Little Onn.
Richard the King's Thane held Anne in 1085–5. Ailric held it
(in Saxon times). There is half a hide. The arable land is two
carucates. This is the Domesday manor which Mr. Eyton identifies
with Little Onn. Richard the King's Thane seems to have been
the same with Richard Forestarius and Richard Venator, whom
Dugdale further identifies with Chenuin or Chenene, under each of
which names he occurs in Domesday as a large holder in capite in
the counties of Stafford and Warwick. (fn. 1) He held the manor of
Chesterton, in Warwickshire, and other lands of the King in capite
by serjeantry, namely, by the service of keeping the King's forest
of Kanoc (Cannock), in Staffordshire, for which he paid 10 marks
yearly. (fn. 2)
Dugdale describes this manor of Chesterton and the bailiwick
of the Royal forest as having afterwards passed to Walter Croc by
marriage with Margery, the daughter and heiress of Richard
Forestarius or de Chenene, the original grantee of William the
Conqueror. The said Walter occurs on the Warwickshire Pipe Rolls
of 31 Hen. I. (1130–1) as paying a large fine for the lands of
Richard Chevenin, whose daughter he had doubtless married; but
Dugdale is surely mistaken in speaking of her as the daughter and
heiress of Richard Forestarius the original grantee. Richard Forestarius (the original grantee) was Forester in the time of King Edward
the Confessor; he could not, then, have been the same with Richard
Forestarius, who died shortly before 1130; moreover, there is reason
to believe that the former left several sons. It is therefore highly
improbable that his daughter should have inherited the forestership
and other great estates, especially if he had sons to succeed him.
There were in fact two persons in succession who bore the name
of Richard Forestarius or Richard de Chenene (fn. 3) ; and it will have been
the daughter and heiress of the second Richard, presumably the son
and heir of Richard Forestarius (I.), who became the wife of Walter
Croc, to whom she brought the Forestership of Cannock and other
lands. These afterwards passed to Robert Broc, by marriage with
Margery, sister and heiress of William, and daughter of the said
Walter Croc and Margery his wife. The said Robert and Margery
Broc left a daughter and heiress, also named Margery, who carried
the inheritance to her husband, Hugh de Loges.
I am unable to say whether the vill of Little Onn remained with
any of the descendants of Richard Forestarius; whether the family
who afterwards assumed the local name were either his descendants
or his feoffees, or whether it had, in the meantime, been resumed
into the King's hands, and re-granted by him to other persons
as a member of some adjacent manor. It is the more difficult to
trace the seigneural rights, because it seems to have been afterwards
treated sometimes as a member of the manor of Penkridge, and at
others as a member of the Barony of Stafford. Consequently, in
speaking of the earlier tenants in fee I can only give the various
instances in which I meet with the local name, and even then we
cannot always be sure which of the two Onns is the one alluded to,
though I think that Onn or Onne when it occurs without any
prefix generally means what is now called Little Onn.
In the 1st of King John, 2nd October, 1199, Alured de Onne
occurs as defendant in a suit brought against him by Osbert fitz
Orm and Alina his wife. The suit had reference to half a virgate
of land in Plerdewirke. Osbert and Alina remit all claim, for
which Alured gave them two marks. (fn. 4)
In 5 John, September, 1203, John de Wullaveston (Wollaston)
appears against Thomas de Onne in a plea of appeal. The suit was
adjourned to October of the same year, when the complainant failed
to appear, and was therefore in misericordiâ. (fn. 5)
In 10 Henry III., 1227, an assize was taken to try whether John
de Bronton, William de Bronton, Richard Bagot, Roger de Dudinton,
and Thomas his father, Adam de Buterye, Walter Mangunel, Roger
Gunne, and John Em, had unjustly disseised Richard de Onne of
his common of pasture in Brunton (Brineton, in the parish of
Blymhill), which belongs to his free tenement in Onne. The
defendants all appeared except Richard Bagot. The jury found for
Richard de Onne. (fn. 6)
In 12 Henry III. (1227–8) Richard de Onne occurs on the
Staffordshire Assize Roll as one of a jury of twenty-four knights
summoned to set out the franchises of the Crown in Staffordshire. (fn. 7)
In October, 38 Henry III. (1253), the King, by his attorney
Lawrence de Brok, sued Elisanda de Burgo for a carucate of land
and 25s. of rent in Little Onne (Staffordshire), which had been
alienated. Elisanda stated that she only held half a virgate of
land and 4s. of rent there.
The same sued Felicia de Engleton, Henry de Bromlee, and
Elysant his mother, Richard de Onne, and Thomas de Magna
Onne (High Onn), for three virgates and the fourth part of a virgate,
viz., a whole noke of land and a carucate in Albenton. Thomas
stated that he did not hold the land, because Robert de Onne holds
of him half a noke for term of his life, and William de Onne half a
noke for term of his life. Henry and the others stated that they
did not hold the land entirely, because they only hold two virgates,
of which Elysant, the mother of Henry de Bromlee, holds half a
virgate in Little Onne, and Richard de Onne holds one-fourth of a
virgate in Little Onne, and Simon le Petyt, (fn. 8) of Albenton (Apeton),
Hugh de Albeton, and Sibilla, the widow of Ivo de Albenton, hold
a virgate for term of life of the said Henry de Bromlee.
Lawrence afterwards asked permission to withdraw his suit
against all the defendants. (fn. 9)
Elysanda, Elysant, Elysaunt, Helis, or Helisant, was probably a
co-heiress with Felicia de Engleton of lands in Little Onne. She
was the widow of Bertram de Burgo, lord of Wilbrighton, in
Staffordshire, and of Lee Brockhurst, in Shropshire, who was dead
in 1219, leaving his son and heir Bertram a minor. In Michaelmas
Term, tertio incipiente quarto Henry III. (October, 1219), the Sheriff
of Shropshire is commanded to give seisin to Bertram, son of
Bertram (de Burgo) of two carucates of land in Legh, which the
said Bertram recovered by a verdict in the Curia Regis against
Alice, the widow of Philip fitz Bishop, and into which Helis,
mother and guardian of Bertram, had complained that Ralph de
Picheford had intruded himself. (fn. 10) The same Elysaunt, widow of
Bertram de Burgo, appears in 1242 as wife of Robert de Bromlegh,
and was then holding dower in Lee Brockhurst, under warranty of
(her son) Bertram de Burgo. (fn. 11) I suppose her to have been succeeded
in her chief estate at Little Onn, or at least in the seigneural or
mesne rights, by her eldest son Bertram de Burgo, whose heirs
general the Peshalls, through the Knightleys of Knightley, we find
here some two centuries later as reputed lords of the manor under
the Baron of Stafford.
In 42 Henry III. (1257–8) John de Onne gives half a mark to
have an assize of novel disseisin (Staffordshire). (fn. 12)
In 44 Henry III., April, 1260, Thomas de Honne (Onne)
acknowledged that he owed Thomas Corbet 100s., to be rendered
at Michaelmas of this year. (fn. 13)
In 46 Henry III. (1261–2) Richard de Parva Onne gives 1 mark
for an assize to be taken before Martin de Littlebury, and the
Sheriff of Staffordshire is commanded to take his security. (fn. 14)
In a deed of about the same date from James, son of Reginald
de Morton, to Michael, son of Michael, son of William de Morton,
Thomas de Onne and Richard de Onne occur as the two last
witnesses, together with Sir William de Caverswall, then Sheriff of
Stafford and Salop, Adam de Brunton, Bertram de Burgo, Henry
de Bromley, William de Ypestanes, Richard de Picheford, and
Peter de Coule. (fn. 15) And in 47 Henry III. (1263) Richard de Onne
occurs as first juror on the inquisition taken after the death of
Adam de Beysin. (fn. 16)
At the Staffordshire Assizes held at Lichfield on the morrow of
the Holy Trinity, 56 Henry III., 1272, an assize was taken to try
whether Richard de Onne had unjustly disseised Henry de Brumble
of his common of pasture in Onne, which pertains to his freehold
in the same vill, viz., one rood of pasture, in which he was wont to
have common for all beasts during the unenclosed season, on which
the said Richard had built a house, so that the said Henry was not
able to have his common in that place. Richard appeared and
said that Felicia and Eva were sisters and coparceners of a certain
inheritance; and Eva had the capital messuage assigned to her, and
the said place was assigned to Felicia on which to build a house.
Felicia afterwards demised the aforesaid place to Richard, who
subsequently built a house upon it, and therefore committed
no disseisin. The jury found that the said Richard had not
disseised the said Henry of the said common, because the said
place had been assigned to the said Felicia. (fn. 17)
PROBABLE DESCENT OF THE CO-HEIRS OF LITTLE ONN.
At the same assizes Thomas, son of John de Engleton, sues
Richard, son of Thomas de Onne, for one nocate of land in Little
Onn, in which (as he asserts) the same Richard has no entry
except through Felicia de Onne, the grandmother of the aforesaid
Thomas, whose heir he is, and which she demised to the said
Richard for a term of ten years, which has now expired. Richard
appeared to defend his right, and acknowledged that he had entry
into the said tenement through the aforesaid Felicia and William
her husband (but) in fee, and not for a term; and after the death
of the said William the said Felicia ratified and confirmed to him
the said estate, which had been granted to him by William her
husband; whereupon he demands a trial by jury, in which Thomas
concurs; and a jury is ordered to be summoned. (fn. 18) At the same
assizes it is afterwards recorded that Thomas, son of John, withdrew
his plea. (fn. 19)
At the same assizes William de Holney, having been disseised
by Henry de Bromleye of his common of pasture in Little Onn
pertaining to his freehold there, was held by the assize to have
been unjustly dealt with. The recognitors were John de Elmedon,
Richard le Say, of Dunston, Adam, on the moor of Sumerford,
Geoffrey de Copel, Robert, upon the hold of Sawel, Richard, in le Siche
of Eyton, Adam de Olney, Ivo de Eyton, and John, Lord of Onne. (fn. 20)
At the same assizes William de Onne, having taken out a writ
of mort d'ancestor against William de Wolleston, concerning tenements in Little Onne, withdrew his suit, and was in misericordiâ
with his pledges, Richard de Onne and John de Alrenston. (fn. 21)
In August, 1272, Richard de Honne is first juror at an inquest
on the estates and privileges of the Prior of Lapley.
John de Onne and John de Horselowe were jurors on the
inquisition taken after the death of Geoffrey de Bromley, on
Wednesday after the Feast of St. John ante Port. Latin., 1 Edward
I. (1273).
In 3 Edward I. (1274–5) Richard de Onne gives half a mark to
have an assize, and the Sheriff of Stafford is ordered to take his
security. (fn. 22)
In 11 Edward I. (1283) William de Onne is a juror on the
inquisition on the death of William de Perton.
In 22 Edward I. (1293–4) there was a suit of novel disseisin
between Richard fitz Richard de Pycheford and Richard fitz Adam
de Wolaston and On, concerning tenements in Little Onne. (fn. 23)
In 29 Edward I. (1300–1) Thomas de Onne is the last witness
to a Morton deed.
In 1333 Felicia, widow of Guy de Glaseley, grants to her son
Alan de Glaseley 4 marks and 8d. annually during her life out of
her estate in Little Onne, to be paid at the feasts of St. Mark and
the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary; to which are witnesses,
Sir Hugh de Mortimer, Knight, Adam Daras, John . . . . lepton,
John de Roshale, Richard de Baggesore, of the county of Salop,
William de Wolseleye, Adam de Morton, Henry de Rok, Richard
Godefroy de Dilinton, Henry le Wolaston, and others of the county
of Stafford. Dated at Glaseley, on Monday, the Feast of St.
Alphega (19th April), 7 Edward III. (fn. 24)
Felicia's husband was, I suppose, that Wido or Guy de Glaseley
who held the manor of Glaseley in Shropshire under Sir John le
Strange, of Knockin, who held under the Fitzalans. Guy de
Glaseley was descended from a Norman family, whose original
name was Pierrepoint (de Petriponte), from Pont St. Pierre, a vill
in the diocese of Rouen, situate at the confluence of the rivers
Andelle and Seine, but whose members, seated at Glazeley,
came to be called by the local name, at first incidentally but
afterwards uniformly. (fn. 25) Of this family Simon de Perepont was
probably Lord of Glazeley from 1175 to 1203. He seems to have
been succeeded there by Alan de Pierpoint, or de Glazeley, who
occurs in 1214 as having been amerced for some disseisin in
Shropshire. (fn. 26) In November, 1221, he appears as holding certain
lands in Quatford. (fn. 27)
The next who occurs in this succession at Glazeley was Guy
de Pierrepont, otherwise called Guy de Glazeley. Mr. Eyton
believes him to have been the son of Alan, and father of another
Alan, his heir. Sir John le Strange and Wido de Gleseg are
witnesses of Peter de Eyton's charter to Shrewsbury Abbey, which
must have passed between 1224 and 1227. Also Wydo de Gleseleg is
witnesses of a grant in Walkerstow to the same House by Adam de
Beyssin, which passed within ten years of the same period. In
September, 1235, the scutage of John le Strange had been paid by
hand of Guy de Gleseleg. Wido de Perpund is a witness to a
feoffment of John le Strange (probably the third of his name),
which must have passed about 1238, if the grantor be rightly
identified. (fn. 28) This Guy had four sons, Alan, Lawrence, Henry, and
William, by his wife Juliana, who survived him, and afterwards
married John de Perton. (fn. 29)
In Michaelmas term, 1251, Ralph de Arraz and Jane his wife
sued Alan, son of Wydo, for six virgates of land in Wadeleg, (fn. 30) and
Juliana, mother of the said Alan, for two virgates there, as the
right of Jane. Alan and Juliana ask for view thereof, which the
Court grants, and adjourns the case till the quinzaine of Hilary (27th
January, 1252). Juliana names Adam de Perepunt her attorney.
The rolls of that term are lost, but we shall hear presently the result
of this suit. In 1255 the Stoddesden jurors reported Alan de
Perepunt as Lord of Glasele. Therein was one hide of land, which
the said Alan held of John le Strange for half a knight's fee. At
the Salop Assizes of January, 1256, Ralph de Arraz and Alan fitz
Wydo are each found offering half a mark for license to accord their
suit. They have such license and a cyrograph. Accordingly a
fine remains on the rolls to this effect:—"This is the final concord
between Ralph de Arraz and Jane his wife, Plaintiffs; and John le
Straunge, whom Alan fitz Wydo calls to warranty, and who comes
forward with such warranty, &c., concerning eight virgates in
Wadeleg (except 6s. rent), whereof was suit at law. Ralph and
Jane acknowledged the right of the others, quit as regarded themselves and their heirs. For this John le Strange gave the plaintiffs
40 marks. (fn. 31)
In Michaelmas term, 1258, Ralph de Perton appeared against
Juliana de Glasle, Alan, Lawrence, and Henry, her sons, Hugh de
Bladis, Roger de Arderne, William de Glasle, and three others
named, for entering vi et armis his free haye, in the manor of
Perton, which is called Harewude, and forms part of the serjeantry
which the said Ralph held of the King in capite, and cutting down
and carrying away two oak trees. The defendants did not appear,
and the Sheriff is to produce them at fifteen days from Hilary. (fn. 32)
The next mention I meet with of the family, and the only one
in which Little Onn occurs, is that before given, in which Felicia,
the widow of Guy de Glazeley, makes a grant to her son Alan out
of her estate in Little Onn in 1333, when her deed is witnessed by
an equal number of her Shropshire and Staffordshire neighbours.
After which I meet with the family in connection with another
Staffordshire estate, viz., in 33 Edward III. (1359), when William,
son of Alan de Glaseleye (who I take to be a younger son), gives
to Robert Maistursone, of Wych Malban, all the lands and tenements in Berlaston juxta Cubleston (co. Stafford) which he had of
the feoffment of his father Alan, the reserved rent being ten shillings
of silver; to which are witnesses William de Wolaston, Thomas de
Admondeston, Chaplain, and others. (fn. 33)
In 38 Edward III. Thomas, son of Alan de Glaseleye, gives to
Sir James de Pipe, Knight, all his lands and tenements in the
fee of Borlaston for life, so that after the death of the said James
they should revert to Ralph, Earl of Stafford, and his heirs, to be
held of the chief lords of the fee. Witnessed by Nicholas de Bek,
John de Verdon, John de Draycote, Knights; Philip de Grendon,
William del Grenewey, and others; dated at Barlaston, in the Feast
of St. Luke the Evangelist (18th October, 1364). (fn. 34)
On the same day Thomas, son of Alan de Glaseley, signs a
power of attorney to put James de Pipe in seisin of the said lands
and tenements in Barlaston. Witnesses, John Grene, John
Glaseleye Henry Goldsmith, and others; dated at Bridgenorth. (fn. 34)
Pedigree of Glazeley.
On 26th May 1498, one Humphrey Peshall died, seised of the
manor of Little Onn. He held also the manor of Knightley,
which he held of Sir John Bourchier, Knight, Lord de Berners; the
manors of Hopton, Theyne, Blythwood, and the advowson of the
Church of Checkley, which, together with Little Onn, were held of
Edward, Duke of Buckingham, by fealty, but by what other service
the jurors were ignorant. He held also the manor of Caldon, of
George, Earl of Shrewsbury, and the manor of Waterfall, and a third
part of the manor of Astonfield, of the King, in capite. He held
also of the King in capite a messuage, four cottages, and five gardens
in the town of Stafford, which last were held under the custom of
Borough English, by which the inheritance passed to the youngest,
instead of the eldest son. (fn. 35) The said Humphrey Peshall was twice
married. By his first wife he had an elder son Hugh, who predeceased him; and by his second wife Letitia, who survived him,
he had a younger son Richard, his heir male, who was three years
of age at the time of his father's death, and who inherited the
messuage and tenements at Stafford as youngest son and heir.
Pedigree of Peshall of Knightley.
But the other estates, with the exception of the manors of
Knightley and Little Onn, which had been settled on the said
Humphrey and Letitia his second wife for terms of life, were
claimed and recovered by his grand-daughter Katherine, only child
of his elder son Hugh, who was upwards of 20 years of age at the
time of her grandfather's death, (fn. 36) and to whom the manors of
Knightley and Little Onn also reverted after the death of her step
mother Letitia.
Sir Hugh Peshall, Knight, the elder son of Humphrey, had
married Isabella, daughter of Sir John Stanley, Knight (of Pype
and Elford, in the county of Stafford), (fn. 37) who survived him, and by
whom he had an only daughter Katherine, as above mentioned. Sir
Hugh Peshall died 27th July, 1490, and was buried in the Church of
Grey Friars, London. (fn. 38) His daughter Katherine was married at
Bewdley, in the county of Worcester, in or about the year 1491, to
John Blount, Esq., the son and heir apparent of Sir Thomas Blount,
Knight, of Kinlet, in the county of Salop, (fn. 39) to whom she brought her
ample inheritance. The said John Blount, who was afterwards of
Kinlet, Knight, died on 27th February, 22 Henry VIII. (1530–1),
leaving the said Katherine his wife surviving, and an elder son
George Blount, who was eighteen years of age and more at the time
of his father's death. (fn. 40)
Dame Katherine Blount, widow, died on 1st February, 32 Henry
VIII. (1540–1), seised (inter alia) of lands and tenements at Little
Onn, which were held of Sir John Dudley, Knight, as of his manor
of Penkerich, but by what service the jurors were ignorant. George
Blount her son and heir was upwards of twenty-seven years of age. (fn. 41)
Sir John Blount and Katherine his wife had five sons and six
daughters; (fn. 42) of whom George, the eldest, succeeded to the estates
of his father and mother. Henry lived at Bewdley, (fn. 43) in Worcestershire; he married Joanna, daughter of John Somerville, of Edreston,
co. Warwick, and had a son George, living at the time of his uncle's
death in 1581; another son was called William. The names of
the others have not been handed down to us. The daughters were
Elizabeth, Rosa, Albora, Agnes, and Isabella, and another whose
name has not reached us; of whom Elizabeth (fn. 44) was married first
to Sir Gilbert Talboys, who was summoned to Parliament in 1529
as Lord Talboys de Kyme, and died in 1530; and secondly, to
Edward Lord Clinton, who was afterwards created Earl of Lincoln
by Queen Elizabeth, in 1572; Rosa was married to William Grisling,
Esq., of Lincolnshire; Agnes to Richard Lacon, of Willey, co. Salop,
Esq., and Isabella to William Read, Esq.
Sir George Blount, of Kinlet, Knight, was Sheriff of Shropshire in 1565. In his youth, according to the fashion of the day,
he served with distinction in the French and Scottish campaigns
of Henry VIII. and Edward VI., and was well received at the
Court of the former, where his eldest sister was in high favour. (fn. 45)
He died on 20th July, 1581, aged 67, leaving by his wife Constance, daughter of Sir John Talbot, Knight, an only daughter
Dorothy, who was thirty years of age and more at the time of her
father's death, being then the wife of John Purslowe, of Sidbury,
co. Salop, Esq., and afterwards of Edward Bullock, of Bradeley, near
Wenlock, by the former of whom she certainly had issue; but for
some unknown reason she seems to have been altogether disinherited
by her father. (fn. 46) At the inquisition taken after his death at Stafford on
9th January, 24 Elizabeth, the jury found that during his lifetime he
was seised in his demesne as of fee of and in the manors of Knightley,
Overtene, Hopton, Waterfall, Muccleston, and Knyghton, with the
appurtenances, in the county of Stafford, and of and in 60 messuages,
&c., in Knightley, Overtene, Nethertene, Hopton, Waterfall, Knighton, Muccleston, Bishop's Offley, Little Onn, Gnosall, alias Gnowshall,
and the advowson of the Church of Checkley; and being so seised,
by indenture bearing date 1st April, 23 Elizabeth (1581), between
him the said Sir George Blount, of Kinlet, in the county of Salop,
Knight, of the one part, and Roland Lacon, of Willey, Esq. (one of
his numerous nephews), and others, on the other, all the said estates
were settled upon the said Sir George Blount for term of life, and
after his death to the said Rowland Lacon, his heirs and assigns, for
ever. The lands in Little Onn are stated in the inquisition to
have been held of the Queen as of her manor of Penkeriche in the
county of Stafford. (fn. 47) The Shropshire estates were settled in the
same way upon the said Roland Lacon, who afterwards entered
into possession.
Pedigree Of Blount Of Kinlet.
Rowland Laken, or Lacon, (fn. 48) of Willey, co. Salop, who thus
acquired the Blount inheritance, was the eldest son of Richard
Laken, of Willey, Esq., Sheriff of Shropshire in 1540, by his wife
Agnes, sister of Sir George Blount. He was Sheriff of Shropshire
himself in 1571. He married Ellen, daughter of William Rigges,
of Straglethorpe, in the county of Lincoln, Esq., by whom he had
two surviving sons, and two daughters, of whom Beatrix was
married to Sir Francis Newport, of High Ercall, co. Salop, Knight
ancestor of the Earls of Bradford), and Jane was married to Sir
Richard Farmer, of Somerton, co. Oxford, Knight (a younger son
of that Sir Richard Farmer, or Fermor, from whom the late Earl of
Pomfret was descended). Of the sons, Thomas, the younger son, was
of Linley near Willey; he married Mary, daughter of John Thimbleby, of Ernham, co. Lincoln, by whom he had a numerous issue.
Sir Francis Lacon, the eldest son, succeeded to the manors of Willey
and Kinlet, of which the former was sold by him to Sir John Weld
sometime between the years 1612 and 1623. His granddaughter,
Catherine Lacon, carried his remaining estates, greatly dismembered
(for he sold largely, and his son Rowland suffered much in the
service of Charles I.), in marriage to Sir William Childe, Knight,
Doctor of Laws, and Master in Chancery, from whom the present
Squire of Kinlet is descended.
I suppose the Little Onne estate to have been sold by either Sir
Francis or his son Rowland, to John Dyott, Esq., whom I take to
have been one of the Lichfield family of that name, from whom the
present Colonel Dyott of Freeford Hall, co. Stafford, is descended.
John Dyott was probably a younger son of Anthony Dyott, of Lichfield, Barrister-at-Law (made Recorder of Tamworth in 40 Elizabeth,
and M.P. for Lichfield in 40 Elizabeth and 1 James I.), by Catherine
his wife, daughter of John Harecourt, of Ronton Abbey, co. Stafford,
Esq., and younger brother of Sir Richard Dyott, Knight (one of the
Privy Council to King Charles I., High Steward of Lichfield and
Chancellor of the County Palatine of Durham). This John Dyott
is supposed to be the person introduced by Shakespeare into
the dialogue between the Justices Shallow and Silence in his play
of King Henry IV., Act III., Scene 2. The scene lies in Justice
Shallow's house in Gloucestershire:—
Pedigree of James. (MS. Wood, F. 7, fol. 47, Bodl. Lib.)
"Shallow.—By yea and nay, Sir, I daresay my cousin William is become a good
scholar. He is at Oxford still, is he not?
Silence.—Indeed, Sir, to my cost.
Shallow.—He must then to the Inns of Court shortly. I was once of Clement's
Inn; where I think they will talk of mad Shallow yet.
Silence.—You were called lusty Shallow then, cousin.
Shallow.—I was called anything, and I would have done anything, indeed, too,
and roundly too. There was I, and little John Doit, of Staffordshire, and
George Bare, and Francis Pickbone, and Will. Squele, a Cotswold man; you
had not four such swingebucklers in all the Inns of Court again; and I may
say to you, we knew where the bona-robas were, and had the best of them all
at commandment."
From John Dyott this estate was purchased by William James,
of the city of Durham, Clerk, whose family had been settled in
Little Onn for several generations.
William James, who was Bishop of Durham from 1606 to 1617,
was possessed, as I think, of a small estate in this parish, which he
inherited from his ancestors. I first meet with the family here in 10
Henry VIII. (1518-9), when William James appears among the
free tenants of the Baron of Stafford as holding a messuage and
four nocates of land, with a pasture called Hurst, in the lordship of
Wood Eaton, for which he paid a chief rent of 12s.; (fn. 49) and I think it
very possible that some of the lands described in the Baron's
record of fines and rentals as being within the lordships of Church
Eaton and Wood Eaton were situate in the township of Little Onn,
for no mention is made of Little Onn in these records, and it is
certain that some portion at least of this township was then held
of the Baron of Stafford.
The accompanying pedigree, which is chiefly taken from a
manuscript in the Bodleian Library, shows that the Bishop's
family had been seated at Little Onn for more than one generation
previously. He is there called the son and grandson of a John
James of Little Onn. He was born, however, at Sandbach,
in Cheshire, where his mother's family resided, (fn. 50) and admitted
a student of Christ's Church College, Oxford, in 1559, or thereabouts. (fn. 51) He took his degree in Arts, and having been ordained
to Holy Orders, was admitted to the reading of the sentences in
1571 being then Divinity Reader of Magdalen College. (fn. 52) The next
year, on 12th June, he was elected Master or President of University
College, which he resigned 14th September, 1584. (fn. 53) On 27th
August, 1577, he became Archdeacon of Coventry, (fn. 53) was made Dean
of Christ's Church, Oxford, in 1584, (fn. 53) and installed Dean of Durham
on 5th June, 1596, (fn. 53) when that post had been void for some time
after the promotion of Dr. Tobias Matthew to the See of Durham.
In 1606 he succeeded Bishop Matthew in the Bishoprick of Durham,
and having obtained permission to be consecrated within the Province of Canterbury, that ceremony was performed on 7th September
of that year, by the said Tobias Matthew, then Archbishop of York,
and others. (fn. 54) He died 12th May, 1617, and was buried in the
choir of Durham Cathedral. On his gravestone was his effigies in
brass, holding a Bible in his hands, and underneath, on a plate of
brass, this inscription, torn off by sacrilegious hands:—
Memoriœ sacrum Gulielmus James, honestis et ingenuis parentibus, apud Osborn [Onne], in Com. Stafford natus, Ædis Christi in
Acad. Oxon. Alumnus S. T. P. Magister Coll. Universitatis, deinde
Ædis Christi, ibid. Decanus constitutus, et ter Academiœ Procancellarius; unde ob doctrinœ gravitatem, et spectatam prudentiam a
Regina Elizabetha ad Decanatum Dunelm. unde ad Episcopatum ibid.
provectus; et demum a Christo dum Ecclesiœ, Patriœ ct Principi
invigilaret in Cœlestem Patriam evocatus placide in Domino emigravit,
et quod mortale fuit, certa spe resurgendi, hic deposuit 11 die Maii,
anno Salutis 1617, et Ætatis 75.
Posuit Franciscus Honoris pariter ac Virtutum Patris studiosissimus, qui Lapidem hunc et Pietatem suam inviolatam expetens,
subscripsit. Deut. xxvii., 17. Male erit ei qui non honoret Patrem
suum: Hujus monumentum si quis clepserit, repseritque, sacrilegus esto. (fn. 55)
The Bishop had a younger brother Francis, who was a Fellow of
All Souls' College, Oxford; (fn. 52) it was probably he who held the Regius
Professorship of Civil Law for a short time in 1611. (fn. 56) He was made
a Master in Chancery, and Chancellor of Wells, as may be seen in
the accompanying pedigree.
Bishop James was three times married, and had issue by two of
his wives. His youngest son Francis, who erected the monument
to his memory, was the son of his wife Isabel, who is given as his
second wife in the Pedigree, but called by Wood, in his "Athenæ,"
the third wife. He was succeeded in his property at Little Onn,
as I suppose, by his eldest son William James, who was born of
his first wife, Katherine, daughter of William Kisby. He was a
student of Christ Church in 1592, (fn. 57) and it was probably the same
William James that was elected public orator of the University
of Oxford on 7th August, 1601. (fn. 58) He was installed Prebend
of Durham on 6th October, 1620, (fn. 58) and I suppose it was he,
or his son bearing the same name, who, as William James,
of the city of Durham, in the county of Durham, Clerk, by
indenture of 1st October, 1649, sold to Thomas Blake, of the town
of Salop, in the county of Salop, Clerk, and Jane his wife, for seven
score pounds, all that his messuage, cottage or tenement, with the
appurtenances, wherein one Francis Maynard did then inhabit,
situate in Onne, otherwise called Little Onne, in the county of
Stafford, together with all houses, edifices, buildings, barns, stables,
orchards, gardens, lands, meadows, leasowes, pastures, commons,
woods, underwoods, reversions, profits, commodities, and hereditaments to the said messuage belonging (one meadow, commonly
called Chenfford meadow, lying in the lordship of Church Eaton, in
the said county of Stafford, only excepted); all which premises were
then in the holding of the said Francis Maynard and Thomas
Haynes or their assigns. This deed is witnessed by Philip Astley,
John James, Mathew Birch, John Blake, Richard Joylinge, William
Astley, Thomas Blake, junior, and John Blake, junior. (fn. 59)
By another indenture of 18th August, 1657, between John
Blake the elder, of Little Onne, and his son John Blake the
younger, the said John Blake the elder, quoting the former indenture
of 1649, between William James, Clerk, and Thomas Blake, Clerk,
now deceased, and Jane his wife, and the heirs and assigns of the
said Thomas, concerning a messuage, &c., wherein Francis Maynard
and Katherine, wife of Thomas Haynes, did then and do now inhabit,
in Little Onne, all which premises are, or late were, in the tenure
of John Blake the elder, John Blake the younger, Francis Maynard,
and Katherine Haynes, under the present title of John Blake the
younger; all which premises descended and came to John Blake
the elder as brother and heir of the said Thomas Blake, deceased,
from and after the decease of the said Jane Blake. The said John
Blake the elder now gives over the same premises to his son the
said John Blake the younger. (fn. 60)
By indenture of 2nd January, 3 James II. (1686–7), between
John Blake, of Little Onne, in co. Stafford, gent., of one part, and
Thomas Blake, his son and heir apparent, of the other part, the said
John Blake, as well for the natural love and affection, &c., which
he bears to his son the said Thomas, as for the sum of £400 to him
paid by the said Thomas, gives to the said Thomas all that his
messuage, farm, or dwelling house, with the appurtenances, wherein
the said John Blake doth now inhabit and dwell, together with all
houses, out-houses, &c., now in the possession of the said John
Blake, all which are situate in Little Onne, and all that messuage
or tenement in Little Onne, now in possession of Humphrey Parkes,
together with all out-houses, &c., and all that cottage in Little
Onne aforesaid, now in possession of Joseph Hilton, reserving to
himself an annual sum of £5 during the term of his natural life.
The witnesses to this deed are John Keelinge, Mary Blake, and
John Stanley. (fn. 60)
On 5th October, 1771, John Blake, son and heir of Thomas
Blake, left his estate at Little Onn to Thomas Scott, of Walsall,
nephew of his wife Ann Blake. Thomas Scott mortgaged the
property to Thomas Freeman, of Lincolnshire; and on 20th
January, 1793, Freeman and Scott sold it to Henry Crockett the
younger, Esq., (fn. 61) of Little Onn.
Pedigree of Blake.
Another portion of the property, which was purchased by
William James, from John Dyott, was sold by the same William
James, on 25th October, 1652, for £440, to Elizabeth Collier, late
wife of Richard Collier, of Befcote, in the county of Stafford,
who conveyed it, by indenture of 19th September, 1654, to her son
and heir John Collier. (fn. 62) On 16th December, 1681, it was apparently
settled by John Collier, of Befcote, and Elizabeth his wife, on his
son and heir Richard Collier and Mary his wife, daughter of
Francis Yeomans. Again, on 8th April, 1703, a marriage settlement
was made by Mary Collier, of Woodford Grange, widow of John
Collier, son and heir of Richard Collier, late of Woodford Grange,
deceased, of the first part; William Byrths, of Pillington, and
William Collier, of Befcote, of the second part; and Elizabeth
Byrths, of Pillington, spinster, daughter of William Byrths, of the
third part. (fn. 62) On 7th January, 1731, Elizabeth Collier, widow and
relict of John Collier, of Little Onn, and John Collier, son and heir
of John Collier, deceased, conveyed the property to George Brown,
of Acton Trussel, as trustee. (fn. 62) A few years later it seems to have
been mortgaged by John Collier in part to Robert Crockett, and
in part to Sarah Jennings, widow of the Rev. Walter Jennings,
Rector of Church Eaton, and daughter and co-heir of Walter
Skrimsher, of Orslow, Gent., from whom it passed to her grandson,
Abraham Bracebridge, of Atherstone Hall, co. Warwick, Esq.,
the son and heir of Abraham Bracebridge, of Atherstone Hall, Esq.,
by his second wife, Mary, daughter and co-heir of the Rev. Walter
Jennings and Sarah his wife. The said Abraham Bracebridge
the younger (who died in 1798), and his sister Mary (who seems
to have been her grandmother's executrix), John Collier, and
Robert Crockett, assigned the mortgage, in March, 1742, to Blest
Colclough, and on 25th March, 1743, the property was finally
conveyed to Robert Crockett, of Shuston, Gent., grandfather of the
before mentioned Henry Crockett, junior, and the first of the
family who acquired an estate at Little Onn, where they afterwards
became possessed of the whole township, and several adjoining
properties in the parish of Church Eaton and in the neighbouring
townships.
By another indenture of 4th October, 1651, William James, of
the city of Durham, Clerk, sells to Thomas Blake, of Tamworth, in
the county of Warwick, Clerk, and Mary Blake, of Little Onne,
spinster, sister of the said Thomas Blake, for the sum of £100, all
that his messuage or tenement, with the appurtenances, in Little
Onne, now or late in the tenure of John Blake, brother of the said
Thomas Blake, or his assigns, and all houses, lands, &c., to the
said messuage or tenement belonging, lying or being in Little Onne
or Church Eaton or one of them, or elsewhere in the county of
Stafford. This is witnessed by William Jennings, William Jervis,
John Blake, Richard Joylinge, Thomas Blake, and John Blake the
younger. (fn. 63)
Perhaps this was the small estate which Mary Vaughton,
widow, John Blake and Thomas Blake, mortgaged in 1692 to
Thomas Bowers, who conveyed it in the following year to John Pitt,
who sold it on 21st January, 1697, to Edward James. On 4th
September, 1729, Edward James left it, by will, to William Dale,
of Booden, who sold it the same year to Simon Busby, who by deed
of 7th May, 1814, conveyed it to Henry Crockett, Esq., in exchange
for some other land. But this was only a portion of the James
estate in Little Onn for by indenture of 4th February, 12 William III.
(1700), between Edward James, of Little Onn, yeoman, and
Margery his wife, on the one part, and George Cookes, of Moddersall, co. Staff., yeoman, Robert Lake, of Woollaston, yeoman, and
Francis James, of Little Onn, yeoman, of the other part, the said
Edward James makes a settlement of his estates, whereby, after
providing for his wife's jointure, he settles all his lands in
Little Onne and Wood Eaton on himself for term of life, with
remainder to his son Edward James the younger and his right
heirs. (fn. 64)
By another indenture of 2nd November, 1710, between (the
same) Edward James and Margery his wife, and Edward James
the younger, son and heir apparent of the said Edward and Margery,
of the one part, and Barbara, daughter and heir of John Thorley,
late of Bythom, co. Stafford, gent., deceased, of the second part, in
consideration of a marriage to be had between Edward James the
younger and the said Barbara, the before mentioned estate is
settled on the said Edward and Barbara, with remainder to the
right heirs of the said Edward James the younger. (fn. 64)
A few days later, namely, on 9th November, 9 Queen Anne (1710),
the said estate is conveyed to George Cookes and William Dutton
for the purpose of raising a mortgage. (fn. 64)
By deed of 20th April, 17 George II. (1744), Barbara James,
of Little Onn, widow, and relict of Edward James, gentleman,
deceased, and her eldest son and heir apparent, Edward James,
gent., unite for the same purpose. (fn. 65) John James, of Stirchley, co.
Salop, Farmer (probably the brother and heir of the last mentioned
Edward), by his will dated 24th August, 1771, charges his real
estate at Little Onn with an annuity of £30 to his wife Ann James
for term of life, and £700, to be raised for his youngest son John
when he comes of age, subject to which he leaves it to his eldest
son Edward James and his heirs and assigns for ever. He
mentions his two daughters Ann and Sarah, who are already
married. There is a codicil dated 17th June, 1775, and the will
was proved 23rd February, 1782. (fn. 65)
Before his death, however, the said John James, who on 2nd
September, 1780, describes himself of Armitage, co. Stafford, gent.,
raises a further sum by mortgage on this estate, which he calls all
that messuage &c., in Little Onn, wherein Barbara James and
Edward James did formerly inhabit, which messuage, lands, &c.,
descended to him, John James, on the decease of the said Edward
James; and the bond to raise the money was signed by himself
and his eldest son Edward James. (fn. 65) He died in 1781; and on 28th
September, 1798, letters of administration were granted to Mary
James, widow and relict of (his son) Edward James, late of
Armitage, gent., who died intestate, leaving a son and heir, Edward
James, who was of Little Onn, gent., in February, 1806, and then
paid to his uncle John the sum of £1,000 which had been charged
upon the property by his grandfather. (fn. 65) The last mentioned Mr.
Edward James sold the fee simple of his estate at Little Onn and
Church Eaton to Henry Crockett, of Little Onn, Esq., on 2nd April,
1811. (fn. 65)
Pedigree Of James Of Little Onn.
In the sixteenth century the family of Aston of Tixall had an
estate at Little Onn, of whom Sir John Aston, Knight, died 28th
March, 14 Henry VIII. (1523), seised of lands and tenements in
Wolaston and Onne which were held of the King as of his manor
of Church Eaton by fealty only, and were then valued at 100s. (fn. 66)
In the schedule, delivered by his grandson Sir Walter Aston,
Knight, in 10 Elizabeth, of all the lands and tenements of which
his father Sir Edward, died seised, the messuages, lands, and
tenements in Wolaston and Onne are valued at £15 16s. 10d.
There was another estate here which was at one time in
possession of the Wolrich family. John Wolrich, Esq., died on
20th February, 28 Henry VIII. (1536–7), seised of four messuages,
70 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow, and 15 acres of pasture, with
the appurtenances, in Little Onne, Plardiwick, Wheaton Aston,
and Coton. The lands, &c., at Little Onne were held of the Baron
of Stafford in socage, and valued at £4. The lands and tenements
at Plardiwick were held of the Prior of Shene in socage, and valued
at 4 marks. Those at Wheaton Aston were held of the Guardian
of Tonge in socage, and valued at 26s. 8d. And those at Coton of
the heir of Sir Richard Knightley, Knight, in socage, and valued at
12s. (fn. 67)
Edward Swynnerton, of Isewall, was also possessed of a small
freehold estate here in 37 Henry VIII., which was then settled
with his other lands at Isewall, Blymhill, etc., upon himself and the
heirs of his body, and in default of such issue, upon his brother
Richard Swynnerton, with remainder, in default of issue, to his
sisters Anne, Elizabeth, and Joan, and their heirs. (fn. 68)
On 20th May, 1615, John Mitton, of Weston, Esq., died seised
of 3 messuages, 100 acres of land, three acres of meadow, and 20
acres of pasture, with the appurtenances, in Little Onne, within the
manor of Church Eaton, which were then valued at 10s. per annum,
but of whom they were held or by what service the jurors were
ignorant. (fn. 69) His son [Edward Mitton] died seised of the same in 1638,
leaving an only daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, who became the wife
of Sir Thomas Wilbraham, of Woodhey, in the county of Chester,
Bart., by whom she had two daughters, and eventual co-heirs, namely,
Grace, wife of Lionel, Earl of Dysart, and Mary, wife of Richard,
Earl of Bradford. The whole of Dame Elizabeth Wilbraham's
inheritance was settled upon the said Mary, Lady Bradford, the
younger daughter, who died in 1737, when her estates devolved
upon her son Thomas, Earl of Bradford; after whose death without issue, in 1762, they were divided by indenture of 29th October,
1763, between Sir Henry Bridgeman, the son of her elder daughter,
Lady Anne Bridgeman, and Diana, Countess of Mountrath, her
younger daughter. In this partition the Little Onn estate came to
Lady Mountrath, who by her will dated 9th June, 1766 (and
proved 27th November of the same year), passing over her son
Charles Henry, Earl of Mountrath, left her farm at Little Onn,
together with her manors of Bobbington and Tamenhorne, her twofifths of the manor of Newton near Blithfield, and all her estates in
the county of Stafford (with the exception of the manor of Walsall
and its members, which she bequeathed to her son), to the
Honourable Lionel Damer, 3rd son of Joseph, Lord Milton, by
Caroline his wife, daughter of the Duke of Dorset, with remainder,
in default of issue, to the Honourable George Damer, 2nd son of
Joseph, Lord Milton, with remainder, in default of issue, to the
Honourable Caroline Damer (their sister), with remainder, in
default of issue, to the Honourable John Damer, eldest son and
heir apparent of the said Joseph, Lord Milton, with remainder, in
default of issue, to Lord John Cavendish, youngest son of William,
3rd Duke of Devonshire, and his heirs and assigns. (fn. 70) All the
devisees thus named died without issue; and I suppose that the
reversion was left by Lord John Cavendish, the ultimate remainderman, to his nephew Lord George Cavendish, afterwards created
Earl of Burlington, who, on 15th March 1818, joined with the
Honourable Mrs. Damer in selling the Little Onn estate, being then
described as 111 acres 3 roods and 2 perches, to Henry Crockett, of
Little Onn, Esq.
The Crocketts, who became at this time proprietors of the whole
township of Little Onn, were originally from Stoke, co. Stafford,
whence they moved to Eccleshall towards the close of the
seventeenth century. (fn. 71) Thomas, son of John Crockett, was baptized
at Stoke in 1643, and buried at Eccleshall in 1703. His son
George Crockett, of Eccleshall, who died in 1752, was succeeded
by his son Robert Crockett, gent., High Constable of Stafford, who
purchased an estate at Little Onn, and dying 15th June, 1776, was
buried at Church Eaton. His only son Henry Crockett, of Little
Onn, Esq., J.P. for the county of Stafford, died in 1796, leaving a
numerous family, of whom the eldest son, the late Henry Crockett,
Esq., succeeded to the Little Onn estate, which was sold shortly
before his death, in 1833, to James Ashton, Esq., of Newton Lodge,
near Hyde, in Cheshire, though the transfer was not completed
until two years afterwards. Mr. Ashton, who died in 1841, was
succeeded by his son John Ashton, Esq., who died in 1844, leaving
a son and heir, the present Lieut.-Col. C. J. Ashton, of Little Onn
Hall, which he has lately rebuilt, and of Newton Lodge, co. Chester.
Pedigree of Ashton of Little Onn.
The several freehold estates above mentioned, which all centred
in the Crocketts, must have been of small extent, for the whole
township of Little Onn contains but 870 acres. I cannot fully
identify them all with either the earlier or later tenures, nor can
I say with any certainty whether any of them represented the
tenures of the hereditary lords of the fee. I should imagine that
the rights of the thane were resumed into the King's hands at a very
early date, probably before the year 1253, when King Henry III.
was suing the various tenants with a view to appropriating the
whole of the lands to himself. But failing in this, he probably
annexed the chief lordship of Little Onn to some larger neighbouring fief, presumably that of Church Eaton, of which it was
afterwards treated as a member, though the lords of Penkridge seem
o have acquired some mesne interest therein.
The original tenants in fee were probably represented in 1199
by Alured de Onne, and in 1227 by Sir Richard de Onne, who
was in that year one of a jury of twenty-four Knights summoned
to set out the franchises of the Crown in Staffordshire.
After this I am disposed to think that the chief representation
of the family passed into the hands of females. Eva and Felicia,
who, as sisters and co-heiresses, divided their lands in the early part
of the reign of Henry III., may very likely have been the daughters
or grand-daughters of Sir Richard de Onne; while the Richard de
Onne of that date, who was enfeoffed by Felicia in an important
portion of her land, may have been a cadet of the family. These
two co-heiresses seem to have been represented in 1253 by the
same Felicia, then Felicia de Engleton, and Elysant de Bromley
(probably the daughter of Eva), though various members of the family
bearing the local name appear to have been portioned on the estate.
The only thing I know of which militates against this theory is
that after this, namely, in 1272, we meet with a John, Lord of Onne,
as the last of nine recognitors in a suit between William de
Holney and Henry de Bromley, concerning lands in Little Onne;
but this John, Lord of Onne, who, from the position assigned to
him in the order of precedency in the above suit, does not appear to
have been a person of consequence, may possibly have been the
tenant in fee of High Onn, under the Prior of Ware.
It is probable that both of these ladies, Eva and Felicia, and
their subsequent representatives, were non-resident at Little Onn,
and their lands will have been gradually diminished by subinfeudations in the course of years, so that it becomes almost
impossible to trace their interests to later times. It has been
shown that Felicia de Engleton had granted to Richard de Onne,
elsewhere described as son of Thomas de Onne, the plot of land
which had been assigned to her as a site for her capital messuage;
and a grant of Hugh, Lord of Engleton, in 1374, to Robert de
Shareshull, of all his royalty and rent in Little Onn, which he had
by right of inheritance after the death of his father, Thomas de
Engleton, would seem to prove that he was lord of a whole or part
of that vill.
William de Engleton, the husband of Felicia, whom I take to
have been the co-heiress of Little Onn, was Lord of Engleton, near
Brewood, a manor which was held under the Bishop of Coventry
and Lichfield, as a member of the great manor of Brewood. The first
of this family we meet with is Ralph de Engleton, who occurs as
witness to a charter of Bishop Walter Durdent, which passed
between 1150 and 1152, (fn. 72) and again to another deed of the same
Bishop, which passed between 1155 and 1159. (fn. 73) There seems to
have been some exchange of lands between Richard de Onne and
the Engletons, for Mr. Parke, in his history of Brewood, (fn. 74) who
quotes from the Huntbache and Dugdale MSS., gives a grant
(without date) from Richard de Onne to William de Engleton of a
yard of land in Engleton, which he had of the grant of Stephen the
Abbot, and the Convent, of Buldewas (Buildwas), paying to him and
his heirs 1d. at Michaelmas for all demands; and he covenants to
free the said William from 4s. 6d. rent payable to the said Abbot.
For which grant the said William, with the consent of Felicia his
wife, granted to the said Richard one oxgang of land in Little Onne,
and eighteen acres of land and one messuage, &c., in the same place;
Witnesses, Adam de Brinton, Robert de Alaon (?), Robert de
Chitteley (Knighteley ?), Peter Giffard, Adam de Brunesford, and
others. William de Engleton was probably dead before 1253; and
his son John de Engleton occurs as witness to a deed of Peter Giffard
before 1255. He occurs again as a witness in 1259–60; (fn. 73) and in 1272
he is one of the jury elected for the Hundred of Couthelleston
(Cuttleston). We have seen that Thomas de Engleton had
succeeded his father John in that same year, and then described
himself as the heir of his grandmother Felicia. I frequently meet
with Thomas de Engleton as a witness between 25 Edward I.
(1297) and 7 Edward II. (1313), and there were probably two or
three of that name in succession. There is a deed (without date)
of Thomas, Lord of Engleton, to Peter his uncle, for his life, of a
messuage in Engleton, for which he is to pay 2s. per annum, witnessed
by Mr. John de Pendeford, Robert de Somerford, John de Semprinham, Henry de Bromhale, and others; (fn. 75) and another (without date)
from Thomas, Lord of Engleton, to Adam, the son of Adam Bayliste,
of Coven, of a selion of land in Engleton, rent one halfpenny,
witnessed by Adam atte Hethe and others. (fn. 75) Again, in 29 Edward I.,
there is a lease from Thomas, Lord of Engleton, to Roger le
Hevester, of Brewode, of one-half yard of meadow in the broad
meadow of Engleton for thirty years; and another in 33 Edward I.
(1305), (fn. 75) from Thomas, Lord of Engleton, to Peter, the son of Thomas
de Engleton, of three selions of land to the use of William, the son of
Walter, the son of Thomas of the same; which selions the said Peter
took for the term of thirty-three years of Walter, the son of Thomas de
Engleton. (fn. 76) In 4 Edward II. (1310–1) there is a release from Robert,
Lord of Wyston, to Thomas, Lord of Engleton, and Joan his wife, of
his right and title to 6d. rent which he was wont to pay out of a
tenement in Little Onne; dated at Whiston, and witnessed by
William, Lord of Pylatenhale, Robert le Chaumpion, Henry de
Careswell, Ralph, Lord of Coven, John fitz Margerie, &c. (fn. 76) In
7 Edward II. Thomas de Engleton is certified to hold Engleton by
the service of a small knight's fee of Morton. In time of war in
Wales he is bound to find a man to attend his lord there for a
certain time at his own charges. The lord (that is the chief lord,
the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield) will have the wardship,
marriage, and relief of his heir after his decease; all his tenants of
Engleton shall make two appearances at the great court of Brewd
twice every year, when a scutage shall be made; he shall pay 10s.
for every hide of land; he shall do suit every three weeks, and pay
an annual rent of 6d., and for a heriot he shall give one horse or his
best working bullock (averium). Besides this, he holds one acre of
land which he took in the time of R., late Bishop of Coventry
and Lichfield, for which he owes suit at court every three weeks. (fn. 77)
In 10 Edward II., Peter Crode, of Engleton, gives to Thomas, the
son of Thomas, Lord of Engleton, a messuage, with curtilage, &c.,
in Engleton, of which Thomas, Lord of Engleton, Richard Jordan, and
others, are witnesses; and in 12 Edward II., Thomas, Lord of
Engleton, confirms to Eleanor, the daughter of Roger de Caverswalle,
those two messuages, with curtilages, in Engleton, of which she had
one of his gift called Midwinterhouse, and the other she had of the
gift of Thomas his son, rent 2d., for her life; to revert, after
her decease, to the said Thomas his son; witnesses, the Lord
John Gifford, Thomas de la Hyde, &c. (fn. 78) In the next year Hugh
de Engleton grants his manor of Engleton to Thomas de Engleton,
his father, and Joan de Belne, his mother, for their lives. (fn. 78) This was
probably shortly before the death of his father, for in 16 Edward II.
Hugh, son of Thomas, Lord of Engleton, grants to Thomas his
brother two pieces of land upon Calf Heath, which he had after
the decease of Ralph his brother for life. (fn. 78) There is also a deed
(without date) from Hugh de Engleton to John de Molleslough
(Mollesley), junior (in trust, I suppose), of his manor of Engleton,
in the liberty of Brewoode; witnessed by Thomas de la Hyde,
John de Somerford, &c. In 4 Edward III. (1330), Hugh, Lord of
Engleton, gives to Robert de Shareshull all his royalty and rent
which he had in Little Onne, by right of inheritance, after the
decease of Thomas de Engleton his father. (fn. 78)
From what follows I infer that Hugh de Engleton left a
daughter and heiress, who married Thomas de Levereshed, and had
by him a son Thomas de Levereshed, and two daughters eventually
her co-heirs, of whom Eleanor had half the manor of Engleton, and
Joan, wife of Adam Wisbrid, the other. For in 28 Edward III.
Thomas de Engleton gives to William de Engleton, Vicar of Lapley,
a messuage with all lands and tenements in Engleton. Witnesses,
Thomas de Levereshed, Lord of Engleton, Richard de Engleton, John
de Seynt Pere, William Oliver, and others. (fn. 79) In 41 Edward III.
(1367), Thomas Reshed, Chaplain, grants to Adam Wisbrid and Joan
his wife, all his manor of Engleton which he had by their feofment to
hold to the said Adam and Joan, and Joan their daughter, and to the
issue of her body; and for want of such issue, to Thomas, the son
of Thomas de Levereshed, and the heirs of his body; and for want
of such issue, to Eleanor, the daughter of Thomas de Levereshed,
and the heirs of her body, &c. Who the said Eleanor married it
does not appear; but in 50 Edward III. (1376) there is a feofment from Elianer, daughter of Thomas de Levereshed, in her
widowhood, to Sir John de Wyke, Sir John Mer, Sir John Morris,
and William Barker, of half her manor of Engleton, with all the
lands and services to the said half belonging, to be held of the chief
lord by the accustomed rents and services; witnessed by Adam de
Peeshole (Peshale), John de Dratton, and others, and dated at
Ideshale. (fn. 80) And in 25 Henry VI., Alan de Withyford and Joan his
wife gave their manor of Engleton to Roger Fowke and Elizabeth
his wife. But all the interest which the Engletons had in Little Onn
was probably sold by Hugh de Engleton in 4 Edward III. (1330).
Pedigree of Engleton of Engleton.
Perhaps this may have been the interest enjoyed by Felicia,
the widow of Guy de Glazeley, in 1333, which may have afterwards passed to the Astons or the Wolryches, and from thence to
the Myttons of Weston; while the inheritance which fell to Eva,
the elder co-heir, and afterwards to Elysant de Burgo or de Bromley,
may have passed through the Knightleys to the Peshales and
Lacons, and thence to the James's; but this is all conjecture.