St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks, and the Origins of the Manor at Knole

225 ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, SEVENOAKS, AND THE ORIGINS OF THE MANOR AT KNOLE jennifer burgess This article examines the history of the Knole area of Sevenoaks, particularly the circumstances prevailing in the thirteenth century and the relationship between St Nicholas Church and the Knole Estate, including the early development of the latter. The evidence suggests that despite the close physical proximity, the two sites developed independently, with the church being significantly older. Whereas it is thought that there was a manor house at Knole prior to the existing buildings, there has been much debate as to the location and date of foundation. The documentation examined in this study suggests that although there were families claiming the appellation de Knolle (or variations of the same) in Kent earlier than 1227, the manor at Knole was not named as such until the fourteenth century, but was part of a manorial system in place from the middle of the thirteenth. It is likely that there was a substantial residence on the site before the constitution of the manor and use of the name of Knole. Sevenoaks sits on high ground north of Tonbridge, and within easy travelling distance of London. The Parish Church of St Nicholas lies alongside the London to Hastings/Winchelsea/Rye road, and is almost opposite the entry gates to the Knole Estate. The house at Knole is surrounded by the parkland and set nearly half a mile back from the public road; this distance, as well as the property having a private chapel, seems to indicate only a tenuous link with the local church, despite it having been in the ownership of archbishops, including Cranmer until he surrendered it to Henry VIII. The Knole house is multi-phase and the earliest history in relation to the original manor house is obscure. The development of Sevenoaks was identified as early as 1926 as being different from the normal pattern, when Knocker concluded that the usual sequence of foundation of manor, church and then market did not apply.1 He suggested that the land, being agriculturally unproductive, but close to main routes, would have been attractive to squatters and that a market grew up alongside the tracks, with the church beginning as a wayside chapel for the community and travellers, seeing it as significant that the dedication is to St Nicholas, protector of sailors, merchants and travellers. Killingray in his Brief History of St Nicholas Church supports the idea of an early timber building on the existing church site as a wayside shrine for the swineherd drovers.2 If this were the case, then the development sequence of the town would be market, church and then manor. JENNIFER BURGESS 226 Witney, in looking at the pattern of settlement of the Weald, concludes that places of worship were located at convenient intervals along the drove roads and that markets then grew around these.3 This would make the sequence church, market and then manor; in both the Knocker and Witney models the manor arrived last and the evidence supports this as being the case. The separate, and later, founding of a manor may not be an isolated instance in this area of Kent, as at least one other community research project can find no direct correlation of foundation of church and manorial estate, suggesting a similar evolution to Sevenoaks. Witney discusses several specific instances of villages with such a pattern in his analysis. The Road Network The area is known to have had an extensive range of local tracks from a very early date. In Roman times, there was a major road system linking London, Rochester, Canterbury, the coast and places of commercial, military and transport significance. According to Margary, the main route south from the Ridgeway and Pilgrims Way did not then pass through Sevenoaks, but went from Wrotham through Tonbridge to the coast at Rye and Hastings;4 it must have been very important as evidenced by the extensive archaeological record of Roman sites and finds around Ightham, Plaxtol and Shipbourne. As well as use made by the drovers, the route to the coast was busy with the transport of fish inland and Parkin believes this trade to have been important in the 1140s and probably earlier.5 It was also a pilgrim way and the ports served by it, including Rye and Winchelsea, were departure points for Continental shrines, particularly Santiago de Compostella. Knocker’s article also claims that the east-west route along the Holmesdale Valley (Guildford to Folkestone via Riverhead and Maidstone) was well used from the Bronze Age to the end of the sixth century.6 The concentration of archaeological finds along it seems to support that contention. Du Boulay, by looking at the various original documents relating to medieval land transactions, concluded that, as well as extensive local lanes and access tracks, there were major routes from Sevenoaks to Otford, Sevenoaks to Tonbridge running through the middle of the town, Sevenoaks to Chipstead and Riverhead to Whitley Wood.7 Although changes in the routing of roads is inevitable over time, the modern pattern seems to follow that in Du Boulay’s analysis and shows the significance of the communication links. Sevenoaks was therefore at the meeting point of several major routes well back into history and would have been a hub for trading, hospitality and religious observance (Fig. 1). The Church of St Nicholas The first known reference to a chapel in Sevenoaks is in the Textus Roffensis, a collection of ecclesiastical documents dating to around 1120, compiled under the direction of Ernulph, Bishop of Rochester. Although Sevenoaks is in the Diocese of Canterbury, the Rochester bishopric was historically awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury and not the Crown, so the functional relationship between the dioceses was different from that which existed later. Sevenoaks could also have been part ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, SEVENOAKS, AND THE ORIGINS OF THE MANOR OF KNOLE 227 of Shoreham, which was a peculiar of Canterbury in the Rochester diocese. The second known reference is in the Papal Registers of 1218, where a chaplain and clerk by the name of Aaron was officiating and the church name was cited as ‘the chapel of St. Nicholas, Sevenoaks’. The mandate gave him permission to hold another living in Sevenoaks; this might or might not be construed as being an indication of the link with Shoreham, but, having occurred at a period of hardship for the clergy, the reason could have been economic rather than ecclesiastical. Fig. 1 The location of Sevenoaks/Knole in relation to local routeways and the Darent valley; the medieval Christian buildings and institutions in the area. The map covers an area of 6 x 4 miles approximately. (Map published in Killingray, D. (ed.), Sevenoaks People and Faith, 2004 (Phillimore), p. 13, reproduced with kind permission.) JENNIFER BURGESS 228 There was also a Chapel of St John (Fig. 1), associated with a hospital, at Greatness, but there seems to be no evidence of a hospital as such at Sevenoaks. Both the St Nicholas and St John establishments were mentioned in the Textus, and state, as Fielding quotes,8 the chrism fee due to Rochester (paid to the See in the week before Easter for blessing holy oil for use in ceremonies and baptisms). At that time it was 9 pence for Sevenoaks and 6 for St John’s, so Sevenoaks must have been the larger or more active establishment. Fielding also considered that St John’s must have been served from Sevenoaks after 1386, as it had no chaplains appointed later than that. Sweetinburgh believes that St John’s was of a very early, although unspecified, date and that although archiepiscopal, was little more than a chantry chapel when surrendered to Henry VIII in 1538 and among the first to be disbanded.9 The Valor Ecclesiasticus (Henry’s 1535 valuation of church income for taxation purposes) shows a hospital at Greatness in the Diocese of Canterbury under Otford and a chapel of St John under Senock in the Deanery of Shoreham in the Diocese of Rochester; the combined value for St John’s was well below the cap for survival. The Valor Ecclesiasticus figure for St John’s, was 16s. 3½d. Sevenoaks, considerably more valuable (the vicaria entry alone being more than 30s.) is also shown under both diocesan headings. The separation of the entries at Greatness into chapel and hospital in different contexts, and placing of Sevenoaks both in Otford and Shoreham, suggests a complicated split of administrative, ecclesiastical and financial control and a greater prominence of Sevenoaks. Indeed, the papal valuation of 1291 shows the Greatness hospital as being in the manor of Otford (under Rochester) rather than as an ecclesiastical establishment.10 Everything points to the Sevenoaks church being the major one in the immediate area and by implication serving a significant population. Although the present ground plan of St Nicholas Church is mid-thirteenth century, as described earlier the origins seem to lie much further back and are overlaid by later developments. The investigation by the Oxford Archaeological Unit found not only a few prehistoric artefacts and post-holes of indeterminate date and nature, but also evidence of an early two-celled church building.11 The building of the chantry chapel from the grant from Boniface in 1257 was thought to have been accompanied by a general increase in size and possibly also included a bell-tower. Later developments obscured this, but the arcades installed at the time remain. The upgrading of the church points to an active and affluent community around the middle of the thirteenth century, at a time of general population growth in England as a whole. The Town, Market and Manor Sevenoaks has no separate entry in Domesday, being at that time under the administration of Otford, and there appears to be no mention of a manor in the area of what is now the town. Likewise, the time Sevenoaks market came into being is not identifiable in the documents.12 There seems to be no known charter, although the market can be shown to be active in 1313 (there was an entry in the Pleas of the Crown for Eyre of Kent, 6 Edw II concerning a heifer taken there for sale and running amok). There are entries in the Lambeth Charters dated 1281 and 1292 indicating a permanent market place, which point to an institution already wellST NICHOLAS CHURCH, SEVENOAKS, AND THE ORIGINS OF THE MANOR OF KNOLE 229 established.13 McLain does not record a Sevenoaks market in 1200, but indicates that those markets coming into being after that date were by royal charter and aimed at maximum profit for the manorial landholders.14 The absence of such a charter led Knocker to conclude that the revenue from market fees was insufficient to interest later lords of the manor and that this would imply that the structure of fees was laid down in early times.15 Otho de Grandison, the major landholder around Sevenoaks in the latter part of the thirteenth century, held charters for markets in Chelsfield and Farnborough,16 and he would have been unlikely to have missed the opportunity of profit from Sevenoaks were that viable. It is therefore very likely that the market local to Knole was already in existence and well-established before the manor. Knole as a manorial entity in the Honour of Otford is well attested in the record from about 1400 onwards. The Manor of Sevenoaks existed in 1550 when Edward VI granted it to the Earl of Warwick and additionally a market was shown to be active in Cranmer’s surrender of 1537. The prior history has been less clear. The land which came to be named as Knole was at various times part of larger holdings, often under the manor of Seal (or Sele), itself associated with Kemsing, and so the name Knole may not have been used when it was only a part of a greater whole. The extent and precise boundaries at specified dates are not easy to trace in the currently available documents, although those known as land holders throughout were all of considerable standing. One such was the 4th Earl of Norfolk, Roger Bigod, who died c.1270 (and so would be contemporary with the foundation of the Chantry Chapel) and subsequently by his nephew of the same name, the 5th Earl, before being conveyed to Otho de Grandison in 1283. The original of the 1283 land transfer entry in the Close Rolls does not detail boundaries and buildings, but it is unlikely that a person of such substance would fail to have a dwelling appropriate to that status, and Otho may well have acquired such along with the land. Historians believe that ownership remained with the Grandison family for many years, even after Otho reorganised his affairs to move abroad. The Lambeth Charters show entries of 1364 and 1392 with the reference to the manor of Knole.17 That for 1392 suggests that the manor is passing into less distinguished ownership than previously (and also subsequently), perhaps indicating a decline in the fortunes of the estate alongside that of the countryside in general, as discussed later, before an upturn when the social and economic conditions improved. The challenge is therefore to identify when the manor of Knole was established in relation to the place name, and whether the use of the family name de la Cnolle (and variants of it) indicates a link with a specific area of Sevenoaks. Knole as a place and family name Unravelling the origin of the Sevenoaks Knole as an entity is fraught with difficulty. There are many variations across the UK of the place name (such as Knolle, Knoll, Knole and Knowle) and families have several different appellations including de Knole and de la Cnolle meaning that it is all too easy to be misled. The documents such as Inquisitions Post Mortem, Charter Rolls, Close Rolls and Patent Rolls have many entries illustrating this. In medieval times there were two Knolle estates in the West Country and one in Warwickshire, as well as references JENNIFER BURGESS 230 in York. There was a Knoll in Benenden which Witney refers to as a drof-den,18 and also a Knell at Wingham. Citing an unreferenced document dated 1204, Bridgman claims the Sevenoaks Knole to have been part of the settlement for Alice, daughter of Baldwin Bethun on her marriage with William Marshall, son of the earl of Pembroke and Marshal of England.19 Bearing in mind the groom’s status and extensive land holdings, supporting documentation would be expected, but nothing has yet come to light to substantiate this and it has not so far been possible to identify whether Bridgman’s personal papers are archived and available to locate his source. The pregnant Alice was killed shortly after the marriage, certainly by 1215, and there was a second marriage, which further complicates the information trail; that William succeeded to both his father’s title and state office in 1219 and the passing of lands through the female line has added to the problems of clear identification. Varied usage of names, titles and places of origin might also be part a factor. However, as the estates of the earls were spread widely and Bridgman’s source still has not been identified, his conclusion is still unvalidated and may likely prove to be relating to places other than Sevenoaks. The family name of de Knolle and the variants also occurs widely. There are several non-Sevenoaks references for Kent.20 Possibly the earliest is that of 1227, when Alice, widow of William de Cnolle entered at Canterbury a claim for dower for land in Westwell (near Ashford).21 In the 1290s there was a de la Cnolle (and with other spellings for the same individual) active in Sevenoaks; Robert was known to be bailiff of the Liberty at least between 1292 and 1295 and so likely to be associated with the household of the archbishop of Canterbury.22 His appellation could have come from his secular origins or from his delineated responsibilities to the see. It is conceivable that a bailiff would have taken the name had the Church held the Sevenoaks Knole lands, but the evidence is strong that the Knole area did not form part of the archiepiscopal holdings, even though the landholder Otho de Grandison was reorganising his affairs before going to live abroad and could have disposed of it. It is unlikely that the see would have acquired such rights, as the Church was at odds with the Crown over the question of taxation and ecclesiastical assets were being seized, rather than accumulated – the value of Liberty declined markedly between 1279 and 1291.23 Edward I’s relationship with the church in general and Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert of Winchelsea (1293-1313), was highly volatile. The previous Archbishop (1279-92), John Pecham, had arranged a survey of the see’s Kent manors between 1283 and 1285;24 whereas there is no mention of Knole, there is of Sevenoaks tenants. The Papal valuation of 1291 shows ecclesiastical, but not manorial, values for Sevenoaks.25 It is possible that any connection with a place of the name Knoll would have been that of the drof-den, as in 1285 Benenden was part of ecclesiastical land.26 There are earlier documents relating to management of archiepiscopal estates which mention a Knolle, but there is nothing to suggest that this is a place other than Benenden.27 Whereas Robert de la Cnolle, was active in property transactions in Sevenoaks, there being sixteen entries in the Lambeth Charters involving him and his heirs between 1278 and 1329, some of these mentioned his wife, so he presumably was building up his personal land-holdings rather than acting on behalf of the Liberty. The lack of ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, SEVENOAKS, AND THE ORIGINS OF THE MANOR OF KNOLE 231 references in Sevenoaks to others of his name before and during this time suggests that there was no other family presence and that he would most likely originated from somewhere else, possibly from the Benenden or Westwell areas. The inference is that had there been a manor of Knole at the time of Robert’s service with the archbishop, it would most likely be in possession of Otho or his family, while the see held diverse lands around the area. Although the Grandison family continued to have extensive property in and around Sevenoaks after Otho went to live abroad, the various Inquisition Post Mortem entries do not show Knole per se. The Origins of the Manor of Knole Looking at central Sevenoaks itself, the picture emerging going into the twelfth century is of a small settlement growing around the road junctions and having common land, a market and established chapel; the area of St John’s Hospital appears to be undeveloped by comparison. The records indicate that by the middle to late thirteenth century there was a flourishing and prosperous community, boasting gardens and a fulling mill.28 The church expanded, possibly also adding a belltower and gaining a grant for the chantry chapel in 1257. The chantry was endowed by the then Rector, Henry de Gant, who was Keeper of the King’s Wardrobe for Henry III and wealthy enough to have provided for this from his own funds.29 It was also accompanied by an upgrade in the incumbency arrangements; until that date the responsible clergyman was a rector, but the post of vicar was created additionally and they ran side-by-side. This arrangement was used to ensure proper spiritual guidance where rectors were absentees from their incumbencies, doubtless a consequence of rectors combining secular and ecclesiastical responsibilities. The original market site is generally accepted as being close to St Nicholas Church, about where Chantry House is now, and according to Parkin,30 had moved to the High Street by the 1280s, as the Lambeth Charters indicate.31 This would fit comfortably with known changes to the church fabric – as early markets were often held in churchyards, it is possible that the disruption caused by building the chantry chapel and the general expansion (and possibly bell-tower) provided one reason at least for the relocation. The growth and redevelopment of the area around the church, while reflecting increased prosperity, would also be consistent with the establishment of an associated manorial structure, which may or may not have influenced, or been influenced by, the general affluence and levels of activity. Witney’s analysis that landowners were re-taking direct control of their holdings from about 1200 onwards and that the medieval manorial system achieved its fullest development throughout the 1200s and into the early 1300s would give credence to the hypothesis that the manor was founded in the middle of the thirteenth century.32 The settlement of Sevenoaks could well have undergone something of a decline early in the fourteenth century. The Lambeth Charters show that there was considerable activity in the transfer of property rights in Sevenoaks during the mid to late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries – the documents record fortyseven entries for Sevenoaks between 1278 and 1329 (sixteen of these involved Robert la Cnolle). This activity could be a ripple effect from Otho de Grandison’s JENNIFER BURGESS 232 rationalisation of his assets prior to moving abroad permanently, but could also be an indication of pragmatism or opportunism from the political unrest and agricultural crisis. Harvest failures, adverse weather conditions, murrain sickness in livestock and wheat ergot devastated the crop yields and led to the Great Famine affecting the desirability and value of agricultural land from about 1315 onwards. Continuing war with France and the Black Death in 1348-1350 also played a major part. As the earliest currently known mention of Knole manor in Sevenoaks is for 1364,33 a working hypothesis is that the manor had been in existence for some time, but that the name came into use for a specific portion of a larger and otherwise named estate (likely to be Seal) which was split from the rest during the hard times. As discussed earlier, it would have been unlikely that during his tenure Otho de Grandison lacked a substantial and impressive dwelling on his lands; the 1297 story of his royal connections suggest that he had such and that this would most likely to have been at Knole which was closer to the centre of activity than the more outlying Seal. There are entries in the Calendar of Patent Rolls which show pertinent visits from Edward I and his son. The first is an unwitnessed letter by the King dated from Sevenoaks on 5 August 1297, followed by another on the same day at Tonbridge. Subsequent entries show that Edward then moved on to Pembury, Combwell and Robertsbridge in the next few days before spending time at Udimore (near Winchelsea) and Winchelsea itself before embarking around 22 August to deal with the troubles in France – the Chancery Warrants record him as being in Ghent by 3 September. Left behind as nominal regent was his thirteen year-old son, the future Edward II, and on 27 August the latter deposited the Great Seal of England at Tonbridge Castle to be lodged for safety during his father’s absence. The younger Edward ‘tested’ paperwork produced during the regency. His name appears in the Calendar of Patent Rolls entries for Tonbridge documents of 27, 28 and 31 August and between whiles he seems to have returned to Sevenoaks to conduct business there. He attended to two matters in Sevenoaks on 30 August and a further one on the 31st. Doubtless he lodged at Tonbridge Castle for part of his time in the vicinity, but he must also have had facilities at Sevenoaks suitable for formal audiences and providing some kind of hospitality. The situation in 1297 was highly dangerous, verging on outright rebellion against the Crown. The King and his son on their respective journeys must have required prestigious, extensive and highly secure accommodation for themselves, retinue and armed escort. The settlement of Sevenoaks was already well known by that name, so it would be unlikely that the patents would have used that designation had they been written from Chevening, Kemsing or one of the other large estates. The question arises of where in Sevenoaks the royal parties lodged or rested while conducting business. The most likely domestic accommodation of sufficient status would have been that of Otho de Grandison. As well as having considerable tracts of land in the area, he was very close to the King and highly regarded by him. Although he was abroad at the time he would doubtless have made his estates available, and would be the most trusted of the King’s adherents to have conveniently located property.34 Whereas another prominent aide was Thomas de Capella,35 his position as Rector may not have provided the scale of assistance needed and doubtless ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, SEVENOAKS, AND THE ORIGINS OF THE MANOR OF KNOLE 233 he lived elsewhere, as the additional post of a vicar for St Nicholas Church suggests. Bearing in mind the tension between Church and Crown, and his having employment with both, his circumstances were likely to have made it impolitic for him to become involved in such dealings. There must have been other major holders of lands in the vicinity who could have had the necessary facilities and security, indeed, the Kent Records show that there were six individuals in the Hundred of Codsheath (although including those with landholdings mainly at Chevening and Kemsing) affluent enough to have been paying 10s. or more Kent Lay Subsidy in 1334/5.36 However, the greatest contributor was still one of the Grandisons, so the other families probably are less likely options and Otho’s residence remains that expected to be the principal one in the area. It is reasonable to assume that, with the lapse of time from Domesday, the growing importance of Sevenoaks as an entity and the social movement towards consolidation into manors, the one said to have been at Knole by 1364 would already have been founded by 1297 and been settled, grand (and presumably defensible) enough to receive royalty. It would have been near the centre of commercial activity, and that for Sevenoaks was around the road junctions and church. The residence of the Knole manorial bailiff is also understood to have been at the junction of the London and Dartford roads rather than on what is now Knole parkland,37 which adds weight to the argument and suggests that the manor site lay close to St Nicholas Church. Thomas Bourchier later made several purchases of land around the area of the church to consolidate into the Knole estate. Ward38 carried out a detailed analysis of one of Bourchier’s acquisitions of 1481, namely a building known as the New Inn, which he was able to place as being on the main road opposite the church until vanishing in the 18th century; it was thought to be where the Manor House now is. It is interesting to speculate whether the current building name is suggestive in terms of the original use of the site it occupies, and whether any manor buildings were where Sevenoaks School now stands. Another consideration in the building of a manor house must have been defensibility when society was in such a state of upheaval. The Knoll in the current deer park is the highest point in the immediate area and this siting would doubtless have been given due weight under the circumstances. The history of this part of the Knole parkland is enigmatic but recent investigations have recorded ploughing (pre-dating the landscaping which created the deer park) which therefore could have formed part of the manorial farm system; there is also some suggestion that parts of what had been regarded as folly buildings have early beginnings. Another scenario could be that there had been structures on more than one site, say the manor house on the Knoll and farm or ancillary buildings on the main road near the church. Conclusion The economic and social development of Sevenoaks appears to have been a long evolution resulting from its position in the early network of roads and tracks. The church and market came into being well before Norman times and although the area of Sevenoaks was administered under Otford at the time of Domesday, St JENNIFER BURGESS 234 Nicholas Church was already of greater importance than the St John’s Hospital and Chapel (which were at the foot of St John’s Hill), and grew steadily through the succeeding centuries, which St John’s did not. The place and family names of Knole appear all over Kent and elsewhere in the UK, but cannot (so far) be shown to belong to the Sevenoaks estate before 1364. It is most probable that what is generally understood to be a manorial entity was established in the general locality of the present Knole in the middle of the thirteenth century, but not identified separately under that name at the outset, and that there was a substantial dwelling there. It was most likely located in Sevenoaks near to the church and by the main London to Tonbridge road or on the Knoll. It is also possible that the house itself may have been sited on the Knoll, with other subsidiary buildings near the church. The manor came into being after the town had already become an important community containing a church and market, both of early foundation. The manor and town co-existed, with the manor being a prestigious and extensive holding, but probably declining in importance during the early to late fourteenth century before regaining high status. The Knole estate then went through a phase of independent development, absorbing town and manor lands in the process of consolidation and landscaping in the time of Bourchier and subsequently, producing a complex multi-phase building within gardens and deer-park. acknowledgements Heartfelt thanks to the people at National Trust Knole for starting the research process and the staff of Kent History Centre for their kind, tolerant and professional help in finding sources and sorting out confusions. Also to those at the National Archives, Lambeth Palace Library and Library at Trinity College, Cambridge, for obtaining information despite technological blips, plus everyone who contributed with comments in the hypothesising and drafting stages. endnotes 1 Knocker, H.W., 1926, ‘Sevenoaks, the Manor, Church and Market’, Archaeologia Cantiana, 38, 51 et seq. 2 Killingray, D., 1990, St. Nicholas Parish Church – A Brief History, Sevenoaks, p. 2. 3 Witney, K.P., 1976, The Jutish Forest – A Study of the Weald of Kent from 450 to 1380 AD, London, p. 144. 4 Margary, I.D., 1965, Roman Ways in the Weald, pp. 298-299. 5 Parkin, M., 2009, The History of Sevenoaks Market, pp. 4-5. 6 Knocker, op. cit. (see note 1). 7 Du Boulay, F.R.H., 1974, ‘The Assembly of an Estate: Knole in Sevenoaks’, Archaeologia Cantiana, 88, 3. 8 Fielding, C.H., 1910, The Records of the Rochester Diocese, pp. 248-252. 9 Sweetinburgh, S. (ed.), 2010, ‘Hospitals of Mediaeval Kent’, in Later Medieval Kent 1220-1540, Boydell, pp. 116, 135. 10 Pope Nicholas IV, 1291, Taxatio Ecclesiastica Angliae et Walliae. 11 Oxford Archaeological Unit, 1994, St. Nicholas’ Church, Sevenoaks, Archaeological Excavations 1993, sections 2.3, 2.5. 12 The Placito de Quo Warranto, considered to be the most accurate available record, has no mention of a Sevenoaks market. ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, SEVENOAKS, AND THE ORIGINS OF THE MANOR OF KNOLE 235 13 Dorothy M. Owen (ed.), 1968, Lambeth Charters, a catalogue of manuscripts 889-901. The 1281-2 entry (p. 117) is a grant by Maurice, son and heir of William le Falke of Sevenoaks to Richard of Groffhurst of two shops in the common market place of Sevenoaks. The entry dated 27 March 1292 covers several matters, but concerns a quitclaim of right by Roger of Sevenoaks to Robert of la Cnolle in all the shops, booths and plots in Sevenoaks market which once belonged to Peter the merchant of Sevenoaks and also rent charges of ten pence from a house on the market. 14 McLain, Bradley A., 1997, ‘Factors in Market Establishment in Medieval England: the evidence from Kent 1086-1350’, Archaeologia Cantiana, 117, 83-103. 15 Knocker, op. cit. (see note 1). 16 The Charter Rolls entry of May 28 1290 shows the grant. 17 Lambeth Charters (see note 13). Entry dated 18 August 1364 is a quitclaim of right by Walter Codyng to Roger Asshebounhamme in a fourth part of the manor of Knole (plus other lands in Sevenoaks and elsewhere), inherited after the death of Hy Grofherst, clerk. Entry dated 9 November 1392 is a grant by Roger Aschbonham to Thos. Nevitone, citizen and mercer of London, Thos. Remys and Rd Ayland of his manor of Knole in Sevenoaks. 18 The Jutish Forest (see note 3), p. 181. The Benenden drof-den was said by Hasted (The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent) to be in Hemsted Park. 19 Bridgman, J., 1817, An Historical and Topographical Sketch of Knole, pp. 1-5. 20 For example, the Inquisitions Post-Mortem, 10 July 1315, show a Richard de Knolle holding Brenchley from Gilbert de Clare; Patent Rolls 10 August 1289 have someone of the same name as a monk in Dover; a William de Knolle witnessed a gift of lands in Leeds (Kent) in the Charter Rolls of 1285. 21 Calendar of Kent Feet of Fines, 1956, Kent Records, KAS, p. 100. 22 Du Boulay, F.R.H. (ed.), 1964, Documents Illustrative of Medieval Kentish Society, Kent Records, vol. 18, p. 50. From the Pipe Roll Account of the See of Canterbury, under the Liberty (PRO Pipe Rolls (E372), no. 141, 1292-1295). 23 Du Boulay, F.R.H., 1966, The Lordship of Canterbury – An Essay on Medieval Society, opp. p. 243. 24 Witney, K., 2000, The Survey of Archbishop Pecham’s Kentish Manors 1283-85, Kent Records, vol. xxviii, 273-86 (Otford manor). 25 See note 10. 26 Lordship of Canterbury, opp. p. 217. 27 Trinity College, Cambridge, library M.S. 0.9/26 fo. 76v is a volume of communications between Archbishop Boniface and the Prior and Convent of Canterbury Cathedral Priory; p. 137 has a mention of Knolle in a list of locations detailing produce rentals. There is an incomplete document with this entry in Lambeth Palace Library dated 9 December 1259, Cartae Miscellanae XIII. 28 Lambeth Charters (see note 13). Garden mentioned in e.g. entry for 1286/7, fulling mill 1317-18 and unknown late thirteenth-century date. 29 Kent Records – Kent Chantries (1936), pp. 282-287. 30 Parkin, op. cit. (see note 5). 31 See note 13. 32 The Jutish Forest, p. 161. 33 See details at note 17. 34 Otho de Grandison had served Henry III and been on the Ninth Crusade with Edward before his accession in 1272, and continued in the royal service afterwards. He was close to the King and was entrusted by him with important and delicate missions; his name appears frequently in the Close Rolls and Patents both as a witness to documents and as having an official remit. He travelled extensively and he and Robert Burnell were responsible for the groundwork leading to the successful settlement at Amiens in 1279. The Calendar of Patent Rolls shows that Otho was already was out of the country on July 4 1297 and in Rome in early April 1298. 35 Edward had granted the Rectory of Sevenoaks to Sir Thomas de Capella, who worked in the Chancery Courts and carried out much business for the King; he is recorded in the Calendar of Close Rolls in 1285 and at other dates as King’s Clerk (not to be confused with a roughly contemporary eccentric East Anglian cleric of the same name). The King wrote to the archbishop of Canterbury in JENNIFER BURGESS 236 1298 (Calendar of Close Rolls) asking that Thomas be excused church duties for state business, so he must have been a valued aide, particularly bearing in mind the frosty relationship between Edward and Robert of Winchelsea. Fielding, The Records of the Rochester Diocese (see note 8), p. 356, shows Thomas de Capella as Rector of Sevenoaks 1295-1314. 36 Medieval Kentish Society (see note 22). 37 Ibid., p. 37. 38 Ward, G., 1931, Sevenoaks Essays (reprinted 1980), pp. 190-191.