ONGAR HUNDRED north weald bassett 



fell to the share of Lore, wife of Henry de Balliol and 

 thus continued to follow the same descent as the manor 

 of Benington (Herts.) which had been the caput of the 

 barony." In 1325 North Weald was said to have been 

 held of John de Benstede (d. 1323), Lord of Bening- 

 ton.'^ This seems to have been the last occasion on 

 which a connexion with Benington was noted. In 

 1 33 1 North Weald was said to be held of the king in 

 chief's Subsequent inquisitions usually report the 

 manor as being held in chief. 



The descent of the tenancy in demesne during the 

 1 2th century is not clear. By the end of that century it 

 was held by the family of Essex.'* J. H. Round sug- 

 gested that it had been brought into that family by 

 Cecily, mother of Henry and Hugh of Essex. She was 

 the wife of Henry of Essex, the king's constable, who 

 was defeated in judicial combat in 1 163 by Robert de 

 Montfort after having been charged with throwing 

 away the royal standard in battle with the Welsh.'s 

 Henry's lands were forfeited to the king as the result 

 of his defeat. For this reason one would not expect to 

 find that North Weald, which apparently was not 

 forfeited, had belonged to him in his own right. Henry 

 of Essex, the younger, was his eldest son by Cecily.'* 

 In 1236 Henry of Essex held 5 knights' fees in Sutton, 

 Springfield, and Layer-de-la-Hay (Essex), Barningham 

 (Suffolk), and 'Ikenton' (Layston, Herts.) of the barony 

 of Valognes." In 1244 Henry, son of Hugh of Essex, 

 was engaged in litigation concerning the advowson of 

 North Weald. '8 Ten years later Henry of Essex com- 

 pounded with Lore de Balliol for the customs and 

 services due from his tenement to her at Benington, 

 and agreed to render suit at her court there twice a 

 year.'9 In 1267-8 Hugh, son of Hugh of Essex, 

 granted to Philip Basset and Ela, Countess of Warwick, 

 his wife, that they should hold North Weald for their 

 lives from him and the heirs of his body.^" Soon after 

 this Baldwin, son of Hugh of Essex, granted Philip and 

 Ela the manor of North Weald and 5 knights' fees 

 belonging to it.*' The 5 fees were specified as being 

 one in Springfield, one in Layer-de-la-Hay, two in 

 Sutton (Rochford hundred), and one in Barningham 

 (Suff.). From this it is clear that the whole of the 

 knight service had been imposed on the appurtenant 

 manors, leaving North Weald itself free of charge. 



Philip Basset died in 1271, leaving as his heir a 

 daughter Aline, wife of Hugh le Despenser (d. 1265) 

 and later of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk (d. 1306). ^^ 

 Aline died in 1281.83 She was succeeded by her son 

 Hugh le Despenser, who was later summoned to 

 Parliament as a peer and in 1322 was created Earl of 

 Winchester.** In 1 3 10 it was stated that North Weald 

 belonged to him and not to his son Hugh le Despenser 

 the younger.*' It may have been about this time that 

 John de Rivers, lord of the hundred of Ongar, granted 

 (the elder ?) Despenser view of frank-pledge of all his 



men in the manor of North Weald, exempting Hugh 

 and his heirs from all tourns and suits of the hundred.** 

 The two Dcspensers were deeply involved in the 

 civil wars during the reign of Edward II and the owner- 

 ship of North Weald between 1320 and 1 33 1 is not 

 always clear. In 1320 the younger Despenser conveyed 

 to Hugh de Audley the younger. Lord Audley, I 

 knight's fee in North Weald and the manor of North 

 Weald except for 5 J fees in it. The agreement was 

 made by precept of the king.*' In the following year 

 Audley was deprived of the manor as a rebel, and it was 

 granted to Robert Cole.** In 1322, however. North 

 Weald was granted to the younger Despenser, to be 

 held of the king by the service of one sparrowhawk 

 annually.*' The manor presumably remained in the 

 younger Despenser's possession until his execution in 

 1326. In 1327 it was granted to Edmund, Earl of 

 Kent."> Edmund was executed in his turn in 1330 

 and North Weald was granted for life to Bartholomew 

 de Burghersh, Lord Burghersh (d. 1355)." In the 

 same year the king granted that Edmund, Earl of Kent 

 (d. 1 331), should inherit his father's title and lands. '^ 

 North Weald was presumably affected by this grant, 

 for it was among the possessions of John, Earl of Kent 

 (d. 1352)-" 



The manor descended with the earldom of Kent 

 until the death in 141 6 of Alice, widow of Thomas, 

 Earl of Kent (d. 1397), who held it in dower.'* It 

 was then assigned to the purparty of Eleanor, wife of 

 Thomas Montagu, Earl of Salisbury, who was Thomas, 

 Earl of Kent's third daughter, and coheir of her brother 

 Edmund, Earl of Kent (d. 1408). '5 On Salisbury's 

 death in 1428 the manor passed to his daughter Alice, 

 suo jure Countess of Salisbury.'* It was forfeited in 

 1459 *^ ^ result of the rebellion of Alice's husband 

 Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury." North Weald 

 probably passed to Richard's son Richard, Earl of 

 Salisbury and Warwick, 'the Kingmaker' (d. 147 1), 

 for it was among the possessions of Warwick's daughter 

 . Isabel, wife of George, Duke of Clarence (d. 1478), 

 at her death in 1476.'* The manor descended to 

 Isabel's son Edward, Earl of Warwick, but was 

 administered by the Crown during his minority." On 

 Edward's execution in 1499 it was forfeited to the 

 Crown. 



North Weald was held by Humphrey Torrell at his 

 death in 1 5 17.' He presumably had it by royal grant. 

 The manor appears to have been restored to Margaret, 

 Countess of Salisbury, only sister of Edward, Earl of 

 Warwick (d. 1499), for after her execution in 1541 it 

 was in the king's hands as part of her lands. In 1 544 

 the king granted it to Sir Richard Higham, who then 

 conveyed it to Sir Richard Rich, later first Baron 

 Rich.2 



The manor descended in the Rich family until- 

 1621, when Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick (d. 1658), 



" Cf. F.C.H. Herts, iii, 74. 



" Cai. Inq.p.m. vi, p. 286. 



" Ibid, vii, 225. For the service see 

 below. 



'* J. H. Round, 'North Weald Basset 

 and the Essex family', E.A.T. N.s. xiv, 

 1 1 1-14; and see below. Church. 



" E.A.T. N.s. xxiii, 24. 



'' E.A.T. V, 106. 



" Ibid. N.s. xiv. III ; Bk. of Fees, 578. 



'^ See below, Church. 



" Feel of F. Essex, i, 203. 



>» E.A. T. N.s. xiv, 1 1 2 ; Feet of F. Essex, 

 i, 266. 



«> Cat. Ami. D. i, A. 774, A. 768 ; cf. 

 A. 788, A. 798. 



82 Complete Peerage, iv, 261. 



83 Cal. Inq. p.m. ii, p. 227. 



8* Complete Peerage, iv, 262 f. 



85 Cal. Inq. Misc. ii, p. 20. 



86 Cat. And. Z). i, A. 755. 



8' Feel of F. Essex, ii, 201; Cal. Pat. 

 1317-21, 208,456. 



*' Cal. Fine R. 1319-27, 60; Complete 

 Peerage, \, 346. 



89 Cal. Chart. R. 1 300-26, 449. 



«" Ibid. 1327-41, 2. 



9' Cal. Pat. 1327-30, 516. 



9* Complete Peerage, vii, 148. 



93 Cal. Inq. p.m. \, p. 44. 



94 Cal. Close, 1396-9, 248; 0138/22. 



95 Complete Peerage, v\\, 156. 



96 C139/4I. 



9' Cal. Pat. 1452-61, 545-6. 



98 C140/68. 



99 Cal. Pat. 1476-85, 96, 135, 148, 

 155; ibid. 1485-94, 5, 27; ibid. 1494— 

 1509, 5. 



■ C.142/32/59. 



^ L. & P. Hen. VUI, xix (i), p. 281, 

 505. 



287 



