NAVISFORD HUNDRED 



THRAPSTON 



In 1086, Odelin held this land of the Bishop," and 

 his son Robert was the tenant under the Clares early in 

 the I2th century.*'* Towards the end of the century 

 the tenant was Riclurd de Marun,^ but it is difficult 

 to trace the descent of the land in Thrapston. In 1236 

 Maud, the wife of William Hay, was dealing with land 

 in Thrapston, and in 1242 William Hay held an eighth 

 part of a knight's fee there and in Denford.'" Be- 

 tween 1252-3 and 1263, William de Shardclawe and 

 his wife Joan were parties to various fines levied on 

 land in Thrapston which were part of her inheritance.'" 

 The next tenants seem to have been John Spigurnel 

 and his wife .Mice.''^ In 1310, they settled a con- 

 siderable estate in Thrapston, Woodford and Den- 

 ford on themselves and the heirs of their bodies, with 

 remainder of John, son of Roger Bozun.** Before 

 1330, John Bozun sold one quarter of a knight's fee in 

 Thrapston to Bernard de Brus, the son of John de 

 Brus of Thrapston.*'' Athelina, daughter of Ber- 

 nard, is mentioned in 1367 in connection with other 

 property,*' but the next tenants were William 

 Everard de Sutton in Holand and his wife Alice, who 

 settled the manor of Thrapston in 1379 on Hugh 

 Hekclyng and Richard Gcttyngton, clerks, with 

 warranty by the heirs of Alice.*' In 1387, amongst 

 the tenants of the half fee held of Hugh, Earl of 

 Stafford, appear Alice Vere, possibly identical with 

 Alice Everard, and Henry Petelyng, clerk.*' In 1392 

 they were succeeded by Margery Table,** in 1394 and 

 1396 by William Braunspath,** but in 1401 Margery 

 Table reappears.^ No further tenants are recorded 

 till 15 1 5, when William Thorley died seised of two 

 virgates of land and other property in Thrapston, 

 held of the Duke of Buckingham, his heir being his 

 son Richard.*' This holding, however, can only have 

 been a small part of the lands attached to the manor 

 of Thrapston, and presumably they had passed into 

 the hands of many tenants. They seem, however, 

 again to have come into the possession of one tenant 

 and the manorial rights revived, possibly when the 

 over-lordship passed to the Crown.** 



In 1574 the manor of THR.4PST0N, alias 

 THRAI'&JON G 4LES, was held by John Gale, and 

 was possibly the manor formerly held of the honour 

 of Clare. Gale sold it to Henry Daye," who in 

 turn sold it in 1575 to Lewis, Lord Mordaunt.** In 

 1582 the latter obtained a quit-claim of the manor 

 from Anthony Muscott and his wife Ellen, presum- 

 ably the heir either of John Gale or Henry Daye.** 

 From this time the manor of Thrapston Gales was 

 held with Thrapston manor (j.e/.).** 



The tenant of the land held of the Honour of Clare 

 did suit at the .Abbot of Peterborough's court for 

 Navisford Hundred." The Earl of Gloucester also 

 held a view of frankpledge, pleas ' de namio vctito,' 

 and the assizes of bread and ale for his tenants at 

 Thrapston.** He also had the return of writs,** and 

 his successors held a view of frankpledge and a court, 

 generally at Denford, for their tenants of the half fee 

 in Thrapston, Denford and Ringstead.*" In the early 

 part of the l8th century the Duke of Montagu held 

 the court of Navisford Hundred at Thrapston." 



In 1205 Baldwin de Vere gave two palfreys for the 

 privilege of having a market every Tuesday,'- and his 

 market rights were specially reserved to him in the 

 agreement as to view of frankpledge made with the 

 Abbot of Peterborough.'* Ralph de Vere in 1330 

 claimed the market under a charter of Henry 111,'* 

 and presumably the succeeding lords of the manor of 

 Thrapston held a market there, as it was in the 

 possession of Sir John Germaine and his wife in 

 1706.** It was not mentioned in the sale of the 

 manor in 1770" to Leonard Burton, and in 1870 the 

 Thrapston Market Co. was formed by Act of Parlia- 

 ment, in which all control and profit of the market 

 and of the fairs are vested. In 1226 Baldwin de 

 Vere obtained a grant, until the coming of age of 

 Henry III, of a fair to be held on the eve and day of 

 St. Michael." A fair is now held on the first Tues- 

 day after old Michaelmas day. 



Robert de Vere obtained the grant of another fair 

 in 1245 on the \igil, feast and morrow of St. James 

 the Apostle.** A fair was still held on St. James' day 

 early in the 1 8th century,'* and was afterwards kept 

 on 5 August, old St. James' day, but it had fallen into 

 disuse before 1874.'" The second fair is now held on 

 the first Tuesday in May. 



The church of ST. JAMES consists 

 CHURCH of chancel 37 ft. 8 in. by 19 ft. 4 in., 

 with organ chamber and vestry on the 

 north side, clearstoried nave, 50 ft. 6 in. by 20 ft., 

 north and south aisles, each 12 ft. 8 in. wide, and west 

 tower, 13 ft. 6 in. by 11 ft., surmounted by a spire. 

 All these measurements are internal. The ground 

 floor of the tower forms the porch. The nave and 

 aisles," together with the chancel arch, were entirely 

 rebuilt in 1842 in the Gothic style of the period, 

 when galleries were erected on three sides. The 

 galleries still remain. In 1888 an old vestry which 

 had blocked a 14th century window in the chancel 

 was removed, and the present vestry built further 

 west. The building throughout is of rubble with 



•' J'.C.H. Noribanli. i, 31 1 ». 



•»Ibid. 365*. 



" ERcrton MS. (B.M.), 2733 I. 155 d. 



" Cal. Close 1234-37, 343 ; Bk. of Feet 

 (P.R.O.), ii, p. 936- 



*' Fe«t of F. Northants. Jlil. 37 Men. 

 Ill; ibid. Trin. 45 Hen. Ill; ibid. 

 Trin. 47 Hen. III. 



" Feet of F. Northanti. Mil. 22 

 F.dw. I j Ciil. Ituj. V. no. 538 j Ch.in. Inq. 

 p.m. 46 Edw. Ill (lit noi.), no. O2. 



*' Feet of F.N'orthant S.Mich. 4 Edw. II. 



«• Assiie R. no. 632, f. 76 ; Cal. Close, 



'333-37, P- '^(^■ 



" Cal. Close, 1364-68, p. 366. 



" Feet of F. Northanti. Hit. 2 Ric. II. 



*' Chan. Inq. p.m. 10 Ric. II, no 3S. 



•' Ibid. 16 Ric. II, pt. i, no. 27. 



«» Ibid. iS Ric. II, no. 43 ; 22 Ric. II, 

 no. 46. 



" Ibid. 4 Hen. IV, no. 41. 



** Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. ii), xxx, 1 17. 



'- See above. 



" Feet of F. Northants. Mich. i<> and 

 17 F.liz. 



" Ibid. East. 17 Eliz. 



" Ibid. nil. 24 Eliz. 



'« Ibid. Trin. 22 Jas. I ; ibid. East. 

 2 Chas. I; ibid. Ilil. i and 2 Jas. II; 

 Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. ii), dcxxiv, 64. 



" Egerton MS. (B.M.), 2733, f. 155 d. 



" Rot. Hund. (Rec. Com.), ii, S b ; 

 Chron. Petrob. (Camden Soc), 114. 



" Rot. Hund. (Rec. Com.), ii, 8 b. 



"> Cal. Inij. iv, no. 435 ; v, no. 53X ; 

 Chan. Inq. p.m. 46 Edw. Ill (ist nos.), 

 no. 62 ; 10 Ric. II, no. 38; 22 Ric. II, no. 

 46; Cal. Pal. 1401-05, p. 349. 



" Bridges, Hist. Norihanis. ii, 379. 



"' Pipe R. Northants, 7 John, m. 21 d. 



" Swaflham Reg. cciii b. 



" riac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 500 ; 

 I[.-.lstead, op. cit. p. 268. 



«' Feet of F. Northants. Mich. 4 

 Anne. 



" Feet of F. Northants. Trin. 10 Geo. 

 III. 



•' Rot. Litt. Claus. (Rec. Com.), ii, 

 p. 121. 



•» Cal. Chart, i, 288. 



" Bridges, Hist. Northants, ii, 379. 



'° Whcllan, Hist. Northants^ 732. 



'* 'I'he old nave and aisles were appa- 

 rently of 14th century date. Bridges 

 states that before the building of the two 

 aisles there seems, from the difTerence of 

 the fabric, to have been a cross aisle, or 

 two chapels, at each end : Hist. 0] 

 Northants. ii, 3S0. No evidence of this 

 remains. 



