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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 2000-08 > 0966217903
From: Ray Phair < >
Subject: BIGOD of Settrington, co. Yorks., and Stocton, co. Norfolk
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 01:51:43 GMT
Paul Reed asked if there was any proof that Berta, wife of Thomas de
Furnival and Ralph Bigod, was a daughter of William de Ferrers, earl
of Derby.
The second record below was taken about 60 years after her last known
occurrence, and appears to refer to the enfeoffment mentioned in the
first record. If so, and assuming the information is reliable, then it
states she was a daughter of an earl of Derby. By using the first record
he can be identified as William de Ferrers II. No charters have been
found, so far, which indicates kinship between the Furnival and Ferrers
families.
A writ was issued 8 May 1254 to William de Wilton, guardian of the lands
of William de Ferrer, late earl of Derby. The inquisition which followed
found "W(illiam) de Ferariis, earl of Derby, father of the last earl",
had enfeoffed Hugh de Ferariis and Thomas de Fornival with land in
Bratenton and Hertenton (Brassington and Hartington, Derbyshire) "who
are now in peaceful seisin" [1].
Thus Hugh and Thomas had been enfeoffed in 1247 or earlier by William de
Ferrers II (d. 22 Sep 1247), earl of Derby, who was the father of the
late earl William III (d. Mar 1254) [2]. Watson noted, without citing a
source, Thomas de Furnival (d.1291), son of Thomas (fl. 1238) and Berta,
held land in Brassington [3].
If an assize printed by Yeatman was correctly dated by him as 36 Henry
III (1251-2), then it was his son, Thomas de Furnival (d.1291), who held
Brassington in 1254. Those charged in the assize with hunting deer in
the royal forest of Peak included William de Ferrers, deceased, earl of
Derby, Thomas de Furnival, deceased, and Ralph Bigod, brother of the
earl of Norfolk [4]. The latter seems likely to have been the Ralph
Bigod (d. by 1260) who married Berta, the subject of this article and
widow of Thomas de Furnival [3].
Hugh de Ferrers (d. 1254-7), a younger son of earl William de Ferrers
II, acquired his interest in Brassington as early as c.1240 according
to Saltman [5].
As earl William II gave half the Brassington and Hartington land to
a younger son, it does not seem implausible that the other half might
have been granted to a daughter and her husband.
The second record is an inquisition taken in 19 Edward II in which the
jury said an ancestor of Thomas de Furnival was given a moiety of the
villate of Brassington in the time of Henry III by the earl of Derby in
free marriage with his daughter [6]. Neither the earl nor his daughter
were named.
[1] "Calendar of Inquisitions miscellaneous", 1:no.204 (1916). This
record had been mentioned by C. Moor (the author of the Bygod
article), Harleian soc. pub. 81:92 (1929).
[2] "Complete Peerage" (CP), 1910-59, 4:194-7.
[3] CP 5:580-2 by G.W. Watson.
[4] J.P. Yeatman, "The feudal history of the county of Derby", 1886-
1910,3:212-5; J.P. Yeatman, Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological
Society (JDAS), 14:160-175 (1892). The assize was taken before
Geoffrey de Langeley who was appointed keeper of all forests in 1250
(CPR 1247-58, p.61). Yeatman thought the assize occurred about the
time (1252) Geoffrey was appointed as a justice for inquisitions
concerning purprestures against the king in Peak forest (ibid.,
p.161). This assize, and possibly records relating to Brassington,
might be mentioned in Lists and Indexes v.14, but it was
unavailable.
[5] "The cartulary of Dale Abbey", ed. A. Saltman, 1967, nos.549 (no
explanation of the dating), 550, 557; W. Farrer, "Honors and
knights' fees", 1923-5, 2:113, 227, 268; C. Kerry, JDAS 16:25-7
(1894).
[6] R. Thoroton, "The antiquities of Nottinghamshire", ed. J. Throsby,
1790-6, repr. 1972, 3:390-1; J. Hunter, "Hallamshire", ed. A. Gatty,
1869, p.500-1. W. Dugdale, "The baronage of England", 1675-6, repr.
1976, 1:726, has transcribed a portion of what seems to be the same
record, but it lacks many of the details - it does not mention the
moiety in Brassington, nor a marriage to a daughter of an earl of
Derby. In Dugdale's version, Thomas held the manor of Brassington;
this was not mentioned in either Thoroton's nor Gatty's versions.
Nevertheless, by 1325 Thomas did hold the manor (CPR 1324-7, p.113).
P.S. The 4 Aug 1301 charter by earl Roger le Bigod at Modesgat
(Gloucestershire) was also printed in "Monasticon Anglicanum", 5:269,
with the first two witnesses being "domino Johanne le Bygod fratre meo,
domino Johanne le Bygod de Stocton", instead of Sutton as given in
CChR 3:106.
Ray Phair
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