THE ORIGINS OF EARL OF EXETERS CLAIM
Judith Countess of Huntingdon held 1¼ hides in Great Crawley at the time of the Domesday survey.
Her daughter Matilda succeeded her and in 1113 she married David of Scotland, the brother in law of Henry I, whose father was William the Conqueror.
David thereby assumed the title of the Earl of Huntingdon, and continued to hold the title after succeeding to the throne of Scotland in 1124 and even after the death of Matilda in 1131.
There were complex changes of arrangements over the centuries with wars with Scotland and inheritances and dealings involving Filliol & Pateshull Manors and the Latimer family whose daughter Dorothy inherited in 1577 and who married Thomas Cecil who became the first Earl of Exeter.
The Exeter family settlements of 1724 and 1748 both describe the North Crawley holding of 5 acres of land, 5 acres of pasture and 5 acres of meadow.
In 1832 the 4 acres of meadow and 2 acres of arable land with timber was let of 7s.6d per annum.
In the Exeter Court Rolls land transfers are made by tenants who paid no rents.
THE EXETER REGIME
The Marquis of Exeter has deposited all the extant court rolls at the Bucks Museum, Aylesbury (Court Rolls 1/46 to 7/46). He retains Burghley House a book of transcripts in English of the rolls from 1591 to 1718 (Ex. 50/11) as well as miscellaneous items connected with the running of the Courts.
Depending on the initiative of the Steward the manorial courts were on occasion held twice yearly in April and October but the usual interval seems to have been 2 to 3 years. Slackness in collection of the tithes seems to lead to poor returns.
In the letter of 3rd April 1725 from William Leveret the local bailiff to the Steward of the manor, he says he will arrange for the parish clerk to read the warrant of arrears to the church door as the people are coming out. He says I also intend to go through all the ends in the parish to give notice at every house and then I can advise them that they are only concerned with the head that they must appear in Court or send their essoining penny, and tell them that they are amerced of their amercement and advise them to come and pay them or expect to be distrained.
But I am not willing to distrain, they are all my neighbours and most of them are very poor.
The number of tenants in debt between 35 and 65, many for a penny which proved uncollectable.
THE CRAWLEY/CRANFIELD BOUNDARY DISPUTE
Ramsey Abbey cartulary has many references to land in Crawley in connection with its extensive estates in Cranfield.
Ramsey Abbey had been harshly treated by the Normans, Henry I had ordered the division of the two parishes in 1130 but Ramsey Abbey took legal action about a heavily wooded section in “no mans’ land” followed by a counter claim by David , King of Scotland as Earl of Huntingdon. The complex arrangements are outlined in chapter 5 of A C Chibnall’s book “Beyond Sherington”.
Henry I in agreement with David were commanded that the boundary dispute be perambulated on the oaths of upright men of the hundred. This resulted in the crazy interlocking of the parishes on the east boundary which has persisted until the present day.