MANOR AND OTHER ESTATES.
Chedzoy
was a member of the royal manor of North
Petherton in the 12th century, and Henry I
granted it to Roger de Mandeville (d. 1130),
though possibly only for life. (fn. 71)
Alfred de Pirou apparently held CHEDZOY
manor in the 1140s. (fn. 72) Alexander de Pirou married Alice, widow of Richard de Montagu (d. by
1166) and mother of William de Montagu, who
was later lord of Chedzoy. In 1195 William de
Pirou paid to have possession of his inheritance
in Chedzoy, (fn. 73) and was later succeeded by his son
Richard who leased his land in Chedzoy to
William Brewer. (fn. 74)
Chedzoy manor (from 1485 often called Chedzoy with Cauntelos) (fn. 75) was adjudged to William
de Montagu in the court of John as count of
Mortain; as king, John allowed William seisin in
1199. (fn. 76) William held the manor in 1212 (fn. 77) but
after his rebellion in 1215 he lost possession to
William Brewer. (fn. 78) William de Montagu died in
1217, having apparently submitted to Henry III,
and custody of the land and of his grandson
William de Montagu was given to Alan Basset. (fn. 79)
Between 1219 and 1226 Brewer and Basset
disputed possession of Chedzoy, Basset securing
custody after Brewer's death in 1226. (fn. 80)
William de Montagu paid homage for his lands
in 1234, presumably on his coming of age, (fn. 81) and
died in 1270 when he was succeeded by his son
Simon (d. 1317). (fn. 82) Simon's son William died in
1319 (fn. 83) leaving a widow, Elizabeth (d. 1354),
holding dower in Chedzoy, (fn. 84) and a son, also
William (cr. earl of Salisbury 1337, d. 1344).
William's two thirds passed to his widow Catherine (d. 1349). (fn. 85) On the death of William's
son in 1397 the whole manor passed to his widow
Elizabeth (d. 1415). (fn. 86) Thomas Montagu, earl of
Salisbury, great-nephew of the last William,
inherited the manor on Elizabeth's death and
died in 1428 when Chedzoy became part of the
dower lands of his widow Alice, later countess
of Suffolk (d. 1475). An annuity from the manor
was paid to Alice (d. 1462), Thomas's daughter
and heir and wife of Richard Neville, earl of
Salisbury. (fn. 87)
Their granddaughter and coheir Isabel, wife of
George Plantagenet, duke of Clarence, inherited
Chedzoy in 1475 but died in 1476 leaving an
infant son Edward, earl of Warwick. (fn. 88) On his
attainder in 1499 the manor was forfeit to the
Crown, but his sister Margaret, widow of Sir
Richard Pole, successfully petitioned for restoration in 1513-14 and became countess of
Salisbury. Following her execution in 1539 the
manor again reverted to the Crown. (fn. 89)
In 1553 the manor was granted to William
Herbert, earl of Pembroke (d. 1570), who was
succeeded in turn by his son Henry (d. 1601) (fn. 90)
and Henry's sons William (d. 1630) and Philip
(d. 1650). (fn. 91) Philip Herbert, earl of Pembroke and
son of the last, sold the manor in 1652 to Henry
Rolle and his son (Sir) Francis. (fn. 92) Sir Francis died
c. 1686 leaving the manor in trust for his daughters. Priscilla, Sir Francis's widow, acquired the
remaining interest in 1694 and held the manor
until her death c. 1708. (fn. 93) She was followed by
her brother-in-law, Denzil Onslow (d. 1721), (fn. 94)
by his widow Jane (d. by 1747), by Jane's
executor Henry Weston (d. by 1771), (fn. 95) and by
Henry's executor, Heneage Finch, earl of Aylesford (d. 1777). (fn. 96) In 1775 Jane Henley, countess
of Northington, with others, conveyed the
manor to William Lawson (fn. 97) possibly in trust for
John Dawes, the owner in 1781. (fn. 98) Dawes died c.
1788 leaving his estate to his son John who in
1791 sold the manor to Sir Robert Mackreath.
Sir Robert conveyed it in 1802 to Thomas
Porter, (fn. 99) on whose death in 1815 Chedzoy passed
in turn to his sons William (d. c. 1821) and
Henry (d. 1858). In 1860 the estate was ordered
to be sold. (fn. 1) The lordship was not recorded later.
Many farms were purchased by tenants c. 1861
but most were bought immediately afterwards
by Oxford University, the owners in 1988. (fn. 2)
The capital messuage of the manor with garden
and dovecot was recorded in 1320 (fn. 3) and a hall,
garderobe, and stable were repaired in 1341-2. (fn. 4)
In 1344 the house was said to be ruinous. (fn. 5) In
1576 the dovecot was held with a field called
Court close, (fn. 6) which may have been near Court
Farm, an early 17th-century cob and stone
house. (fn. 7) A house called Manor House, later
probably Manor Farm, was described as newly
built in 1860. It was then occupied by the estate
steward and accommodated the owner when
visiting the estate. (fn. 8)
By 1350 John de Cauntelo and Isabel his wife
held a house and land of Chedzoy manor for
their lives. (fn. 9) The capital messuage called Cauntelos probably stood at Slapeland and
disappeared between 1537 and 1576. (fn. 10)
Bruton priory had an estate in Chedzoy in
1291 (fn. 11) and 1362, (fn. 12) but in 1485 a messuage and
13 a. were described as formerly belonging to
the prior. (fn. 13)