A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



Serjeants held Aston Mullins till the 1 8th century, 

 and the last members of the family who are mentioned 

 as holding it were Jane Serjeant, widow, and Winwood 

 Serjeant. 114 



In 1793 Matthew Raper and his wife Anne owned 

 the manor, 115 and in 1827 Henry Raper had succeeded 

 them. 118 General Raper was lately in possession of a 

 farm called Aston Mullins in Dinton parish, but it 

 has now passed into other hands. 117 



The manor of Aston Mullins was held in grand 

 serjeanty, together with Ilmer, the holder being the 

 marshal of the king's falcons. 118 This service was 

 unchanged until the abolition of feudal tenures, the 

 last mention of it being in 1613, on the death of 

 William Serjeant. The manor was then held of the 

 king-in-chief ' by the service of serjeanty, viz., Mar- 

 shal of the goshawks and birds of the King.' "* Sir 

 John de Molyns, owing to the high favour in which 

 be stood with Edward III, obtained the grant of 

 many liberties and franchises within his manors, the 

 chief being the return of writs, in-fangthief, out- 

 fangthief, gallows ; freedom from toll, murage, pavage, 

 and pontage, throughout the kingdom, for himself and 

 his tenants, and free warren in his demesne land. 180 



Early in the 1 3th century, a considerable number 

 of alienations of this serjeanty seem to have taken 

 place. Though only Ilmer is mentioned, the aliena- 

 tions in Aston Mullins seem to have been included 

 under this heading. Robert Passelewe, in the reign 

 of Henry III, recovered these alienations for the 

 king. The tenants paid a fixed yearly rent, while 

 military service was substituted for serjeanty. 1 ' 1 



Robert Pykoc held I virgates of land and pasture 

 of this serjeanty, and had also granted another half 

 virgate to Richard Pykoc. 1 " This land was probably 

 in Aston Mullins, since a conveyance was made be- 

 tween John Pykoc and Robert Pykoc of messuages 

 and land in Aston Mullins and Waldridge in I3lo. ln 



After the Norman Conquest Miles Crispin ob- 

 tained the grant of I J hides of land in Upton, 1 " 

 the origin of the estate of NETHER UPTON. In 

 the Confessor's time it had been held by a thegn 

 named Albric, and he remained in possession of this 

 land as a sub-tenant of Miles Crispin. 1 * 6 The lands of 

 Miles Crispin, together with those of Robert Doyly 

 afterwards formed the royal honour of Wallingford, 1 ' 6 

 to which this part of Upton belonged. 187 In the 

 1 2th century William de Upton appears to have been 

 the tenant of this land. In 1 197 there was a law- 

 suit between Samson de le Pomerae and his wife 

 Christian and William as to the service due from 

 6 virgates of land in Upton, of which Samson appeared 

 to be the mesne tenant between William de Upton 

 and the honour of Wallingford. 118 Geoffrey, son of 

 William or Geoffrey de Upton, succeeded his father, 119 

 but in 1235 another William de Upton paid the feudal 



dues from the land. 180 He was succeeded by Geoffrey 

 de Upton, 131 who, however, granted all his land in 

 Upton to William Giffard in I267. 131 The heirs of 

 Geoffrey de Upton attempted to recover their posses- 

 sion and seized the land. 133 Long law-suits ensued, 

 the pleadings being rather obscure. The jurors said 

 that Geoffrey de Upton never enfeoffed William 

 Giffard with the tenements in question, namely, one 

 messuage and 183 acres of land, 8 acres of wood, and 

 8 acres of meadow, but that the latter entered on the 

 tenement shortly after the battle of Evesham. 

 William demised it to Adam de Caudes for life, but 

 afterwards resumed it into his own hands. 134 In spite 

 of this evidence it was. acknowledged that in 1267 

 Geoffrey de Upton came before the Chancellor and 

 quit-claimed for himself and his heirs his manor of 

 Upton to William Giffard." 5 Geoffrey's heirs were 

 two nieces, Cecilia de Gatesdon and Alice Haket, and 

 John de Middleton, John de St. Owen, and Robert 

 Covert. The three last-named were presumably the 

 nephews of Cecilia and Alice. 136 Finally William 

 Giffard appears to have recovered possession of the 

 manor. 137 During the disseisin of Giffard, John de 

 Middleton and his co-parceners enfeoffed John le 

 Waleys and his wife Maud with half of the land in 

 question. After the death of John, Maud married 

 Simon de Kingesmede. 138 In 1290 they were dis- 

 seised of their land by Hamo Hawtrey, the descendant 

 of William Giffard. 139 



They petitioned the king, and presumably recovered 

 seisin, since in 1 302-3 Master William Bernel and 

 Simon de Kingesham (or Kingesmede) 14 held this 

 part of Upton. In 1346 it was held by Michael atte 

 Watre and John le Waleys, 141 the son and heir of John 

 le Waleys and Maud. 1 " 



The later history of Nether Upton cannot be 

 traced. In 1 346 John de Handlo died seised of rents 

 in Upton by Aylesbury, which he held of the honour 

 of Wallingford. 143 Hence the land from which they 

 were paid was presumably in Nether Upton. His 

 heir was a minor, Edmund, son of Richard de 

 Handlo. 144 Edmund died before 1363, and his lands 

 were divided between his two sisters Margaret the 

 wife of Sir John Appleby and Elizabeth the wife of 

 Edmund de la Pole. 115 



The land in Upton belonging to the honour of 

 Wallingford was held as the twentieth part of a 

 knight's fee. 146 



Before the Norman Conquest Alwin, a thegn of 

 Queen Edith, held 3^ hides of land in UPTON, 

 which he could sell as he pleased. 147 At the time of 

 the Domesday Survey this land had passed to William 

 Peverel, 148 and formed part of the honour of Peverel 

 of Nottingham. 149 William Peverel had granted this 

 land to a sub-tenant named Robert, 160 but later it was 

 held by the family of Hussey. 



114 Recov. R. Hil. 2 Anne. 



115 Ibid. East. 33 Geo. III. 

 " Ibid. 8 Geo. IV. 



117 From information supplied by Lieut.- 

 Colonel Goodall. 



"8 Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 25. 



118 Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccxliii, 

 no. 143. 



""Chart. R. n Edw. Ill, m. 17, 

 no. 56. 



141 HunJ. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 25. 



1M Ibid. 31; Tata de NeviU (Rec. 

 Com.), 257*. 



la Feet of F. Bucks. Mich. 3 Edw. II. 



1M f.C.H. Bucks, i, 2610. 



IK n,id. 1*6 i bid- 2 , 4 . 



"7 Testa de Ne-vill (Rec. Com.), 261. 



188 Fines (Rec. Com.), i, 161. 



IW Testa de Ne-vill (Rec. Com.), 245* ; 

 Curia Regis R. (Rec. Com.), ii, 87, 160 ; 

 Fife R. (Pipe Roll Soc.), xiv, 137. 



180 Testa de NeviU (Rec. Com.), 257*, 

 261, 258. 



"! HunJ. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 31. 



!> Cal. of Chart, ii, 71. 



188 Ciram Rege R. no. 20. 



184 Ibid. 14, 20. l" 5 Ibid. 20. 



" Ibid. "7 Ibid. 



276 



188 Rot. Parl. (Rec. Com.;, i, 52*. 

 " Ibid. 



140 Feud. Aids, i, 97. 

 "Ubid. 122. 



14a Abbrev. Plac. (Rec. Com.), 281-2. 

 148 Chan. Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. Ill (ist 

 nog.), no. 51. 

 " Ibid. 



145 Close, 36 Edw. Ill, m. 38. 



146 Teiti de Ne-vill (Rec. Com.), 257^ ; 

 Feud. Aids, i, 97, 122. 



"7 V.C.H. Bucks, i, 2530. 



" Ibid. 14S Cf. Hartwell 



V.C.H. Such, i, 25 3*. 



