240 NORBURY MANOR HOUSE AND THE FITZHERBERTS. 
teenth lord of Norbury, was born in 1470. In 1511 was called to 
the bar as serjeant-at-law; in 1516 he was knighted ; and in 1522 
he was made one of the Justices of the Common Pleas. He was 
considered the greatest lawyer of his day, and was pre-eminently 
distinguished for his probity. He published various standard 
legal works, and other smaller ones on husbandry. He is said to 
have been the only man who dared to rebuke, not only Cardinal 
Wolsey, but even the King himself, on the subject of the aliena- 
tion of church lands. He died in 1538, and on his death-bed 
solemnly enjoined his children under no pretext to accept grants 
or become purchasers of monastic property.* Sir Anthony was 
possessed of an ample professional income, and during the seven 
years that he held the Manor House, is said to have spent much 
money on the fabric. We believe that he re-built, or at all events, 
re-fitted the central block of building be- 
tween the two courts, which is all that now 
remains (except the Great Hall) of the former 
extensive mansion. Undisputed tradition 
has assigned to an upper apartment, over 
the room marked ‘ larder” on the ground 
plan, the name of ‘‘Sir Anthony’s Study,” 
and a private letter of the family, written in 
1703, records the then belief that he wrote 
the various texts with which the panels are 
in many places covered with his own hand. 
We believe that the panelled oak wainscoating of this upper 
study, as well as of the oak parlour on the ground-floor, were put 
in by the Judge. It is, however, only right to say that a good 
authority to whom we submitted the drawing of these panels, 
etc., pronounced them 15th century, in which case they would 
be part of the work of Sir Nicholas. At any rate, whether the 
panelling was placed there, as well as the texts or not, by Sir 
Anthony, it is likely that this room had been used before the 
* Fora full account of the interesting palimpsest brass to Sir Anthony’s 
memory, see Vol. IV. of these Transactions, pp. 48-57. 
