A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



of the manor in 1313-' An 

 when her moiety passed to 

 said to have died without i 

 held by Katharine Poleyn,* 

 widow. It is said to have 



• died seised in I 349, 

 :r son John, 1 " who is 

 ,c. iB In 1359 it waa 

 who was perhaps his 

 ended to Rose wife of 



John Fish as daughter of John son of Michael son 

 of Agnes daughter of Amice Poleyn. 21 Rose Fish 

 granted it for life to Christine Poleyn, who was 

 probably her mother." After the death of Christine 

 William Sakevyle, who had been enfeoffed of the 

 manor, granted it in 14.1+ to Rose and John Fish 

 her husband, 23 from whom it passed to another John 

 Fish, who died in 1494, his wife Katherine Wotton 

 being attainted and imprisoned at Norwich Castle 

 for the wilful murder of her husband. 3 ' Ayot Mont- 

 fitchet was inherited by his brother, presumably the 

 William Fish who died seised of it in 1531. He 

 was succeeded by his son Thomas, 2 * who held the 

 manor until his death in 155 3-- e Thomas's son 

 George Fish held Ayot jointly with his mother 

 Elizabeth," who married 

 secondly William 

 whence it came 

 George Perient, !S i 

 holding it in 1614. ** 

 Perient's daught 

 married Nicholas Ti 

 in 1623 conveved the half- 

 manor to William Hale 1 " of 

 King's Walden, 31 and in 1624 

 they both granted it to Michael 

 Grigge," who in 163Z con- H , .. * . Awn a 



veyed it to Rowland Hale, .on f"""" "' ka " Ud ° a 

 of William. 33 From him it 

 passed to hisson William Hale, 



whose widow Elizabeth was the holder in I7oo. 34 

 It remained in the Hale family until 1 832," v.hcn 

 it is said to have been sold to Viscount Melbourne, 

 the holder of the Westington moietv (q.v.). 



The so-called manor of WESTINGTON consisted 

 of the moiety of the original manor of Ayot St. Peter 

 which fell to Joan the elder daughter of Amice de 

 Lacy, and took the name of Westington a little later 

 from the family which held it. loan de Lacy may be 

 identical with Joan the wife of Ralph de Bredon, who 

 in 1332 granted the half-manor to James de Bredon, 3e 

 probably in trust. In 1349 it waj held by John de 

 Westwycombe, 37 who was probably the son of Joan. 38 

 From John it came to his daughter Margaret, the 

 wife of William Westington, 3 " who gave his name 



to this moiety, which extended into the neighbouring 

 parish of Welwyn. Margaret was apparently unjustly 

 disseised by John and Rose Fish, the holders of 

 Ayot St. Peter or Montfitchet, for in 1426 there was 

 a suit between them for its recovery, in which the 

 former was evidently successful in establishing her 

 title. 40 Margaret Westington married secondly 

 Thomas Galyon, and upon her death the manor 

 came to her daughter Margery, who married Thomas 

 Foxlee. Their daughter Elizabeth conveyed it by 

 marriage to Thcm.is Uvedale, who was seised of it 

 with his son and heir Henry, who predeceased his 

 father in 1469. Thomas died in 147+ and was 

 succeeded by his second son William Uvedale. 41 



By 1487 Westington had come into the possession of 

 Thomas Rogers, probably by purchase, and upon his 

 death in the following year it came to his daughter 

 Elizabeth, the wife of William Essex," who in 1508 

 conveyed it to Sir William Say. 43 The estates of 

 Sir William Say descended through his daughter 

 Elizabeth to Gertrude Marchioness of Exeter, 44 who 

 was attainted in 1539, when her lands were forfeited 

 to the Crown. 45 In 1 546 they were granted to 

 Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, 46 who sold Westington 

 with other manors to Sir John Brockett of Brocket t Hall 

 in I555- 47 He was succeeded by his son and his 

 grandson John, the latter's heirs being five daughters. 46 

 ife of Sir Richard Spencer is found in 



possession of a quarter of the n 

 eventually the whole came to 

 the fifth daughter Mary. She 

 conveyed it in marriage to 



1599,*' but 



Sir Thoi 



. Reade, 



W 



in 1 6 i 5. 50 They 

 had a son Thomas, 111 probably 

 the father of Sir John Reade, 

 who presented to the church 

 in i686. JS Sir James Reade, 

 his son, was holding it in 

 1700," and in I7z8 it was 

 in the possession of Sir James's 

 youngest daughter Love, who 



married Sir Thomas Wym- J ^ e " t 'i^,"^ 

 ington. 5 -' The latter died in -with tvo mhaiabli 01 

 ] 746, and Westington was ikifesa, 

 sold after his death to Sir 



Matthew Lamb, 6S who in 1768 was succeeded by 

 his son Peniston Lamb, first Viscount Melbourne. 

 His son William Lord Melbourne 59 was the first 

 Prime Minister of Queen Victoria, and succeeded to 



Sablt, 



" In. 



64 



