T. Walter Hall

“ Every countryside, every village and every town becomes a more interesting place to its inhabitants, when its history is known. The names of persons and places become intelligible, dates and letters on buildings can be accounted for, disused bridle roads and paths can be traced, the heraldry of the stained glass in the church and of the tombstones in the churchyard can be read with understanding, local genealogies can be extended and long cherished family traditions can often be verified or explained. ”

“ The vendors were doubtless in actual possession and their ancestors had held it for nearly two hundred years; under circumstances such as these the Courts of Common Law, in the absence of the tradition, would have assumed a lost grant, made prior to the reign of Richard I, which is supposed to be equivalent to immemorial user; but the family tradition as to John of Gaunt fixes the lost grant in the reign of Richard II, which would not support a claim by immemorial user. ”

“ The full extent of the said land, in the 1st year of the reign of King Henry IV, was marked out and set to limits either to expel, keep in or admit, to the only proper use and advantage of that house called Hawksyerd otherwise Hawksearth aforesaid; and also the liberty to dig turf in the public meadow and wastes of the lordship of Alstonefield. Sir Edward Mundy of Marton in the county of Derby aforesaid prayed for one favour of John Gaunt duke of Lancaster, which he [John] said he would consider if to him it were possible. ”

“ He possibly may have acted for both vendor and purchaser and been anxious to do his best for both his clients. He would, on receiving his instructions, ask the vendor for his title deeds; the answer would presumably be that there were no such deeds; but it was probably well known in the vendor’s family and possibly also to John Weston, that Hawksyard had been given to Sir Edward Mundy by John of Gaunt shortly before his death, after enjoying a day’s hawking in Highe Frith, the tradition of which would hang round The Moorlands for centuries ”

“ As already stated Hawksyard was in Highe Frith, part of the manor of Alstonefield, and a manor was an estate in fee simple in a tract of land granted by the sovereign to a subject, usually a man of some consequence, in consideration of certain services. ”

“ The attorney would perhaps be in doubt, whether this traditional gift was a grant of the fee simple or a mere sporting right over certain waste lands belonging to the manor of Alstonefield, part of the duchy; which right would be what is known as a right of common in gross. ”

“ The party would ride from Markeaton across the open country to Lady Edge, and they appear to have had good sport. Probably John of Gaunt and his friends from Markeaton watched the hawking from the top of Lady Edge and the undulating land which lies between Lady Edge and Hawksyard, the quarry being taken within a distance of half a mile to the north-east. So pleased was the duke, that he honoured the place where the hawks took their quarry by giving it the name of Hawksyard otherwise Hawksearth ”

“ It is only through the kindness and good nature of others, that a systematic search for local history can proceed and although contributions accumulate in small quantities, there is no more fruitful or reliable source of information, as to people and places of bygone days, than the land charters and court rolls covering the period from the Domesday survey to the reformation. ”

“ Many bundles of old title deeds, unopened for centuries, yet lie hidden in out-of-the-way corners and on inaccessible shelves; it should be part of the work of every archæological society to extract from all available deeds, relating to its own district, whatever useful history they may contain. ”

“ His widow was allowed to retain the Salisbury estate; and the other four earldoms were bestowed on his brother Henry earl of Lancaster, to whom one third share of Alstonefield manor was also given, so that he possessed not only the Lancastrian estates but also the earldoms of Derby (including the honour of Tutbury) , Leicester, Lincoln, Chester and the territorial interest of a third of the manor of Alstonefield, including Malbanc Forest; of which Highe Frith was waste of the manor.
Henry earl of Lancaster was succeeded by his son Henry, afterwards first duke of Lancaster, who had no son ”

“ On the other hand the two Lysons, in their work on Derbyshire, say that the Mundys did not buy the Markeaton property until the beginning of the sixteenth century. Perhaps at that date they added to their original holding?
We now have some idea of how matters stood in 1399 and 1568; we are therefore in a better position to consider whether the deeds of [Pg 26] Richard II and Elizabeth can be relied on as giving the origin and early history of the place-name Hawksyard. ”

“ In the reign of Edward the confessor, Pickburn was part of the lands of Alsie the Saxon lord; but after the conquest it was held by Nigel Fossard under the earl of Morton, who accompanied William from Normandy in his successful invasion of England. The earl subsequently forfeited his English possessions and Nigel Fossard, his subinfeudatory, came to be acknowledged tenant of the crown. Gilbert Cook may have been descended from Alberus de Coci (Cook) , who after the conquest held Hickleton and part of Cadeby. ”

“ Equitem takes the place of the more conventional militem; nuncupatur is used instead of vocat and coram instead of testibus. Each of the first four witnesses is described as gent and the last as attorney, while Derby is written once in English; further, the exact legal effect of the deed seems to be intentionally vague; it is headed conventum, meaning a covenant, but in the subsequent deed of 1568 it is referred to as a grant. ”

“ Quitclaim (Lat) , dated at Kenwortheẏ, from Emma daughter of Richard de Macworth to Sir William de Baggelegh knight and his heirs, of all her right and claim in all lands or tenements, with their appurtenances, which she had of the gift and testament (?) of Roger del Tatton (?) in Kenwortheẏ in the town of Nortworhtheẏ (sic) with the annual rent for the said lands. Witnesses: Roger le Masey of Sale, John de Carmarthon, William de Tatton, Thomas del Brome, Adam Lobias. Vellum: one skin 8 × 3, seal missing. Notes: the writing is much faded in places. ”

“ Prior to the statute Quia Emptores, 18 Edw I (1290) . Charter (Lat) confirming a grant from William de Mertone to Henry son of Roger Palmer, of one toft in the town of Mertone and two acres of his land; that toft and those acres which Roger his son formerly held of him to the end of all things; to wit, the said Roger the said land either held or retained, for homage and services; to have and to hold to him and his heirs or assigns, from him (the grantor) or his heirs, freely quietly and entirely, with all liberties and easements, so much land in the town of Mertone, with the appurtenances ”

“ Richard and William, during his (the said Robert de Tatton senior) life, in advance, freely quietly well and in peace, with all profits liberties turbaries common of pasture and other easements to the said lands and tenements wheresoever, belonging and in the said town existing and to the same, of whatsoever manner, to be firmly held: of the chief lord of that fee, for services [Pg 6] thenceforth owing and of right accustomed; warranty of title etc. Witnesses: Peter de Legh then steward of Macclesfeld, William de Legh chevalier, John de Honford (?) , Richard de Brome, William de Ken'. ”

“ November 6th, in the 5th year of Henry VI. Letter of attorney (Lat) , dated at Ouerhaddon, from Richard son of John Walker of Ouerhaddon to William de Brodhirst senior and John his son, to give seisin to William de Brodhirst junior and Margorie his wife, in one messuage and xxvi acres of land and meadow, with the appurtenances, in Ouerhaddon, following the form and effect of a certain charter of the said John Walker to the same William de Brodhirst junior and Margorie. Vellum: one skin 12 × 11⁄2 seal missing. ”

“ Vellum: one skin 81⁄2 × 21⁄4, two seals [Pg 4] missing. Notes: this is a grant of land in Northenden in the hundred of Macclesfield, Cheshire. It is on the south bank of the river Mersey, seven miles south of Manchester. Withenshaw Hall is the ancient family seat of the Tattons, who were lords of the manor. See Ormrod’s “History of Cheshire” volume iii, pages 604 to 611.
Genealogy deduced.
IV
1332 Tuesday in the feast of the translation of saint Dunstan (7th September) . ”

“ R. E. Leader and photographic reproduction of early 14th century Derbyshire charter.
Published June 1912. Price 2/-.
CATALOGUE OF THE ANCIENT CHARTERS BELONGING TO THE TWELVE CAPITAL BURGESSES AND COMMONALTY OF THE TOWN AND PARISH OF SHEFFIELD, WITH ABSTRACTS OF ALL SHEFFIELD WILLS PROVED AT YORK PRIOR to 1554, by T. Walter Hall; with over 100 local genealogies and 4 photographic reproductions of early Sheffield seals and an early 15th century Sheffield charter. ”