A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



who:c son Francis sold it about 1584 to William 

 Lord Burghley.' His descendant, the marquis of 

 Exeter, is now lord of the manor. The Cecil title 

 was not quite unchallenged, for in 1592 Easton was 

 granted as ' concealed lands ' to the famous ' fishing 

 grantee,' William Tipper, and others,' but the 

 question to title was apparently settled satisfactorily, 

 for the manor was in the hands of Thomas, earl of 

 Exeter, in 161 2,' and remained from henceforth, 

 without interruption, in the possession of that family. 



There are fairly good accounts of the condition 

 of the manor of Easton at different periods. 

 Alan seems to have been the first member of 

 his family to be closely connected with it; probably 

 the Lindons generally lived at Creeton, in Lincoln- 

 shire, where they had a messuage in the reign of 

 Henry III. Alan had a house where he stayed 

 sometimes in Easton, and in 1229 he obtained a 

 royal licence to enclose his wood called La Lounde, 

 in Easton, containing 8 acres and lying between 

 his manor of Easton and the king's highway to 

 Stamford, and to make a park.' One of the privi- 

 leges obtained by Simon dc Lindon in return for the 

 grant of the advowson of the church of Easton to the 

 abbey of Crowland was to build a ' Chapel in his manor 

 ofEston.'* The house to which this park and chapel 

 are annexed was no doubt the messuage mentioned 

 in a description of the manor in 1298 ; a water-mill 

 and a fishery in the Welland as well as the park 

 were parcel of the manor at that date.* A rent from 

 a water-mill had been granted to Crowland in return 

 for a quit-claim to their right to the advowson of the 

 church in 1245, and was probably the mill mentioned 

 in Domesday. Edmund of Woodstock was granted 

 free warren in his demesne lands at Easton in 1320.' 

 In the middle of the reign of Edward III the park is 

 called Le Grave, and Easton is said to have suffered 

 from a great mortality during the pestilence.' 



KNErETTS MANOR.— k manor of this name 

 appean in Easton in the middle of the 15th cen- 

 tury. It was formed partly of land belonging to 

 the manor of Easton for which rent was paid, and 

 partly of some smaller holding in the parish with a 

 separate history. In 1086 the abbey of St. Pierre 

 sur Dive held half a hide in Easton of the gift of 

 Gilbert de Gand. Tonna had formerly held the land 

 with sac and soc' In 1 26 1 some of this land was 

 occupied by Simon son of Simon de Brickelesworth 

 and Maud his wife, to whom the abbot of St. Pierre 

 sur Dive gave up all right in the land for six marks 

 rent to be paid to him or to the prior of Wolston in 

 Warwickshire, a cell of St. Pierre sur Divc.'° The 

 land was talen into the king's hands in the reign of 

 Edward III as being held by an alien priory," and 

 about 1387 the whole of the possessions of the cell 

 of Wolston including the rents from Easton were 

 transferred to the Carthusian House of St. Anne at 

 Coventry." In 1535 this house received over 50 



shillings rent from Easton, part from the nuns of St. 

 Michael at Stamford, part from the college of Fother- 

 inghay, part from the hospital of All Saints at Stamford, 

 and part from the college of Tattershall." They 

 seem also to have had some land held directly of 

 Coventry by inferior tenants for rent, which was 

 granted in 1557 to Thomas Reve and Richard Budd 

 as the lordship or manor of Easton next Stamford, 

 late parcel of the possessions of the priory of Coventr}-." 

 It was the land which belonged to the college of 

 Tattershall which formed part of the manor of 

 Knevetts. About 14.41 Sir John Knyvet and John 

 Kynvct, junior, and Richard Bernamour sold to 

 William, bishop of Lincoln, Sir Ralph Cromwell, and 

 others, the manor of Easton called Knevett's manor.'* 

 In the reign of Richard II, Eleanor, widow of John 

 Knj-vet, had been seised of a messuage and land in 

 Easton as dower held of the manor of Easton.'* 

 The Knyvet family had probably between that time 

 and 1441 acquired other small portions of land in 

 Easton, some held of the manor, and others of the 

 priory of Coventry, and had called them all together 

 Knevett's manor. Sir Ralph Cromwell must have 

 been the chief mover in the sale of 1441, for in 1463 

 his heirs, Humphrey Bourchier and Joan his wife, and 

 Gervase Clyfton and Maud his wife, conveyed the 

 manor to the college of Tattershall which Ralph 

 had founded." The college in 1535 paid rent for 

 this land to both the lord of Easton and the prior 

 of Coventry." One court roll exists for this manor 

 dated 1544, when it was in the hands of the crown 

 after the dissolution of the college." The manor was 

 granted in 1547 by Edward VI to John Gate in 

 fee." He obtained leave in 1550 to alienate it to 

 Richard Cecil and his heirs for ever." Thus the 

 manor of Knevetts came into the hands of the same 

 family as the chief manor in Easton, and with them 

 it has remained. 



In 1 147 the church of Easton 

 ADFOH'SON was confirmed to the abbey of 

 Crowland by Pope Eugenius. In 

 the same century Richard de Humez confirmed the 

 church as the gift of his ancestors to that abbey." 

 The latter's title was however challenged in the 

 king's court by this Richard or his son William, and 

 about 1203 by Simon de Lindon," when Crowland 

 lost the suit. About 1249 the abbot gave up all right 

 in the church to Richard de Lindon in return for a 

 rent from a mill in Easton." But in 1276 Richard's 

 son Simon granted the advowson to Robert, abbot 

 of Crowland, in return for the remission of the rent 

 from the mill and permission to build a chapel in 

 his manor of Easton and have a priest to celebrate 

 there on Sundays.'* From this time until the dis- 

 solution of the monastery the abbey of Crowland pre- 

 sented to the church. About 1550 the advowson was 

 granted with the manor to John, earl of Bedford, and 

 from this date it followed the descent of the manor.'* 



1 Feet of F. Northants, Trin. 25 Eliz. 

 ^ Pat. 34 Eliz. pt. vii. See Upton for 

 account of concealed lands. 



8 Feet of F. Div. Co. Hil. 9 Jas. I. 

 ■• Close, 14. Hen. Ill, m. 10, 22. 

 5 Feet of F. Northants, + Edw. I, No. 30. 

 ^ Chan. Inq. p.m. 26 Edw. I, No. 28. 

 ' Chart. R. 14 Edw. II, m. 5, No. 15. 



8 Ibid. 23 Edw. Ill, pt. i, No. 88 ; 

 Orig. Mins. Accts. bdle. 1090, No. 5. 



9 y. C. H. Norlhanti, i, 346A. 



10 Feet of F. Div. Co. 45 Hen. Ill, 

 No. 74. 



" Orig. R. (Rec. Com.), ii, 350. 



" Pat. 20 Ric. II, pt. i, m. 32 ; Add. 

 MS. 6164, p. 494. 



" rahr Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii, 53 ; iv, 

 43, 141, 142, 2S7. 



^* Pat. 4 and 5 Phil, and Mary, pt. lii, 

 m. 53. 



^' Feet of F. Northants, 19 Hen. VI, 

 No. loi. 



'* Chan. Inq. p.m. 12 Ric. II, No. 32. 



17 Feet of F. Div. Co. 3 Edw. IV, No. 

 '5- 



566 



13 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iv, 43. 



" Ct. R. (Gen. Ser. P. R. O.), bdle. 

 184, No. 73. 



^ Pat. I Edw. VI, pt. ii, m. 2. 



" Pat. 3 Edw. VI, pt. V, m. 40. 



*^ Crowland Cart, in possession of Lord 

 Lucas, ff. 49, 208. 



23 Abhrev.Plac. (Rec. Com.), p. 39. 



« Feet of F. Northants, 33 Hen. Ill, 

 No. 577. 



** Ibid. 4 Edw. I, No. 30. 



« Pat. 3 Edw. VI, pt. vii, m. 42. 



