By the Rev. J. Ward. 



273 



Braybroke. After Sir Nicholas Hawberke's death, she married 

 Sir John Oldcastle, Knt., the celebrated leader of the Lollards. 

 He was summoned to parliament as Baron Cobham, in right of his 

 wife. He died a.d. 1417; and she married, fifthly, Sir John 

 Harpenden. She died in a.d. 1433, when her possessions devolved 

 upon her only child, Joane, by Sir Reginald Braybroke. This 

 Joane, espoused Sir Thomas Brooke, who became fourth Baron 

 Cobham in her right. The barony became extinct in this family, 

 on the death of Henry Brooke, ninth baron, in a.d. 1619; but 

 Chisbury had been previously sold to a Mr. Read, whose successor, 

 Edward Read, Esq., resold it in a.d. 1602 to the Earl of Hertford. 



The De Braboefs, and afterwards the Fitzwarrens, possessed the 

 manor of Crofton. It came into possession of the Seymours through 

 Ann, first Duchess of Somerset, and grand-daughter of Fulke, Lord 

 Eitzwarine. 



Stokke manor belonged to the De Stokkes, but was carried by 

 Greva, widow of Sir Adam de Stokke, who afterwards married 

 Robert de Hungerford, into the family of her second husband. It 

 was afterwards an estate of the Earl Yerney, who sold it to the 

 late Earl of Ailesbury in a.d. 1766. 



The De Bohuns, Earls of Hereford and Essex, had lands in 

 Grafton; and the De Clares had the manor of Wexcombe, as well as 

 of Beclwyn, also lands in Wilton, Puthall, and East Bedwyn. The 

 Seymours were at Knowl a century before they inherited the Es- 

 turmy estates. 



Of the manor of Marten, it is very difficult to trace the descent, 

 on account of the name being confused in ancient documents with 

 another manor of Marten, in a different part of the county. In 

 a.d. 1278, it belonged to Paganus de Cadurcis, and is called Mar- 

 thorne. This seems to be the only notice that can be safely identi- 

 fied with the Marten in Bedwyn. The foundations of a chapel were 

 discovered here in November, 1858, by Mr. Henry Selfe in a mea- 

 dow opposite to the Manor-house, and close to a remarkable moated 

 inclosure. The internal dimensions were 47 feet long by 19 feet 

 6 inches wide. It was a simple parallelogram like the East Graf- 

 ton Chapel, but it differed in the position of the buttresses; having 



