalist when elected to the Convention Parliament of 1660. He was then elected to Charles II’s second Parliament which lasted from 1661 to 1678. During this sitting he became involved in a celebrated argument with his cousin, Anthony Gawdy, over cattle which he claimed Gawdy’s servant had distrained. It was later  found by Parliament that Felton’s son, Thomas owned rent to Gawdy and the cattle were taken in payment.  Despite sitting in the House for the best par t of 20 years, Felton was only once recorded as making a speech, in February 1673 when he argued for a reduction in the taxes imposed on his constituents. He died in 1690. 

Mitchells, along with Playford, passed to Sir Henry’s eldest son, Adam, and on his death seven years later, it passed to his brother the afore mentioned, Thomas. He was a courtier, and acted as Controller of the Household of Queen. His surviving heir, Elizabeth, married John Hervey of Ickworth, 1st Earl of Bristol. The Manor therefore came to the family who would hold Mitchells until the present day.

John’s grandson, George, the 2nd Earl, served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1766. Frederick, the 4th  earl, was Bishop of Cloyne and later also Bishop of Derry, but is famed for his great love of travel and there are Hotel Bristols, named in his honour in Paris and Vienna. He was described by Sir Jonah Barrington as a  man of elegant erudition, extensive learning, and and enlightened and classical, but eccentric mind: bold, ardent, and  versatile; he dazzled the vulgar by ostentatious state, and worked upon the gentry by ease and condescension. It  is likely that it was this earl who inspired Voltaire to comment; When God created the human race, he made  men, women and Herveys. 

In 1826 the 5th earl was created the first Marquess of Bristol. The present Lord of the Manor of Mitchells is the 8th Marquess of Bristol. 

Documents in the Public Domain Associated with this Lordship:

1426-1427: minister’s accounts Cambridge University Library 

1568-1569: terrier Suffolk Archives -Bury St Edmunds 

1643-1689: court rolls, with Meerhall (2) 

1757-1793: court fines book 

1659-1754: steward’s papers Suffolk Archives - Ipswich 

1777-1824: admissions 

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Lot #15 of Manorial Services Auction - Winter 2024 - Stephen Johnson

Also known as Mounton (Cil Maen, in Welsh), this manor occupies the parish of the same name and  lies four miles from the market town of Narbeth and eight miles from Haverfordwest. The manorial extent of 340 acres was well established by its former Lords, the Welsh Church Commission, and a map is included  in this history. Monkton formed par t of the estate of the Bishopric of St Davids and appears to have been a single lease, without manorial tenants, for many centuries.  

It derives its name from Monk’s Town, and there is evidence of a small chapel, or cell here and traces  of what was once a larger settlement. The early history of both the manor and the parish are extremely  obscure, though it is thought that the latter was created sometime in the 16th century. The presence of a  church and what seems to be a monks chapel would indicate that it had been part of the estate of the  Diocese from a very early period but there is no definitive sources to confirm this. There is a manor of Monkton or Mounton in the environs of Pembroke itself and this adds some further confusion to this  Monkton’s lineage. Some sources suggest that our manor was par t of the estate of the Priory of Dogmael at Cardigan, also in Pembrokeshire. This was founded by Mar tin of Tours as a Benedictine House in the late 12th century. However another source notes that the chapel in Monkton was in fact a free chapel which had been established on royal demesne. It could well be that the manor was held by the Crown and was then  granted to the Bishopric of St Davids. 

The chapel of St Michaels is found within an enclosure south of Canastan, about 500 yards from the  parish church. It was built during the 12th or 13th century and was renovated in the 18th century but has  since fallen into disuse.  

It is certain that the manor of Monkton was in the possession of the Bishops of St Davids from at least 18th century. At this time its tenants were subject to the courts of the episcopal lordship of Llawhaden  but it was always considered a separate manor. When the Ecclesiastical Commission was formed in the  mid-19th century the lordship passed to them and in 1914 it became part of the estate of the Welsh  Church Commission. This was created under the auspices of the disestablishment of the Welsh church. In  the mid 20th century the manor passed to the University of Wales when the Commission ceased to exist.  Subsequently the University sold Monkton at an auction in July 2000 to the family of the present owner. In  1948 the Camar then District Valuer prepared a report on the Manor for the Welsh Church Commissioners, prior to them making their gift. He reported that the extent of the manor was around 340 acres and that the extent appeared to be formed by a demesne estate, Mounton Farm and an area of open land known  as Mounton Hill. Since there were no manorial tenants the manorial court had not been held, certainly in the 19th century. The farm appears to have been sold as early as 1868, to A Mr Willis for £960. Mr Willis  has previously been the sitting tenant, the terms of his lease stating that it was held for lives (or 99 years)  and consisted of all. That lordship, all manner of Mounkton, with the appurtenances, situate, lying, and being in the  County of Pembroke, with all manner of lands, tenants, rent, reversions, profits, meadows, quarries of stone now open,  woods, underwoods, waifs, strays, reliefs, commons, waters, watercourses, suits of court, fines, and amercements,  with all profits, commodities, advantages, and emoluments whatsoever to the said manor or lordship, belonging, or  anyway, appertaining. 

The manorial boundary, shown below, was noted as being the same as that of the parish boundary  and was unchanged from several surveys undertaken in the 18th century such as was carried out at the  behest of the Diocese of St Davids in 1774. 

Documents in the Public Domain Associated with this Lordship:

1647-1659 Papers rel to disputes National Library of Wales 

1774-1790 Survey, temporalities of the diocese of St Davids 

1815- 1815 Map  1868-1869 Papers rel to lease (1 file) 

1921 Appointment of steward 

1948 Report and 6” Ordnance Survey map (1 sheet, 2nd ed 1908) 

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Lot #10 of Manorial Services Auction - Winter 2025 - Stephen Johnson

In association with Strutt & Parker

This is a fenland manor, situated in the fertile flatlands first drained and reclaimed by the Romans.  Monks Hall lies in the parish of Gosberton, a mile north-west of the village. The ancient manor house sat on  a moated site, two sides of which remain in traces.  

The site of a farm or manor at Monks Hall likely pre-dates the Norman invasion and it was likely a holding  of the Peterborough Abbey, from which it evidently took its name. In 1086 it was probably accounted for as  part of the Abbey’s great manor of Donnington. It later became a manor in its own right but there is some  confusion as to whether Monks Hall remained as part of the property of Peterborough Abbey or, at some  point later, became attached to nearby Swineshead Abbey. The former seems likely to have regained the  property by the 15th century, if it had ever lost it. In 1460 there is record of a Justice of the Peace being  appointed as steward of the Manor of Monks Hall by the monks and Prior, against the wishes of the abbot.  As a result of the appointment, a riot ensued, led by the tenants.  

After the Dissolution of Peterborough Abbey in 1538, its lands and manors were absorbed into the royal  estate. It certainly remained this way into the 17th century. A copy of the court roll dated 11 April 1608  records the surrender of Edward Skipwith, and Elizabeth his wife, of 3 messuages and land in Gosberkirk, to the  use of their heirs to the Royal Steward of the manor.  

At some point in the early 17th century, likely to have been 1629, the manor was granted by the Crown  to Sir John Finch but it is not clear if he purchased the manor, or held it on lease. Finch was one of the most  important legal figures in the early part of the century. Being the younger son of a noble family, Finch trained  as a lawyer and was elected as Member of Parliament for Canterbury in 1614. Three years later he became  Recorder of the House. In 1625 he came to the attention of Charles I, who had heard him speak and he  was appointed as counsel and attorney-general to queen Henrietta. He received a knighthood in the process  and it is perhaps then that he was granted Monks Hall. There is certainly evidence that he was involved in  its administration at this period. In 1628 he was elected speak in the House of Commons, a position he  held until the parliament was dissolved in 1629, not to be sit again for 11 years. Finch was a Catholic and  was appointed Chief Justice in 1634, a position in which he was remembered for his prosecution of William Prynne and John Langton, two outspoken republicans. As a reward for his services during the long period  of Royal rule, he was raised to the Peerage as Baron Finch but on the early sitting of the Long Parliament in  1640, he proved so unpopular that he was impeached. His estates, including Monks Hall, were later seized by  Parliament and he fled to Holland.  

 The Lordship is next recorded in the hands of Daniel Finch, Earl of Nottingham, a cousin of Sir John. He is  recorded in the Court Books of the manor as being its lords from 1676 to 1712. This member of the Finch  family wisely refrained from overt support for the monarch, and when the catholic James II was on the throne  (1685-1688) stayed away from court. He served both William III and Queen Anne and was made President  of the Council on the accession of George III. By the time of his death in 1730 he had sold the manor to  Fernando Gorges. He was Lord of Monks Hall until 1727 when it was purchased by Christopher Clayton, he  in turn sold the manor in 1752 to the Irish Peer, Robert, Earl of Luxborough. Born Robert Knight, he was  the eldest son of Robert Knight, the cashier of the South Sea Company, who was infamous for absconding to  France with a fortune made from the company before its collapse. As an Irish peer he was able to stand for  Parliament, and sat as an MP for Grimsby in 1761. In 1770 he was made a Knight of Bath and died in 1772. 

In 1757, Monks Hall was purchased by John Calcroft who was Lord of the Manor for 30 years before selling  it to Benjamin Smith in 1787. Smith was a lawyer who founded his own practise at Horbling and became a  pioneer of local legal work in property and finance rather than in litigation. He was the model of a county  lawyer, working for estates in collecting rents, preparing leases, managing properties and serving as the  steward for several manorial courts. He also became a money-lender, or scrivener, and through this practise  made enough money to become a Lord of the Manor in his own right, purchasing Monks Hall in 1787  from John Calcroft, who employed Smith as his steward at the manor court in the 1760s. Smith was one  of a number of local lawyers and land owners who steered various Acts of Enclosure in the fenlands and  sat on drainage committees in a bid to improve these flat tracts of wetland. On his death in the 1830s the  manor and his other properties passed to his son, Benjamin, who inherited the family firm. The Smith family  remained as Lords of the Manor of Monks Hall until 1981 when it was sold to a private buyer in a sale of  Lincolnshire manors. Benjamin Smith and Company existed for 250 years, until 2001 when it was taken over  by Chatterton’s of Horncastle.  

A Selection of Manorial Documents in in the Public Domain:

1448-1456: court rolls The National Archives 

1562-1565: court rolls 

1574-1580: court rolls 

1597-1609: court rolls 

1615-1629: court rolls 

1496-1496: court roll Huntingdonshire Archives 

1663-1670: minute book Cambridgeshire Archives 

1648-1892: survey Lincolnshire Archives 

1676-1935: court book 

1676-1935: rental 

1716-1804: verdict 

1716-1804: minutes, draft 

1728-1781: suit roll 

1729-1797: rent 

1734-1799: court roll abstract 

1734-1756: rentals (8) 

1759-1759: list of fines 

1813-1892: account 

1838-1853: court roll, draft 

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Lot #8 of Manorial Services Auction - Spring 2020 - Stephen Johnson 

This Lordship is found in the parishes of Bidford  and Wixford, and was centred on the manor house of  Moor Hall, first constructed in the 12th century when it  was reputedly known as Budeley. Recent archeological  work carried out on the house has found evidence that  parts of the present structure date to the 15th and 16th  centuries. 

The earliest references to the manor of Moor Hall  occur in the 12th century as noted above. Little is recorded  of its early ownership. By the end of the 13th century it  appears to have been a possession of the Boteler family  who seem to have originated at Wem in Shropshire and  were part English and part Welsh. John Boteler is recorded  as holding 20 acres of arable and 2s. 6d. rent for a quarter  of a mill which he held of the Earl of Warwick by the  service of a knight’s fee. This property is most likely that  which became known as Moor Hall. In 1327 the manor was  let to Geoffrey de la More or Atte Moralle, having adopted  the name of the manor as his surname. He son, John, was  married to Agnes, the daughter of Sir Walter Beisyn.  

It appears that Moor Hall was enfeoffed to John and Agnes for life. In around 1380, Agnes petitioned king  Richard II for a commission into an attack on her manor of Moor Hall by Thomas de Morehall and others who she  accuses of stealing and destroying property to her damage of £200. She states that these lands had been enfeoffed to her  and her husband for life, with remainders to Thomas de Morehall and others, but Thomas has attacked her despite her letters  of protection and a privy seal letter issued to Thomas on this matter.  

Ultimately the manor passed to the child of Agnes’ son-in-law, John de Clopton, William. He was also granted  rights to the manor which had passed to the family of Juliana’s second husband, Thomas de Cruwe in 1440 as well  as their rights to properties in Grafton, Wixford, Houghton, Bickmarsh and Exhall. After the death of Julianna in 1411  her life was commemorated in a an ornate brass to be found in the parish church of St Milburgas. Thomas was  an important member of the household of the Beauchamp family, the Earls of Warwick. He served as attorney to  Countess Margaret and was then chief steward to her son, Richard Beauchamps, who succeeded as the 14th earl in  1401. He also served as one of the Knights of the Shire at the Coventry Parliament of 1404. This was also known as  the Unlearned Parliament or the Parliament of Dunces since the king, Richard II forbad the attendance of lawyers nor  any apprentice or other person at law. At the time of his death, in 1419, Cruwe was recorded as holding Moor Hall  for life and divided his property between his two daughtes, Agnes and Joan. Moor Hall passed to the latter and by  extension to her hubsand, Sir John Burgh. He was a landowner in Shropshire and the Welsh borders and was also Lord  of Mawddwy. He was sheriff of Shropshire four times, in 1442, 1449, 1453 and 1463–4. At his death in 1471, Moor Hall  passed to one of his four daughters, Elizabeth who was married to Thomas Mitton. The Lordship passed to their son,  William, who died in 1513. His son, Richard, was Lord of Moor Hall until his death in 1551when it was sold by his son,  Richard, to Allen Hood. Eleven years later it was sold to Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton.

Sir Robert, born in 1613, was a Warwickshire lawyer, from a family of lawyers and trained at the Middle Temple.  His family were also extensive landowners in the county and had connections at Court. Sir Robert was present at the  reception for Ann of Cleaves. In 1553 he was knighted and made constable of Warwick Castle. The Throckmorton’s  were Catholic and on the accession of Elizabeth in 1553 he largely withdrew from public life. 

The family were famously involved in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Thomas Throckmorton likely knew of the  plot, or certainly the plotters, since he let the family home of Coughton Court to one of the chief conspirators, Sir  Everard Digby. The leader of the plot, Sir Robert Catesby was Thomas’ nephew. The family clearly still had some sway  at court since they were neither prosecuted for their part nor was their property seized.  

The Lordship of Moor Hall remained in the Throckmorton family until sold to the family of the current owners  in 1998. 

Moor Hall is six miles west of Stratford upon Avon. 

Documents associated with this manor in the public domain:

1581 Bailiff’s Accounts Shakespeare Birthplace Trust 

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Lot #8 of Manorial Services Auction - Summer 2020 - Stephen Johnson 

Motcombe is an extensive, scattered Lordship which covers  more than 5,000 acres of mainly pasture land. It lies two miles  north of Shaftesbury and three miles south-east of Gillingham.  

Little is recorded of Motcombe’s early history but by 1454 it  was in the possession of Nicholas Payne, who had inherited  it from his father, Richard. Evidently the Paynes had held the  Lordship for several generations previously, likely from the  14th century. Richard Payne had inherited the family’s estates  on the death of his cousin Isabel, who had been the heiress of  William Payne, son of John Payne. It was Nicholas Payne who  sold Motcombe to John Kaylway, or Kailway who had also  been lord of the neighbouring manor of East Woodsford.  The male Payne line seems to have died out at this point.  The Dorset historian, John Croker, writes from Mr Payne it  (Motcombe) came hereditarily to Sir William Webb, who hath  adorned it with building, and from him, by his only daughter, it is  likely to descend to Sir John Croke. Sir William Webb was the  younger son of William Webb a Salisbury merchant, Webb  was knighted by James I and in the Chapel at Caius College,  Cambridge, there is a mural monument to Sir William, who  died in 1613. 

Motcombe descended from Sir William Webb to his daughter and heir who did indeed marry Sir John Croke  whose family had been involved in the law for almost a century. His great-grandfather John Croke had been  a Sergeant at Law in 1546 and sat as a Member of Parliament for Chippenham in 1547. His grandson, Sir  John Croke, had been called to the Bar in 1591 and sat as MP for Windsor in 1585. In that same year be was  appointed Recorder of London and sat as a M. P. for the City from 1597 to 1601. In the. October parliament  of 1601 Croke was chosen as Speaker of the House of Commons. When presented to the aged Queen  Elizabeth for the first time he is recorded as having said that the land had been defended by the might of  our dread and sacred queen. The Queen interrupted Croke and reminded him that the land had in fact been  protected by the mighty hand of God, Mr Speaker. Croke earned the admiration of the Queen during the  vote on the Bill for the Enforcement of Church Attendance. On the vote, the ‘ayes’ numbered 105 and the  ‘noes’ 106. The ayes expected Croke to cast his vote with them but Croke asserted that ‘he was foreclosed  of his voice by taking place which it had pleased them to impose upon him and that he was indifferent to both  parties.’ The bill was lost and at the close of the session Elizabeth conveyed her compliments on Croke ‘s  ‘wisdom and discretion. 

On the Queen’s death in 1603 Croke was knighted and became deputy to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,  Sir George Hume, in 1604. In 1607 he became a judge and served on the King’s Bench for 13 years until  his death in 1620. He was succeeded in the Lordship of Motcombe by his son John, .ho had been knighted  in 1603 and who sat as Member of Parliament for Shaftesbury. On his death in 1640 the Croke estates fell  to his son, also Sir John. This Sir John was said to have lived a ‘corrupt and dissolute life.’ In 1667 he conspired  with Robert Hawkins clerk of Chilton to commit robbery. He arranged for Hawkins to steal for him, but  Croke seemed to have reneged on his deal to pay Hawkins off. When Hawkins was brought to trial, Croke  had failed to bribe Lord Chief Justice Hale, who was trying the case and Hawkins, unsurprisingly revealed all  to the court. Croke was rightly ruined and forced to sell his entire estate, including Motcombe, which was  purchased by the Nicholas family who then sold it on to William Whitaker of Lancaster.  

The Whitaker family held the Lordship well into the 18th century. Henry Whitaker was Lord of Motcombe  until his death in 1736 and had served as Sheriff of Dorset. Henry’s estate passed to his brother Walter,  who died childless and Motcombe became the possession of his nephew the Rev. William Whitaker, son of  Narcissus Whitaker, vicar of Fifehead Magdalen. William died unmarried in 1809 and Motcombe passed to his  nephew, also William Whitaker. William. was the last of the Whitaker’s and he resided at Motcombe House  until his death in 1816. Motcombe House was purchased by the Marquess of Westminster but the Lordship  was subsequently sold to Henry Sturt of Crichel, whose family was raised to the peerage as the Barons  Alington in 1876. The family retained the Lordship into the 20th century.

Manorial Documents Associated With This Manor:

Survey (with other Manors) mid 17th C National Archives 

Surveys c1816 Privately Held 

Rental 1699 John Rylands Library  

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Lot #11 of Stanford & Son's 'Third Auction' - Sept 1964 

The Suffolk historian, Copinger, notes in Vol. III that this manor was in the Lordship of Hugh le Despenser in the reign of King Edward I, that in 1364 it was forfeited to the Crown, and that it was granted the following year to Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, a son of the King, of whom Copinger records: “On the breaking out of the insurrection under Thomas Langdale, Earl of Lancaster, he was commissioned by the King to pursue the rebellious prince and to lay siege to the castle of Pontefract. On the prince being taken he was one of those that condemned him to death, and occupied a distinguished position both in cabinet and field. He was sent as chief ambassador to France in 1324, in which year he was also appointed Lieutenant of Aquitaine. After the accession of his nephew, King Edward III, he was arrested and sentenced to death for having conspired with other nobles to deliver his brother, the deposed Edward II, out of prison; whereupon, by the management of Queen Isabel and her paramour, Mortimer, he was beheaded at Winchester in March 1330, after having waited all day on the scaffold before a person could be found to act as executioner”. 

His daughter, Joan, the “Fair Maid of Kent” brought this Manor among wide estates to her husband, Thomas of Holland, Earl of Kent, who held his first Court here, 27th Edward III (1354). By her second marriage to the Black Prince, Joan was mother of King Richard II, but this Manor was part of the inheritance of her eldest son, Thomas de Holland, at her death in 1385. After passing to Thomas, son of the same name (who was beheaded after a conspiracy against Henry IV in 1400) the estate came into the hands of Roger Mortimer, fourth Earl of March, by whom it was conveyed in 1409 to Sir Edward Grey. Their grandson, created Earl of Worcester in 1439, was executed 1470 for his part in the Yorkist intrigues against Richard III. Being beheaded Sir Robert Peyton and afterwards his widow, it is recorded, again according to Copinger, as having been granted for life to Anne of Cleves, and in later Exchange records a fourth part of it is referred to as “late the possession of Jane, Queen of England”. 

In 1544 the Manor was granted to John Clarke, and passed in descent to his son, Edward, and then to his brother-in-law, Henry Appleton; it remained with the Appleton family until sold by a later Henry Appleton in 1622 to John Hodges. Exactly when it came into the possession of the Doyly family of the neighbouring Overbury Hall is uncertain, as the earlier rolls follow the common practice of omitting the name of the Lord; but it had certainly been so by 1724. The survey of the Court Books (though there are earlier rolls and rentals) begin in 1728 with Peregrine Doyly, Esq., and in 1735 the Lord was John Webb, in right of his wife, Elizabeth Doyly. A Court Record of 1737 refers to the earlier Lord as “Peregrine D’Oyley of Chatteris in the Isle of Ely in the County of Cambridge, Lord of the several Manors of Overbury Hall and Netherbury Hall...”. In 1765 the Manor was again in the hands of a Peregrine Doyly, and in 1784 in those of “Peregrine Doyly the younger”, himself succeeded in 1804 by Charles Doyly. Charles was the last of the family to hold the Manor, which came in 1817 to Abraham Reeve, and twenty years later to Henry Offord, and thence through Joseph Archer (1846), the Rev. Richard Daniel (1854), John Frederick Robinson (1860), John Musgrove Musgrove (1885) and George Frederick Beaumont (1909). 

The Court Rolls of the 17th century show that leets were held, with election of constables and other officers, but this practice had been abandoned by 1728, and only courts baron were recorded thereafter. The second book, beginning in 1765, records that the custom of descent in this Manor was “Borough-English” (to the youngest son), and as late as 1816 there is a record of a release by Elizabeth Hicks of her customary right to “Free-bench, Dower and Thirds”. The Lord’s rights in timber are referred to in an entry of 1804, where John Kettle paid to the Lord £1 3s. 9d., being “the third part of the value of an ash tree, lop and bark, on his estate”. At a Court of 1740 new trustees were admitted to a cottage for the use of the poor of the Parish, and it is recorded that there was no fine on admission because it was for a charitable purpose. A later record, at the proclamation for heirs on the death of a trustee of this property, notes that a cottage as being “near Four Ash Lane”, and in the following year (1839) there being no response to the proclamation, the premises were seized to the Lord for want of a tenant. 

What became of this property, apparently set aside for charitable purposes by ancient custom, does not appear to be referred to again after this date. 

Manorial records in the possession of the Vendors, to be handed over to the purchaser are: 

Abstract of Court Rolls: 1412–1729 (compiled about 1730).
Court Rolls: 1406; 1468–70; 1508; 1517–47; 1651–61; 1664; 1737–45; 1745–62.
Court Books: 1728–46 (with Overbury Hall); 1765–1821; 1827–1929.
Draft Book: 1821–27.
Rentals: 1651; 1666; 1695. 

There are also earlier rolls of this Manor in the Public Library at Ipswich, available for inspection by those interested.

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Lot #24 of Stanford & Son's 'Second Auction' - Dec 1955 

In the parish of Old Newton

The parish of Old Newton is in the Stow Hundred and lies one mile east of Haughley Railway Junction. The main Manor was called Old Newton, and the one offered for sale is called Netherhall (there is a farmhouse of that name) or Barrards.  

At the time of Henry III, the Manor of Netherhall belonged to Roger de Boyton who held the tenth part of a fee in the Honor of Haughley (sold in first auction). In 1302 William de Boyton died seized of it and his son William succeeded on his father’s death in 1303. In 1345 Osbert de Boyton died seized of it, his heir John being then only 11 years old.  

In 1358 Sir Bartholomew Bateman, who received a rent charge of about 20 marks out of the Manor, released the same and his rights therein to John de Boyton and Sir Thomas Felton. In 1428, another John de Boyton was Lord. Nearly 100 years later (1523) Thomas Spring died seized of the Manor and it passed to his son and heir Sir John Spring. In 1594 Henry Gilbert died seized of the Manor; his son John then had it and was succeeded by John Coggeshall and on his death in 1599 the Manor passed to his son and heir George Coggeshall. In 1609, it was vested in John Mallows and John Mannock.  

At this point Copinger seems to have run short of information as to ownership of the Manor, but the records that the Rev. James Coyte was Lord in 1885 and Charles Henry Capon in 1896. The title deeds and Court records show that even these dates are not correct and also fill in part of the long gap. On 2nd May, 1842, Sir John Shelley sold the Manor and its Court Rolls to his wife Frances appointed with the release of the Manor to Samuel Taylor Dawson; by a deed dated 8th May, 1875, the Rev. James Coyte of Polstead conveyed the Manor to Charles Henry Capon of Norwich, so he was not Lord in 1885, as Copinger says, while a Court held on 11th July, 1862, shows that he was Lord at that date; nor was C. H. Capon Lord in 1896, as stated by Copinger, for the deeds show that his trustee Matthews Sollitt Emerson conveyed the Manor (with eight other Manors) to Joseph Beaumont in 1887.  

The proceedings at Courts held in July, 1862, and January and September, 1863, for the Rev. James Coyte provide a good illustration of the right of a Lord to seize copyhold properties in cases where, after three proclamations at successive Courts, the heirs or devisees of a deceased tenant failed to appear and pay the fines and fees properly payable on admission. The entry reads thus:  

“Turner, Mary – Dead – Third Proclamation – Also at this Court it is presented by the Homage that Mary Turner late a copyhold Tenant of this Manor who had died seized of divers Lands and tenements holden of this Manor by copy of Court Roll the third proclamation was made for the heirs of the said Mary Turner to come into Court and be admitted thereto but none came to claim the same. Therefore seizure was awarded to the Lord and a precept granted to the Bailiff of this Manor to seize into the hands of the Lord the said lands and tenements of which the said Mary Turner died seized holden of this Manor by copy of Court Roll with the appurtenances.” 

The Bailiff would then proceed to seize the property and as evidence would take a brick, tile, or other usual object or twig of a tree or even some earth. Upon reporting the seizure, which was usually in the presence of two copyholders as witnesses, the property seized became the freehold of the Lord who could sell or deal with it as his own. Sometimes the person entitled would, after the final proclamation, repent of his tardiness, or raise the necessary money, and the Lord as a matter of grace would admit him at the next Court upon payment of the fines and fees.  

Two Stewards in the period under review whose names appear in the record were James Coyte (Junior) of No. 12 Lincolns Inn Fields and Joseph Woodcock of No. 14 Lincolns Inn Fields. 

The custom of descent was to the eldest son (Court held 21st December, 1866) and the fines were 'arbitrary', i.e. based on annual value and not a 'certain' sum (Court held 19th August, 1874, Charles Tyrell of Haughley paid a fine of £43 8s. 0d.). 

Charles  Henry Capon, who acquired the Manor in May, 1875, seems to have set about serving notices of compulsory enfranchisement very quickly for there are two Awards enrolled in the Court Book dated 14th and 31st August in the same year. Under these, Samuel Ringe Adams was required to pay an annual rent charge of 19/- in respect of a property called "Cuttings," and Charles Stubbs Finling a rent charge of £1 5s. 10d. in respect of three acres of arable land called "Raipenings." These Awards are the last enrolled transactions.

The only Manorial Records to be handed over are a Court Book 3rd October, 1853 - 31st August 1875, and the Valuers' Award in respect of the the Finling enfranchisement referred to above.

Commencement of Title: Deed dated 21st March, 1887

Insurance of Records: £100, premium 5/- p.a.

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Lot #26 of Stanford & Son's 'Second Auction' - Dec 1955 

In the County of Essex 

Newport lies four miles from Saffron Walden on the road from Bishops Stortford to Cambridge and according to Morant (vol. 2, page 584) "it hath been sometimes called Newport Pond from a pond to the south end of the town, now dried up." 

In Edward the Confessor’s reign, this town belonged to Earl Harold afterwards King. At the time of the general survey, it was part of the royal demesnes and in the hands of William the Conqueror (Lib. Dom. fol. 7a Tit. 1). 

According to Morant the Manor seems to have continued in the Crown till the reign of King Edward VI and was granted by the Kings of England to several persons at their pleasure "with ample prior, market, fair, and freedom from toll". Among the persons to whom it was granted during this period by Maud, the Empress, King John, Edward II and III, Richard II, Henry VI, and Edward VI were Jeffrey de Mandeville; Gerard de Furnivall (1203); Baldwin de Havermer (1215); Richard, Earl of Cornwall, second son of King John (he died possessed of it in 1271); Piers de Gaveston (1307); John Revell (1311); Hugh de Audley, Earl of Gloucester; Henry de Ferrers (died 1343); Edmund of Langley, Duke of York; William Lynde; Sir Ralph Warren (died 1553). Thereafter it passed by descent or purchase to Richard Warren, Sir Oliver St. John, Cromwell of Hinchingbrook (he succeeded in 1597 at the age of 33 years); Theophilus, Earl of Suffolk (1653) and upon a partition of these estates it was allotted to the Rt. Hon. Geo. Wm. Harvey, Earl of Bristol. The latter sold it to the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Thomond, an Irish peer. At this point the records to be handed over to the purchaser take up the story of the devolution of the Manor to we find on 9th March, 1743, the enrolled Court Baron of the Rt. Hon. John Earl of Portsmouth and Elizabeth his wife, the Rt. Hon. Geo. Wm. Lord Harvey and Wm. Whitwell and Ann his wife. Two years later Lord Harvey appears as the Earl of Bristol. In 1761 a Court was held for the Rt. Hon. Percy Earl of Thomond and in 1776 we find the Rt. Hon. Geo. O’Brien of Egremont as Lord. 

In 1783 the Hon. Percy Charles Wyndham appears as Lord for the first time at a “General Court Baron and Customary Court”. Ten years later we find the same Lord but the Court has a title much more high-sounding, viz., “The View of Frankpledge, Court Leet and General Court Baron and Customary Court”. The Manor was conveyed to the present Vendor in 1921. 

The Stewards for the last three Courts was John Carver and they were all held at the Manor House. Presumably this was Shortgrove Hall. Morant treats this as a separate Manor and gives the early history as quite different from that of Newport Pond, but after both of them had come into the hands of the Earl of Thomond, they appear to have been in the same ownership. 

At the Court held in 1793 last referred to twelve persons were sworn as “The Jurors for our Lord the King,” and the business transacted consisted only of the appointment of Constables and Ale tasters and the confirmation of the Common Fine. At other Courts Breadweighters and Pindars were appointed. 

Amongst other items of interest at these Courts are the following: 

At a Court held on 22nd March, 1749, Joseph Cramer was admitted (inter alia) to 32 acres, 1 rood, 20 perches, of land and also a piece of land impaled at the Front of Pond Cross containing in length 35 ft., in breadth 4 ft., and also Common of pasture for 150 sheep and no more in the commonable fields of Newport with the appurtenances. 

At the same Court the Homage presented that “the tenants of this Manor are entitled to a cartway for carrying dung and fetching home corn from the further end of Bury Lane along Ten Acres Hedge to White Ditch Field and to another cartway from the further end of Bury Lane along the side of Rusplat Hedge next the town to another part of White Ditch Field”. 

At a Court held on 20th March, 1750, the Homage presented that “the fence of John Renals on his copyhold premises is broken down;” 5th March, 1752, “2s. 2d. paid in part of the Common Fine”; 22nd March, 1753, Henry Fox and John Monk were appointed Constables and John Wright was “continued” as Pindar. 

At a Court held on 12th March, 1753, Mary Frees was presented. 

It is interesting to know that the Courts during the 18th century were held at the Manor House as is shown by the entry of a General Court Baron held on 6th May, 1766. 

RECORDS to be handed over are: 

Court Books. 1747–1811; 1812–1939.
Minute Books. 1661–1764 (2).
Rental Books. 1739–81 (9). 

Insurance of Records. £250, premium 12/6 p.a.
Commencement of Title. Deed dated 31st May, 1921.

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Lot #4 of Manorial Services Auction - March 2023 - Stephen Johnson

(Mines and minerals for the Manor are excluded in the sale.)

Nestled in the rolling hills between Killington  Reservoir and Kendal is the township and Lordship  of the Manor of New Hutton. It is a small but ancient  settlement built around the church of St Stephen’s.  It neighbours the parish of Old Hutton but both  seem to be of the same age. The name is thought to  derive from the building of small huts or enclosures  on what was hunting ground in the very early  period of Norman domination in the 11th century.  The division of New and Old Hutton is supposed to  have occurred when the original estate was divided  between the two sisters of William de Lancaster  during the reign of Edward I. The township contains  several small settlements including the hamlets of  Borrans (a Norse word for a field with outcrops of  rock) Millholm and Rawgreen.  

After William had subdued most of England, the North remained a problem for a number of years  into his reign. In order to try to subdue it, a huge swath of land from Northern Lancashire to what was the  county of Westmorland was granted to Ivo de Talebois, a powerful Norman nobleman who had besieged  and captured the rebellious Hereward the Wake, at Ely in 1071. Ivo was granted this estate as long as  he could subdue it and his grip was strengthened after the accession of William II in 1087. The territory  eventually became the basis of the feudal Barony of Kendal and the Manor of Hutton, was included in the  baronial extent. It passed from Ivo to Eldred, to Ketel and thus to Gilbert de Talebois.  

After the death of Gilbert, the estate passed to his son, William, who took the name de Lancaster.  For much of this period of the 12th century, Cumberland and Westmoreland were under the control of the  Scottish kings and it was not until the reign of Richard I (1189-99) that the Barony of Kendal was formerly  erected in favour of Gilbert Fitz-Reindred, the son-in-law of William by his daughter Halwise. Gilbert’s seal  can be found on Magna Carta and he was one of the barons who rebelled against the rule of King John. He  was succeeded early in the reign of Henry III by his only son William de Lancaster (III) who was the last true  Baron of Kendal. At his death the barony was divided between his two sisters; Helwisia and Alice, and it was  divided into three fees, Richmond, Marquis and Lumley, a division which remains until the present day. Hutton  formed one of the manors of the Richmond Fee and was divided between the two sisters, as New and Old  Hutton, becoming two distinct manors and then parishes. Alice took the Richmond Fee and this passed to  her descents after her marriage to William de Lindesay.

Several generations of William de Lindesays followed. At the death of the third, in around 1386 it  was found that he was the Lord of Richmond Fee which included the manors Hutton. Of his son and heir  one historian of the Barony noted that we find nothing in particular, save only that he died without any male of  his body. The manor thus passed to his brother, Christian, who was married to Ingelram de Guisnes, Lord of  Coucy in France. The couple lived there but their son and heir, William, was considered as an ‘alien’ of foreign  and unable to inherit. New Hutton along with the rest of the Richmond Fee manors was therefore escheated  to the Crown on his death. 

In 1347 Edward III granted New Hutton and the other Richmond Fee manors to John de Coupland.  He was a relatively lowly squire from Northumberland who had the wit and skill to capture the Scottish king  David at the Battle of Neville’s Cross on 16 October 1346. Coupland was knighted by the king and granted  land and position. The grant of the Richmond Fee was one of a number of such gifts. John was infamous in  the North of England and Scotland for his brutality and was killed in December 1363 by 20 men when he crossed Bolton Moor in Richmondshire. Despite three subsequent inquiries the murderers were neither  found nor arrested. The estate remained in the possession of his wife, Johan or Joanna, until her death in  1375 .The manor then reverted to Ingelram de Courcy and then to his daughter, Phillipa, the former wife of  Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford. A rental of 1390 notes a rental of Philippa, Duchess of Ireland: the moiety of  the hamlet 95 (i.e. New Hutton) be-longs to the lady; the names, acreage and rents of 21 tenements are recorded;  intakes named Deregaete and Warthbegarthe are mentioned; the moiety of the watermill yeilded 13s. 4d. John  de Brughe held Hotton Park for £8 rent; sum total £17 1s. 8d. Roll at Levens She died childless in 1413 and  Windermere then reverted to The Crown for a second time. 

New Hutton was granted by Henry IV to his third brother, John Duke of Bedford, on whom it  remained until his death in 1436. Henry VI then granted it to John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset ,but he died  childless and the king passed it to his daughter, Margaret, who was Countess of Richmond in her own right.  Born in 1443 she was descended from John of Gaunt, fourth son of Edward III, a lineage which gave her royal  claim. As a young teenager she was placed under the protection of Henry VI’s own half-brothers, Edmund  and Jasper Tudor. This arrangement was made specifically to marry her off to Edmund, which she duly did  in 1455. Only a few months after her marriage the 12 year old girl became pregnant. This was as a result  of a rather brutal act on Edmund’s part and was a ritual known as the ‘courtesy of England’. By making her  pregnant Tudor secured a life’s interest in Margaret’s estates, which were worth £1,000. Even in the 15th  century this was considered too young an age to conceive and she seems to have suffered considerable  internal damage and had no further children for the rest of her life. Tudor, however appears to have received  no censure for his actions save perhaps a divine one, since after just six months of his wife’s pregnancy Tudor  was killed by the plague. Fortunately she carried her child to term and gave birth to a son, Henry. This act  alone embroiled her in the internecine struggle between the houses of York and Lancaster, which was now  raging across England. Within a year she had married Henry Stafford, second son of the Duke of Buckingham.

The history of her son Henry at Bosworth in 1485 brought triumph for the family. At the first  Parliament of the new regime she was declared femme sole, a woman in law capable of actions independent  of her husband and in 1487 she was granted a huge landed trust for the monarchy including, of course, New  Hutton and the Richmond Fee. Margaret died in 1509, a few weeks after seeing her grandson crowned  Henry VIII. Her lands and estates came back to the Crown and Henry granted New Hutton to his illegitimate  son, Henry, Duke of Richmond, who died in murky circumstances aged just 17 in 1536. Two years earlier a  strange incident was reported at New Hutton by James Layburn (Deputy Steward of Kendal) to Mr. Thomas  Cromwell. The persons named in the enclosed list entered by night in harness, the lands of my lord of Richmond,  called New Hutton in the barony of Kendal, and sowed corn and grain on John Becke’s tenement, taking an oath  not to discover each other. I beg they may be brought to London, or a commission be appointed to inquire and  punish. I am steward under master Parr and therefore show you the truth. What this dispute was about and why  the miscreants were planting crops at night sadly remains unrecorded. 

The Lordship of the Richmond Fee and New Hutton remained in the hands of the Crown for the  next 150 years. It was granted to various members of the Royal household to provide an income, and  developed a rich and efficient system of tenancy and administration. The final royal holder of the Manor  was Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles. A survey of her estate in 1677 found that the annual value of  New Hutton was £10 9s 9d the same as it had been in a survey made in 1596.. After her death in 1705, the  Lordship and the Richmond Fee were granted to the Lowther family. William Lowther had been appointed  steward of the Fee in 1662, a position he inherited from his father, Sir John Lowther. It was therefore a natural  step to award this long established Yorkshire family the actual estate.  

The Lordship of New Hutton remained in the hands of the Lowther family for the next 300 years.  They became one of the leading landowners in the North of England and possessed over 80,000 acres of  Westmorland and Cumberland alone. The family were raised to the peerage in 1696 when John Lowther  was created Viscount Lonsdale. After this line became extinct in 1751 the estate was settled on a cousin,  when Sir John Lowther was created Earl of Lonsdale. The Lordship remained in the hands of the Lowther  family until the late 1980s when it was purchased by the family of the present Vendors. 

Documents associated with this manor in the public domain:

1603-1639: estreats National Archives 

1619-1665: rentals 

1658-1658: court roll Cumbria Archive Centre, Carlisle 

1664-1679: verdicts 

1672-1677: estreat of new tenants 

1679-1683: court rolls, with other manors (Kendal barony) 

1758-1936: call book 

1837-1838: notices and perambulations  

1883-1901: admittances 

1925-1929: stewards’ papers  

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Lot #17 of Manorial Services Auction - Winter 2024 - Stephen Johnson

The small town of Normanton lies a few miles north of Wakefield. Its boundary includes the River Calder. It was a small rural settlement until the 19th century when several railways lines passed through, opening up trade.  Normanton became one of the important rail hubs in Britain and for a time, its quarter of a mile platform was the  longest anywhere in the world. The station was Normanton’s biggest employer, boosting 700 staff who handled almost  a million passengers a year, including Queen Victoria, who spent a night at the station hotel. Later, the town became a  centre of the mining industry. 

The manor of Normanton is noted in Domesday Book of 1086, the entry reading; 

In Normantune there are 10 carucates for geld, which 5 plows can plough. 2 thegns had 2 manors there in Edward’s  time. Now, in the King’s hand there are 6 villeins there, and 3 bordars, a priest and a church, with 3 ploughs, 3 acres of  meadow. Pasturable wood 6 furlongs in length and 1 in breadth. The whole of this land lies in the soc of Wachefelt, except the  Church. In Edwards’s time it was worth 12s: now 10s. 

The Norman settlement was surrounded by a moat and there is evidence that it was a fortified stronghold, which gave rise to its name - meaning Norman’s Town. Since the manor was held by King William himself, it seems  extremely likely that Normanton was a centre of The Conqueror’s power in the area, from which he subdued and  cowed the local population after 1066 in an episode known as the Harrying of the Nor th. It is interesting then to note that one of the earliest recorded Lords of Normanton after the Conquest was one Hugh de Morkar, a Saxon. His daughter, Lutetia, married the Norman, Walter Pactavensis of Pictou, which may explain why he seems to have been  able to hold the manor. He is recorded as gifting a parcel of the town to Walter Paytfyn, Lord of Headingly in the latter years of the 11th century. Further evidence on Morkar is lacking but it seems as though the manor remained in the  family for several generations. Some sources imply the Manor passed down the Russell family but the recorded descent  is extremely obscure. 

A publication of The Thoresby Society notes that Roger Paytfyn became Lord of the Manor during the 13th  century after he inherited the title through his marriage to Emma, the daughter and heir and William Russell. It is  perhaps during this century that Normanton was drawn into the orbit of the huge manor of Wakefield, which it bounded. Certainly by the end of the 13th century its administration had been absorbed into that of its huge neighbour.  The Manor of Wakefield operated like a barony, with a large number of members, or sub-members, within it, as well as numerous villages and hamlets. Normanton retained some degree of separation well after the 13th century but how  it became absorbed is not completely clear. It is likely that the Lords of Wakefield were the overlords of the smaller manor and then subsumed Normanton as a member of that ‘baronial’ lordship. There are separate rental accounts for  Normanton dating from 1428 and 1429. 

The history of the Lords of the Manor of Wakefield is far too long for this short history of Normanton but after the two became closely associated in the 13th century they essentially follow the same descent. Granted to the  Warren family, later Earls of Surrey, by William after 1066 it remained in this family for over 200 years. The 7th Earl  of Surrey, John de Warren, granted Wakefield and Normanton to Edward II in 1316. John had no heirs and sought a regrant of the estate to his illegitimate son John de Warren, son of Maud de Nerford. During the reign of Edward III the entire estate, including Normanton passed to the Crown on the basis of the 1316 grant and remained in its possession  until the reign of Charles I when it was granted to Henry, Earl of Holland. In 1663 it was purchased by Sir Christopher Clapham. In 1700 his heirs sold it to the Duke of Leeds. 

In 1804, Parliament passed an Inclosure Act for Normanton Common, and this Act notes that the Duke of Leeds was Lord of Normanton and entitled to compensation for loss of manorial rights.This was the 6th Duke who left his property to his son-in-law, Sackville Walter Lane-Fox. After the death of Amelia Lane-Fox, in 1926, Normanton  became the property of her husband, Charles Anderson-Pelham 4th Earl of Yarborough. In 1948 it was inherited by  the 5th Earl’s daughter, Lady Fauconberg from whom it passed to the present owner. 

A selection of Documents associated with the Manor in the Public Domain: 

1428-1429: accounts, with Wakefield, Notts University Library 

1800- 1850: map, West Yorkshire Archives, Wakefield 

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Lot #1 of Stanford & Son's 'Second Auction' - Dec 1955

Norton les two miles to the north of Presteigne and its history is very closely associated with that place. The bounds of the Manor appear to be conterminous with the parish of Norton. It is fortunate in the case of thsi Manor that there is a book written by W. H. Howse entitled "Presteigne Past and Present" (Jakemans Limited, Hereford, 1945) and also a paper contributed by him to the  Transactions of the Radnorshire Society (Volume XIV, pp. 43 to 51), entitled "Court Rolls of Norton." These have been largely drawn on in compiling these particulars. 

The Lordship of the manor was conveyed by William Horne to John Tamworth in 1563 and from the latter it descended in 1624 to Christopher Tamworth. John Powell bought it in 1634. From him, the Lordship passed to James Powell in 1650 and Robert Powell jointly with his wife Joyce, daughter of Humphrey Longmore, Mayor of Worcester, in 1663. Joyce survived her husband, and married Charles Creede, who by virtue of his wife's title became Lord of the manor in 1679. He died in 1687, and the Manor devolved upon Joyce until 1693, when she sold it to Littleton Powell for £1,050. He lived at Stanage and presented a large silver flagon to Presteigne Church. In 1713 the Lord of the Manor was Thomas  Harley and it was still in the hands of that family in 1811. This Thomas Harley was Member of Parliament for Radnorshire 1698 to 1715 and he was cousin of Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford. The Earl of Oxford was named as owning the Manor at the end of the 18th century. 

The Manor was later acquired by Richard Price, M. P., for Radnor 1799 to 1847. It may be mentioned here that Presteigne once had its own Race meeting, which according to Mr. howe originally took place on Broad Heath Common, but in later years was sometimes held at Norton Manor. A Hereford paper of 1842 records that "these races came off with great  éclat on 2nd September, under the stewardship of Richard Price, whose polite demeanor was the theme of praise." The last of the meetings took place in the 18709s. Sir Richard Green-Price, of Norton manor (who died in 1887) was a keen supporter. He also, with other members of his family, took a large part in forming a Polo club in 1874; the games were played on Broad Heath, by the racecourse. 

On 25th June, 1923, the Norton Manor estate was conveyed by Sir Frederick Richard Powlett Milbank, Bt. to the present Vendor, Major Archibald Lindsay Careless. The Manor was included in this sale under the following description: 

"All those the Manors or reputed Manors of Norton and Presteigne in the County of Radnor together with all Chief and other Rents Heriots and Fines and all Quarries of Slate and Stone and rights of Sporting and all other rights and privileges whatsoever appertaining to the said Manors respectively."

Although the Manor of Presteigne was included in this Conveyance, it has been ascertained that the Commoner of Crown lands claims that it belongs to the Crown. This Manor is therefore expressly excluded from the Sale. 

Included in the sale of the Manor is the Hill known as Farrer's Hill or Furrow Hill of about 200 acres together with such other wastes in the parish as still form part of the Manor. This is shown on the copy of Ordinance Map on the opposite page. The Lord owns the soils of this land and is entitled to sport over it, cut and carry away any timber, saplings or underwood growing on it (subject as to timber to any Government license that may be necessary), work and carry away any minerals or mineral substances in or under such wastes, all of these subject, of course, to any rights of commoners to take turf, underwood, etc., for their own use, according to ancient custom. The Lord also has the right to let the shooting and has, in  fact, exercised this right. John Morson, formerly of Norton Manor, hired it for many years at varying rents up to 1952. It was let during 1953 and 1954 at £40 per annum, since when it has been retained by the Vendors. The Vendor would be willing to value the game and pigeon shooting for 1956 at £10 p. a. if the purchaser cared to let it.   

A purchaser would, it is presumed, be entitled to ask the appropriate Authorities to enter in o wayleave agreements in respect of telegraph, telephone and electricity poles, kiosks, etc, erected upon the Manorial wastes. 

Records to be handed over are:

Court Books: 1713-1827

Admission of John Radnor to the Bach Farm and other lands in the Parish of Norton dated 31st January, 1894

Conditional Surrender dated 3rd February, 1894, by the said John Radnor (a copyhold or customary tenant of the said manor) of the above lands to secure £2,600 and Interest. 

It may be mentioned that there are a number of earlier records of this Manor held by the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. These are as under:

Receiver's Accounts for the Mortimer Estate, including a section on Norton: 1384

Extracts and Lists of Contents of Bundles of Records (NLW.MS.4541): 1566-1699

Court Rolls (NLW.MS.766): 1607-17

Court Rolls (NLW.MS.767): 1635-89

Transcripts of Court Rolls, etc. (NLW.MS.4540): 1678-1734; 1694-1706; 1699; 1701; 1721

Insurance of Records:  £100, premium 5/- p.a.

Commencement of Title: Dated 25th June, 1923

*See catalogue appendix for extracts from "Presteigne Past and Present" and the "Court Rolls of Norton"

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Lot #33 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

LYING WITHIN the village of Ofham, this Lordship lies half a mile west of West Malling and eight miles north of Tonbridge. The village is based around Offham Green, which, every May Day is the scene of the annual Springtime celebrations where the sport of Tilting at the Quintain takes place. Ofham is perhaps the last place in England where this happens. Tilting is thought to be of Roman origin and was a primitive form of jousting. It consists of a wooden post with a revolving arm on the top. One side of the arm is flat and on the other hangs a wooden truncheon. Riders take turn to ride at it at full tilt to strike the the flat end of the arm and to get out of the way before the truncheon swings round and hits them.

The Lordship is very ancient and was mentioned in 832 as being granted o the Archbishop of Canterbury by King Ethelwulph. By the time of Domesday Book in 1086 Offham is recorded as being held by two tenants, still from the Archbishop. The entries read;

The same hugh holds Offham of the bishop.

It is assessed at 1 sulung. There is land for three ploughs.

In demesne nothing. There are 6 villans with 1 border have 2 ploughs.

There is a mill rendering 50d an d3 slaves and 4 acres of meadow.

Woodland for ten pigs.

Before 1066 it was worth 40s, when received 20s, now 30s.

Godric held it it from King Edward.

Anskil holds Offham of the bishop.

It is assessed at 1 sulung. There is land in demesne for 1 plough.

There are 6 villans with 2 borders have 1 plough.

There are 4 slaves and a mill rendering 10s and 7 acres of meadow.

Woodland for ten pigs and in the city of Rochester, 1 house rendering 30s.

Before 1066 it was worth 100s, when received now £4.

Soon after this period the Archbishop lost ownership of Offham and this passed to the family which took its name from them, the De Ofhams. The last of these appears to have been William de Ofham who was recorded as possessing the Lordship during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272). Early in the reign of Edward I (1272-1307) it passed to Stephen de Pencestre, husband of William’s heiress, his sister, Christiana. He is noted as enffeoffing Richard de Courtone here and held a third part of the advowson of the parish church. Courtone at some point held part of the Lordship, a third of which was also claimed by another sister of William de Ofham, Matilda. 

During the reign of Edward II (1307-1327) the whole Lordship came into the possession of Ralph de Ditton. In 1323 he granted possession of it to his daughter, Isabella as well as ‘houses, gardens, lands, meadows, feedings, pastures, hawes, stews, ponds fisheries, escheats, tenants with the fruits to the said manor, reliefs heriots, woods, rents, as well in money, as in cocks and hens, plowshares and eggs, together with the advowson of the church of Offeham, and all other appurteneces belonging to the said manor, to have and to hold to the said Isabel and her heirs and assigns, wholly, freely and quietly in perpetual inheritance for ever, doing an drenderin gyealry from hence the due and accustomed service of the chief lords of the fee.

Isabel then enffoeffed Sir John Chidocke in trust, but on her marriage to Thomas de Plumsted it returned to her. Plumsted appears to have changed his name to de Ditton for he is recorded as paying aid on Offham at the making of Black Prince, Edward, a knight, in 1356. Plumsted died in 1367leaving his second wife Nichola as guardian to his son and heir, Theobald.

Soon afterwards it would appear that Offham came into the Culpepper, or Colepepper family. Sir Richard Culpepper was Lord of Offham during the reign of Edward IV (1461-1483) and he served as Sheriff of Kent in 1470. He died in 1484, leaving Offham to his three daughters; Margaret, who was married to William Cotton of Oxenheath; Elizabeth wife of Henry Barham of Teston and Joyce who was married to Edmund, Lord Howard. Howard was the second son of the Duke of Norfolk and the marriaged produced a daughter, Catherine, who was born around 1522. Howard was described as being wretchedly poor and scraped a living from a meagre pension given for his actions at the battle of Flodden Moor in which the English had crushed the Scots. His marriage to the heiress of Sir Richard Culpepper was a match to improve his fortunes. Unfortunately this union produced ten children and Howard was forced to entertain a plan to put forward his daughter Catherine as a suitor at court. History shows that instead of a wealthy magnate, Catherine caught the eye of Henry VIII and he married her in 1540. She would meet the same fate as Anne Boleyn, being executed in 1542. This spelled the end for the Howard’s influence. Fortunately for Edmund he lived to see none of this, dying in 1536.

During the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547) Offham passed to Thomas Leigh of Sibton, from him it descended to his son and heir, John Leigh, who lived at nearby Addington. By an indenture of July 13 1544 he exchanged the Lordship of Offham with the King for other premises. A year later Henry granted it to William Wilford, John Bennet and George Briggs, who were citizens of London to he held by service of knight’s fee. In this agreement Offham is mentioned as having a number of outlying messuages in the nearby parishes of Ryarsh, Yalding, Brenchley and elsewhere. This was a very common feature of Kentish manors which tend to contains scattered fields and plots, many of them many miles away. 

After one year the three citizens of London sold Offham to interest to Sir John Tufton of Hothfield and it has since remained in the hands of the Tufton family, who later became earls of Thanet. The current representative of the that family, Lord Hothfield is the present Lord of the Manor of Offham.

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Lot #34 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

THE LORDSHIP of the manor Oglebird and Whinfell lies for the most part in the extensive parish of Brougham. It has always been separate from the Lordship of the Manor of Brougham and is centred on the castle of Brougham and the surrounding park and chase called Whinfell. Brougham lies 2 miles from Penrith and Whinfell around 2 miles east of the village centre.

The Lordship has always been a parcel of the Barony of Westmorland and has therefore passed like that title from the Stutevilles to the Morevilles to the Veteriponts to the Clifford and finally to the Tufton family. (see the Barony of Westmoreland in this catalogue and the memorial to the Lords Hothfield). Whinfell was administered from Brougham Castle. This fortification is thought to have been built on the top of a Roman station. The central stone keep was erected in around 1170 and in 1204 Robert de Veteripont had the outer walls constructed. In 1245 it was found that ‘the walls and roof had gone to decay for want of repairing the gutters’ Robert’s grandson, also Robert then had this repaired. 25 years later, in 1270 an outer gatehouse was erected by Roger de Clifford, who had married the co-heiress of the Veteriponts. 

Roger de Clifford II added the upper portion of the gatehouse in 1310, with an inner gatehouse erected five years later. In 1333, the King of Scots, Edward Balliol, who was enjoying a period of rapport with his nation’s traditional enemy, came to stay and hunt at Brougham, as a guest of Robert de Clifford. In 1380 Roger de Clifford III is said to have built the greater part of the castle, ‘next the east’. There is a small stone which bears the inscription, in raised letters, ‘Thys made Roger’. The stone was moved in 1830 so the exact part referred to is not known. Brougham was evidently used as part of a chain of northern fortifications used both in defence against a Scottish attack and as bases of operations for invasions north. In 1380, at the appointment of sheriffs in Westmorland instructions were made to local stone cutters and, masons and labourers to hasten to Brougham to repair the castle. Whatever preparations were made proved inadequate in the face of a fierce Scottish invasion in 1403. During this the Lordship of Whinfell was overrun: ‘The demesne is laid waste, by reason of the Scots, so that the whole profits of the castle and demesne are not sufficient for the repairing and keeping of the former.’ 

The demesne is question consisted of the area known as Whinfell Forest, which is still existent today. Much of the land was composed of enclosed park land, used by the Lords of the Manor, and in particular, the Cliffords for hunting. On the death of Robert de Clifford in 1309 it was found that he had died seised of one park, with herbage valued at £5 per year. The wooded part of the park were famous locally for three ancient oak trees known as the Three Brothers, the remains of which could still be seen in the 19th century. It was said to have measured over 40 feet in circumference. In 1334, as was noted above, Brougham Castle was visited by King Edward Balliol of Scotland, as a guest of Robert de Clifford. The king moved from Appleby Castle to Brougham in order to hunt. There is a story which goes that during this stay, Edward and Clifford went on a hunt in which a stag was chased, by them and a single greyhound, from Whinfell park to Red Kirk in Scotland, and back again. On the animals return the stag leapt over some pales, but the greyhound dropped dead in the attempt. When the stag was finally caught its antlers were nailed to a nearby tree, known from then on as Hart’s Horn Tree, which was still standing 150 years later. In memory of the dog, Hercules, the following was composed;

Hercules killed a Hart a-grease

A Hart a-grease killed Hercules

The court leet of the Lordship of this Lordship was held in the forest itself and was known as the Manor of Oglebird. The origin of this name is not known since there is no record of a place or man of this name. The only reference which can be found for Oglebird is an estate purchased by the Duchess of Pembroke at Temple Sowerby, known as Oglebird. 

The boundaries of Lordship of Oglebird and Whinfell appear to have caused problems between the Lords of the Manor and the Brougham family, who owned a considerable part of the parish. In 1775 when the common was divided and enclosed it was found that the Broughams could put forward no manorial claims here. Further investigation found that it belonged to the Tufton family, who were the earls of Thanet. The current descendent of this family, Lord Hothfield is the present Lord of the Manor of Oglebird and Whinfell.

Brougham Castle too came to the Tuftons. In 1539 it was evidently in ruins since it was recorded that, "At Burgham is an old Castel thatt he commune people ther sayeth doth synke. The Castle is set in a stonge place by reasons of Ryvers enclosing the Cuntery thereabowt.” In 1550 extensive repairs were undertaken by Henry de Clifford, the second earl of Cumberland, ‘so much...as kept him from doing anything at Brough’. These repairs must have been considerable, and lasting , Since Charles I stayed here in 1629, on his progress to Scotland. 20 years later, during the latter period of the Civil War, the castle was said to have been demolished by Parliamentary troops. However, in 1651, Anne Clifford, Countess of Pembroke , who wished to live in Westmorland undertook another rebuilding programme. She wrote of it; ‘after I had been there myself to direct the building of it, did I cause my old decayed castle of Brougham to be repaired and also the the tower called Roman Tower, in the said old castle, and the court house, for keeping my courts in, with some dozen or fourteen rooms to be built in it upon the old foundations.’ These repairs lastıed only thirty years when Thomas, Lord Tufton had it demolished. In 1714 the remaining stone, lead and timber were sold to two attorneys in Penrith. From 1789 there is a ‘romantic’ description of the ruin, the exploration and of which was newly fashionable, 

‘A fine old ruin, built of reddish freestone. Like most of northern strong-holds,

this castle is built in a square form. No place can exhibit more striking remains 

of that gloomy strength for which these edifices of defence were so remarkable; 

arched vaults, winding passages in the walls, so narrow as to not admit more

than one person at once; the doors of these passages contracted to a mere hole, 

through which no one can enter without stooping; and the remains of vast 

bolts and mHassy hinges, give us a lively idea of those times of danger and 

jealousy, when the lord was almost a prisoner in his own castle...The dungeon

or keep where prisoners were confined has walls four or five yards thick....

In the centre stands the Sweating Pillar, from its being continually covered

with a moisture or dew, which at its top divides itself into eight branches.

These extremities terminate near the ground in deformed heads of animals,

and each of these heads hold sin its mouth an iron ring, probably intended

for the chaining of unruly and riotous prisoners.’

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Lot #1 of Manorial Services Auction - February 2022 - Stephen Johnson

(Among 2-3% of manors which are registered with HM's Land Registry - Title #: NK268968)

This Lordship is registered at the Land Registry and has historic rights to market and fair.  The Lordship consists of seven manors, or sub-manors - Buckenham Castle Insoken, Buckenham  Castle Outsoken, Buckenham Close Manor Insoken, Buckenham Close Manor Outsoken,  Buckenham Lathes Insoken, Buckenham Lathes Outsoken and Buckenham Priory 

Lying on the road between Attleborough and Diss is the ancient village of Old Buckenham. It is a nucleated  settlement surrounding a large open space known as Church Green. Like many places in East Anglia the  village was the site of an RAF airfield during the Second World War, which remained open after the end of  the War and is now privately run. The village is also the site of the remains of Old Bukenham Castle, which  was built during the reign of King Stephen and remained home to many Lords of the Manor here until it  was demolished at the end of the Civil War in 1649. The village is thought to have taken its name from the  number of bucks which lived in the surrounding woods. It was later named Old Buckenham after the village  of New Buckenham was founded by the Lord of the Manor, William De Albany and which was developed  after the construction of the castle, which remained part of Old Buckenham nevertheless. 

The Lordship is first known to have been the possession of Ralf Guader, Earl of Norfolk who was Lord during  the reign of Edward the Confessor. After 1066 Ralf fled England and the manor was seized by William I who  later granted it to William De Albany. The Manor was originally held by service of being Butler to the Kings  of England on the day of their coronation. Albany was therefore styled Pincerna Regis or King’s Butler. He  constructed the first castle in Old Buckenham and founded Wymondham Abbey, a few miles to the North,  in 1107. He was succeeded by his son William in 1139. William fought for Stephen during the period of civil  war in England known as the Anarchy and was raised to the Earldom of Arundel in 1138. He assisted in  brokering a truce in 1153 which eventually led to the reign of Henry II and he served this king loyally for the  rest of his life. He was known as William Strong Hand, a nickname earned through his reputation as a valiant  and brave knight. He married Adeliza of Louvain, sometimes known Adelicia of Louvain, and who was Queen  of England from 1121 to 1135, as the second wife of King Henry I. He was evidently considered something  of a catch in Europe, as this story, recounted by William Dugdale, makes clear; 

It happened that the Queen of France, being then a widow, and a very beautify woman, became much  in love with a knight of that country, who was a comely person, and in the flower of his youth: and because she  thought that no man excelled him in valour, she caused a tournament to be proclaimed throughout her dominions,  promising to reward those who should exercise themselves therein, according to their respective demerits; and  concluding that if the person whom she so well affected could act his part better than the others in those military  exercises, she might marry him without any dishonour to herself. Hereupon divers gallant men, from forrain parts  hastening to Paris, amongst others came this our William de Albini, bravely accoutered, and in the tournament  excelled all others, overcoming many, and wounding one mortally with his lance, which being observed by the  queen, she became exceedingly enamoured of him, and forthwith invited him to a costly banquet, and afterwards  bestowing certain jewels upon him, offered him marriage; but, having plighted his troth to the Queen of England,  then a widow, he refused her, whereat she grew so much discontented that she consulted with her maids how she  might take away his life; and in pursuance of that design, inticed him into a garden, where there was a secret cave,  and in it a fierce lion, unto which she descended by divers steps, under colour of shewing him the beast; and when  she told him of its fierceness, he answered, that it was a womanish and not a manly quality to be afraid thereof.  But having him there, by the advantage of a folding door, thrust him in to the lion; being therefore in this danger,  he rolled his mantle about his arm and, putting his hand into the mouth of the beast, pulled out his tongue by the  root; which done, he followed the queen to her palace and gave it to one of her maids to present her. Returning  thereupon to England, with the fame of this glorious exploit, he was forthwith advanced to the Earldom of Arundel,  and for his arms the lion given him. 

Old Buckenham descended with the Earls of Arundel for several generations. William was succeeded by his  son, William and he was succeeded by his son William, the third Earl, who died whilst on after returning from  Crusading in 1221. 

The Lordship then passed to William’s brother, Hugh a minor at the time of his brother’s death. Hugh died  without a male heir and his vast fortune was divided between his four sisters. His widow, Isabel, founded  a nunnery at Marham in his memory. Old Buckenham passed to his eldest sister, Mabel, who was married  to Sir Robert de Tateshale. Hayes father was a great benefactor of Buckengham Priory and the cannons of  the Priory expressed their gratitude by altering the seal and including his arms. Robert continued his family  connection with the Priory, granting the cannons liberty of foliage for 200 sheep with free pasturage, and  53 acres of arable land. He’s also recorded as holding the castle and the Manor by service of Royal Butler.  He died in 1248, leaving his son, Robert, as his heir. Robert stood firm at the side of Henry the third and his  wars with the barons in the 1260s, and was besieged at Bukenham Castle by Sir Henry Hastings. He died in  1272, leaving the lordship to his son, Sir Robert de Tateshale. In 1285 he held a view of frankpledge over the  Manor, with the right of free warren (to keep game), gallows, a Saturday market, assize of bread and ale and  an annual fair, held on St Martins Day, November 11. The right to market and fair had been granted in 1275.  

Old Buckenham remained in the Tateshale family through several generations until the death of Robert de  Tateshale, a minor, in 1310. The Lordship was divided at this point between his three aunts. There follows a  fairly involved descent of the divided lordship, the majority of which passed the Clifton family on the marriage  of Adam de Clifton and Margaret de Caily, granddaughters of Sir Osbert de Caily who married Emma, one  of the heirs of the last Robert de Tateshale. The other portion of the Manor eventually descended through  the families of Driby, Orriby and Bernak and Cromwell before coming to Elizabeth, the daughter of the last  Ralf Cromwell. She married Sir John Clifton. He died without male heirs and the whole estate was then  reunified on the marriage of his sister, Elizabeth and Sir John Knevet, who, at this time, held Buckenham Castle. 

The whole lordship and estate now descended with the Knevet family. His grandson, Sir William was attainted  by the Parliament of January 1483, called by Richard III. He was charged with being a supporter of Henry  Tudor, Earl of Richmond and he was required to convey the Manor and Castle to the king. When Richard’s  reign came to a bloody end at Bosworth in August 1485, Sir William was given back his estate and the  Lordship of Old Buckenham. It passed to his son Sir Edmund, who had been present at Bosworth but he  drowned at sea during a sea battle, the details of which are elusive. His son and heir, Sir Thomas, was standard  bearer to Henry VIII and when Buckenham Priory was dissolved 1537, he received it and its estates. His status  in Tudor society was enhanced when he married Muriel, the daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk.  

Old Buckenham with its several manors and the family estates remained with the Knevets until 1649 when  it was sold by Sir Philip to Hugh Audley for £18,508.10s. A year later Audley served as Sheriff of Norfolk but  died without males heirs and settled his estate on his three sisters. Elizabeth, Alice and Sarah. The manor was  divided once more but the majority passed to the descendants of Sarah and her husband Robert Harvey,  Comptroller of the Custom House. The remainder came to Ambrose Holbech. In 1755 the entire manor was  united in the person of Meadow Taylor of Diss. The Manor remained in the hands of the Taylor family until it  was sold by A H O Taylor to Lionel Robinson in 1914. The Robinson family held the title for three generations  until 1987 when it was purchased by the family of the present vendors. 

Documents associated with this manor in the public domain:

1300- 1300: extent British Library 

1493-1498: bailiff’s account rolls, with other manors (2) Kent History and Library Centre 

1250-1299: suit roll (late 13th cent) Norfolk Record Office 

1539-1540: accounts Norfolk Record Office 

1559-1567: court book, with other Buckenham manors 

1630-1742: court book 

1650- 1700: survey (field book) 

1721-1732: court roll, with other manors 

1793: court roll, with other manors 

1772-1774: court rolls, with other manors The National Archives 

1782-1798: suit rolls and lists of fines, with other manors 

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Lot #19 of Manorial Services Auction - 2004 UNPUBLISHED/ABORTED - Stephen Johnson

GREAT ORMSIDE lies in the parish of the same name, which measures some 2,269 acres of mainly pasture land. It lies on the banks of the river Eden, seven miles west of Brough and 4 miles from Appleby.

The Lordship was formerly known as Ormesheved, after the ancient family which held it, possibly descended from the Orme who was governor of Appleby Castle during the reign of Henry II (1154-1189). The first actual record of the Lordship occurs during the reign of John (1199-1216), when John de Ormesheved and Robert de Boell were appointed to take possession of Appleby Castle on behalf of Robert de Veteripont. In 1207 the same John was sheriff of Westmorland. The family retained the Lordship when it passed Guy de Ormesheved, John’s son or grandson. By 1252 it had passed to Guy’s son, Robert, who is recorded as witnessing a grant of land by the last ˜Robert de Veteripont at Appleby.  

Great Ormside then passed to John de Ormesheved and he granted land in the manor to his son, John, in 1286. At this point however it appears that half of the Lordship was in the possession of John de Vescy. This powerful magnate, born in the 1240’s. He succeeded to his father’s estates in 1253 after his father’s death in Gascony, and this included the Barony of Alnwick. John was a minor at this time and Henry III caused great offence to the family by placing John in the wardship of Peter of Savoy, Queen Eleanor’s Uncle. As a result John was naturally attracted the the personality of Simon Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and espoused his cause during the barons’ war of the 1260s. He fought for De Montfort at the battle of Evesham in 1265 but was taken prisoner by the victorious Prince Edward. A local legend states that such was John’s veneration for Montfort he returned to his Northumberland estates with one of his master’s feet, shod in a silver shoe. This was said to have been preserved at Alnwick Priory until the Dissolution in 1537. In 1267 he joined another rebellion of Northern barons but Prince Edward travelled north and forced his submission. He was treated with such leniency that he became Edward’s devoted friend. He later attended the Prince on his journey to Palestine, bearing the cross before him. On Edward’s accession he was made governor of Scarborough Castle and two years later took part in the expedition to Scotland which saw the defeat of Godred, King of Man. In 1280 he married the sister of Sir Henry Beaumont and he was granted lands in Northumberland and Kent as a wedding gift from the King. He died in 1289 after serving Edward in a variety of important positions. As a sign of his high favour his heart was buried alongside that of Queen Eleanor at Blackfriars church in London.

The de Vescy claims to the Lordship appears to have died out, since in 1310 the whole estate was held by John de Derwentwater. Great Ormside remained with this family· until 1406, but it is difficult to know how many generations this constituted since all the heirs were named John. At his time the Lordship passed into the possession of John de Barton and his wife Alice, who possibly was the heiress of the Derwentwater estates. This seems quite likely since in 1422 Great Ormside was in the hands of Nicholas Radcliff and his wife Elizabeth, who was the daughter of John de Derwentwater. The Lordship then passed to their son who was seemingly overlord, since the it was described as being held of him by the Barton family. This link with the Bartons was fully restored since in 1529 Robert Barton is described as Lord of the Manor of both Great and Little Ormside in a settlement of his lands. His estates included land in nearby Great Asby, as well as land in Northumberland and Yorkshire.

The Lordship remained with the Barton family until the reign of Elizabeth, (1558-1603) when it was sold to Sir Christopher Pickering, whose family originated at Crosby Ravensworth. Sir Chrisopher never married but on his death passed Great Ormside to his natural daughter, Frances. She was married to John Dudley of nearby Dufton, and was of the Dudleys of Yanworth. Dudley died before Frances and she married again, to Cyprian Hilton of Burton. The Lordship then descended to their son, Christopher whose heir was his daughter, Mary. She married Thomas Wybergh of Clifton. Wybergh sold Great Ormside to George Stephenson of Warcup. He died intestate and without children so the estate passed to his sisters. It then was sold to John Farwell of Temple Sowerby who in turn sold it to the Earl of Thanet, in 1770. The present representative of this family, Lord Hothfield is the current Lord of the Manor of Great Ormside.

Within the extent of the Lordship is the ancient manor house, known as Beeks, which, from the 18th century was used as a farm house This was built as a defensive house, like many in the area, as a precaution against attack from the Scots.

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Lot #5 of Manorial Services Auction - March 2023 - Stephen Johnson

Just to the East of the market town of Diss lies the manor of  Osmondeston. Spelt variously as Osmondeston, Osmundiston  or Osmondiston the village was once famed for having the most  famous pub sign in England over the Scole Inn. Thought to be  one of the first posting inns in England the sign was elaborately  carved and was so big that if formed an arch across the road.  Inside the inn was the ‘biggest bed in England’ which was said to  have been big enough to sleep up to 20 couples.  

The manor was named after the enclosure of a Saxon  lord, Osmund. The estate lies in the modern parish of Scole  though the latter is considered the original name. Osmondeston  is certainly what is referred to as the ‘capital’ manor of the parish  and is known as such in Domesday Book, where is received the  following entry under lands held by Ralph of Fougeres; 

There have always bee 2 villans and 6 borders 

There were two slaves now one 

There has alsways been on plough in demesne 

Two plough belonging to the men 

Woodland for 10 pigs, six acres of meadow 

There has always been one horse at the hall 

Four freemen at 4o acres of land 

It was worth 40s now 50s 

This was a sizeable and well managed manor. The reference to ‘the hall’ is interesting as it implies that  the Lord of the Manor actually resided in Osmondeston, which would have been unusual after the Norman  invasion. A reference to Fourgeres can be seen in the entry for the manor of Facons in this catalogue.  Osmondeston remained with this family for over 150 years until the 13th century. In 1270 it is recorded  as the possession of Sir Aylmer de Berrill who died in 1279 but had no heirs. After this, the descent of the  Manor is a little uncertain but it appears that the manor came to the Shelton family, who had claimed another  manorial estate which had descended from the ownership of Roger Bigod at the time of Domesday. Henry  de Scelton is recorded as holding the manor by the rent of 2s. 2d. per annum; this was a separate manor then,  and the demeans 15 acres. 

The historian of Norfolk, Francis Blomfield, notes that it was this Henry who combined the two  Domesday estates of Fougeres and Bigod into one after the death of Berrill, in 1286. The manor had passed  to Robert De Shelton. The family had originally come from Stradbroke in Suffolk and then moved to Shelton  a few miles north-east of Diss where they built Shelton Hall. In the mid 14th century the manor was in the  possession of Sir Ralph De Shelton. Born in 1313, Ralph was a minor at the time of his father’s death and his  estates were controlled by William, Bishop of Norwich, until he reached the age of 21 in 1333. The family  were evidently under some financial duress in this period as Ralph repeatedly refused a knighthood because  he couldn’t afford the honour. Despite this, he did eventually become a knight in 1346 after fighting in the  king’s own company at the Battle of Crecy, one of the great English victories of the Hundred Years War. He  was commended to Edward III after his part in saving the life of Edward, The Black Prince. On his return to  Norfolk, Sir Ralph had Shelton Hall built and married Anne Burgillion. In later life he acted as the king’s official  in East Anglia. He died in 1373.  

Osmundeston remained in the possession of the Shelton family for the next 150 years. In 1483 it  was found to be in the possession of Sir John Shelton. Latterly the Sheltons, became related by marriage to  the Bolyen family which was something of mixed blessing for their fortunes. In 1553, possibly as reflection  of the Catholic Queen Mary ascending to the throne, Osmondeston was sold to John Aldham of Shimpling.  In 1561 he sold the manor to Sir Thomas Cornwallis of Brome Hall. On his death in 1604, aged 86, a  magnificent marble tomb was erected in his honour at the parish church in Brome, which is still on display. His  heir was his eldest son, Sir William, who was a leading member of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex’s colonial  expedition to Ireland in 1599. He was knighted for his part in this at Dublin in the same year. On his death  the manor passed to his younger son Frederick, who served in the household of Prince Henry, the eldest  son of James I, and he travelled with him to Spain. He was created a baronet in 1627 and knighted in 1630,  by which point he had succeeded to the entire Cornwallis estate on the death of his elder brother, William.  Being a staunch Royalist, Frederick fought for Charles I during the Civil War and distinguished himself at  the Battle of Cropredy in June 1644 where he rescued Lord Wilmot from capture. Unfortunately, after the  Parliamentarian victory his estate was sequestered and he followed Charles II into exile, only returning with  the King in 1660. A year later, as a reward for his loyalty, he was created Lord Cornwallis of Eye but died only  a few weeks later.  

Osmundeston remained in the possession of the Cornwallis family until 1823 when it was sold to  Mattias Kerrison of Oakley Park. It eventually passed with the Oakley estate to the Maskell family and their  descendants in whom it remains. 

A selection of Documents associated with the Manor in the Public Domain:

1404: terrier (1 roll in 2 pieces) Norfolk Record Office 

1288-1289: account Suffolk Archives - Ipswich 

1298: extent 

1342-1668: court rolls 

1400- 1499: extents  

1400- 1800: rentals, with other manors  

1504-1600: extents (non-consecutive) 

1541-1641: rentals 

1550- 1600: stewards’ papers (late 16th cent) 

1612-1712: court books (2) 

1642-1672: accounts 

1664: estreats 

1740: estreats 

1743-1923: court books  

1748-1770: minute book 

1751: extent 

1925: rental 

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Lot #10 of 'Beaumont Collection' Auction - Nov 1954

in the Parish of Dedham

Dedham lies 7 miles North-east of Colchester, on the road to Ipswich. 

"The Manors of Overall and Netherhall," says Morant (Vol. II p. 246) "were formerly two distinct Manors, at present but one. The Manor-House of Over-all, now quite decayed, stood in a field near the road towards Langham, leading into the  highway from Colchester to Ipswich. Neatherhall is only a cottage on Princely-Green where the Court is opened, and thence adjourned to an Ale-house in the town." 

According to the same authority, these were the Estates that once belonged to the family of de Dedham and the Nunnery of Campesse or Campsey in Suffolk. Later it appears that the two Manors came to belong wholly to the Nunnery. When King Henry VIII abolished the religious establishment they were granted to Humfrey Wingfield. In 1562 Queen Elizabeth granted them to Thomas Seckford whose family were in possession of them for many years. The Estates passed into the hands of Samuel Atkinson who was followed by George Thomson. Henry Sidney Goody (Grandfather of the late Clifford Goody, who was senior partner in what is now the firm of Goody, Bentley, & Son, Solicitors of Colchester) first appeared as Deputy Steward at a Court held on 20th August, 1822. In 1830 and 1832 are enrolled the Courts of Charles Bazlehole and Francis Goody was Lord in 1833. He was followed by Francis Smythies, and Joseph Beaumont, grandfather of the Vendors, was Deputy Steward for Henry Sidney Goody at the Court held on 23rd February, 1847. Frank Borthwick Smythies was the next Lord and in 1896 he conveyed the Manor to George Frederick Beaumont. The latter's Courts were held at the "Marlborough Arms," Dedham. 

The Custom of descent in this Manor was to the youngest son, youngest brother, etc. and some of the fines were arbitrary and some certain. 

Amongst the papers to be handed over is a draft affidavit made by George Frederick Beaumont and Walter Buchanan in connection with proceedings in the Chancery Division High Court (reHurlock) to which the existence of this custom of descent was material to the issue. 

The Manorial documents (insured for  £300, ,premium 15/- per annum) to be handed over are: 

Court Books: 1672-83; 1694-1715; 1717-23; 1724-63; 1763-70; 1771-82; 1783-95; 1771-88; 1789-95; 1796-1807; 1807-14; 1814-23; 1824-30; 1831-40; 1840-51; 1851-59; 1859-72; 1872-91; 1891-1908; 1908-28

Court Rolls: 1712; 1714

Rental: Circa 1761

Index: 1763-70

Quit Rental: 1893

Copy of Act of Parliament 40 Geo III. "An Act for Dividing, Allotting and Inclosing the Heaths and Commons..." etc., bound in limp leather. 

These Court Books comprise an exceptionally fine set, being complete from 1672, very stoutly bound in vellum and in excellent condition, both inside and outside. This Court having been a very active one, there is a great wealth and variety of interesting matter in them, including plans of many properties both large and small belonging to copyholder. 

See Conditions of Sale No. 18 as to acknowledgement and undertaking to be given by the purchaser of Lot 10a. 

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