1436 The division of the land of Baldwin Freville among his three sisters was described in the order to take the fealty of Robert Aston, son and heir of one of the sisters. [1]
Sept. 20. Westminster. To the escheator in Warwickshire and Leycestershire. Order to take the fealty of Robert Aston, and to give him seisin of his purparty of the lands hereinafter mentioned; as the late king took the fealty of Thomas Ferers of Groby esquire, who took to wife Elizabeth Freville one of the sisters and heirs of Baldwin Freville son and heir of Baldwin Freville knight, and of Hugh Wylughby of Wollaton co. Notyngham, who took to wife Margaret a second sister, for their purparties of the lands of Baldwin the father, tenant in chief of King Henry IV, and of lands of the heritage of Baldwin the son whereof William de Bello Campo knight and John Preston severally were tenants for life, Baldwin the son having died within age in ward of the late king, for a fine paid in the hanaper he respited until a day now past the homage of the said Hugh due by reason of issue between him and Margaret begotten, and ordered the then escheator to take of the said Thomas, Elizabeth, Hugh and Margaret security for payment of their relief at the exchequer, in their presence and in presence of the next friends of the said Robert, being son and heir of Roger Aston knight and of Joyce his wife the third sister and heir, or of their attorneys, to make a partition of the said lands into three equal parts, and to give the said Thomas, Elizabeth, Hugh and Margaret seisin of the purparties of Elizabeth and Margaret, keeping in his hand until further order the purparty of the said Robert, with proviso that each of the heirs and parceners should have a share of the lands held in chief and be a tenant of the king, sending that partition under seal to be enrolled in chancery; and the said Robert has proved his age before William Hexstall escheator in Staffordshire, and for one mark paid in the hanaper the king has respited his homage until Whitsuntide next.
To the escheator in Wiltesir. Like order in favour of the said Robert; as for a fine paid in the hanaper the king has respited his homage until a day yet to come, and has ordered the escheator in Warwickshire to take his fealty.
To the escheator in Warwickshire. Order to give the said Robert, whose fealty the king at another time ordered him to take, seisin of the lands hereinafter mentioned; as upon the finding of an inquisition, taken before Thomas Oudeby escheator of King Henry IV, that Adam Seyntcler was a bastard, that he died at Coventre on Sunday the feast of Michaelmas 11 Henry IV without issue, that at his death he held in fee simple ten messuages, three tofts, five virgates of land and meadow and a dovecote in Warton, that the same were held of Baldwin Freville son and heir of Baldwin Frevyle knight, then within age and in ward of that king and now deceased, as of his castle of Tamworth by knight service and by suit of his court holden at Stipershulle every three weeks, and upon the finding of another inquisition, taken before William Bapthorp the late king's escheator, that by the death of Adam Senclere esquire the premises came to the hands of the former king as an escheat in right of Baldwin the son, for that the deceased was a bastard and died without issue, the late king took the fealty of Thomas Ferers of Groby esquire, who took to wife Elizabeth (as above) and of Hugh Wylughby of Wollaton esquire who took to wife Margaret (as above), for a fine paid in the hanaper respited the homage of the said Hugh etc., and ordered his escheator in presence etc. to make a partition etc. (as above), and to give the said Thomas, Elizabeth, Hugh and Margaret seisin etc., keeping in his hand etc. the purparty of the said Robert; and for a fine etc. the king has respited etc. as above, mutatis mutandis.
To the escheator in Warwickshire. Like order concerning lands of the heritage of the said heirs held in dower and otherwise for life by Joyce who was wife of Adam Peshale, late the wife of Baldwin Freville the father; as for a fine etc. the late king respited until a day now past the homages of Thomas Ferers and Hugh Wylughby, who took to wife (as above) sisters and heirs of Baldwin Freville son and heir of Baldwin husband of the said Joyce, due by reason of issue between them and their wives begotten, and ordered the then escheator to take the fealties of the said Thomas and Hugh to take of them security, for payment of their relief at the exchequer, in presence etc. (as before) to make a partition of the said lands, and to give the said Thomas and Hugh and their said wives seisin of their wives' purparties, keeping etc. the purparty of Robert Aston, with proviso etc. (as above).
To the escheator in Worcestershire. Like order in favour of Robert Aston, whose fealty the king has ordered the escheator in Warwickshire to take; as the late king ordered the escheator in Warwickshire to take security, make a partition, and give the said Thomas etc. livery (as above), etc.
Like writ to the escheator in Herefordshire and the march of Wales adjacent.
Research Notes:
A pedigree of the Freville ancestry reports Sir Baldwin Freville, b. in 1368; lord of T[amowrth] Castle; d. in 1400 married to Joan, dau. of sir Tho. Green, knt; 1385 as parents of Elizabeth Freville, coheiress of her brother, Sir Baldwin Freville, who died as a minor. [2]
"Thomas Ferrers died in 1458. He was then the principal of the male branch of the Ferrerses of Groby, and he bore his arms,—vairy Or and Gu,—with a label of three points Azure. He was the father of Thomas, who succeeded to this Castle, and of sir Henry Ferrers, knt., of Hambleton, in the county of Rutland; from whom is descended the present family of Ferrers, of Baddesley-Clinton, in Warwickshire." [3]
Thomas Ferrers, the 2nd son [of William Ferrers, 6th baron of Groby and Philippa, dau. of Roger lord Clifford], m. Elizabeth, sister and coheiress of sir Baldwin Frevile, knt. He thus acquired the Castle and Honour of Tamworth. [4]
"The Ferrers Family - 15th century to the 17th century: The Ferrers were a wealthy and important noble family with extensive lands in the Midlands. They held the [Tamworth] Castle for nearly 300 years from 1423 - 1681. They were responsible for transforming the Castle from a fortress to a grand Tudor home, designed to impress and emphasise their wealth. Thomas Ferrers the 1st built the timber tie-beamed great hall in approx 1437.
Thomas Ferrers II (1458 - 1498) is believed to have supported the house of York during the Wars of the Roses in England 1455 - 1471. Thomas's wife, Ann, was sister to William, Lord Hasting's, close personal friend of King Edward VI (1461-1483). He was knighted by king Edward IV as a reward for his loyalty. His son John pre-deceased him, probably dying in battle at Tewkesbury in 1471." [http://minisites.tamworth.gov.uk/castlehome/history/tudor_and_stuart.aspx, Tamworth Castle website]
"Philip [Marmion] had no legitimate sons and so the castle passed on his death (c.1291) to his daughter. In 1294 she, however, died without an heir and the castle passed to her niece (daughter of another of Philip's daughters), Joan: wife of Sir Alexander Freville.
The Freville family (or de Freville), originally from Cambridgeshire, held the castle until 1423. Baldwin de Freville died leaving a two-year-old son, and three daughters; his son died a minor and in 1423 the castle passed to the eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband, Thomas Ferrers of Groby" [5]
[1] A. E. Stamp, ed., Calendar of the Close Rolls, Henry VI, Vol. 3, 1435-1441 (London: HMSO, 1937), 77, [HathiTrust].
[2] Charles Ferrers Palmer, The history of the town and castle of Tamworth, in the counties of Stafford & Warwick (1845), 362, [HathiTrust].
[3] Charles Ferrers Palmer, The history of the town and castle of Tamworth, in the counties of Stafford & Warwick (1845), 367, [HathiTrust].
[4] Charles Ferrers Palmer, The history of the town and castle of Tamworth, in the counties of Stafford & Warwick (1845), 365, [HathiTrust].
[5] Wikipedia article about Tamworth_Castle, content subject to change, [Wikipedia].