20 Anniversary Address. 



for some offence, they were deprived of the benefit of being 

 laid in holy ground for a certain period of time. 



Belford, the place of our meeting, was one of the ancient 

 Manors of Northumberland. It, along with the Manors of 

 Detchant, Easington, Easington Grange, Elwick, Ross, and 

 Middleton, forms the Chapelry of Belford, in the parish of 

 Bamburgh. 



I do not find Belford mentioned in any record previous to 

 the time of King Henry the 1st. 



That monarch enfeoffed Robert de Muschampe of this and 

 24 other Manors, which constituted the Barony of Muschampe, 

 or De Musco Campo, held of the King, in Capite, by the 

 service of 4 Knight's Fees, of ancient enfeoffment. 



Cecily^ his daughter, was his heir, and she married Stephen 

 de Bulmer, and in the reign of Henry the 2nd, this Barony was 

 enjoyed by him, in her right, until his death, as appears by 

 the return in the Black Book of the Exchequer. — (Hodgson's 

 Northumberland, part 3, vol. 3, page 303.J 



Then his widow continued in possession till her death, 

 26 Hen. 2nd. 



Thomas was their son, and he assumed his mother's name 

 of De Muschampe. He had some interest in this Barony 

 during his mother's life, for in the 18 Hen. 2nd, he is recorded 

 in the Pipe Rolls as having paid to the Sheriff 100 shillings 

 for scutage. 



Two years afterwards, 20 Hen. 2nd, he was attainted for 

 the part he took in conjunction with William the Lion, King 

 of Scotland, in favour of Prince Henry, in the rebellion 

 against his father. — (Dugdale's Baronage.) 



On his mother's death, 26 Hen. 2nd, the Barony was seized 

 into the hands of the Crown. 



The first mention of the town of Belford (Beleford) is by 

 Jordan Fantosme, in his History of the Civil War, in 19 and 

 20 Hen. 2nd, when it was sacked by the Scots. 



At this period it would appear that Lowick was the capital 

 of the Barony, as in the Pipe Roll of this and the following 

 year, the Sheriff accounts for the rent under that head. 



In the reign of King John, Wooler was the capital Manor, 



