A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



of Simon Fitz Simons, the last of whom died in 

 1280, when he was succeeded by his grandson or 

 nephew Sir John de Verdun. His son Sir Thomas 

 succeeded in 1295 and died in 1315 leaving a son 

 John. Sir John de Verdun was holding in 1368 of 

 Robert de Lisle.* In 1466, however, this part of 

 Cranford was held of Richard Earl of Warwick,' 

 and in 1479 of Richard Duke of Gloucester.* In the 

 reign of Henrj- VII the overlordship came to the 

 Crown.* 



In the 1 2th century the tenant in demesne of these 

 5 hides was Ralph fitz Roger.*" Part .of the land was 

 later held by knight's service by William de Cranford, 

 who died before 1 209, when his heir, presumably a 

 minor, had succeeded him.** Ralph de Cranford 

 was the tenant between 1235'- and 1262." He was 

 succeeded by his son William who was holding in 

 I284,i'' but in 1295 Ralph son of William appears.*^ 

 William son of Ralph de Cranford made a settlement 

 of the manor in 1330.'* The next tenants were 

 Baldwin Drayton of Cranford and his wife Alice, and 

 as the manor formed part of her inheritance, she may 

 have been the daughter of the last William de Cran- 

 ford." She and her husband sold it in 1394 to John 

 son of Baldwin Drayton,** and in 1426 the latter 

 together with his son John, who had married ."Vnne, 

 daughter of Robert de Cran- 

 ford, were parties to a lawsuit 

 over lands in Cranford.*' In 

 1466 William Drayton died 

 seised of a capital messuage 

 and land in Cranford.-" His 

 son Richard died in 1479.^* 

 Tlie property seems to have 

 passed to Richard's sister 

 Anne, the wife of Thomas 

 I.ovett." Henry Lovett, pre- 

 sumably her son, died seised of 

 'Drayton's manor' in Cran- 

 ford in 1492.^ He was suc- 

 ceeded by his son Thomas, who died seised in 1 542, 

 his heir being his grandson, another Thomas Lovett.-' 

 The latter sold the manor in 1550 to Thomas Good- 

 fellow.-^ In 1614 Christopher Goodfellow was the 

 tenant-" and it passed about 1652 to liis daughters 

 Jane, the wife of William Coo, and Mary and Sarah 

 Goodfellow.^' The manor came to the family of Coo 

 and passed on the death of William Coo in 1676 to 

 their son Christopher Coo, D.D., who also was lord 

 of Daundelyn's manor (q.v.) in Cranford St. Andrew.^' 



Lovett. Argent three 



wolves passant pjli':vise 

 sable . 



In 1805, Elizabeth, Duchess of Buccleuch, owned 

 the manor of Cranford St. John.^*' 



A second holding in Cranford St. John was known 

 in the 1 6th century as the manor of CRANFORD. It 

 originally formed part of the holding of Bertram of 

 Verdun in the early 1 2th century-' and seems to have 

 been separated by the overlord, John de Verdun, 

 Constable of Ireland, from Curzon's manor in Cran- 

 ford St. -Andrews.^ In 1476 this estate was said to be 

 held directly of the Abbey of Peterborough,^* and 

 after the Dissolution, of the king in chief.*- In the 

 reign of Henry III certain lands were held by William 

 de Esseby of Sir Richard Curzon, but they were for- 

 feited for felony and escheated to the Constable, who 

 granted them to John de Kirkby, Bishop of Ely, to 

 hold as the sixth part of half a knight's fee.^ On the 

 bishop's death in 1289 the lands should have escheated 

 to Robert Curzon,*^ but they passed to William dc 

 Kirkby, the bishop's brother, and were neld immedi- 

 ately of the \'erduns.^ William died in 1302 seised 

 of rents and tenements in Cranford and in 1303 his 

 lands were divided between his four sisters and co- 

 heirs, Cranford being assigned to Maud, the wife of 

 Gilbert de Houby.^" She died seised about 131 1 and 

 was succeeded by her son Walter de Houby.^' Cran- 

 ford seems to have passed to his son Anketine, who 

 died seised of 6 messuages, 6 virgates of land and 

 8 marks rent in Cranford.^ These tenements finally 

 passed to John Bellers, the son of Elizabeth, the 

 daughter of Anthony, the son of Alice, the daughter of 

 Anketine de Houby.'* Bellers died seised in 1476 

 and Cranford passed to John Villers, the son of his 

 sister Joan."*" In 1506 Villers was succeeded by his 

 son, another John,''* who sold the manor of Cranford 

 to Edward Montagu, scrjeant-at-law, William Dudley, 

 William Stokes, Thomas Stokes and Henry Freeman, 

 giving a quitclaim to the purchasers and the heirs ot 

 Montagu.^- Henry Freeman, however, appears to 

 have obtained possession of these lands,''^ and his son 

 Thomas Freeman died in 1637 seised of the manor 

 and left the land which was parcel of the manor to 

 his executors for provision for the children of his 

 brother Henry.'''' His heir was Henry's son Thomas, 

 a niinor.*^ A Thomas Freeman died in 1692, and 

 the manor passed to his daughter Elizabeth, the wife 



of Weaver.''* In 1730, their son, the Rev. William 



Henry Weaver, was lord of the manor.'" A free 

 fishery in Cranford is mentioned in 1753''* and 1786^' 

 as appurtenant to Lovett's manor, and at the latter 

 date 3 water corn mills belonged to the manor.^ 



' Farrrr, op. cit. i, 114-118; Book of 

 Feel, ii, 1)37; FeuJ. Aids, iv, 13; Cal. 

 Close, 12S8-5C), p. 448 ; 1364-68, p. 497. 



' Chan. Inq. p.m. 5 Edw. W, no. 7. 



• Ibid. If) Edw. IV, no. 44. 



• Cal. lisq. lien. VII, \, no. 753. 



'" V.C.II. Norlhants. i, 389 a & * ; cf. 

 rcmsrki on thii point in K,irrcr, op. cit. 

 i, ii3. 



■' Book of Fees, i, 18. 



"Ibid, i, 500; ii, 937 J Fcft o( F. 

 Northanti. Mil. 24 Ilcn. Ill ; 45 lien. Ill, 

 no. 806. 



" Exeerpi. e Rot. Fin. ii, 382. 



*• Feud. Aids, iv, 13. 



" Cal. Close, 1288-96, p. 448. 



" Feet of F.North.inti. Hil. 3 Edw. III. 



" Feet of F. Div. Coi. Mich. i« RIc. II, 

 no. 370. '■ Ibid. 



" Ejtiy Chan. Prof. bdlc. 7, no. 250. 



'» Ch.nn. Inq. p.m. 5 Edw. I\', no. 7. 



•' Ibid. 19 Edw. IV, no. 44. 



" Ibid. 



" Cal. Inq. Hen. VII, i, no. 7^3. 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. (Scr. ii) Ivvi, 42. 



•' Rccov. R. nil. 4 Edw. VI, ro. 100; 

 Feet of v. Norliiants. East. 5 Edw. VI. 



" Feet of F. Notthanls. Mil. 11 Jas. I. 



•' Ibid. Trin. 1652; Bridgei, op. cit. ii, 

 230. 



•• Ibid. Feet of F. Northanli. Trin. 5 

 Anne ; Hil. 10 Anne. 



"'» Privau All of Pari. 45 Ceo. Ill, 

 c. 34. 



" r.C.ft. Nonhanii. i, 389 a lib. 



>** ('ban. Inq. p.m. 18 Edw. I, no. 37. 



" Ibid. 16 E<lw. IV, no. 14. 



*■ Clian. Iri(|. p.m. (.Scr. ii) dcdi, 141. 



" Colt, Cb. (H.M.) XXI, 2 ; Chan. Inq. 

 p.m. 18 Edw. I, no. 37. 



190 



" Ibid. 



" Ibid. ; ibid. 30 F.dw. I, no. 31. 



•« Ibid. 



•' Ibid. 5 Edw. II, no. 28. 



" Ibid. 16 Edw. IV, no. 14. 



"» Ibid. " Ibid. 



*' Ibid. (Ser. ii) xx, 37. 



" Rccov. R. Mich. 27 Hen. VIII, ro. 

 121 ; Feet of F. Northants. Mich. 27 

 Ilcn. VIII. 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. (Scr. ii), cccxii. 2 ; 

 ccxciii, <;. 



" Ibid, dccli, 141. 



«' Ibid. 



" Dridgei, Hist, of Norihanls. ii, 227. 



"Ibid.; Rccov. R. Trin. 4 Geo. II, 

 ro. 241. 



*" Kicnv. R. nil. 26 Geo. II, ro. 313. 



" llnd. nil. 26C;eo. lll,ro. 169. 



'" Ihid. 



