Francis Lovell and a Nottinghamshire Quitclaim

1 July 1468: A quitclaim was agreed for a Manor in East Bridgford, Notts.

A quitclaim is a legal agreement to forego rights. In this case, it was an agreement to set aside a right to a small manor in Nottinghamshire. The arrangement was made by Alice, Lady Sudeley and Francis Lovell.

East Bridgford, Notts.

This left the manor in the hands of Ralph Lord Cromwell through his marriage to Margaret Deincourt. This type of arrangement was commonplace. It served all parties well and ensured that the landed society was treated justly on a local level and that there was an element of continuity for the manor in terms of administration.

Upon the death of Lord Cromwell, the manor passed to his niece, Joan Stanhope. Again, this is not unusual. What would typically happen next is that Joan’s husband would gain the manor in her stead, or, if unmarried, she would become a much more attractive proposition for a bachelor of similar social rank.

Quitclaim overturned in 1481

In this case, neither happened. Joan died childless. Whilst it would be possible to identify a next of kin, this route was cut off too. Francis Lovell simply overturned the legal agreement and took possession of the manor. This happened in 1481 and showed failings within the administrative and legal framework of the time: Lovell had ridden roughshod through the law.

It was challenged. Interestingly, though, one of William Hastings’s retainers wrote to the Bishop of Winchester about the matter. Hastings himself had sided with Lovell on the case. His retainer quietly complained to the Bishop about the issue. He was, in effect, sitting on the fence so that whatever the outcome, he could benefit. Such was the system of patronage at the time. Loyalties were not as permanent as they had been under earlier forms of the feudal system. Now, the retainers could and did pick sides.