Ridlington

THE VILLAGE of Ridlington lies near Oakham and mainly consists of pasture. It overlooks the valleys of Catmose, Gwash and Chater and the parish was at one time part of the royal forest of Leighfield. The Lordship of the Manor can be traced back to before the Norman Invasion of 1066, when it was held by Queen Edith. At this time the Manor was large and included a number of berewicks, all of which would later form Manors in their own right. It is included in Domesday Book with the following entry:

“In Ridlington its 7 Berewicks, church sokeland. Queen Edith had 4 carucates of land to the geld. There is land for 16 ploughs. There the King has 4 ploughs in demesne; and 170 villains and 26 bordars having 30 ploughs, and 2 sokemen with 2 ploughs. There are two priests and 3 churches, and 2 sites for mills, And 40 acres of meadow. There is woodland pasture in places, 2 leagues long and 8 furlongs broad. Before 1066 it was worth £40.”

Soon after the Norman Conquest the Lordship came to Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick, who granted it to Hugh de Montfort and his son and grandson, all named Hugh, held it until 1124 when it was forfeited to the Crown after Hugh III had taken part in a rebellion against Henry I. After the accession of Stephen in 1130, Robert de Montfort was able to claim back his father’s estates and after his death in 1166 he was succeeded by his brother Thurstan who is recorded as the Lord of Ridlington in 1167. Thurstan was succeeded by his son Robert who died childless and was followed by his brother Henry. In 1205 it is recorded that Peter de Montfort was Lord of Ridlington and he was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265 during the Barons’ War. Peter’s son Peter had fought with his father during the civil war, but was soon restored to his family’s land and was succeeded by his son John who was summoned as a Baron to Parliament and died in 1296. Ridlington then passed to his son John, who was killed in Scotland during a skirmish at the Battle of Stryvelin 1314, just before the Battle of Bannockburn.

It appears that soon after John’s death, Ridlington was acquired by Robert Lord Holand and John de Wyvill through their connection to the Earl of Lancaster who appears to have taken over the overlordship of the Manor, through the Honour of Warwick. When Lancaster was executed for rebellion in 1322, Ridlington was once more forfeited to the Crown, but Holand was able to reclaim it in 1328, after the death of Edward II. He was evidently seen as a traitor by his Lancastrian friends and they murdered him in the same year. Ridlington, therefore, passed to his son Robert who died a more peaceful death at his home in 1373. He was succeeded by his granddaughter Maud who married, John, Lord Lovel of Titchmarsh. Lovel was a prominent courtier and political figure of the age and in the 1370s was employed on a number of diplomatic missions to Prussia and Eastern Europe. After attaching himself to the coterie of Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, Lovel made great advances at court and by 1381 he was a well established adviser to the young king Richard II. He also had a hand in military matters, serving as a king’s knight in 1383 and commanding a force of 300 men during Richard’s campaign against the Scots, two years later. However, when Richard’s power was curtailed by the powerful Lords Appellant in 1387, Lovel was banished from Court. Once the King had reestablished his position in 1389, John was swiftly welcomed back and remained an adviser during the next 10 years. In 1399, as Richard’s reign was brought to a pitiful end by Henry Bolingbroke, Lovel saved himself by submitting to Henry at Chester and was therefore able to accommodate himself to the new Lancastrian regime. He fought for Henry in Scotland in 1400 and went with the king to Wales in 1405. A year before he had been named as royal counsellor, but soon afterwards retired from public life.

Lovel’s widow Matilda lived until 1423 and Ridlington then descended to her grandson, William, Lord Lovel. He lived until 1455 and he was succeeded by his son and heir John. His son, who inherited his father’s estates in 1465, was a supporter of Richard III and fought for him at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. As a result his estates were forfeited to the victor of that battle, Henry Tudor, and Ridlington was granted to Sir Richard Edgecombe, who had fought against Lovel at Bosworth. Four years later, though, the Lordship reverted to the Crown and was granted to King Henry’s mother, Margaret, Countess of Richmond. She died in 1509 and it was only leased to Robert Symmys until 1516 when it was awarded to Henry Duke of Richmond. At some point after this, Richmond conveyed Ridlington to Sir John Harington, who died seised of it in 1553. It remained in this family until 1614 when it was sold to Sir Edward Noel, who was later created Viscount Campden. This family were later raised to the Earldom of Gainsborough and the present Earl is the Lord of the Manor of Ridlington. Their descent lies on page 44 of this catalogue.

The Lordship occupies about 2,000 acres (800 h) and lies on the road between Preston and Leighfield. The manor house, the residence of Sir Edward Harington in the 1630s, is near the church of St Mary Magdalene and St Andrew. Edward, Viscount Campden, took the title, Lord Noel of Ridlington, when he was raised to the peerage as a Baron in 1617 by King James I.

Rights, customs and incidents

At this time the Manor was large and included a number of berewicks, all of which would later form Manors in their own right.

Source notes

Catalogue transcribed by the Lord of Finchingfield - a friend to learning

Historical holder / succession information

1. Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick
   1124 · passed_to · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: Soon after the Norman Conquest the Lordship came to Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick, who granted it to Hugh de Montfort and his son and grandson, all named Hugh, held it until 1124 when it was forfeited to the Crown after Hugh III had taken part in a rebellion against Henry I.
2. King Henry’s mother, Margaret, Countess of Richmond
   granted_to · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: Four years later, though, the Lordship reverted to the Crown and was granted to King Henry’s mother, Margaret, Countess of Richmond.
3. This family were later raised to the Earldom of Gainsborough and the present Earl [source claim requiring identity review]
   lord_of_manor · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: This family were later raised to the Earldom of Gainsborough and the present Earl is the Lord of the Manor of Ridlington.