English Legal History
2/21/2007
Outline

Genealogy of the Polstead and Grancurt Families
Genealogy of the Polstead and Grancurt Families

Grand Assize

Christian Malford and Winterbourne Stoke

Boxford (abbreviated)

Burnham

Burnham Compromise

THE POLSTEAD SAGA AND THE ASSIZES OF HENRY II

? = ? ? = ?

___|___________________ _______|___________

| | | | |

Adeliza=E. de B. | Robert de P. William de Grancurt¹ =? ?Walter de G.

| | |

______| ? = Hugh de P. = Cecilia |

| | | ______|____Hugh de Candos = Ascelina

Hugh Warner Matilda | | __________|_______________

| ?Michael | |

10:AssOct98—Hugh de P. one of the knights of the grand assize

11:Id.—Hugh de P. one of the four to choose the twelve

3:M95—G. de M. owes one mark for right

4:P96—fine: G. de M. to hold of H. de P.

6:M96—G. de M. pays

8:P98—H. de P. appoints H. de P. attorney

9:P98—Four members of the court of Glastonbury to bear the record

Tentative conclusion: Hugh tries to sell land to Geoffrey and gets into trouble because he has bypassed his lord’s court (the abbot of Glastonbury)

36:P05—John orders the suit postponed, previously the bp. of Norwich had claimed his court, this is the kind of thing we’ll be talking about next week

Burnham (abbreviated). This is a wonderful case for anyone who is interested in marital property. [Some of this will be treated in section.]

15:P99—? covenant

16:M99—suggests that the writ is ostensurus quare he made her a nun

18:M99—Walter G. tells his story

20–24:HPM00—Juliana appears, suggesting that she is out of the convent; various essoins and constitutions of attorneys and the case fizzles out

39–41:P06—Hugh de P. wins a novel disseisin brought against him by William de G., but a case brought by William and his wife Juliana against him continues

45-6:P06—More of the story comes out; the parties have paid for a special jury to be taken on the question whether Walter de G. “intruded” himself on the land at the time of the death of Ascelina de Candos; the jury says that he did.

49–52:TM06—Wm. and Juliana attempt to raise the ante by bringing an attaint proceeding against the jury

55:H07—the countess of Perche demands her court

56–7, 59–63:HM07, P08—various essoins

66-70, ET08, P09—various proceedings leading to the compromise

71:P09—Compromise

Tentative conclusion: The marriage settlement goes awry because the lord’s arrangements for Juliana cannot be enforced after the break with Normandy in 1204.

No. 71: “No. 71: This is the Wnal concord made in the court of the lord king at St. Edmunds two weeks after Easter in the 10th year of the reign of King John before [seven] itinerant justices, and other faithful men of the lord king there present, between William de Gimingham and Juliana, his wife, demandants, by the same William placed in the place of the same Juliana for gain or for loss, and Hugh de Polstead and Avis, his wife, tenants, by Walter de Groten’, put in their place for taking the chirograph, about forty acres of land with its appurtenances in Burnham about which there was a plea between them in the aforesaid court, to wit: that the aforesaid Hugh and Avis recognize all the aforesaid land with its appurtenances to be the right of the same William and Juliana as Juliana’s reasonable part which comes to her of the free tenement which belonged to Hugh de Candos, father of the aforesaid Juliana and Avis, and of Ascelina, wife of the aforesaid Hugh, and they remitted and quitclaimed for themselves and their heirs to the aforesaid William and Juliana and the heirs of this Juliana forever. And be it known that the aforesaid William and Juliana and Hugh and Avis will divide the entire tenement among themselves which used to belong to the aforesaid Hugh and Ascelina, his wife, in Burnham and in [Burnham] Deepdale in the lands, services, rents, liberties and advowsons of churches, to wit: that to the aforesaid William and Juliana remains all the service of Eloise de Vendeval, to wit, twelve pence [we’ll go bonkers if we don’t tabulate this:]”

Name	Amount	Service	Scutage	% in d	Other
Eloise de Vendeval	all service	12
Robert, son of Hugh	½ service				1/5 kt
John, son of Ralph	service	30
Hugh over Hill and Alexander Pingincus	all service	12	160	1½
John, the priest	all service	4
Roger Sprigy	½ service	30	160	3
Richard, son of ?Luthe	all service	2
Robert de Brancaster [Norfolk]	service	12
William, son of Roger	service	12	240	3
William Despan	service		240	3
William ?Sisladin	240	¼
Steven Francigenis	service	12	160	2½
Matthew le Curteis	service	3	240	¾
Philip de Norton [Norfolk]	service	24	160	4½
William Russell	service	10
		366

Extrapolating from this to the entire holding, we get 28 free tenants, who contribute £1 7s 8d annually in service, and who are responsible for roughly 36% of any scutage levied (calculated by reducing the scutage figures to a common denominator and multplying by 2, roughly 20%, and adding 2/5 of the kt’s fee as a percentage of 2½ knights’ fees, roughly 16%).

Reginald, Henry and Walter, the sons of the merchant of Deepdale	with their entire tenement and their entire household (t & h)
Matilda, daughter of Sisich	t & h;
Ralph, son of Nonyve	t & h
William, son of Richard	t & h
Ralph, son of Yrich	t & h;
Goda, the widow	from land which she holds of William and Juliana in the same vill;	4	1 a
ElXed Peps	t & h;
Simon Turk	t & h;
Simon Rust	t & h;
Richard Snais	t & h;
Liviva, daughter of the priest	t & h;
Clement Popi	t & h;
Hugh, son of Brun	t & h;
Robert Salle	t & h;
William ?Coyiun	t & h;
Robert Rei	½ t & h
Ulviva, his mother	½ t & h
Elviva, Liviva and Avis, daughters of Blench	½ t & h
Matilda, daughter of Stirger	½ t & h
Hoimund, son of Adelwold	t & h;
Goda, who was the wife of Harvey Dusing	t & h;
Matilda, daughter of Mannessune	t & h;
Alice, daughter of Algar	t & h;
Wlfwan, daughter of Robert	t & h;
Alice daughter of Goldwin	t & h;
Roger, son of Thedwar	t & h;
Robert le Neuman	t & h;
Sunnild Purre	t & h;
Simon, son of Lefwin	t & h;
Walter Bus	t & h;
William Haid ...	t & h;

Doubling this, it looks like we get roughly seventy unfree peasant householders.

the entire croft of the chief messuage with half of the two parcels which abut on the aforesaid croft toward the west;
half of ‘Wlfuriches’ croft toward the west;
half of the meadow which abuts on the aforesaid croft toward the north:
and a half of the moor which abuts on the aforesaid croft toward the north;
half of the entire Weld which is called ‘Turf’, to wit, half of the ploughland of ‘Oldesties’ toward the west, half of the four acres next to the ploughland of ‘Oldesties’ toward the north, and half of eight acres which abuts on the aforesaid four acres toward the south,	6 a
half of the pasture of ‘Linghill’ toward the south,
half of the ploughland of ten and a half acres on ‘Linghill’ toward the west,	5.25 a
half of the Wfteen acres which lie nearer the vill of Docking [Norfolk] toward the north	7.5 a
half of three perches which abut on the aforesaid Wfteen acres toward the north	1225 sq. ft.
half of ‘Blacchill’ next ‘Turfdic’ toward the west,
half of the pasture which abuts on ‘Doccingat’ toward the west,
and half of ‘Guthruneswong’ toward the north,
and a half of the ploughland which lies next to the road to Docking toward the west,
and a half of the ploughland of ‘Hevekerescrundl’ toward the west,
half of the pasture next ‘Hevekerescrundl’ toward the north,
a half of ‘Langedun’ toward the north, half of ‘Turf’... toward the north; half of ‘Benedictesdal’ toward the north;
half of ‘Knithtes Hevedland’ toward the west;
half of little ‘Strungelh’ toward the north;
half of greater ‘Strungelh’ toward the north;
half of greater ‘Langedun’ toward the north;
half of ‘Cheshohill’ toward the north;
at Deepdale down a perch of land toward the west;	272 sq ft.
half of ‘Tirne’ toward the west; half of ‘Westhill’ toward the west;
half of three perches which belonged to Matilda Brust toward the north;	1225 sq. ft.
half of ‘Berdemere’ toward the west;
half of the entire marsh which abuts on ‘Westhill’ and on ‘Berdemere’ toward the west;
half of the marsh before the gate of Bonde Gris toward the north;
half of all the land which belonged to Harvey the priest toward the north;
a half of the land which belonged to Magot toward the west;
half of ‘Grimescroft’ toward the west;
the entire croft of ‘Edwen’ next to the house of Roger the clerk;
half of the messuage which belonged to Ascelina de Candos toward the west;
half of ‘Tuncroft’ toward the west;
half of ‘Pintellescroft’ toward the north;
half of ‘Calcedic’ toward the west:
*half of the water at the church of St. Andrew toward the west;
half of the three furlongs of ‘Hildeslawes’ toward the west;	10 a?
half of ‘?Docconnicwong’ toward the west;
half of ‘Tornhill’ toward the north;
and a half of ‘Blacters’ toward the north;
half of ... Uweshel’ toward the west;
half of ‘Crocumdal’ toward the west;
a half of ‘Foxloth’ toward the west;
half of ‘Blacchill’ toward the west;
half of ‘Thirsedol’ toward the west,
half of one parcel of land at ‘Sidesternegat’ toward the west;
all the land which belonged to Acke,
the entire croft which belonged to Ralph Hulloc;
half a rod of land and four feet at ‘Harnesho’ toward the west;	144 sq ft.

This adds up to roughly 35 separate parcels of land, which are probably to be added to the 40 acres, which, in turn, is probably half of the main demesne of the manor. Since so few acreages are given, estimates of total size are very dangerous, but we are probably dealing with roughly 200 to 400 acres of demesne.

half of the advowson of the church of St. Margaret Burnham;
half of the advowson of the church of All Saints in the same vill;
half of the mill at the river with half of the liberty of the water and with all the other appurtenances of the same mill;
a quarter of the whole market of Burnham with a half of the other liberties pertaining to the aforesaid lands;
half of the entire mill at Winegot with half of the croft of the same mill toward the west;
half of the meadow and marsh on both sides of the water of same mill toward the north.

The advowsons of 2 churches, 2 mills, ½ a market, and some water rights.

“Let it be known that the aforesaid William and Juliana granted to the aforesaid Hugh and Avis and the heirs of Avis,

Hubert de Deepdale t & h and in exchange for this Hubert the aforesaid Hugh and Avis granted to the aforesaid William and Juliana, Reginald Cod t & h.

Furthermore let it be known that [if] the aforesaid two mills, which are of the same fee, should at any time fall down, by the default of William and Juliana, it shall be allowed to Hugh and Avis to repair the aforesaid mills out of the common of the aforesaid mills and [if] by the default of Hugh and Avis the aforesaid mills fall down, it shall be allowed to the aforesaid William and Juliana to repair the aforesaid mills out of the common proWt of the aforesaid mills.

To have and to hold to this William and Juliana and the heirs of Juliana of the capital lords of this fee by the service which pertains to the aforesaid lands.”

B. Dodwell (ed), Feet of Fines for the County of Norfolk, 1201–1215, PRS ns 32 (London 1958) 100–3, no 210.

Download this outline.

[Home Page] [Syllabus] [Information and Announcements] [Lectures]

Please send comments to Rosemary Spang

URL: http://courses.law.harvard.edu/faculty/cdonahue/courses/elhlaw/l07.out.html
last modified: 12/12/08