Estates of the Cobham Family in the Later Thirteenth Century

ESTATES OF THE COBHAM FAMILY IN THE LATER THIRTEENTH CENTURY By Mns. TERESA MAY i THE Cobham family in the thirteenth century belonged to that class of prosperous gentry, whose degree of wealth, leisure and education, made them leaders in their counties and links between the latter and the central government. Men like the Cobhams formed the chann􀂻l through which law, order and national policy could be administered, but they were never passive instruments, as kings found to their cost, possessing a strong sense of independence and community. This class has always interested historians, but it is not one which has left the most records. Whereas detailed accounts of ecclesiastical estates and the great baronies have survived, we know little of lesser lay manora. It is intriguing, therefore, to :find three thirteenth-century manuscripts, all compiled within one generation, relating to the estates of the Cobham family. Firstly, we have the official view drawn up in standard form, the Inquisition Post Mortem of John Cobham the Younger, of 1300:1 five manors neatly classified according to arable, pasture and meadow. Secondly, there is a rental in the Cobham Cartulary,2 an assortment of rents and dues which it is difficult to match with the information in the inquisition. The third document, the Steward's account for the Manor of Cobham· for the year 1290-91,s reveals the actual working of a medieval estate. ii The Inquisition Post Mortem of 1300 describes five manors: West. chalk, Beckley, Aldington, Cobham and Cooling (see Table 1), all situated near one another. They form a sufficiently good sample of north-west Kentish manors to compare with Kosminsky's conclusions drawn from a study of Inquisitions Post Mortem for the counties covered by the Hundred Rolls4 in his Studies in the Agrarian History of Englan