A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



A'gar the staller had t hides, which were held by 

 Almar, rendering 2 averse or "id. to the king's 

 sheriff. 11 Elmer of Benington possessed I hide 

 l\ virgates, of which Leueron held a hide, Alwin 

 3 virgates, paying J avcra or ^d. to the sheriff, and 

 ' a certain woman ' held half a virgate." Archbishop 

 Stigand had i hide 3 virgates %z acres, three of his 

 men holding all of it save 13 acres," 11 of which 

 were held by Alward 5 ' and 2 acres by ' an English- 

 man ' in mortgage." There were also 25 acres held 

 by a sokeman of King Edward, who rendered \ avera 

 or id* 



By 1086 the land had entirely changed hands 

 with the exception of the Englishman's 2 acres, which 

 he continued to hold of Lanfranc, Stigand's successor. 1 ' 

 Three virgates were held by Derman, and belonged 

 to his manor of Watton.** Peter de Valognes had 

 obtained all Elmer of Benington 's land, 13 and had 

 taken in addition the 25 acres of the sokeman of 

 King Edward on the ground that he had not dis- 

 charged the king's geld, but the men of the shire 

 moot testified that the land was free of geld. M This 

 part of Libury doubtless became absorbed in Peter's 

 manor of Benington. Walter the Fleming was in 

 possesion of 1 hide }, virgate and II acres, formerly 

 held of Lewin by T orchil and Walter. 61 The rest of 

 Lcwin's land had been acquired by the Bishop of 

 Bayeux, and was held of him by Peter." The bishop 

 also had the half hide of Lewin Scoua and the whole 

 of Stigand's land,''' with the exception of the z acres 

 already mentioned ; he also had the 2 hides of A;gar 

 the staller, which were held of him by Turstin w ; 

 his holding therefore amounted to $£ hides. The 

 fee of Walter the Fleming is the only one which 

 can be traced. His descendants 



.ok the 



■ of Wahull < 



<9<9 



Odell from their chief manor 

 in Bedfordshire, and the over- 

 lordship of the manor of 

 Libury remained in their 

 hands." In [304 it was held 

 for a quarter fee of Thomas de 

 Wahull and paid 1 Ed. to Rock- 

 ingham Castle (Northants). 



John de Grey was the sub- 

 tenant of the manor under w^muil. u, ,n rlt 

 the Wahulls in 1243," and «"«»<> V'"- 

 was still holding it in 1265." 



He was the second son of Henry Grey of Grays 

 Thurrock, Essex, and was some time Steward of 

 Gascony and Governor of the castles of North- 

 ampton, Shrewsbury, Dover and Hereford." He 

 was succeeded by his son Reginald,'* who became 



Lord Grey de Wilton about 1 295. 70 From this date 

 the manor of Libury descended in the family of Grey 

 of Wilton" until it came to John Grey of Wilton, 

 who m 1496 sold it to Richard Hill." Richard 

 settled the manor to the use of his wife Elizabeth for 

 her life, with reversion to Ralph Latham. Elizabeth 

 married secondly Anthony Poyntz, and in 1 506 

 leased the manor to Ralph for a yearly rent of £7$- n 

 Ralph Latham died about IJ20, leaving Libury to 

 his son William and Elizabeth his wife, after the 

 death of his mother. 7 ' By 1580 it had come to 

 another William Latham and Susan his wife, who in 

 that year sold it to Richard Brokeinan." The latter 

 conveyed it in I 582 to Rowland Bc^csfo^d, ,, who died 

 seised of it in 1605, leaving a son Rowland," who 

 inherited the manor. 70 In 1608, however, he sold 

 Libury to Robert Spence,'* from whom it passed to 

 his son Robert in 1618, "' who was still holding it in 

 1648." He is said to have had two sons— William, 

 who died without issue, and John," who with Edith 

 his wife was holding it in 

 1682" and whose son John 

 was lord of the manor in 

 1 700 M and as late as 1 7 I 3.*" 

 The son of the latter, Charles, 

 was holding Libury in J 779/° 

 and was succeeded by his 

 daughter Graciana Spence 

 before 1821. ™ Graciana died 

 in 1853, her nearest heirs 

 being Henry I.owry Jcarrad 

 and Harriet Lister. A parti- 

 tion of the property was made 

 in 1864, when Libury was 



apportioned to the former. M Mr. Jcarrad was still 

 holding it in 1 899, after which it was acquired by 

 Baron Schroder, Baron Bruno Schroder and Mr. C. A. 

 Bingel. It has been converted into a German In- 

 dustrial and Farm Colony to provide work and shelter 

 for German-speaking unemployed and destitute, under 

 the management of these three t 



The 



appear 



Mills . 

 , belong . 



of Libury possessed 



-ned i 



ch reduced. 



John de Grey r 

 1243." In 1370 

 court every thre 



. the 



two mills in 

 i,»° but do not 

 : having been 



ived ; 



.rd~of Che manor held a 

 d view of frankpledge. 9 ' 

 of GIFFORDS is first heard of in 

 1473, when it was held by Ralph Ashley." In the 

 I 6th century (or perhaps in the late 15th century) 

 'certain lands and tenements in Much and Little 

 Munden called Giffords' were held by William 



«Chan. In,j. p.m. ;2 Edw. I, i 

 16 Edw. Ill (ise not), no. 4 

 Ed w . HI (.st no..), no. 30. 



*C*!.P*r. 113 --47, P- 37'- 



