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  • Category: Research
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  • Author: Page, William (ed.)
  • Publisher: 1927
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  • Text: Page: 429-439: Parishes : Olney with Warrington

    OLNEY with WARRINGTON
    Ollaneg (x cent.); Olnei (xi cent.); Olnea (xii cent.); Ouneia, Ouneya (xiii cent.); Olneye (xiii-xv cent.).

    ...

    Manors

    Although the earliest mention of OLNEY occurs in the grant of 10 hides here in 979 by King Ethelred to his kinsman Elfere, (fn. 99) the only other fact of its preConquest history that has survived is that in the reign of Edward the Confessor the 'manor' here was held by Borret, an important Northamptonshire thegn. (fn. 100) Borret's land here as elsewhere was granted to the Bishop of Coutances before 1086, when it was assessed at 10 hides, of which 3 hides were on the bishop's demesne. (fn. 101) The bishop's lands passed as forfeit to the Crown; Olney was in the king's hands in 1162-3 and until at least 1194-5. (fn. 102) Between that date and January 1205-6 it was granted to Randal (de Blondevill) Earl of Chester. (fn. 103) Randal, who was one of the chief supporters of King John and of Henry III, obtained a quittance of scutage for a fee here in 1214-15, (fn. 104) and was returned as holding two fees in Olney in 1217-18. (fn. 105) Being childless he resigned his earldom of Lincoln to Hawise his sister at some time between April 1231 and his death in October 1232. (fn. 106) His lands were divided among his four sisters (fn. 107) or their descendants, Olney being part of the 500 librates of land that formed the share of Hugh (Daubeney) Earl of Arundel, (fn. 108) surviving son and heir of Mabel wife of William Earl of Arundel, while Warrington passed to Hawise. (fn. 109)

    Hugh Daubeney was holding three-fourths of a fee in Olney in or about 1234-5 (fn. 110) ; he died childless in 1243, (fn. 111) leaving four sisters and co-heirs, Mabel, Nichole, Cecily and Isabel. (fn. 112) Olney fell to the share of Nichole wife of Roger de Somery, but was granted to Isabel, Hugh's widow, in dower, and she held it until her death in 1282. (fn. 113) Meanwhile both Nichole and Roger had died; their son Ralph predeceased them, his inheritance passing to his four sisters (fn. 114) : Margaret widow of Ralph Basset the younger and wife of Ralph de Cromwell, Joan wife of John Lestrange, Mabel (or Elizabeth) wife of Walter de Sully, and Maud wife of Henry de Erdington. (fn. 115) The manor was delivered to the coheirs or their representatives for a season in 1282, but complete livery was delayed perhaps until the full age of all the co-heirs. (fn. 116) It is not evident that the Lestranges obtained any permanent interest here, (fn. 117) for the manor was apparently held for some years in common by the families of Basset, Sully and Erdington.

    Henry de Erdington was dead before December 1282, (fn. 118) and by the spring of 1285-6 Maud had married William de Byfield without royal licence. (fn. 119) William seems to have survived his wife and lived until about 1302, when Maud's son, Henry de Erdington, was aged twenty-four. (fn. 120) Henry may possibly have quitclaimed his interests to the Basset family, for no further mention is found of him in connexion with this place. Short-lived, also, was the interest of Mabel and Walter de Sully. Walter died before the beginning of 1285-6, when her land in the hundred of Bonestou was valued at £16. (fn. 121) Before 1310 Mabel and her son Raymond de Sully granted their fourth part of the manor to Philip de Burley for life. (fn. 122) Mabel died in or about 1312, (fn. 123) and Philip was returned as one of the lords of the vill in 1316. (fn. 124) He was still holding at Raymond's death about a year later, when a reversionary interest was inherited by Raymond's daughter Elizabeth, wife of William de Brus (Brewose). (fn. 125) William and Elizabeth were in possession of one-fourth of a knight's fee here in 1346. (fn. 126)

    Margaret, the eldest daughter and co-heir of Roger de Somery, (fn. 127) married Ralph Basset, Lord Basset of Drayton, by whom she had a son and heir Ralph. (fn. 128) Her husband died in 1265, (fn. 129) and she then married Ralph de Cromwell, who was living in the spring of 1285-6. (fn. 130) Before June 1293 she had entered the religious life. (fn. 131) Ralph Basset, her son and heir, died 31 December 1299, and was succeeded by Ralph his son. (fn. 132) Ralph was returned as one of the three joint lords of the vill in 1316, (fn. 133) and took a considerable interest in Olney, where he received a grant of free warren in 1330. (fn. 134) Olney was one of the manors included in the elaborate marriage settlement made by him in 1339, (fn. 135) and from this time it followed the descent of the manor of Hanslope (q.v.), coming into the possession of the Beauchamps, Earls of Warwick. With other manors it was quitclaimed by Anne Countess of Warwick in the spring of 1487-8 to Henry VII, (fn. 136) who, however, restored Olney to her for life two years afterwards. (fn. 137) She died before 4 December 1492, (fn. 138) when it reverted to the Crown. (fn. 139) In 1548 Edward VI granted Olney to the Princess Mary for life, (fn. 140) and it was the subject of various leases (fn. 141) until the spring of 1628-9, when it formed part of the vast grant made by Charles I to the citizens of London. (fn. 142)

    ...

    Footnotes

    99 Kemble, Codex Dipl. no. 621.

    100 V.C.H. Bucks. i, 217, 240; V.C.H. Beds. i, 195-6. Under him a sokeman held 1½ virgates, with power to sell.

    101 V.C.H. Bucks. i, 240.

    102 Pipe R. 9 Hen. II (Pipe R. Soc.), 18; in 1179-80 the sheriff rendered account of 12d. from a knight's fee here (ibid. 26 Hen. II, 125); Pipe R. 6 Ric. I, m. 2 d.; Red Bk. of Exch. (Rolls Ser.), 39, 63.

    103 Rot. Lit. Claus. (Rec. Com.), i, 531.

    104 Pipe R. 16 John, m. 2.

    105 Ibid. 2 Hen. III, m. 6 d.

    106 Matthew Paris, Hist. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 349; G.E.C. Complete Peerage, ii, 224.

    107 G.E.C. Peerage, ii, 224, 225 n. (a); Wrottesley, Ped. from Plea R. 532. The other sisters were Maud wife of David Earl of Huntingdon and Agnes wife of William Ferrers, Earl of Derby. For Randal's lands here see Mins. Accts. (Gen. Ser.), bdle. 1117, no. 13.

    108 Matthew Paris, loc. cit.

    109 See below.

    110 Testa de Nevill (Rec. Com.), 261; cf. ibid. 259.

    111 G.E.C. Peerage, i, 144; Wrottesley, op. cit. 531-2.

    112 Wrottesley, loc. cit. In 1285-6 the co-heirs of Nichole and Roger de Somery claimed to hold the manor in purparty with the remaining co-heirs of Hugh Daubeney, viz., Robert de Tattershall, Roger de Mohaut, and Richard Fitz Alan (Plac. de Quo Warr. [Rec. Com.], 91).

    113 Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 29; G.E.C. loc. cit.

    114 Wrottesley, op. cit. 532.

    115 Ibid.

    116 Cal. Fine R. 1272-1307, pp. 176, 189; Abbrev. Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), i, 43.

    117 They, with the other co-heirs of the Somerys, claimed to hold view of frankpledge in 1285-6 (Plac. de Quo Warr. [Rec. Com.], 91).

    118 Cal. Fine R. 1272-1307, p. 176.

    119 Assize R. 68 m. 37 d. William afterwards paid a fine for this offence.

    120 Chan. Inq. p.m. 30 Edw. I, no. 45.

    121 Assize R. 68, m. 37 d.

    122 Cal. Pat. 1307-13, p. 222; cf. Abbrev. Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), i, 171 Chan. Inq. p.m. 5 Edw. II, no. 12.

    123 Chan. Inq. p.m. 5 Edw. II, no. 12.

    124 Feud. Aids, i, 110.

    125 Chan. Inq. p.m. 10 Edw. II, no. 52.

    126 Feud. Aids, i, 133.

    127 Wrottesley, op. cit. 531.

    128 Cal. Close, 1288-96, p. 288.

    129 Cal. Pat. 1258-66, pp. 434, 497.

    130 Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 91.

    131 Cal. Close, 1288-96, p. 288.

    132 G.E.C. Peerage, i, 257; cf. Cal. Fine R. 1272-1307, p. 425.

    133 Feud. Aids, i, 110. See below. When going on foreign service in 1323 he appointed the parson of Olney one of his two attorneys (Cal. Pat. 1321-4, p. 294).

    134 Chart. R. 4 Edw. III, m. 34.

    135 See Hanslope. The manor of Olney, however, was held in dower by Joan Lady Basset until her death in 1402 (Chan. Inq. p.m. 4 Hen. IV, no. 38) and was soon after the subject of a settlement by Richard Earl of Warwick (Cal. Pat. 1401-5, pp. 241, 247). In 1396 Henry Lord Grey de Wilton died seised of one-fourth of the manor (Chan. Inq. p.m. 19 Ric. II, no. 29), and this seems to represent the whole Basset portion, as Joan Lady Basset held one-third of this fourth in dower (ibid.; Close, 20 Ric. II, pt. i, m. 33 d.). Lord Grey was a greatgrandson of John Grey and his wife Maud, daughter of Ralph and Margaret Basset (G.E.C. Peerage, iv, III), but no mention of Olney has been found among the possessions of his predecessors or of his son and heir. Moreover, it was found by an inquisition of 1397 that his right to this fourth part was unknown to the jurors (Chan. Inq. p.m. 21 Ric. II, no. 137, m. 6 b). In 1411,12, however, a fourth part of the market tolls was reserved to Richard Lord Grey (Mins. Accts. [Duchy of Lane.], bdle. 637, no. 10344).

    136 Feet of F. Div. Co. Hil. 3 Hen. VII.

    137 Cal. Pat. 1485-94, p. 298.

    138 Ibid. 410.

    139 a cf. L. and P. Hen. VIII, xvi, g. 305 (30).

    140 Pat. 2 Edw. VI, pt. v, m. 32.

    141 a Pat. 34 Eliz. pt. iv; Duchy of Lane. Misc. Bks. xxv, fol. 43 d., 81 d. Pat. 1 Chas. I, pt. iv, no. 14.

    142 Pat. 4 Chas. I, pt. xxxv; Feet of F. Div. Co. Hil. 4 Chas. I. The reserved rent of £58 17s. 2¾d. was granted by Charles II in March 1662-3 to Edward Earl of Sandwich (Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xxiv, fol. 164).
Events & Attributes
PersonClaimDateDetailAgeEvidence
Mabel of ChesterDeathbef Oct 1232 [S947]
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