Inquisition of William Selby of Branxton 1480

[gloveg]

Could you please help me with the translation of the attached document which is the 1480 Inquisition on the death of William Selby of Branxton. I attach it in two parts. Part 1 is attached to this message. Part 2 will follow.

Thank you,
Gerelle Lovegrove

[gloveg]

Part 2

[horselydown86]

I've done the first image:

Inquisition taken at Aylnewyk on the twelfth day of June in the twentieth year of the reign of King Edward the fourth before Ralph Huthum Escheator of the lord King in

the County of Northumberland by power of a certain writ of diem clausit extremum* of the Lord King directed to the before mentioned Escheator by the oath of John Lylborne senior Esquire Thomas

Gray of Horton Esquire Thomas Hagreston Esquire Simon Welden Esquire Robert [Hopyn?] Esquire Robert Claverynge Esquire Robert

[?ham]...

*  See:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition_post_mortem

[Bookbox]

Part 2 ...

[The jurors] say upon their oath that William Selby named in the said writ is still living and not of sane mind, and that the lands and tenements of which he is seised are not held of the Lord King. In witness of this matter, I the escheator and the jurors have placed our seals on this inquisition on the abovesaid day and year.

[gloveg]

Thank you to you both for that information.

The other names of the jurors that I could make out were John Marchant, John Bo......m, Robert Kerr, George Ereswell and Thomas Petwell. Do you agree?

In "A History of Northumberland" Vol 11 p 112 (copy attached) it states that the inquisition was conducted 'post mortem', however, you state from the gist of the inquisition that he was, in fact, still alive, but considered insane.

It also states in "A History of Northumberland" that the inquisition found that he was possessed of no lands (in Branxton?), however, from your reading it would seem that he was seized of lands but that they are not held of the Lord King. Does that mean he is seized of lands which he holds in his own right?

In a previous post, I requested the translation/clarification of a grant that William Selby of Branxton made to his son Oliver Selby in 1476 of his tower and manor of Branxton, together with all his lands and tenements, rents and services in the towns and territories of Branxton, Pawston and Wooler, with remainder to his son, Roland Selby.

If William Selby is no longer sized of the above lands at Branxton, Pawston and Wooler, then does that mean he is seized of other lands in his own right?

Sorry for all the questions. I am trying to determine which line of the Selby family, William Selby hails from. The fact that the inquisition was held at Alnwick is interesting.

Would appreciate your comments re the above.
Thanks,
Gerelle Lovegrove.

[horselydown86]

The other names of the jurors that I could make out were John Marchant, John Bo......m, Robert Kerr, George Ereswell and Thomas Petwell. Do you agree?

The last three jurors, all of whose names are clear, are:

Robert [karr/kerr] George Creswell & Thomas Nadall

Before that there's a Thomas and a John, both with uncertain surnames (in my opinion).

[horselydown86]

In "A History of Northumberland" Vol 11 p 112 (copy attached) it states that the inquisition was conducted 'post mortem', however, you state from the gist of the inquisition that he was, in fact, still alive, but considered insane.

It looks as though A History of Northumberland has taken liberties with the inquisition, perhaps without actually viewing it.  In proper IPMs (emphasis on the PM) the jurors state upon their oath the date of decease of the subject.  That this doesn't appear here is significant.

Instead they say that William Selby ...adhuc vivit... (second last line).

This translates as:  ...[he] is still living...

ADDED:

Is it possible that there was another inquisition in 1480?  It's hard to reconcile the statements about the "other family" in your clip with this inquisition, which doesn't mention anyone other than William Selby.

[gloveg]

Thank you Horselydown for your further clarification of the names of the other jurors and William Selby being alive at the time the inquisition was taken.

I believe the "other family" referred to in "A History of Northumberland" simply means the Selby family in general, that they owned the major part of Branxton at that time. More specifically, it would have been William Selby's son, Oliver, considering the grant given by William Selby to him of the tower and manor of Branxton with it appurtenances in 1476. I also have a question in relation to the Grant (See my previous post "Grant - William Selby of Branxton 1476"). Does anything in the Grant indicate that Oliver is a minor at the time the Grant is made, especially considering your statement about "John Strother and Henry Gray - who seem to be his attorneys in ensuring peaceful seisin in the lands for Oliver", or is it not possible to make this type of grant of lands to a minor?

Could you please further clarify the statement "that the lands and tenements of which he is seized are not held of the lord king".?

Thank you also for directing me to the information in Wikipedia on Inquisitions Post Mortem. It was very informative.

Cheers, Gerelle Lovegrove.

[Bookbox]

In case it helps, the Latin reads …

Et q(uo)d terr(e) & ten(ementa) de quib(us) sei(si)tus e(st) no(n) tenent(ur) de d(omi)no Rege
And that the lands and tenements of which he is seised are not held from the lord king

This seems clear enough. It implies to me that he does hold other lands and tenements from other people, but he is not a tenant-in-chief, holding land directly from the Crown, which would normally be the chief concern of any inquisition.

You might also find this site useful, if you don't already know it ...
https://inquisitionspostmortem.ac.uk/about/the-documents-inquisitions-post-mortem/