09 Sep Lordship Title of Hampstead Marshall ID14274
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Hampstead Marshall is first found in the possession of the Marshals early in the 13th century. That William Marshal held the manor of Hampstead Marshall seems probable, for in 1218, while he was acting as protector of the young king, Henry III, the latter gave five Letters Patent at Hampstead Marshall, four of which were witnessed by the earl. William Earl of Pembroke died 14 May 1219 and was succeeded by his eldest son William. He married as his second wife in 1224 Eleanor daughter of King John; he entertained his brother-in-law King Henry III at Hampstead Marshall in 1228 and 1230. He died without issue in 1231, when the title passed to his next brother, Richard, though this manor was granted by the king to William's widow on 11 July in that year. It is doubtful whether she enjoyed possession of it, for Richard Earl of Pembroke was proclaimed a traitor in 1233 and fled to Wales, and this manor was granted in October of that year to Richard Earl of Cornwall. A few days later the sheriff was ordered to destroy the house and garden there. Richard Earl of Pembroke died in 1234, and the manor must have been restored to his brother Gilbert, who received a gift of deer for his park in that year, and was evidently building at Hampstead Marshall between 1235 and 1238. On his death without issue on 27 June 1241 his lands came for a time into the hands of the king, who presented to the living 3 July that year, but his brother Walter succeeded to the title and estates and appears to have continued building operations. He died childless on 24 November 1245, and the title and manor devolved upon his brother Anselm, but before he could do homage he died without issue 5 December 1245. Five sons of William Marshal had thus died childless, and the large possessions of this family were divided among their five sisters. To the eldest, Maud, was assigned the office of Marshal of England and with it the manor of Hampstead Marshall. Maud had married as her first husband Hugh Bigod, third Earl of Norfolk, and after his death had taken as her second husband William de Warenne Earl, of Surrey. She died in 1248, when the manor passed to her eldest son Roger. Roger Bigod, fourth Earl of Norfolk, died childless on 4 July 1270 seised of this manor, which passed to his nephew Roger son of Hugh Bigod the Justiciar. Roger died in 1306, leaving no issue, when the manor passed under a deed of surrender, executed in April 1302, to the king. Edward II in 1312 granted the title of Earl of Norfolk and all the possessions which Roger Bigod had ceded to Edward I to his half-brother Thomas de Brotherton, who was created Earl Marshal 10 February 1315. On 3 November 1333 the king gave him licence to grant this manor for life to William Montagu, afterwards Earl of Salisbury, with remainder to William, Montagu's illegitimate son by the earl's daughter Alice. Alice afterwards married Edward Montagu, the brother of William Earl of Salisbury, and Edward in 1339 obtained an exemplification of the king's grant of Roger Bigod's lands to Thomas de Brotherton. In the previous year William Earl of Salisbury had been created Marshal of England on the death of the Earl of Norfolk, and a few years later William granted his status in this manor to his brother Sir Edward, mentioned above. After the death of Thomas Earl of Norfolk his widow claimed a third of the manor in dower. Sir Edward Montagu enfeoffed Hugh Meynell of his two-thirds, which Hugh was holding 20 January 1345, and 1 April the same year the king granted the remaining third as dower to Mary Countess of Norfolk, and also, under certain conditions, the remaining two-thirds, which had been forfeited 8 February that year, as Hugh Meynell had entered it without the king's licence. On 1 September the same year the king seized the manor, except apparently the third first granted to the Countess of Norfolk, and reserved it for the use of his chamber. Later on, when the heirs of the Earl of Norfolk, John de Segrave and Margaret his wife, and Edward Montagu and Alice his wife, petitioned the king for the restoration of the manor, the reply was that the case had been examined in Chancery and no cause was shown why the king should oustier le main. Mary Countess Dowager of Norfolk evidently held her third until her death in 1362. The king was residing here in 1350, and seems to have made visits at intervals until 1358. The house was repaired in 1353. A complete series of accounts for Hampstead Marshall exist between 1355 and 1361. In 1361 the king granted two-thirds of this manor with the reversion of the other third held by the Countess of Norfolk to his daughter Isabel, who married Ingram, Sieur de Coucy, Earl of Bedford. After the death of Isabel in 1382 Richard II granted the manor in that year to his queen, Anne, for life. The queen died in 1394, and the manor then reverted to the king, and was granted in 1403 to Joan, consort of Henry IV, who held it until her death in 1437. It remained in the Crown until 1466, when Edward IV granted it to his consort Elizabeth, who had already been receiving a rent of £10 from it under a grant of the previous year. She was holding it from 1474 to 1483, but it is not clear whether she continued to do so after the accession of King Henry VII in 1485, when Roger Cheney had custody of the manor. King Henry VIII in 1509 granted to his consort Catherine of Aragon lands and rents here, which she seems to have held till the time of her divorce. A manor of Hampstead, which may perhaps be this, was granted to Cardinal Wolsey 20 January 1526, and the manor was granted to Jane Seymour on her marriage, 20 May 1536. After her death in 1537 it was reserved for the king's own use, but must have subsequently been granted to Catherine Parr, for Henry Seymour was appointed bailiff of the manor by Queen Jane 5 July 1536 and by Catherine Parr 9 May 1541, and these appointments were confirmed 11 May 1544 by the king. In 1550 King Edward VI granted Hampstead Marshall to his sister Elizabeth and confirmed the grant in the following year. In 1560 Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir Thomas Parry, his wife and heirs male. Sir Thomas was succeeded in 1560 by his son Thomas, who was ambassador to France from 1601 to 1605. He was knighted in 1601, served as Sheriff of Berkshire in 1576 and 1588, and was appointed a deputy lieutenant in 1596. He settled the manor in 1590 on his sisters' heirs, having obtained licence to do so on 3 September that year, but as it was entailed upon his father's heirs male, and he had a brother living, he obtained a fresh grant from the queen to him and his heirs and assigns. He was holding the manor in 1615 and died intestate, being buried in Westminster Abbey 1 June 1616. As he left no children this manor passed under the settlement of 1590 to the heirs of his two sisters, namely, Thomas Knyvett, grandson of his sister Muriel, and John Abrahall, son of Frances, another sister. Thomas Knyvett and his grandfather Sir Thomas sold their share in 1617 to Sir Francis Jhones, and in the following year John Abrahall and Dorothy his wife conveyed their moiety to the same purchaser. Sir Francis Jhones with his wife and son Abraham sold this manor in 1620 to Elizabeth Craven, widow, and three others. Elizabeth Craven was widow of William Craven, Lord Mayor of London in 1610–11. Whether she acquired the manor for herself or her son seems uncertain. In 1625 her trustees, Martin Bond and William Gibson, conveyed it to Sir Charles Montagu and Sir Edmund Sawyer, apparently in trust for her eldest son William. William Craven was knighted at Newmarket in 1627 in recognition of his services in the Netherlands and was created Lord Craven of Hampstead Marshall 12 March the same year, with remainder, failing male issue, to his brothers in succession and their heirs male. He served under Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, in 1631, and in Holland in 1637. In 1642 he accompanied the queen into Holland. In 1673 he was created Viscount Craven of Uffington and Earl Craven of Craven, while, as both his brothers were then dead, leaving no children, the patent of the barony was extended to include his cousins. He is well known for his romantic attachment to the Queen of Bohemia, daughter of King James I, the 'Queen of Hearts.' The earl died unmarried in 1697, when the earldom and viscountcy became extinct. The Earl of Craven had outlived all his contemporaries and near relations, and the barony and estates, including this manor, passed to a distant cousin William Craven, a descendant of Henry, the eldest son of John Craven of Appletreewick. This William married Elizabeth daughter of Humberston Skipwith, upon whom he settled this manor in 1697. He died on 9 October 1711, leaving two sons William and Fulwar. William third Lord Craven died on 10 August 1739, leaving no surviving issue, and the title and estates passed to his brother Fulwar, who became fourth Lord Craven and died unmarried on 10 November 1764. He was succeeded by his cousin William, the son of John Craven of Whitley (co. Warw.). This William died without issue on 17 March 1769, when the manor passed to his nephew William. William sixth Lord Craven was the only son of the Rev. John Craven, B.C.L., vicar of Staunton Lacy. He seems to have had some interest in Hampstead Marshall in 1767, during his uncle's lifetime, and died 27 September 1791, when the manor and title passed to his son William. His widow Elizabeth, who had separated from him during his lifetime, was well known in musical and dramatic circles, and after his death married H.S.H. Christian Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburgh-Anspach and Bayreuth. William seventh Lord Craven married Louisa daughter of John Brunton of Norwich, a celebrated actress. He was created Viscount Uffington and Earl of Craven on 18 June 1801, and was holding this manor in 1795 and in 1821, in which year he entertained H.R.H. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, afterwards King of the Belgians, at his house here. He died 30 July 1825, when the title and estates passed to his eldest son William. William second Earl of Craven died 25 August 1866, when the manor and titles passed to his second but eldest surviving son George Grimston Craven, third earl. He was Lord-Lieutenant of Berkshire in 1881 and died 7 December 1883, when he was succeeded by his son William George Robert Craven, fourth Earl of Craven, the present owner of the manor. The first mention of the park that has been found is in 1229, when twenty does from the forest of Clarendon were granted by the king to William Marshal to stock his park at Hampstead Marshall. In 1233 the Sheriff of Berkshire was ordered to sell the park owing to the defection of Earl Richard. In the following year, however, as the earl had died in the meantime, the king ordered the constable of Devizes to send twenty does and five bucks from the forest of Chippenham to enable Gilbert, Richard's brother and heir, to restock the park. It was reported in 1275–6 that after the death of Roger Bigod Master Hugh de Thornham, the subescheator in Berkshire, had laid waste the park. William Earl of Salisbury during his tenure of the manor seems to have added considerably to its extent. In 1444 the king granted to the abbey of Abingdon two bucks from Hampstead Marshall Park, as well as eighteen deer from elsewhere, in lieu of the tenth of the deer killed in Windsor Forest, which had been granted to them by King Henry I. Various grants of the keepership of the park occur on the Patent Rolls of the 14th, 15th and early 16th centuries. The park followed the same descent as the manor and is still in existence, being one of the most picturesque spots in this part of the county. It appears to be part of the primeval forest untouched by the plough. It is still a deer park, and a stated head of red and fallow deer have been maintained here for many years. In the middle of the 14th century there appears to have been a stud in the park. A mill is mentioned in the Domesday Survey, and a water-mill is mentioned in 1270, as well as two fulling-mills. The water-mill is mentioned again in 1306. There is now one mill on the Kennet, not far from the church, possibly on the site of that mentioned in 1086. The fulling-mills were probably situated on the streams running through the park. In 1230 the constable of Marlborough was ordered to send ten breeding bream and others of an ordinary kind to William, the Earl Marshal, for his stew-ponds here, and a fishery is mentioned in 1270; it was stated in 1275–6 that Hugh de Thornham had destroyed the stew-ponds. The fishery descended with the manor until the 15th century. In 1617 a fishery in the Kennet at a place called Crocker's Pound was held by John Crocker. In 1275–6 the Earl Marshal had gallows and the assize of bread and ale at Hampstead Marshall, and the manor appears to have been the centre of a considerable lordship, many manors in different counties doing suit at its courts.
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Listed in the Domesday Book:
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