WILLYBROOK HUNDRED 



COLLYWESTON 



century, on the authority of the monks of Hertford, 

 whose priory was founded by Ralph.' He is also 

 stated to have been the husband of Christiana, wife 

 of Edgar Aetheling, but this seems to merely rest on 

 a passage in Roger of Hoveden saying that Ralph 

 Limesi afterwards possessed the lands given by Edward 

 the Confessor to Christiana.' The name of his wife, 

 taken from the foundation deed of Hertford Priory, 

 which must have been executed between 1077 and 

 1093, was Hawisa. From the same source it is found 

 that Ralph was succeeded by his son Alan, and his 

 grandson Gerard, who had two sons who both died with- 

 out heirs.' The barony of Limesi was in consequence 

 divided between Gerard's two daughters, CoUyweston 

 falling to the share of Basilia, 

 who married Hugh de Odding- 

 sells.* In the Oddingsells family 

 the overlordship of CoUyweston 

 continued in the male line until 

 it lapsed in the 15th century. 

 The last mention of this family 

 in connexion with CoUyweston 

 is in the survey of the possessions 

 of John de OddingseUs, taken 

 on his death in 141 3.* The 

 OddingseUs, however, can have 

 had no close connexion with the 

 manor, nor probably had the 

 Limesi family before them. CoUy- 

 weston was held of Ralph de 

 Limesi in 1086 by Herlwin. In 

 the 1 2th century it was in pos- 

 session of William his son.^ In 

 the reign of Henry III it was 

 held by Peter of Weston, who 

 may have been a descendant of the 

 Domesday tenant,' for one knight's 

 fee. Nicholas of Weston, a 

 successor of Peter, enfeoffed Elias 

 Hauvill and Amice his wife of 

 the manor. It seems possible 

 that Amice was the daughter of 

 Nicholas, as she is said, on the 

 death of Elias, to be true heir of 

 the manor.' Elias went to Gas- 

 cony on the service of Edward I, 

 and the king found it necessary 

 to order the sheriff to protect his 

 rights and goods at CoUyweston 

 against his wife in his absence.' 

 He died about 1297 ; his wife 

 appears to have outlived him, by 

 an inquiry taken in 1322 with 

 regard to the manor on account 

 of the death of Nicholas de 

 Segrave, who seems to have had a life interest in it.'° 

 CoUyweston is said to have gained its name from this 

 Nicholas, Colin being an old English form of the 

 name ; certainly Weston never appears with its later 

 prefix until after Nicholas' tenure. The holding of 

 the manor by him also would have been likely to 

 have made a lasting impression. He was very power- 



1 Wccvcr, Anct, Funeral Monumentz^ 543. 

 3 Roger of Jioveden (Rolls Ser.), ii, 236. 

 ^ Dugdale, Mon. Angl. iii, 298, 

 "* Fine R. 1 5 John, pt. i, m. 4, 

 ' Testa de NeviU (Rec. Com.), p. 27 ; 

 Chan. Inq. p.m. i Hen. V, No. 6. 

 ' A'. C. H. Norihants, i, 336a, 3S8<i. 

 " Testa de Nevill (Rec. Com.), p. 27. 



ful politically under both Edward I and Edward II, 

 and ended by becoming marshal of England. He 

 was closely connected with Northamptonshire, his chief 

 seat being at Stowe Nine Churches." 



Elias Hauvill was followed, after the death of 

 Nicholas, by his son William, who was a minor at 

 his father's death and may possibly have been in ward 

 to Nicholas. Paul the son of WiUiam enfeoffed 

 John de Hotham, bishop of Ely, of the manor." 

 John settled its reversion on various of his descen- 

 dants in 1332." In 1379 his niece Alice, wife of 

 Hugh le Despenser, died holding the manor. It 

 descended in turn to her two children by Hugh le 

 Despenser, Hugh and Ann, the wife of Sir Edward 



House on South Side of Village Street, Collyweston. 



Boteler, both of whom died without heirs." The 

 manor then descended to John, son of Alice by Sir 

 John Trussell, her second husband, but was settled on 

 Sir Edward for life with remainder to John Trussell. 

 The remainder fell in on Edward's death in 141 2,'* 

 and Sir John Trussell sold the manor a few years 

 later to Sir WiUiam Porter," who is traditionaUy said 



s Cott. Chart, iv, 55 ; De Banc. R. No. 

 723, m, 474 ; Chan. Inq. p.m. 25 Edw. I, 

 No. 14. ' Close 24 Edw. I, m. 5 d. 



'" Chan. Inq. p.m. 25 Edw. I, No. 14 ; 

 Ibid. 15 Edw. II, No. 37, 63. 



" Diet. Nat. Biog. 



" Feet of F. Northants, 5 Edw. Ill, 

 No. 90 i De Banc. R. No. 723, m. 474. 



" Feet of F. Northants, 5 Edw. Ill, 

 No. 96 ; Cott. Chart, iv, 55. 



'* Chan. Inq. p. m. 3 Ric, II, No. 20 ; 

 Ibid. 3 Hen. IV, No. 29. 



'5 Cott. Chart, iv, 51;; Feet of F. 

 Northants, 7 Hen. IV, No. 53. 



1' Ibid. 5 Hen. V, No. 27. 



