A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



manor included two dovecotes, a wind-mill, a horse- 

 mill, a park, and a free chace, with two yearly views of 

 frankpledge and a three-weekly court, and was held of 

 the King in chief by service of a sore sparrow-hawk or 

 2J-. yearly.' During the minority of Laurence, son and 

 heir of John de Hastings by his wife Juliana daughter 

 of Sir Thomas de Leybourne, custody of the manor was 

 granted to various persons.- Though still a minor, 

 Laurence de Hastings had livery of his lands in 1339 

 when he was created Earl of Pembroke.^ On his death 

 in 1348, leaving his son John by Agnes, daughter of 

 Roger Mortimer, a minor under two years,"* custody 

 of the manor was granted to William de Groucy.5 This 



Earl of Kent, conveyed his lands to feoflFees to the use of 

 himself and his wife Elizabeth, with remainder to her 

 brother Lord Hussey.'^ After divers transactions the 

 manor and remainder were sold to Sir William Comp- 

 ton in I 5I2-I3.''' He died seised of it togetherwith the 

 park and chase in I528,'5 from which date it has fol- 

 lowed the same descent as that of Castle ."^shby (q.v.). 



In the 1 8th century a fair was held here on Tuesday 

 in Whitsun week in a close adjoining the old manor- 

 house.'* 



The FREE CHASE of Yardley was usually made 

 the subject of a separate grant during the nonage of an 

 heir. Henry Ill's brother Richard, King of Almain, 



QI2ffl Century late 

 II3Ii Century late 

 □ I4ffl Century 

 ED Modern 



Scale of Feet 



Plan of Yardlev Hastings Church 



John de Hastings enfeoffed Walter Amyas and others 

 to certain uses and died in 1375* leaving his son John 

 aged two, to whom in 1387 the feoffees quitclaimed 

 the property.^ He was accidentally killed at the age 

 of 17 in a tournament at Woodstock in 1389, when the 

 Earldom of Pembroke became extinct.* The estate 

 passed to Reynold, Lord Grey of Ruthin, the grandson 

 of Elizabeth daughter of John, first Lord Hastings.' 

 He was holding one knight's fee in Yardley in 1428'" 

 and in 1440 was succeeded by his grandson Edmund, 

 the son of Sir John Grey," who was created Earl of 

 Kent in 1465 and died in 1490. His second son 

 George, Earl of Kent, died in 1503 having entailed his 

 property,'^ but it was dispersed, probably through the 

 gambhng propensities of Richard, his son by his first 

 wife Anne, widow of Sir William Bourchier. Richard, 



held it in 1 27 1." In 1345 the king confirmed a grant 

 which Laurence de Hastings had made to his yeoman 

 Robert Wyard, of the bailiwick of the manor and cus- 

 tody of the chase, with wages at 3(2'. a day, a robe and 

 fees.'' A wood here called 'Roundehai' in 1325" is 

 mentioned again in 1530 when it was granted with 

 the bailiwick of the manor to Baldwin WiUoughby, 

 Sewer of the Chamber.*" 



The church of ST. ANDREW con- 

 CHURCH sists of chancel, 37 ft. 4 in. by 17 ft. 6 in., 

 clerestoried nave of four bays, 63 ft. 4 in. 

 by 24 ft.; north and south aisles, about 11 ft. 6 in. 

 wide; south porch, and west tower, 16 ft. by 15 ft. 

 6 in., all these measurements being internal. The 

 width across nave and aisles is 52 ft. 6 in. 



The south aisle and porch were rebuilt in 1883, the 



^ CaL Inq. p.m. vi, 6i2; Chan. Inq. 

 p.m. 18 Edw. II, file 91, no. 26. 



^ Cal. Fine, iii, 327, 331; ibid. 334; 

 ibid, iv, 238; Cal. Pat. 1330—4, p. 240. 



3 Cal. Fine, v, 117; G.E.C. vi, 351. 



♦ Cal. Inq.f.m. ix, 1 1 8. 



' Cal. Fat. 1348-50, pp. 450, 499 i 

 ibid. 1350-4, p. 537. 



^ Chan. Inq. p.m. 49 Edw. Ill, no. 70; 

 Bridges, i, 396. 



' Cal. Close, 1385-9, p. 448. 



8 G.E.C. vi, 210. 



' Chan. Inq. p.m. 2 Hen. IV, no. 54; 



G.E.C. vi, 351. 



'" Feud. Aids, iv, 42. 



" G.E.C. vi, 158. 



'2 G.E.C. vii, 164-8. 



" Bridges, i, 396; Feet of F. Northants. 

 Mich. 6 Hen. VIII. 



•* Common Pleas R. IC19, D. Enr. 

 mm. 2, 4, 4d; Feet of F. Northants. 

 East. 12 Hen. VIII. Some time between 

 151 8 and 1528 Sir Henry Grey, 2nd son 

 of George, Earl of Kent, attempted to ob- 

 tain deeds relating to Yardley Hastings 

 from Sir WilUam Compton: Early Chan. 



298 



Proc. bdle. 512, no. 5 1 . 



'5 Exch. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), dcxciii, 

 I. For Sir William Compton see under 

 Castle Ashby. '* Bridges, i, 394. 



"' Cal. Pat. 1266-72, p. 591. Woods 

 in the chase were held by Arnold de 

 Bois in 1277 and William de Kirkby in 

 1302: Cal. Inq. p.m. ii, 222, p. 135; 

 ibid, iv, 91, p. 57. 



'* Cal Pat. 1 348-50, p. 205 i cf. pp. 1 89, 

 450. " Cal. Inq. p.m. \i, 612. 



^o L. and P. Hen. VllI, iv (2), g. 6187 

 (.2). 



