A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE 



the claims of St. Albans to the profits of the fair 

 except for the sale of gold, horses, tanned skins, and 

 men, fui ontiquitus vendebantur, the men of the abbot 

 to enjoy the same rights as in the time when the 

 manor was the king's.*" 



In 1338 Hugh Mortimer obtained the grant of 

 another fair in this manor on St.' Luke's Day 

 (18 October)," and Sir Robert Napier in 1620 re- 

 ceived a confirmation of these two fairs, the date of 

 the former being altered to St. Mark's Day (25 April)." 

 Two fairs are still held at these dates, as well as one at 

 Michaelmas, formerly held for hiring servants, but now 

 as a pleasure fair. 



In 1876 Luton obtained a charter of incorporation 

 by name of the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of 

 Luton, with the right to use armorial bearings and 

 devices,*' and the town is now governed by a mayor, 

 six aldermen, and eighteen councillors. Luton is 

 divided into three wards, north, east, and west. 



At the present day, besides the straw plait manu- 

 facture (for which material is now imported from 

 China, Italy, and Japan), there are in Luton iron and 

 brass foundries, boiler works, and a brewery. In 1896 

 the following hamlets were detached from Luton and 

 became separate civil parishes : — East and West Hyde 

 (now known as the parish of Hyde), Limbury-cum- 

 Biscott, Leagrave, and Stopsley." 



Luton contains a specially large number of 

 MANORS, which will be found treated according to 

 the following classification : — 



1. Manors held in chief : — (i) Luton ; (2) Wood- 

 croft or Halyard ; (3) Woodcroft ; (4) Luton Hoo ; 

 (S) Picks. 



2. Manors held of Luton Manor : — (6) Brache ; 

 (7) Dallow ; (8) David Ashby ; (9) East Hide or 

 The Hyde ; (10) Farley ; (11) Fennels Grove ; (12) 

 Greathampstead ; (13) Hayes or Hooburne ; (14) 

 Haverings ; (15) Limbury ; (16I Limbury ; (17) 

 West Hyde Aynel ; (18) Whiperly or Stockwood. 



3. Miscellaneous Manors: — (19) Bailiffs; (20) 

 Bennets ; (21) Biscott ; (22) Bramblehanger ; (23) 

 East Hyde and West Hyde; (24) Lalleford ; (25) 

 Langleys ; (26) Lewsey ; (27) Northwood ; (28) 

 Plenties ; (29) Someries ; (30) Stopsley ; (31) Wood- 

 croft. 



At the time of the Domesday Survey of 1087, 

 LUTON MANOR is found among the king's lands, 

 and had been a royal manor during the reign of 

 Edward the Confessor." It was then a manor of 

 considerable importance, assessed at 30 hides, and in- 

 cluded six mills and tolls of market worth looj." 

 Subsequently this manor passed away from the crown. 



The earliest authenticated grant is that of Henry I to 

 Robert earl of Gloucester (c. 1100-47), his illegiti- 

 mate son, who during the civil war of the reign of 

 King Stephen fought on the side of his half-sister, the 

 Empress Maud." He died in 1 1 47, when William 

 his son succeeded to the Luton estate, and he appears 

 to have enfeoffed Earl Gilbert, who proved a traitor 

 to King Stephen, and whose estates consequently 

 escheated to the crown, and were granted by the king 

 to Robert de Waudari," one of his knights. William 

 was subsequently restored to his estates," and died 

 without issue in 1 1 82, and the manor having returned 

 to the crown was next granted to Baldwin de Bethune, 

 afterwards earl of Albemarle, who in 1 190 held crown 

 land in Luton valued at ^80 a year,'" and in 1 2 14, 

 on the marriage of his daughter with William 

 Marshal, earl of Pembroke, Luton passed to him as 

 part of her marriage portion." 



During the civil war between John and his barons 

 William Marshal took the side of the latter, and 

 Luton fell into the hands of King John, who granted 

 it to Fulk de Breauti, ' as he was permitted to do in 

 times of war.' Afterwards, when there was peace 

 between the king and his barons, Fulk, not wishing 

 to be against the peace, returned the manor to the earl, 

 who restored it to Fulk by a charter by which William, 

 son of William Marshal, quitclaimed to Fulk de 

 Breaute the whole manor of Luton to hold to himself 

 and his heirs." This Fulk, who thus acquired Luton, 

 was the famous Norman adventurer who took a pro- 

 minent part on the king's side in the barons' war. 

 He appears to have made himself very much dis- 

 liked at Luton, as he did throughout England. In 

 1 22 1 he built a castle here, which the prior of Dun- 

 stable complained was a source of danger to the priory 

 and the neighbourhood." In the previous year he 

 had unjustly disseised William de Stanes of free tene- 

 ments in Luton," and in 1224 he similarly dispos- 

 sessed thirty-two freemen in the manor of Luton and 

 appropriated their pasture for himself." On another 

 occasion the abbot of St. Albans complained that the 

 outflow of a pool constructed by Fulk had injured 

 the abbot's crops whereupon Fulk replied that he 

 wished that the overflow had occurred when the grain 

 was garnered, so that the injury would have been 

 greater.'^ Fulk died in disgrace in I226,andin 1229, 

 on the occasion of the marriage of William Marshal 

 with Eleanor, sister of Henry III, Luton manor was 

 regranted to him," and thus in the words of the 

 Chronicler he ' recovered what he had formerly 

 foolishly given."' William Marshal, earl of Pem- 

 broke, died in 1231, leaving no issue, but his widow, 



» Reg. John Whtthamstede (Rolls Ser.), 

 i, 421. 



" Chart. R. i2Edw. Ill, m. 25, N0.43. 



^iPat. 18 Jas. I, pt. 20, No. 5. 



=» Pat. 39 Vict. pt. 2, No. II. 



** Local Gov. Bd. Order, 33979. 



^ It is possible that Luton had been 

 royal property at least a century earlier, 

 for at a Witan held at Luton in 931 it is 

 expressly stated that King Athelstan en- 

 tertained the guetts at his own expense, 

 as he was wont when at either of his 

 royal manors, for only there would it be 

 convenient for him to do so (Cobbe, Hht. 

 of Luton Church, 382 ; Cott. MSS. viii, 

 16). 



^ KC.H. Beds, i, 222. 

 ^ Gtsta Ahhat. (Rolls Scr.), i, 113. 

 Lysons mentions an earlier grant of this 



manor to the count of Perche by William I, 

 giving as his authority Dugdale's Baron- 

 age, but this has not been substantiated. 



^ Gesta Ahhat. (Rolls Ser.), i, 113 seq. 

 It is not clear who this Earl Gilbert was. 



« Cott. MS. Otho, D. iii, fol. II 54. 



»» Red Si. of the Exch. ii, 793 ; PipeR. 

 2 Ric. I, m. lid. The grant to him is 

 enrolled in Cart. Antiq. KE. 27-S. 



" Pipe R. 16 John m. 2 ; Ann. Mon. 

 (Rolls Sen), iii, 66. 



»" Cur. Reg. R. 73, m. 7 d. 



»» Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 66. 



'•• Maitland, Bracton's Note Bk. case 

 loiz. 



»* Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), 

 '''. 88- »« Ibid, iii, 120. 



>' Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), 3. This in- 

 formation IS given by 'Jur' illius burg,' but 



this is undoubtedly a misnomer, as Luton 

 was certainly never a borough ; Cal. of 

 Close, 1227-31, p. 3,8 i Ca/. of Chart. R. 

 1, 102. The manor was granted to 

 William and Eleanor and their heirs, with 

 remainder settlement on heirs of William 

 " Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 92. An 

 mquisition into the extent of the manoi 



at this time estimates it as follows . 4 



carucates of land, each worth per annum 

 40J. ; rent of assize, ^5 1 ; from the mill 

 40J. ; also 2 pounds of cummin and i 

 pound of pepper ; certain demesne de- 

 livered to farm, 535. 6Jrf.; market, worth 

 loot. ; from works 401. ; profit of pas- 

 ture, 401. ; and from view of frankpledge, 

 401. There is also a free hundred court 

 worth ;^ 10 per annum (Chan. Inq. p.m. 

 40 Edw. Ill, No. S3). 



