ONGAR HUNDRED 



THEYDON MOUNT 



1233, when Walter de Evermue was granted the 

 custody of the daughter and heir of Paulinus.'*^ Paulinus 

 had held 3 knights' fees in Theydon and Little 

 Wakering.'ts 



Beatrice de Theydon, daughter of Paulinus, married 

 before 1236 Robert de Briwes.^ In 1239 Robert and 

 Beatrice were granted a weekly market and annual fair 

 in their manor of Theydon/' In 1 248 the manor and 

 the advowson of the rectory were sub-infeudated for 

 100 marks to John de Lessington, to hold of Robert 

 and Beatrice and the heirs of the latter, doing service 

 of 2 knights' fees at the court of the Honor of Ray- 

 leigh.-** An inspeximus of the accompanying charter 

 gives the consideration as 1,000 marks and the object 

 to acquit Robert and Beatrice of what they owed to 

 the king as executors of the will of Hubert de Burgh 

 and of their debts to the Jews for themselves and for 

 Walter de Evermue their ancestor."" In 1250 John 

 de Lessington had licence to keep inclosed, with a 

 hedge and ditch, the close which he had made in the 

 wood of his manor of Theydon, but so that the deer 

 could have ingress and egress/' He died in 1257 hold- 

 ing the manor, which contained 3 carucates of land, of 

 Robert de Briwes for the service of 2 knights' fees. His 

 heir was his brother, Henry de Lessington, Bishop of 

 Lincoln.*' The bishop died in 1258, being succeeded 

 by his two nephews Wilham, son of Roland de Sutton, 

 and Richard de Markham.'" They divided this inheri- 

 tance (which lay in several counties) between them in 

 1259, Theydon Mount falling to Sutton's share.'' 



William de Sutton was succeeded by his son Robert, 

 who was a supporter of Simon de Montfort and for- 

 feited his property to the king after the battle of 

 Evesham. 52 The township of Theydon Mount was 

 valued at £,\o and in 1265 Richard de Tany the 

 younger received the Michaelmas rent of 40/.S3 In 

 October of the same year the king granted the manor to 

 Robert de Briwes, presumably the same man who had 

 sub-infeudated to John de Lessington in 1248. But 

 Richard de Tany, who was lord of the adjacent manor 

 of Stapleford Tawney, coveted Theydon Mount, put 

 out de Briwes, and in support of his action produced a 

 charter dated three days earlier than that of de Briwes 

 and contrived to have it entered on the Charter Roll. 

 De Briwes declared de Tany's charter to be a forgery 

 and upon investigation by the justices coram Rege this 

 was proved to be the case. The chancery official who 

 had the Chancellor's list of grants admitted that de 

 Tany had said to him 'Theydon is a pretty manor and 

 lies next to mine at Stapleford; it would just do for 

 me', and had clearly responded to the hint.'* 



In 1269 Beatrice daughter of Henry de Terays 

 released to Sir Robert de Briwes all her right in the 

 manors of Theydon and Wakering and in all the lands 

 late of Paulinus de Theydon and the said Henry'' and 

 when Robert went on pilgrimage to Pontigny in 1273 



he appointed William and Richard del Jardyn to 

 prosecute his right to the custody of Theydon Mount.'* 



The manor must, however, have been restored to 

 Robert de Sutton, possibly as a result of the Ban of 

 Kenilworth, for on his death in 1274 he was found to 

 hold in Theydon Mount a messuage, 200 acres of 

 arable, 21 acres of meadow, 51 acres of pasture, a 

 windmill, foreign wood, and ^^4 '^s. 6J</. rent of assize, 

 &c., of the Honor of Rayleigh by service of suit at the 

 court of the honor,a gilt spur or 6d. yearly, and scutage 

 for 2 knights. His heir was his son Richard, aged 8." 



Robert de Briwes, the former mesne lord, died in 

 1276, leaving his son John as his heir.'' No further 

 references have been found to their lordship, the 

 tenants in demesne thenceforth always holding im- 

 mediately of the Honor of Rayleigh. 



In 1282 a commission of oyer and terminer was 

 issued touching the persons who felled and carried 

 away trees in the wood of 'Theydon Lessington' late 

 of Robert de Sutton the younger, while in the hands 

 of Oliver de Sutton, Bishop of Lincoln, who had 

 custody of the land and heir." In 1303 Richard de 

 Sutton was returned as holding \ fee of the king of the 

 Honor of Rayleigh.*" In 1308 he had licence to grant 

 the manor of Theydon Mount in fee to his son John 

 de Sutton and Margaret his wife.*' 



In 1322 John de Sutton leased the manor for twelve 

 years to Henry de Malyns and in the following year 

 released to him all his right in the property. Malyns 

 must have died soon after, for in 1324 John de Sutton 

 released his right in the manor to Edmund de Malyns, 

 Henry's son and heir.*^ In 1326 Edmund was par- 

 doned for acquiring in fee this property which was 

 held in chief of the Honor of Rayleigh and entering 

 upon it without hcence.*-' In 1346 he held \ knight's 

 fee in Theydon Mount.** 



Sir John de Sutton of Dudley (Wore.), son of the 

 above John and Margaret de Sutton, disputed de 

 Malyns' title to the manor, claiming that it descended 

 to him after the death of his parents. In 1 348 and 

 again in 1350 the matter was heard before the court of 

 Common Pleas, but Malyns evidently won his case.*' 

 He was apparently alive in 1357 but had been suc- 

 ceeded by his son Reynold Malyns before December 

 1 361, when the latter presented to the rectory of 

 Theydon Mount.** Sir Reynold died in 1384 holding 

 the manor jointly with his wife Florence. His son and 

 heir was Edmund Malyns.*' Florence was still holding 

 the manor in 1390.*' In 1400 the manor was con- 

 veyed by Thomas Waller and two others, presumably 

 feoffees, to Reynold Malyns and his wife Alice and the 

 heirs of Reynold.*' In 141 8 Reynold and Alice con- 

 veyed the manor of Theydon Mount and Hill Hall 

 (see below) to feoffees to hold of the chief lords with 

 successive remainders to the heirs of Reynold and then 

 to Edmund Hampden and his heirs.'" In 1428 



«» Cal. Close, 1231-4, 185; cf. Cal Tat. 



«"S-32. 334- 



« Bk.ofFitt, 14.63. 



♦* The following paragraph is based on 

 E.A.T. N.s. xii, 198-202. 



« Cal. Chart. 1226-57, 244. 



<' Fret of F. Essex, i, 179. 



♦' C14.6/9852. This is the original 

 inspeximus and fills the gaps given in Cal. 

 Chart. 1226—57, 346. 



*» Cal. Pat. 1247-58,6+.. 



" Cal. Inq. p.m. i, pp. 102-3. 



"> Ibid., p. 109. 



" Feet of F. Essex, \, 232-3. 



52 A William de Sutton died in 1268. 

 If this was the lord of Theydon Mount he 

 must have made over the manor to his son 

 before his death: Cal. Inq. p.m. \, p. 215. 



" Cal. Inq. Misc. i, 200. 



5* E. F. Jacob, Baronial Reform and 

 Rebellion, 199-201, 376-8; Cal. Chart. 

 1257-1300, 57; E.A.T. N.s. XX, 164-5. 



" Cal. Chart. 1 257-1 300, 123. 



5' Cal. Close, 1272-9, 50. 



5' Cal. Inq. p.m. ii, p. 43. 



5' Ibid., p. 119. 



«> Cal. Pat. 1281-92, 92. 



«o Feud. Aids, ii, 136. 



" Cal. Pat. 1 307-1 3, 69. 



'' Cal. Close, 1330-3, 290—1. 



M Cal. Pat. 1324-7, 251. 



'< Feud. Aids, ii, 1 60. 



'5 CP40/356 m. 323; CP40/362 m. 

 zod. 



" Cal. Close, 1354-60, 316; Newcourt, 

 Repert. ii, 585. " Cl 36/36/9. 



" C143/409/7. 



M Cat. Anct. D. vi, C. 4794. 



'0 Feet of F. Essex, iii, 267. The 

 Hampden and Malyns families were 

 related by marriage: Lipscomb, Hist. 

 Bucks, ii, 302. 



277 



