NAVISFORD HUNDRED 



CLAPTON 



the wife of Hugh le Fleming who held land in 

 Clapton of the Lovetots.'" Her lands in Clapton 

 presumably followed the history of the manor of Pole- 

 brook (y.f.). which was bought by Abbot John de 

 Cau7. from Robert son of Hugh le Fleming." They 

 were assigned to the Almoner and were held, 

 possibly with other lands in Clapton, as one tenth 

 of a knight's fee.** 



The manor of CLAPTON, held by the Abbey of 

 Peterborough, may be traced in origin to various 

 benefactions made by the Clapton family, which 

 were assigned by Abbot Benedict (1177-I194) to the 

 Almoner of the abbey.*' William, son of Walter do 

 Clapton, granted in frankalmoin one messuage and one 

 virgate of land and a meadow called Sumc's yard or 

 MawnesyerdtoPetcrborough'-'and this land is specially 

 mentioned in the charter of Richard 1 of 1189.'^ In 

 the following year William and his wife Emma seem 

 to have given a further release of it to Abbot Bene- 

 dict.** The latter recovered a carucate of land from 

 William Dacus and Thomas de Hotot*' as well as 6 

 acres of the land of the nuns of Chicksand.** Richard 

 de Clapton and Geoffrey son of Ralph dc Clapton, a 

 military subtenant of William de Clapton, made 

 various gifts of land to the Prior of St. Ncots, Hunt- 

 ingdon,** and Abbot Martin of Peterborough (1226- 

 1233) bought the rent of zs. a year arising from these 

 tenements from the Prior, and assigned it to the 

 Almoner.'" In 1347 the latter held in frankalmoin in 

 chief of the king 249J acres of land." In 1300 the manor 

 of Clapton was valued at 56.1. \d. a year,'^ and at the 

 dissolution of the abbey it was worth £t, 8;. 5W.'^ 

 In 1542, Henry VIII sold it to Roger Tyrwhitt, who 

 in the same year resold it to William Dudley, the 

 lord of the manor of Clapton Hotot (y.t.).'^ 



In 1086, Eustace the Sheriff held one hide and one 

 virgate of land in chief of the King.'' This land 

 also passed to the Lovetots, but was held of their 

 Huntingdonshire Honour of Southo.'* In 1236, 

 William Patrick held a third of a knight's fee in Clap- 

 ton, Polebrook and Thurning as part of the Honour, 

 so that he had not by then granted his rights in this 

 land to his sister." It seems probable, however, that 

 she obtained them later, and that it was the homage 

 and service of their tenants in this holding that she 

 and John de Littebury granted to Richard de Clare 

 in 1259.'* If so, Hugh Audley had presumably some 

 right in his claim against the Abbot of Peterborough, 

 but put himself in the wrong first by claiming too 

 much and secondly by distraining the lands which 



were held in frankalmoin in the almoner's manor of 

 Clapton {/]."'.). 



The mesne tenants in the early l3tli century were 

 Hugh le Fleming and his son Robert," and the homage 

 and service which Robert le Fh-ming and Tlif)nias 

 Sincrt held in this part of Clapton prob.ibly passed 

 with their otlier holding which the Almoner held by 

 military service."" The holding, however, had been 

 again sub-infcudated. The hide of land was held by 

 Walter le Stiward, apparently in the middle of the 13th 

 century, and was sold to Thomas, son of Richard de 

 Hotot," so that it presumably was incorporated with 

 the manor of Clapton Hotots (■??'•), the Abbey of Peter- 

 borough being the overlord of both holdings. The vir- 

 gate of land was held by Hugh de Cliastillon, who was 

 living in 1 240,'- and it seems to have passed to the Abbey 

 of Tiiorncy,"^ wliicli held one-tenth of a knight's fee of 

 the .'\bbey of Peterborough as of the fee of Lovetot."'' 



Another reputed manor of CLAPTON may be 

 traced to half a hide of land, held in 1086 of 

 the Abbey of Peterborough, by Elmar.'^ In the early 

 part of the 12th century he had been succeeded by 

 Ascclin, who may be identified with Ascclin de 

 Waterville,'* the lord of Thorpe Waterville and 

 Achurch, and his successors held the ovcrlordsliip of 

 this land until the middle of the 14th century, but 

 it is not mentioned after the time of Robert de 

 Holand.*' The half hide seems to have been 

 granted before 1185 to Osbert le Bret,"* but in 1243 

 it was held as one-seventh of a knight's fee by William 

 Hay,"® who had obtained it from Ralph de Ccstreton.'" 

 Hugh dc Cliastillon also claimed some right in it at 

 this time, but William Ha\ re- 

 tained possession.®! Between 

 1 261 and 1274 Sir William 

 Hay granted his manor in 

 Clapton in exchange to 

 William Jakeley, Abbot of 

 Thorney®^ to be held in frank- 

 almoin and in 1286 the Abbot 

 obtained a quitclaim of the 

 half hide of land from John le 

 Bret and his wife Sarah.®' In 

 1450 the Abbey of Thorr.cy 

 was said to hold a manor in 

 Clapton,'* and at the Dissolu- 

 tion of the Abbey, the rent was returned at £6 ! y. \d. 

 a year, but the issues of the court were of no value.®* 

 In 1542, Henry VIII granted all the lands formerly 

 belonging to the Alibey of Thorney to Robert 



Thorney .Arrfy. Azure 

 ihrff crozicri bctzvecn as 

 Ttiatjy crosihis or. 



•• Soc. Antiq. MS. 38, f. 64. 



" Ibid. 



•« Cott. MS. CItop. C i, ff. I45</, 128J. 



" Soc. Antiq. MS. 3!!, (. 66. 



•• Ibid. ; Swaffham Reg. cculix b, xxl. 

 This is presumably the same virgalc 

 which was confirmed to the Abbey by Pope 

 Eogcnius. If so, William, son of Waller, 

 must have succeeded his father before 

 1 146 (Gunton, Hut. nf Cb. Pelerhorougb. 

 ed. 16S5, p. 129. 



" Cat. Chart. 1226-57, p. 19. 



•* Swiflham Reg. f. clxxi ; Soc. Antiq. 

 MS. 38, f. I. 



" Sparke, Hist. An^l. Script. (Swaffham) 

 p. 100. 



•• Bridges, op. cit. 368. 



" Soc. Antiq. MS. 38, f. 66. 



'• Ibid; Swaflham Reg. fol. c. b. A 

 Ralph de Clapton at the end of the 

 1 3th century had a son John and a daugh- 



ter Rose. John, son of John dc Clapton, 

 was dealing with lands in Hemington 

 in 1438-52 (Buccleuch Deeds A. 76, 77, 

 78. 85, H. 6,1c,). 



" Soc. Antiq. MS. 3«,f. 66. 



'• Cott. MS. Vcsp. E xxii, f. 61. 



'* Du^dale, Mon. -Jngl. i, 404. 



'•/.. III.,/ P. Hen. I'm, xvii g, 714 



(IS, 17)- 



" I'.C.H. Nortbants. i, 350 a. 



'• Bridges, op. cit. ii, 367 ; Soc. Antiq. 

 MS. 38, f. 64. 



" Bk.ofFtes{f.V..O.)\, 580. 



" Soc. Antiq. MS. 38, f. 64 ; Pytchley, 

 op. cit. 91. 



" Egerton MS. (B.M.) 2733, f. 129; 

 JJ*. o/f«j(P.R.O.)i, 580. 



•" See above. 



" Bridges, op. cit. ii, 370. 



" Feet of F. Northants. East. 24 

 Hen. III. 



127 



" Bridges, op. cit. ii, 370. 



" Soc. Antiq. MS. 38, f. 92./; Cott. 

 MS. Cleop. Ci,f- i-!-7<l- 



" V.C.H. Northanis. i, 31'iA. 



" Ibid. 366a ; see Thorpc-.\church. 



" Kgcrton MS. (B.M.) 273;, f(. izM, 

 134^; Cott. MS. Clcop. C i, ff. 14'. 

 14.'/. 



" Pipe R. 31 Hen. II, mid. 



" Ki;crton MS. (R.M.) 2733> '■ '34''- 



" Feet of F. Northants. East. 24 

 Hen. III. 



•' Ibid. ; Egerton MS. (B.M.) 2733, 



'= Dugdale, Mon. Anef. 11, p. 604; 

 Rol. Hund. (Rec. Com.), ii, 84; Cal. 

 Chart. 1341-1417, p. 79. 



" Feet of F. Northants. Trin. 14 

 Edw. I. 



•• Dugdale, Mon. An"!, ii, 597. 



•• Ibid. 613. 



