A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



lay on his death-bed he granted Xewsells Manor to 

 his sister Alice widow of Robert de Scales,^" maicing 

 her swear to provide a chaplain to celebrate for his 

 soul, or in case of his recovery to compensate him 

 from her own lands in Cambridgeshire.'^ He died 

 on the Ascension Day following.'^ At the outbreak 

 of the Barons' War Alice Scales was residing at 

 Newsells and was there robbed of goods and chattels 

 worth £c,o by the bailiff of Gilbert Earl of Glou- 

 cester. '' In 1264. she subenfeoffed her youngest 

 son Roger Scales of Wetherden of the manor '^ ; but 

 in 1270 it was agreed between Roger and Alice that 

 the former's tenure should be for life only.'' In 

 the same year Robert son of Roger's elder brother 

 Robert, heir to the manor under the new settle- 

 ment,'^ obtained a grant of a weekly market on 

 Tuesdays and an eight days' fair beginning on the 

 vigil of the feast of St. Mary Magdalene." This 

 Robert was the first Lord Scales and married Isabel 

 Burnell," possibly a relative of Robert Burnell, Bishop 



by his son Robert fifth Lord Scales,'' who styled 

 himself 'lord of Newsells' in his will dated 10 May 

 1400.'" His widow Elizabeth, afterwards wife of 

 Sir Henry Percy of Athol, kt.," had a life interest 

 in Newsells.'^ After her death, 6 January 1439-40, 

 it reverted to Thomas Lord Scales, younger son and 

 ultimate heir of her first husband.'^ In the follow- 

 ing September he had protection for his tenants at 

 Newsells during his absence in France,'^ where he 

 distinguished himself as seneschal of Normandy.'" 

 His only daughter and heir Elizabeth married Sir 

 Anthony Wydville (afterwards Earl Rivers), brother- 

 in-law of Edward IV."* 



In 1466 Newsells was entailed on Elizabeth Scales 

 and her husband,'^ who became Lord Scales in her 

 right.'* She died childless i September 1473," 

 and Earl Rivers endeavoured to retain in his own 

 family Newsells and her other lands by bequeath- 

 ing them to his brother Sir Edward Wydville.*" 

 The earl was beheaded by the partisans of the 



of Bath and Wells, the chancellor and adviser of Duke of Gloucester, who as Richard III granted 

 Edward I. Roger Scales transferred to the bishop Newsells to his kinsman John 



his life interest in Newsells Manor " before the end 

 of the year 1271.**' 



In 1275 the jurors of Edwinstree Hundred re- 

 turned that the whole barony formerly held by Ralph 

 de Rochester had been alienated since his time, that 

 the ' caput ' (Newsells) was in the hands of BurncU, 

 and that the heirs of the barony had nothing 

 whereof they could answer to 

 the king.'^ In January 1279- 

 80 Robert de Weston and his 

 uife Hawise, who was niece 

 of Peter de Rochester,^^ re- 

 leased to the bishop all their 

 right and that of Sir Robert 

 Scales in Newsells Manor.*' 

 In 1292 Burnell conveyed his 

 interest to Robert Lord Scales 

 and Isabel his wife.''' Isabel 

 survived lier husband and held 

 the manor for life." About 

 I 3 I 5 Robert son and heir of 



Robert and Isabel reserved Newsells in making settle- 

 ment of other estates on his wife Egclina.'''' His son 

 Robert third Lord Scales granted a life interest in 

 the manor to Sir Robert Thorp, kt." Upon the 





Scales. 



allops or. 



Gules J 



Duke of Norfolk, at first dur 

 ing pleasure,*' later in tail 

 male.*' The duke was a 

 descendant of Sir Robert 

 Howard, kt., grandson of 

 Margaret Scales, one of the 

 daughters of Robert third Lord 

 Scales ; but John Vere, thir- 

 teenth Earl of Oxford, who 

 was descended from an elder 

 grandson of the same Mar- 

 garet, wa« co-heir to the 

 Scales inheritance with 

 William Tyndall, the repre- 

 sentative of Margaret's sister Elizabeth.*' Oxford 

 had been attainted before the death of Earl Rivers, 

 but was restored in October 1485.*^ With Tyndall 

 he recei\ed the proceeds of Newsells*' after the 

 battle of Bosworth, in which he commanded the 

 supporters of the Earl of Richmond (Henry VII),*' 

 and Henry assigned this and other manors to him in 

 a partition of the Scales estate.*' His widow Elizabeth 

 held Newsells in dower.** His nephew and heir 

 male, John fourteenth Earl of Oxford, died without 

 issue in 1526,*' and the reversionary right to New- 



Vere. Quarterly gules 

 and or -with a molet 

 argent in the quarter. 



death of the latter, Newsells reverted to Roger Lord sells contingent upon the death of the Dowager 

 Scales, son of the third baron.'* He was succeeded Countess Elizabeth was assigned to the heir male, 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. file 19, no. 2 ; cf. 

 Excerpta e Rot. Fir.. (Rec. Com.), ii, 70, 

 326 ; Feet of F. Herts. 54 Hen. Ill, 

 no. 617. 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. file 19, no. 2 ; Cat. 

 Pat. 124.7-58, p. 437. At the same 

 time he granted Rivcnhall Manor to her 

 son Robert (Excerpta e Rot. Fin. [Rec. 

 Com.], ii, 326). 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. file 19, no. 2. 



" Alibrcu. Plac. (Rec Com.), x68. 



" Feet of F. Herts. 48 Hen. Ill, 

 ao. 575 ; cf. Chester Waters, Clusters ;/ 

 Chicheley^ 254. 



» Feet of F. Herts. 54 Hen. Ill, 

 no. 617. 



^ Ibid. ; cf. Excerpta e Rot. Fin. (Rec. 

 Com.), ii, 70, 326 ; Chester Waters, loc. 

 cit. 



" Cal. Chart. R, 1 257-1 300, p. 146. 



'' Evidence in Scales peerage case 

 :)aoted by Chester Waters, Chesters of 

 Chichelej, 254^ She is said to have been 



niece of the chancellor (Page, Suff. 

 Traveller, 555)- 



» Hand. R. (Rec. Com.),i, 193 ; Assize 

 R. 323, m. Id., 45. 



'"In 1271 Burnell impleaded Ivo le 

 Messer and others for breaking into 

 Cockenach Mill, of which he had the 

 custody (Curia Regis R. 204, m. z, 22). 



«' Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 193. 



" Assize R. 323, m. i d. 



^ Coram Rege R. 51, m. 4d. 



«•• Feet of F. Herts. 20 Edw. I, no. 281 ; 

 cf. Feud. Aids, ii, 431, 



" Cal. Close, 1302-7, p. 294. 



" Inq. a.q.d. file 116, no. 15 ; Feud. 

 Aids, V, 439. 



«'■ Chan. Inq. p.m. 46 Edw. Ill (ist 

 nos.), no. 63. 



<»■ Ibid. 



''Close, 19 Ric II, m. 3 d. ; Feud. 

 Aids, ii, 444. 



'" N'icolns, Test. Veluita, 151. 



G.E.C Cr,mfUte Peerage, vii, 72. 



28 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. 18 Hen. VI, no. 38. 

 " Ibid. ; cf. G.E.C. loc. cit. 

 '< Cal. Pat. 1436-41, p. 467. 

 " G.E.C. loc. cit. 

 '« Ibid. 



" Feet of F. Div. Co. 6 Edw. IV, 

 no. 37 ; Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), i, 17. 

 '« G.E.C. loc. cit. ' ^^ 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. 13 Edw. IV, no. 45 

 » Test. Vetusta, 380. 



»f,f':^'"-"'7«-^S'P-36s. 



" Ibid. 497. 



"^ Chester Waters, Chesters of Chicheley, 

 254-5. 84 Pa,./, J^ yj^ ^g,_ 



" Waters, Chesters of Chicheley, 256. 

 G.E.C. Complete Peerage, vi, 168. 



^ Waters, loc. cit. ; Chan. Inq. p.m. 

 (Ser. 2), xxviii, 68. His signature exisU 

 at the foot of a lease of the tenement 

 called 'Whelers' in Barkway, 22 July 

 1509 (Add. Chart. 16572). 



' Ct. of Wards D. b, 

 »» G.E.C. loc. cit. 



ox 144, no. I. 



