Robert de Vere of Thrapston ¹

  Events

• Manorial Estate: Addington [now Great/Little Addington] Manor, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN14, GB. ² A second manor in Great Addington originated in 1½ hides in Addington held in 1086 by William's trusted minister Geoffrey, Bishop of Coutances and under him by Hugh. The land had risen in value from 10s. in 1066 to 40s. at the date of the Domesday Survey (1086), a rapid recovery after the devastation of the land at the Conquest or before. The Bishop forfeited his lands on account of his rebellion against William Rufus in 1088. Before the time of the Northamptonshire Survey (c. 1125), the Bishop's fee had passed to Aubrey de Vere or the Chamberlain, but whether the grant had been made to him or his father Aubrey is uncertain. It was there entered as '2 hides of the King's fee,' the 2 hides being made up of the Domesday 1½ hides and an additional half hide of the Bishop's land at Drayton in Lowick, which properties continued to be held together. The manor passed to Robert, younger son of Aubrey the Chamberlain, who was holding Addington in 1166. He married twice, his first wife being Margaret Wake, presumably daughter of Geoffrey Wake and sister of Hugh Wake; with her he received a charter from Baldwin Wake (Wac) granting to him 'with Margaret my aunt' (auita mea), the vill of Thrapston. The charter is undated, but must have been made after 1168 when Hugh Wake, father of Baldwin the grantor, was alive and would have been holding Thrapston. By his first wife he had at least one son William. His second wife was Maud, daughter of Robert de Furnell. By an undated charter, Robert de Furnell granted to 'Robert son of Aubrey de Twiwell with Maud my daughter in free marriage' certain lands in Cranford. These lands were later confirmed by John, son of Maud, daughter of Robert de Furnell, 'to Robert de Ver' as lands which Robert de Furnell gave 'to my mother in free marriage.' Evidently John was a son of Maud by a former husband. By his second marriage, Robert de Vere had a son Henry, known as Henry son of Robert, who is said to have been brought up by his kinsman William de Mandeville, Earl of Essex and Albemarle, son of Roesia de Vere, and to have commanded with reputation at Gysors. He was probably the judge of this name of the end of the 12th century. He is said to have died about 1193-4, and was succeeded by Walter, his son. This Walter, as Walter son of Henry son of Robert, by an undated charter of the early years of the 13th century, gave to William 'patrunculo meo,' or uncle on his father's side, all his land in Twywell for the service of half a knight and in Addington for the service of a quarter of a knight's fee which Robert his grandfather held on the day he died, to be held of Walter and his heirs. Walter married Lucy, daughter of Gilbert Basset of Weldon. He had apparently two brothers, William and Geoffrey, and died in 1210-11. This branch of the family, which took the name of 'de Drayton,' continued to be the overlords of the Veres' holding in Addington. Its descent is given under Drayton in Lowick.

William, the elder son of Robert de Vere, lived on till the early part of the 13th century. Under the name of William son of Robert son of Aubrey, he endowed the Hospital of St. John Baptist of Northampton with lands in Slipton and Twywell. His lands in Thrapston passed to Thomas de Vere, perhaps his son, who died in 1204 and was succeeded by his brother Baldwin de Vere, who in 1233 was described as constable of Clun Castle. He obtained exemption from suit at the hundred court for his lands and men of Thrapston from Alexander, Abbot of Peterborough (1222-6) and appears to have taken up his residence and possibly built a house at Addingon. In 1232 he received licence from the Abbot of Croyland as patron, Walter, rector of the church of Addington, and Bishop Hugh of Lincoln, to build a chapel, without a baptistery or belfry, in his court at Addington, where he and his wife Hawise, their guests and household, might hear divine service, but they were to visit the parish church on certain feasts. Baldwin and his heirs could present a chaplain who would be admitted by the rector, and he and his wife granted certain lands to the parish church. At the same time he exchanged certain lands with the abbot of Croyland for other lands before his gate, evidently with the object of improving the approach to his house. He was alive in 1242-3, but in 1245, Robert his son was holding his lands. Robert married Joan de Waterville, one of the heiresses of Thorpe Waterville, with whom he received one third of the manor of Ludborough and other lands. He died before 1277 when Baldwin his son was under age. Baldwin died before 1287, when Robert his brother did homage for part of the inheritance of Joan his mother. Robert de Vere, who was sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1301 and 1319, paid scutage for his manor of Thrapston held of Thomas Wake in 1316. His wife's name was Maud. He died before 1330, and was succeeded by Ralph his son. Ralph died in 1335, and an extent of Addington Manor taken after his death, showed there was then a capital messuage, a dovecot, a garden with a mill in it and 60 acres of demesne. His son John de Vere, who married Alice, was one of the 110 defendants in a suit as to dower in Thrapston in 1345. He was killed at the Battle of Crecy (1346) leaving a son John who survived his father only a few years and died under age.

In 1349 Simon de Drayton, the overlord of Addington, granted the wardship of John in respect of that manor to Thomas Wake, lord of Liddell who was John's overlord at Thrapston. John was succeeded by his uncle Robert, who is described as of Addington. He and his wife Elizabeth entailed the manor of Addington in 1351, when Alice widow of John de Vere had her dower in it. Robert died about 1369, leaving three sons, Robert, Baldwin and John. Elizabeth his widow had her dower in the lands, and she is described in 1400 as lady of Great Addington, where no doubt she lived. Robert the eldest son, also described as of Addington, was still under age in 1400. In 1408, by deed dated at Great Addington, he, described as 'Robert Vere of Thrapston,' granted the manors of Thrapston, with his lands in Little Addington and Woodford, to Sir John Pilkington, Ralph Grene of Drayton, Thomas Mulsho and John de Welton of Bolde, probably for the purposes of a settlement. On 26 February 1420, Pilkington, Mulsho and Welton reconveyed these lands, except the site and demesnes of the manor of Thrapston and other lands there, to Robert de Vere. Robert died apparently in this year or the following, leaving a daughter Margaret, married to Thomas Ashby. In 1421 Thomas Ashby, of Louseby in Leicestershire, and Margaret his wife granted the manor of Thrapston to Baldwin de Vere, uncle of Margaret. Baldwin, described as of Addington, by deed dated there in 1405, conveyed all his lands to William, parson of the church of Islip, and William Seymour, apparently for the purposes of a settlement. He died in 1424, leaving a son and heir Richard, who married Isabella, sister of Sir Henry Grene. Richard died in 1480 and was succeeded by his son Henry de Vere who died in 1493, leaving four daughters and heirs by his wife Isabella Tresham, all under age. These ladies were also co-heirs of their mother to the lands of Constance, daughter of Sir Henry Grene, wife of John Stafford, Earl of Wiltshire, on the death of their son Edward, Earl of Wiltshire in 1499. These de Vere co-heiresses were (1) Elizabeth, who married John son of Sir John Mordaunt, who was created a baron in 1522, and whose descendants eventually obtained nearly the whole of Henry de Vere's property; (2) Anne, who married, first, Robert, another son of Sir John Mordaunt, by whom she had no issue, and secondly, Humphrey Brown, brother of Sir Wistan Brown, by whom she had a son George who died without issue in 1558; after George's death his share in the manor of Great Addington being conveyed by the three daughters of Sir Humphrey Brown by his second wife Anne, daughter of John, Lord Hussey, and their descendants, to the Mordaunts before the end of the century; (3) Constance, the third daughter, who married John Parr and died without issue in 1501, when her share fell to her three sisters; (4) Audrey or Etheldreda, the fourth daughter, who married John, son and heir of Sir Wistan Brown; they and their son George conveyed their share in Great Addington to Sir John Mordaunt in 1548.

• Manorial Estate: Thrapston Manor, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN14, GB. ³ There is no mention of a pre-Conquest tenant in THRAPSTON, but in 1086 Oger the Breton held 2½ hides. (fn. 10) In the following century 2 hides and 1 virgate were held by his son Ralph fitz Oger of the fee of Bourne in Lincolnshire. (fn. 11) The honour of Bourne passed to the Wakes and Baldwin Wake granted his holding to Robert de Vere, in the latter half of the 12th century. (fn. 12) The overlordship was held by the Wakes, until 1350, when it passed to Margaret, Countess of Kent, (fn. 13) sister and heir of Thomas Wake. On the death of her son John, Earl of Kent, it went to his sister Joan, the wife of Sir Thomas Holand, (fn. 14) but Elizabeth, the widow of John, held it in dower till her death in 1411. (fn. 15) In the interval four Earls of Kent had died, (fn. 16) and in 1424 Joan, daughter of Thomas Holand and Joan, above mentioned, died seised of the rent of 50s. from half a knight's fee in Thrapston. Her property was divided amongst her six sisters or their descendants (fn. 17) and the overlordship probably disappeared after this. In 1481 Roger Wake, of Blisworth, was stated to be the overlord, (fn. 18) and in 1493 Edward, Earl of Wiltshire, (fn. 19) but both statements were probably due to a confusion with the tenure of other property.

The manor of Thrapston was granted by Baldwin Wake to Robert de Vere, and followed the descent of Great Addington (q.v.), where the Veres lived, until the 18th century, when Thrapston was sold. In 1335 during Ralf de Vere's tenancy an extent of the manor of Thrapston shows there was there a capital messuage with two gardens, 100 acres of arable land in demesne, 10 acres of meadow, 10 free tenants, 10 native tenants, 10 cottages, a water mill, and a market and fair. (fn. 20) Alice, widow of John de Vere, in 1386 had her dower in Thrapston, including the profits of the market and fair, the common oven and a cottage in 'le Draperie.' (fn. 21)

Footnotes:
12. Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 500; the charter is given in Halstead's Succinct Genealogies, 1694, p. 256.
13. Bk. of Fees (P.R.O.), ii, p. 937; Cal. Inq. ii, no. 439; Cal. Close 1272\endash 79, p. 259; Year Books (Rolls Ser.), 18\endash 19 Edw. III, pp. 246\endash 264; Cal. Inq. ix, nos. 219, 234.
14. Cal. Inq. x, no. 46.
15. Cal. Close, 1349\endash 54, p. 553; Chan. Inq. p.m. 12 Hen. IV, no. 35.
16. Ibid. 20 Ric. II, no. 30; G.E.C. Complete Peerage.
17. Ibid.; Chan. Inq. p.m. Hen. IV, file 66, no. 43.
18. Chan. Inq. p.m. Edw. IV, file 74, no. 11.
19. Exch. Inq. p.m. Ser. ii, vol. 673, no. 2.
20. Drayton Ch. 91; Cal. Close, 1337\endash 39, p. 144; Halstead, op. cit. 268.
21. Drayton Ch. 45.

Robert married Margaret Wake, daughter of Geoffrey Wake and Unknown.¹