Francis Blomefield

“ Peter's Mancroft in Norwich, and was buried in the chancel at Hingham, before the image of St. Andrew, by her lord and husband. She ordered, if she died in Norwich, that her body should be carried to the chapel of St. Mary in the Fields, and a mass said for her, and then to be carried to Hingham, with 15 torches born before her by 15 of her poor tenants in black gowns, and also five poor women in black shall bear each a taper of two pound weight, and place them before the sacrament by her grave, there to remain till they be burnt up. ”

“ William le Marshall, his brother, who this year paid his relief, and had livery of his brother's possessions, except that part which Avelina, Aliva, or Alice le Marshal, daughter of Hubert de Rye, held in dower; in 1263, the King directed his writ to the sheriff of Norfolk, and Ralf de Berri, escheator, to respite Aliva le Marshall's homage, which she ought to do, as sister and heir to Isabell de Cressi, and to take her fealty and relief, on condition that if Alice, the widow of Stephen de Cressi, son of Isabell, be with child, then that half part of the barony to descend to that child. ”

“ Goley for Wiclewood, and several other lords, did their suit to Cossey, and not to the hundred. The heirs of Giles de Wachesham had all the liberties as Windham, except the leet. The Prior of Canterbury had his leet and privileges as in Windham, to his manor of Deepham, and John de Stutvile had the leet to his manor of Kimberley, Will. de Carleton had the leet of Carleton to his manor there, and the Prior of Windham had the view of frankpledge and sole jurisdiction over his men and lands, not only in Wymondham, but in Wiclewood, Morley, and Carleton. ”

“ William de Herforth was lord and patron, and Katerine his widow, in 1257, and so was their son William, whose widow, Petronil, presented in 1317; in 1349, it belonged to the Batemans, and passed backward and forward in trustees hands, till it was conveyed to the Dean and Canons of the college of St. Mary in the Fields in Norwich, except the manor-house, 80 acres of land, 6 acres of meadow, and other its demeans, in Dunston and Mannington, all which were conveyed to the same house in 1392, by Henry Lumnour and others, and were then held of Costessey manor. ”

“ The temporals of the Prior of Windham were valued at 6d.; the parish was valued at about 300l. per annum, of which Peter Le Neve, Esq. at his death, had a third part in free and copyhold land, but no manor.
The steeple here is round, and hath three bells; there is only a nave, which is thatched, the chancel is tiled; there is only one modern inscription, for Frances Grime. There are no arms in the windows.
Walebrun or Welbourn, at the Conqueror's survey, belonged to William Earl Warren, and was held of the castle of Lewes, and afterwards of Castle-Acre. ”

“ Sir William Wodehouse, his son and heir, lived at Flitcham in Norfolk,, the monastery of which place he is said to have founded, and made a cell to Walsingham;; he was the first of the family that purchased lands in Kimberley, but no manor there, though he was lord of manors in Norfolk; and indeed by what I can see, he was the first that removed from Windham, side; he married Petronilla,, daughter and heir of Clervaur ”

“ Michael de la Pole, being restored to his honour and estate, enjoyed the manor, and was lord here; he died in 1414, leaving it to
Katherine, his widow, who was daughter of Hugh Earl of Stafford, at whose death it went to
Will. de la Pole, her second son, then Earl of Suffolk, and was settled in 1434 on
Alice, his wife; Sir John de Shardelow, Knt. and others, being trustees; at her death,
John de la Pole Duke of Suffolk inherited, who settled it on Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Plantaginet Duke of York, and sister of King Edward IV. ”

“ John Marshall, nephew to William, who married Isabell, daughter and heiress of Richard Strongbow Earl of Pembrook, and Marshal of England, and was called the Old Marshal Earl of Pembrook; this John married Alice, daughter and coheir of Hubert de Rhye, Baron of Rhye in Norfolk, who, in 1204, gave the King three palfreys to have the livery of the lands and advowsons which were Hugh Gournay's and Hugh de Ayer's, and of Cantley and Caster: in the year 1207, he had a grant of the marshalship of Ireland ”

“ In 1244, the King had an escuage granted him of 20s. out of every knight's fee; and it appears that he was this year at Wymondham, for there the writs are dated, which were sent to all the sheriffs, to proclaim in their counties, that all the King's tenants in capite, who held an entire knight's fee, or twenty pounds by the year in land, (which was at that time an equivalent,) and were not knights, should on penalty of forfeiture of their lands repair to the King at Whitsuntide, to receive arms from him, and be made knights. ”

“ Sir Peter Jernegan, his son, who became heir to his father and grandfather, and also coheir to the Fitz-Osberts estate, in right of his mother, for that estate, on the death of Sir Peter Fitz-Osbert of Somerley-Town, his grandfather, went to Sir Roger Fitz-Osbert, her brother, who died without issue, leaving it to Catherine his wife for life, who died in 1220, and then the Fitz-Osberts estate came to Isabell, widow of Walter Jernegan, Sir Peter's mother, as sister of the said Roger Fitz-Osbert, and to John Noion, son and heir of Alice Fitz-Osbert, the other sister of the said Isabell ”

“ There was a manor-house and 100 acres of land, and 6 acres of meadow, and liberty of faldage in Honingham, which was also given in alms. In Hillary term, 18th Edward I. the bailiff of the Queen, widow of Henry III. impleaded several tenants of Cossey manor in Wramplingham, for cutting down wood in Wramplingham, as what they could not do, it being parcel of the manor of Cossey, and a member thereof, but they being found to be under the lord of Wramplingham, and not to belong to Cossey, could do it, and so justified themselves. ”

“ London, then Prior, was made the first abbot, all the future abbots, according to the foundation, being to be elected out of Windham monks, unless all consented to the contrary, and to be admitted as the priors were, by the Bishop of Norwich, and presented to the founder or patron, who could not refuse any, unless for notorious crimes: and thus it became an abbey, and continued so to its Dissolution; its whole revenues being then rated, according to Speed, at 72l. 5s. 4d. and according to Dugdale, at 211l. 16s. 6d. per annum. ”

“ After the Conquest, it fell to the share of Alan Earl of Richmond, sirnamed Rufus, or Fergaunt, by reason of his red hair, as Mr. Dugdale and others say; but it should seem that he was known by both these names, Rufus signifying Red, and Fergaunt, Iron-Glove; he was son of Eudo Earl of Britanny in France, and coming over with Duke William into England, he commanded the rear of his army in that memorable battle near Hastyngs, where he behaved so bravely, that he was immediately advanced to the Earldom of Richmond, which was before that the honour of Edwine Earl of Mercia ”

“ Burnel was buried in their church, and that his banner of these arms hung up there. Sir Hugh Camois, Knt. swears the arms belonged to Burnel, for that he was at a town called Burnell in Normandy, where he saw these arms round the tombs of the Lords Burnel; that he lived with Dame Alayn, widow of Sir Edw. Burnel, son and heir of Sir Philip Burnel, and that if any person had a right to many arms by divers causes, he may use and leave out others, and yet not renounce the arms he leaves out, and that this was the custom and right of arms. ”

“ Sir Hugh Jernegan, his youngest brother, Godfrey and Robert being dead, who in 1243 came to an agreement with his mother Margery, and settled on her, in lieu of the dower of Sir Hubert, her late husband, during her life, the capital messuage of the manor of Horham, with the park, windmill, and demean lands, and the services and rents of Horham manor, with housebate, heybote, and pannage; and in consideration of this settlement, Margery released all her right in dower, in two carucates of land, and a messuage in Stonham Jernegan in Suffolk, and in all his other estates in Norfolk and Suffolk. ”

“ In 1418, he, the Bishop of Norwich, and Sir Thomas Erpingham, were the three commissioners, whom the Lords of the Council sent to persuade the gentlemen of the county to go into France, to serve the King with arms and equipage, agreeable to their quality, who returned answer, that they had no success, because the stoutest men were already in the army, and those that remained excused themselves by their poverty, or bodily infirmities. ”

“ Prince Edward, the King's son, who settled it on his mother the Queen, who held it in 1274; and this inquisition says, that after the death of Alan de Rohan, the Bishop of Roan had a grant of it for life, and this year the bailiffs of the Cossey made the water called OldEe, the separate fishery, which before was common to all the tenants. In 1279, the Queen had an extent made, when the manor and soke was worth 92l. per annum, without the advowsons of Cossey, Bawburgh, Honingham, Ringland, and the mediety of Berford, which were all given in alms to divers religious houses. ”

“ Alice, married to John Marshal, and Isabell, to Roger de Cressi; and each of their husbands answered for 17 fees and an half; but this town and the barony went to Marshal, though now half of the fees were gone from it, and he was to hold the hundred, manor and advowson, as the head of his barony, at one fee; and at the same time, he obtained liberty of free-warren in those 17 fees and half, which now constituted the barony; in 1215, he was Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk with John Fitz Robert, and had the custody of Norwich castle ”

“ In 1195, Gilbert de Runhal was Lord, it coming to that family from William Gournay, who held it in Henry the Second's time; and in 1198, Barth. de Runhall, by gift of Gilbert, he sold it to Richer de Whitewell, from which time it descended with Whitwell's manor in Whitewell, and the manor called by their name in Skeyton; in 1205, Mathew de Gourney, son of William, brought an action against Gilbert de Runhall for the manor ”

“ In a deed dated this year, Sir Robert is called cousin and heir of Sir Robert de Montealt, formerly steward of Chester; in 1342, Nicholas de Taterfeld, and Thomas de Wyrham, held a messuage and 20 acres of land in capite of Hingham manor, by the service of finding one man at arms, in the retinue of the lord of Hingham, whenever he carried his men to the King's assistance; this was first granted by the lord, to Sir John de Camois, Knt. who sold it to Ralf de Maneby, he to Alfric Waryn, and he to William Fitte, who granted it to Taterfield and Wyrham ”

“ Thomas the Martyr at Canterbury, on his own day, on condition there be a vicar appointed, to be presented by the monks, by the Bishop's advice, whose stipend should not be less than 10 marks a year; and also that the church of Canterbury claimed no exemption, but acknowledged this church to belong, as to all ecclesiastical jurisdiction, to the see of Norwich; and in 1227, Rich. de Sybeton, Official to the Archdeacon of Sudbury, summoned a jury of thirteen laymen, and twelve clergy, the first of which were, Nigel, custos of Hingham deanery, Reymond de Morley, William, Vicar of Wiclewood, &c. ”

“ Windham Reginæ, or The Abbots Manor Was given by the founder to that house, and passed with it to its dissolution, and was granted by Henry VIII. in 1545, to Henry Earl of Surrey, at whose attainder it reverted to the Crown, and was assigned to the Princess Mary, before she came to the Crown; in 1556 King Philip and Queen Mary kept court here, from whom it came to Queen Elizabeth, who held her first court in 1558; in 1573, the Queen had the manor and rectory, and the rents were 102l. per annum ”

“ The Church is dedicated to All the Saints; when Norwich Domesday was wrote, the rector had a grange or barn, and 20 acres of land; and what is remarkable, there remains exact the same quantity at this day; the whole was valued then at 10 marks and an half, and paid 6s. 8d. procurations, but no synodals, Peter-pence, nor carvage; it stands in the King's Books by the name of Brand, alias Brandon-Parva, was valued at 8l. 3s. 9d. but being sworn of the clear yearly value of 46l. 4s. 10d. it is discharged of first fruits and tenths, and is capable of augmentation. ”

“ Robert Lord Morley, his son, was 16 years old, who, in 1440, confirmed to Isabell his mother all her right in this manor and advowson, and the fishery called Semere, in the manors and advowsons of Alby, Hokering, Foulsham, Swanton, Morley, and Eynsford and Forehoe hundreds, with the advowsons of Brandon-Parva, Bintre, Mateshall-Burgh, and Hadesco-Thorp. ”

“ Cursoun held his part of Richard de la Rokele, by the eighth part of a fee, and had a capital messuage in which he dwelt, 144 acres in demean, besides many lands, rents, and services here, and in Ketringham; in 1317, Katherine Curson, widow of Sir William, is called lady of Stanfield; she held it for life, and was succeeded by Sir John Curson, her son and heir, who, in 1339, had Sir William Curson, by Margaret his wife; in 1333, Oliver de Mouton and Maud his wife settled their part on this Sir John Curson, who had now married Ivetta, widow of Thomas de Mouton ”