A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



Valley and of the rising land beyond. From 400 ft. the 

 ground declines to 300 near the Weston Favell Con- 

 valescent Home, and from this point there is a gradual 

 descent to the River Nene on which the mill, formerly 

 belonging to the Ekins, is placed, the land there not 

 rising above 200 ft. 



In the upper part of the parish is a field formerly 

 known as Spelhoe, from which the hundred took its 

 name, but now called Stocking. 



John Cole, bookseller and antiquary, was born at 

 Weston Favell in I792,and, afterlivingat Lincoln, Hull, 

 and Scarborough, opened a shop in the Market Square, 

 Northampton, about 1830, and after many vicissitudes 

 of fortune died in 1848.' 



In 1086 the overlordship of WESTON 

 MANORS {FAVELL) was vested in the Count of 

 Mortain- and passed with that of Over- 

 stone (q.v.) through the families of MundeviUe and 

 d'Avranches into the possession of the Crevecoeurs, 

 Robert being overlord in 1284.^ After this date the 

 overlordship may have been acquired by John de 

 Bois who was holding under Robert Crevecoeur in 

 1 284* and whose representative William la Zouche'was 

 overlord in 1336.* The Zouches possibly alienated to 

 the Abbots of Pipewell who appear as the overlords 

 from 1483 until 1509.^ John de Bois had inherited as 

 younger, but eldest surviving, son of Ernald de Bois^ 

 who held | of a small fee of Mortain in Weston in 

 1242." This estate had been returned in 1236 as of the 

 fee of Nicholas de Haversham.'" This Nicholas was 

 succeeded by a son Nicholas," whose heir was inter- 

 mediary between John de Bois and the actual lord of 

 the manor, John Favell, in 1 284.'^ The heir in question 

 was his daughter Maud, who married Sir James de la 

 Plaunche, and their son Sir William de la Plaunche held 

 Weston under Sir William la Zouche in 1336.'^ As 

 late as 1 570 the manor was said to be held of 'the heir 

 of Nicholas de HavershamV but this was probably an 

 empty formula. 



The land of the Count of Mortain was divided into 

 two portions at the Domesday Survey, one of which, 

 consisting of 3 hides, was held of him by Walter, '5 and 

 the other 25 hides in extent was held by the Count 

 himself.'^ These two portions probably coalesced to form 

 the 4 hides held by Richard de Weston in the 12 th 

 century," but did not long remain intact as on the 

 death of Richard the estate was divided between 

 Ralph GrifBn of Gumley, Leicestershire, the husband 

 of Richard's sister Alice,'* and John Favell of Walcot 

 who probably married another sister and co-heir and 

 from whom Weston derived its additional name of 

 Favell. The moiety held by John Favell, known as 

 WESTON FAVELL MANOR, was confiscated by 

 King John on account of liis adherence to the Barons," 



but was restored by Henry III in 1216^° and remained 

 in the Favell family, whose pedigree has been traced 

 under Walcot in Barnack,-' until on the death of Sir 

 William Favell without heirs, c. 1 3 16, it passed into the 



Favell. Or a bend gules 



and a border sable be- 



vanty. 



Griffin. Sable a griffin 



argent ivith beak and 



forelegs or. 



Griffin family by the marriage of Elizabeth his sister 

 with Sir John Griffin,-^ the great-grandson of Ralph 

 above-mentioned, and lord of the other moiety of 

 Weston. The manor, thus reunited, remained vested 

 in the Griffin family for many generations,^^ but by the 

 marriage of Thomas, Sir John's grandson, with Eliza- 

 beth the daughter and ultimate heir of Sir Warine 

 Latimer, the Grifiins acquired the manor of Bray- 

 brook,^'' which then became the seat of the family. By 

 a settlement made in 1528 when Sir Thomas Griffin 

 was lord of the manor, Weston was to pass after his 

 death to his son and heir Richard. -' Richard, however, 

 died during his father's lifetime leaving an only child 

 Mary, the wife of Thomas Markham of Ollerton, 

 Notts.,-* and a fresh settlement was made in i 561^^ by 

 which Mary and Thomas Markham released all their 

 right in the manor to Sir Thomas Griffin: the latter 

 died in 1566, when Weston passed to his son Thomas 

 of unsound mind,** for whom it was held in trust by 

 the executors of Sir Thomas's will, of whom Edward 

 Griffin was one, and a fresh arrangement was made the 

 following year by which the reversion of the manor was 

 settled in Mary and Thomas Markham.-' Thomas 

 Griffin, the idiot, dying without issue, Weston Favell 

 passed to Mary while Braybrook was inherited by 

 Edward.-'" Thus the connexion between the two manors 

 was severed, and Weston was apparently settled on Sir 

 Griffin Markham, son of Mary, but was confiscated 

 by James I in 1603 on the attainder of Sir Griffin for 

 implication in the Bye plot,'' and although Sir Griffin 

 was remanded his estates were not restored and Weston 

 was bestowed on Sir John Harrington in 1604.'- Mary 

 Markham, however, appears to have obtained a restitu- 

 tion of the manor for in 1608 she alienated it to Henry 

 TravelP^ by whom it was sold in 16 16 to Alexander 

 Ekins.'* The latter was succeeded by his son and 



' Diet. Nat. Biog. 



2 y.C.H. Northants. i, 328. 



3 Feud. Aids, iv, 16. 



* Ibid.; Bk. of Fees, 936. 



5 Dugdale, Baronage, i, 690; Wrottes- 

 ley, Feds, from Plea Rolls, 166. 



^ Chan. Inq. p.m. 10 Edw. Ill (ist 

 nos.), no. 59. 



' Ibid. 22 Edw. IV, no. 52; ibid. (Ser. 

 2), V, 106; ibid. (Ser. 2), xxiv, 37. 



* Assize R. 6 1 9, m. 1 3 d. 

 ' Bk. of Fees, 936. 



'" Ibid. 498, 501. 



>■ r.C.H. Bucks, iv, 368. 



^^ Feud. Aids, iv, 16. 



*^ Cal. Inq. p.m. vii, no. 709. 



^^ Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cliii, 61. 



'5 F.C.H. Northants. i, 328. 



■^ Ibid. 321. " Ibid. 381. 



^^ Sloane Chart, xxxii, 17. 



'» Rot. Litt. Claus. (Rec. Com.), (,261. 



" Ibid. 331. 



21 V.C.H. Northants. ii, 466-7. 



^- Feud. Aids, iv, 23; Bal(er, Northants, 



'. 72-3- 



^' Feud. Aids, iv, 37; Chan. Inq. p.m. 

 23 Hen. VI, no. 19; ibid. 25 Hen. VI, 

 no. 40. 



^■* Metcalfe, Visitations of Northants. 23 ; 

 G.E.C. Peerage (ist ed.), v, 21 n. 



^5 Feet of F. Northants. Mich. 20 Hen. 

 VIII. 



2^ Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cxlv, 51. 



" Feet of F. Northants. Hil. 4 EUz.; 

 Baker, Northants. \, 526. 



28 Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cxlv, 51. 



2« Feet of F. Northants. Trin. 9 Eliz.; 

 Biv. of Deeds belonging to Ishams of 

 Lamport. 



30 Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cliii, 61; 

 G.E.C. Peerage (ist ed.), v, 21 n. 



» Diet. Nat. Biog. 



32 Pat. 2 Jas. I, pt. ii. 



33 Baker, Northants. i, 72; Feet of F. 

 Northants. East. 5 Jas. I. 



" Ibid. Trin. 14 Jas. I. 



108 



