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Cosgrove -Templars & Hospitallers Templars and Hospitallers in Cosgrove
Following the Norman invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror divided lands between his closest lords to assure himself of their loyalty. In the Cosgrove and Furtho area, William’s follower Robert of Mortain held lands, whilst out in Deddington William’s half brother Odo, later Bishop of Bayeaux, built a massive fortification to protect Norman lands. These allocated lands were bought, sold and exchanged over the next centuries to cement allegiances, or, when given in a Holy cause, such as the Crusades, to increase a family’s chances of getting to Heaven and obtaining favours from the Church.
Who were the Templars & Hospitallers The Knights Templar were an elite fighting force in the Crusades dating from 1116, swearing to a code of conduct including humility, chastity and obedience. The Knights Hospitaller, claiming to date from 1113, vowed to carry out humanitarian tasks including caring for injured Crusaders. Both orders owned vast donated lands giving them huge income and investments.
The Cosgrove Church Advowson
Clues in the landscape In the twenty fourth year of Edward I [1293] Walter de Furtho was found to hold here thirty one virgates of the small fee of Morteyn, John de Cumlenton twenty one virgates of Roger de Lewkenor; Ala de Brune five virgates at the rate of xs per annum of the Earl of Warwick, with four virgates of the heirs of Patrick Chaworth; the heirs of Peter de Cheney five virgates of the heirs of Geoffrey de Lucy; and the Knights Templar to hold six virgates of the Earl Ferrars.
Tax Records Needless to say, the riches acquired by the Templars, along with their fighting prowess, drew the attention of the King. Edward 1 commissioned a survey of the worth in rentals of the possessions of the Templars in the early 14th century. Extracts appear below: SC 12/13/47 Northamptonshire, Templars’ lands: summary of rents due. 1 Edw II. One roll. 1307 \Buckebi {Long Buckby}// – Will[elm]o Russel + Will[elm]o Garry de ij mes’ ij virgat’ t[er]re ad eosd[em] t[erm]i[n]os eq[ui]s porc[i]o[n]ib[us] ix s x d ob[ol’]. \Norht[ampton]’{Northampton}// – Joh[ann]e Longemle Juniore de J mes’ ad eosd[em] t[erm]i[n]os eq[ui]s porc[ionibus] xxs. – Et Steph[an]o Osbern de ead[em] ad eosd[em] t[erm]i[n]os iiij s eq[ui]s por[ionibus]. \Fortho {Furtho}// – Thom’ fil’ Nich[olai de Temple de iiij virg[at’] t[er]re in Forcho ad e[osdem] ter[minos] xxvj s viij d equis porc[ionibus] \Conesg[r]\a/ve {Cosgrove}// – Will[elm]o seriaunt de J virg[at’] t[er]re cu[m] p[er]tin[entibus] ad eosd[em] t[erminos] v s eq[ui]s por[tionibus]. \Aldrynton’ {Alderton}// – Th[o]m’ Polter de iiij\ta/ p[ar]te J cotag’ ad e[osdem] t[erminos] v d eq[ui]s por[tionibus]. – Et de Walt[er]o Cart[er’] de J crofto ad e[osdem] t[erminos] x d eq[uis] por[tionibus]. \Shotelanger {Shutlanger}// – Henr[ico] de Borenho de mediec’ J virg[at’] t[er]re ad eosd[em] ter[minos], viij d ob[ol’] eq[uis] por[tionibus]. \Stok bruere {Stoke Bruerne}// – Joh[an]ne Guyford ad eosd[em] t[erminos] xij d eq[ui]s por[tionibus]. The Fall of the Templars Many English Templars were arrested in January 1308. None of their properties were very large and the Templars' income from the Northamptonshire holdings was relatively small. The Crown seized most of the money and divided their lands between local lords and Hospitaller commanderies. Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall, was a close favourite of Edward II, and many Templar estates were given to him, including Cosgrove and Furtho. The nobles exiled him in 1308 and executed him in 1311-12. John of Bloxham received Templar estates from Piers Gaveston’s attorney, including Cosgrove and Furtho. Year 5 (1311–12) The same renders account for £11 16 s 8½ d for rents of assise from the town of Welford, Long Buckby, Northampton, Furtho, Cosgrave, Alderton, Shutlanger, Stoke Bruerne, Great Doddington, Floore, Harpole, Bradden, Walmesford, Thrapston, Barton Seagrave, Winwick, Aldwinckle, Warmington, Papley, Loddington and Great Houghton in Northamptonshire. John of Bloxham seems to have been an administrator commissioned by the King to review and collect rents from previously held Templar lands, including Furtho, Cosgrove and other places nearby. He appears to have found several loopholes used to avoid paying in the past. We have a record of his accounts until 1314. We don’t know if these “Templar” lands overlapped with the Revell “Hospitaller” lands We can follow the holdings of the Hospitallers in documents from the Arnold collection – each named person can be verified thereafter. Reign of Edward II (c1316) Hospitallers held one acre of arable and one acre of meadow in Cosgrove. Henry Spigurnel, living at Kenilworth, was a Judge and Lord of Cosgrove. He had a manor house! 48 men and 6 women possessed land enough to be taxed. Lords of the Manor Gradually the Priors of the Hospitallers began to style themselves Lords of the Manor of Cosgrove. Some probably held many other titles. Manors referred to lands that carried manorial rights, giving owners the right to make and enforce local laws and collect rents and income. A farmhouse with a bailiff on the Prior’s lands in Cosgrove would have looked something like a farmhouse. And it would have been called a Priory because the Prior owned it.
In 1315 Richard de Paveley was Prior of the Hospitallers. By 1361 Sir John de Paveley was Prior. Walter de Paveley held the Manor of Cosgrove for a short time in 1341 and then abdicated it. We can imagine how this family held on to rights and profits unconnected with their duties in respect of the advowson of Cosgrove Church. Recorded Lords of the Manor of Cosgrove during this period
In 1321, Henry Burghersh, Bishop of Lincoln, visited Snelshall Priory, near to Cosgrove. He was given the Manor of Cosgrove by Spigurnel in 1339 and still held the title at his death. In 1329, the Prior of the Hospitallers was summoned to show why he claimed to have view of Frankpledge of all his tenants in Covesgrave, to which he pleaded prescription. [In medieval England, frankpledge was a system of law enforcement and policing in which members of society were mutually responsible for the behavior of their peers. The system included everyone in the community except the highest nobility and their households.] In 1359 Walter de Paveley was granted the manor of Cosgrove from Robert le ForesterThe Hospital at Old Stratford
Modern Research
St. Vincent's Well
The Carved Heads
All these pieces of evidence and clues in the village of Cosgrove, with documentation from Furtho, cannot be considered absolute proof of Templar and Hospitaller roots. However, they do provide intriguing pointers for further research, and certainly lend weight to the reasons why the Priory – the original site of the manor house at Cosgrove, should be so named.
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