THE HUNDRED OF POLEBROOK
containing the parishes of Barnwell St. Andrew; Benefield; Hemington; Luddington; Oundle; Polebrook; Thurning; Warmington
Index Map to the Hundred of Polebrook
This hundred lies between those of Willybrook and Navisford, with
Corby to the west. To the east it borders on Huntingdonshire. The boundaries of the hundred and the parishes assigned to it are not conterminous,
Thurning and Winwick being partly in Huntingdonshire (Leightonstone
hundred), while part of Oundle is
in Willybrook hundred and Warmington (detached) was formerly in
Willybrook hundred and afterwards
partly in Willybrook and partly in
Polebrook. In 1888 Thurning was
wholly transferred to Northamptonshire and Winwick to Huntingdonshire.
The history goes back to early
times, for Polebrook was part of the
eight hundreds of Oundle (Eahte
hundred) confirmed to Peterborough in 972 by Edgar, (fn. 1) and this
district again may be derived from
the 900 or 800 hides assigned to 'Wigesta' in the Tribal Hidage. The eight
hundreds were confirmed to the abbey by Eugenius III in 1146, (fn. 2) by Henry II (fn. 3)
and Richard I (fn. 4) and later kings. (fn. 5) It must be noted, however, that in 1125–8
Vivian owed 1s. of the five hundreds of Oundle and Geoffrey 10s.; (fn. 6) and
when in 1329 the abbot was challenged to say which were his 'eight hundreds,'
it being alleged on the king's side that his predecessor had claimed only five,
viz., Polebrook, Navisford, Huxloe and North and South Naveslund, he
brought the number up to eight by adding his two hundreds of Nesse (Nassaburgh and the town of St. Peter) and the town of Finedon (Thingden) in
the hundred of South Naveslund, which in spite of its name, involving a
'thing,' does not seem to have been a hundred. (fn. 7) It seems probable that at
some early time the abbey lost the hundred of Willybrook, for the Geld Roll
assigns 62 hides each to Polebrook, Navisford, Huxloe and Willybrook
hundreds, (fn. 8) as if an older district of 250 hides had been divided into four.
The five hundreds of Oundle were later reduced to three by the inclusion of
the Naveslunds in Huxloe.
These three hundreds of Polebrook, Navisford, and Huxloe remained
in the possession of the abbey till the Dissolution. (fn. 9) In 1291 the annual value
of the hundreds of Polebrook and Huxloe was £5. (fn. 10) A list of compositions for
sheriffs' aids, apparently of the 14th century, gives the total yearly receipts for
the hundreds of Polebrook and Navisford. In addition there was in Irthlingborough a knight's fee of Avenel held in moieties by Walkeline de Arderne
and Robert Basset, whose tenants followed the hundreds and yearly made
fine for frank-pledge; the vill of Barton also followed the hundreds, and the
bailiff entered to make view of frank-pledge and took a fine from the men;
also in Sudbury the free tenants and the 'capitales franciplegii' followed the
two great hundreds yearly. (fn. 11) A rental for the hundreds of Polebrook and
Navisford for 1408 has been preserved. (fn. 12) In 1462 the king made the monks
a grant of felons' goods, etc., in the abbey's hundreds of Polebrook, Huxloe,
Navisford and Nassaburgh. (fn. 13) About 1535 the issues of the hundreds of
Polebrook and Navisford were estimated at £13 10s. 9d. (fn. 14)
After the Dissolution the hundreds of Polebrook, Navisford and Huxloe
were in 1541 granted as jointure to Queen Catherine Howard, (fn. 15) reverting to
the Crown a year later on her execution. In 1544 the new queen, Katherine
Parr, received the hundreds of Polebrook and Navisford, together with the
castle of Fotheringhay, (fn. 16) and she retained them till her death in 1548. Robert
Tyrwhitt had been made steward of the hundreds in 1543. (fn. 17) The hundreds
remained in the Crown until in 1611 James I sold them to John Eldred and
William Whitmore, (fn. 18) who two years later sold to Sir Edward Montagu, afterwards Lord Montagu of Boughton, (fn. 19) and thus they descended regularly to
the Dukes of Montagu and from them to the Dukes of Buccleuch. (fn. 20) A writ of
'Quo Warranto' was issued against Sir Edward Montagu regarding his rights
in the three hundreds, which were eventually allowed him.
While Queen Katherine Parr held the lordship it appears that the hundreds
of Polebrook and Navisford were put to farm for £14 1s. 1½d. yearly; a
court was held for the hundred of Polebrook in 1546, at which 10s. was received,
as follows: Barnwell 22d., Benefield 16d., Armston 4d., Luddington 6d.,
Thurning 14d., Polebrook 6d., Warmington 12d., Winwick 10d., Oundle
2s. 2d., Ashton 4d. (fn. 21) The court of the Duke of Buccleuch for the liberty and
hundred of Polebrook used to be held at Oundle in October. (fn. 22)