A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



village. The parish was inclosed in 1777, by a 

 private Act of Parliament.^ 



In the time of Edward the Confessor, 

 MANORS Achi held the manor of GRAFTON 

 or GRAFTON UNDERWOOD freely .2 

 After the Norman Conquest it was given to Robert 

 Albus, who was the tenant in 1086, his three hides 

 of land being held by a sub-tenant named Roger.' 

 Another holding of half a hide is mentioned in Domes- 

 day Book, when it was held by Agemund of Eustace 

 the sheriff.* Both holdings apparently were granted 

 early in the next reign to Richard de Humez,^ who 

 was succeeded by his son William, constable of 

 Normandy.* The latter's lands escheated to the 

 Crown' and in 1205 Grafton was granted to Philip 

 of Worcester.* In 1217 the manor was granted to 

 Ralph de St. Sampson.^ At his death about 1248, 

 it passed to his daughters and heirs, Brunna, the wife 

 of Simon Maufe, and Joan, the wife of William 

 de la Bruere.i" The manor, which was held of the 

 king by the serjeanty of keeping a white brachet with 

 red ears,'^^ was divided into two moieties at this 

 time. Brunna's moiety passed to her daughter Joan, 

 wife of Alan de Chartres.^^ Her son Roger and his 

 wife obtained licence in 1335 to grant the manor to 

 his son Peter,!' jj^j jjj j^^j jj^gy jointly sold it to 

 Simon Simeon,^* who settled it on himself and his 

 wife Elizabeth Neville.*^ After his death, she married 

 Sir John la Warre and in 1389 it was settled on them 

 and their direct heirs, but both died without children 

 and it presumably passed in 1398 to Thomas la Warre, 

 his brother and heir ;i' its later history does not appear, 

 but it seems probable that it came into the possession 

 of the tenantsof the other moiety of the manor (q.v.). 



Joan, the other co-heir of Ralph de St. Sampson, 

 and William de la Bruere sold her moiety to William 

 de Lisle and his wife Mabel in or before 1253." 

 William subinfeudated the manor and owing to the 

 subtenant William Hanred being convicted of felony, 

 the mesne lordship seems to have been lost, although 

 in 1330 John, the grandson of William de Lisle, tried 

 to recover the moiety of the manor.'* 



In 1266, William de Lisle granted it to Richard 

 Hanred and his heirs,'' but Richard appears to have 

 granted it to Robert le Baud before 1284.-" His son 

 William Hanred was hanged for felony in 1295^' and 

 the king entered the moiety of Grafton manor and 



granted it for life, at a rent of ^^lo a year, to Thomas 

 Brown, although the Crown should only have held 

 it for a year and a day.^^ In 131 1 Simon le Baud, pos- 

 sibly che successor of Robert le Baud, obtained licence 

 to grant in fee to Thomas Brown, a mill, land and rents 

 in Grafton-' and Brown had licence to grant the same 

 premises to John le Bole.-'' In 1313, the rent of /^lo 

 was granted to Jakinet de Mareygny, in reward for 

 his good services^* and after the death of Brown, the 

 moiety of the manor was jIso in 1317 granted for life 

 to Jakinet.28 On his death about 1328, the rent of 

 £\o was granted for life to Owen Corder.-' In 1316, 

 however, Thomas Brown had obtained leave to grant 

 7 messuages, a mill, 4 virgates and 8 acres of land 

 and certain rents to John Seymour and liis wife 

 Maud.2* This probably represented the moiety of 

 the manor. John died seised in 1340 and his widow 

 held the lands for her life.^' They passed to their 

 son John Seymour^ and their grandson, another 

 John Seymour held the manor in 1 362.'' He died seised 

 of rents in Grafton in 1363, which passed to his 

 brother and heir Thomas,'^ who was the tenant of 

 the manor of Grafton in 1397." In that year, he 

 settled the manor on himself for life with remainder 

 to Thomas Greene, son of Sir Henry Greene, knt. 

 The final remainder was to Sir Henry Greene and 

 his wife Maud and the right heirs of Maud, which 

 suggests that she was the heir of Thomas Seymour. 

 Thomas Greene apparently died without children 

 and the manor passed to his brother John, who was 

 mentioned in the settlement of 1397.** 



In 1450, it was held by Henry Greene of Drayton, 

 the son of John.'* His daughter and heir Constance, 

 the wife of John Stafford, son of Humphrey, Duke of 

 Buckingham, made a settlement of the manor in 

 1469.'* Their son Edward, Earl of Wiltshire, died 

 leaving no children and the Greene property passed 

 to the three surviving daughters and heiresses of 

 Sir Henry Vere, a nephew of Henry Greene." The 

 eldest daughter Elizabeth married John, first Lord 

 Mordaunt,'* and their descendants obtained, as at 

 Great Addington (q.v.), all three parts of the manor of 

 Grafton." John Mordaunt, the first Karl of Peter- 

 borough, died seised of the manor of Grafton Under- 

 wood in 1644,'"' but it was apparently sold to Sir John 

 Robinson in the latter part of the 17th century. Sir 

 John died before 1708, leaving two daughters and 



' 17 Ceo. III. c. 107. 



» V.C.H. Noribantt. i, 336*. 



• Ibid. 



• Ibid. 350a. 



• Ibid. 389*. 



• Red Bk. ojf Exchfq. (Roll. Ser.) 129, 

 172; Rol. Lill. Claui. (Rcc. Com.), i, 

 345* i ^0/. CAar J. (Rtc. Com.) 160. 



' Rol. Lill. Claui. (Rcc. Com.) i, 345*. 



• Ibid. 57*, 345*. 



• Ibid. 345*, 392*. In 1228 a further 

 grant wai made, by which Ralph was to 

 hold Grafton freely until the king might 

 reitore it to the hciri of William de 

 Humez or until a peace wai made 

 {Col. Chan. 1226-57, p. 86.) 



'• Cat. Chan. 1226-57, p. 432 ; Bridge*, 

 //ill. Norihanli. ii, 233. 



" Fiud. Aidi, iv, 12; Cal. Iiuj. viii, 

 no. 278. 



"Cal. Pal. 1301.7, p. 418 ; Bridget, 

 op. cit. ii, 233. 



"Cat. Pal. 1334-8, p. 119J Ch«n. 

 Inq. p.m. 9 Edw. MI (2nd noi), no. 30. 



'« Cal. Pat. 1340-43, pp. 270, 334. 



'» Feet of F. Div. Cos. Trin. 30 Ed. Ill ; 

 Cal. Pal. 1381-85, p. 387. 



'• C.E.C. Complete Peerage; Feet of 

 F. Div. Cos. Mil. 12 Ric. II; ibid, case 

 178, file 88, no. 116; Cal. Pat. 1388-92, 

 p. 1 1 ; Chan. Inq. p.m. 22 Ric. II, no. 53. 



" Cal. Chart. 1226-57, p. 432 ; Feet of 

 F. Northants, 45 Hen. III. 



"Cat. Pat. 1258-66, p. 592; Cat. 

 C/ojf, 133033, p. 70-1. 



'• Cal. Pat. 1258-66, p. 592 J Ilund. R. 

 (Rec. Com.) ii, 7 j Feud. Aids, iv, 12. 



•» Ibid. 



" Cal. Pat. 1301-7, p. 442 ; Cal. Close 



'330-33. P-70-'- 

 •■ Ibid. 



■• Cal. Pat. 1307-13, p. 321. 

 " Ibid. p. 400. 

 " Ibid. 1313-17, p. 40. 

 " Ibid. 1317-21, pp. 37, 250. 

 "Ibid. 1327-1330, p. 264 J Cal. Close, 



'330-33. P- 70-1- 

 "Cat. Pat. i3i3-'7, P 338. 



204 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. 14 Edw. Ill (i«t 

 nos.), no. 32 ; Cal. Pat. 1341-3, p. 94. 



•" Chan. Inq. p.m. 23 Edw. Ill, pt. ii 

 (i8t nos.), no. 76. 



" Feet of F. Northants. East. 

 35 Ed. III. 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. 36 Edw. Ill, pt. ii 

 (lat nos.), no. 44. 



"Feet of F. Northants. Trin. 21 

 Ric. II. •* Ibid. 



" Rolls of Pari. (Rcc. Com.), v, 195* ; 

 Chart. R. 27 to 49 Hen. VI, no. 38. 



•" Cal. Pat. 1467-77, p. 158. 



>' G.E.C. Complete Peerage; Bridges, 

 Hist. Northants, ii, 25. 



•» Ibid. 



•• Feet of F. Northants. Ilil. 31 

 Hen. VIII ; ibid. Div. Cos. Mil. 2 and 3 

 Ph. and Mary; Northants. Mil. 3 and 4 

 Ph. and Mary ; Div. Cos. Hil. 4 Eliz. ; 

 Northants. Trin. 10 Eliz. ; Northants. 

 Hil. 6 Jat. I ; Chan. Inq. p m. (Scr. ii), 

 cccix, 200. 



" Ibid, di, 64. 



