Manor of Scrivelsby
Encyclopedia
The Manor of Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire
, England
is a manor
held by grand serjeanty
, a form of tenure which requires the performance of a service rather than a money payment – in this case as the King or Queens Champion
.
Scrivelsby appears in Domesday Book
and was then held by Robert De Spencer, but shortly after the Conquest it was given to Robert De Marmyion
, Lord of Fountenay, on condition that he accept the office of King's Champion. The Marmyon (sometimes Marmion) family's time as Champion died out with Philip De Marmyon, who only had daughters. Joan, the youngest, married Sir Thomas De Ludlow, and it was to her Scrivelsby was left. They had a son, John, who died with no children, and a daughter, or great granddaughter (disputed) Margaret
, who married Sir John Dymoke
.
The duty of the King's Champion was to ride armed into the coronation
banquet at Westminster Hall and challenge anyone who doubted the new monarch's right to the throne. The Champion then threw down his gauntlet to prove he would fight to the death anyone who did. This was done three times, and if then, no challenge had been made, the king was presented with a gold cup of wine, and drank to the Champion who in turn took the cup and finishing the drink, would shout "Long live your Majesties!". The custom was abandoned after the coronation of George IV
in 1821.
The manor house
, Scrivelsby Court, was burnt out in 1761, and was demolished between 1955 and 1957. However the gatehouse was retained and restored in 1959. The west front is predominately 15/16th century, with the rest being Georgian and later. It is a Grade I listed building. The Lion Gateway was built around 1530 and was rebuilt in 1833. It is Grade II* listed.
The Queen's Champion
retains an estate of some 3,000 acres (12 km²).
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
is a manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
held by grand serjeanty
Serjeanty
Under the feudal system in late and high medieval England, tenure by serjeanty was a form of land-holding in return for some specified service, ranking between tenure by knight-service and tenure in socage...
, a form of tenure which requires the performance of a service rather than a money payment – in this case as the King or Queens Champion
Queen's Champion
The feudal holder of the Manor of Scrivelsby since 1066 has held that manor from the Crown by grand serjeanty of being The Honourable The King's/Queen's Champion. Such person is also Standard Bearer of England.- Origins :...
.
Scrivelsby appears in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
and was then held by Robert De Spencer, but shortly after the Conquest it was given to Robert De Marmyion
Robert Marmion
Robert Marmion was an English nobleman and itinerant justice. He was reputed to have been the King's Champion. He was descended from the lords of Fontenay le Marmion in Normandy, who are said to have been hereditary champions of the Dukes of Normandy.-Ancestry:The first definite record of the...
, Lord of Fountenay, on condition that he accept the office of King's Champion. The Marmyon (sometimes Marmion) family's time as Champion died out with Philip De Marmyon, who only had daughters. Joan, the youngest, married Sir Thomas De Ludlow, and it was to her Scrivelsby was left. They had a son, John, who died with no children, and a daughter, or great granddaughter (disputed) Margaret
Queen's Champion
The feudal holder of the Manor of Scrivelsby since 1066 has held that manor from the Crown by grand serjeanty of being The Honourable The King's/Queen's Champion. Such person is also Standard Bearer of England.- Origins :...
, who married Sir John Dymoke
Dymoke
Dymoke is the name of an English family holding the office of king's champion. The functions of the champion were to ride into Westminster Hall at the coronation banquet, and challenge all comers to impugn the King's title . The earliest record of the ceremony at the coronation of an English king...
.
The duty of the King's Champion was to ride armed into the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
banquet at Westminster Hall and challenge anyone who doubted the new monarch's right to the throne. The Champion then threw down his gauntlet to prove he would fight to the death anyone who did. This was done three times, and if then, no challenge had been made, the king was presented with a gold cup of wine, and drank to the Champion who in turn took the cup and finishing the drink, would shout "Long live your Majesties!". The custom was abandoned after the coronation of George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
in 1821.
The manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
, Scrivelsby Court, was burnt out in 1761, and was demolished between 1955 and 1957. However the gatehouse was retained and restored in 1959. The west front is predominately 15/16th century, with the rest being Georgian and later. It is a Grade I listed building. The Lion Gateway was built around 1530 and was rebuilt in 1833. It is Grade II* listed.
The Queen's Champion
Queen's Champion
The feudal holder of the Manor of Scrivelsby since 1066 has held that manor from the Crown by grand serjeanty of being The Honourable The King's/Queen's Champion. Such person is also Standard Bearer of England.- Origins :...
retains an estate of some 3,000 acres (12 km²).