BROADWATER HUNDRED 



had all died childless. William de Hoo was their 

 cousin and heir, but he also claimed that their father 

 had had two sisters, Margaret and Rose, and that 

 Margaret's grandson Richard Fitz Herbert, or Twy- 

 crosse, and Rose's great-grandson Walter Touneford 

 should have been the rightful heirs, but were also 

 dead without issue, and that the line being extinct 

 the manor reverted to him. Richard Forster denied 

 the existence of Rose de Perers and the descent of 

 Richard Fitz Herbert, and apparently based his claim 

 on the various conveyances of the manor since the 

 death of Walter de Mauny. Judgement was given 

 for Richard Forster, 48 and William de Hoo finally 

 surrendered his claim to him in 1401-2." In 1407 

 Richard conveyed Knebworth to Robert Brome, 47 

 who released it to William Askham and others in 



141 i-ij, 48 apparently for the purpose of a convey- 

 ance to John Hotoft, who 



was in possession of the manor 



soon afterwards. In 1426 a 



claim to the manor was made 



by William Beleverge, who 



also declared himself to be a 



descendant of Beatrice de 



Hoo, and based his claim on 



the fine of 1 3 16. The pedi- 

 gree he gave claimed that 



Beatrice had had a son James, 



whose daughter Margaret had 



a son William Beleverge, 



whose son Stephen was the 



father of the claimant. The 



descent, however, seems to 



have been entirely spurious, 



and his claim was unsuccess- 

 ful. 49 

 John Hotoft was holding 



Knebworth in 1428,*° and in 



1430-1 received a release of 

 all right in the manor from 

 William Peters." In 1440 

 he settled it on himself for 

 life, with remainder to his 

 daughter Idonia, wife of Sir 

 John Barre, and her heirs. B8 

 Sir John Barre died in 1483, 

 and was succeeded by his 

 daughter Isabel, widow of 

 Humphrey Stafford Earl of 

 Devon, who married secondly 

 Thomas Bourghchier. 63 Isabel 

 and Thomas settled Kneb- 

 worth on themselves in the 

 same year, 54 and again in 

 1491," and afterwards sold 

 the reversion to Robert 

 Lytton, 68 to whose son 

 William Lytton two-thirds of 

 the manor came upon Thomas 

 Bourghchier's death in i4qz, 67 or 

 by Anne, Thomas' 



KNEBWORTH 



m Lytton died in 



UMM/ 



and was living in 1519, 68 Wi 

 1517, leaving an infant son 

 Robert, the custody of whom 

 was granted to Sir Richard 

 Weston, 69 then a knight of the 

 body to King Henry VIII. 60 

 In 1518 Sir Richard was 

 made a Knight of the Bath, 

 and next year was one of the 

 'sad and ancient knights put 

 into the king's privy cham- 

 ber.' 81 In 1520 he accom- 

 panied the king to the Field 

 of the Cloth of Gold, and in 

 the following year sat on the 

 jury which condemned 

 Edward Stafford, third Duke of Buckingham. In 



Knebworth House : West Lodge 



third being claimed 

 second wife, who survived him 



1525 he was made Treasurer of Calais and in 1528 

 Under-Treasurer of England. 92 In 1533-4 his 



* Dt Banco R. 21 Ric II, m. 2 



a Close, 3 Hen. IV, pt. i, m. 6. 



" Feet of F. Herta. 9 Hen. IV, 1 



48 Close, 13 Hen. IV, m. 41, 31, 30. 



43 Wrottesley, Ped.from the Plea R. 



K Ftud. Aids, ii, 449, 



" Close, 9 Hen. VI, m. in. 



329. 



of F. Herts. Trin. 18 Hen. VI, 



"i 



' Ibid, 



', ;- 



& L. and P. Utn. VIII, iii, 1 54. 

 s » Ct. of Waids, Bke. of Liverie 

 fill. S71. 



M Diet. Nat. Biog. 



B1 Ibid, quoting Halts Chronicle. 



el Diet. Nat. Biog. 



