The following is a transcript with the contractions indicated but not
extended:--
Conventum inter Johan' Gaunte Duc' Lancast' quart' fillius
Regy' Edvardi tert' et Edvardum Mundy de Marton in Comitatu
Derb' equit' Joh'es Ga'nt Dux Lancast' p'mittebat Domin'
Edvard' Mundy visere ap'd Marton in Comitat' Derb' p'd q'
pariter prestabat Et etiam Dominus Edvardus Mundy iterfaciebat
Duc' Lancast' Comitibusq' ejus in Highe Frith parochia
Allstonefield Comitatu Staffordiae Cum in eum locum pase (?)
publice p'venirent qui nuncupatur Lady Edge cujus defugabant
(?) excitabant Gallos palust' ad quos illico accipitres
evertebant apud quos accipitres fuga petebant int' illos
Limites ut posthac mention's siant hoc Termino qui expositus
erat Avibus volantibus ultro citroq' ad viam publica' qua
abduit ab Longnor ad Leeke al' parte circunt quo accipitres
pred'am apprehendebant parte juxta mediam circuituo juxta
convallem Orient' Decim' Die May' Ann' Dom' 1399 Quamobre'
Joh'es Gaunt ei dabat Titulu' nomenq' Hawkesyerd alias
Hawksearth propter pred'a apprehensa' inter Limit' qui posthac
mentionem fit qui non antehac nuncupabatur ... Aliquae pauce
Fundi Partes que posthac mentione' fiunt Viz' alia pars Fundi
nuncupatur Harrisons Intake al' pars Fundi nuncupat'
House-Fielde quo parva vel Domus stabat al' pars Fundi nuncup'
Little Meadow quae ex part' meridional' inter jacet Locu'
nuncup' Boothesley Grange al' pars Fundi nuncup' Spart (?
Spout) Meadow fluvio adjacans erga Occidentam al' pars Fund'
nuncupat' Killn Croffte fluvio adjac' erga Occidente' al' pars
Fund' nuncup' Spart (?) al' pars Fundi nuncupat' Rye Pingle
erga Occidentem sequia secale illo p'senti anno Cresscebat
Limes Hawksyerd alias Hawksearth jacens positusq' in Highe
Frith Parochia Allstonefield Comitatuq' Staffordie exposit
Johan' Gaunt Duc' Lancast' p'd' inter tales Metas qual' posthac
mentione' fiunt attin' illi soli Domo predi'oq' nuncup'
Hawksyerd alias Hawksearth p'd ubi est convallis oriental' ejus
part' Fluviusq' Curans erga merediem juxta Fluvium int' ilium
et Locum nuncup' Banke aut al' Over boothesley Etiam parte
meridional' convallus ... et Fluvius currens erga Orient' juxta
Fluviu' int' illu' Locumq' nuncup' Bauthsley (_sic_) Grange
illaq' ascendit part' meridional' Funi qui nuncup' Rye Pingle
quia jacet erga Occident' et setendit directe ad fugum q'd
nuncup' Lady Edge jacens positusq' in Highe Frith Parochia
Allstonefield Comitatuq' Stafford' et tunc transjugu' q'd est
erga septentrionem directe ad viam publica' quae abducit ab
Longnor ad Leeke Etiamq' publica' juxta via' erga Orient' usq'
du' directe p'venit ad Convalla' Termino Orientali Tractus
praedi'i expositus primo Ann' Regni Regis Henrici Quart'
assignabat Limat vel Expellere includere vel admittere ad Sol'
proprium usu' Comodumq' illius Domus predi'iq' nuncu'q'
Hawksyerd al' Hawksearth p'd etiam Libertinuanu' publi' pascu'
jusque effodiendi Cespites p' Desertu' Domin' Allstonefield
Dom' Edvardus Mundy de Marton in comitat' Derby (_sic_) p'd'
favore unum suplicabat Joh'es Gaunt Du' Lancastriae quem
dicebat consideret Si illi esset postestas Dom' Edvardus ilium
orabat et ei daret predi'u' nuncup' Hawksyerd alias Hawksearth
p'd' Et Joh'es Gaunt libere Largiebatur et concedebat illi et
posteris in Aeturnu' Dom' Edvardus Mundy profesiebatur Joh'e
Gaunt Comitibusq' eum visere apud Castrum Lancast' quo Joh'es
Gaunt sigillabat Subscribebat et in potestatem Domin' Edvardi
Mundy Premis' tot' tradebat decimo quint' Die May Anno D'm'
1399 coram William Stanley Gent John Porter Gent' James Lewis
Gent' Wi'm Stanley Gent' Tho's Mundy Gent' John Thornicroft
Attorney.
It is not easy to give a true interpretation of this unconventional deed;
the operative part, which should be clear and precise, being vague and
inconclusive. The following is what may be accepted as a free translation
conveying a general idea of the purport and effect of the deed:--
An Agreement between John Gaunte duke of Lancaster, fourth son
of King Edward the third and Edward Mundy of Marton [Markeaton]
in the county of Derby knight. John Gaunt (_sic_) went himself
to visit Sir Edward Mundy at Marton in the county of Derby
aforesaid ... and Sir Edward Mundy made a journey with the duke
of Lancaster and his attendants into Highe Frith in the parish
of Alstonefield in the county of Stafford; when they arrived at
that piece of public ground [? the common or moorland waste of
the manor] which was called Lady Edge, from which moorcock
[both red and black grouse] were frequently driven away and
from whence hawks were let loose and flown within such
boundaries as were thereinafter mentioned, to this boundary
which was free and open for birds flying backwards and forwards
near the public road, which led from Longnor to Leek. In the
part of the circle in which the hawks took [the grouse] near
the middle circuit next the east clough, on the 10th day of May
1399: for this reason John Gaunt gave it the title and name of
Hawksyerd otherwise Hawksearth, because of the game being taken
within its limits, thereinafter mentioned, which place was not
theretofore named, some other pieces of land, which after that
were made mention, to wit, part of a piece of land called
Harrisons Intake, part of a piece of land called House Fielde,
on which a small shed or house was standing, part of a piece of
land called Little Meadow, which on the south lay between a
place called Boothesley Grange and part of a piece of land
called Rye Meadow following the stream pointing west, part of a
piece of land called Killn Croffte adjoining the stream, thence
west, part of a piece of land called Spart (?) Meadow, part of
a piece of land called Rye Pingle, thence west following the
rye of that year then growing. The boundary of Hawksyard
otherwise Hawksearth, lying and being in Highe Frith in the
parish of Alstonefield in the county of Stafford set out by
John Gaunte duke of Lancaster aforesaid, between such bounds as
were thereinafter mentioned, were set out for that house only;
and the land called Hawksyerd otherwise Hawksearth aforesaid,
where there is a clough at the east end of it and a purling
stream, thence south following the stream between that and a
place called Banke or otherwise Over Boothesley; also on the
south side, a clough and stream ran, thence east next the
stream, between that place called Bauthsley (_sic_) Grange and
ascending on the south of the piece of land which is called Rye
Pingle, thence west leading direct to the high ridge which is
called Lady Edge, lying and being in Highe Frithe in the parish
of Alstonefield in the county of Stafford; and then across the
ridge which is north direct to the public road, which led from
Longnor to Leeke; and also along the public road thence east it
passed straight to the east end of the clough. The full extent
of the said land, in the 1st year of the reign of King Henry
IV, was marked out and set to limits either to expel, keep in
or admit, to the only proper use and advantage of that house
called Hawksyerd otherwise Hawksearth aforesaid; and also the
liberty to dig turf in the public meadow and wastes of the
lordship of Alstonefield. Sir Edward Mundy of Marton in the
county of Derby aforesaid prayed for one favour of John Gaunt
duke of Lancaster, which he [John] said he would consider if to
him it were possible. Sir Edward asked him and he [John] to him
gave the said place called Hawksyerd otherwise Hawksearth
aforesaid and John Gaunt did freely give and grant it to him
and his descendants forever. Sir Edward Mundy then went with
his attendants to John Gaunt to see him at Lancaster Castle
which [agreement] John Gaunt sealed and subscribed; and into
the control of Sir Edward Mundy, all the before mentioned was
handed over on the 15th day of May 1399 In the presence of
William Stanley Gent, John Porter Gent, James Lewis Gent, Wi'm
Stanley Gent, Thomas Mundy Gent, John Thornicroft Attorney.
If this deed correctly records the facts, we must infer that John of
Gaunt owned lands in north Staffordshire between Longnor and Leek; and
that they probably formed part of the lands belonging to the duchy of
Lancaster. We learn that his friend Sir Edward Mundy of Markeaton,
twenty miles away to the south-east, invited the duke to visit him there;
a hawking party being arranged on the 10th May 1399 by Sir Edward for the
entertainment of his royal guest; one of the highest points of The
Moorlands, known as Lady Edge, nearly 1500 feet above the sea, where
grouse were always to be found, was selected as the trysting place. The
party would ride from Markeaton across the open country to Lady Edge, and
they appear to have had good sport. Probably John of Gaunt and his
friends from Markeaton watched the hawking from the top of Lady Edge and
the undulating land which lies between Lady Edge and Hawksyard, the
quarry being taken within a distance of half a mile to the north-east. So
pleased was the duke, that he honoured the place where the hawks took
their quarry by giving it the name of Hawksyard otherwise Hawksearth; a
place which before then was unnamed. The deed also states that before the
duke left Markeaton, Sir Edward asked him as a personal favour to give
Hawksyard to Sir Edward and that the duke promised to consider the
request. Apparently Sir Edward returned with the duke to Lancaster, as a
few days later the duke is stated to have sealed and subscribed this deed
at Lancaster Castle and delivered it into the hands of Sir Edward on the
15th May 1399. The metes and bounds are fully set forth in the deed,
which also records that the boundaries were marked out on the land in the
1st year of Henry IV.
[Illustration: _Photo Ethel Eadon_
1568 October 24th. =Grant= from Vincent and Edward Munday to John
Weston.]
The second deed bears date the 24th October 1568 written in the same bold
Arabic numerals as in the earlier deed; but the later deed is in English
and measures 16 A-- 12 inches, it has two round seals of yellow wax, each
of a diameter of one and a half inches; the impression on these seals
does not appear to be armorial but they both bear the same form of cross;
the parchment and make-up are in all respects similar to the deed of 1399
and the signatures of Vincent Mundy and his son are written in the same
hand as the deed, which was not unusual in the 16th century.
* * * * *
The following is an abstract of the grant from Vincent Mundy and his son
Edward to John Weston.
An Indenture made the 24th day of October, in the 10th year of
Elizabeth and in the year of the Lord 1568 Between Vincent
Munday of Marketon in the countye of Derbye esquire and Edward
Mundy (_sic_) gentleman, son and heir apparent of the said
Vincent, of the one part and John Weston of Mackworth in the
county aforesaid gentleman of the other part; whereby the
aforesaid Vincent and Edward, for and in consideration of the
sum of three hundred pounds of lawful money of England, to the
aforesaid Vincent and Edward in hand paid by the said John
Weston, whereof they confessed themselves to be fully
satisfied and paid and the said John Weston and his heirs
executors and administrators to be thereof acquitted and
discharged for ever by those presents; had delivered given
granted sold bargained released and by those present writings
confirmed to the aforesaid John Weston and his heirs executors
and administrators, all that their messuage or tenement, with
the appurtenances, situate lying and being in the Highe Frith
within the parish of Alstonefield in the county of Stafford;
and being part parcel and member of the mannor of Alstonefield
aforesaid and hereafter named, following and more at large
expressed; to wit, all that messuage farm or tenement called
Hawkesyarde or otherwise Hawkesearthe, then in the tenure or
occupation of Raphe Bradburye and Maud his wife; and also all
and singular houses outhouses cottages barns edifices buildings
orchards gardens meadows pastures lands and arable lands
commons woods underwoods, free liberties or commoninge and
turbarye throughout the waste of the aforesaid manor,
priviledges profits and commodities whatsoever, with all and
singular the appurtenances to the said messuage or tenement in
anywise lyeing appertaininge or belonginge; or any thing
standing or at any time theretofore accepted used occupied or
perceived, together with the said messuage or tenement or any
of them, by any tenant before named their prior tenants or as
part parcel and member of or as belonging to the said messuage
or tenement or by whatsoever name or names it was commonly
called or known, and all the estate etc; and moreover all rent
and yearly profits whatsoever, reserved on any demise grant or
copye of the premises, by any person or persons theretofore
made or committed; to have hold and enjoy the same to the said
John Weston his heirs executors administrators and assigns for
ever; and likewise priviledges profits and commodities
whatsoever, which John Gaunt the duke of Lancaster the fourth
son of King Edward the third did give and grant unto Sir Edward
Mundaye (_sic_) of Marketon in the county of Derby knight, the
compass set by him the said John Gaunt betwixt those marks as
were thereafter mentioned (that was to say) a clough at the
east end of the said premises and a pearle of water which runns
southewarde betwixt and a place called the Banke or otherwise
Over Boothesleye; also a clough and a water, which runns
eastward betwixt and a place which is called Boothesleye Grange
and so it goes up close bye the water side pointinge westwards
and so it goes up after the southe side of a piece of grounde
which is called the Rye Pingle, from thence streight up to the
top of the Hill which is called the Lady Edge, situate lyeinge
and beinge in the Highe Frithe within the parish of
Alstonefield aforesaid and countye of Stafforde aforesaid and
from thence streight to the Highe Road, that goes betwixt
Longenor and Leek, pointeinge northeward and so it goes down
bye the roade side untill it comes directlye against that
cloughe at the east end; withe free libertye to drive off
enclose or take inn, so farr as the compass aforementioned
extends; to the onlye proper use and behoofe of that one
messuage or farme called Hawkesyarde or otherwise Hawkesearthe
aforesaid, likewise free libertye of commoninge and turbarie
throughout the waste of the mannor of Alstonefield aforesaid;
and they did therefore deliver to the said John Weston his
heirs and assigns full and peaceable possession etc. The
witnesses were John Walker, Thomas Mundye gent, Thomas Brunt,
John Oakes yeoman and Thomas Mundy (_sic_);
In this deed there is an evident desire on the part of the draftsman to
strengthen and even to extend the rights and privileges appurtenant to
the Hawksyard estate, which then included a house of considerable
importance, occupied by Ralph Bradbury and Maud his wife. Towards the end
of the deed a belated attempt at a recital of the earlier John of Gaunt
deed is added, with extracts giving the full description of the
boundaries; and this earlier deed is treated as the root of title to
Hawksyard.
The question and the only question we have to consider is whether these
two deeds give us a true account of the origin and early history of the
place-name Hawksyard? At first sight it would appear that they do; but
unfortunately there is much in the earlier deed to arouse suspicion. It
is not that the story of John of GauntaEuro(TM)s visit to Highe Frith is
improbable, on the contrary he rebuilt and occupied Tutbury Castle twenty
miles away; nor is there any reason to think that in those days Sir
Edward Mundy would hesitate to ask the duke for a few acres of rough
moorland waste, as a memento of a red-letter day in the history of the
Mundy family. Perhaps such a request, under the circumstances,
constituted true politeness in the middle ages; or he may have wished to
commemorate the day by building a house on the land to bear the name
Hawksyard; but, however probable these surmises may be, there are many
things in this alleged deed of gift which suggest a date much later than
the reign of Richard II and cast a doubt as to its _bona fides_.
In the first place it is obvious that the date 15th May 1399 cannot be
correct, as John of Gaunt died in January or February 1398; further the
deed states that the duke visited Highe Frith on the 10th May 1399, which
was impossible; and it is perhaps equally surprising to find that a deed,
dated in the reign of Richard II, should refer to the first year of
Henry IV, whose reign had not then begun and might never have occurred.
These impossible dates require explanation, but our difficulties do not
end with dates; the writing in the John of Gaunt deed is not
characteristic of the period, it is not uniform throughout, the body of
the deed being written in characters of the rugged native script, the
names of the witnesses being added in a flowing Italian hand of the
Elizabethan period. Attention should also be called to the fact, that of
the five witnesses in whose presence the duke is said to have affixed his
seal, not one of them was above the rank of gentleman. The seal is
impressed with a hunting horn, suggestive of forest heraldry, but the
royal arms of the son of Edward III do not appear on this seal; and, if
the hunting horn is in its proper heraldic position, the point of the
shield is at the top.
As above stated, the form of the deed is unusual and follows no
precedent; many words are more suggestive of the classics than the
customary usage of diplomatics in the 14th century. _Equitem_ takes the
place of the more conventional _militem_; _nuncupatur_ is used instead of
_vocat_ and _coram_ instead of _testibus_. Each of the first four
witnesses is described as gent and the last as attorney, while Derby is
written once in English; further, the exact legal effect of the deed
seems to be intentionally vague; it is headed _conventum_, meaning a
covenant, but in the subsequent deed of 1568 it is referred to as a
grant. The full description of the land in the later deed, with all its
boundaries and appurtenant rights, suggests that the Elizabethan
draftsman had some doubt as to the true facts; these details being
apparently exploited with some ulterior intent.
In comparing the size make-up and general appearance of the two deeds, it
is impossible not to see in them a strong resemblance; they are both
typical of the time of Elizabeth, the deed of 1399 is too large and too
coarse for a charter of that date. The fact that one is in Latin and the
other in English makes the comparison less easy; but in both we find
similar parchment ink and seals; the script is much the same in both
deeds, each having the dates written in the same bold Arabic numerals;
and the later recites the earlier deed.
It would not be difficult to find other points of resemblance between
these deeds; and it is impossible to compare them without coming to the
conclusion that they were prepared at the same time by the same person,
with the definite object of making a good title to the Hawksyard
property, on the sale to John Weston.
This forces us to the conclusion that the John of Gaunt deed is not
altogether trustworthy; and we have to consider whether or not the
information it contains, with regard to the origin of the place-name
Hawksyard, can be relied on; or if we must treat its whole contents as
pure fiction and entirely discredit all it tells us of the hawking party
in Highe Frith.
[Illustration: =Seal= of 15th May 1399.]
There must be some explanation of this extraordinary deed; and it may yet
be possible to find a solution of the problem. Here is the deed! How can
we account for it? How much of what it tells us may we accept as truth?
To what extent is its story supported by extraneous evidence?
The points as to which we require information are; whether John of Gaunt
was in a position to give and grant lands in the Highe Frith to Sir
Edward Mundy or had he only the rights of an overlord? Why did he
hesitate before complying with Sir EdwardaEuro(TM)s request? Was he in doubt as
to whether the land were his to give or whether he held as tenant _in
capite_? Did he execute a deed of gift or did the gift rest on a verbal
promise, Sir Edward taking possession of the lands and converting them to
his own use? Did the lawyer of 1568, who carried through the sale to
Weston, act _ex fide bona_ and endeavour, according to his lights and the
practice of his time, to put the title to Hawksyard in order, for the
mutual benefit of both vendor and purchaser?
For answers to these questions we must return to the days of John of
Gaunt.
In 1398 Richard II, seeing that his uncle John of Gaunt was in failing
health and that JohnaEuro(TM)s son, Henry Bolingbroke earl of Hereford, might
press his claim to the throne of England in case of RichardaEuro(TM)s death
without issue, took advantage of a quarrel between Bolingbroke and the
duke of Norfolk, in which each accused the other of treason, to banish
them both from the realm.
The loss of his son fell heavily on John of Gaunt, who died at the end of
January or the beginning of February 1398; and it is important to bear in
mind that the year 1399 began on the 25th March and not the 1st January.
Richard, being free for a time from the menace of the House of Lancaster,
seized the whole of the Lancastrian estates in the absence of the
banished heir and crossed to Ireland to complete his conquests and
strengthen his hold on that country.
During RichardaEuro(TM)s absence in Ireland the banished Henry, hearing the news
of his fatheraEuro(TM)s death and the confiscation of the Lancastrian estates,
landed on the Yorkshire coast with a few trusted friends and three
thousand men-at-arms.
He was at once joined by the great barons of the north and with an army,
which increased as it advanced, he ultimately reached London; where he
was well received by the people, who were tired of Richard and looked to
Henry as their future king.
On hearing the news of HenryaEuro(TM)s return Richard, after much delay through
rough weather, recrossed the Irish Channel to Milford Haven, only to find
that both his friends and his armies in England had melted away and that
his kingdom was lost.
He was forced by Henry and his supporters to resign his crown and, in
Westminster Hall on the 29th September 1399, his resignation was received
with shouts of applause; on the following day his cousin Henry
Bolingbroke, son and heir of John of Gaunt, was proclaimed King of
England as Henry IV.
On HenryaEuro(TM)s accession he regained the estates of the duchy of Lancaster,
which however remained in his hands as crown property.
The above events and the dates on which they occurred are of importance
in considering the two Hawksyard deeds; and if we are to understand how
and why they came into existence, we must also trace the early history of
Highe Frith and learn something of the conditions then prevailing as to
the holding and devolution of landed estates in England; more especially
with regard to earldoms honours and manors, which formed the basis of the
feudal system.
When we clearly understand the way in which land in England was held in
pre-reformation days, it will perhaps be possible to see whether the
facts set forth in the deed of gift of the 15th May 1399 were consistent
with the early history of the manor of Alstonefield; and whether John of
Gaunt was shortly before his death in a legal position to comply with the
request of Sir Edward Mundy.
As already stated Hawksyard was in Highe Frith, part of the manor of
Alstonefield, and a manor was an estate in fee simple in a tract of land
granted by the sovereign to a subject, usually a man of some consequence,
in consideration of certain services.
He was the lord of the manor and he reserved for his own use such parts
of the land as he required, which were called the demesne lands; other
parts he granted out to his tenants, under varying conditions which
included estates of inheritance, estates for life, for years and at will;
the barren lands which remained in his hands were what was known as the
commons and wastes of the manor or the foreign lands. The whole formed a
manor or lordship which had its own courts and customs and enjoyed feudal
privileges, which extended not only to the lands held by tenants but also
to the commons and waste lands.
When many manors, perhaps extending into several counties, were held by
one great baron or overlord they formed an honour which was held of the
king _in capite_; this was quite different in character to the manor. It
was a jurisdiction, vested in private hands, and not a territorial
possession; the lords of the manors retaining their separate manorial
organisation and rendering suit and service to their overlord.
Manors also formed part of the earldom or shire; for some time after the
conquest an earl also had the title of count and from the counts the
shires took the name of counties. The title however soon disappeared in
England but we still retain countess, county and viscount.
When a great earldom honour or manor fell by forfeiture or escheat into
the hands of the sovereign which constantly happened, it retained its
distinct corporate existence and the whole apparatus of jurisdiction or
tenure. Under its own title it either continued in the possession of the
sovereign or was granted out again as a hereditary fief.
The manor of Alstonefield appears to have been included in different
earldoms and different honours at different dates, prior to the time when
it came into the hands of John of Gaunt and his first wifeaEuro(TM)s ancestors.
At the taking of the Domesday survey in 1086, Alstonefield manor was held
as a knightaEuro(TM)s fee by Robert count of Shrewsbury with William de Malbanc
under him as lord of the manor. The Shrewsbury overlordship did not last
long and Alstonefield, which seems to have been much in request, possibly
owing to its grouse moor, was transferred to the honour of Chester under
Hugh Lupus; to whom William had, three years after the conquest, given
the earldom of Chester and William de Malbanc, of Wich Malbanc now
Nantwich, held the position of lord marcher under Lupus, so that the
lordship of Alstonefield formed part of the marchlands or boundaries of
the honour of Chester on the east, over which William de Malbanc would
have supreme control as lord of the marches.
That part of the manor which lay between Leek and the river Dove,
including the site of Hawksyard, was chiefly forest and moorland; shortly
after the conquest and for many centuries after, it was known as Malbanc
Forest; but in 1220 the Malbanc barony devolved on three co-heiresses,
who held Alstonefield in co-parcenary.
On the forfeiture of a third share by the eldest daughter, then countess
of Warwick, it came into the possession of Hugh le Despencer, though how
he got it is not clear, and this share included the tract of barren
moorland known as Highe Frith of Malbanc Forest.
In 1297, on the death of Edmund earl of Lancaster, the KingaEuro(TM)s Escheator
held an inquisition at Tutbury for the county of Lancaster, to ascertain
what knightaEuro(TM)s fees were due to the earl; the jury found _inter alia_ that
Hugh le Despencer held one knightaEuro(TM)s fee in the manor of Altonesfelt
(Alstonefield) worth yearly in homages etc. AL10. "Nomina Villarum" 1316
gives Hugh le Despencer and Nicholas de Audeleye as owners of
Alstonefield, a vill in the liberty of the earl of Lancaster, who had the
return of all writs.
In 1322 the estates of le Despencer were forfeited to the crown and
subsequently bestowed by Edward III on Henry earl of Lancaster,
grandfather of Blanche the wife of John of Gaunt.
It may be helpful here to recall how John of Gaunt was created duke of
Lancaster and became possessed of the Lancastrian estates, extending into
Cheshire, Staffordshire and other counties.
The first earl of Lancaster was Edmund called Crouchback second son of
Henry III; in addition to his Lancastrian estates, his father bestowed on
him the earldoms of Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Salisbury and Chester.
These passed on his death in 1296 to his eldest son Thomas earl of
Lancaster, who was beheaded at Pontefract in 1322 when his estates were
forfeited to the crown.[A] His widow was allowed to retain the Salisbury
estate; and the other four earldoms were bestowed on his brother Henry
earl of Lancaster, to whom one third share of Alstonefield manor was also
given, so that he possessed not only the Lancastrian estates but also the
earldoms of Derby (including the honour of Tutbury), Leicester, Lincoln,
Chester and the territorial interest of a third of the manor of
Alstonefield, including Malbanc Forest; of which Highe Frith was waste of
the manor.
Henry earl of Lancaster was succeeded by his son Henry, afterwards first
duke of Lancaster, who had no son; of his two daughters, Maud married
William of Bavaria and Blanche married John of Gaunt. Maud died without
issue, whereupon the whole of the Lancastrian estates devolved on
Blanche; and, in right of his wife, on her husband John of Gaunt, who was
in 1362 created duke of Lancaster.
It will be remembered that the seal attached to the deed of gift of the
15th May 1399 bears a hunting horn; and in order to find some explanation
of this seal it may be necessary to glance for a moment at the history of
the honour of Tutbury, which as we have seen was included in the earldom
of Derby and passed to John of Gaunt with that earldom.
[Illustration: =The Tutbury Horn=, from a photograph in the reference
library at Sheffield.]
About the end of the 13th century, the important office of escheator and
coroner throughout the whole honour of Tutbury within the county of
Stafford, was claimed by Walter Agard who demanded to hold office by
right of inheritance; but he was unable to produce any written evidence
in support of his claim; and in lieu of charters or writings, he produced
a white hunting horn garnished with silver-gilt in the middle and at
both ends, to which was affixed a girdle of black silk adorned with
buckles of silver, on which was placed the _insignia_ of Edmund earl of
Lancaster; this horn was offered and accepted as the charter and evidence
of title to the office of escheator and coroner, to which he made claim.
It is not necessary to follow the devolution of the Tutbury Horn from
Walter Agard; but in the 17th century, on the marriage of an heiress of
Agard, it passed to the Stanhopes, who sold it with its offices in 1753
to Samuel Foxlow of Staveley Hall, from him it ultimately passed to Henry
Marwood Greaves of Banner Cross, Sheffield, and Ford Hall, Derbyshire,
who once only exercised the right of appointment; and on his death in
1859 his eldest son William Henry Greaves, who had assumed the surname of
Greaves-Bagshawe in 1853, succeeded to the horn by inheritance, and
appointed the next succeeding coroner. We shall have to consider whether
the pendent seal of the alleged deed of gift can in any way be accounted
for by the fact, that the honour of Tutbury was part of the duchy of
Lancaster prior to John of GauntaEuro(TM)s death.
[Illustration: =Seals= of 24th October 1568.]
Let us now turn to the other party to the deed of gift, Sir Edward Mundy.
In BurkeaEuro's "Commoners of England" 1836, it is suggested that the Mundy
family derived its name from Mondaye Abbey in the dukedom of Normandy;
and it may be, that Sir Edward Mundy or his father fought with John of
Gaunt in the wars with France and Spain.
It seems probable, from what we find in the earlier deed, that the duke
and Sir Edward were close personal friends; and it may possibly have been
through the influence of John of Gaunt, that Sir Edward Mundy or his
father settled near Derby. However that may be, we are told that Sir
Edward entertained the duke at Markeaton and returned with him to
Lancaster Castle.
Vincent Mundy of Markeaton was a justice of the peace for the county of
Derby in 1558 and his son Edward died in 1607.
Burke also tells us that "from old deeds in existence it appears that the
family held lands in the year 1399"; it may be and seems highly probable
that he was referring to the deed of gift and the grant above described,
to which he presumably had access and gave credence.
On the other hand the two Lysons, in their work on Derbyshire, say that
the Mundys did not buy the Markeaton property until the beginning of the
sixteenth century. Perhaps at that date they added to their original
holding?
We now have some idea of how matters stood in 1399 and 1568; we are
therefore in a better position to consider whether the deeds of Richard
II and Elizabeth can be relied on as giving the origin and early history
of the place-name Hawksyard.
Assuming for the moment that the two deeds were prepared at the same time
and by the same hand, it is necessary to consider the position as it
presented itself to the attorney, who in 1568 was instructed to carry out
the sale of Hawksyard to John Weston. He possibly may have acted for both
vendor and purchaser and been anxious to do his best for both his
clients. He would, on receiving his instructions, ask the vendor for his
title deeds; the answer would presumably be that there were no such
deeds; but it was probably well known in the vendoraEuro(TM)s family and possibly
also to John Weston, that Hawksyard had been given to Sir Edward Mundy by
John of Gaunt shortly before his death, after enjoying a dayaEuro(TM)s hawking in
Highe Frith, the tradition of which would hang round The Moorlands for
centuries; perhaps letters or diaries would be produced with sufficient
detail to satisfy the purchaser of the truth of the tradition.
The attorney would perhaps be in doubt, whether this traditional gift was
a grant of the fee simple or a mere sporting right over certain waste
lands belonging to the manor of Alstonefield, part of the duchy; which
right would be what is known as a right of common in gross. The vendors
were doubtless in actual possession and their ancestors had held it for
nearly two hundred years; under circumstances such as these the Courts of
Common Law, in the absence of the tradition, would have assumed a lost
grant, made prior to the reign of Richard I, which is supposed to be
equivalent to immemorial user; but the family tradition as to John of
Gaunt fixes the lost grant in the reign of Richard II, which would not
support a claim by immemorial user. Under these circumstances and in the
absence of any title deeds, the attorney seems to have taken upon himself
the responsibility of creating a root of title, based on the tradition
and possibly what he considered satisfactory recorded evidence; in doing
this he exercised neither artfulness nor skill. He hesitated whether to
make it an agreement or a grant, he neglected to use the 14th century
common form of such a document, he blundered sadly in the dates, and he
referred in the deed, which he dated in the reign of Richard II, to a
reign which had not then begun. There would be a difficulty as to the
witnesses, and it may be that those named were taken from some deed of
1399 to which he had access, notwithstanding the fact that these five
witnesses were not suitable or likely witnesses for the sealing by John
of Gaunt; there was also the difficulty of the seal, and as probably no
seal of John of Gaunt was available, a forest seal, perhaps of the honour
of Tutbury, was used; Alstonefield manor being within that honour, and
the deed of the 15th May 1399 was the result; which did well enough to
hand to the purchaser, as the root of title to Hawksyard, along with his
conveyance from Vincent Mundy and his son. Even if the parties to the
transaction knew of what was being done they would doubtless be well
pleased to have the John of Gaunt tradition put on record; and the
enterprising attorney would probably be thanked and well paid for his
trouble and resource. There does not appear to have been any fraudulent
intention to improperly acquire any land or other benefit, though such a
counterfeit in these days would be fraught with risk to all parties
concerned; but in the time of Elizabeth, the law of real property rested
less on statute and more on the unwritten law; which was interpreted and
applied loosely and without supervision.[B] The effect of this _ex post
facto_ apograph was twofold and benefited both sides. The vendors put on
permanent record their treasured family tradition and the purchaser got a
root of title, which might be of value to him in case of re-sale. It
would be interesting to know why the Mundys barred the entail and sold
Hawksyard, with its sporting tradition; it may have been that the
chancellor of the duchy had, at a then recent date, raised the question
as to whether the Mundy family originally had an estate in fee simple or
a right of common in gross; and that they as owners thought they would
act wisely in selling to a purchaser for value.
Whatever the reason may have been for the sale of Hawksyard in 1568, it
passed by the deed of Elizabeth from the Mundy family to John Weston of
Mackworth, and is now held and enjoyed under prescriptive right, which
makes its past history of little consequence, so far as the present
owner, Mr Robert Shirley of Waterhouse Farm, near Longnor, is concerned.
His numerous deeds and papers relating to Hawksyard include an abstract
of title beginning in the 14th year of Elizabeth (10th July 1572), when
John Weston and Katherine his wife sold Hawksyard to Ralph Bradbury who,
as appears from the grant to John Weston, was in 1568 the tenant of
Hawksyard; so that John Weston owned the property for less than four
years and then sold it to his tenant Ralph Bradbury, who in May 1573
settled it on his younger son Otwell.
Forty-two years later, on the 11th May 1615, Otwell Bradbury and Ralph
his son and heir sold Hawksyard to Henry Cock for AL400. For many years
the estate remained in the possession of the Cock family, who sold it to
Ralph Wood of Leek Abbey, the Cistercian monastery Dieu-la-Cresse, and on
the 5th April 1800 Hawksyard passed into the possession of John Shirley
of Rewlach, the great grandfather of the present owner.
In 1850 some closes, part of Hawksyard, lying on the west side of the
road leading from Newtown to Warslow, were exchanged for adjacent closes,
part of the late Sir John Harpur CreweaEuro(TM)s estates. With this exception,
the Hawksyard estate seems to follow the boundaries set forth in the deed
of 1399, and HarrisonaEuro(TM)s Intake, Low Meadow, Rye Meadow, Kiln Croft and
Spout Field of that date still exist and appear in the description of the
lands in the 19th century title deeds. On the front of the house are two
dates, one above the other, the lower one is "H C 1620" and the upper one
is "H C 1784"; both these dates occur during the ownership of the Cock
family, and the initials "H C" probably indicate Henry Cock.
Hawksyard of to-day is a substantial farmstead of eighty acres, with a
good house and farm buildings occupied by Mr ShirleyaEuro(TM)s son Edwin Leslie
Shirley; it is bounded on every side by lands of Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe
of Calke Abbey and Warslow Hall, but it has never formed part of the
encircling Harpur estate, which we may assume was crown property; and the
grant to the Harpurs of these surrounding lands may have given rise to a
discussion as to the Hawksyard title, and possibly suggested to the
Mundys the desirability of the sale to Weston. If the surrounding lands
were granted by the crown, leaving Hawksyard an isolated and independent
holding, there seems to have been a recognition of the Mundy title and a
strong vindication of the Hawksyard tradition.
Of the places referred to in the deeds, Boothesley (now spelt Boosley)
Grange still stands; Bank or Over Boothesley is now Bank House and the
"pearle of water" is Boosley Brook. Highe Frith and Malbanc Forest are
not on the ordnance map and are almost forgotten in the district; but
Lady Edge is still in daily use, and the existence to-day of these
medieval place-names seems to strengthen the probability of the story of
John of GauntaEuro(TM)s visit to the Highe Frith.
If ramblers on foot and on wheels, when passing the east end of the
church and the adjoining school of Newtown, will stop for a moment to
glance down on Hawksyard, two fields to the east and up to Lady Edge half
a mile to the south-west; it will not be difficult to reconstruct the
scene of the hawking, when
"Old John of Gaunt, time-honour'd Lancaster"
visited Highe Frith of Malbanc Forest more than five centuries ago and
first gave the name Hawksyard.
[Illustration: SHEFFIELD]