General Notes

homas, Lord de Camoys: Baron by writ and also by tenure of Bekerton Manor, Knight of the Garter and a Privy Counciller. Succeeded on his father's death to Bekerton and Stowe bedon Manors and in 1372 inherited by will the estates of his uncle Lord Thomas (X) de Camoys, including the Manors of Trotton, Elnestede, Broadwater, Alkesbourne, Bercompe, Beningden and other lands in Sussex, Lasham in Hants, Stukeley Magna in Hants, and Tansore, Northants - the latter subject however to the dower of his aunt Lady Margaret de Camoys. By the will of his cousin William, Lord Latimer, 10th July 1381 the Manor and advowson of Wotton, Surrey, which as already seen formerly belonged to his ancestors, was left to him and his heirs. Also on the death of Lord Latimer he inherited divers messuages and lands in Calais held of the Crown "per baroniam", which Edward III in 1376 had granted to Lord Latimer in special tail male with remainder to Thomas, Lord de Camoys in tail male, remainder to the Crown. He appears to have held the Manor and advowson of Wiseley, Surrey, which he let to Isabel, daughter and heiress of Sir Robert Fitz Pain and widow of Richard de Poynynges. In 1395 and 1399 he appears as holding one Knight's fee in Tansore of the Earl of Stafford. In 1401 Richard de Aula and his parcenors held of him six parts of half a Knight's fee in Buttort or Butter's Hall, Thompson, Norfolk. In 1408 he was seised of the Manor of Heschite with its members and of other lands, etc., known as Haterlingland, Sussex, by gift and feoffment of William Gueham. 1406 and again in 1410 and 1411 presented to Itchingfield, Sussex. In a Roll of a Subsidy levied in 1411-12 under Sussex occurs the following,"Thomas Camoys has Manors, lands etc. worth yearly beyond reprises £100. 6. 8d., viz - Manor of Tratton £20. Manor of Ellistede £8. Dedelyng £6., lands etc in Fenyng £6. lands etc. in Bercamp £5. lands etc in Benyngden £3.6.8. lands in Alkisbourne £2. a Manor in Bradwater £45. lands etc late Wm Grene's in Gorynge £5. etc."As will be shown he obtained various lands in Oxfordshire by his first marriage and with his second wife certain Manors in Yorkshire held for her life only. Possibly Honyden Manor, Bedfordshire, of which he also seised, he also obtained by his second marriage. In 1374 he obtained a license to hold a weekly market in Broadwater on Saturdays, which in 1384-5 he had license to alter to Mondays; 1388 obtained a charter for a weekly fair in Broadwater on the eve, day and morrow of the Feast of St. Luke. In 1382 and 1383 he presented to the Church of Wotton. 1379 settled Bekerton Manor upon Robert Braybrook, Bishop of London and other trustees and in 1386 settled upon the same all the lands and tenements in Tansore which Margery relict of Sir Thomas de Camoys (his late uncle) held in dower as part of her late husband's inheritance; further in 1390 conveyed to the same the Manor of Wotton. Summoned to Parliament as a Peer of the Realm from 7 Richard II (1384) to 8 Henry V (1421) and in 1384 on being elected a Knight of the shire was discharged from serving by reason of his being a Banneret. 15th July and again 10th November 1389 received a Commission of the Peace for Sussex, as also on 28th June 1390, with a Commission of oyer and terminer, and again on 24th December of that year; received further Commissions of the Peace for Sussex on 28th November 1399 and 3rd February 1400, and for Hampshire on 16th May 1401: also on 18th December 1399 a Commission of Array for Sussex and Hants and on 23rd January 1400 a similar Commission for Surrey. "Le Sire de Cammoys" appears in 1401, 1403, 1405, and 1415 as a Member of the Privey Council and in September 1414 received the high distinction of the Order of the Garder, filling the stall rendered vacant by the death of William, Lord Roos on the first of that month. In 1377 served with the fleet at sea in the retinue of William, Lord Latimer and in 1379 was in the war with France. 30th July 1380 a commission was issued to the sheriffs and other officials to arrest John Marscall of Whatelee who having been retained by Thomas Cammoys to go with him beyond the seas on the King's service in company with William, Lord Latymer, had absconded with divers sums of the King's money which he had received from said Thomas Cammoys.On 9th July 1381 Lord de Camoys was commissioned with others in Surrey and Sussex to forbid unlawful assemblies and to resist and punish the insurgents, and on 1th October following further commissioned to punish those insurgents who had come out of Kent into Sussex, being on 14th December next ordered to put them down with armed force if necessary. In 1386 he was again in the wars with France. The next year Sir William Berdewell covenanted to serve under him in the expedition to sea under the command of Lord Arundel, Admiral of England, for four months with two esquires sufficiently armed and three archers, each man at arms to have one servant to carry his bayonets, Sir William to find their wages and to have for his own service 18 marks and for his archers 20 and "Bouche de Court" for all his retinue, all to be ready at Southampton the 4th May following and if any great chieftain was taken during the war by Sir William or his retinue they were to receive sufficiently for him. On 3rd November 1399 Thomas de Camoys and his heirs were granted the bailiwick of the forestership of Assholte and Wolmere, Hants, the same as his grandfather Ralph de Camoys had in his demesne as of fee in the time of Edward II. In this year he was also granted for life the custody of the Castle, forest and warren of Porchester, which grant was on 3rd November of that year enlarged to him for life and to his son Richard, the office being described as the Constableship of the Castle and town of Prochestre, Hants, at a salary of 12d per day with payments for a porter and his groom an artiller and a watchman, whom they must keep therein for safety.On 1st June 1400 Thomas Camoys, Chivaler, and others were commissioned to enquire as to all trespasses done to tenants of Henry, Prince of Wales in Old and New Shoreham, Sussex. Amongst the Acts of the Privy Council in 1400 there is a minute of 9th February that the Sire de Camoys, amongst others, is granted "de trov a ses coustages une nief arraie de XX homes d armes et XL archs et suffissantment estuffe de marims:" and in a minute dated February 1402 the Sire de Camoys is mentioned as one of those ordered by the great Council to see the assignment and payment of the "subsidees, custumes dismes et quinzismes" granted to the King, and who therefore are to assemble in the Chamber on 19th instant. Amongst letters from the King dated 26th October 1402 requesting a benevolence, that directed to counties Hants and Wilts is addressed to Lord de Cammoys and two others. On 25th June 1403 he was directed to convoy safely the Lady Queen Joan from Brittany to England, for which service he was to receive £100; conveyed also with certain ships of war, Henry IV escaping from the pestilence raging in London, from Queenborough in the Isle of Sheppey to Leigh in Essex, when pirates who followed them captured four of their store ships and the King only escaped by reason of the swiftness of his ship. For this misadventure Lord de Camoys was accused of being in correspondence with the enemy and plotting to betray the King into their hands and was therefore tried, but acquitted. On 12th November 1404 Richard, Bishop of Bangor, Thomas de Camoys, Sir Richard Aston, Lieutenant of Calais and seven others were appointed to treat in Picardy with the Ambassadors of Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy and Countess of Flanders, as also with the Ambassadors of the King of France. 13th May 1415 appointed with Thomas Montague, Earl of Salisbury, and Thomas, Lord West to array and muster all persons, "both noblers and archers" in the counties of Southampton, Dorset and Wilts to serve the King against the French and Genoese. Commanded the left wing of the army at the battle of Agincourt, 24th October 1415: for an account of his retinue etc. in this battle see appendix. In April of the year following the Constable and Marshal of England, the Earl of Oxford, the Lords de Camoys and de Powys and Monsieur William Bourghcher were ordered to station themselves at Rochester to receive the Emperor Sigismund on his progress from Dover to London. The same year Lord de Camoys served the King in France with 2 Knights 27 men at arms and 60 archers: the year following at the "Three Mynners," Southampton with Richard Maudyt, serjeant at arms, he took the muster of men serving under the Earl of Huntingdon, the Earl Marshal, and others in the expedition which sailed for France on 23rd July. Died Thursday, 28th March 1421 and was buried in the Church of Trotton, Sussex; this Church is a large, rich and very handsome structure and is said to have formerly had a chantrey for the De Camoys family: there is a table tomb on the left side of the alter and one on the right, also several other ancient and curious tombs, the inscriptions all obliterated but presumed to have been the graves of members of the Family. In the centre of the chancel is the table tomb of Thomas, Lord Camoys and his second wife, which, standing about 3 feet from the ground, supports on a slab of Petworth marble measuring 9.5 feet by 4.5 feet a brass profusely decorated displaying the arms of Camoys impaling those of Mortimer and delineating Lord Camoys armed cap a pie, his second wife and a son who died young and bearing the inscription"crate p' aiab's Thome Camoys*Elizabeth's ejus Consortis, qui quondz, erat dñs de Camoys baro*prudes Consul Regis*Regne Anglie' ac Strennuus Miles de Gartero süu fiñe comendavit X to XXVII die mens' Marcii Ao Dm Md ccccxxi quor' a'iab'z, p'piciet ds. A-mé."By inquisitions post mortem in 1422 and subsequently, he was found to have died seised of the following lands, his grandson Hugh being his heir, - Stowbedon Manor, Norfolk, held in chief from the King by military service: in Hants one messuage and garden, 50 acres arable and 40 acres wood with its pertinents in Lasham, held from the King in chief by service of an annual payment to the Castle of Winchester and service to the hundred of Odiham, also lands in Odiham: in Hunts a certain Manor in Stukeley Magna known as Camoys Manor with its pertinents, held from the King in Chief by service unknown: in Northants one virgate of land in Tannesore called the demesne lands and a certain rent, also a separate fishery in the Neen from "Clotherstoke Flowdegates to a certain willow named Answelogh, standing at the end of Perehow mill pond", all held as of the Honor of Gloucester: in Sussex Bradewatre Manor etc. with the advowson of its church and of the chapel there, Akkesbourne Manor, Bercompe Manor, Bynynen Manor and the advowson of Rousparre and of Echyngham churches (44) all held of the Honor of Brembre and being a portion of the Honor of Lewes, Tratton alias Tradyngton Manor and advowson held as of the Manor of Codre, Elnestede Manor as of the Manor of Chudeham, Tyning Manor as of the Manor of Dereford, Dudeling Manor and Demford Manor: in Oxfordshire 1 messuage and 2 carucates of land in Combe Cheleworth Magna and Parva and a fishery in the Thame, together held in chief by the service of half a Knight's fee, also Whatele Manor, which was known as Camoys Manor, a messuage and lands in Lawrence baldon held as of the Honor of St. Walery, a messuage etc., in Hedington held as of Hedington Manor, and Milton Magna Manor, known as Camoys Manor (45): in Bedfordshire, Honyden Manor, appertaining to the Court of Eton.It may be mentioned here that parts of the parishes of Dicheling, Barcompe and Newick, in Sussex, which as related above were the property of Lord de Camoys, were included under the title of "Camois Manor Court," the lord of which was, and still is, a free suitor in the Court Baron of Lewes; also that Trotton, which undoubtedly was the residence of the Lords de Camoys, is still known as "Camois Court."Married first, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of William de Louches who bore "argent, 2 bars gules, in chief a lion passant of the second"; by this marriage Lord de Camoys acquired the Manor of Ingescourt in Milton Magna, held by Knight service of the Bishop of Lincoln, together with the other estates in Oxfordshire already mentioned. Second, Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March who bore "barry of six, or and azure, on a chief of the first 2 palletts between 2 base esquierres of the second, over all an inescutcheon argent", by his wife Philippa, daughter and heiress of Lionel Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence. She was the widow of the celebrated Henry Percy, K.G., surnamed "Hotspur," who was slain in 1403; she was born at Usk 12th February 1371 and dying in 1418 was buried at Trotton as previously mentioned. Her dower as widow of Henry Percy consisted of the Manors of Tadcaster, Gristwaith, Austenby and Thorstanby, Yorks, all held in chief; these Manors reverted after her death to Henry, Earl of Northumberland. It is probable that she held in her own right Nonyden Manor, Bedfordshire.