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On the eleventh day of
June, in 'the sixth year of the reign', a charter (Fig. 1
is a copy of a version displayed for many years in the
old library in Grays) was issued in the name of Richard,
king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and
count of Anjou, confirming that the manor of Thurrock had
been granted to 'our beloved and faithful knight', Henry
de Grai. Although the charter is similar to thousands of
others dealing with land transfer, it has features of
both local and national interest. Its octocentenary draws
close, posing the question of when it should be
celebrated. Henry's descendants, including a pathetic
young pseudo-queen who lost her head and a regicide who
quarrelled with Cromwell but still died in bed, achieved
both fame and notoriety, and have much to tell us about
socio-political climbing and falling in earlier days. Of
greater local interest is the fact that Henry and his
direct descendants were lords of the manor for three
centuries, their name being used to distinguish the
Thurrock of the charter from other Thurrocks. This
illustrates some of the ways in which Essex place names
evolved, and leads to questions about developments in
South Essex before Henry arrived. Henry's status in the
feudal society in which he lived is indicated by certain
conditions imposed upon him, if he is to hold his newly
acquired manor 'in peace freely and unmolested', and by
the appended signatures. The charter also draws attention
to other features of this society, such as the 'granting'
of land to a man who has already bought it from somebody
else and, since the manor was sold to Henry by Joseph,
son of Isaac the Jew, the legal position of the Jews in
Richard's England, but these and other national matters
are largely outside the scope of an article concerned
with local history.
Fig. 1a - A Copy (not a
facsimile) of the Charter Ricardus Dei
gratia Rex Angliae, Dux Normandiae et Aquitaniae,
Comes Andjou, Arhiepiscopis, Episcopis,
Abbotibus, Comitibus, Baronibus, Justiciis,
Vicecomitibus, Senioribus, Prepositis, Baillivus
et omnibus ministris et fidelibus suis Salutem Sciatis
nos concesisse et presenti carta nostra
confirmasse dilecto et fideli militi nostro
Henrico de Gray manerium de Torroc cum
pertinentibus quod est de feodo Comitis de
Ferrarys ut idem faciat eidem comiti quod de
manerio illo debet fieri: de hac re emit idem
manerium cum pertinentibus de Josceo filio Isaac
Judeo cui idem Comes de Ferrarys illud manerium
venditum sibi et primogenito suo Isaac carta sua
confirmaverat Quare
volumus et firmamus precipuum quod dictus
Henricus et heredes sui post eum predictum
manerium cum pertinentibus Habeant
et teneant burgum et in pace libere et quiete
integritate plenarie et honorifice per servicium
quod idem debet fieri Comiti de Ferrarys in
omnibus locis et rebus ad id manerium
pertinentibus cum omnibus libertatibus et liberis
consuetudinibus suis et cum omni integritate sua
Testibus Willelmo filio Radolf Turroc Senior
Normandus, Willelmo de Stagno, Guarino de
Glanion, Gilleberto Males Manis, Willelmo de
Grendoyn, Ricardo de Willekier et pluribus aliis
Data per manum Magistri Eustacii Sarx Decumani
Turroc agentis vicem cncellarii xi. die Junii
apud Vallem Rodolfi anno vi. regni.
Fig. 1b - A Translation
Richard by the grace of God, King of
England, Duke of Normandy & Aquitaine, Count
of Anjou. To the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots,
Counts, Barons, Justices, Viscounts, Lords,
Sheriffs, Bailiffs and all his servants and
faithful subjects greeting Know
that we have granted and by this our present
charter have confirmed to our beloved and
faithful knight Henry de Grey the Manor of
Thurrock with its appurtenances which is of the
fief of the Count de Ferrarus on condition that
he do the same for the said Count which ought to
be done for that manor on which condition he
bought the same manor with its appurtenances from
Josceus the son of Isaac the Jew to whom the same
Count de Ferrarus by his charter had confirmed
that manor when sold to him and his heir male
Isaac Wherefore
we will and confirm to the said Henry and his
heirs after him the hereditament of the aforesaid
manor with its appurtenances Let
them have and hold the manor-house in peace
freely and unmolested in its entirety and
honourably for the service which ought to be
rendered to the Count de Ferrarus in all places
and matters pertaining to that manor with all its
liberties and free customs and in all its
entirety Witnesses
William Fitz-Radolf of Thurroc a Norman knight,
William de Stagno, Guarin de Glanion, Gilbert
Males Manis, William de Grendoyn, Richard de
Willekier and many others Given
under the hand of Master Eustace Sarx, Dean, of
Thurrock, holding the office of Chancellor on the
eleventh day of June at Rochester in the sixth
year of the reign.
Fig. 1 Charter of Richard I Granting the Manor
of Thurrock to Henry de Grey (This was displayed
for many years in the old library at Grays)
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The Date
The early Plantagenet kings of England,
prior to Edward I (1272 - 1307), took their coronations
as marking the start of their regnal years. When Henry II
died, Richard 1 called himself dominus (lord), until the
coronation ceremony made him rex dei gratia (king
by God's grace). One reason for the interval between
accession and crowning being kept short was that any
rival claimant would risk eternal damnation if he ignored
God's will; although Richard, the first king since the
Norman Conquest to succeed by incontestable hereditary
right, was probably too conscious of his own ability as a
soldier to feel much need to expedite divine assistance
in defence of his rights. However, he was anxious to be
off to the Holy Land, on the crusade he and Philip
Augustus of France were already committed to, which made
an early coronation desirable. Despite Richard's sense of
urgency, two months elapsed between the death of Henry
II, in France on 6th July, and the coronation of his
eldest surviving son, in Westminster Abbey on 3rd
September 1189. The sixth year of the reign thus began on
3rd September, 1194, and the charter confirming Henry de
Grai's ownership of his manor was signed on the 11 th
June 1195. Changes resulting from the Calendar (New Style)
Act of 1750, by which eleven days were removed from
September 1752, mean that the 800th anniversary of the
signing will be Friday, 23rd June, 1995.
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