A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



residence and most important possession of the family. 

 In the time of Henry III the male line died out, and 

 Ascelina, the heiress, was married to Ralph Camoys,' 

 who thus became lord of Torpel. From this date 

 the descent of Torpel is exactly 

 the same as that of the manor 

 of Upton in Castor' until the 

 division of the lands of Edmund 

 de Holand, earl of Kent, in 



1408. 



He died childless, and his 

 coheirs were his three surviving 

 sisters and a nephew.' Upon 

 the partition of the estates 

 Torpel was assigned to his camoy.. Argent a 

 sister Margaret, wife of John, Mef guitt -wiih three 



earl of Somerset. The earl raundeU argent therein, 



died in the following year, 



leaving as heir his son Henry, a minor,' and upon 

 Henry's death without children, his brother John 

 succeeded to his estates. John was the first duke of 

 Somerset of the family, and Margaret, his daughter, 

 married to Edmund, earl of Richmond, became the 

 mother of Henry VII. She possessed Torpel' in 

 virtue of her heirship to the Somerset possessions, 

 but the manor was confiscated for some years by 

 Richard III, who in 1483 granted it to his nephew 

 John, earl of Lincoln.' Between Margaret, countess 

 of Richmond, and the monastic lords, for the monks 

 of Peterborough still appear to have asserted their 

 claim, a suit relative to service for the manor was 

 carried on, and Abbot Kirton proved victorious.' 



The Countess of Richmond died in 1509, leaving 

 by her wiU Torpel, described as held of the abbot of 

 Peterborough, as part of the endowment of St. John's 

 College, Cambridge.' The king, her grandson, 

 granted the licence for the fulfilment of her tes- 

 tamentary dispositions, but subsequently harassed 

 the trustees and legatees in such a manner that they 

 finally relinquished the manor with other portions of 

 the bequest.' For some years Torpel remained in the 

 king's hands, but was granted by him before 1525 to 

 his illegitimate son Henry, earl of Richmond.'" 



After the young earl's death the king bestowed the 

 manor in 1537 on Sir William Fitzwilliam, K.G., 

 High Admiral of England, who about the same time 

 was created earl of Southampton." He, however, 

 died without issue, and about 1 544 a lease of the 

 lodge and park of Torpel with certain lands there 

 was granted to Sir Robert Wingfield, the ambassador." 



In 1 5 50- 1 the manor of Torpel was granted by 

 Edward VI to his half-sister Elizabeth ; " it was sur- 

 rendered in the following year, but was regranted 

 shortly afterwards'* and in 1 561-2 Elizabeth, then 

 queen, confirmed the Wingfield lease.'* 



About 1591 an inquiry was held with regard to 

 the pretensions to the lordship of Torpel of Sir 

 Robert Wingfield, a son and successor of the original 



lessee, the matter having been brought forward through 

 the agency of fishing grantees, as they were termed, 

 whose business it was to discover or allege flaws in 

 titles to land. As a result of the investigation Sir 

 Robert was required to ' make compensation for his 

 intrusion into the manor of Torpel.' '° 



In 1619 Torpel was granted by James I to Sir 

 Henry Hobart, chancellor of Prince Charles, and 

 other servants of the prince for ninety-nine years for 

 the use of the prince, and in recompense for their 

 services to him." At the beginning of the reign of 

 Charles I the survivors of these grantees disposed of 

 the lease to the city of London, represented by 

 Edward Ditchfield, citizen and Salter of London, and 

 others as security for a loan ; the king afterwards 

 granted the reversion of the lease in perpetuity, under 

 which grant the manor was to be held by a fee farm 

 rent of ^^56 6s. as of his manor of East Greenwich." 

 In 1630 Edward Ditchfield, representing the city, 

 sold this manor to John Tighe,"son of Robert Tighe, 

 a doctor of theology, and Mary Bancroft, niece of 

 the archbishop of that name." The Tighes were a 

 Rutland family, and already held land in Deeping 

 Gate. Torpel remained in their hands until 1687, 

 when it was bought from 

 Robert Tighe by Sir Thomas 

 Trollope of Casewick," whose 

 descendant, Lord Kesteven, is 

 now lord of the manor. 



In 1 198 Roger de 

 PARK Torpel paid \oos. for 

 enclosing his woods 

 of Torpel, La Hage, Ravenes- 

 land, and Cnihtecroft, and 

 making a park for himself and 

 his heirs." From this date 

 there are frequent references 

 to Torpel Park. In the reign 

 of Henry III Ralph Camoys was granted nine does 

 and four bucks out of Clyve forest to stock his park of 

 Torpel." In the description of the manor, taken on 

 the death of Edmund, earl of Kent, the park is said 

 to be of the small extent of 60 acres." On the for- 

 feiture of Thomas, earl of Kent, the office of Parker of 

 Torpel, with the warrens of Ufford and Upton per- 

 taining to it, was granted for life to Hugh of North- 

 borough." A grant of free warren in his demesne 

 lands of Torpel had been made to Edmund of 

 Woodstock by Edward II." In 1527 the park of 

 Torpel with the manor was in the hands of Henry, 

 duke of Richmond," but by 1554, when it was leased 

 to Sir Robert Wingfield, it had been disparked." 



A grant was made by Henry III to Ralph de 

 Camoys of a market every week on Thursday at 

 his manor " of Torpel, and a fair there every year for 

 three days, the vigil, day, and morrow of St. Giles." 

 This grant was renewed to Peter de Gaveston in 

 1309, but there is no further mention of a market 



Trollope. yert three 

 running harts argent •with 

 horns or in a border argent. 



1 G.E.C. Peerage, ll, 12. 



2 See Castor. 



' Chan. Inq. p.m. lo Hen. IV, 51. 



* Ibid. II Hen. IV, 4+. 



^ Ibid. (Ser. 2), xiv, 63. 



« Pat. I, Ric. Ill, pt. ii, m. 5. 



" Ibid. 3 Hen. VII, pt. ii, m. 20. 



' Chan. Inq. p. m. (Ser. 2), xxv, 63 j 

 Close 4 Hen. VIII. 



» Nichol, Royal mils, 488. 

 10 L. and P. Hen. VIII, iv, 673. 

 " Pat. 29 Hen. VIII, pt. i, m. 21. 



" Pat. 36 Hen. VIII, pt. Mviii, m. 7. 



'" Ibid. 4 Edw. VI, pt. iii. 



" Ibid. 5 Edw. VI, pt. iii. 



1= Pat. 4 Eliz. pt. vi ; Cal, of Pat. 12 

 Eliz. pt. X, 



'« Pat. 34 Eliz. pt.vii ; S.P.Dom. 1603- 

 10, p. 447. 



''' Pat. 17 Jas. I, pt. i, m. 17, 24. 



^ Pat. 4 Chas. I, pt. xixv, pt. A, m. 8,16. 



" Close, 6 Chas. I, pt. xvii. No. 12. 



^ Chanc. Inq. p. m, (Ser. 2), cccUiviii, 

 117 i Lansd. MS. 983, foU 160 (282). 



534 



^ Doc. penes Lord Kesteven. 

 *" Pipe R. 10 Ric. I, m. 7</. 

 » Close, 55 Hen. Ill, m. 8. 

 2^ Chan. Inq. p.m. 26 Edw. Ill (ist 

 Nos.), No. 54. 



'^ Pat. I Hen. IV, pt. v, m. 10. 



•^ Chart. R. 14 Edw. II, m. 5, No. 



» L. and P, Hen. VIII, iv, 1289. 

 ^ Pat. 36 Hen. VIII, pt. xjreiii, m. 7, 

 » Chart. R. 48 Hen. Ill, m. 2. 

 »» Ibid. 2 Edw. Ill, m. 7, No. 14. 



