At the time of Domesday Hagley was held by William Fitz Ansculph, as part of his barony of Dudley. As he died without a male heir it passed to the Paganels and Somerys, successive barons of Dudley. When Roger de Somery’s lands were partitioned, towards the end of Edward II’s reign, the lordship paramount of Hagley and Frankley passed to Sir John de Botetourt, who had married Joan de Somery, one of Roger’s sisters. Before Botetourt purchased the manor it was held by a succession of owners who, according to the custom of the time, assumed as their surname “de Haggeley”, from their place of residence.
After Sir John de Botetourt took possession of the manor of Hagley, he appears to have granted it to one John Peoleshale (or Peishall) for his life. At his death it reverted to Botetourt, whose title to it was confirmed in 1350. In 1370, Botetourt, describing himself as “lord of Weolegh and Haggeley”, made a grant to Philip, son of Roger atte Grove de Hagley, of “Beolawe and Bodet silver” for two shillings a year. The manor was recovered from Botetourt in 1374 by Henry Deeley, together with six acres of land in Clent, called Cowbach, but thirty-seven years later Henry sold both the manor and Cowbach to Thomas Waiwyn, who soon alionated it to Jane Beauchamp, Lady Bergavenny. On her death in 1445 it came, according to her arrangements, into the possession of Sir James Boteler, son and heir of the Earl of Ormond. Sir James was a stout Lancastrian and for his services to the party was created Earl of Wiltshire by Henry VI Unfortunately for him, he was taken prisoner at the Battle of Towton Field in 1461 and was executed at Newcastle, his lands being confiscated to the crown and shared out among the Yorkists. In the same year Edward IV granted the manor to Fulk Stafford and his heirs, but as he died childless in the following year, it reverted to the crown, except for the portion held by his widow, Margaret. The rest was granted by the King to Thomas Prout, who appears in a court-roll of 1466 as Lord of this manor. Prout must have died shortly afterwards, leaving no heir, for a grant of 1474 hands over Hagley and Cradley to the Queen, Elizabeth Woodville. However, it soon changed hands again, for in 1479 both manors were made over to the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, together with various privileges, in exchange for prayers for the souls of the King and Queen after their decease.
Previous Page Next Page