A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



London. The mesne tenants were changed in 

 number in three cases : a holding of I hide I virgate, 

 held formerly by two brothers, men of Asgar, had 

 only one tenant; another of l^ hides, which one 

 man of his had held, had passed to William and 

 Ranulf; and that holding which had been in the 

 tenure of men of Anschil and Godwin was held by 

 Ranulf only. Moreover the five sokemen of the 

 king had disappeared. The two thegns of Anschil 

 and of JE\m3T had given place to two knights.^' All 

 the three Pelhams continued to be held of the 

 Bishops of London. 



The division between them was probably estab- 

 lished in the i zth century. There is separate 

 evidence of Brent and Furneux Pelham in 1 1 81,-" 

 of Stocking Pelham in 1278.^^ 



was said to hold of the bishop half a knight's fee in 

 the parish. ^^ He may be identified with a Nicholas 

 le Grey who made his will in 1334" and who was 

 succeeded before 1363 by Thomas le Grey. The 

 latter with his wife Agnes at this date settled his 

 manor of Brent Pelham on himself and his heirs by 

 Agnes.2* He still held in 1373," but in 1378 the 

 manor had passed to John Grey,'" probably his son, 

 who in 1405 '^ settled it on himself and his wife 

 Joan in tail. In 1418^' and 1428" Joan was sole 

 tenant. She was succeeded, according to the settle- 

 ment, by her son Ralph, who was knighted and who 

 died in 1464, leaving a son and heir Ralph.'* The 

 latter, who was one of the barons of the Exchequer, 

 died in 1492 and left a daughter and heiress Eliza- 

 beth, ''who married Anthony Waldegrave or Walgrave, 



The Stocks, Brent Pelham 



Between 1 2 1 o and 1 2 1 2 Richard le Giey held part 

 of a knight's fee of the Bishop of London, evidently 

 the manor of BRENT PELHJM or GRErS,^ and 

 about the year 1230 he again occurs as a tenant in 

 the parish.^' His probable successor was Nicholas le 

 Grey, who in 1254 received a grant of free warren 

 in Brent Pelham.^* This Nicholas was probably 

 father to Nicholas grandson of Richard le Grey, who 

 was tenant of the manor in 1 278 ^^ and who in 1 303 



of the Friers in Buers, Suffolk. The eldest son of 

 Anthony and Elizabeth was William,'' who in 1556 

 conveyed the manor and lands in Brent Pelham and 

 Stocking Pelham '' to trustees for the use of himself 

 and his wife Katherine for their lives with power of 

 appointment. The reversion of the mansion-house 

 or manor-place, with its closes and 24 acres of arable 

 land, meadows, pasture and wood, was settled sepa- 

 rately after the deaths of William and Katherine upon 



" f.C.H. Hrrti. 1, 288, 307a, 307*. 

 •" Newcourt, Refer t. i, 852, 854. 

 " Assize R. 323. 



" Red Bk. ofExch. (Rolls Ser.), 541. 

 »8 Add. MS. 5806, fol. 23 d. 

 '■• Cal. Pat. 1247-58, p. 318. 

 -^ Herts, and Hants Assize R. Edw. I 

 (Agardc's Index), fol, 45 d. 



** Feud. AiJi, ii, 431. 



" Hilt. MSS. Com. Rep. i«, App. i, 

 46^. 



'8 Feet of F. Herts. 37 Edw. Ill, 

 no. 523. 



" Cal. Close, 1369-74, p. 587. 



^ Cal. Pat. 1377-81, p. 219; Close, 

 3 Ric. II, m. 20 d. 



94 



" Feet of F. Herts. 7 Heo. IV, no. 34. 

 '' Chan. Inq. p.m. 7 Hen. V, no. 37*. 

 ^ Feud. Aids, ii, 446. 

 " Chan. Inq. p.m. 5 Edw. IV, no. 27. 

 "Ibid. (Ser. 2), xii, 108. 

 " Visit, of Essex (HarL Soc), i, 515. 

 " Some of this land belonged to 

 Chamberlcyns Manor. 



