The Watford Knight's Fee

In a way, defining the size of a knight's fee is nonsense. A bit like answering the question, 'How big is your mortgage?' with, 'Some land and a house big enough for my family.' The better question to a lord in medieval times would be, 'How much land do you hold to support your knight's fee?' And if you did manage to ask a dozen manor lords in the 12th or 13th century, you would probably get a dozen different answers. Adding to the confusion, each of the dozen might say he

In 1620, the vessel Mayflower took the first immigrants across the Atlantic to the New World of America. One of its passengers was Thomas Rogers, born around 1572-73 in Watford parish. Given this, Thomas became one of Watford's most well-known past citizens. Of the 102 passengers, the many descendants of Thomas Rogers in the United States have been well documented by the Thomas Rogers Society. Thomas Rogers had married Alice Cosford in 1597 at Watford church. Both familie

When a soon-to-be wife brought significant estate (eg a manor and lands) with her to a marriage, medieval custom provided that the husband held the wife’s possessions. For the most part, the husband, in turn, used the estate for the benefit and upkeep of both himself and his wife during their lifetimes. A jointure or marriage contract signed at the outset would provide for her continued maintenance in the event of the husband’s death before the wife's. This commonly took th

In medieval England, landed estates were sometimes passed on by deed to a successor with the tag 'intail' (also 'in tail', 'entail'). This was done to prevent the heir giving or selling the estate to any individual other than the person(s) specified, often the next lineal or family descendant, thus keeping the estate 'in the family'. The restriction might continue through several generations. Over time, methods developed to break an intail. One such method was known as a '

England's Reformation was brought about largely by King Henry VIII. The Act of Supremacy in 1534 finally broke the formerly Catholic churches away from Rome. Other than precipitating great physical damage to many churches, over the following six years, the Catholic Abbeys and Monasteries were forced to give up their lands and possessions to the King. The church of Watford was no exception. At least four abbeys possessed lands in Watford parish: Sulby Abbey, Daventry Priory

Many know the stories surrounding King Arthur and his knights. Much of the legend is based on a book called ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’. This was written in 1469 by Sir Thomas Malory, while in prison, albeit with privileges given his rank and wealth. Thomas was a son of Sir John Malory and Lady Philippa of Winwick, a neighbouring parish to the north of Watford. Thomas’s sister, Philippa Malory, became the wife of Eustace de Burneby, lord of Watford, who held of three parts of the k

The gift of lands and / or a manor to an individual technically lasted 'forever'. 'Technically', because the 'gift' was conditional upon the continued performance by the grantee of the service specified. When the person died his lands passed to his heir according to established rule. Wills and testaments were rare, normally not straying from rules regarding land, and likely concerned only movable possessions, cash legacies, and the like. What passed to the heirs by rule wa

The individuals given lands in return for service of a knight's fee (or part thereof) inevitably grew older, eventually died and their lands and associated obligations passed on to one or several heirs. He or she may not have been able to perform service in an army or, for whatever other reason, did not want to. So a different approach was developed: The obligation of personal service in an army could be avoided either by - sending and paying for another individual to serv

Lands granted or enfeoffed to an individual were usually associated with a parish. England's parishes, all of the Roman Catholic Church at the time, for the most part had been defined before the advent of William the Conqueror in the 11th century. Twenty years after the Conquest, the parishes of England were listed in the Domesday Book, according to the name of the individual who held them, often adding a note of who held the same land before the Conquest. Such lands grante

Originally, lands of any particular parish were often given, or enfeoffed, to an individual who had served the king well. This gave meaning in medieval times to the expression 'The king's faithful servant'. In return for being granted the lands, the beneficiary owed service to the grantor, often that service was 'knight service'. Initially, this was 'service' for 40 days in an army when called upon by the king, where the grantee was expected to arrive at the appointed plac