The parish of Church Eaton: Little Onn

Little Onn.

Richard the King's Thane held Anne in 1085–5. Ailric held it (in Saxon times). There is half a hide. The arable land is two carucates. This is the Domesday manor which Mr. Eyton identifies with Little Onn. Richard the King's Thane seems to have been the same with Richard Forestarius and Richard Venator, whom Dugdale further identifies with Chenuin or Chenene, under each of which names he occurs in Domesday as a large holder in capite in the counties of Stafford and Warwick. (fn. 1) He held the manor of Chesterton, in Warwickshire, and other lands of the King in capite by serjeantry, namely, by the service of keeping the King's forest of Kanoc (Cannock), in Staffordshire, for which he paid 10 marks yearly. (fn. 2)

Dugdale describes this manor of Chesterton and the bailiwick of the Royal forest as having afterwards passed to Walter Croc by marriage with Margery, the daughter and heiress of Richard Forestarius or de Chenene, the original grantee of William the Conqueror. The said Walter occurs on the Warwickshire Pipe Rolls of 31 Hen. I. (1130–1) as paying a large fine for the lands of Richard Chevenin, whose daughter he had doubtless married; but Dugdale is surely mistaken in speaking of her as the daughter and heiress of Richard Forestarius the original grantee. Richard Forestarius (the original grantee) was Forester in the time of King Edward the Confessor; he could not, then, have been the same with Richard Forestarius, who died shortly before 1130; moreover, there is reason to believe that the former left several sons. It is therefore highly improbable that his daughter should have inherited the forestership and other great estates, especially if he had sons to succeed him. There were in fact two persons in succession who bore the name of Richard Forestarius or Richard de Chenene (fn. 3); and it will have been the daughter and heiress of the second Richard, presumably the son and heir of Richard Forestarius (I.), who became the wife of Walter Croc, to whom she brought the Forestership of Cannock and other lands. These afterwards passed to Robert Broc, by marriage with Margery, sister and heiress of William, and daughter of the said Walter Croc and Margery his wife. The said Robert and Margery Broc left a daughter and heiress, also named Margery, who carried the inheritance to her husband, Hugh de Loges.

I am unable to say whether the vill of Little Onn remained with any of the descendants of Richard Forestarius; whether the family who afterwards assumed the local name were either his descendants or his feoffees, or whether it had, in the meantime, been resumed into the King's hands, and re-granted by him to other persons as a member of some adjacent manor. It is the more difficult to trace the seigneural rights, because it seems to have been afterwards treated sometimes as a member of the manor of Penkridge, and at others as a member of the Barony of Stafford. Consequently, in speaking of the earlier tenants in fee I can only give the various instances in which I meet with the local name, and even then we cannot always be sure which of the two Onns is the one alluded to, though I think that Onn or Onne when it occurs without any prefix generally means what is now called Little Onn.

In the 1st of King John, 2nd October, 1199, Alured de Onne occurs as defendant in a suit brought against him by Osbert fitz Orm and Alina his wife. The suit had reference to half a virgate of land in Plerdewirke. Osbert and Alina remit all claim, for which Alured gave them two marks. (fn. 4)

In 5 John, September, 1203, John de Wullaveston (Wollaston) appears against Thomas de Onne in a plea of appeal. The suit was adjourned to October of the same year, when the complainant failed to appear, and was therefore in misericordiâ. (fn. 5)

In 10 Henry III., 1227, an assize was taken to try whether John de Bronton, William de Bronton, Richard Bagot, Roger de Dudinton, and Thomas his father, Adam de Buterye, Walter Mangunel, Roger Gunne, and John Em, had unjustly disseised Richard de Onne of his common of pasture in Brunton (Brineton, in the parish of Blymhill), which belongs to his free tenement in Onne. The defendants all appeared except Richard Bagot. The jury found for Richard de Onne. (fn. 6)

In 12 Henry III. (1227–8) Richard de Onne occurs on the Staffordshire Assize Roll as one of a jury of twenty-four knights summoned to set out the franchises of the Crown in Staffordshire. (fn. 7)

In October, 38 Henry III. (1253), the King, by his attorney Lawrence de Brok, sued Elisanda de Burgo for a carucate of land and 25s. of rent in Little Onne (Staffordshire), which had been alienated. Elisanda stated that she only held half a virgate of land and 4s. of rent there.

The same sued Felicia de Engleton, Henry de Bromlee, and Elysant his mother, Richard de Onne, and Thomas de Magna Onne (High Onn), for three virgates and the fourth part of a virgate, viz., a whole noke of land and a carucate in Albenton. Thomas stated that he did not hold the land, because Robert de Onne holds of him half a noke for term of his life, and William de Onne half a noke for term of his life. Henry and the others stated that they did not hold the land entirely, because they only hold two virgates, of which Elysant, the mother of Henry de Bromlee, holds half a virgate in Little Onne, and Richard de Onne holds one-fourth of a virgate in Little Onne, and Simon le Petyt, (fn. 8) of Albenton (Apeton), Hugh de Albeton, and Sibilla, the widow of Ivo de Albenton, hold a virgate for term of life of the said Henry de Bromlee.

Lawrence afterwards asked permission to withdraw his suit against all the defendants. (fn. 9)

Elysanda, Elysant, Elysaunt, Helis, or Helisant, was probably a co-heiress with Felicia de Engleton of lands in Little Onne. She was the widow of Bertram de Burgo, lord of Wilbrighton, in Staffordshire, and of Lee Brockhurst, in Shropshire, who was dead in 1219, leaving his son and heir Bertram a minor. In Michaelmas Term, tertio incipiente quarto Henry III. (October, 1219), the Sheriff of Shropshire is commanded to give seisin to Bertram, son of Bertram (de Burgo) of two carucates of land in Legh, which the said Bertram recovered by a verdict in the Curia Regis against Alice, the widow of Philip fitz Bishop, and into which Helis, mother and guardian of Bertram, had complained that Ralph de Picheford had intruded himself. (fn. 10) The same Elysaunt, widow of Bertram de Burgo, appears in 1242 as wife of Robert de Bromlegh, and was then holding dower in Lee Brockhurst, under warranty of (her son) Bertram de Burgo. (fn. 11) I suppose her to have been succeeded in her chief estate at Little Onn, or at least in the seigneural or mesne rights, by her eldest son Bertram de Burgo, whose heirs general the Peshalls, through the Knightleys of Knightley, we find here some two centuries later as reputed lords of the manor under the Baron of Stafford.

In 42 Henry III. (1257–8) John de Onne gives half a mark to have an assize of novel disseisin (Staffordshire). (fn. 12)

In 44 Henry III., April, 1260, Thomas de Honne (Onne) acknowledged that he owed Thomas Corbet 100s., to be rendered at Michaelmas of this year. (fn. 13)

In 46 Henry III. (1261–2) Richard de Parva Onne gives 1 mark for an assize to be taken before Martin de Littlebury, and the Sheriff of Staffordshire is commanded to take his security. (fn. 14)

In a deed of about the same date from James, son of Reginald de Morton, to Michael, son of Michael, son of William de Morton, Thomas de Onne and Richard de Onne occur as the two last witnesses, together with Sir William de Caverswall, then Sheriff of Stafford and Salop, Adam de Brunton, Bertram de Burgo, Henry de Bromley, William de Ypestanes, Richard de Picheford, and Peter de Coule. (fn. 15) And in 47 Henry III. (1263) Richard de Onne occurs as first juror on the inquisition taken after the death of Adam de Beysin. (fn. 16)

At the Staffordshire Assizes held at Lichfield on the morrow of the Holy Trinity, 56 Henry III., 1272, an assize was taken to try whether Richard de Onne had unjustly disseised Henry de Brumble of his common of pasture in Onne, which pertains to his freehold in the same vill, viz., one rood of pasture, in which he was wont to have common for all beasts during the unenclosed season, on which the said Richard had built a house, so that the said Henry was not able to have his common in that place. Richard appeared and said that Felicia and Eva were sisters and coparceners of a certain inheritance; and Eva had the capital messuage assigned to her, and the said place was assigned to Felicia on which to build a house. Felicia afterwards demised the aforesaid place to Richard, who subsequently built a house upon it, and therefore committed no disseisin. The jury found that the said Richard had not disseised the said Henry of the said common, because the said place had been assigned to the said Felicia. (fn. 17)

At the same assizes Thomas, son of John de Engleton, sues Richard, son of Thomas de Onne, for one nocate of land in Little Onn, in which (as he asserts) the same Richard has no entry except through Felicia de Onne, the grandmother of the aforesaid Thomas, whose heir he is, and which she demised to the said Richard for a term of ten years, which has now expired. Richard appeared to defend his right, and acknowledged that he had entry into the said tenement through the aforesaid Felicia and William her husband (but) in fee, and not for a term; and after the death of the said William the said Felicia ratified and confirmed to him the said estate, which had been granted to him by William her husband; whereupon he demands a trial by jury, in which Thomas concurs; and a jury is ordered to be summoned. (fn. 18) At the same assizes it is afterwards recorded that Thomas, son of John, withdrew his plea. (fn. 19)

At the same assizes William de Holney, having been disseised by Henry de Bromleye of his common of pasture in Little Onn pertaining to his freehold there, was held by the assize to have been unjustly dealt with. The recognitors were John de Elmedon, Richard le Say, of Dunston, Adam, on the moor of Sumerford, Geoffrey de Copel, Robert, upon the hold of Sawel, Richard, in le Siche of Eyton, Adam de Olney, Ivo de Eyton, and John, Lord of Onne. (fn. 20)

At the same assizes William de Onne, having taken out a writ of mort d'ancestor against William de Wolleston, concerning tenements in Little Onne, withdrew his suit, and was in misericordiâ with his pledges, Richard de Onne and John de Alrenston. (fn. 21)

In August, 1272, Richard de Honne is first juror at an inquest on the estates and privileges of the Prior of Lapley.

John de Onne and John de Horselowe were jurors on the inquisition taken after the death of Geoffrey de Bromley, on Wednesday after the Feast of St. John ante Port. Latin., 1 Edward I. (1273).

In 3 Edward I. (1274–5) Richard de Onne gives half a mark to have an assize, and the Sheriff of Stafford is ordered to take his security. (fn. 22)

In 11 Edward I. (1283) William de Onne is a juror on the inquisition on the death of William de Perton.

In 22 Edward I. (1293–4) there was a suit of novel disseisin between Richard fitz Richard de Pycheford and Richard fitz Adam de Wolaston and On, concerning tenements in Little Onne. (fn. 23)

In 29 Edward I. (1300–1) Thomas de Onne is the last witness to a Morton deed.

In 1333 Felicia, widow of Guy de Glaseley, grants to her son Alan de Glaseley 4 marks and 8d. annually during her life out of her estate in Little Onne, to be paid at the feasts of St. Mark and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary; to which are witnesses, Sir Hugh de Mortimer, Knight, Adam Daras, John . . . . lepton, John de Roshale, Richard de Baggesore, of the county of Salop, William de Wolseleye, Adam de Morton, Henry de Rok, Richard Godefroy de Dilinton, Henry le Wolaston, and others of the county of Stafford. Dated at Glaseley, on Monday, the Feast of St. Alphega (19th April), 7 Edward III. (fn. 24)

Felicia's husband was, I suppose, that Wido or Guy de Glaseley who held the manor of Glaseley in Shropshire under Sir John le Strange, of Knockin, who held under the Fitzalans. Guy de Glaseley was descended from a Norman family, whose original name was Pierrepoint (de Petriponte), from Pont St. Pierre, a vill in the diocese of Rouen, situate at the confluence of the rivers Andelle and Seine, but whose members, seated at Glazeley, came to be called by the local name, at first incidentally but afterwards uniformly. (fn. 25) Of this family Simon de Perepont was probably Lord of Glazeley from 1175 to 1203. He seems to have been succeeded there by Alan de Pierpoint, or de Glazeley, who occurs in 1214 as having been amerced for some disseisin in Shropshire. (fn. 26) In November, 1221, he appears as holding certain lands in Quatford. (fn. 27)

The next who occurs in this succession at Glazeley was Guy de Pierrepont, otherwise called Guy de Glazeley. Mr. Eyton believes him to have been the son of Alan, and father of another Alan, his heir. Sir John le Strange and Wido de Gleseg are witnesses of Peter de Eyton's charter to Shrewsbury Abbey, which must have passed between 1224 and 1227. Also Wydo de Gleseleg is witnesses of a grant in Walkerstow to the same House by Adam de Beyssin, which passed within ten years of the same period. In September, 1235, the scutage of John le Strange had been paid by hand of Guy de Gleseleg. Wido de Perpund is a witness to a feoffment of John le Strange (probably the third of his name), which must have passed about 1238, if the grantor be rightly identified. (fn. 28) This Guy had four sons, Alan, Lawrence, Henry, and William, by his wife Juliana, who survived him, and afterwards married John de Perton. (fn. 29)

In Michaelmas term, 1251, Ralph de Arraz and Jane his wife sued Alan, son of Wydo, for six virgates of land in Wadeleg, (fn. 30) and Juliana, mother of the said Alan, for two virgates there, as the right of Jane. Alan and Juliana ask for view thereof, which the Court grants, and adjourns the case till the quinzaine of Hilary (27th January, 1252). Juliana names Adam de Perepunt her attorney. The rolls of that term are lost, but we shall hear presently the result of this suit. In 1255 the Stoddesden jurors reported Alan de Perepunt as Lord of Glasele. Therein was one hide of land, which the said Alan held of John le Strange for half a knight's fee. At the Salop Assizes of January, 1256, Ralph de Arraz and Alan fitz Wydo are each found offering half a mark for license to accord their suit. They have such license and a cyrograph. Accordingly a fine remains on the rolls to this effect:—"This is the final concord between Ralph de Arraz and Jane his wife, Plaintiffs; and John le Straunge, whom Alan fitz Wydo calls to warranty, and who comes forward with such warranty, &c., concerning eight virgates in Wadeleg (except 6s. rent), whereof was suit at law. Ralph and Jane acknowledged the right of the others, quit as regarded themselves and their heirs. For this John le Strange gave the plaintiffs 40 marks. (fn. 31)

In Michaelmas term, 1258, Ralph de Perton appeared against Juliana de Glasle, Alan, Lawrence, and Henry, her sons, Hugh de Bladis, Roger de Arderne, William de Glasle, and three others named, for entering vi et armis his free haye, in the manor of Perton, which is called Harewude, and forms part of the serjeantry which the said Ralph held of the King in capite, and cutting down and carrying away two oak trees. The defendants did not appear, and the Sheriff is to produce them at fifteen days from Hilary. (fn. 32)

The next mention I meet with of the family, and the only one in which Little Onn occurs, is that before given, in which Felicia, the widow of Guy de Glazeley, makes a grant to her son Alan out of her estate in Little Onn in 1333, when her deed is witnessed by an equal number of her Shropshire and Staffordshire neighbours.

After which I meet with the family in connection with another Staffordshire estate, viz., in 33 Edward III. (1359), when William, son of Alan de Glaseleye (who I take to be a younger son), gives to Robert Maistursone, of Wych Malban, all the lands and tenements in Berlaston juxta Cubleston (co. Stafford) which he had of the feoffment of his father Alan, the reserved rent being ten shillings of silver; to which are witnesses William de Wolaston, Thomas de Admondeston, Chaplain, and others. (fn. 33)

In 38 Edward III. Thomas, son of Alan de Glaseleye, gives to Sir James de Pipe, Knight, all his lands and tenements in the fee of Borlaston for life, so that after the death of the said James they should revert to Ralph, Earl of Stafford, and his heirs, to be held of the chief lords of the fee. Witnessed by Nicholas de Bek, John de Verdon, John de Draycote, Knights; Philip de Grendon, William del Grenewey, and others; dated at Barlaston, in the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (18th October, 1364). (fn. 34)

On the same day Thomas, son of Alan de Glaseley, signs a power of attorney to put James de Pipe in seisin of the said lands and tenements in Barlaston. Witnesses, John Grene, John Glaseleye Henry Goldsmith, and others; dated at Bridgenorth. (fn. 34)

On 26th May 1498, one Humphrey Peshall died, seised of the manor of Little Onn. He held also the manor of Knightley, which he held of Sir John Bourchier, Knight, Lord de Berners; the manors of Hopton, Theyne, Blythwood, and the advowson of the Church of Checkley, which, together with Little Onn, were held of Edward, Duke of Buckingham, by fealty, but by what other service the jurors were ignorant. He held also the manor of Caldon, of George, Earl of Shrewsbury, and the manor of Waterfall, and a third part of the manor of Astonfield, of the King, in capite. He held also of the King in capite a messuage, four cottages, and five gardens in the town of Stafford, which last were held under the custom of Borough English, by which the inheritance passed to the youngest, instead of the eldest son. (fn. 35) The said Humphrey Peshall was twice married. By his first wife he had an elder son Hugh, who predeceased him; and by his second wife Letitia, who survived him, he had a younger son Richard, his heir male, who was three years of age at the time of his father's death, and who inherited the messuage and tenements at Stafford as youngest son and heir.

But the other estates, with the exception of the manors of Knightley and Little Onn, which had been settled on the said Humphrey and Letitia his second wife for terms of life, were claimed and recovered by his grand-daughter Katherine, only child of his elder son Hugh, who was upwards of 20 years of age at the time of her grandfather's death, (fn. 36) and to whom the manors of Knightley and Little Onn also reverted after the death of her step mother Letitia.

Sir Hugh Peshall, Knight, the elder son of Humphrey, had married Isabella, daughter of Sir John Stanley, Knight (of Pype and Elford, in the county of Stafford), (fn. 37) who survived him, and by whom he had an only daughter Katherine, as above mentioned. Sir Hugh Peshall died 27th July, 1490, and was buried in the Church of Grey Friars, London. (fn. 38) His daughter Katherine was married at Bewdley, in the county of Worcester, in or about the year 1491, to John Blount, Esq., the son and heir apparent of Sir Thomas Blount, Knight, of Kinlet, in the county of Salop, (fn. 39) to whom she brought her ample inheritance. The said John Blount, who was afterwards of Kinlet, Knight, died on 27th February, 22 Henry VIII. (1530–1), leaving the said Katherine his wife surviving, and an elder son George Blount, who was eighteen years of age and more at the time of his father's death. (fn. 40)

Dame Katherine Blount, widow, died on 1st February, 32 Henry VIII. (1540–1), seised (inter alia) of lands and tenements at Little Onn, which were held of Sir John Dudley, Knight, as of his manor of Penkerich, but by what service the jurors were ignorant. George Blount her son and heir was upwards of twenty-seven years of age. (fn. 41)

Sir John Blount and Katherine his wife had five sons and six daughters; (fn. 42) of whom George, the eldest, succeeded to the estates of his father and mother. Henry lived at Bewdley, (fn. 43) in Worcestershire; he married Joanna, daughter of John Somerville, of Edreston, co. Warwick, and had a son George, living at the time of his uncle's death in 1581; another son was called William. The names of the others have not been handed down to us. The daughters were Elizabeth, Rosa, Albora, Agnes, and Isabella, and another whose name has not reached us; of whom Elizabeth (fn. 44) was married first to Sir Gilbert Talboys, who was summoned to Parliament in 1529 as Lord Talboys de Kyme, and died in 1530; and secondly, to Edward Lord Clinton, who was afterwards created Earl of Lincoln by Queen Elizabeth, in 1572; Rosa was married to William Grisling, Esq., of Lincolnshire; Agnes to Richard Lacon, of Willey, co. Salop, Esq., and Isabella to William Read, Esq.

Sir George Blount, of Kinlet, Knight, was Sheriff of Shropshire in 1565. In his youth, according to the fashion of the day, he served with distinction in the French and Scottish campaigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI., and was well received at the Court of the former, where his eldest sister was in high favour. (fn. 45) He died on 20th July, 1581, aged 67, leaving by his wife Constance, daughter of Sir John Talbot, Knight, an only daughter Dorothy, who was thirty years of age and more at the time of her father's death, being then the wife of John Purslowe, of Sidbury, co. Salop, Esq., and afterwards of Edward Bullock, of Bradeley, near Wenlock, by the former of whom she certainly had issue; but for some unknown reason she seems to have been altogether disinherited by her father. (fn. 46) At the inquisition taken after his death at Stafford on 9th January, 24 Elizabeth, the jury found that during his lifetime he was seised in his demesne as of fee of and in the manors of Knightley, Overtene, Hopton, Waterfall, Muccleston, and Knyghton, with the appurtenances, in the county of Stafford, and of and in 60 messuages, &c., in Knightley, Overtene, Nethertene, Hopton, Waterfall, Knighton, Muccleston, Bishop's Offley, Little Onn, Gnosall, alias Gnowshall, and the advowson of the Church of Checkley; and being so seised, by indenture bearing date 1st April, 23 Elizabeth (1581), between him the said Sir George Blount, of Kinlet, in the county of Salop, Knight, of the one part, and Roland Lacon, of Willey, Esq. (one of his numerous nephews), and others, on the other, all the said estates were settled upon the said Sir George Blount for term of life, and after his death to the said Rowland Lacon, his heirs and assigns, for ever. The lands in Little Onn are stated in the inquisition to have been held of the Queen as of her manor of Penkeriche in the county of Stafford. (fn. 47) The Shropshire estates were settled in the same way upon the said Roland Lacon, who afterwards entered into possession.

Rowland Laken, or Lacon, (fn. 48) of Willey, co. Salop, who thus acquired the Blount inheritance, was the eldest son of Richard Laken, of Willey, Esq., Sheriff of Shropshire in 1540, by his wife Agnes, sister of Sir George Blount. He was Sheriff of Shropshire himself in 1571. He married Ellen, daughter of William Rigges, of Straglethorpe, in the county of Lincoln, Esq., by whom he had two surviving sons, and two daughters, of whom Beatrix was married to Sir Francis Newport, of High Ercall, co. Salop, Knight ancestor of the Earls of Bradford), and Jane was married to Sir Richard Farmer, of Somerton, co. Oxford, Knight (a younger son of that Sir Richard Farmer, or Fermor, from whom the late Earl of Pomfret was descended). Of the sons, Thomas, the younger son, was of Linley near Willey; he married Mary, daughter of John Thimbleby, of Ernham, co. Lincoln, by whom he had a numerous issue. Sir Francis Lacon, the eldest son, succeeded to the manors of Willey and Kinlet, of which the former was sold by him to Sir John Weld sometime between the years 1612 and 1623. His granddaughter, Catherine Lacon, carried his remaining estates, greatly dismembered (for he sold largely, and his son Rowland suffered much in the service of Charles I.), in marriage to Sir William Childe, Knight, Doctor of Laws, and Master in Chancery, from whom the present Squire of Kinlet is descended.

I suppose the Little Onne estate to have been sold by either Sir Francis or his son Rowland, to John Dyott, Esq., whom I take to have been one of the Lichfield family of that name, from whom the present Colonel Dyott of Freeford Hall, co. Stafford, is descended. John Dyott was probably a younger son of Anthony Dyott, of Lichfield, Barrister-at-Law (made Recorder of Tamworth in 40 Elizabeth, and M.P. for Lichfield in 40 Elizabeth and 1 James I.), by Catherine his wife, daughter of John Harecourt, of Ronton Abbey, co. Stafford, Esq., and younger brother of Sir Richard Dyott, Knight (one of the Privy Council to King Charles I., High Steward of Lichfield and Chancellor of the County Palatine of Durham). This John Dyott is supposed to be the person introduced by Shakespeare into the dialogue between the Justices Shallow and Silence in his play of King Henry IV., Act III., Scene 2. The scene lies in Justice Shallow's house in Gloucestershire:—

"Shallow.—By yea and nay, Sir, I daresay my cousin William is become a good scholar. He is at Oxford still, is he not?

Silence.—Indeed, Sir, to my cost.

Shallow.—He must then to the Inns of Court shortly. I was once of Clement's Inn; where I think they will talk of mad Shallow yet.

Silence.—You were called lusty Shallow then, cousin.

Shallow.—I was called anything, and I would have done anything, indeed, too, and roundly too. There was I, and little John Doit, of Staffordshire, and George Bare, and Francis Pickbone, and Will. Squele, a Cotswold man; you had not four such swingebucklers in all the Inns of Court again; and I may say to you, we knew where the bona-robas were, and had the best of them all at commandment."

From John Dyott this estate was purchased by William James, of the city of Durham, Clerk, whose family had been settled in Little Onn for several generations.

William James, who was Bishop of Durham from 1606 to 1617, was possessed, as I think, of a small estate in this parish, which he inherited from his ancestors. I first meet with the family here in 10 Henry VIII. (1518-9), when William James appears among the free tenants of the Baron of Stafford as holding a messuage and four nocates of land, with a pasture called Hurst, in the lordship of Wood Eaton, for which he paid a chief rent of 12s.; (fn. 49) and I think it very possible that some of the lands described in the Baron's record of fines and rentals as being within the lordships of Church Eaton and Wood Eaton were situate in the township of Little Onn, for no mention is made of Little Onn in these records, and it is certain that some portion at least of this township was then held of the Baron of Stafford.

The accompanying pedigree, which is chiefly taken from a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, shows that the Bishop's family had been seated at Little Onn for more than one generation previously. He is there called the son and grandson of a John James of Little Onn. He was born, however, at Sandbach, in Cheshire, where his mother's family resided, (fn. 50) and admitted a student of Christ's Church College, Oxford, in 1559, or thereabouts. (fn. 51) He took his degree in Arts, and having been ordained to Holy Orders, was admitted to the reading of the sentences in 1571 being then Divinity Reader of Magdalen College. (fn. 52) The next year, on 12th June, he was elected Master or President of University College, which he resigned 14th September, 1584. (fn. 53) On 27th August, 1577, he became Archdeacon of Coventry, (fn. 53) was made Dean of Christ's Church, Oxford, in 1584, (fn. 53) and installed Dean of Durham on 5th June, 1596, (fn. 53) when that post had been void for some time after the promotion of Dr. Tobias Matthew to the See of Durham. In 1606 he succeeded Bishop Matthew in the Bishoprick of Durham, and having obtained permission to be consecrated within the Province of Canterbury, that ceremony was performed on 7th September of that year, by the said Tobias Matthew, then Archbishop of York, and others. (fn. 54) He died 12th May, 1617, and was buried in the choir of Durham Cathedral. On his gravestone was his effigies in brass, holding a Bible in his hands, and underneath, on a plate of brass, this inscription, torn off by sacrilegious hands:—

Memoriœ sacrum Gulielmus James, honestis et ingenuis parentibus, apud Osborn [Onne], in Com. Stafford natus, Ædis Christi in Acad. Oxon. Alumnus S. T. P. Magister Coll. Universitatis, deinde Ædis Christi, ibid. Decanus constitutus, et ter Academiœ Procancellarius; unde ob doctrinœ gravitatem, et spectatam prudentiam a Regina Elizabetha ad Decanatum Dunelm. unde ad Episcopatum ibid. provectus; et demum a Christo dum Ecclesiœ, Patriœ ct Principi invigilaret in Cœlestem Patriam evocatus placide in Domino emigravit, et quod mortale fuit, certa spe resurgendi, hic deposuit 11 die Maii, anno Salutis 1617, et Ætatis 75.

Posuit Franciscus Honoris pariter ac Virtutum Patris studiosissimus, qui Lapidem hunc et Pietatem suam inviolatam expetens, subscripsit. Deut. xxvii., 17. Male erit ei qui non honoret Patrem suum: Hujus monumentum si quis clepserit, repseritque, sacrilegus esto. (fn. 55)

The Bishop had a younger brother Francis, who was a Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford; (fn. 52) it was probably he who held the Regius Professorship of Civil Law for a short time in 1611. (fn. 56) He was made a Master in Chancery, and Chancellor of Wells, as may be seen in the accompanying pedigree.

Bishop James was three times married, and had issue by two of his wives. His youngest son Francis, who erected the monument to his memory, was the son of his wife Isabel, who is given as his second wife in the Pedigree, but called by Wood, in his "Athenæ," the third wife. He was succeeded in his property at Little Onn, as I suppose, by his eldest son William James, who was born of his first wife, Katherine, daughter of William Kisby. He was a student of Christ Church in 1592, (fn. 57) and it was probably the same William James that was elected public orator of the University of Oxford on 7th August, 1601. (fn. 58) He was installed Prebend of Durham on 6th October, 1620, (fn. 58) and I suppose it was he, or his son bearing the same name, who, as William James, of the city of Durham, in the county of Durham, Clerk, by indenture of 1st October, 1649, sold to Thomas Blake, of the town of Salop, in the county of Salop, Clerk, and Jane his wife, for seven score pounds, all that his messuage, cottage or tenement, with the appurtenances, wherein one Francis Maynard did then inhabit, situate in Onne, otherwise called Little Onne, in the county of Stafford, together with all houses, edifices, buildings, barns, stables, orchards, gardens, lands, meadows, leasowes, pastures, commons, woods, underwoods, reversions, profits, commodities, and hereditaments to the said messuage belonging (one meadow, commonly called Chenfford meadow, lying in the lordship of Church Eaton, in the said county of Stafford, only excepted); all which premises were then in the holding of the said Francis Maynard and Thomas Haynes or their assigns. This deed is witnessed by Philip Astley, John James, Mathew Birch, John Blake, Richard Joylinge, William Astley, Thomas Blake, junior, and John Blake, junior. (fn. 59)

By another indenture of 18th August, 1657, between John Blake the elder, of Little Onne, and his son John Blake the younger, the said John Blake the elder, quoting the former indenture of 1649, between William James, Clerk, and Thomas Blake, Clerk, now deceased, and Jane his wife, and the heirs and assigns of the said Thomas, concerning a messuage, &c., wherein Francis Maynard and Katherine, wife of Thomas Haynes, did then and do now inhabit, in Little Onne, all which premises are, or late were, in the tenure of John Blake the elder, John Blake the younger, Francis Maynard, and Katherine Haynes, under the present title of John Blake the younger; all which premises descended and came to John Blake the elder as brother and heir of the said Thomas Blake, deceased, from and after the decease of the said Jane Blake. The said John Blake the elder now gives over the same premises to his son the said John Blake the younger. (fn. 60)

By indenture of 2nd January, 3 James II. (1686–7), between John Blake, of Little Onne, in co. Stafford, gent., of one part, and Thomas Blake, his son and heir apparent, of the other part, the said John Blake, as well for the natural love and affection, &c., which he bears to his son the said Thomas, as for the sum of £400 to him paid by the said Thomas, gives to the said Thomas all that his messuage, farm, or dwelling house, with the appurtenances, wherein the said John Blake doth now inhabit and dwell, together with all houses, out-houses, &c., now in the possession of the said John Blake, all which are situate in Little Onne, and all that messuage or tenement in Little Onne, now in possession of Humphrey Parkes, together with all out-houses, &c., and all that cottage in Little Onne aforesaid, now in possession of Joseph Hilton, reserving to himself an annual sum of £5 during the term of his natural life. The witnesses to this deed are John Keelinge, Mary Blake, and John Stanley. (fn. 60)

On 5th October, 1771, John Blake, son and heir of Thomas Blake, left his estate at Little Onn to Thomas Scott, of Walsall, nephew of his wife Ann Blake. Thomas Scott mortgaged the property to Thomas Freeman, of Lincolnshire; and on 20th January, 1793, Freeman and Scott sold it to Henry Crockett the younger, Esq., (fn. 61) of Little Onn.

Another portion of the property, which was purchased by William James, from John Dyott, was sold by the same William James, on 25th October, 1652, for £440, to Elizabeth Collier, late wife of Richard Collier, of Befcote, in the county of Stafford, who conveyed it, by indenture of 19th September, 1654, to her son and heir John Collier. (fn. 62) On 16th December, 1681, it was apparently settled by John Collier, of Befcote, and Elizabeth his wife, on his son and heir Richard Collier and Mary his wife, daughter of Francis Yeomans. Again, on 8th April, 1703, a marriage settlement was made by Mary Collier, of Woodford Grange, widow of John Collier, son and heir of Richard Collier, late of Woodford Grange, deceased, of the first part; William Byrths, of Pillington, and William Collier, of Befcote, of the second part; and Elizabeth Byrths, of Pillington, spinster, daughter of William Byrths, of the third part. (fn. 62) On 7th January, 1731, Elizabeth Collier, widow and relict of John Collier, of Little Onn, and John Collier, son and heir of John Collier, deceased, conveyed the property to George Brown, of Acton Trussel, as trustee. (fn. 62) A few years later it seems to have been mortgaged by John Collier in part to Robert Crockett, and in part to Sarah Jennings, widow of the Rev. Walter Jennings, Rector of Church Eaton, and daughter and co-heir of Walter Skrimsher, of Orslow, Gent., from whom it passed to her grandson, Abraham Bracebridge, of Atherstone Hall, co. Warwick, Esq., the son and heir of Abraham Bracebridge, of Atherstone Hall, Esq., by his second wife, Mary, daughter and co-heir of the Rev. Walter Jennings and Sarah his wife. The said Abraham Bracebridge the younger (who died in 1798), and his sister Mary (who seems to have been her grandmother's executrix), John Collier, and Robert Crockett, assigned the mortgage, in March, 1742, to Blest Colclough, and on 25th March, 1743, the property was finally conveyed to Robert Crockett, of Shuston, Gent., grandfather of the before mentioned Henry Crockett, junior, and the first of the family who acquired an estate at Little Onn, where they afterwards became possessed of the whole township, and several adjoining properties in the parish of Church Eaton and in the neighbouring townships.

By another indenture of 4th October, 1651, William James, of the city of Durham, Clerk, sells to Thomas Blake, of Tamworth, in the county of Warwick, Clerk, and Mary Blake, of Little Onne, spinster, sister of the said Thomas Blake, for the sum of £100, all that his messuage or tenement, with the appurtenances, in Little Onne, now or late in the tenure of John Blake, brother of the said Thomas Blake, or his assigns, and all houses, lands, &c., to the said messuage or tenement belonging, lying or being in Little Onne or Church Eaton or one of them, or elsewhere in the county of Stafford. This is witnessed by William Jennings, William Jervis, John Blake, Richard Joylinge, Thomas Blake, and John Blake the younger. (fn. 63)

Perhaps this was the small estate which Mary Vaughton, widow, John Blake and Thomas Blake, mortgaged in 1692 to Thomas Bowers, who conveyed it in the following year to John Pitt, who sold it on 21st January, 1697, to Edward James. On 4th September, 1729, Edward James left it, by will, to William Dale, of Booden, who sold it the same year to Simon Busby, who by deed of 7th May, 1814, conveyed it to Henry Crockett, Esq., in exchange for some other land. But this was only a portion of the James estate in Little Onn for by indenture of 4th February, 12 William III. (1700), between Edward James, of Little Onn, yeoman, and Margery his wife, on the one part, and George Cookes, of Moddersall, co. Staff., yeoman, Robert Lake, of Woollaston, yeoman, and Francis James, of Little Onn, yeoman, of the other part, the said Edward James makes a settlement of his estates, whereby, after providing for his wife's jointure, he settles all his lands in Little Onne and Wood Eaton on himself for term of life, with remainder to his son Edward James the younger and his right heirs. (fn. 64)

By another indenture of 2nd November, 1710, between (the same) Edward James and Margery his wife, and Edward James the younger, son and heir apparent of the said Edward and Margery, of the one part, and Barbara, daughter and heir of John Thorley, late of Bythom, co. Stafford, gent., deceased, of the second part, in consideration of a marriage to be had between Edward James the younger and the said Barbara, the before mentioned estate is settled on the said Edward and Barbara, with remainder to the right heirs of the said Edward James the younger. (fn. 64)

A few days later, namely, on 9th November, 9 Queen Anne (1710), the said estate is conveyed to George Cookes and William Dutton for the purpose of raising a mortgage. (fn. 64)

By deed of 20th April, 17 George II. (1744), Barbara James, of Little Onn, widow, and relict of Edward James, gentleman, deceased, and her eldest son and heir apparent, Edward James, gent., unite for the same purpose. (fn. 65) John James, of Stirchley, co. Salop, Farmer (probably the brother and heir of the last mentioned Edward), by his will dated 24th August, 1771, charges his real estate at Little Onn with an annuity of £30 to his wife Ann James for term of life, and £700, to be raised for his youngest son John when he comes of age, subject to which he leaves it to his eldest son Edward James and his heirs and assigns for ever. He mentions his two daughters Ann and Sarah, who are already married. There is a codicil dated 17th June, 1775, and the will was proved 23rd February, 1782. (fn. 65)

Before his death, however, the said John James, who on 2nd September, 1780, describes himself of Armitage, co. Stafford, gent., raises a further sum by mortgage on this estate, which he calls all that messuage &c., in Little Onn, wherein Barbara James and Edward James did formerly inhabit, which messuage, lands, &c., descended to him, John James, on the decease of the said Edward James; and the bond to raise the money was signed by himself and his eldest son Edward James. (fn. 65) He died in 1781; and on 28th September, 1798, letters of administration were granted to Mary James, widow and relict of (his son) Edward James, late of Armitage, gent., who died intestate, leaving a son and heir, Edward James, who was of Little Onn, gent., in February, 1806, and then paid to his uncle John the sum of £1,000 which had been charged upon the property by his grandfather. (fn. 65) The last mentioned Mr. Edward James sold the fee simple of his estate at Little Onn and Church Eaton to Henry Crockett, of Little Onn, Esq., on 2nd April, 1811. (fn. 65)

In the sixteenth century the family of Aston of Tixall had an estate at Little Onn, of whom Sir John Aston, Knight, died 28th March, 14 Henry VIII. (1523), seised of lands and tenements in Wolaston and Onne which were held of the King as of his manor of Church Eaton by fealty only, and were then valued at 100s. (fn. 66) In the schedule, delivered by his grandson Sir Walter Aston, Knight, in 10 Elizabeth, of all the lands and tenements of which his father Sir Edward, died seised, the messuages, lands, and tenements in Wolaston and Onne are valued at £15 16s. 10d.

There was another estate here which was at one time in possession of the Wolrich family. John Wolrich, Esq., died on 20th February, 28 Henry VIII. (1536–7), seised of four messuages, 70 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow, and 15 acres of pasture, with the appurtenances, in Little Onne, Plardiwick, Wheaton Aston, and Coton. The lands, &c., at Little Onne were held of the Baron of Stafford in socage, and valued at £4. The lands and tenements at Plardiwick were held of the Prior of Shene in socage, and valued at 4 marks. Those at Wheaton Aston were held of the Guardian of Tonge in socage, and valued at 26s. 8d. And those at Coton of the heir of Sir Richard Knightley, Knight, in socage, and valued at 12s. (fn. 67)

Edward Swynnerton, of Isewall, was also possessed of a small freehold estate here in 37 Henry VIII., which was then settled with his other lands at Isewall, Blymhill, etc., upon himself and the heirs of his body, and in default of such issue, upon his brother Richard Swynnerton, with remainder, in default of issue, to his sisters Anne, Elizabeth, and Joan, and their heirs. (fn. 68)

On 20th May, 1615, John Mitton, of Weston, Esq., died seised of 3 messuages, 100 acres of land, three acres of meadow, and 20 acres of pasture, with the appurtenances, in Little Onne, within the manor of Church Eaton, which were then valued at 10s. per annum, but of whom they were held or by what service the jurors were ignorant. (fn. 69) His son [Edward Mitton] died seised of the same in 1638, leaving an only daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, who became the wife of Sir Thomas Wilbraham, of Woodhey, in the county of Chester, Bart., by whom she had two daughters, and eventual co-heirs, namely, Grace, wife of Lionel, Earl of Dysart, and Mary, wife of Richard, Earl of Bradford. The whole of Dame Elizabeth Wilbraham's inheritance was settled upon the said Mary, Lady Bradford, the younger daughter, who died in 1737, when her estates devolved upon her son Thomas, Earl of Bradford; after whose death without issue, in 1762, they were divided by indenture of 29th October, 1763, between Sir Henry Bridgeman, the son of her elder daughter, Lady Anne Bridgeman, and Diana, Countess of Mountrath, her younger daughter. In this partition the Little Onn estate came to Lady Mountrath, who by her will dated 9th June, 1766 (and proved 27th November of the same year), passing over her son Charles Henry, Earl of Mountrath, left her farm at Little Onn, together with her manors of Bobbington and Tamenhorne, her twofifths of the manor of Newton near Blithfield, and all her estates in the county of Stafford (with the exception of the manor of Walsall and its members, which she bequeathed to her son), to the Honourable Lionel Damer, 3rd son of Joseph, Lord Milton, by Caroline his wife, daughter of the Duke of Dorset, with remainder, in default of issue, to the Honourable George Damer, 2nd son of Joseph, Lord Milton, with remainder, in default of issue, to the Honourable Caroline Damer (their sister), with remainder, in default of issue, to the Honourable John Damer, eldest son and heir apparent of the said Joseph, Lord Milton, with remainder, in default of issue, to Lord John Cavendish, youngest son of William, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, and his heirs and assigns. (fn. 70) All the devisees thus named died without issue; and I suppose that the reversion was left by Lord John Cavendish, the ultimate remainderman, to his nephew Lord George Cavendish, afterwards created Earl of Burlington, who, on 15th March 1818, joined with the Honourable Mrs. Damer in selling the Little Onn estate, being then described as 111 acres 3 roods and 2 perches, to Henry Crockett, of Little Onn, Esq.

The Crocketts, who became at this time proprietors of the whole township of Little Onn, were originally from Stoke, co. Stafford, whence they moved to Eccleshall towards the close of the seventeenth century. (fn. 71) Thomas, son of John Crockett, was baptized at Stoke in 1643, and buried at Eccleshall in 1703. His son George Crockett, of Eccleshall, who died in 1752, was succeeded by his son Robert Crockett, gent., High Constable of Stafford, who purchased an estate at Little Onn, and dying 15th June, 1776, was buried at Church Eaton. His only son Henry Crockett, of Little Onn, Esq., J.P. for the county of Stafford, died in 1796, leaving a numerous family, of whom the eldest son, the late Henry Crockett, Esq., succeeded to the Little Onn estate, which was sold shortly before his death, in 1833, to James Ashton, Esq., of Newton Lodge, near Hyde, in Cheshire, though the transfer was not completed until two years afterwards. Mr. Ashton, who died in 1841, was succeeded by his son John Ashton, Esq., who died in 1844, leaving a son and heir, the present Lieut.-Col. C. J. Ashton, of Little Onn Hall, which he has lately rebuilt, and of Newton Lodge, co. Chester.

The several freehold estates above mentioned, which all centred in the Crocketts, must have been of small extent, for the whole township of Little Onn contains but 870 acres. I cannot fully identify them all with either the earlier or later tenures, nor can I say with any certainty whether any of them represented the tenures of the hereditary lords of the fee. I should imagine that the rights of the thane were resumed into the King's hands at a very early date, probably before the year 1253, when King Henry III. was suing the various tenants with a view to appropriating the whole of the lands to himself. But failing in this, he probably annexed the chief lordship of Little Onn to some larger neighbouring fief, presumably that of Church Eaton, of which it was afterwards treated as a member, though the lords of Penkridge seem o have acquired some mesne interest therein.

The original tenants in fee were probably represented in 1199 by Alured de Onne, and in 1227 by Sir Richard de Onne, who was in that year one of a jury of twenty-four Knights summoned to set out the franchises of the Crown in Staffordshire.

After this I am disposed to think that the chief representation of the family passed into the hands of females. Eva and Felicia, who, as sisters and co-heiresses, divided their lands in the early part of the reign of Henry III., may very likely have been the daughters or grand-daughters of Sir Richard de Onne; while the Richard de Onne of that date, who was enfeoffed by Felicia in an important portion of her land, may have been a cadet of the family. These two co-heiresses seem to have been represented in 1253 by the same Felicia, then Felicia de Engleton, and Elysant de Bromley (probably the daughter of Eva), though various members of the family bearing the local name appear to have been portioned on the estate. The only thing I know of which militates against this theory is that after this, namely, in 1272, we meet with a John, Lord of Onne, as the last of nine recognitors in a suit between William de Holney and Henry de Bromley, concerning lands in Little Onne; but this John, Lord of Onne, who, from the position assigned to him in the order of precedency in the above suit, does not appear to have been a person of consequence, may possibly have been the tenant in fee of High Onn, under the Prior of Ware.

It is probable that both of these ladies, Eva and Felicia, and their subsequent representatives, were non-resident at Little Onn, and their lands will have been gradually diminished by subinfeudations in the course of years, so that it becomes almost impossible to trace their interests to later times. It has been shown that Felicia de Engleton had granted to Richard de Onne, elsewhere described as son of Thomas de Onne, the plot of land which had been assigned to her as a site for her capital messuage; and a grant of Hugh, Lord of Engleton, in 1374, to Robert de Shareshull, of all his royalty and rent in Little Onn, which he had by right of inheritance after the death of his father, Thomas de Engleton, would seem to prove that he was lord of a whole or part of that vill.

William de Engleton, the husband of Felicia, whom I take to have been the co-heiress of Little Onn, was Lord of Engleton, near Brewood, a manor which was held under the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, as a member of the great manor of Brewood. The first of this family we meet with is Ralph de Engleton, who occurs as witness to a charter of Bishop Walter Durdent, which passed between 1150 and 1152, (fn. 72) and again to another deed of the same Bishop, which passed between 1155 and 1159. (fn. 73) There seems to have been some exchange of lands between Richard de Onne and the Engletons, for Mr. Parke, in his history of Brewood, (fn. 74) who quotes from the Huntbache and Dugdale MSS., gives a grant (without date) from Richard de Onne to William de Engleton of a yard of land in Engleton, which he had of the grant of Stephen the Abbot, and the Convent, of Buldewas (Buildwas), paying to him and his heirs 1d. at Michaelmas for all demands; and he covenants to free the said William from 4s. 6d. rent payable to the said Abbot. For which grant the said William, with the consent of Felicia his wife, granted to the said Richard one oxgang of land in Little Onne, and eighteen acres of land and one messuage, &c., in the same place; Witnesses, Adam de Brinton, Robert de Alaon (?), Robert de Chitteley (Knighteley ?), Peter Giffard, Adam de Brunesford, and others. William de Engleton was probably dead before 1253; and his son John de Engleton occurs as witness to a deed of Peter Giffard before 1255. He occurs again as a witness in 1259–60; (fn. 73) and in 1272 he is one of the jury elected for the Hundred of Couthelleston (Cuttleston). We have seen that Thomas de Engleton had succeeded his father John in that same year, and then described himself as the heir of his grandmother Felicia. I frequently meet with Thomas de Engleton as a witness between 25 Edward I. (1297) and 7 Edward II. (1313), and there were probably two or three of that name in succession. There is a deed (without date) of Thomas, Lord of Engleton, to Peter his uncle, for his life, of a messuage in Engleton, for which he is to pay 2s. per annum, witnessed by Mr. John de Pendeford, Robert de Somerford, John de Semprinham, Henry de Bromhale, and others; (fn. 75) and another (without date) from Thomas, Lord of Engleton, to Adam, the son of Adam Bayliste, of Coven, of a selion of land in Engleton, rent one halfpenny, witnessed by Adam atte Hethe and others. (fn. 75) Again, in 29 Edward I., there is a lease from Thomas, Lord of Engleton, to Roger le Hevester, of Brewode, of one-half yard of meadow in the broad meadow of Engleton for thirty years; and another in 33 Edward I. (1305), (fn. 75) from Thomas, Lord of Engleton, to Peter, the son of Thomas de Engleton, of three selions of land to the use of William, the son of Walter, the son of Thomas of the same; which selions the said Peter took for the term of thirty-three years of Walter, the son of Thomas de Engleton. (fn. 76) In 4 Edward II. (1310–1) there is a release from Robert, Lord of Wyston, to Thomas, Lord of Engleton, and Joan his wife, of his right and title to 6d. rent which he was wont to pay out of a tenement in Little Onne; dated at Whiston, and witnessed by William, Lord of Pylatenhale, Robert le Chaumpion, Henry de Careswell, Ralph, Lord of Coven, John fitz Margerie, &c. (fn. 76) In 7 Edward II. Thomas de Engleton is certified to hold Engleton by the service of a small knight's fee of Morton. In time of war in Wales he is bound to find a man to attend his lord there for a certain time at his own charges. The lord (that is the chief lord, the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield) will have the wardship, marriage, and relief of his heir after his decease; all his tenants of Engleton shall make two appearances at the great court of Brewd twice every year, when a scutage shall be made; he shall pay 10s. for every hide of land; he shall do suit every three weeks, and pay an annual rent of 6d., and for a heriot he shall give one horse or his best working bullock (averium). Besides this, he holds one acre of land which he took in the time of R., late Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, for which he owes suit at court every three weeks. (fn. 77)

In 10 Edward II., Peter Crode, of Engleton, gives to Thomas, the son of Thomas, Lord of Engleton, a messuage, with curtilage, &c., in Engleton, of which Thomas, Lord of Engleton, Richard Jordan, and others, are witnesses; and in 12 Edward II., Thomas, Lord of Engleton, confirms to Eleanor, the daughter of Roger de Caverswalle, those two messuages, with curtilages, in Engleton, of which she had one of his gift called Midwinterhouse, and the other she had of the gift of Thomas his son, rent 2d., for her life; to revert, after her decease, to the said Thomas his son; witnesses, the Lord John Gifford, Thomas de la Hyde, &c. (fn. 78) In the next year Hugh de Engleton grants his manor of Engleton to Thomas de Engleton, his father, and Joan de Belne, his mother, for their lives. (fn. 78) This was probably shortly before the death of his father, for in 16 Edward II. Hugh, son of Thomas, Lord of Engleton, grants to Thomas his brother two pieces of land upon Calf Heath, which he had after the decease of Ralph his brother for life. (fn. 78) There is also a deed (without date) from Hugh de Engleton to John de Molleslough (Mollesley), junior (in trust, I suppose), of his manor of Engleton, in the liberty of Brewoode; witnessed by Thomas de la Hyde, John de Somerford, &c. In 4 Edward III. (1330), Hugh, Lord of Engleton, gives to Robert de Shareshull all his royalty and rent which he had in Little Onne, by right of inheritance, after the decease of Thomas de Engleton his father. (fn. 78)

From what follows I infer that Hugh de Engleton left a daughter and heiress, who married Thomas de Levereshed, and had by him a son Thomas de Levereshed, and two daughters eventually her co-heirs, of whom Eleanor had half the manor of Engleton, and Joan, wife of Adam Wisbrid, the other. For in 28 Edward III. Thomas de Engleton gives to William de Engleton, Vicar of Lapley, a messuage with all lands and tenements in Engleton. Witnesses, Thomas de Levereshed, Lord of Engleton, Richard de Engleton, John de Seynt Pere, William Oliver, and others. (fn. 79) In 41 Edward III. (1367), Thomas Reshed, Chaplain, grants to Adam Wisbrid and Joan his wife, all his manor of Engleton which he had by their feofment to hold to the said Adam and Joan, and Joan their daughter, and to the issue of her body; and for want of such issue, to Thomas, the son of Thomas de Levereshed, and the heirs of his body; and for want of such issue, to Eleanor, the daughter of Thomas de Levereshed, and the heirs of her body, &c. Who the said Eleanor married it does not appear; but in 50 Edward III. (1376) there is a feofment from Elianer, daughter of Thomas de Levereshed, in her widowhood, to Sir John de Wyke, Sir John Mer, Sir John Morris, and William Barker, of half her manor of Engleton, with all the lands and services to the said half belonging, to be held of the chief lord by the accustomed rents and services; witnessed by Adam de Peeshole (Peshale), John de Dratton, and others, and dated at Ideshale. (fn. 80) And in 25 Henry VI., Alan de Withyford and Joan his wife gave their manor of Engleton to Roger Fowke and Elizabeth his wife. But all the interest which the Engletons had in Little Onn was probably sold by Hugh de Engleton in 4 Edward III. (1330).

Perhaps this may have been the interest enjoyed by Felicia, the widow of Guy de Glazeley, in 1333, which may have afterwards passed to the Astons or the Wolryches, and from thence to the Myttons of Weston; while the inheritance which fell to Eva, the elder co-heir, and afterwards to Elysant de Burgo or de Bromley, may have passed through the Knightleys to the Peshales and Lacons, and thence to the James's; but this is all conjecture.