The Medieval Village

Nothing remains of the Medieval village of Great Addington apart from the Church, the earliest part of which dates to about 1150. 

Great Addington Manor is a relatively modern building, the earliest part of which dates to circa 1609, and is not located on the site of the Medieval Manor House. The Iron-Age, Romano-British, and Anglo-Saxon sites we know about were all discovered as farming practices changed in the late Georgian and early Victorian periods with deeper ploughing; plus gravel and ironstone extraction in the area leading to deeper layers of the soil being exposed.  The reality is that much of Medieval Great Addington lies directly under the modern village. 

Following the end of the Medieval period (1485) a significant amount of rebuilding took place across England as the population as a whole become relatively more affluent. Buildings were extensively modified - chimneys were added to most homes, windows were added, walls built up to add extra rooms, staircases used to replace earlier ladders. 

In many cases it was simpler to start again with buildings being completely rebuilt, though often taller and larger. So much construction took place that the period between 1570 and 1640 has been labelled "the Great Rebuilding" . 

In areas such as Great Addington much of the stone of earlier buildings would likely to have been reused, and therefore many of the stone built houses, and walls, of Great Addington that we see today are likely to be constructed from the remains of the medieval village. 

The rebuilding of Great Addington carried on into the modern era, and today the houses of Great Addington span 400 years of development from 1609 to the modern day. Even within the last 100 years the village has change significantly with many 17th, 18th and 19th century buildings being swept aside and replaced. 

The Parish

Gradually introduced following the Norman Conquest and firmly established by circa 1200, the whole country had been divided into parishes. The parish was originally established for ecclesiastical purposes. Each parish usually had a church, and appointed churchwardens to oversee the building and when necessary to raise funds to pay for repairs and upkeep. All people in the parish - Parishioners - paid tithes (church tax) in crops, goods, or coin for the upkeep of the clergyman and the church. The standard was set at 10% of the parishioners products or earnings.

How the precise shape of Great Addington Parish boundary came about is unclear but it is probably small family groups working together to clear as much scrub land as was necessary for cultivation and pasture. Many of the Parish boundaries in England actually date back to the Anglo-Saxon period, though is some instance it has been possible to go as far back as the Bronze Age. The boundary of Great Addington is roughly rectangular with the eastern short length lying along the centre of the river Nene. The three other sides have pronounced zig-zag shapes along their lengths, though the reasons for this are unknown but are probably related to a landscape feature such as woodland which has now been lost. The fields we see around the village were laid out much later (1803 in Great Addington, 1837 in Little Addington) and were fitted into the parish boundaries that had existed for at least 800 years.

Despite the Peasants Revolt of 1381 and the (relative) increase in wealth amongst the rural population that occurred over the 14th and 15th centuries the Parish system was not fundamentally altered, but the decline in influence of the manor led 16th century Tudor governments to shift local government powers to the parish. This meant that the parish appointed civil officials such as the overseers of the poor and the highways and the parish constable. As the role of the manor continued to decline, civil powers were further shifted from the manor court to the parish, and when the Poor Law was introduced in 1834 the unit of administration was the parish not the manor. As such the parish now exercised both ecclesiastical and civil powers through its different officers.

This combined role lasted until the nineteenth century when central government began to relieve the ecclesiastical parish of its civil powers. After 1834 the administration of poor relief was moved to the newly created Poor Law Unions (not to be confused with trade unions) with their Boards of Guardians, and roads became a county commitment. In 1888 the government abolished the old quarter sessions in favour of elected county councils - Northamptonshire County Council was created at this time. 

Today in Great Addington the division is between the locally elected parish councils - which Great Addington has - which exercise some civil powers, and the Parochial Church Council which, with the churchwardens, continue to run the church.

Life and the Land in Medieval Great Addington

Northamptonshire was an important location during the Medieval period. Its geographical location and the fact that the main north -south road networks travelled through the county meant that it was a valuable strategical area for government and a convenient meeting place for political, social, ecclesiastical and military events. Thomas Beckett was tried in Northampton in 1164. In 1205, King John moved the Treasury to Northampton, and in 1215 he gave Northampton its own mayor which emphasised its importance of Northampton as only London, York and King's Lynn had mayors. There were a number of royal residences within the county and Northampton Castle itself was both a royal residence and also regularly hosted  parliament, including in 1380 when the Poll Tax law that sparked the peasants Revolt of 1381 was voted on. Northampton Castle was besieged in the First Barons War (1215-17) and badly damaged, and two later battle took place at Northampton, in 1264 at the castle, and then in 1460 just to the south of Northampton. 

Chivalric tournaments would also have been held at Northampton, its location at the centre of England making it ideal for these large gatherings of knights and supporters to fight enormous mock battles. Contemporary accounts give estimates at typical tournaments of as many as 4,000 people involved either as participants or as supporting staff. There is historical records showing that a number of tournaments were banned by a successions of Kings, no doubt concerned that such large groups could be used to threaten the crown. 

The transport network of rivers and roads was important not only for the movement of goods but also for the control of the kingdom. As the lands to the east and west of England were not that easy for travel throughout the year, the main routes north and south all went through Northamptonshire, with the road from Northampton to Stamford being part of the key route to the north of England. The rivers and in particular the Nene, continued to be highly important for the movement of bulky or heavy items to the coast and onwards shipment to other coastal towns or across to the continent.

But away from the governance of England and the major towns, the majority of the English population lived in small rural communities in a feudal structure; working the open-fields of England in close knit communities with life determined by the seasons as much as by the local lord. Life was short with the average life span being only 32 years, however this average is distorted by the high mortality rate of children - only 50% of children reached their 10th birthday - so if somebody managed to survive into their late teens there was a good chance they could live to be 45, and if they reached 30 then they might live to be 55.

Most of the land around communities was held as "open fields" which had developed during the late Anglo-Saxon period as farming moved from subsistence farming by small family groups, to a communal endeavour organised around the whole community. Rather than the patchwork of fields with hedges, walls and fences we see today, the Medieval landscape around Great Addington was comprised of just one or two enormous fields with no hedges or boundaries. Nearly the whole parish would have been given over to this arrangement, with just meadow along the rivers edge left unploughed. These enormous open-fields were then farmed in long thin strips, each strip being on average 22 feet wide (7 meters) and 220 yards (201 meters) long. Each strip belonging to a different individual or family. These strips were within enormous fields, most villages having 2 or 3 such fields, and each of these fields would be several hundred acres in size. If you consider that an acre is roughly the same size as a football field then you start to get an idea of the sheer size of the open-field. There were no fences, walls or hedges - hence the name open-field.

Change from open-fields farmed in strips to enclosed fields with hedges were to start as early as the 14th century in some areas, but in Great Addington these open-fields were to stay in place until the Great Addington enclosures of 1803 – representing nearly a 1,000 years of continuity. What we see as traditional fields and hedgerows around the village were actually introduced in the late Georgian period.

As the quality of the land would vary across the field - some areas dryer, some wetter, some chalky, some clay etc - then to ensure fairness each family would be allocated a number of strips in different areas of the field to ensure that each got a fair share of the different soil conditions. The total strips for a family were known as a yardland.

To ensure that the a family did not plough another families strip each strip was marked and would be the same for year after year. The ploughing of the strips, where the soil is heaped by the plough towards the centre of the strip led to the distinctive ridge & furrow shape that we can still see in some of the land around Great Addington (see image below). The furrow is the dip between each ridge which would be where the water drained off the land. At either the end of the strips was an area called the headland where the plough would be turned.

Non-arable land was allocated to common pasture land or waste, where the villagers would graze their livestock throughout the year, woodland for pigs and timber, and also some private fenced land (paddocks, orchards and gardens), called closes. The ploughed fields and the meadows were used for livestock grazing when fallowed or after the grain was harvested. Animals were also grazed on the headlands at the end of the open fields.

The villagers did not have equal holdings of land. About one-half of adults living on a manor had no land at all and had to work for larger landholders for their livelihood. A survey of 13th-century manors in England found that, among the landholding tenants, 45 percent had less than 3 acres (1 ha). To survive, they also had to work for larger landowners. 22 percent of tenants had a virgate of land which varied in size between 24 acres (10 ha) and 32 acres (13 ha) and 31 percent had one-half virgate. To rely on the land for a livelihood a tenant family needed at least 10 acres (4 ha). 

Whilst the open-fields system encouraged a sense of community with every-one working together and the quality of the land distributed equally, it had major disadvantages in that there was no space for innovation, the scattered holdings of individual farmers increased the time needed to travel to and from the different strips. However, for a thousand years and with a growing population the system was perhaps the best method at the time.

Events in Great Addington

The Domesday Survey of 1086 firmly establish the new ownership of lands following twenty years of destruction and chaos of the Norman conquest and documents the feudal system which was to govern life for the majority of the population for the next 400 years.

Until the Census of 1841 onwards the majority of the records of events in the village are related to land transactions and occasional court records. Unfortunately the records of the medieval manor which would have given great insight have as yet not been identified, though they may still lie in some dusty archive.  

However we do have some fragments of information scattered across different documents that provide glimpses of village life.

• By 1125, Aubrey de Vere (II), who had taken over the 1.5 hides of land of the Bishop of Coutances, Geoffrey de Montbrai, had added to that a half a hide at Drayton in Lowick. From this point onwards the two properties are held together.

• Later in the same century Baldwin Wake granted Thrapston to Robert de Vere on his marriage of Baldwin's sister Margaret. So by the end of the 12th century the De Vere manors in Northamptonshire included Addington, Twywell, Islip, Drayton and Thrapston. In 1335 during Ralf de Vere's tenancy an extent of the manor of Thrapston shows there was there a capital messuage (land and buildings) with two gardens, 100 acres of arable land for the estate (in demesne), 10 acres of meadow, 10 free tenants, 10 native (?) tenants, 10 cottages, a water mill, and a market and fair. Alice, widow of John de Vere, in 1386 had her dower (widows pension) in Thrapston, including the profits of the market and fair, the common oven and a cottage in 'le Draperie.' Thrapston was eventually sold by descendants of the family in 1731.

• Robert de Vere's son, Henry was with Richard I (the Lionheart) in 1186 on military campaign in Normandy against Philip Augustus, King of France. At Vaux near the city of Gisors, Henry was involved in skirmish with French troops and killed Ralph de Vaux. Henry was placed in charge of the castle and city of Gisors, until the death of his father when he returned to Addington. 

• In 1202-3 Martin of Papley, Simon Malse, Ranulf de Clapton, Thomas de Lullington (Luddington), were sent "to hear who the recluse (widow) of Addington wishes to attorn (appoint to act for her in law) against Hugh of Addington and Robert the Big, touching a plea of corn deforced, says that she attorns Ralph Porthos". Papley was a hamlet on the outskirts of Warmington, Northamptonshire. This court case was a claim for dower - the widows pension rights to the estate of her dead husband for the rest of her life. It would seem that Martin, Simon, Ranulf and Thomas were the investigators deciding the widows case against Hugh and Robert. The name of the widow isn't given know but perhaps is the widow of Robert de Vere who died circa 1194. Though Robert's brother John had a wife called Alice and for a period John had been in control of the family lands before he died without a son and Robert had taken inherited from his brother. The Hugh of Addington, may be Hugh de Waterville who is known to have owned the manor in Little Addington; at that time Little Addington was known as Addington Waterville.

• Also in the year 1202-3, "Rohesia of Addington appealed (accused) Richard son of William of rape and has not followed it up. And therefore, she in in mercy, and let her be taken". This entry means that Rohesia had accused somebody of rape but had not been able to provide evidence, as such she was now liable to be arrested or fined.

• In 1232 Baldwin de Vere received permission 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 manor house at Addington, where he and his wife Hawise, their guests and household, might hear divine service, but they still had to use the parish church on certain important dates. 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. The document says “a chapel, and in it, he, Baldwin, and heirs of the family of his father, and guests… and only let them hear, and say mass”. 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. In the agreement various place names in the village are given for the first time, such as “Sleng near the fee of Maurice de Audely”; Wudefordebanlon' (Woodford), Grenewey, Ridgeway, Trendlade, Lidewellehil, Michelwelle, Westfield on Scitershul (Shooters Hill), and Brook furlong.

• In 1316-17, John Horsot of Great Addington, killed Thomas Frere of Great Addington on 10 Edward II (July 1316 to July 1317). The said John took sanctuary in All Saints Church, Great Addington, and there confessed that he had killed said Thomas, and abjured the realm (swore to leave the country). His chattels (possesions) were worth 3shillings 4pence. The first finder is dead (the person who found the body) and as it happened by day and the township of Great Addington did not capture him (before he got to the church), they are in mercy (compassion for the unfortunate).

• In 1318 the Abbot of Croyland - who at the this point still held land in Great Addington - was engaged in a suit against William Marmaduke, bailiff of Richard Marmaduke of Raunds, and others, for damage done to his mill pond at Addington. There is mention of the Abbey of Croyland having a mill in Great aAdington, so if we assume that this is the same mill then we know it was a watermill. 

• 1320-21 In the reign of Edward II, a court is held in Thrapston. Hugh Lucas of Thrapston was arrested in the fields of parva (Little) Adington with a bay horse stolen from Thomas Howett of Ertlingborw (Irthlingborough) and placed in the stocks at Ertlingborw. He was then taken to Thrapston on the way to prison at Peterborough but escaped and fled to the church of St James (Thrapston). There he confessed he was thief and had killed John Ofbotchull (or Ofbotehull) of Warwick in the field of Weston Favel. He abjured the realm (claimed sanctuary and promised to leave the country forever) and was assigned to Dover (told to travel to Dover and from there to leave the country). Irthlingborough will answer for his escape (are responsible).

• Circa 1330 Robert of Chester, Juxta Durham (from the village of Chester near Durham), for fear of arrest took sanctuary in the Church of All Saints, Addington. He there confessed that he was guilty of divers thefts and abjured the realm . His chatels were worth 2shillings.* 

• Circa 1330 Henry de Drinere of Burton (Latimer?), for fear of arrest took sanctury in All Saints Church of Great Addington and there confessed he had committed divers (many) thefts and abjured the realm. His chattels were worth 12pence. 

• Ralph de Vere died in 1335 and a record of Addington Manor taken after his death, showed there was then a capital messuage (meaning a house, lands and outbuildings), a dovecot, a garden with a mill in it and 60 acres of demesne. The fact that it mentions a garden with a mill in it, seems to be further evidence that the original manor house was near to the stream that crosses under modern Lower St.

• 1367-8. In the reign of Edward III, in Addington (whether Great or Little is not known). Thomas Mayson was found dead by Wiliam (L)adde. Thomas Sumpter and Thomas Kynche (Kenche?) support the statements of William. The coroner (John de Nunton) records a death by Misfortune as "in the house of Roger Mason at night a candle fell on the bed, burned to death". The jurors were Thomas Sumpter, John atte Stones, Bart(holemew) atte Stones, Thomas (?), John (son of Henry Mayson), Robert Raule, Henry Swayn, Thomas Nicol, Simon Kenche, Gerrard Wernerne, Robert Adam. The court roll mentions that the jurors came from both villages. As the house belonged to Roger Mason then it is probably that Thomas was a relative.

• 1409-10. In the reign of Henry IV, John Anable de Wavenden, Buckinghamshire in custody for taking a horse at parva Adynton (Little Addington) worth 40 shillings from John Robyn. William Thirnyng and Robert Tirwhyt are the justices (of the peace). John Welton & Robert Isham are the custodians. They take John Anable to the prison at Northampton Castle.

• 1409-10. In the reign of Henry IV, John atte Hawe alias John Milner de Lynne (is) in custody for taking a horse worth 40 shillings from John Robyn at parva Adyngton (Little Addington). Rector of St Peter Northampton acting for the Bishop of Lincoln. Jurors say he is guilty and he has no chattles (no money or possessions). Retained in custody (sent to prison at Northampton Castle.

• 1423-24. In the reign of Henry VI, Robert Couper de Ryngstede (of Ringstead) yoman in custody for taking a horse worth 6 shillings and 8 pence from Henry Lyndesey de Adyngton (Great Addington) and a bay horse from William Beby de Adyngton at Adyngton parvam (Little Addington) worth 13 shillings and 4 pence. Acquitted.  

The entries from 1202-3 are from the work The earliest Northamptonshire assize rolls, A.D. 1202 and 1203, by Doris Mary Parsons Stenton, 1930. This book is no longer in print. The information shown was gathered by Brian Duncan in 1990.

The references to those claiming sanctuary in the church are taken from THE THIRTY-SECOND REPORT OF THE ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETY OF THE ARCHDEACONRIES OF NORTHAMPTON AND OAKHAM which states they are in the Assize Roll Number 632 from Edward III in 1330. This document is now difficult to locate, but the information shown was gathered by Brian Duncan in 1990.

*To abjure the realm, the person taking the oath swore to leave the country directly and promptly, never to return to the kingdom unless by permission of the sovereign. This was often taken by fugitives who had taken sanctuary in a church. "I swear on the Holy Book that I will leave the realm of England and never return without the express permission of my Lord the King or his heirs. I will hasten by the direct road to the port allotted to me and not leave the King's highway under pain of arrest or execution. I will not stay at one place more than one night and will seek diligently for a passage across the sea as soon as I arrive, delaying only one tide if possible. If I cannot secure such passage, I will walk into the sea up to my knees every day as a token of my desire to cross. And if I fail in all this, then peril shall be my lot."

As mentioned earlier not everybody would have been assessed for tax as the poorest agricultural workers and those with only their hand tools and skills would have been excluded. It is not possible to state how many more families lived in Great Addington but it is reasonable to suspect that as many as 30% of the village population was not assessed.

The assessment was based on the principle of a “fifteenth” i.e. based on a fifteenth of their “wealth”, meaning that those in Great Addington who were assessed at 4pence (4d) had a wealth of 5shillings (5s).

Certain items were exempt from assessment including armour, riding horses, jewels, the clothing of knights, gentlemen and their wives and vessels of gold silver and brass. In the peasantry clothes, hand-tools, certain household goods, and food seem to have also been exempt. Items that were assessed included pans, pots, beds, animals, boats, fishing nets, carts, firewood, thatch (spare bundles presumably), crops, and stocks of goods held for trade. Typical goods include hay, straw, wheat, barley, peas, beans, and fish in ponds (it would have been interesting to know how they would have been counted!).

It is useful to understand how much people earned and how much things cost at this time. In 1301 an unskilled manual labourer would earn 2d (pence) a day, a servant 1d, a female servant 0.3d (a third of a penny), a master carpenter could earn 4d a day. Typical prices for common items are 1.5d for a gallon of good beer; 3d a gallon of rough wine (I think I would stick to the good beer!); 2 dozen eggs would be 1d; a cow would cost you 72d; and a cottage would be 60d rent per year. 

With regard to beer, most people would have brewed their own "small beer" at this time a water was unsafe to drink. Small beer was a low alcohol beer of about 1%, compared to modern beers which are about 3.5%. Everyone, regardless of age drank small beer.

Items that could be made locally, wooden furniture for instance, was cheap; however anything that was made elsewhere or imported was expensive. Even woollen clothes was expensive, as at this time wool was exported and then reimported as cloth.

It is likely that the villagers of 1301 were likely to have been christened in the same font as is still used today. The font is dated to the 13th century – so was in place before the tax assessment. In addition, many of the changes made to the church occurred in the late 13th and early 14th century. Perhaps William and Geoffery (see below, were the stone masons who worked on the church. Only 40 generations separate us from the Great Addington villagers of 1301. Indeed, to a large extent, apart from the Victorian pews and organ, the church would have appeared largely the same then as it is today. Whilst some names as translated appear unusual to us, many could be people living here today and with occupations – miller, baker, clerk, etc - we recognise.

I have taken the literal translation, such as Gilbert le Espenser, and shown what we would use as their surname and, where possible, occupation. For instance, Gilbert the Steward was most definintely a steward (man servant), probably of Lord Robert de Vere.  At this time the use of surnames was not well established and people tended to have  a descriptive name, either before or after their “Christian” name. The descriptive was to differentiate them from others with the same name; or to describe where they were from, for instance Robert of Northampton, or their occupation, John the Miller, or sometimes just to differentiate from others of a similar name, hence Little William.  

• Marg'ia Asselyn (Margery Asselyn)

• Robert de North (Robert of Northampton)

• Alice Campion (a Norman French surname meaning champion)

• Simon le Carct (Simon the Carter, a carter was typically self-employed & owned a cart from which he could earn good money moving heavy goods or larger loads by cart)

• Geoffrey cleric (Geoffrey the Clerk, a clerk was often a religious figure but may have worked for the local Lord of the Manor)

• William Galpin (an Anglo-Saxon surname meaning messenger or fast runner)

• Adam s/o Robert (Adam son of Robert)                        

• Emma Scot     

• Adam supa ecc[lesi]am  (the translation can be read as "above" the church. Perhaps Adam was a tenant on church land? Or who lived beyond the church)

• Robert le Bonde (Robert the Farmer - a Farmer or Husbandman. A husbandman in the Middle Ages was a free tenant farmer)

• Emma Randolf (the surname is Norman French)

• Agn' Kyng (Agneta - or Agnes – King)

• Henry Alex~ (Henry Alexander)                         

• Richard le Taylour (Richard the Tailor. The old English word means "cutter of cloth")      

• Robert Prepositus (Robert the Reeve. A Reeve was a land steward or bailiff for the Manor)

• Richard ad lapid (Richard at the stones. At the stones, a quarry or possibly a river crossing)

• Walter Randolf  (the surname is Norman French)

• Thomas le (Prd)

• Julian/a C(ocle) (Julian - or Juliana – Cocle which means Cook. May have an occupation as Cook but the original document is almost unreadable)

• Adam s/o Matthew (Adam son of Matthew)

• Henry Andr' (Henry Andrew)  

• Henry le maceoun (Henry the Mason. A stonemason or builder)

• Henry Mariot (a Breton French name meaning devote of the Virgin Mary)

• William s/o Geoffrey (William son of Geoffrey)

• William Campion (William Campion perhaps husband or related to Alice Campion)

• William Fyn    

• Gilbert le Espenser (Gilbert the Steward, probably the Lord of the Manors Steward)

• Alice Rocer     

• John Kempe (the surname is old Norman French and means champion at jousting or wrestling)

• William Scot  

• Thomas le Somter (Thomas the pack horse man. Packhorse were the most common and cheapest way to move goods around as the roads were so poor)

• Robert Miles (Robert the Soldier. The surname is Latin and means soldier)

• Robert le Frere (Robert the Friar, a religious figure)

• Lord Robert de Veer (Lord of the Manor of Great Addington)

• William Pistor' (William the Baker)       

• William Hecherinst      

• John molend (John the Miller)

• William le Bercher (William the Shepherd - Bercar is the correct spelling)

There are none of the names that are later associated with Great Addington - Bolney, Beeby, Abbot, Hackney et;. however in Little Addington amongst the names one stands out:

Henry supa villam Robert ad Grena~ William le Do

Robert at the spring Hugh Alger Simon son of Gosselyn

Adam above the village Simon H(yne) Robert Preposito

William son of R Preposito Robert Broun Robert Felan

Walter at the mount Simon son of Avice Henry ky(nn)ount

William Pikot William Levenok John Schadue

Adam (above the church?) Robert at the river bank Nicholas Schadue

Robert Watervile Abelot Watervile Nicholas Watervile

John Bosse Hugh Gerard Hugh Pykot

John Abbot Simon son of Nicholas Warin engane

Robert kimioun John le Maceoun Alice Puttok

William Pistor' Robert le Walker Henry le Do

William clerico John Freman William son of William

This is the earliest found reference to the surname Abbot in the Addingtons and at a time when surnames were still not in common usage. There would be Abbots' living in the village for nearly 700 years.

Henry de Vere

Henry de Vere, Lord of Addington, was at the Battle of Bosworth. He was a Lancastrian supporter and cousin of the Earl of Oxford, Henry VII leading military advisor. In many ways his death at this point in time and the fact that he was the last of a long line of feudal overlords of Addington, really does provide a end point to the Medieval history of Great Addington..

Henry was the last in the line of de Veres' of Northamptonshire who had been Lords of Manors of Great Addington, Drayton, Thrapston, Twywell, Slipton and other villages for nearly 400 years. He died in 1493 and we are fortunate in having a number of fascinating documents relating to his life.

He died leaving four daughters by his wife, Isabella Tresham. Two of the daughters married into the Mordaunt family and through that connection the Great Addington manor and other estates came to be owned by the Mordaunts, later Earls of Peterborough.

Henry de Vere's wife, Isabella, whom he married in about 1482,  was connected with John Stafford, Earl of Wiltshire – who lived at Lowick Hall nearby. Henry possessed a "Stafford knot amulet of silver", valued at 1shilling, which was probably a family keepsake.

Connected by marriage with families as the Segraves, Treshams, Wakes, Staffords, and Watervilles - Little Addington was owned by the Waterville family at one point; de Vere of Addington was a typical Northamptonshire lord of the manor. He had been Sheriff of Northamptonshire and also a justice of the peace. As well as Great Addington his lands included the manor of Thrapston, Slipton, Twywell, and at one point the family had held Drayton, near Lowick. The family also seemed to have, through marriage, other lands outside of Northamptonshire.

De Vere was a benefactor to the parish church of All Saints, founding a chantry chapel – basically establishing a fund  to ensure that prayers and hymns were sung in his memory after his death in a dedicated area of the church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first chaplain to this chantry was John Bloxham, who died in 1519, and whose memorial brass is also in the church, originally in the chantry chapel, but moved at some point to its current position.

Halstead Geneaology of 1685, has a lot of information regarding the de Vere's and their descendants. The book was written 200 years after the events of the War of the Roses, refers to the events of the Battle of Bosworth, where Richard III was killed, and to Henry  de Vere's own disputes with Richard III: 

"Henry the eldest Son of Sir Richard Vere, with the Estate of his Father inherited the Suit and Difference (a legal dispute over lands) with the Lord Abbot of Croyland, and by his endeavours to defend his interests in that affair, he incurr'd the displeasure of King Richard III which was particularly testified in a Letter to himself, and in some others from certain Lords of his Council. 

Several rigours he suffered from this King, joyn'd to the indignation of Mankind, that had been drawn upon him by his injustice and cruelty, incited Sir Henry Vere to be particularly active in the introducing of King Henry the Seventh, to whose service he brought a resolute Band of his Tenants and Country-men, at whose Head he fought himself, in that decisive Day, where at Bosworth the unhappy Richard lost both his Kingdom and his Life: 

He thereupon received the Honour of Knighthood, at the hands of the victorious King; and because of his fidelity and interest, was made High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in that first year of his Reign. 

He married Isabella Tresham, the Daughter of Sir Thomas Tresham, who was Lord of Rushton, and of a Family at that time very considerable in the Country where they lived, for their Riches and Authority, by whom he left only five Daughters"

*The extract from Halstead's Genreaology mentions five daughters, but we know of only four.

Henry De Vere letters from the King, Family, Friends & Enemies

Detailed below are a number of letters sent to Henry de Vere, including one from the King, though which King? It was known that Henry de Vere had no love for Richard III and fought against him at Bosworth, but though a supporter of Henry VII, even the King could not ignore complaints from the great Abbey of Croyland - which still held lands in Great Addington.  Based on the date of the letter and the location it was sent from it is most likely to be from Henry VII and sent in March 1486. The letter shown is probably the only personal letter from a monarch of England discussing the people of Addington.

Other letters are a mixture of personal and official from friends, family, and enemies. All spelling shown below is as per the original letters.

The first document is a letter of wittness for Henry de Vere against a complain raised by a certain Thomas Watts. The letter is from Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden (c. 1460 – 14 May 1523) a soldier and courtier in England and an early member of the House of Commons. The Vaux family had connections to the de Vere's. Nicholas Vaux was also a supporter of Henry VII. 

The original complaint by Thomas Watts cannot be found, but it is clear by Nicholas's letter that it was serious, including an allegation that Nicholas had been sent to murder Thomas by Henry de Vere. The letter is addressed to my Lord Chancellor, though as it is not dated it is unclear which Lord Chancellor it is.

To the Right Honourable and my singular good Lord, my Lord Chancellor of England.

Right honourable and my most singular good Lord, I recommend me to your good Lordship in as humble manner as I can. Please it your good Lordship to understand, That where one Thomas Watts hath compleyned afore your Lordship and other of the Kings Councel ayenst Harry Vere Squyer, of divers injuries and wrongs supposed that he shuld doe to him in the coming of the Kings Grace into this Lond, for the whyche injuries and wronges the said Thomas had at that tyme a Privy Seal, and of his own offer and desire prayed me to sett him and the said Harry at accord; And the said Harry Vere to appear. And the said Thomas kept still his Privy Seal. And for soe much as he was my Servaunt att the tyme, I, att a Sessions in the second Yere of our said Soveraigne Lord at Northampton, afore Sir Thomas Greene, John Throgmorton, Richard Knightly, and other Gentilmen there present, made a their own agreement and accorde of matters, desires and greves depending betwix the said partyes, from the beginning of the World unto that day of accord, as well of the part of the said Harry as of the said Thomas. And alsoe whereas the said Thomas shuld late surmiis unto your Lordship, that the said Henry should desire me to goe to the house of the said Thomas in Rothewell att my goeing toward the King att his last Journay Northwarde, to slee or destroye (kill) the said Thomas; It was never soe desired by the said Henry, nor noon of his, of me, nor of noon of myne, nor I never thought no suche entent to him, nor to noon other, but according to the Kings comandement, and his Lawes, and thereto I shall be ready to answer as well for my declaration, as for the declaration of the said Henry in all the premisses, whansoever it pleas the Kings Highnes, and your Lordship to comande me. And Almighty God ever preserve your good Lordship to your most hertes pleasure.

Written at Haroweden the fower and twentyeth Day of October

By your own Servant, Nicholas Vaus.

The Answer of Henry de Vere to the Bill of Complaint of Thomas Watts. This appears to be a either a written statement, or more likely a verbal statement given in person at court. In it Henry claims that Thomas Watts and a group of 30  of armed men had taken money and property from Henery de Vere, and that Henry had been commanded by the King to arrest Thomas Watts. My favourite line is "desired the said Henry to take some reasonable weye, and end with the said Thomas in eschewing further expences and troubles", meaning that at the time other told Henry that he should kill Thomas Watts and save time and money!

The said Henry saith by protestation, That the said Bill of Complaint is insufficient, and compriseth matter slaunderous. For the declaration of the trouth of the premisses, the said Henry saith, That the said Thomas Watts, before the said twentye sixthe day of August specified in the said Bill, that the said Compleynent in the dayes of King Richard (late in dede and not in right) King of England, took from the said Henry riotously with thirty persons defensibly arrayed certeyn Timber, Hey-Rekes, Peese-Rekes, with much other Stuff of Howshold, to the value of eleven Marks, and more; And alsoe the said Thomas in lyke riotous wise resevyd of the Rents of the said Henry ten Mark in Ekton, Barton and Wouleston within the Counte of Northampton, for the whyche the said Henry compleyned to the Kings Grace imediately after his first feld; And it pleased the Kings Grace among other of his Highnes Comandemens, to comand the said Henry to bring the same Thomas to him to answer to the premisses. And the said Henry by reason of the same Comandement, with two persons harnessed (wearing armour and carrying weapons) came from his first Feld unto the House of the said Thomas, to the entent to execute the Kings said Comandements, then and there being John Tresham Esquier (Henry de Vere's brother-in-law), the Viccar of the said Town of Rothewell, John Dove, and one Cowper, and many others, and they knowing the premisses, and knowing for trouth, that the said Thomas of and in the premisses and many other had offended the said Henry, desired the said Henry to take some reasonable weye, and end with the said Thomas in eschewing further expences and troubles. At the whych time the said Viccar and John Dove, by the special desire of the said Thomas, brought unto the said Henry ten Mark; And the said Thomas by his Servant sent the same Black Horse specified in his said Bill to the said Henry in full recompence of such injuries as been afore rehersed. All which matters, and every eche one of them the said Henry is ready to prove, as this Court will award, and prayeth to be dismissed out of this Court with his reasonable Costs and expence for his wrongful vexation.

*King Richard (late in dede and not in right) King of England - means King Richard, recently deceased and not rightfully King of England.

**a mark - was worth about 160 pence, or 13shillings and 4pence. About two-thirds of a pound. It was not a coin as such, more of a unit of accounting. It was a term used in England after being introduced by the Danes in the 10th century.

To Henry from his brother Baldwyn de Vere. The Master Catesby mentioned in the document could be William Catesby (1450 - 1485) who was was one of Richard III of England's principal councillors. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Speaker of the House of Commons during Richard's reign. He fought alongside Richard III at teh Battle of Bosworth, was captured and was the only man of importance who was executed. If this is correct then this would date this letter earlier than 1485.

To his Worshipful Brother Henry Vere be this Bill delivered at Addington.

Ryght Worshipful Brodyr, I recommend me unto yow and to my Sister your Wife, hertily desiring to here of your welfares, the which Almightie God preserve to his plesure and yowr hertes desire. Sure I have spokyn with Maister Catesby, and he hath promissed me to be as frendly to yow in yowr matter as he can. He is ryding with my Lord Chamberlyn this Morning toward the Kyng. Watts (presumebly the Thomas Watts in the earlier documents) calleth for the processe, and therefore I went to Maister Catesby this morning when he took his Horse, and fete a Tokyn from him to Watts, that he shuld cale noe more on the processe till he come to Towne ayene, and that shall be when the King come, and that shall be within fourteen dayes; and if ye come up then, he will see an end betwix you and the other Gentilman the Jewe; and so I think best yow doe, for anoder man cannot labour your mattir soe well to yowr intent as yowr self sure. As for your Suite against Beke, they have geven yow none Answere as yet. There is an Exigent out against Parson Edward Davy sure. I pray yow remember my Brother Barners, for I sent him word, That ye would send him ten Pounds within fourteen dayes after Alhallow-Day. Brother, whereas yow wrote unto me, that ye were not in hertes ese, ye have made me very hevye of that tydings; but I trust to God, in the next Bill ye shall send me better comforte. And sure at the reverence of God, whatsoever adverfityes befall yow, take them lytely, and set them not to yowr herte, and then remedye them as ye think best: for if ye set them to yowr herte, ye shall hurt your selfe, and that shall plese syche as be the causes thereof, and all syche as love yow not, and shall discomforte all syche as be yowr frendes and Lovers. Wherefore I will avise yow to take that way that may comforte yowr frendes and lovers, and displese yowr foes. No more to yow at this tyme but, I shall be at yowr comandement both here and elswhere be God's Grace, who have yow in his kepeing.

At London on Symond Jude is Evyn.

Be your Brother and Servant, Baldwyn Vere.

To Henry from Francis Lovell, one of Richard III's most ardent supporters.

To my Right Trusty and Welbeloved Henry Vere Gentilman.

Ryght Trusty and Welbeloved, I commend me unto yow; And whereas I have perceived by my Right Welbeloved Sir Thomas Thornton Parson of Addington in the County of Northampton, how that he of late hath permuted a Benefice that he had in Northbeneflete in Essex for the said Benefice in Addington with oon Master John Ovyn late Parson there, and as he saith ye doe now pretend, that a Graunt was made unto yow by the said Master John Ovyn in his time of the Ferme of the said Parsonage of Addington for the space of a Yere, which pretence I understand the said Master John Ovyn utterly denyeth, saying, that he never was agreable thereunto, and how that ye have no writing thereof, but onely that ye intend with strong hand to keep the said Ferme against the will of the Parson there, and contrary to all good reason and conscience: Wherefore I pray yow as hertely as I can, that as well for my sake, as in discharge of your owne conscience, ye woll deal favorably with the said Parson, and to suffer him to occupy and enjoy his Benefice according to Right without your interruption, wherein yow shall give me cause to be good Lord unto yow in eny thing ye reasonably can desire me: And if ye doe the contrary, the matter will be ferther attempted against yow to your trouble and charge.

Written the third day of March.

Franceys Lovell.

To Henry from John Viscount Welles a Lancastrian supporter. Henry VII knighted John Welles on 7 August 1485 and he was created Viscount in 1486 and given substantial grants. Shene Manor where the letter is sent from was a favourite royal residence in Kew, London. Though both supporters of Henry VII, it is clear that complaints by the Abbey of Crowland (previously known as Croyland) regarding Henry de Vere's treatment of certain tenants within the village had reached the King.

To my Trusty and Welbeloved Henry Vere Squier.

Trusty and Welbeloved, I grete yow welle, and let yow wite, that I am credi∣bly informed how ye grevously and contrarie to all right vexe and trouble the Tennants and Inhabitants of the Towne of Addyngton in the County of Northampton belonging unto the Abbot of Crowland, whereof I am Steward, and had not I have been, the said Abbot had ere this time shewed it unto the Kings Grace, my Lady his Modre, and alsoe unto my Lord of Oxford, in as moche as he is Chappellaine unto them, which as I suppose would have been to yow none ease gif he had so doon. Wherefore I advise yow from hencesorth no more to vexe ne troble the said Tennants and Inhabitants, but to leave such your wrongful dealing among them, and suffre them to have their Comunes and Herdes as they have had in times past, for drede of that may ensue thereof; And that yow will surcease of any more troubling with them, as I may say unto yow gramercy at our next metyng. And if I understand that ye doe the contrary, I shall provide a convenient remedy therefore. And alsoe as for such mattris as been depending betwix yow and my Servant Richard Clerc, I shall, when we next speke togedyre, see a remedy therein. Moreover that you will give credence unto the Bringer hereof, whych is a Servant of the Kinges and myne.

Yeven under my Signet at the Mannor of Shene the three and twentyeth day of May.

John Viscount Welles.

To Henry from the King. It is sent from Stamford and dated 14th March. It is known that Henry VII travelled from London to York in March 1486 and stopped at Stamford. Therefore it is probable that this letter is from Henry VII, only 4 months after his coronation and 7 months since the events at Bosworth. Henry VII gave Colyweston Palace near Stamford to his mother in the same year. The Palace of Collyweston was a centre of power; a royal manor house under the Lady Margaret’s ownership, Collyweston became the administrative centre for the Midlands.

A Letter from King Henry VII to Henry Vere.

To Our Trusty and Welbeloved Henry Vere Squier.

By the King.

H.R.

Trusty and Welbeloved, we grete yow wel; And wot ye wel, grevouse Compleynt hath be made unto us on the behalf our trusty and welbeloved in God th'Abbot of our Monastery of Crowland, how, where he in the right of the said Monastery hath a Fermor and certeyn Tennants in the Towne of Addington, ye without matter or cause sufficient, of your pure malice, not onely at divers times heretofore have by your sinister menes vexed and trobled the said Fermor and Tennants, that they ne are of sufficient power, defending their life, to pay and content to him their Fermes due unto the said Monastery for their termes in the same; but as well put them dayly in such feare of new trouble, that he is like to be destitute of any sufficient Fermor and Tennants to occupy the Mannor and Tenements lying in the said Towne at any time hereafter, to the utter impoverishing of our said Monastery, as we be informed.

Wherefore we willing the said Abbot peasibly to enjoy the profits of our said Monastery as far as he ought of right to doe, by reason of his Dignity there, most specially, in consideration of that it is of our foundation, whom we are bound to defend in all the right of the same, woll and straightly charge yow, if it be as is surmised unto us in this parte, that ye not onely dispose you lawfully to compound with the said Abbot for such injuryes and offences as ye have attempted in this partie contrarie our Lawes and good conscience, but alsoe at all times hereafter to suffer the said Fermors and Tennants now being and hereafter for to be, peceably to occupy their tenors in the same without eny vexation, inquieting, or trouble of you or other in your name, or for you into the contrary, so that the said Abbot have no cause of reason eftsoons to pursue unto us in the premisses, as ye woll answer unto us at your uttermost perill.

 Geven under our Signet at our Towne of Stamford the fourteenth day of March.

A letter from John Tresham, Henry's brother-in-law. Probably written sometime after 1485.

John Tresham's father, Thomas, Speaker of the House of Parliament, fought at the Battle of Northampton in 1460 and at the Second Battle of St Albans, where he was knighted. He fought at the Battle of Towton and was captured. He secured a pardon in 1464 and again represented Northamptonshire in Parliament in 1467, but failed to regain his lands and possessions. As a result, he took part in the plots of John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford - a distant relation of the de Veres of Northamptonshire, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1468 until Henry VI regained the throne in 1470. He was rewarded for his services and loyalty with various grants, including that of Huntingdon Castle, to be held for seven years. After the Battle of Barnet he fled to meet Margaret of Anjou but was captured and executed on 6 May 1471 on teh orders of Edward IV. His children by Mary, daughter of William, Lord Zouche of Harringworth, included a son, John, who was born in 1462. John was restored to his father's estates by Henry VII in 1485. Thomas and Marys' daughter, Isabella, was born in 1460 and married Sir Henry de Vere of Addington.

To his Right Worshipful and Welbeloved Brother Sir Henry Vere be this delivered.

Ryght Worshipful Brodyr, in the most herty wise I commend me unto yow; and Brodyr, I have sent unto yow your Aporne and Gussets of Mayse, I trust not appaired, and I thanke yow right hertely for them; and if it like yow not to have them againe, ye shall have for them what ye will think reasonable. And Brodyr, I have sent yow be this the Bringer hereof the Copye of the evidence of Barton and Sywell, and I will be with you with the Grace of God on Tewesday or Wednesday next coming, and bring to you all the dedys concerning the Mannor of Sywell with th' appurtenances. And Brodyr, I pray yow to lend to me be the Bringer hereof five Marcks, that ye promissed I should have had at the first payment; for ye promissed me twenty Marcks, and I had but ten Pounds; And I pray yow of all gentilnesse that I may have this five Marcks now, or els that ye will send me forty Shillings, for it would doe me great ease now, and I have nede thereof, and ye shall finde me in all behalfes as I have promissed yow with the Grace of Jhesu, who preserve yow. 

Written at Little Okely in haste on Sainct Peters Eve. And I pray yow that this Bill may recomend me to my Sister.

Your loveing Brodyr, John Tresham.

A second letter from John Tresham, Henry's brother-in-law. 

To his Right Worshipful Brodyr Sir Henry Vere be this delivered.

Ryght Worshipful Brodyr, in the most loving wise I recomend me unto yow and unto my Sister your Wife. And Brodyr, whereas I sent yow word by your Servaunt to have been with yow as this day, I pray yow to take it for noon unkindnesse that I come not, for I have such a sorenesse in my Throat that hit grevys me to speake or to swallow any thing, and the Wether is soe farvent colde that I dare not aventure forth. And alsoe your Servaunt shewed me that ye should understand, that I have sold more Londs in Northampton to Chauncey, and for certein so have I done. And though I help and ease my selfe with parte of myne inheritance that is fee-simple, to bring me out of dette and danger, I pray yow think not but that I hope and trust to God to have a Heire or Heires of my Body lawfully begotten, though it fortune me not to have any by this Woman: And that I think not nor intend not if God fortune me to have such Issue, to disinheryte them nor noon other that shall fortune to be myne next Heire. But if God fortune me live, I purpose to leve them as moche as I found, and more of myne owne purchase with the Grace of Jhesu, who preserve yow and yours both Body and Soule.

Your loveing Brodyr, John Tresham.

A letter from (John)Oxynford. 

This is taken to be John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford and one of Henry VII main supporters. He was a key figure through the War of the Roses and was involved in numerous battles. He had success, but was also captured in a battle. He manged to escape imprisonment at the castle in Calais by climbing the walls and jumping into the moat. He returned to England. At the Battle of Bosworth, Oxford commanded the archers and Henry's vanguard.  Using a wedge formation they penetrated Richard's army and held Richmond's vanguard in fierce fighting in which John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and the first cousin of Oxford's mother, who was leading the vanguard of Richard III, was killed. Following the death of Richard III, as Lord Great Chamberlain he officiated at the coronations of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, bearing the king's train at the coronation and setting the crown upon the king's head at the coronation banquet. 

To my Right Welbeloved Cousen Sir Harry Vere, Sheriff of the County of Northampton.

Ryght Welbeloved, I comend me to yow. Forasmuch as I am enformed that John Robyns of Multon is vexed and troubled by certeyn persons there wrongfully and against Conscience, I will and desire ye that ye will succour the same John in his Right, and not suffer him soe to be wronged, otherwise than may accorde with Lawe and Conscience, soe that he may have and enjoy that he hath Right to, in quiet, rest, and peace.

Written at London the two and twentyeth day of February.

Oxynford.

Second letter from (John)Oxynford. This letter seems to be asking Henry to be ready to be called to gve service to the King as part of John's company (soldiers).

To my Right Welbeloved Cousyn Sir Henry Vere.

Ryght Welbeloved Cousyn, I comende me to yow, thankyng yow for yowr good will and disposition shew'd to me by your Servant this Berer, whereby I understand that ye haveing knowleche that I sent for my Frendes and Lovers, thought that I shuld have sent for yow in like manner. I have therein shewed my mynde and entent to yowr seyd Servant, to whom ye may yeve credence in that behalfe, not doubtyng but myne entent was, at soche tyme as I would call such as be towards and reteyned to me, to have then sent for yow; And soo hereafter I entend to doo, as well for yow, as for all suche other there as be towards me, whereto I desyre yow and theym to shewe yowr good willes, and to be ready to do the King service in my Company when ye shall thereto be desired.

Written at the Abbay of Stretford the four and twentyeth day of February.

Oxynford.

Third letter from (John)Oxynford. Written when Henery is unwell and offering to look after his daughters should he not survive. It is written from Colne in Essex, ancestral home of the de Veres'. Thgough not dated, it may be that this was written to Henry shortly before his death in 1493. Henry's will states that he wishes William Marbury of Lowick to look after his daughters and not John Oxynford.

To my right entirely beloved Cousen Henry Vere Squier.

Ryght intirely beloved Cousyn, I comende me hertely to yow. And forasmoche as I truste that ye think I take yow for my Kynnesman, as ye may certeynly be sure that I so do, and that I here by reporte that ye be gretely greved and vexed with sikenes, whereof I am right sory, howbeit I think by Godis Grace ye shall do right well. Neverthelesse I understand that ye have yong Gentilwomen to yowr Daughters, whych be my Kynneswomen, I therefore woll think that howsoevyr God dispose for yow, that ye shuld be content that I myght have the Rule and Governaunce of theym, or some of theym, consydering that they be of my blode, desyring yow especially, that ye wyll soe dispofe yowr selfe, not doubting but that I shall be as gode Lorde to theym that ye wylle putt in my Rule, and cherish theym, as I wolde doe myne owne, delyverryng the same to my right trusty Servaunt Thomas Lowthe, by him to be conveyed to me, yevyng him credence alsoe in that he shall shewe to yow ferther, according to my mynd in this behalfe. And Almighty God preserve yow.

Written at Colnethe last day of April.

Yowr Cosen, Oxynford.

Henry de Vere died in 1493, he was around 33 years of age. The tomb in Great Addington church reads:

Here lyeth the Body of Sr Henry Vere Knight. who was once Lord of this manor . He was Father of Elizabeth, Wife to Iohn the first Lord Mordaunt unto whom his eldest Daughter & Coheire did decend the Greatest part of his Ancient & (?) In heritance. On whose Soule God have Mercy.

There is no mention of his other daughters, there were four in total - Elizabeth, Anne, Constance, and Audrey; nor of his wife who it is believed may have died 3 years earlier in 1490. Though a wife is mentioned in his will but we do not know when the will was written, though the National Archives dates it to June 1493.

The Property & Possession of Henry de Vere

Great Addington Manor Inventory 1493

This inventory, produced in 1493 by Richard Russell, general apparitor,  not only gives us a list of all his possessions, it also gives a detailed insight to enable us to understand how the family lived, eat and slept. As such it is one of, if not the most, illuminating documents in the history of Great Addington.

The inventory shows the riches of the family, “a chain of gold with a St. Anthony cross, a necklace set with pearls and gold”, and also through the centuries comes a glimpse of normality, with references to some mattresses and bedlinen being “sore worn”, or such ordinariness of a cupboard of broken pots and pans. The inventory is a thorough and practical assessment of the worldly goods at the end of the knights life.

John Bloxham, the Chantry and family priest, must have been close to de Vere, for Bloxham had his own room, "Master Blokesomes chamber" in the house. When he died Henry de Vere owed him 51 shillings . Henry by his will bequeathed £6 yearly to the chantry priest to sing masses for his soul, which Bloxham would have received for nearly 30 years. 

Henry had made his own arrangement for his memorial in addition to the chantry, his will states  "Also I will that my tombe be made in our Lady's Chappell, with a vault in the wall of alybaster, and tomb of the same with a Picter in solid on them". The “picture in solid” is the carved alabaster recumbent figure.

The term “chamber” is used throughout the inventory to describe any room that could function as a combination of both living or sleeping room.  A bed with a mattress, sheets, and blankets, was the most expensive piece of furniture in most homes and they were often mentioned in wills as in this case. The best beds often occupied a prominent position in the area we would call a living room. This room was the family gathering place, where the master and mistress slept, ate, and worked during the winter. It would be unusual to have a room specifically only for sleeping in.

1. Hall – not necessarily an entrance hall as we would imagine it, but rather a large central room with connections to most other rooms. As with the Parlour this has tables and trestles (benches for seating) and may have been where people may have eat.

2. Parlour – a room used by the family when eating alone.

3. “Next chamber”  -  a room that unusually appears to be used solely as a bedroom given its contents. As it is referred to as the “next chamber” it may have been a room directly connected to the hall and used for visiting guests.

4. Chapel  - the private chapel built by Baldwin de Vere, one of Henrys’ predecessors. The chapel seems to have been quite a simple, possibly austere, room. Only the chalice and the two cruets for holy oil were of silver. The Mass book , the' portews,' and a psalter book were the only texts, though clearly manuscript, for the only printed books are recorded elsewhere.  All three manuscripts were valuable and valued at 6s 8d, 13s 4d, and I3s respectively.  All the other items for mass were of little value, and so probably made of latten, a metal alloy. The inventory specifically mentions a piece of wax for making candles, which to use would have very little value, however at this time high quality wax was quite an expensive item and was valued at 2S and 2d. No other wax candles are to be found in the inventory and as only two other candlesticks (made of silver) are listed, it can be assumed that the rest of the house would have been lit with cheaper, but smoky, tallow candles on latten candlesticks, or even by rush lights – rushes dipped in oil – even smokier but also much cheaper.

5. Master Blokesams Chamber - John Bloxham the Chantry Priest’s own room (the spelling in the inventory was wrong). Unlike Master Marbury’s room this was a simple room and contains only a bed, linen, and wall hangings. Though, any possessions that belonged to John Bloxham would of course not have been detailed.

6. Buttery – not anything to do with butter, but rather a room used to store liquids, often wine, which would be stored in wooden casks or vats often know as “butts”. These rooms were often cellars or at least cool rooms and were kept separate from the kitchen. Quite often, especially due to the value of wine, the buttery would have its own entrance into the hall. It would also be expected that a kitchen would have a separate  butter and lard-house, a pantry or larder, again kept cool – though in this instance no such room is mentioned. The word Butler, stems from the title of the person who was responsible for keeping control of the Buttery.

7. Brewhouse - at this time people did not drink water as it was often not clean and instead brewed and drank their own “small beer”. Everybody, regardless of age, drank small beer – including children – small beer was around 1% alcohol.

8. Kitchen – we know from the description of the contents that the cooking was done over an open hearth in the kitchen rather than on a “range” or an oven. Andirons were used to hold the burning logs in the open hearth and allow the wood to burn with less smoke. Trivets (large metal grids) were placed over the fire and items cooked in pans placed upon them. Spits were also attached to the Andirons and used for roasting meats. Different spits were used for different types of meat. Large pots were either hung from chains over the fire or a Posnet was used.  A Posnet was a long handled saucepan, with three little feet, so that it could stand on the embers of the open fire. The inventory refers to the item as a Chafer Posnet which is slightly confusing and not found elsewhere. A Chafer was normally hung over the fire and used for heating water. In this instance maybe the Chafer Posnet must have been a three legged water heater. There is no mention of any furniture in the kitchen but there must have been some form of food preparation area or table, perhaps it was not valued.

9. Storehouse – as it is referred to as a “house” rather than a room and given its contents, this may have been a separate building or lean-too. As well as 4 harrows, presumably for the kitchen garden, and some wood; the inventory mentions some lead (“old leydis”) which would have been used for glazing or guttering, and most importantly it mentions “cresse tiles”, probably crest or ridge tiles, and from this we can deduce that the manor house had a tiled rather than thatched roof.

10. Brass Chamber – in Henry’s house this room was full of crockery, pots, and pans. However of the nearly 190 items listed in the room only 9 are listed as being made of brass.

11. Great Chamber – this was the first room which offered the lord of the household some privacy from his own staff, albeit not total privacy. In the Middle Ages, the great chamber was an all-purpose reception and living room. The family might take some meals in it, though the hall was the usually main eating room. In modest manor houses it sometimes also served as the main bedroom, as it did for the de Veres’. In the inventory there are 7 beds listed in this room. The Great Chamber must indeed have been a large room. It is interesting that 5 of the beds, plus 6 bolsters, are listed under a single entry and valued in total at 20s ; yet another bed is listed - “a featherbed, a bolster, a pair of blankets, a coverlet of chequers” – and valued at 13s and 4p. This presumably must have been the master bed as immediately following it are listed a “3 curtains, a celor and a tester”, which is a frame and canopy, making the earliest form of what we might call a 4 poster bed. Also listed in the room is another bed, whose cover is “sore worn”. Bedsteads at this period were simple wooden frames, with cord threaded through holes in the sides and crossing the bed to form a supportive area on which the mattress was placed.

12. Master Marburys Chamber – clearly a room reserved for Master Marbury, but his first name and why he was important enough to have his own room is not given. However, Wiliam Marbury, who lived at Lowick, is named as executor in Henry’s will. One of William’s brothers was Robert Marbury a gentleman-usher to the Earl of Wiltshire – who would inherit Drayton from Henry de Vere and then pass it on to William Marbury. It would have been very typical of the time for a family member of one of Henry’s friends to be a gentleman steward at Henry’s manor. Robert Marbury is mentioned in Henry's will and is named a Steward of the estate lands. Henry de Vere is mentioned in Robert Marbury's will. Therefore, it is most likely that Master Marbury in the inventory is Robert Marbury - probably the brother of William Marbury. The room is  slightly better equipped than John Bloxhams chamber, it has a cupboard, a chair, and a carpet – though carpets were not placed on a floor but instead on top of tables, or in the case the cupboard, to protect the surface.

13. Closet Chamber – A cupboard containing amongst the bed line, 3 chests, 2 long bows and 3 “sallets”. A sallet was as armoured helmet. Perhaps one of these was worn by Henry de Vere at the Battle of Bosworth field. By 1493 they are in cupboard with “fine sheets”.

14. Parlour Chamber – this would have been a room above the parlour and would often in such houses been the private room of the house owner. There are two beds in this room – one an expensive featherbed and the other a simpler wooden bedstead. This is the only room with detailed information regarding clothes, including a russet gown with lambs, a lined crimson gown, a lined green gown, another russet gown – this one with a fur collar, a doublet of satin, and a silk jacket. By their value, the fact that there are clothes for a man and a woman, and where they are hanging; these are no doubt the clothes of Henry de Vere and his wife. 

15. Another Chamber – referred to as the “next chamber”, is a strange mix with a bed, a bedspread of tapestry, and wall hangings; but also a chafer (water heater) and 2 frying pans! This is also a room that contains “an English book” and 2 printed books. These three books are worth nearly as much as all the other items in the room, including the furniture. The very first printed book in English were produced by William Caxton in 1474 but that was in Belgium. Caxton’s publications really started in 1476 when he opened a printing shop in London. One of his most successful publication was Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales. Caxton also produced popular books of poetry, books of English and world history, and also religious texts. It is a great shame that we do not know which printed books Henry de Vere had in his collection.

16. Garret Chamber – a garret was a bedroom in the attic.

Household Furniture & Decoration

One of the most noticeable thing about the furniture in the house is the number of beds and chests, and the great shortage of every other item. There were 15 bedsteads in most of the upstairs rooms, and there were 15 chests scattered through the house - one in the chapel, three in the closet, four in the parlour-chamber, and seven in the great chamber. There were two almeries, but these are cupboards used to store food.

The chests were the only storage pieces available in the whole house, and it is obvious that the chests had to contain many things such as the clothing, linen and silver. Tables were not at all common, there being two trestle tables in the hall and another two in the parlour, but there are none elsewhere; tables were used solely for meals, and none are supplied for bedrooms or even in the kitchen premises.

Another thing that is odd to us is the lack of chairs or seating in the building. There is a single chair in the hall, but probably there were fixed benches running the length of the walls which would not be listed in an inventory of as they were not moveable – any fixed shelving in rooms would also have not been included in the inventory. Five joined (held together with wood and not nails) stools were in the parlour, but there are none elsewhere, and these five would have been used at the table for meals. There are single chairs in the hall, parlour chamber, and also in Master Marbury's chamber. The chair in the hall and parlour were most likely for the use of the master of the house.

As late as 1580 chairs were nearly always made singly, and were reserved solely for the master and the mistress of the house, sets of chairs becoming popular in the seventeenth century.

With this great shortage of chairs, stools, and forms, it is clear that a chest, if large enough, was used on occasion as a spare seat. In all other rooms there was nothing else at-all to sit on. If you were not working or eating, you either attended the master of the house in the parlour or in his great chamber, or else you went to bed.

Soft furnishings were relatively plentiful though expensive in most rooms, especially bedrooms, but there were definite exceptions. Though “carpets” are mentioned in a number of rooms, these were not placed on the floor as rushes or matting was undoubtedly used in the hall, but was of too little worth to be mentioned separately in the inventory. Carpets were instead placed on top of tables or cupboards to protect the wooden surface. The bedrooms and probably the parlour, as well as the kitchen premises, would have had bare floors.  

There was a good supply of "hangings” which were quite large pieces of cloth hanging on the walls, though not covering the complete wall, and often at this date painted with religious subjects, a saint, a martyr, or a story from the Gospels. In this house hangings are found in nearly every bedroom and were fairly valuable, about 5shillings worth in each room, but unfortunately no detail as to their patterns or images is supplied. Only in the great chamber is "stained cloth" mentioned, which was a common type-of wall hanging, often called" bastard staining", of linen or coarser material painted in imitation of tapestry; it is reasonable to assume that the hangings in the other rooms were quite plain. These wall hangings greatly decreased the draughts in the bedrooms.

Cushions are to be found in two rooms, six for the hall and twelve for the great chamber-the principal bedroom which was always used as an audience chamber. Though some of these may have been stored in the chests, it is probable that they would have been laid on the top of the seven chests, which were used for seats. A " banker" is mentioned in the hall, which is a long and hard form of cushion, and must have been on a fixed bench.

Bedsteads at this period were very simple affairs. Resting on a net of cord threaded between the sides of the bedstead were the featherbed (an expensive mattress), bolster, sheets and blankets, with a coverlet of arras (cloth made at Arras in France) or tapestry for the principal beds, and quilted coverlet for the rest.

Featherbeds and bedsteads (particularly good quality ones) and associated bed linen were expensive items and often appear in wills at this time. Examination of the inventory shows that there were more -sheets and coverlets than were necessary for the number of bedsteads, and it is probable that here as in many other houses of the period there were also cheap truckle beds on which were placed mattresses, used for less important persons of the household, and children.

Cooking and Eating

It is impossible here to describe the uses of all the pots and pans, but it is worthwhile to draw attention to the five spits. It would have been normal to have a number of different shape spits for the different types of meat to be roasted. There would have been one or two "cage" spits, where a bird would be placed inside the iron cage at the centre of the spit axle, so that it would not be ruined by being skewered through on the spit itself. In open hearth cooking everything that was not boiled or fried was roasted, and the spits dealt with every size, from pig to pigeon. In De Vere's time all spits were turned by hand. Because of the heat from the open fire, posnets, frying-pans, spoons and ladles all had very long handles.

The eating utensils listed are relatively simple, because food was eaten largely by hand. Everybody would have had their own pocket knife and spoon and would have kept them on their person. There are some ginger forks, ginger being a very popular delicacy, but there are no other forks. Forks as personal eating implement was not adopted until the 18th century in England. There were two sets of pewter tableware, consisting of chargers, large plates or platters, to carry the food, plates, dishes, and “saucers” - these were sauceboats to contain different sauces served during the meal. Food was mainly eaten by hand, therefore it was also necessary to be able to clean your hands so it is not surprising to find pewter ewers and "laver basins". All these items are to be found in the brass chamber. The nine diaper towels (with the other linen in the parlour chamber) were used to dry the hands after washing in the laver basins.

Land, Animals and Crops

At this time inventories such as this did not include the land that was owned or managed by the individual, so we do not have the details of the de Vere land holdings at this time. 

Silver & Valuables

The last inventory items to examine are the valuables which are grouped together and not listed per room.

The inventory shows what to us is a great amount of silver, though chiefly in drinking cups. Undoubtedly these cups were used on special occasions, but a very high proportion of the total value of the goods and chattells of Henry is devoted to silver. The simple reason is that silver was a usable way to store accumulated wealth. There were no banks at this time and so surplus wealth would be stored in the form of silver or gold, and in every inventory of persons of any means there is always to be found far a lot of silver. The silversmith's labour was fairly cheap, silver was not, and there was a constant melting down and re-using of the silver as wealth passed from one hand to another.

Firstly there is over £95 in cash, this would be worth about £65,000 today! Enough to buy 68 horses or provide the wages for a skilled craftsmen for ten years. To us this seems a huge amount to have in the house, but as previously mentioned there were no banks operating in a manner we would understand until the 17th century.

The inventory also records that Henry de Vere was owed £50 (circa £34,000) by a John Trussell and £6 14shillings and 4pence (£3,500) by a Nicholas Chambers.

Henry also owed money to others, a total of £62 11s 1d (circa £42,00) and again we have their names and the amounts:

• Master Barnes £9 0s 0d

• John Warde £6 13s 4d

• Richard Flor £13 0s 0d

• John Botisworth £3 7s 2d

• Master Blokesham £2 11s 1d (John Bloxham the Chantry and family priest)

• Avery Smyth 10s 0d (this name and amount is repeated in the inventory)

• Alice Gyshing £2 0s 0d

• Williarn Rounde 16s 8d

• Thomas Meton 17s 7d

• Master parson of Addington £1 10s 0d (either somebody called Parsons or most likely the parson of the church)

• Thomas Hiller £1 15s 4d

• And “to divers persons as appears by a paper of small items” £20 0s 0d

The rest of the valuables in the inventory are recorded in some detail and are treasures indeed, the valuation amounts to over £74,000 today:

• • A standing cup with a cover, gilt, weighing 32 ounces (nearly a kilogram in weight!)

  • Another standing cup with a cover, gilt, weighing 32 oz.

  • Another standing cup with a cover, gilt, weighing 24 oz.

  • A silver cup, gilt, with a cover, weighing 35 oz.

  • 2 salts, parcel-gilt, with covers, with' drops,' weighing 44 oz (in Henry's will he leaves these to his wife)

  • A standing cup, chased, with a cover, weighing 26 oz.

  • A white cup with a cover, not gilt, weighing 24 oz.

  • A plain cup, not gilt, with a cover, weighing 12 oz.

  • A white candlesticks, weighing 17 oz.

  • A dozen spoons, weighing 15 oz (in Henry's will he leaves these to his wife)

  • A pair of beads of silver

  • A girdle of crimson harnessed with gold, weighing 4½  oz

  • A girdle of 'brangid' silk, harnessed with gold, weighing 6 oz. (the single most valuable item at £5,400 – just a shame that I cannot find a meaning for the word “brangid”)

  • A crimson 'bourse' (purse) harnessed with silver

  • A diamond with 5 pearls (ring or broach?)

  • A green ginger fork

  • A ring of white gold

  • A Stafford knot amulet of silver

  • A ring of white gold with a 'safar' (sapphire) therein

  • A gold ring with a diamond

  • A little gold ring of white gold

  • A chain of gold with a St. Anthony cross, a 'goorge' (a gorge or throat ornament) set with pearls and gold, and an 'unche' (clasp) with 2 pearls, a flower with 6 pearls, a flower with roses, in all 6 oz. (this was worth over £5,250 and must have been a beautiful item of jewellery)

  • An Agnus Dei, gilt (this would have been statue of a lamb bearing a cross or flag, as an emblem of Christ)

  • A standing cup with a cover, gilt, weighing 24 oz

  • A standing cup with cover, weighing 24 oz

  • A white standing cup, weighing 22 oz

  • A standing cup with cover, gilt, weighing 22 oz

  • A white goblet with a cover, weighing 13 oz

  • 2 mazers, weighing 15 oz (a mazer was typically a maple wood bowl with band of silver set into the wood)

  • 6 spoons with a ginger fork, weighing 12 oz

  • 2 pair of beads of coral gauded with silver and gilt

  • 4 little chains of gold, weighing 4 oz

  • 7 rings of gold, a heart, 2 'owches' (clasp) weighing 2 oz

  • 2 plain salts, weighing 16oz

  • A piece (bar of silver) weighing 6 oz.

  • In broken silver weighing 2 oz (literally pieces of silver)

  • A ring of gold

  • A white flat cup weighing 13 oz