10 Jul Lordship Title of Burghfield or Burghfield Regis or Nethercourt ID1406
Posted at 20:04h
in
County:
Parish:
Title Type:
Previous Lords:
The first sub-tenant of the manor of BURGHFIELD, BURGHFIELD REGIS or NETHERCOURT (xv cent.) holding under Ralph Mortimer was a certain knight, possibly the ancestor of the Burghfield family, who were lords of the manor in the following century. Thomas Burghfield was living in 1175 and his grandson Robert was in seisin in 1210, and may perhaps be identified with the Robert Burghfield who is mentioned some time before 1240 as tenant under Ralph Mortimer. It is probable that this Robert was followed by a son of the same name, and that the next owner was Roger, who succeeded before 1280, when he, with the lord of the second part of Burghfield, was charged with the repair of a foot-bridge in the parish. He was a knight of the shire for Berkshire in the Parliament of 1301. He died in 1327, and his heir was his brother Peter Burghfield, parson of the church of Burghfield. In 1333 Bartholomew Burghfield held the manor, and was succeeded by John Burghfield, who died before 1358, when his son John was in seisin of the manor, and granted two-thirds of it and the reversion of the other third to Thomas Cateway. Three years later John Burghfield granted all his lands and tenements in Burghfield to Hugh de Segrave, John de la Huse and John atte Beche. This took place very shortly before his death, since in 1362 Gilbert Burghfield, presumably his heir, granted the manor to Sir Hugh de Segrave, who also obtained a quitclaim from Walter Catewy. Sir Hugh was a lawyer of some distinction, and rose to the position of Treasurer and Chancellor of England. He settled the manor on himself and his wife Isabel for their lives, with remainder to William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester. Segrave died, probably in 1385, without issue, and, probably by virtue of the feoffment already mentioned, Burghfield passed either to his aunt and heiress Sarah or to her descendants, the Draytons. Her grandson, Sir John Drayton, probably was in seisin of the manor in 1406–7, when he obtained a grant of tenements in Burghfield from Alvered Kent. Two years later William Brightwell, clerk, gave seisin, by his attorney Robert Swynerton, to Sir John Drayton and his wife Isabel, but this was probably merely a settlement of the manor on their marriage. Nicholas Drayton, the brother of Sir John, released all his right and claim in the manor in 1412. Sir John died in 1417, and his widow Isabel held the manor of Burghfield during her lifetime. She married after his death Stephen Hatfield, who was holding half a knight's fee in Burghfield in right of his wife in 1428. In 1430 the manor (or probably the reversion of it) was dealt with jointly by the daughters and co-heirs of Sir John Drayton and their husbands; Joan had married Drew Barentyne and Elizabeth married Christopher Preston. Before 1441 Preston had died and his widow had married John Wenlock, afterwards Lord Wenlock, and a fresh settlement seems to have been made. Drew Barentyne died in 1453, and apparently his wife had predeceased him. Their son and heir John, a minor at the time of his father's death, inherited their moiety of the manor, but sold it in 1469 to Alice Duchess of Suffolk, who granted it the following year to trustees, presumably to hold to her use. By her will it passed to her son John Duke of Suffolk. The other moiety of Burghfield passed in the same way to the Duke of Suffolk. His mother obtained it in 1465–6 from Lord Wenlock, and in the same year settled it on various trustees, finally leaving the whole manor of Burghfield to her son. The latter appears to have granted it to his son John Earl of Lincoln, who was killed at the battle of Stoke in 1487 fighting against Henry VII. Lincoln was attainted after his death and his lands, including the manor of Burghfield, were forfeited to the Crown, although the Duke of Suffolk lived until 1491. In 1513 Henry VIII granted the manor of Burghfield in tail-male to Sir Gilbert Talbot of Grafton, who was succeeded in its possession by his son of the same name; the latter settled it in 1529 on himself and his issue male with contingent remainder to his brother Sir John Talbot. After Gilbert's death in 1542 the manor is mentioned in the inquisition of his lands. It then evidently passed to his brother, in view of the fact that Sir Gilbert had only daughters to succeed him. This branch of the Talbot family apparently held the manor without interruption, although in the reign of Queen Elizabeth William Tipper and Robert Dawe obtained a grant of it as 'fishing grantees.' John Talbot, the grandson of Sir John, died seised of the manor in 1610–11, and was succeeded by his son George, who became Earl of Shrewsbury on the death of his distant cousin, Edward the eighth earl, without heirs male of his body. The manor was settled on John Talbot, the nephew and heir of the Earl of Shrewsbury, who inherited in 1630. The Earls of Shrewsbury held the manor until the second half of the 19th century. In 1883 Mrs. Davis was lady of the manor, which belongs at the present day to Mr. G. Hatfeild of Morden Hall, Surrey. A view of frankpledge extending into Burghfield was held by the lord of Purley, but after the death of Nicholas Carew in 1390 Richard II granted to Robert Cholmeley for life 'the farm of the profits of the view of frankpledge.' In the grant made by Henry VIII in 1513 to Sir Gilbert Talbot view of frankpledge was included. There appears to have been a claim made in 1327 by the Abbot of Reading that action for dower in the manor of Burghfield should be tried at the abbot's court at Reading, the manor being in the liberty of the abbot. John Burghfield obtained a grant of free warren in his demesne lands at Burghfield in 1343, and all such rights which had been held by the Earl of Lincoln were renewed in the grant to Sir Gilbert Talbot by Henry VIII.
Other Information:
Listed in the Domesday Book:
No