A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



XA\ 



MORDAUNT. Argent 

 a cheveron between three 

 start table. 



sold it to William Hawtrey in 1571.'" It afterwards 

 became known as the manor of Mordaunts, and from 

 the time that it passed to the 

 Hawtreys was held with the 

 manor of Chequers (q.v ). 120 



The first Laurence de Brok 

 held his rent from Nicholas 

 Cauntlow by the service of a 

 clove gillyflower paid annual- 

 ly, 121 but in 1374 Edward 

 Mordaunt held it by military 

 service. 1 " 



William Fitz Ansculf sub- 

 infeudated the l$ hides of 

 land in Ellesborough that 

 Baldwin had held before the 



Norman Conquest. 183 They were held at the time 

 of the Domesday Survey by Osbert, who also held 

 the manor of Great Hampden. 124 This land prob- 

 ably came into the possession of the Hampdens, 125 

 the successors and possibly the descendants of Osbert. 

 In 1 200 126 de Hinton paid I mark to the king for a 

 judgement as to half a knight's fee in ' Esseburg,' which 

 was apparently given in his favour against Michael 

 Malherbe and his wife Mabel. Twenty-one years 127 

 afterwards Robert de Pinkeny paid I mark for a similar 

 suit as to II virgates of land against Roger de Hamp- 

 ton and his wife Mabel. Roger held land in Elles- 

 borough in 1240-1,"' but he had died before 1247, 

 in which year his widow claimed land there as her 

 right. 129 Whether this Roger was any relation to the 

 main branch of the Hampden family does not ap- 

 pear. He had granted certain land to the first 

 William Cauntlow in I228, 130 and it seems possible 

 that all the land belonging to the honour of Dudley 

 became united under the Cauntlows. 



The third part of the township was given after the 

 Conquest to Maigno the Breton, 131 and was held by 

 his descendants as half a knight's fee belonging to their 

 barony of Wolverton. It passed to his descendant 

 Hamo son of Meinfelin who, in 1 1 66, owed the ser- 

 vice of fifteen knights to the king. 132 Hamo was 

 succeeded by his son, known as Hamo son of Hamo, 133 

 and the latter confirmed a grant of land in Elles- 

 borough made to Missenden Abbey. 134 On his death 

 his son William obtained his possessions, 136 but taking 

 part with the barons against King John he forfeited 

 them for a time. 136 He made his peace in 1216, 

 paying a fine to the king, 1 " and held the barony of 

 Wolverton till his death c. I248. 138 In that year 

 his brother and heir Alan son of Hamo did homage 

 to the king for his lands, 139 but in the same year the 

 new lord of Wolverton died and was succeeded by his 

 son John son of Alan. 140 John was the overlord of 



WOLVKRTON. Azure 

 an eagle or with a bend 

 gules over all. 



this part of Ellesborough in I254, 141 and presumably 

 held it till his death in 1271-2. 142 It was amongst 

 the knights' fees assigned on dower to his widow Isa- 

 bella, who married as her second husband Ralph de 

 Ardena. 143 John son of Alan's heir at the time of his 

 death 144 was his son Richard a boy five years old, but 

 he seems to have died before he came of age and the 

 barony of Wolverton passed to his brother John. 1 5 

 The family at this time appear to have taken the sur- 

 name of Wolverton. 146 This John was a knight in 

 1318"' and died before 1342."" He was succeeded 

 by his son John de Wolverton " 9 and grandson Ralph de 

 Wolverton. 150 The latter, however, died while still a 

 minor, and the barony was 

 divided between his two sis- 

 ters Margaret and Elizabeth. 151 

 The former was betrothed at 

 the time of her brother's 

 death to John le Hunte, and 

 the overlordship of Elles- 

 borough was assigned to her. 1 '' 2 

 Her daughter and heiress Jo.in 

 succeeded her and married 

 John Longville. 15 " He held her 

 inheritance by courtesy after 

 her death for his life, 154 and 

 then it passed to her son and 



heir George Longville. 15 * His descendants held her 

 moiety of the honour of Wolverton until the 1 7th 

 century, and in 1636 Sir Henry Longville held the 

 overlordship of half a knight's fee in Ellesborough 

 among his other possessions belonging to the manor 

 of Wolverton. 158 



In 1254 John son of Alan paid 3/. a year to be 

 quit of suit to the shire and hundred courts and ^s. 

 for the right to hold the view of frankpledge for his 

 tenants at Ellesborough. 157 No further mention of 

 this view is made, but probably the lords of the 

 barony of Wolverton held a view for all the tenants 

 of their barony. 



The land held under the honour of Wolverton 

 was probably subinfeudated before 1 1 66 and one 

 moiety of it was afterwards known as SEfTON'S 

 M4NOR or the MJNOR OF GROPE. William 

 Brito held certain land in Ellesborough 15S shortly 

 after that date, and may perhaps be identified with 

 William son of Alan who was then one of the knights 

 of Hamo son of Meinfelin. 159 William Brito granted 

 land to Missenden Abbey in the time of Hamo son 

 of Hamo. 160 He seems to have been succeeded by 

 Alan Brito, possibly his son, who died during the 

 reign of Richard I. 161 A lawsuit was held as to his 

 lands in Ellesborough between his nephew Simon de 

 Maidwell, apparently his heir, and William de Med- 



119 Com. Pleas D. Enr. Bucks. Trin. 

 13 Eliz.; Feet of F. Bucks. Trin. 13 Eliz. 



120 Ibid. East. 16 Chas. I. 



121 Cal. Inq.p.m.Edvi.l, no. no. 



122 Chan. Inq. p.m. 47 Edw. Ill (it 

 nos.), no. 27. 



i* 8 V.C.H. Buekt. i, 2544. 

 l" Ibid. 



125 Cf. Great Hampden. 



126 Pipe R.2 John, m. i8d. 

 "7 Ibid. 5 Hen. Ill, m. 1 3d. 



"" Feet of F. Bucks. Hil. 25 Hen. III. 

 129 Assize R. 56 n. 



i" Feet of F. Bucks. 12 Hen. Ill, no. 

 24. 



"1 y.C.H. Bucks. 1,269*. 



18 Red Bk. ofExch. (Rolls Ser.), 3 14. 

 188 Dugdale, Mon. iv, 350. 

 134 Harl. 3688. 



185 Dugdale, Man. iv, 350. 



186 Rot. de Oblat. et Fin. (Rec. Com.), 

 568. 



i"7 Ibid. 



l 88 Excerpta e Rot. Fin. (Rec. Com.), ii, 



1S9 jbid. 



. 42j 59 . 



l Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 20. 



143 Cal. Intj. p.m. Hen. Ill, no. 8 1 2. 

 148 Cal. Close, 1272-9, p. 351. 



144 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. Ill, no. 8 1 2. 

 I* 5 Dugdale, Mon. iv, 350. 



1 Cal. dote, 1288-96, p. 36. 



334 



"7 Ibid. 1318-23, p. 94. 



" 8 Chan. Inq. p.m. 15 Edw. Ill (ist 

 nos.), no. 25. 



149 Ibid. 23 Edw. (pt. i), no. 35. 



l* Ibid. 25 Edw. Ill (ist nos.), no. 6. 



151 ibid. " 15S Ibid. 



""Ibid. 17 Hen. VI, no. 38. 



1" Ibid. 



1" Ibid. 



l 56 Ibid. (Ser. 2), ccccxxx, no. 131. 



"7 Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 20. 



8 Harl. MS. 3688. 



Red Bk. ofExch. (Rolls Ser.), 314. 



"0 Harl. MS. 3688. 



"l Rolls of the Kings Ct. (Pipe Roll 

 Soc.), xiv, 125. 



