Thomas Bent IPM 1555

[horselydown86]

Summary of the relevant parts of the first image:

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At the time of Thomas Bent's death he was seased in his demesne as of fee of & in the manor of Cosby in Cosby and also of & in

two Cottages in Cosby and of & in four virgates (and) one half virgate of land with all their rightful members, [cois? + contraction - can't get this word] & universal appurtenances in Cosby lately [from?] the Priory of Kyrby Bellers in the County of Leicester [p(er)tinen & spectitu? - unsure of meaning] and also

Thomas Bent at the time of his death was seased in his demesne as of fee of & in one messuage one virgate & one third part of a virgate of land, meadow and grazing with their universal appurtenances in Cosby in the parish of Norboro in the aforesaid County of Leicester now in the occupation of John Ormeston and of & in

one other messuage or tenement and one virgate of land, meadow and grazing with their appurtenances in parva Thorp otherwise lyttylthorp in the parish of Norboro aforesaid now & lately in the occupation of John Charton and of & in

one other messuage and one half virgate of land, meadow and grazing with their universal appurtenances in parva Thorp lately in the occupation of William Glen deceased and of & in

three shillings of rent [annually? - faded] [unsure here - may mean for various holdings and habitations?] of Cosby & lyttylthorp called there comen fyne...

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Will continue as I have time available.

[horselydown86]

ADDED:

The date of the inquisition is 26 September in the second year of Phillip and the third year of Mary ie 1555.

[horselydown86]

Summary of the first half of image 2:

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...at the time of the same Thomas Bent's death he was seased in his demesne as of fee of & in one parcel of land with its appurtenances in Cosby called hareland and also of & in

one messauge & one virgate of land with its appurtenances called Rasson land in Cosby and of & in

one toft with its universal appurtenances in lyttylthorp And also of & in

one close with its appurtenances called Kynseman Close and of & in

one half virgate of land, meadow and grazing with their appurtenances in Cosbye called Kynseman land and of & in

one close with its appurtenances called halyday close and of & in

one half virgate of land in Cosby with its appurtenances called holydays land or Broughtons land And also of & in

two Closes [or?] [Crofts?] in lyttylthorp and of & in

one virgate of land, meadow and grazing with their appurtenances in the fields of Cosby & lyttylthorp called Asshby land...

[horselydown86]

Summary of the second half of image 2:

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...and of & in one messuage, one close, three acres of arable land & three acres of meadow with all their appurtenances in Cosby now and lately in the occupation of Edward Rychardson and of & in

one close with its appurtenances in Cosby called the ladye Close and of & in

one windmill called the Wyndemylne & one [quarter? - quartio contracted] of one virgate of land with its appurtenances in Cosby And also of & in

one half virgate of land, meadow and grazing with their appurtenances in Cosbye called Sere land and of & in

the reversion of a certain tenement and half virgate of land with its appurtenances in Cosby [que? - unsure of translation] Joan Bent widow

lately wife of the aforesaid Thomas Bent & Thomas Grene now hold [ad t(er)minu(m) vite eor(um) rev(er)sione inde post eor(um) decessum cuidam Johi Bent fil' & hered' p(re)d(i)c(t)i Thome Bent & hered' suis specta? - unsure of translation] and of & in

one orchard called an Orchard lately called Grose fflaxyard in Cosby and of & in

one Cottage & one virgate of land with its appurtenances in lyttylthorpe lately Craftys land...

[horselydown86]

Third image summary:

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...and of & in eleven shillings one pence & one [obulo capitalis] of rent pertaining to the fee of Huntyngton & Burdett and also Staresmore fee in Cosby & in Wyllowghby in the County of Leicester And also of & in one fifth part of half a virgate of land in Cosby with its appurtenances [vacat?] lynbe land

[Et p(re)d(i)c(t)us Thomas Bent sic inde seisit' existens de & in p(re)missis & in qualt? inde parcell cum eor(um) p(er)tin(entijs) univ(er)sis in d(omi)nico suo ut de feodo de tali statu inde obiit seisit' - not sure what this is saying or to what it pertains]

The remainder of this image begins to go through the aforementioned lands listing the annual values of the lands.  In some cases it states of whom the property is held - eg the manor of Cosby, the two cottages and four and a half virgates of land are held of the King & Queen in chief by one hundredth part of a knight's fee.

[horselydown86]

Summary of Image #4:

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The listing of the lands and their values continues.

Then the Jury says that Thomas Bent died on 10 June last past (ie before the date of the Inquisition).  And that John Bent is the son & heir of the same Thomas Bent and is aged 26 years and upwards on the day of the taking of the Inquisition.

Finally it is stated that Thomas Bent has no other manors, lands, tenements or hereditaments held of the King and Queen in use (or in reversion - not sure of this bit) in the County of Leicester.

[Taylor94]

Thank you very much horselydown86, I am very grateful for this.

Is Thomas listed in the IPM as a Gent or alluded to being lord of the manor?
Or would this come under 'he was seased in his demesne as of fee of & in the manor of Cosby in Cosby' His 'demesne' being the land he personally owned and farmed and that it was and in the Manor/Lordship of Cosby?
The Leicestershire Archaeological society's publication gives that in 1551 Thomas, now styled a 'Gentleman' purchased from a local squire, The manor of cosby and 4 messuages, 2 cottages, 6 orchards, 6 gardens, A Windmill, A horse mill and 805 acres of land across Cosby and Littlethorpe. I'm still to find these records.

I'm unable to find a rough sizing for a Toft or Croft but altogether according to the IPM he was seized of roughly 400 acres give or take, which I assume to be his personal land not leased to anyone if my understanding of 'demesne' is correct.

Between 1543 and 1551, Thomas purchased 20 farms which I assume are some of the Messuages and Tenements with attached Virgates.

A good portion of the 1,221 acres he purchased altogether between 1543-1551 across Cosby and Littlethorpe, I assume have been sold prior to his death or leased and not mentioned here.

[horselydown86]

Yes, he is referred to as a Gentleman.

See the third line, about half way across:  ...post mortem Thome Bent Gen(er)osi defuncti...

Generosus (nom. sing.) is the word for Gentleman.

As you thought, being seased of a manor in his demesne as of fee is equivalent to being the lord of the manor.

It is the highest level of feudal ownership short of the ultimate ownership by the monarch.

I suggest some research on IPMs, such as here:

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/inquisitions-post-mortem/

However, it's important to remember that land ownership in this period is immensely complex and constantly changing, as the strict feudal system was broken down by more liberal structures.

You can't assume that the IPM lists all of the land which the subject held in a particular bailiwick at his death.