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An article by
By Dr. Deborah Richmond Foulkes, FSA Scot
ln 1296 when William le Hardi pledged fealty to Edward King of England
at Berwick Castle in August, heralds were dispatched to over six
counties in Scotland that the Douglas had been restored. To the casual
reader, it could be assumed that Lord Douglas held lands from sea to sea
in Scotland. But that was not the true situation. ln 1289 William 'Le
Hardi' Douglas married a
wealthy widow, Eleanora Lovaine de Ferrers. Her mother-in-law was the
late Margaret de Quincy, Lady de Ferrers. After Margaret's father died
without issue male, she and her two sisters, Helen de la Zouche and
Elizabeth de Comyn engaged in a huge court case involving Roger de
Quincy's vast holdings in Scotland and England, as heirs to his estates.
The lawsuits were not settled for nearly fourteen years after his death.
Roger de Quincy was not only the Second Earl of Winchester but also he
was the Constable of Scotland, heir to one-third of the Lordship of
Galloway as well as other vast lands and manors in Fife, the Lothlans,
and Ayrshire, just to name a few.
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| Stebbing Church |
Eleanora Lovaine de Ferrers brought with her one-third of the lands
awarded to Margaret de Quincy de Ferrers to her marriage with Lord
Douglas. Her late husband, the elderly William de Ferrers was the sole
heir of his mother and her de Quincy holdings. Two-thirds of those
estates were given to his son and heir also known as William de Ferrers.
As the de Ferrers widow, Eleanora was entitled to a third of those same
de Quincy estates. When she married William le Hardi, Lord Douglas, she
brought with her those lands and the feudal obligations thereof. She
fined for entrance into those English estates May 129L in the amount of
f100 which is valued at approximately S250K today; the amount was
equivalent to the annual income in most cases. The Scottish portion of
the de Quiney-de Ferrers estates granted to Eleanora as Lady Douglas
were estimated to be worth equally as much. The feudal rules mandated
that as her husband, Lord Douglas entered into the properties, in chief
in most cases. Those lands in Scotland were in six shires, Aryshire,
Berwickshire, Fife, Wigtonshire, Haddington and the Lothians.
One interesting fact; normally those dower estates would have reverted
to William de Ferrers the son upon the death of the widow (1328) but in
1315 young William became one of the 'disinherited', heirs to Scottish
estates held by Englishmen who refused to pledge fealty to Robert Brus,
King of Scots. He lost all his Scottish lands and manors for a
generation; recorded as the biggest forfeit of inheritance during the
reign of Robert the Brus, those estates were returned to the Crown.
There were two major de Quincy manors in England that were held in dower
right by Eleanora, Lady Douglas and her husband William le Hardi, Lord
Douglas, as of 1295. The dower portion of the entire estate that was
given to Eleanora was designated as Stebbing Park and included the site
of the original medieval manor house and moat- The Park was actually a
major part of the extensive Iand holding described in charters as
Stebbing.
I have stayed in a local B&B in the village of that medieval manor
several times as it provided me with a central Essex
location from which to explore that and other nearby estates. There is
still water that surrounds the manor house that is
believed to be part of an original moat system for defence. The ancient
church in the village also dates to the 1200's. Of
note, about a mile from the Stebbing Park manor house are the medieval
ruins of Little Dunmow Priory that includes
part of the original church; according to her will, it is where Eleanora
Douglas was buried in 1328.
In October 1293, there are entries into the Rolls of the Pipe that
William Lord Douglas, as feudal lord of Stebbing, approved the request
of John Dalham a farmer with six bovates of land to provide daily
presence at a ford at the bottom of his farm lands. Lord Douglas gave
sasine to Dalham for an annual rent of 20s. William le Hardi's active
presence in Essex kept him busy. ln fact, he was called to Court in
England regarding feudal business for Parliament. On at least one
occasion his appearance at English Court kept him from complying with
his feudal responsibilities in Scotland as Lord Douglas. He was fined
for the noncompliance on at least one of those occasions, though
eventually Sir William was relieved from payment of the obligation for
the obvious conflict of trying to please two kings.
Woodham Ferrers was another significant manor in Essex; one-third of the
income was assigned to Eleanora and William
in 1291. lt brought the couple approximately £16 annually which equates
to at least $40K today. The original manor
house known today as Woodham Hall burned down in the 16th century
according to village lore and was later rebuilt,
located again inside the original moats for protection. A secret
priests' passage from Woodham Hall to Bycknacre Priory
that dated to the times of the Conqueror was referred to often in local
stories. lt was rumoured that an earlier de Ferrers
lord met his secret lover there at the medieval sanctuary.
The priory was originally called Wodeham Priory {spellings always vary);
in earlier times it was part of the Woodham Ferrers estate; a common
practice in the 11th century, The lord of the manor was required to
provide protection to the priests and the church in return for a share
of the revenue; in 1235 the priory became financially independent of the
de Ferrers' estate and was renamed.
Other manors held by Sir William de Ferrers included Fairstead and
Frating, both in Essex; Groby in Derbyshire and many
more. Wilbrighton Hall, Staffordshire was held by Eleanors Lovaine
Douglas Bagot, in trust for her son Sir Archibald Douglas, Regent of
Scotland. The lack of records for any additional one-third shares of these
and other significant de Ferrers' estates indicates
the likelihood of a personal settlement between the widow and her
stepson that would have provided Eleanora with
more of her dower benefits to be settled with additional manors in
Scotland. This agreement would make it easier to
manage her inheritance because the estates were held under Scottish
laws; more convenient to Lord Douglas for feudal business.
Deborah Richmond Foulkes writes:
ln a subsequent article I hope to explore the Scottish estates with some
insights on how they were acquired along with some photographs to help
the reader visualize the vastness of these Douglas medieval holdings,
well before the extensive lands acquisitions the family made through the
grants from King Robert the Brus to his trusted Lieutenant, the Good Sir
James. As one of Scotland's oldest families the Douglases, through their
support of the king, their strategic marriages and political alliances
went on to acquire many lands throughout the country.
To read about these early Douglases I have included many stories on my
website, www.mytruthliesintheruins.com.
Note:
1. Deborah records a different site for the former
manor house of the de Ferrers medieval estates held in dower by Eleanora
Lovaine Douglas, relic of de Ferrers.
See also:
• Douglas castles in
England
• Deborah Richmond Foulkes
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