(Vol. v., pp. 30. 135. 189.)
Allow me to call upon your correspondent I. J. H. H., who dates from St.
Asaph, to explain what he means by a Lordship Marcher; and what proof he
possesses that his friend Mr. Lloyd is the "only Lord Marcher now extant
in the kingdom?" The most authentic single record which we possess of
the number, names, and situation of these lordships is the statute 27
Hen. VIII. ch. 26. The writs issued to the Lords Marchers, at various
times before that statute, would perhaps furnish materials for a more
exact enumeration of them; but the above Act was unquestionably intended
to include all of them; and the only reason why the information conveyed
by it is not complete is, that some of the names specified in it may
perhaps be those of townships, or other districts within, or parcel of,
some Lordship Marcher, and that other lordships seem to be comprehended
under a general description, such as "all lordships lying between
Chepstow Bridge and Gloucestershire." Hence, the number of real
Lordships Marchers may, _perhaps_, be fewer or more than are there
mentioned. Herbert, in his _History of Henry VIII._, says that there
were 141 Lordships Marchers. (Kennett's _Compl. Hist._, vol. ii. p.
189.)
The lordship of Kemes is not, I think, specified in the Act; but I
presume that it is comprehended within some of the descriptions of
lordships in it. Probably it is included in sect. 16. In old writs of
summons to attend the King in his wars, Kemes is associated with Dyvett
or with Llandovery.
The statute referred to did, in fact, extinguish the most characteristic
privileges of a Lordship Marcher, and reduced it nearly to the level of
an ordinary lordship, with such royalties only as have often been
granted, and are still enjoyed, by Lords of Manors, or honours in other
parts of England and Wales. The franchises left to them are enumerated
in sections 25. and 30., explained by the later statute 1 & 2 Phil. &
Mary, ch. 15. The palatine jurisdiction which they once possessed, and
the exemption from ordinary process, exist no longer; and the various
local customs prevailing in each lordship, which were repugnant to the
common law of England, must have been almost wholly abolished by the
operation of that Act. The lordships themselves remain in name, and in
little more than in name.
Hence I am afraid that I. J. H. H.'s friend must be prepared to
surrender the distinction of being the sole surviving Lord Marcher. In
the strict and original sense of the term, there is now no such lordship
in existence. In the sense in which alone the title can now be assumed,
he shares the honour with many others; among others, with the Duke of
Beaufort, who holds the very extensive and important Marcher Seignory of
Gower and Kilvey.
Probably the number of private lordships of this kind is not now great;
for, at the passing of the above statute, the majority were in the
Crown; and if any have since been re-granted, it is most likely that
their franchises and tenure would be so modified as to leave no vestige
of the Marcher privileges in them.
The statement of your correspondent suggests to me another doubt. How
could any Lordship Marcher be "erected by Martin of Tours?" Every such
lordship must be of the creation of the Crown, either shown or presumed.
The date of the establishment of these marcherships is so ancient that,
perhaps, no one may have actually seen any document to prove them but
charters of confirmation and inquisitions post-mortem; still the _law_
refers their origin to specific Crown grants, and not to the act or
authority of a mere subject. If, therefore, Martin, who was a tenant in
capite of the Crown, founded the lordship of Kemes, he must have
done--as the military invaders of Ireland in a subsequent reign
did--conquered the territory with his own arms, and obtained palatine
jurisdiction over it, with the assent and by the authority of the King.
Let me add, that the MS. treatise in the Harleian Collection (referred
to _ante_, p. 135.) is printed in Pennant's _Wales_, and, more
correctly, in vol. ii. of the _Transactions of the Cymmrodorion
Society_. It is much to be lamented that the treatise on the Lordships
Marchers, bequeathed by Sir Matthew Hale to the Society of Lincoln's
Inn, is not to be found in that library. If the work was composed by
that eminent judge himself, it must be one of the highest value and
authority. Does any one possess it, or a copy of it?