PETERBOROUGH SOKE 



BARNACK 



artached to it. It is perhaps to this that the compiler 

 of Wulfhere's charter refers as the ' vill of Barnack.' 

 At the beginning of the I 2th centur)' this land was 

 held of Peterborough Abbey by Gilbert of Barnack ' 

 for the service of a quarter of a knight's fee, and 

 between 1128 and 1133 a Geoffrey son of Gilbert 

 of Barnack appears in the Peterborough records. In 

 1 198 a settlement was made between Gilbert of 

 Barnack and Hugh son of Geoffrey his brother, of one 

 carucate of land in Barnack and Bainton and a 

 messuage in Peakirk which, with the reservation of the 

 mill at 'Rieges'and a few acres of land, were granted 

 by Gilbert to Hugh for his life, with the reversion 

 after his death of one half to Gilbert and the other 

 to Geoffrey son of Hugh.' It was probably to 

 this Geoffrey, son and heir of Hugh, that Andrew, 

 abbot of Peterborough, confirmed all the lands in 

 Barnack, Bainton, and Cathweyt,' which his ancestors 

 had held at a rent and for the service of a third of 

 a knight's fee, to hold for a quarter of a knight's fee.* 

 In 1 212 Hugh of Barnack was holding a quarter of a 

 knight's fee of Peterborough Abbey,' and in 1254. 

 Gilbert of Barnack, probably his son, paid lo;. to- 

 wards the aid for knighting Prince Edward." Hugh 

 son of Gilbert of Barnack did homage to the abbot for 

 land in Barnack and Cathweyt in 1293,' and in 1316 

 was returned as one of the lords of Barnack." In 

 1320 John son of Hugh of Barnack did homage for 

 land in Barnack, Bainton, and Cathweyt.' He gave 

 several benefactions to the abbey of Peterborough, 

 among them the reversion of Cathweyt, held for life 

 by Richard of Crowland and Alice his wife.'" He 

 was the Inst of his family to hold the land in Barnack. 

 In 1 404 John son of Thomas of Barnack paid a rent to 

 Peterborough for the capital messuage and soke ap- 

 purtenant in Barnack which were once John of 

 Drayton's." About 1385 he obtained licence to be 

 exempt from serving as mayor, sheriff, escheator, &c.'* 

 In 1422 William of Barnack did homage to the 

 abbot of Peterborough for lands in Barnack and 

 Ashton," and in 1428 he held a quarter of a fee of 

 the abbot in Barnack and Bainton." He died about 

 the middle of the l 5th century leaving two daughters, 

 Margaret, married to Walter Durrant, and Agnes,'' 

 married to Ralph Luffwick."' His land in Barnack 



was apparently divided between them, for in 1 5 38 

 John Turnor, a member of the family now represented 

 by the earls of Winterton," bought the manor of Bar- 

 nack from Anthony Luffwick and Elizabeth his wife," 

 the descendants of Agnes, and in 1542 he died hold- 

 ing also the half manor of Barnack which had been 

 owned by Ralph Sacheverell and Cecelia his wife, the 

 daughter and heiress of John Durrant. John Turnor 

 settled the manor on his wife, Alice Zouche, daughter 

 of Sir Humphrey Stafford, with remainder to Bartholo- 

 mew Tumor." 



About 1545 there was a suit in the Star Chamber 

 between David Vincent and John Brown of Walcot 

 concerning the enclosure of a field by David. John 

 stated that he held of the manor of Barnack in demesne 

 as of fee in right of his wife, and that the former 

 holder was one Tumor.'" It seems possible that John 

 Browne married the widow of John Turnor and held 

 the manor for her life." About the middle of the 

 reign of Elizabeth, Bartholomew Turnor, gentleman, 

 held land in Barnack," but no further reference to 

 this manor has been found. 



P/ISGy^r^.— Pillesgete (xi cent.). Pilsgate was 

 said to be confirmed by Wulfhere to Peterborough 

 Abbey,*^ and Bishop .^thelwold also bestowed on the 

 monastery land in the tithing of Pilsgate." 



In 1086 6 hides of land in Pilsgate with a mill 

 are stated to be of the fee of the abbey of Peter- 

 borough." This appears a very large assessment 

 for the hamlet and may have included some of the 

 neighbouring places which are not mentioned in the 

 survey, for about 1125 Pilsgate was only rated for 

 3 hides. In spite of the smaller figure both the 

 population and value had increased, but the profits of 

 the mill had fallen from 10/. to 4^."^ 



King Stephen granted to the abbey of Peterborough 

 exemption from all burdens for 3 hides and I vir- 

 gate in their manor of Pilsgate." Pope Eugenius 

 confirmed Pilsgate to the abbey in i 146,'' and about 

 this period the Abbot Martin de Bcc appropriated 

 the manor to the office of sacrist,'' and it remained 

 part of the sacrist's fee until the dissolution. The 

 site of the manor during the 14th century was leased 

 for short periods ;'" in 1 397 Gervase Wykes of Stam- 

 ford was the lessee." 



• Cott. Vesp. E. xxii. fol. 99* et seq. ; 

 Add. MS. 5 360. This family appears to be 

 quite unconnected with that holding in 

 Barnack of the honour of Dudley. In a 

 cartulary of Peterborough (Soc. Antiq. 

 No. 38, fol. i5o) it is stated, professedly 

 quoting from one of the abbey rolls not 

 known now to exist and apparently re- 

 ferring to the 1 2th century, that Roger 

 son of Osbern held a quarter fee of Peter- 

 borough in Barnack and Cathweyt. No 

 mention has been found in the records of 

 Roger son of Osbern in Barnack or else- 

 where, but an *Osbernus praepositus' held 

 some land of Peterborough for lOJ. rent in 

 1 1 25-8 {Cbronicon^ p. 1 67). 



' Feet of F. Northants, 9 Ric. I, No. 26. 

 ' In Paston. Andrew was abbot from 

 1194 to 1 199. 



* Soc. Antiq. MS. No. 38, fol. 43*. 



5 Red Bk. o/Exct. (Rolls Scr.), ii, 6. 



o Cott. Faust. B. iii, 55 ; Soc. Antiq. 

 No. 60, 248^. 



7 Cbrontcon^ p. I 50. 



» Pari. Writs (Rec. Com.), ii, Div. iii, 

 p. 391. 



' Cott. Vesp. E. xxii, no. John also 



held land in Drayton, and is often called 

 John of Drayton. 



^^ Inq. a.q.d. File ccxlv. No. 16 ; File 

 ccli, No. 5. 



*^ Ibid. 43. This family appears to 

 have possessed a name of their own, 

 Cambrey (Feet of F. Northants, 26 Edw. 

 Ill, No. 518), but no occasion on which 

 it was used has been found after they 

 succeeded to the possessions of John of 

 Barnack. They are mentioned in docu- 

 ments relative to Barnack as early as 

 1274 (Ibid. 2 Edw. I, No. 18), and held 

 land in Isham as well as Barnack. 



" Anct. Pet. (P.R.O), File ccliii, No. 

 12626; Pat. 8 Ric. II, pt. ii, m. 13. 



>3 Add. MS. 25288, fol. 16. 



" Misc. Bks. (Exch. K.R.), No. 4, 

 p. 235. 



'* Early Chan. Proc. bdle. 24, No. 54. 



« I'iiit. of Northants (ed. W. C. Met- 

 calf), pp. 44, 12S. 



" B.M. Sir T. Phillipps, Gimahgia. 



>8 Feet of F. Northants, Hil. 30 Hen. 

 VIII. 



" Inq. p. m. (ser. 2), IxTi,4i. Bartho- 

 lomew was probably his great-nephew. 

 See Phillipps' Pedigree. 



465 



'W Star Chamb. Proc. bdle. 27, No. in. 



"^ John Browne, son of Robert Browne 

 of Walcot, who held for a time the manor 

 of Northborough, is said in a herald's 

 visitation (^1111. of Northants, ed. Metcalfe, 

 p. 167) to have married Mary, daughter 

 of Sir Humphrey Stafford. He may be 

 identical with the John in the text, as he 

 is said to have been a 'Speare of Callice ' 

 (Harl. 1 160, fol. 1 1 Si), and John Browne 

 in the suit excuses his ignorance of local 

 matters by saying he has been 'on the 

 king's service beyond the seas.' 



*" Lay Sub. R. JJf. 



"> Birch, Cart. Sax. No. 22. 



** Soc. Antiq. MS. No. 60, fol. 34*. 



»5 V.C.H. Northants, i, 313A. 



^ Chroniccn, 158. 



'^ Cott. Faust. B. iii, 28. 



® Sparke, Serif tores, p. 79. 



" Ibid. p. 87. Martin was abbot from 

 1133 to 1155. 



»» Cott. Faust. B. iii. 



•• Ibid. p. 271/. In 1535 Robert Browne, 

 the owner of the manor of Walcot, was 

 bailiff of Pilsgate. ralor. Eccl. (Rec. 

 Com.), p. 279. 



59 



