| History | The 1086 Domesday Survey shows that Duffield was held by the Anglo-Saxon thegn Siward Barn prior to 1066. After the Conquest, it was first granted by William I to Hugh de Abrincis, who returned the lands on being made Earl of Chester and in 1068 the manor was granted to Henry de Ferrers as part of the Honor of Tutbury. At Domesday, after their rebellion in 1266, the de Ferrers’ lands were forfeited to Henry III, who passed the Honor of Tutbury, including Duffield, to Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. It is not clear whether Duffield Fee developed out of a main manor of Duffield with members (see Natureof jurisdiction below). It remained with the Duchy of Lancaster, which passed to the Crown in 1399, until Charles I granted the Fee to the Corporation of the City of London in 1628. The following year, the Corporation sold the Fee (except Heage and Holbrook) to Sir Edward Leche whose son Sir William Leech inherited in 1652. During disputes following William’s death in 1673, Sir Ambrose Phillips held the Lordship 1674-78 followed by Philip Jodrell. His son Paul’s ownership of the Fee was confirmed in 1686. The Fee remained with the Jodrell family until 1891 when it was conveyed to Sir Timothy White who had purchased the reversion of Jodrell estates in 1888. The lordship remained with the White family until at least 1957.
Nature of Jursdiction
The situation surrounding the Duffield Fee is a confusing one. In the court rolls held among the records of the Duchy of Lancaster at The National Archives there are courts for what came to be regarded as the individual members of the Fee, comprising Duffield, Alderwasley, Belper, Biggin, Hazelwood, Heage, Holbrook, Hulland, Idridgehay, Southwood, Turnditch and Windley. It would seem that the courts would meet at Belper, Duffield, Cowhouse Lane, Windley or Turnditch, largely irrespective of whichever manor was involved. It is possible that Duffield Fee arose as a consequence of a drive to provide some form of administrative coherence, allowing one panel of jurors to act instead of having to provide individual juries for the several separate manors. The situation is further confused by the Duffield Frith, which was the area covered by forest law, for which separate, non-manorial woodmote and swainmote courts were held. From the mid-16th century view of frankpledge and great courts begin to be held for the “manor” of Duffield Frith. In the 1590s the name changes to Duffield Fee, from which time business for the individual manors are held under the auspices of Duffield Fee, although Belper’s courts are often recorded as a separate entity.
Court Leet and View of Frankpledge with Court Baron |
| Source | Magna Britannia, Volume 5: Derbyshire, by Daniel and Samuel Lysons (1817)
Victoria County History – draft text for Duffield and Duffield Fee, part of new VCH Derbys volumes to be published in future years. Permission to view draft text kindly given by Philip Riden, Co-ordinator of VCH for Derbys & Notts.
The Illustrated History of Duffield by W.R. Watson (1986)
Trade Directories, 1829-1941
Duffield Frith – History & Evolution of the landscape of a Medieval Derbyshire Forest, by Mary Wiltshire, Sue Woore, Barry Crisp & Brian Rich (Landmark, 2005)
Custom, resistance and politics: Local experiences of improvement in early modern England, by Heather Falvey, doctoral thesis (Warwick University, 2007) http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/1143/
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