STOCKTON WARD 



SEDGEFIELD 



have come into the possession of Cuthbert Conyers, 

 who by will dated 1559 entailed his lands including 

 the manorof Liyton on his sons in succession." His 

 eldest ton and heir was Ralph Conyers,'^ who was 

 attainted for his part in the rebellion of 1569. His 

 life interest in the manor was consequently forfeited 

 to the Crown. Leases for twenty-one years were 

 made in February 1572-3 and February 1574-5 to 

 Thomas Cotton, and in December 1575 and May 

 1593 to Ralph Conyers himself, who had acquired 

 Cotton's interest." The manor was charged with 

 annuities to George Conyers and to Mary Conyers, 

 widow of Cuthbert." 



Ralph Conyers died in January 1605-6, when 

 the manor passed to his nephew Ralph, son of his 

 brother John, who acquired a messuage and land here 

 in 161 2 from John Eden, Margery his wife, John 

 Machell, Margaret his wife, and Anne Babington." 

 Ralph's son Cuthbert ^^ fought 

 for the king, and his lands 

 were under sequestration in 

 1644.'^ His son John '" was 

 in possession of Layton in 

 1662" and died in 1690,*^" 

 leaving a son and heir Thomas, 

 who married Elizabeth Thom- 

 linson of Birdforth, Yorlts.*' 

 Their son George died with- 

 out issue, as did his brother 

 John, a recusant, in 1748.'^^ 

 The heirs of John were the 

 representatives of Anne and 

 Helen, sisters of the Royalist 

 Colonel Cuthbert Conyers.*' Helen was the wife ot 

 Thomas Maire of Hardwick, and her grandson 

 Thomas was her representative in 1748.'* The 

 representative of Anne at that date was George Baker, 

 her great-great-grandson.*' In 1 77 1 John Maire, 

 younger son and ultimate heir of Thomas,** sold his 

 moiety to George Baker,*' who conveyed the whole 

 manor to William Russell of Brancepeth in i 793.*' 

 It descended with Brancepeth to Viscount Boyne.*' 



The vill of MORDON (Mordun, x cent. ; Mor- 



Mairi of Hardwick. 

 Argent a guilty table on 

 iva'vei of the tea proper. 



den, xvi cent.) was granted with Bradbury (q.v.) to 

 St. Cuthbert by Snaculf son of Cykell.'" The 

 Harpyns and their successors, tenants of most of the 

 land in the vill, held in chief 



In the middle of the 1 3th century Richard de 

 Harpyn held half a knight's fee here and half a 

 knight's fee in Thornley (q.v.).'** In I 3 1 2 Lora 

 widow of Richard de Harpyn claimed dower in 

 the manor of Thornley and in twelve messuages 

 I 2 oxgangs and 17a'. rent in Mordon against William, 

 Nicholas and John de Kelloe, guardians of her 

 husband's brother and heir John." John may prob- 

 ably be identified with John son of Richard Harpyn 

 whose name occurs in 1321.'^ This holding seems 

 to have represented two-thirds of the vill of Mordon. 

 John son of Henry de Kelloe, who had apparently 

 obtained some interest in land here as in Thornley 

 (q.v.), settled ' three parts ' '^ of the manor of 

 Mordon on himself and his sister Elizabeth in 

 February 1344-5.'^ Three years later John and 

 Elizabeth established a chantry of three priests in the 

 church of Kelloe, charging their lands here and in 

 Thornley for the purpose.'^ John de Kelloe granted 

 the knight's fee here to John Harpyn at lome 

 time before his death in or about January I 348-9,'' 

 and Elizabeth in 1352 made an agreement with 

 Thomas Harpyn, son of John Harpyn, whereby she 

 confirmed her land in Mordon to John Harpyn, 

 father of Thomas, and to John his son, they under- 

 taking the support of two of the chantry priests." 

 John Harpyn, father of Thomas, died seised of two- 

 thirds of the manor, said tu be held in chief for half a 

 knight's fee." Thomas, according to an inquisition of 

 1353, died seised of the same amount burdened with 

 the rent-charge."* A later inquisition stated, however, 

 that he possessed the whole manor for a third part of 

 a knight's fee,''-* the additional third being probably 

 the part acquired from Elizabeth de Kelloe. Mordon 

 followed the descent of Thornley (q.v.) in the Harpyn, 

 Lumley and Trollop families."*' Robert Tempest of 

 Holmeside must have had some interest in the manor 

 in 1 561 when Cuthbert Conyers held land in 

 Mordon of him and John Trollop.*' In 1570 both 



»' fyUls and Invent. (Surt. Soc), i, 1 84 ; 

 Dur. Rcc. cl. 3, file 182, no. 14. The 

 inquisition taken after Cuthbert's death 

 in October 1559 (Dur. Rec. cl. 3, no. 6, 

 fol. 51) mentions only one messuage, 

 60 acres, lOO acres of pasture and 

 50 of meadow in Layton, but there 

 seems no doubt that he held the whole 

 manor. 



" Dur. Rec. cl. 3, no. 6, fol. 51. 



" Pat. 15 Eliz. pt. ix, m. 19 ; 17 Elir. 

 pt. viii, m. 27 ; 18 Eliz. pt. vii, m. 5 ; 

 35 Eliz. pt. vi, m. 27. 



" Ibid. 



" Eich. Dep. Spec. Cora. no. 4171 ; 

 Dur. Rec. cl. 3, file 182, no. 14 ; cl. 12, 

 no. 2 (3). 



•' Foster, op. cit. 83. 



" Rec. Com. for Comf>. (Surt. Soc), 5, 

 12, 37. He had conveyed certain lands 

 here to Lyndley Wrenn and Lancelot 

 Holtby in 1639 (Dur. Rec. cl. 12, 

 no. 5 [2]). 



" Foster, loc. cit. 



" Dur. Rec. cl. 12, no. 6 (i). 



"> Surtees, op. cit. iii, 38. 



«' Ibid, i r.C.H. Torks. N. R. ii, 17. 



" Surtees, loc. cit. ; Hiii. MSB. Com. 

 Ref. ix, pt. i, p. 346i. 



^ Surtees, op. cit. iii, 37, 



^' Ibid, i, 53 ; Burke, Commoners, iii, 

 302. 



" She married Robert Conyers of 

 Bowlby and had a son Nicholas, whose 

 heir was his son Thomas. Elizabeth 

 daughter and heir of Thomas married 

 George Baker, and her son George was 

 the heir in 1748 [Gen. [New Scr.], xiv, 

 57 ; Burke, Commoners, ii, 547). 



" Surtees, op. cit. i, S3 ; Burke, Com- 

 moners, iii, 302. 



*' Burke, loc. cit. ; Surtees, op. cit. iii, 



37- 



" Dur. Rec. cl. 12, no. 39 (i). 



^* Fordyce, op. tit. ii, 342. 



'" Simeon of Dur. Opera (Rolls Ser.), 

 i, 83. 



""i Surtees, op. cit. i (i), p. cixriii. 



" Reg. Palat. Dunetm. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 

 8^1. The defendants denied that Lora 

 had been legally married. In 1264 Sir 

 Richard Harpyn was said to live in the 

 neighbouring vill of Shotton [Hatjield's 

 Surv. [Surt. Soc], p. xv). 



'*a Thornley D. in the poss. of Canon 

 Greenwell, no. 6. 



'• They were held for J knight's fee 

 (Dur. Rec cl. 3, no. 2, fol. 81). 



333 



" Ibid. R. 29, m. 18 d. 



'* Surtees, op. cit. i, 66 ; cf. Dur. Rec. 

 cl. 3, no. 2, fol. 49 d. ; Thornley Deeds 

 {penes Canon Greenwell), no. 10. 



'^ Dur. Rec. cl. 3, no. 2, fol. 31 ; no. 

 12, fol. 30 d. 



" Thornley Deeds {penes Canon Green- 

 well), no. 1 1. 



" Dur. Rec. cL 3, no. 2, fol. 45 d. ; 

 cf. no. 12, fol. 30 d. 



'* Ibid. no. 2, fol. 49 d. 



" Ibid. fol. 81. 



*"• Ibid. fol. 1 15 d., I36d., i67d. ; no. 4, 

 fol. 68; file 170, no. 16 j file 177, no. 

 114 ; R. 31, m. 7 d. ; R. 36, m. 12 ; R. 

 37, m. 15 J R. 70, m. 35. 



^' Ibid. no. 6, fol. 51. In i$;o John 

 Trollop had conveyed to Conyers a 

 messuage, 36 acres of arable, meadow, 

 and pasture land, a plot called Brewster 

 pl.icc and fishery in the White Water 

 here (ibid. cl. 12, no. I [i]). In i;26 

 three messuages and 280 acres of arable 

 land, meadow and pasture, parcel of the 

 manorof Mordon, were claimed as part of 

 the estate of Thomas Coundon, but John 

 Trollop of Thornley was able to prove 

 that they had been entailed on his family 

 (ibid. cl. 3, file 174, no. 8). 



