10 Jul Lordship Title of Kempston ID13311
Posted at 21:37h
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Previous Lords:
The Countess Matilda bestowed upon Elstow Abbey land of William 'medicus' of Bourne in Kempston which was worth 20s. a year, and also 5 virgates and 12 acres of land in the same parish. This gift was confirmed by Henry I about 1130 and Henry II about 1160, and in the reign of John part of the abbey's possessions in Kempston were the subject of a quarrel of inheritance. In 1286 view of frankpledge from tenants here was claimed by the abbey, and in 1291 this estate, together with lands in Elstow, was assessed at £11 4s. In 1377 additional lands in Kempston were acquired, and in 1410, besides the rent of £1 from the land in the Bourne, a rent of £7 was held by the abbess and nuns from lands in Kempston. Although their possessions here were valued at £2 15s. 8¾d. only in 1535, yet in 1542, after the Dissolution, the two rents above mentioned are recorded. This property may have been acquired by Thomas Denny, who died about this date, leaving a son John and having made Robert Dacres his executor. The latter died in 1543 before he could fulfil the trust laid on him to sell the manor of Kempston in order to pay Denny's debts and marry his daughters, and the duty devolved on Anthony elder brother of Thomas Denny, who in 1546 sold the manor to William Carter of Bromham, yeoman, to hold of the king for one-twentieth part of a knight's fee and an annual rent of 6s. 8d. William Carter died in 1569, when the manor was called Oakes Farm, worth £2 yearly, and the estate, which comprised other lands in Kempston worth 17s. 4d. a year, descended to his son and heir William. The latter, who died in 1605, left a son and heir Thomas, aged thirty-one, but there is no further information concerning this estate.
Other Information:
Manorial Counsel Limited has created a new legal right to bring the titles of this lordship back into use.
Listed in the Domesday Book:
No