ROBERT LE DUC, HEIR OF ROGER

In 1237, there is a reference to Roger le Duc, and to Robert le Duc, his "predicted" heir, in Oxfordshire:

Johannes filius Alani tenet iij. partes ville de Kaldemorton.. .. Et iiijtam partem dedit dictus comes abbati de Sancto Jocio pro x.l. terre quam dictus abbas dedit Rogero le Duc per servicium c.s. per annum, et modo eam tenet Robertus le Duc, heres predicti Rogeri le Duc.

At this time Roger and Robert le Duc each held one quarter of the town of Kaldemorton in Bloxham Hundred in return for knight's service. Bloxham Hundred is in the north-central portion of Oxfordshire, a finger of land between Warwickshire and Northamptonshire.

Slightly later, we find in the Receipt and Issue Rolls for Michaelmas Term, 1241, the following Oxfordshire reference to an heir of Roger le Duc, presumably Robert:

Oxon' De hered' Rogeri le Duc j m. de fine pro Judeis

Oxon' De heredibus Rogeri le Duck' j m. de debito Ide de Haverhull'

The receipt and issue rolls were listings of payments into the Royal Exchequer by sheriffs, often on behalf of others. The first reference above may refer to payment of one mark by Roger le Duc on behalf of individuals subject to a special tax levied on Jews in England at this time. The second refers to "Haverhull." The closest equivalent place name found by the author is "Haverhill," which is in Suffolk about 20 miles southeast of the town of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire.

In 1268 Robert Duke was one of those commissioned to assess the estate and the heir of Sir John de Baillol for the crown.

These references to the Duke family are followed by later listings in the hundred rolls of Edward I. The hundred rolls from which the following reference is taken were assembled in the seventh and eighth years of Edward I's reign, 1281-1282:

Robert le Duke, tenant in the hundred of Chadlington, Oxfordshire, holding 1/2 virgate for which he pays 4s 3d a year, plus other properties;

Chadlington is immediately south of Bloxham Hundred.

THE DUKE FAMILY IN THE EWELME HUNDRED

William le Duke (of the 1280 hundred rolls) was clearly not farming in this area; one-half acre would scarcely support a single person. It is more likely that this was a home, without farmland, chosen for its ease of access to London. At this time travel to London was easiest by barge along the Thames.

THE DUKE FAMILY AT OXFORD

The "wife and son of Hugh" mentioned in the 1280 hundred rolls were living in the town of Oxford. Soon, others in the same areas can be identified.

In 1294 John le Duk of Goseford, with Walter de Wycthille, John Phelip, John de Crokesford and Henry de la Chaumbre acknowledged that they owed Walter, Abbot of Westminster, 88 marks [a very considerable sum at the time, to be levied, in default of payment, of their lands and chattels in co. Oxford. Goseford is located 4.5 miles from the town of Oxford.

THE DUKE FAMILY AT WRETCHWICK

The family of Hugh le Duc established a branch in eastern Oxfordshire, as this reference in Index of Names in Oxfordshire Charters shows:

Duk' (Hugh le), of Wrecchewyk. Tackley grants to (1314), MS. Top. gen. c. 39 (30-31). Wrecchewyk, or Wretchwick, was in the Ploughly Hundred, in Bicester; it was held by Bichester Priory, itself controlled by the Priory of Tackley, in Essex, as part of the Honor of St. Valery.

In 1323 a commission of oyer and terminer was issued on complaint of William Aylmer, parson of the church at Datyngton, that a very large number of individuals, among them Hugh and Richard le Duk', broke into his houses at Dadynton and Caveresham, co. Oxford, and carried away his goods. A similar charge was made in the same year against these individuals. Richard was probably a son of Hugh. One interesting aspect of these charges was the enforcement of this commission by John le Botiller of Lanultut, with several others. An individual of the same name earlier appeared as leader of a group in which Henry Duke participated in the Forest of Dene, west of the Severn, an incident to be dealt with in the discussion of the family in Gloucestershire.

The Duke family, apparently the Wretchwick branch, continued to be represented in Oxfordshire for several centuries. Richard Duke is among those identified as commissioners for the Inquisition of 1517 in Oxfordshire. Later, a Richard Duke was in residence at Newton Manor in Oxfordshire by 1523. Newton Purcell is six miles north-east of Bicester. Newton was held by Oseney Abbey, and was part of the Honor of St. Valery, which eventually was incorporated into the Honor of Wallingford, held in the 14th century by Richard of Cornwall and his successor, Edmond.

Richard Duke was in residence at Newton by 1523. John Duke, perhaps Richard's grandson, held the manor in 1552, and Roger Duke in 1559. His successor Paul Duke, with his wife Sabina, sold the manor to John Sill in 1596. This family also held property at Frankton, Warwickshire, acquired through marriage in the early 16th century. Frankton was held by the Priory of Coventry until the dissolution, but the Botillier family (see above) was a principal tenant at Frankton of the priory. Richard Duke was present in 1529; his interest in the property was subsequently held by his sons, Richard and John (died 1565) and his wife Margaret. In 1652 Roger Duke sold the property, although this was later disputed.

THE DUKE FAMILY AT SANDFORD

In 1361 there is a reference to the Duke family in north-central Oxfordshire:

Oxon - P'cept Nicho de Someton et Johi Duke consanguin' et her' Thome Duke def de uno mesuagio et duab, virgatis tre cum ptin' in Sandford q' de R. tenent' in capite.

This indicates that John Duke, blood relative and heir of Thomas Duke, held an estate that included a residence (or a site for a residence) and three virgates of land in Sandford, Oxfordshire, (apparently the northern Sandford, rather than another located south of the town of Oxford) as tenants-in-chief of the king, in return for military service.

In 1376 a John Duk, probably the same individual identified previously as the heir of Thomas, was charged with having "intruded himself into a messuage and two virgates of land in Sandford [Oxfordshire] after the death of John Carter of Sandford, who held the same of the king in chief, and the same John Duk immediately after the death of John Carter married Margery late the wife of the said John without the king's license." He was afterward granted a messuage and 2 virgates of land in Sandford, in accordance with letters patent of pardon in his favour; as the king had taken his homage and fealty.

In 1380, Henry Duke of Spellesbury, near Chadlington, was pardoned, after the intervention of the Earl of Warwickshire, for having stolen 14 sheep, valued at 20s, at Chadlington, from Richard Whytefeld. An Earl seems a rather heavy gun to bring into a charge of ovine theft, but medieval justice could be heavy and perhaps this was warranted. In any case, this reference is interesting in connection with the earlier presence of Henry le Duc in Warwickshire, and later evidence that this family held property simultaneously in both Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.

In 1398, John Duke was appointed a tax commissioner responsible with others for delivery of Oxfordshire taxes to the royal Exchequer.

The Duke family continued to occasionally fall afoul of the king's rights in Oxfordshire. In 1420 it was recorded that:

John Duke son of John Duke of Sandford the younger and Katharine his wife, daughter of Richard Bray of Shutford, lately acquired to themselves and the heirs of their bodies from John Duke of Sandford a messuage and two virgates of land in Sandford and Leedwell, held of the king in chief, and entered thereon without license; the king, for 13s 4d. paid in the hanaper, pardons the trespass in this.

One probable family member is difficult to place within this scheme. John "Doke" was granted a general pardon in 1346 for his participation in the French wars, presumably including the battle of Crécy, on the testimony of the Earl of Warwick.

To continue our picture of this branch of the family in eastern England, we must add Essex to the list of counties to be considered.

ESSEX

Essex is immediately northeast of London, extending to the English Channel in the east and to Hertfordshire in the west.

SPRINGFIELD

The Duke family was present in Essex quite early. The Place-Names of Essex records that John le Duk held land at Springfield in 1239, according to unpublished feet of fines in the Public Record Office. However, this John Duke was eventually unfortunate. In 1269, John Quiting was pardoned, at the instance of William de Faukham, for the death of John le Duk "and any consequent outlawry."

John le Duk left heirs, among them a son named John. This is revealed in another tragic record preserved in the Patent Rolls. This listing appeared in 1300:

The like [pardon] to Thomas de Clavering of the county of Hertford, by reason of like services, for the rape and death of Juliana daughter of John le Duc, and of his outlawry for the same.

Hertford is immediately north of London. The pardon was given for service in the king's war in Scotland; it is unlikely that the family of John le Duc was consulted about whether this represented adequate justice. Rape is not a crime limited to young victims. However, it is likely that Juliana was young, having been referred to through reference to her father rather than a husband. Therefore, there was a John Duke who succeeded his father at Springfield, and this John Duke married and had at least one child.

A second individual whose age is consistent with his having been a son of the second John Duke at Springfield appears as the heir to that estate. In 1328 Richard Duke testified to the age of Margaret de Bovill, daughter of John de Bovill. He indicated at that time that he was 50 years old, and therefore born in about 1278. Richard Duke was at the time the king's bailiff at Chelmsford.

In 1361, a younger Richard Duk swore homage and fealty to Edward III [as a tenant in capite] and was granted a fourth part of a manor at Springfield, Essex, (one mile northeast of Chelmsford) in return for service of a fourth part of a knight's fee, as a consequence of the inheritance of this share by his wife, Margaret Wendovere, whose mother, Elizabeth Wendovere, wife of Peter de Wendovere, had been a tenant-in-chief under the crown. This apparently supplemented a much older family holding in the area, according to the report in Place-Names of Essex. Two homes listed in the Springfield area, Springfield Dukes and Duke's, are associated with the family.

This was probably the same Richard Duke who was a witness in 1369 to a charter for a hall with chambers and a kitchen in the manor of Springfield, to Robert de Bradenham from John, son and heir of Sir John de Goldyngton, knight.

WIDDINGTON

John Duke of Essex served at Crécy and Calais, and in 1347 was with many others granted a pardon for his service, provided he continued to provide military service in France, apparently indefinitely. Edward III issued these pardons from Calais:

Pardon, for good service in the war of France, to John son of William Whyssh of Donecastre, co. York, of the king's suit against him for any homicides, felonies, robberies and trespasses in England before 4 September last, and of any consequent outlawries; on condition that so long as the king be on this side the seas he do not withdraw from his service without licence. By K. and testimony of William atta Wode.

There is no indication in the published record of what specific offense required pardon. This John Duke seems to have established a home at Widdington, Essex. However, William Trussebut, who testified to his service, was of the retinue of William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton.

In 1367 John Duk the younger [implying the existence of an elder, probably the same individual who served at Crécy] and his heirs were granted free warren of their demesne lands of Wedyton, Essex, by Edward III. Wedyton (Widdington) is in northwestern Essex. Prior's Hall and Prior's Wood appear to be the portions of the property held by the Priory of Tackle(y) in Essex, in turn held by the French Prior of St. Valery as a consequence of a donation by William I.

In 1380 and in 1384 John Duke of Essex is mentioned in connection with Tackle(y) grants. In 1390, John Duke was commissioned with others to convene a jury of Middlesex and Essex touching waste and dilapidation at the alien priory of Takley, in the king's hand on account of the war with France.

John Duke was a commissioner of array for Essex, responsible for conscripting troops for the king's military service, in 1384. His companions in this post were very distinguished, including the earls of both Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire (who do not appear on the lists for their own counties) and a member of the Bouchier family, later earls of Essex.

In 1398, John Duke was among those assigned by Richard II to provide to the Exchequer £2000 from the county of Essex.

In 1399, John Duke and all others present in earlier royal commissions in Essex are absent. This may relate to the radical change in royal government at this time. In 1399 Richard II was deposed, and murdered. Henry IV took his place, establishing the Lancastrian dynasty on the throne of England for many decades.

Richard II exempted John Duke of Wydyton from unwilling appointment to a wide range of positions, apparently in recognition of prior service. In 1400, this was confirmed by Henry IV:

Exemption for life of John Duc of Wydyton from being put on assizes, juries, inquisitions or recognitions and from being made mayor, sheriff, escheator, coroner, justice of the peace or of labourers, collector of tenths, fifteenths or subsidies, taxer, trier, assessor, captain or governor of men at arms, hobelers or archers or other bailiff or minister of the king against his will.

This confirmed an earlier statement to the same effect by Richard II.

In 1399, Guy Duke went on Richard II's Irish campaign. In 1402, Guy Duke of Essex gave recognisance for 100s. to Robert Ramsey. In 1403 Guy Duke of Essex gave recognisance for 350 marks to Nicholas Wolbergh, citizen and fishmonger of London. This is doubtless the same Guy Duke who served with Bouchier at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

John Duke reappears in a 1405 reference:

John Lerlyngton and William Folborne to John Duke of Weditone. Recognisance for 56s. 8 d. payable a month after Easter next, to be levied etc. in the county of [left blank]

. The said John and William to John Duke of Weditone. (like) recognisance for 56s. 8d payable a month after Michaelmas next. [county again left blank]

It is unfortunate that this reference omits an intended reference to the county, since there are quite a few locations named "Weditone" in late medieval England. However, the Essex location is the only one of these known to have been the residence of a Duke family, and specifically a John Duke, at this time.

After 1405 there are no more references to the Duke family at Weddington.

NORFOLK

In 1320, William Duk was a witness, in Norwich, to a grant to Sibton (Sybeton') convent. There is no information about the home of this individual.

In 1337 William, son of Agatha Duke of Castelacre, was pardoned, with Henry atte Cros, chaplain, for acquiring in fee from William Bony two messuages in Swasham, without license from the king, who had granted them to John, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond. They paid a one-half mark fine. The tenants-in-capite of Castle Acre were the de Warennes, Earls of Surrey.

In 1410, Robert Portyr of Wroxham was charged with not appearing before the justices of the Bench of Richard II to answer Walter Duk of Norfolk touching a debt of 6 marks. This apparently refers to the same Walter Duke found in Suffolk, after his acquisition of Norfolk properties.

Adam Duke of Wabrunne [Weybourne, Norfolk] in 1340 was pardoned by Edward III, by virtue of his military service overseas for the king and a commitment to return if necessary, for the death of Thomas Reynold of Wabrunne, and a trespass against John de Ormesby, knight.

The Norfolk family shares with those of Surrey and that of Dorset (to be discussed below) an association with John de Warenne (John de Garenne), Earl of Surrey, which may be an important clue to their identity. It is quite possible that the same individuals owned land in these various counties, as a consequence of that association.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE

SOUTHERN CAMBRIDGESHIRE

The history of the Duke family in Cambridgeshire is begins in the early 13th century, but the record is sporadic and some references to the family here do not necessarily represent local individuals.

The earliest record in Cambridgeshire is that of Arnold de Dukes, recorded in 1200. William and Robert were identified as sons of Arnold. This is almost certainly an unrelated family; the "de Dukes" suggests the independent development of a similar surname.

In the Hundred Rolls of 1280, Thomas Duke is listed as holding several cottages in the Fulbourne, Cambridgeshire, area, very near the town of Cambridge. At the same time, John Duke held a messuage and 8 acres of land at Eltisley, in the Hundred of Stowe, west of Cambridge. Eltisley was held by the crown, but the Prioress of Huntingdon appears to have beentenant in capite by 1340.

In 1322 a commission of oyer and terminer was issued stating that a large number of persons representing the town of Cambridge:

...attacked and spoiled divers inns of the masters and scholars of the University, climbed the walls, broke the doors, and windows, mounted by ladders into the solers and assaulted the said masters and scholars, imprisoned some, mutilated others of their members, and killed William de Shelton, parson of the church of Welton, carried away all they could of the books and other goods of all the masters and scholars, so that no person dare go to the University of the said town for study.

Geoffrey Duk' was among those accused of these crimes.

In the same year Geoffrey Duk' was again part of a large number of individuals charged with assaulting and wounding Arnold de Tyle, clerk, at his inn at Cambridge, taking away his goods. He was not a member of our Duke family. "Duk'" is a standard abbreviation in the various Rolls documents for "Duket," a separate family in this area.

This sort of behavior was apparently regrettably common, even among "good" families, during the 14th century:

Most of the local disorders had no political significance at all: they were due simply to lack of governance or abuse of authority, occasionally to vaulting ambition; more frequently the troubles were incidents in a long-standing feud with neighbours..

As soon as we dig below the surface in any county it appears to be crawling with miscreants, robbers, renegade clergy, faithless knights, and rascals of every complexion -- king's men gone wrong or Lancastrians without a master.

Later, it is clear that the family attitude towards the University was not so negative. The earliest recorded member of the family to attend college was Richard Duke, who was admitted to King's Hall, Cambridge, on May 10, 1362, where he remained until his death on June 16, 1369. At this time higher education was pursued principally by the clergy. He might have been from this branch of the family.

Edward III, in 1364, granted licence for the alienation in mortmain by William de Horwode of Cambridge to the master and scholars of the house of Corpus Christi and St. Mary, Cambridge, of five messuages and eight cottages in Cambridge, and the reversion of a messuage and two void places there which Mariota Duke held for life, all of these held of the king in burgage for 26s. 8d. yearly.

In 1351 this Mariota Duk and many others were charged with ravishing Pernell le Enveyse of Waledene, abducting her with her husband's goods.

NORTHERN CAMBRIDGESHIRE AND THORNEY

In 1368, John Duke surrendered a 100s. annuity from Edward III in return for life maintenance at the convent at Thorneye. Thorney is in northern Cambridgeshire. He died before 1392, when Edward III ordered that John Middelton, clerk, be given the place at Thorneye previously held by John Duke, and certainly before 1401, when yet another individual, William Storthwot, the king's clerk, was placed at Thorneye in the place formerly held by John Duke. This was a form of retirement, rather than an indication of choosing a monastic life, and would have been especially suitable for those who were injured and unable to continue their chosen profession. During the Hundred Years War, on-the-job injuries were not uncommon for the king's servants.

In 1405 a notice appeared regarding this same John Duke, apparently resolving issues of his estate:

John Duke late serjeant of King Edward to Thomas now abbot of Thorneye and the convent and to their successors. Surrender of his estate in a yearly rent of 100s. and a gown or 1 mark for it, to him granted in that monastery for life by brother John late abbot thereof and the convent at request of the said king; and general release of all actions real and personal. Dated Thorneye, 7 November 7 Henry VI. Memorandum of acknowledgment, 19 November.

In 1418 there is a record of the residence of a John Duke in Ely, in a complex record of properties in that city subject to the Bishop of Ely.

HERTFORD

Hertfordshire is immediately west of Essex, and southwest of Cambridgeshire. The western boundary of the county is therefore very near the home of John Duke of Widdington and of Geoffrey and Mariotta of Cambridge.

In 1320, Stephen le Duk was among those cited for breaking into the house of Jordon Moraunt, king's clerk and parson of the church of Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, and stealing goods there. Interestingly, another parson also participated in this, along with about 100 others. This individual could be of the Hertfordshire or the Essex families.

The Hertfordshire record casts doubt on some of the other presumed members of the Duke family, along with this one. In 1220, there is a Hertfordshire reference to "Gaufridus filius Mariote" of Hertford. We later find Mariote Duke in the Widdington, Essex, area, and Geoffrey Duke in Cambridge, only a few miles away.

SURREY

In 1321, William Duuk of Dorking, Surrey, (immediately south of London) was pardoned, with many others, for actions against Hugh le Despenser, the senior and the younger, alleged to have been led by Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex. The actions for which he was cited were apparently part of a larger opposition by the barons that had developed against the older and younger Hugh le Despenser, who were hanged after the king was deposed. The Duke of Lancaster had a pivotal role in inciting the barons and their followers to unite against the Despensers. The most significant point regarding this incident is the probable association of William Duuk with the Earl of Surrey, John de Warenne. Much of the property in Dorking was controlled directly by de Warenne.

On July 10, 1380, Walter Brundale was charged with failing to appear regarding a debt of £200 to Walter Duke. In 1381, Walter Duke was a witness to a charter of feoffment for lands in Surrey, in Westminster.

In 1455, John Duke of Southwark, Surrey, was charged with failing to appear regarding a debt of £21 5s. 4d. Southwark is south of the Thames, immediately opposite the City of London.

CONTINUE