Shardelowes

The Lordship of Shardelowe is a sub-manor of the main lordship in the parish of Tuddenham. It lies in the attractive village, a few miles south of Mildenhall.

Before the Norman Invasion of 1066 the manor was held by a Norse freeman named Canute but when the Saxon thegns were driven from their lands it became the proper ty of Eudo Dapifer. By 1236 it had become vested in Eborard de Trumpington who granted half a knight’s fee to William de Knapwell, and this may have been the origins of the portion of the manor later to come into the hands of Thomas de Shardelowe. Later in the 13th Century the manor was held by Peter de Leyham and it was then sold by his son and heir, Peter, to Sir Thomas de Hemegrave (or Hengrave).

Sir Thomas died in 1264 and the next recorded Lord of the Manor was Roger de Trumpeton, presumably a descendent of Eborard. He died in 1289 but it is supposed that he was merely a trustee of the lordship since in 1316 it was held by Sir Edmund de Hemgrave, Sir Thomas’ son. Sir Edmund served as Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1321 and was also governor of Norwich Castle. At his death in 1334 the estate passed to his son Sir Thomas. He died in 1349 and is buried at the church of The Black Friars in what is now Great Yarmouth.

In 1352 Sir Edmund de Hemgrave the Younger gave the Tuddenham estate to Richard de Brews, Thomas de Shardelowes and Edmund de Thorpe in trust. It is from Thomas that the sub-manor received its name. Sir Edmund’s son and heir, Sir Thomas, is recorded as Lord of the Manor in 1419, the year of his death. Sir Edmund’s son and heir had died two years before him and so after his passing the manor passed to William Ampleford. He held a manorial court in 1428 but little else is heard of him or the manor until 1475 when it was in the hands of William Wellys.

In 1428 it is recorded that Thomas Heigham the Elder, of Heigham. released to Thomas Wellys

all his right in the lands and tenements with foliage in Tuddenham which formerly belonged to Robert Shardelow, knt.

In the same year Wellys settled the estate on his son and heir, John, who lived until 1482. It passed to his son and heir, Thomas, and his wife Lucy and they were recorded as its Lords in 1495 when the whole of Tuddenham, including Shardelowes was said to be valued at £6 13 4d per year.

The descent of Shardelowes from the end of the 15th Century is not clear. By 1548 it was in the hands of Robert Smyth, but how it came into his hands is not clear. The Smyth family held it until the end of the 16th Century when it came to the two daughters and heirs of Robert Smyth, who died in 1598, Mary and Jane. The former was married to Charles Lovell and it appears that the manor then passed to his family.

In 1698 the manor passed to John Hervey, son of Sir Thomas Herbey. John Hervey, the 1st Earl, and Lord of Shardelowes, served as MP for Bury St Edmunds and was raised to the rank of earl in 1714. His son, George, the 2nd Earl, served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1766 and as Bishop of Cloyne in 1767. Frederick, the 4th earl, was also A Bishop (Derry) but is famed for his great love of travel and there are hotel Bristols, named in his honour in Paris and Vienna. He was described by Sir Jonah Barrington as

a man of elegant erudition, extensive learning, and and enlightened and classical, but eccentric mind: bold, ardent, and versatile; he dazzled the vulgar by ostentatious state, and worked upon the gentry by ease and condescension. It is likely that it was this earl who inspired Voltaire to comment; When God created the human race, he made men, women and Herveys.

In 1826 the 5th earl was created the first Marquess of Bristol. The present Lord of the Manor of Shardelowes is the the 8th Marquess.

Rights, customs and incidents

all his right in the lands and tenements with foliage in Tuddenham which formerly belonged to Robert Shardelow, knt.

Historical holder / succession information

1. his son Sir Thomas [source claim requiring identity review]
   1334 · passed_to · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: At his death in 1334 the estate passed to his son Sir Thomas.
2. William Ampleford
   passed_to · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: Sir Edmund’s son and heir had died two years before him and so after his passing the manor passed to William Ampleford.
3. his family [source claim requiring identity review]
   passed_to · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: The former was married to Charles Lovell and it appears that the manor then passed to his family.
4. John Hervey
   1698 · passed_to · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: In 1698 the manor passed to John Hervey, son of Sir Thomas Herbey.
5. 8th Marquess [source claim requiring identity review]
   current_holder_statement · catalogue_stated_current_holder
   Source wording: The present Lord of the Manor of Shardelowes is the the 8th Marquess.