02 Nov Lordship Title of Wymington ID13881
Posted at 08:51h
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In 1086 the tenant of Wymington Manor was Osbert, who succeeded Lant, a man of Levenot. The descent during the following century has not been ascertained, but by the beginning of the 13th century a family called de Welton were in possession of the manor. In 1208 William de Welton received the acknowledgement of his right to 2 virgates of land in this parish. It was probably the same William who a few years later held a knight's fee in the same place. He appears to have had at least two sons, Roger de Welton and John de Welton, who held land in Wymington in 1247. A pedigree extracted from the Plea Rolls gives Roger de Nowers, who is subsequently found holding this manor, as the son of William de Welton, but it seems more likely that Nichols' statement, drawn from the Orlebar MSS. to which he had access, that Roger de Nowers married Joan daughter of John de Welton is correct. Roger de Nowers certainly held the manor, then including 4½ hides, from 1275 onwards. The year of his death is not known, but he was succeeded by his son Roger de Nowers, who died some time previous to 1298–9, at which date the guardianship of Roger, his son and heir, fell into the king's hands by reason of the minority of the overlord. In 1330 this Roger was still holding Wymington Manor, which by 1346 had passed to Richard de Nowers his son. He died some time before 1352, when his brother John de Nowers alienated this manor to Hugh Curteys and John his son. John Curteys, as appears from his epitaph, was Mayor of the Wool Staple at Calais, and appears to have been a man of considerable wealth, for on the occasion of a loan to Richard II in 1379 he furnished £20, a large amount for a private person when it is considered that 'the good men of Bedford' together only produced a similar sum. He also rebuilt Wymington Church, where together with Aubrey his wife he lies buried. He died in 1391, and his wife Aubrey survived him certainly till 1401, in which year together with William Hyde and other executors of her late husband's will she summoned William Chinale touching a debt of £64 7s. 4d. Within the next two years the executors of John Curteys alienated the manor to Sir Thomas Bromfletc, who in 1403 obtained a charter of free warren in his demesne lands there. He died in 1430, and his son Henry Bromflete, who acquired the title of Lord de Vessy through his mother, succeeded to Wymington Manor. By his will, dated 1466, he directed that his lordship of Wymington, amongst other property, should be sold by his executors, and the money realized should go towards the foundation of chantries for the good of his soul. He died in 1468–9, leaving his daughter Margaret wife of Lawrence Threlkeld as his heir, and Wymington was disposed of according to the instructions mentioned above, for it appears three years later as the property of Jaquetta Duchess of Bedford, who after the death of her first husband in 1435 had married Sir Richard Wydville, afterwards Earl Rivers. On her death in 1472 her son Anthony Earl Rivers became heir to Wymington. He was a loyal supporter of the young King Edward V, who was his nephew, and was in consequence beheaded at Pontefract by order of the Duke of Gloucester without any trial. Sir Richard Wydville, his brother and heir, was attainted by the Parliament of Richard III in 1483, and his estates consequently escheated to the Crown. Richard III granted Wymington Manor, valued at £66 13s. 4d. yearly, to Thomas Metcalf in the following year, but the grant never appears to have taken effect, for in 1485 on the accession of Henry VII Richard Wydville obtained a general pardon and resumption of his estates. He died in 1491 without direct heir, but some time previously he had settled the reversion of Wymington on his niece, Joan Le Strange wife of Sir George Stanley. Joan died seised of this manor in 1514, when her heir was her son Thomas Stanley Earl of Derby. He held the manor till his death in 1521, when he was succeeded by his son Edward, followed in 1572 by his son Henry Stanley Earl of Derby. According to an inquisition bearing date 1595, Henry made a settlement of this manor on his son Ferdinand in the year 1567–8, and together with him in 1591 he alienated the property by fine to Roland Lacy and William Hobbes. In 1598 the latter again transferred Wymington Manor to William Bletsoe. He, whose family originally came from Irchester in Northamptonshire, married as second wife Agnes daughter of Thomas Cobbe of Sharnbrook, and this manor passed to their son William Bletsoe on his father's death in 1639–40. William Bletsoe died some time previous to 1669, in which year his widow Elizabeth and Anne Pearles widow, his daughter, made a settlement of the manor. Anne Pearles married a second husband, Charles Williamson, and in 1700 she and her son conveyed the manor to trustees, and finally in 1708 they sold it to John Sawyer, whose son John sold it in 1713 to Major-General Livesay. This manor appears to have followed the same descent as Hinwick (q.v.) until its sale to Mr. John Goosey in 1767. Unlike Hinwick, however, it has since remained in the Goosey family, the present owners being Mr. W. G. Goosey of Kettering and Mr. J. G. Goosey of Forest Hill.
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Listed in the Domesday Book:
Yes