A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



a hide in Luffenhall and a virgate all but 3 acres in 

 Clothall." 



The main manor of CLOTHALL was held in the 

 time of Edward the Confessor by Alnod Grud, a man 

 of Archbishop Stigand's, and he could sell it without 

 the archbishop's licence. After the Conquest it was 

 acquired by Odo of Bayeux, of whom Osbern, tenant of 

 a considerable fief in Hertfordshire, held it. Osbern 's 

 holding included 7 hides and 3J virgates." In the 

 time of King Edward three sokemen of the king held 

 z hides and 3 virgates, paying I id. to the sheriff as 

 commutation for 'avera,' or cartage; but after the 

 king's death (and presumably before that of Stigand, 

 whose men they became) their land was attached 

 to the manor." 1 Two other sokemen of the archbishop 

 held half a virgate which they retained in 1086. it 

 also seems probable that the land which Osbern held 

 of Odo of Bayeux in the hamlet of Luffenhall was 

 added in the course of time to the manor of Clothall. 

 This holding consisted of 2 \ hides ; 1 £ hides had been 

 held by two men of Archbishop Stigand, while the 

 remaining hide had been held by a man of Almar de 

 Benington, who had formerly rendered 'avera' as 

 the king's sokeman." 



Odo of Bayeux forfeited Clothall with all his other 

 English possessions in 1088, when he led the Norman 

 rebellion against William Rufus. Many of his lands 

 were subsequently held by service of castle guard at 

 Dover ; some of these were assigned to the cuitodia, or 

 castlc-guard barony, of Port," and among them was 

 Clothall. The barony was held by the family of Port 

 of Basing," and in 1 166 John de Port returned the 

 name of Robert de Clothall (ClahaUi) among the 

 knights who owed him service." This Robert had 

 apparently succeeded to the holding of Osbern. 



The holding of Robert was stated to be one knight's 

 fee,** but early in the next century the tenant of 

 Clothall owed the service of two fees to the Port 

 barony." It was rendered three times yearly," 

 covering altogether twenty-four weeks." During the 

 1 6th century the manor was still said to be held of 

 the king as of the 'honour of Dover,' 3 ' but the 

 re-grant to Thomas Chalmer and Edward Cason, let., 

 in 1604 stipulated that it should be held in socage 

 and not by knight's service of the manor of East 

 Greenwich." 



The overlordship passed from John de Port to his 

 son Adam de Port,* 1 and probably from him to his 

 son William ' de St. John.' It remained in the male 

 line of the St. John family until 1337." Itwasthen 

 assigned in dower to Mirabel widow of Hugh de 

 St. John, who had married Thomas de Aspall.* 3 It 

 afterw.irds formed part of the share of Margaret wife 



of John dc St. Philibert, eldest daughter and co-heir 

 of Hugh de St. John, after the death of her young 

 brother Edmund." Her heir was her sister Isabel 

 wife of Luke Poynings," but the mesne lordship 

 was probably allowed to lapse, for late returns record 

 only the service due to the Crown at Dover Castle. 



In the 1 zth and 13th centuries the immediate 

 tenants of the manor took their surname from Clothall. 

 It is possible that one of these was a certain Laurence 

 called 'Laurence Scot of Clothall,' for 13th-century 

 charters refer to service due to the ' heir of Laurence 

 Scot lord of Clothall.' " Robert de Clothall held the 

 manor in 1 166.* 7 Richard dc Clothall, who was 

 living in 1 zoo, was tenant of the manor in 121 1- 1 2.° 

 During the disturbances of 12 i 5 and 1 2 16 his lands 

 were in the hands of the king, who granted them to 

 Eustace 'de Campo Remigii.'*' The overlord, how- 

 ever, had the custody of Clothall, possibly during the 

 minority of Richard's heir. 10 This seems to have been 

 his son Hugh de Clothall, 51 who probably founded the 

 hospital of St. Mary Magdalene." In 12 17 Hugh 

 was restored to all the lands of which he had been 

 dispossessed at the beginning of the war," evidently 

 in consequence of the grant to Eustace. At the same 

 time he delivered to the Sheriff of Hertfordshire for 

 the king certain chirographs and charters of the Jews. 5 * 

 He may possibly be identical with Hugh de Clothall 

 (Clahull), who died seised of lands in Ireland before 

 1 246." At Clothall he was succeeded by his brother 

 Simon de Clothall," who died before 1248," leaving 

 three daughters and co-heirs, Emednc, Muriel and 

 Maud. 18 During their minority Robert de St. John, 

 the overlord, granted the manor to John de Gisors for 

 fourteen years. He subsequently sold the marriage of 

 Emecine for 40 marks to Geoffrey de Hauvill, the king's 

 falconer and bailiff of Rockingham Forest. 50 Geoffrey 

 and Emecine in contravention of an agreement made 

 with the overlord entered upon the manor before the 

 lease to John de Gi-ors had expired. The tenant 

 brought a plea into the King's Court charging Geoffrey 

 and Emecine with ejecting him by force, ' with 

 habergeons, bows and arrows,' and with carrying off 

 his corn and goods. It was finally agreed that John 

 de Gisors should retain two-thirds of the manor 

 (possibly the shares of Emecine's younger sisters) till 

 the end of his term, while Geoffrey and Emecine 

 paid the compensation estimated by Richard de 

 Havering and William Pasket. M 



In 1271 Maud wife of Richard de Bottele and 

 youngest daughter of Simon de Clothall surrendered 

 one-third of 32*. z,d. rent and of the advowson to 

 Geoffrey and Emecine. 01 It is said that this Maud 

 died childless, and that her portion of the inheritance 



Pat. 2 Jaa, I, pt. lix, 



