Seymour (St Maur) - Rode Parish Council

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References:

tudorplace.com

celtic-casimir.com

The St Maur Family (Laurence de St. Maur, rector of Higham Ferrers by Norman Frome after 1970

Discover Rode�s Past by Peter Harris 2015

a Milo de St. Maur; b. 1175; d 1217

m. ?

1 William de St. Maur of Penhow

2 Geoffrey de St. Maur

m. ? (heiress of William de Rughdon)

A Nicholas de St. Maur Sir (father may be Simon); b. 1222/bef 1242; d. aft May 1267

A King�s knight in the household of Henry III.�

He attended the King at Court and on his many campaigns in France from 1242 onward.�

They were together in Gascony in 1253/1254 and again in 1259 and 1262.�

In 1263 Nicholas served with the King in the expedition against Llewellyn in Wales.�

His wife Isabel was also in attendance at Court and gifts of wine from the Royal household were often made to her. (1)

The family home was at Rode in Somerset but Sir Nicholas also received a grant of the Manor of Poulton (Wilts) to replace an annuity which he had been paid for his services as a soldier. (2)�

There was also an old family estate at Chesterton near Kineton (Warwickshire) which had come to him from his own father and he received a number of grants augmenting these estates.�

His death shortly after May 1267 was recorded in documents relating to the Kineton estate.

m. 1244 Isabel ?; b. 1224

i Laurence de St. Maur Sir; b. abt 1245/bef 1254 Rode; d. Feb 1296/7 Rode/Harbury, Southam, Warwickshire (ref. Inquest Post Mortem is in the Calendars of Inquisitions Vol. 33 p 257.)

In 1254, when his father was in France with the King there was an order for a suitable robe to be made with sheep�s fur for his use while he remained at Windsor with the rest of the household. (3)

About 1256 Warin de Bassingbourn granted to Laurence de St. Maur in free marriage with Emma, whom he describes as his niece, the Manor of Clay Coton beside Lilburn (Northants) together with the advowson of the Church and rents in Lilburn, to hold to Laurence and Emma and the heirs of the body of Emma. (8)�

In 1266 he was presented to the living at Rode. (11) (It is likely that his father gave him the manor as a wedding present).

In Jul 1268 he was granted protection as a Crusader and had taken the Cross at the parliament at Northampton.� He was knighted and received a gift from the King of four oak trees from the forest of Wauberg.�

In May 1270 he again had protection as a Crusader and was preparing to go with Edmund of Lancaster on the last Crusade.�

12 Jan 1271 Laurence was granted protection to go to the Holy Land.

8 Feb 1271� still in England as he witnessed a charter granted by Edmund.�

On 17 Feb 1271 he was granted an attorney, one Robert de Waldechef during his absence.

He probably returned to England by the end of 1272.�

In Jan 1275/6 he was preparing to go to Santiago by the King�s licence, possibly on pilgrimage. (13)

In Aug 1276 he was with Edmund of Lancaster in Navarre acting as his steward (14)

In Jan 1278, after a brief expedition with Edmund into Wales, they were preparing to go overseas again. (15)

By 28 Mar 1281 they were back home and Edmund granted Sir Laurence licence to hunt the fox and hare with his own hounds in Selwood Forest until Midsummer provided he did not take any of the great deer nor course in the warrens (16)

On 20 May1281 they were still in England attending at the Court of Westminster.

By Jun 1281 Sir Laurence and his brother Ralph had a further protection going with Edmund beyond the sea

In Oct 1281 they were present in France at the meeting known as the League of Macon. (17)

In 1282 when they returned home the Welsh war was still going on and they both took part in the expedition under the Earl and Roger de Mortimer, in which Llewellyn was finally defeated and beheaded.

16 Mar 1283 he received permission from Edmund to hunt hare and fox throughout Selwood Forest as before

10 Oct 1283 this permission was renewed to hunt for fox hare badger and cat in Selwood and the Forest of Exmoor (18).

3 Oct 1283 grant of a weekly market on Thursdays and a yearly fair on the eve, day and morrow of St. Margaret. (19)

In 1289 he was abroad again with Edmund and a small party of knights

In 1291 he was appointed keeper of Jedburgh Castle during the period when the King had taken Scotland under direct rule. (22)�

In 1292 he went with Edmund on another campaign in Wales

In 1294 he was exempted from the general summons for service in Gascony, but was there under the Earl.

In Jan 1296 Sir Laurence received letters of protection and with his son, set out to join his master on this ill-fated expedition (to Gascony).� …. and [Laurence] only survived him by a few months and died during the following winter.

m1. 1266 Emma de Bassingborne; d. in or before Hilary term 1275/6 or Apr 1276

a Nicholas de St. Maur, 1st Lord; b. 1266-70/abt 1270/bef 1273 Rode; d 8 Nov 1316 Winchester

By 1289 he was established as a soldier in the retinue of Edmund of Lancaster like his father and they formed part of the King�s own bodyguard during the Scottish wars.

In 1294 he attended the Earl of Lancaster on his mission to France

In 1296 he served in Gascony, , for service due on lands in Cambs;

In 1298 summoned for service against the SCOTS.

In 1311 he had licence to embattle his house at Eaton Meysy {Wilts).�

In 1313 elected to parliament as a knight of the shire of Gloucester

In Oct 1313, as an adherent of the Earl of Lancaster, he had a pardon for participation in the death of Gavaston.

Summoned to Parliament 29 Jul 1314 to 16 Oct 1315, by writs directed Nicholao de Sancto Mauro, whereby he is held to have become LORD SAINT MAUR.

m1. bef 1303 (div?) Eve de Meysy; d. d 1312/bef Apr 1314

(1) Thomas de St. Maur, 2nd Lord; b abt 1304; living in 1329; d. Jul 1358 (dsp)

whom the Rector seems to taken under his wing for the rest of his life

BE1883, whilst noting that Thomas was never summoned to Parliament, shows him as the 2nd Lord. TCP admits that, according to modern doctrine, he would be viewed as 2nd Lord but identifies his half-brother Nicholas as 2nd Lord. As cross-references from other sources vary as to which numbering system to follow, we show both.

m. Alice

(2) Beatrice de St. Maur

m. ? Worthy (A) John Worthy

m2. 1312/bef Apr 1314 Ellen la Zouche (dau of Alan la Zouche, Lord); b abt 1286

(3) Alan de St. Maur; d bef Jul 1358 (see comments about brother Nicholas below)

(4) Nicholas de St. Maur or Seymour, 2nd/3rd Lord; b. bef 8 Nov 1316 Kingston Seymour/Rode; d. 8 Aug 1361 Castle Cary

2nd son by 2nd wife, but, by the death of his elder brother of the whole blood Alan, 1st surviving son and heir of his mother, and heir male of his half-br. Thomas, was an infant at his father’s death.�

13 Aug 1346 in the retinue of Sir Maurice de Berkeley he fought at Cr�cy, and later in the siege of Calais.�

In 1346, being then a Knight, he had exemption from summons on assizes, &c.;

1351 J.P. Somerset,.�

15 Nov 1350 to 20 Nov 1360 he was summoned to Parliament.

m. bef Feb 1350/1 Muriel Lovel (dau of James Lovel, son of Richard, Lord of Castle Cary)

(A) Nicholas de St. Maur or Seymour, 3rd/4th Lord St. Maur, Lord Lovel; b. c1351/1353; d. 1361/by Jan 1362

(B) Richard de St. Maur or Seymour Sir, 4th/5th Lord St. Maur, Lord Lovel; b. 1355 Castle Cary; d. 15 May 1401 Kingston Seymour

In 1379 he was a commissioner to guard the ports and coasts of Devon;

In Oct 1380 he raised men for the expedition to Brittany

26 Aug 1380 to 3 October 1400. he was summoned to Parliament by writs directed Ricardo Seymour,

In 1381 Commissioner of the Peace, Somerset;

In 1382, in Devon; and on sundry local commissions till his death.

He was a Knight by 1382

m. aft 21 Oct 1373/aft 1374 Ella de St. Lo, (dau of Sir John de St. Lo by Alice de Pavely); b. abt 1357; d. 8 Feb 1409/10

(i) Richard Seymour Sir, 5th/6th Lord St. Maur, Lord Lovel; b. bef 1379/1380 Castle Cary; d 7 Jan 1408/9

In 1398, in the 22nd of Richard II went into Ireland with Thomas, Duke of Surrey, then lieutenant of that kingdom;

In Jun 1401 had order for livery of seisin

9 Sep 1401 did homage.

In Sep 1401 he had protection as proceeding to Aquitaine, presumably in the retinue of Edward, Earl of Rutland, the recently appointed Lieutenant;

in Nov 1403, one of the commissioners appointed to go by sea to relieve Cardiff castle, besieged by Welsh rebels;

1405 J.P., Somerset

19 Jun 1402 to 26 Aug 1407 he was summoned to Parliament by writs directed Ricardo Seymour.

m. Mary Peyvre (dau of Thomas Peyvre of Toddington); d bef 26 Jul 1410

(a) Alice Seymour or St. Maur; b 24 Jul 1409 London; d. aft 1431/21 Jul 1447

m1. abt 1421 Thomas Neville

m2. bef 8 Mar 1423/4 William la Zouche, 5th Lord of Haryngworth; b. by 1402; d. 25 Dec 1462)

(ii) Sir John Seymour of North Molton; b. abt 1379, Castle Cary; d. 16 Oct 1415 North Molton.

The following all comes from BE1883.

m. Margaret Erlegh (dau of Sir John Erlegh, son of Sir John by Margaret, sister of Sir Gui de Bryan); b. abt 1387 Beckington; d. 1443

(a) John Seymour; b. abt 1410/1425 North Molton; d. 25 Sep 1438 (dvm)

m. 1450 Elizabeth Brooke (dau of Thomas Brooke); b. abt 1414; d. 6 Aug 1457

BE1883 identifies John’s wife as Elizabeth, dau of Thomas, Lord Cobham. We originally speculated that she was Elizabeth Cobham but, noting that that Elizabeth was heiress of a barony which has not (to our knowledge) been claimed, we now follow the suggestion (kindly brought to our attention by a site visitor, DS (20 Sep 09)) that she was misdescribed by BE1883 and was in fact Elizabeth Brooke (dau of Thomas Brooke, sister of Edward, Lord Cobham)

((1)) Sir Thomas Seymour; b. between 1427 and 1431/about 1450; d. 26 Oct 1489

m. Philippa Hungerford (dau of Sir Edward Hungerford); b abt 1431

((A)) John Seymour of Rode; b. abt 1450/1454 North Molton/Rode; d. 5 Oct 1485 (dvp) Beckington

m. Elizabeth Chocke (dau of Richard Chocke of Long Aston, judge); b abt 1450

((i)) William Seymour or St. Maur; b abt 1469/70 North Molton; d. bef 1502

m. 24 Jan 1485/6 Margaret Edgecombe (dau of Sir Richard Edgecumbe); b. abt 1475; d. bef Nov 1520

((a)) Elizabeth St. Maur; b. abt 1496 North Molton

m. Henry FORTESCUE, (son of William FORTESCUE of Preston)

((b)) td 4Joane Seymour b and d. 16 Aug 1517/8 (dsp 1517)

m. Sir William (not Robert) Drury of Hawstead (d 1557)

�((ii)) Anne Seymour

m. Robert Stawell

((iii)) Margaret Seymour

m. William Bampfylde

((2)) Jane Seymour redpossibly of this family, of this generation

m. (1464) Walter Bluett of Holcombe (d 1487)

(iii) Nicholas Seymour

The following comes from Visitation (Yorkshire, 1563-4, St, Maur) although it requires the notes of the Harleian editor to make it clear that the following Thomas was of this generation. Thomas is identified as the 3rd son, after Lord Richard & Sir John.

(iv) Thomas Seymour ‘of Cleveland’

m. Mary (widow of Robert Broughton)

(a) Alice Seymour (heir)

m. George Maltby (a 1364)

(b) Laurence rector of Higham Ferrers; b.1266-70; d 1337

m2. aft 1279/1280/bef 1283 Sibyl de Morewick (dau of Hugh de Morewick); d. 26 Jul 1298

(ii) Ralph de St. Maur

(iii) Nicholas de St. Maur, clerk in holy orders

(iv) Joan de St. Maur

m.c1277 Henry de Cramaville

(table p2 Main source(s): TCP (Saint Maur), BE1883 (St. Maur))

B Henry de St. Maur; d. 1276

3 Simon de St. Maur

m. ?

The

St. Maur Family

Norman Frome

(after 1969)

At the time when Laurence de St. Maur became the Rector of Higham Ferrers most notable families included members of the clergy.� Many Rectors were in the service of the King or the great nobles of the Realm and they formed a kind of civil service.� As Rectors they enjoyed the revenues of their benefices, often holding more than one, and as they advanced, were appointed to prebends as rewards for their services.� Parish duties were carried out by curates.� Laurence may have spent part of his life in this kind of service in the household of Edmund of Lancaster and after his death, Thomas and Henry, but in the later records he is always referred to as �Parson of the church of Higham Ferrers� which seems to imply actual residence.� We do not know whether he held any other benefice.� Almost all the recorded references to him relate to family matters rather than to public life and he may well have settled down to parish duties in this centre of Lancastrian administration.

His father and grandfather had always been at the centre of the affairs of the Kingdom and their story is a suitable introduction to his 48 years as Rector.

The Rector�s grandfather was Sir Nicholas de St. Maur a King�s knight in the household of Henry III.� He attended the King at Court and on his many campaigns in France from 1242 onward.� They were together in Gascony in 1253 and again in 1259 and 1262.� In 1263 Nicholas served with the King in the expedition against Llewellyn in Wales.� His wife Isabel was also in attendance at Court and gifts of wine from the Royal household were often made to her. (1)

The family home was at Rode in Somerset but Sir Nicholas also received a grant of the Manor of Poulton (Wilts) to replace an annuity which he had been paid for his services as a soldier. (2)� There was also an old family estate at Chesterton near Kineton (Warwickshire) which had come to him from his own father and he received a number of grants augmenting these estates.� His death shortly after May 1267 was recorded in documents relating to the Kineton estate.

He left at least three sons, Laurence, Ralph and Nicholas.� Laurence, the oldest, was the Rector�s father and he and Ralph were both soldiers in the household of Edmund of Lancaster.� Nicholas was a clerk in Holy Orders.� There was at least one daughter Joan who married Henry de Cramaville.

Laurence the son and heir spent his early years in the Royal Household and was brought up with the young princes Edward and Edmund.� In 1254, when his father was in France with the King there was an order for a suitable robe to be made with sheep�s fur for his use while he remained at Windsor with the rest of the household. (3)� Edward who was 15 had gone with his father to France to be married to Eleanor of Castile who was only a child.� Edmund was only 9 and Laurence probably a little older.� They were looked after by a nurse named Sapientia according to some late Duchy of Lancaster Accounts. (4)

Only five years later in 1259, Laurence received the grant of the marriage of the fourth daughter of William de Forz (5) but he did not marry her.� His youth was spent in difficult times and his life at Court cannot have been easy.� The rebellion of Simon de Montfort was coming to a head and the loyalty to the Crown of many of the nobles was faltering.� Prince Edward was with the King when they captured Northampton from de Montfort�s followers on 5th April 1264 but it was not long before they themselves were captured at Lewes on 14th May.� Finally in August of the following year de Montfort himself and many of his followers were killed at Evesham and the King was back securely on the throne.� Laurence had probably missed most of the excitement as he had gone to France with the Queen and Prince Edmund.� When they returned their fortunes and prospects were very much improved and Laurence could turn his thoughts to marriage.

There was available a suitable young lady, who was a near neighbour of the Rode and Poulton estates, Emma Maudit of Warminster.� Her father William Maudit had died in early 1264 leaving Emma and her brother Thomas minors.� As was the custom, the marriage of the heir was granted to one of Prince Edward�s closest friends, Warin of Bassingbourn, who was also the children�s uncle. (6)� After de Montfort�s rebellion was over this grant was confirmed and enlarged on 10th January 1266 (7) giving him the wardship of the lands and heirs of William Maudit with the marriage of the heirs.� About the same time Warin de Bassingbourn granted to Laurence de St. Maur in free marriage with Emma, whom he describes as his niece, the Manor of Clay Coton beside Lilburn (Northants) together with the advowson of the Church and rents in Lilburn, to hold to Laurence and Emma and the heirs of the body of Emma. (8)� This property had been forfeited when Thomas de Astley had been killed at Evesham fighting on the side of de Montfort and it had been granted to Warin De Bassingbourn on 25th October 1265 (9) with certain other property.� Some of the property included in the grant was redeemed by Andrew de Astley the heir, but the property granted to St. Maur was excepted. (10)� The property was still giving rise to disputes ten years later and Laurence did not ever exercise his right of presentation to the Church.

It is likely that his father also gave him the estate at Rode as a wedding present, as he did present to the living there in 1266 (11) and on his father�s death in the following year he succeeded to the Manor of Poulton and the Warwickshire estate.� Laurence and Emma had at least two children, Nicholas and Laurence, the Rector, both of whom were born between 1266 and 1270.� Nicholas was said to have been born on 3rd May 1269 but there is much confusion about his age in his father�s Inquisition Post Mortem.

By May 1270 their father was preparing to go with Edmund of Lancaster on the last Crusade.� He was granted protection as a Crusader and had taken the Cross at the parliament at Northampton in July 1268.� He was knighted and received a gift from the King of four oak trees from the forest of Wauberg.� In the summer of 1270 Prince Edward set out for the Holy Land taking about 1000 men.� He spent the winter in Sicily and Edmund, in whose retinue Laurence was serving, did not follow him until the beginning of 1271.� Laurence was granted a new protection on 12th January but he was still here on February 8th when he witnessed a charter granted by Edmund.� On February 17th he was granted an attorney, one Robert de Waldechef during his absence and it appears they set out about this time, as they arrived at Acre by May or June.� They stayed about a year and were probably back in England by the end of 1272.� Thomas Maudit, Laurence�s brother-in-law was also a member of the party.

Before they had all returned home King Henry III had died and Edward became King.

In the winter of 1275/6 Sir Laurence�s wife Emma died (12) and within a short time he was preparing to go to Santiago by the King�s licence, possibly on pilgrimage. (13)� Robert Waldechef was again appointed his attorney during his absence.� In the same year a dispute arose about the land at Lilburn which had been Emma�s dowry and he left John le Faulkner in charge of that.

Another matter claimed his attention.� His sister Joan married Henry de Cramaville and he made a settlement on them of lands at Newton (Suffolk) and Dengye (Essex) which they were to hold by the yearly rent of one pair of gilt spurs or sixpence at Easter, such land reverting to Sir Laurence in the event of Cramaville dying without heirs.� John de Kenilworth acted for him in carrying out this transaction which related to another family estate which eventually returned to the successors for want of heirs of the Cramaville family.

It is evident that Laurence was away for some time.� Later in the year he was with Edmund of Lancaster in Navarre acting as his steward (14) and after a brief expedition with Edmund into Wales they were preparing to go overseas again in January 1278. (15)� By 1281 they were back home and on 28th March Edmund granted Sir Laurence licence to hunt the fox and hare with his own hounds in Selwood Forest until Midsummer provided he did not take any of the great deer nor course in the warrens (16) and on 20 May they were still in England attending at the Court of Westminster.� By June Sir Laurence and his brother Ralph had a further protection going with Edmund beyond the sea and in October of the same year they were present in France at the meeting known as the League of Macon. (17)� When they returned home the Welsh war was still going on and in 1282 they both took part in the expedition in which Llewellyn was finally defeated and beheaded.

At some time before 1283 Sir Laurence had remarried.� His new wife was Sybil one of the daughters of Hugh de Morewyk in Northumberland.� She was the widow of Roger de Lumley and she brought with her an estate in Northumberland.� The two of them spent some time at home at Rode and she probably took over the upbringing of the children.� She certainly referred to Nicholas as her son in her will.� Sir Laurence again had a season of hunting.� On 16th March 1283 he received permission from Edmund to hunt hare and fox throughout Selwood Forest as before and this permission was renewed on October 10th when he was to hunt for fox hare badger and cat in Selwood and the Forest of Exmoor (18).� Young Laurence would have been a boy in his teens at this time with plenty of outdoor activity to distract him from the education which he was receiving in the households of his father and the Earl of Lancaster where he would be taught by the eminent legal and clerical men in those establishments.

His father also took the opportunity of improving his estate at Rode by obtaining the grant on 3rd October 1283 of a weekly market on Thursdays and a yearly fair on the eve, day and morrow of St. Margaret. (19)� Action was also necessary in respect of the property at Long Benton which had come to him with his second wife. �This had been overrun, probably by Scottish raiders and a Commission of Oyer and Terminer was granted to try those persons who had ejected the owners. (20)

For the next few years Sir Laurence does not appear in the records.� He may have been abroad or he may have enjoyed some time at home with his family but by 1289 Nicholas was established as a soldier in the retinue of Edmund of Lancaster like his father.� Young Laurence was a clerk in minor orders.� Edmund the patron of the family was also the Patron of the parish church of Higham Ferrers, one of the richest in the County and on 24th September Laurence was presented to the Bishop of Lincoln and ordained sub-deacon.� On 8th October 1289 he was inducted to the Rectory where he served nearly 48 years. (21)

His father was already back in active service.� In the same year he was abroad again with Edmund and a small party of knights.� In 1291 he was appointed keeper of Jedburgh Castle during the period when the King had taken Scotland under direct rule. (22)� In 1292 he went with Edmund on another campaign in Wales and on 6th April 1292 he received a further reward for his services with a grant of the manor of Dengye (Essex).� In the following year property at Mangotsfield (Gloucester) was also vested in him.� At that time Lancaster was engaged abroad in delicate negotiations to try to settle the dispute between the King and Philip of France and both Sir Laurence and his son Nicholas went with him.� Their diplomacy did not succeed and Edmund went on to take command of the army in Gascony.� Sir Laurence received letters of protection in January 1296 and with his son, set out to join his master on this ill-fated expedition.� Edmund of Lancaster became ill and died at Bayonne at Easter and Sir Edmund [Laurence] only survived him by a few months and died during the following winter.� In September just before his death he received confirmation of the grant to him of the Manor of East Melden, which had been made before the journey to Gascony.

The Inquest Post Mortem on Sir Lawrence�s lands is printed in the Calendars of Inquisitions Vol. 33 p 257.� It sets out the houses and lands at Rode and Poulton and includes the Northumberland property of his wife Sybil.� At� Newton on Sea in that County he had four boats, one called �Le Cane� (The Duck) and these may have been the fleet which he needed for his frequent journeys abroad with the following of men and horses which it was his duty to provide.� Trouble was brewing in Scotland and it was handy to have transport ready at hand.� Other properties accounted for were at Fletching and Sheffield Park in Sussex, Eddworth in Bedfordshire and the old Warwickshire estate which appeared under the new name �Gaham� which is next door to Chesterton.

The Rector was in his late twenties when his father died, and it is easier to form a picture of the father than the son.� Sir Laurence was a knight who lived in the age of high chivalry, the French wars, expeditions against the Scots and the Welsh and the struggles between the Royal household and the Barons.� Brought up with the King and his brother and spending much of his life overseas in the company of the great men of the realm he must have acquired a very wide experience.� He was a crusader, a knight with a coat of arms which he had inherited, and he would be familiar with French, English and Latin.� Always at the right hand of Edmund Earl of Lancaster his boyhood friend he took his place wherever there was fighting or state business.� The rewards which he received for his services were considerable and he never seems to have put himself in the position of forfeiting them through ill-advised ventures as so many did.

He died a rich man and his estate, subject to the dower due to his widow Sybil, passed to the Rector�s brother Nicholas the oldest son and heir.� Sybil did not survive him for long and died in 1298.� Nicholas continued to serve the new Earl Thomas of Lancaster and they formed part of the King�s own bodyguard during the Scottish wars.� They both remained loyal to Edward I who was of course Earl Thomas� uncle.� The Rector himself was closely associated with the family estates after his father�s death.� He was the owner or trustee of considerable property.� In May of the year following his father�s death he was summoned to go overseas (unless this is a mistake for his father) and in 1305 he had a sufficiently large estate to require him to provide a deputy for service in Ireland.� When his brother Nicholas had married Eva De Meysey in 1303 he was probably a trustee of the settlement of the estates at Rode which then became necessary.� This lady had lived next door to the Poulton Estate and brought with her lands at Eton Meysey.� They had one son Thomas born in 1304 whom the Rector seems to taken under his wing for the rest of his life.

Thomas of Lancaster supported Edward II on his accession in 1307 but there was mounting discontent over the King�s favourites.� In 1311 Nicholas took the opportunity to obtain licence to fortify the property at Eton Meysey and in 1312 Earl Thomas and he were involved in the murder of Piers Gaveston at Deddington.� The uprising which led to this act put Thomas in the position of ruling the country and the following year the King was forced to grant a pardon to Thomas and his followers including Nicholas.� With his master in power Nicholas flourished.� In 1312, Eva de Meysey having died, he remarried to Helena daughter and coheir of Lord Zouche of Ashby.� In 1313 he was elected to Parliament as a knight of the Shire for Gloucester.� In the following year he was summoned as Lord St. Maur to the Parliament of 1314/1315 in right of his wife.� Such advancement was expensive and the Rector was involved in raising the large sum of �4000 on loan from Maurice de Berkeley, another prominent Lancastrian, charged on the Somerset estate. (1) and (23)� He had evidently also pledged the Rode estate which he did not recover until 1318.� Nicholas died at the height of his career on 8th November 1316 leaving the young Thomas, his heir, only 12.� There were two other infant sons by the second marriage, Alan and Nicholas.

The family estate went into guardianship during the minority of Thomas.� The Rector was by this time the oldest surviving member of the family but the wardship was granted to Hugh le Despencer the Elder (24) and although this grant only affected the Eton Meysey property most of the other estates were probably in the same hands.� Rode may have escaped as still subject to Nicholas� marriage settlement.� A period of difficulty must have followed.� These were turbulent times for the Lancastrian cause.� In 1322 Edward II had his revenge on the Earl Thomas for his murder of Gaveston and he was executed at Pontefract.� His estates were forfeited and given to Aymer de Valance and although Earl Thomas� brother Henry was away fighting abroad and was not involved in Thomas� fall he had lost most of his lands and his titles.� With his Patron executed and his successor disinherited, with most of the family estates in the hands of guardians who were hostile to the Lancastrians it s not surprising that we hear little about the Rector for a time.

In 1324 Laurence de St. Maur, parson of the church of Higham Ferrers became involved in proceedings against the Bishop of Hereford and obtained the verdict of a jury that he was entitled to �40 arrears of a yearly rent of �20 in respect of property which was not specified.� The case dragged on until 1332 the Bishop alleging that the verdict was false but he eventually abandoned this, although it is not clear whether he actually paid Laurence. (24)

By 1324 Henry had been restored to his Leicester estate and title.� He joined Isbella & Mortimer two years later when they captured the King and the Despencers, father and son, Edward III was put on the throne and Henry, who was appointed guardian of the young King recovered most of his estates and his title as Earl of Lancaster.� He was again back in power.� On 14th March 1327 he came to Higham to take possession of his estate there.� When he left next day he left two horses and grooms to await his return 25 days later. (25)

The young Thomas de St. Maur was by this time of full age and had recovered his own estates.� A comprehensive series of settlements was arranged in 1329 in which his uncle the Rector was both beneficiary and trustee.� Rode was not mentioned and was probably still held under the old settlement.� Poulton was granted to Thomas in tail and then to his brothers Alan and Nicholas and their heirs successively. (26)� Eton Meysey was settled on Thomas and the Rector and the heirs of Thomas with remainders to Alan and Nicholas as before. (27)� There were also estates at Finedon and Irthlingborough, inherited from old Sir Laurence�s brother Ralph, whose son had died without heirs.� These were settled in the same way.� In all these transactions the Rector is always referred to as �Parson of the Church of Higham Ferrers�.

Henry of Lancaster was again in trouble in this same year.� Isabella and Mortimer, whom he backed, thought he was getting too powerful and attacked his Leicester estates in January 1329.� Henry who had been there for Christmas withdrew towards Bedford, by way no doubt of Higham Ferrers.� Some of his friends then deserted him and he was forced to make terms.� His defeat was short-lived and in the following year Mortimer was taken and executed.� At this time Henry whose sight was failing became almost blind and settled down at Leicester to the pious task of founding his Hospital and College in the Newarke there.

It is to this period that the alterations to Higham Church must be attributed.� Henry and the ladies of the family often stayed at the Castle at Higham which was one of their favourite dwellings. (28)� The Rector as a friend of the family for three generations must have enjoyed his Patron�s special favour and probably received his active assistance in building the Lady Chapel and at the same time providing himself with� fine tomb.

In 1335 the Rector was presented to the prebend of Hinton in the Cathedral of Hereford and it is likely that he had other interests in that area. (29)� He died early in 1337 having been at Higham Ferrers for nearly 48 years and he must have been about 70 years old.� We may now be reasonably sure that he was buried in the tomb which bears his arms under the brass bearing his name.

References

The Complete Peerage; G. H. White 1949 p357
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1247-58 pp196,496
Calendar of Close Rolls 1253-4 p75
Higham Ferres by J. B. Kerr 1925 p32
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1258-66 p36
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1258-66 pp307,Longleat MS8971
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1258-66 p532
Cotton Charter xii, 27, Northants Record Society Vol. xv No. 121
Calendar of Charter Rolls 1257-1300 p56
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1258-66 pp533,615
Bishop Giffard�s Register, Somerset Record Society p5
Placitorum Abbreviatio pp264,266
Calendar of Close Rolls 1272-9 p331
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1272 81 p157 Hundred Rolls Pt. i p59
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1272-81 p251
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1272-81 p428
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1272-81 pp436,441
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1281-92 pp59,80
Calendar of Charter Rolls 1257-1300 p269
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1281-92 p69
Bishop Sutton�s Register, Lincoln Record Society Vol. 43 p78
Rotuli Scotiae Vol. i pp1,3
Calendar of Close Rolls 1313-18 p225
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1313-17 p618
Duchy of Lancaster Misc. Bd. ix No. i m2
Calendar of Patent Rolls 1307-1317 p387
Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem Vol. x No. 437
The King�s Lieutenant, Henry of Grosmont, K. Fowler 1969 p27
Thomas de Charleton�s Register

Article for the Link

Sir Laurence de St. Maur, 1245 – 1297

Lord of the Manor of Rode, Somerset

Laurence was born in 1245, the first surviving son of Sir Nicholas de St. Maur and his wife, Isabel.� Their home was at Rode in Somerset where his father was lord of the manor.� Sir Nicholas was a King�s knight, responsible for protecting the King, Henry III, and he often had to go with the King to fight his enemies across the sea in France.� While his father was away, young Lawrence would go with his mother and brothers and sisters to stay in the royal household at Windsor castle.� So he was brought up with the young princes, Edward and Edmund.� In 1254, when he was 9 years old, there must have been a very cold winter because a special robe, made with sheep�s fur, was ordered for his use while he was at Windsor.� He even went with the Queen and Prince Edmund to take refuge in France, when the English barons, led by Simon de Montfort rebelled against the King.

When he was 21 his father gave him the manor of Rode.� As lord of the manor he was able to claim money, food and animals from the people in the manor to pay for all the things (horses, weapons, armour, and assistants) he needed to become a soldier like his father.� He joined the household of Prince Edmund, his boyhood playmate, who by then had become the Earl of Lancaster.� A year later his father died and Laurence inherited his father�s other estates in Wiltshire, Northants and Warwickshire.� In 1268 he married Emma Maudit from the nearby town of Warminster and received the manor of Clay Coton as part of the wedding agreement.� Laurence and Emma had at least two children, Nicholas and Laurence.� By May 1270 he was preparing to go with the Earl of Lancaster and Prince Edward, on what was to be the last Crusade.� Later that year he was knighted by the King and in January 1271 was granted protection for his journey to the Holy Land.� Henry III died in 1272, while they were away, and his son Prince Edward was not crowned King until 1274.� Perhaps Sir Laurence was able to use this period of relative peace to spend some time in Rode with his wife, Emma, before she died in the winter of 1275/6.� By then he was preparing to go to Santiago and in the following August he went with Edmund, acting as his steward, to fight at Nazarre.� Then, after a brief expedition with the Earl into Wales, which still had not been conquered by England, they were preparing to go overseas again in January 1278.

On his return Sir Laurence married Sibyl, widow of Sir Roger de Lumley.� She was the elder daughter and coheir of Hugh de Morwick and brought with her an estate in Northumberland.� The two of them spent some time at home at Rode and she probably took over the upbringing of Laurence�s young children.� She certainly referred to Nicholas as her son in her will.� In March 1281 Edmund granted Sir Laurence a licence to hunt in the forest of Selwood near Rode, provided he did not take any of the King�s deer.� In the following year he went on another expedition to Wales with the Earl in which Llewellyn, the Welsh leader, was killed, and his head sent to London.� Sir Laurence was again granted a licence to hunt in Selwood forest in March 1283 and in October that year the licence was extended for as long as he lived.� In the same month he was also rewarded with the grant of a charter to hold a weekly market on Thursdays at Rode and a yearly fair on the eve, day and morrow of St. Margaret.

Sir Laurence continued to spend much of his time away from Rode.� He was appointed keeper of Jedburgh castle for a time in 1291 and in the following year he went with Edmund on another campaign in Wales.� For all of these services he received further rewards of grants of land.� By this time his eldest son Nicholas had joined the retinue of the Earl of Lancaster alongside his father.� His last campaign was with Edmund in Gascony during which the Earl became ill and died.� Sir Laurence died a few months later at Harbury, Warwickshire aged 51 years, and at his death he held estates in six counties including the manor of Rode.� He was succeeded by his son Nicholas.

Sir Laurence was a knight who lived in the age of high chivalry.� The eldest son of a King�s knight, and brought up with the young princes in the household of Henry III, he would have been familiar with French, English and Latin and trained in the skills of battle.� Always at the right hand of Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, his boyhood friend, he took his place in the company of the great men of the realm wherever there was fighting or state business and must have acquired a very wide experience.� He was a crusader, a knight with a coat of arms, he fought in the French wars, expeditions against the Scots and the Welsh and the struggles between the King and the Barons.� The rewards, which he received for his services to the King, were considerable and he never seems to have forfeited them through ill-advised ventures, so he died a rich man.� The family name lives on in �Seymour�s Court�, Rudge Lane, the home of his 5x great grandson, John, who has a memorial tomb in the church at Beckington.

Above Left: Seymour’s Court, c1900;

Above Right: Oil painting showing Seymour’s Court (1958 in the A H Batten Pooll collection in the Victoria Gallery, Bath)