Purleigh Landowners in the 11th Century

One of the ways of transferring land ownership from the 11th to the 17th century is referred to as feet of fines.

In essence this required both parties to appear before a court and enter into an legal action that was concluded by a legally binding agreement.

The agreement was drawn up three times on a sheet of paper with the top two entries taken by the parties involved and the bottom entry at the foot of the page  held by the court. This procedure gave the agreement the name Feet of Fines.

This method was especially popular with couples as it made legal challenges to a surviving wife's rights to inherit much more difficult that a normal legal agreement. The fact that a wife and husband appeared before a court to agree the transaction gave it much higher credance.

A further advantage was that a  record of the transaction was held by the court which also made forgery much less likely.

The Feet of Fines records provide an indication of local landowners.

Sometimes the people listed would actually live on land in the village although often they lived elsewhere whilst taking profit from activity on their land.

The importance to family historians is that they provide details of landowners at a time when records are comparatively scarce and are a useful source to help trace ancestors in a very distant period.

Surname

Christian

Title

Year

Marshal

Eadmund

1235

Chanpeneis

Juliana

1235

Parmentar

Matthew

1235

Parmentar

Mirabel

1235

Baker

Henry

1235

Baker

Wymarc

Mrs

1235

Ursi

Ralph

1235

Marshal

Alice

Mrs

1235

Meaudon

Henry

Abbot

1235

Ursi

Alice

Mrs

1235

Meaudon

Henry

Abbot

1235

Cantilupo

Roger

1245

De Grey

John

1245

De Cantilupo

Roger

1258

Le Faukener

Matilda

1258

Le Faukener

Guydonem

1258

Le Flemeng

Robert

1258

Baygnard

Emma

Miss

1259

Byleg

Roger

Abbot

1259

Fitz-Jordan

Sarra

Mrs

1259

Molin

William

1259

Baygnard

Ralph

1259

Fitz-Jordan

Ralph

1259

Molin

Leticia

Mrs

1259

De Haustede

Richard

1270

De Haustede

William

1270

De Grey

Reginald

1270

De St Ives

Nicholas

1270

De Haustede

Joan

Mrs

1270