In 1297, on the death of Edmund earl of Lancaster, the King’s Escheator held an inquisition at Tutbury for the county of Lancaster, to ascertain what knight’s fees were due to the earl; the jury found inter alia that Hugh le Despencer held one knight’s fee in the manor of Altonesfelt (Alstonefield) worth yearly in homages etc. £10. “Nomina Villarum” 1316 gives Hugh le Despencer and Nicholas de Audeleye as owners of Alstonefield, a vill in the liberty of the earl of Lancaster, who had the return of all writs.
In 1322 the estates of le Despencer were forfeited to the crown and subsequently bestowed by Edward III on Henry earl of Lancaster, grandfather of Blanche the wife of John of Gaunt.
It may be helpful here to recall how John of Gaunt was created duke of Lancaster and became possessed of the Lancastrian estates, extending into Cheshire, Staffordshire and other counties.
The first earl of Lancaster was Edmund called Crouchback second son of Henry III; in addition to his Lancastrian estates, his father bestowed on him the earldoms of Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Salisbury and Chester.
These passed on his death in 1296 to his eldest son Thomas earl of Lancaster, who was beheaded at Pontefract in 1322 when his estates were forfeited to the crown.[A] His widow was allowed to retain the Salisbury estate; and the other four earldoms were bestowed on his brother Henry earl of Lancaster, to whom one third share of Alstonefield manor was also given, so that he possessed not only the Lancastrian estates but also the earldoms of Derby (including the honour of Tutbury), Leicester, Lincoln, Chester and the territorial interest of a third of the manor of Alstonefield, including Malbanc Forest; of which Highe Frith was waste of the manor.
Henry earl of Lancaster was succeeded by his son Henry, afterwards first duke of Lancaster, who had no son; of his two daughters, Maud married William of Bavaria and Blanche married John of Gaunt. Maud died without issue, whereupon the whole of the Lancastrian estates devolved on Blanche; and, in right of his wife, on her husband John of Gaunt, who was in 1362 created duke of Lancaster.
It will be remembered that the seal attached to the deed of gift of the 15th May 1399 bears a hunting horn; and in order to find some explanation of this seal it may be necessary to glance for a moment at the history of the honour of Tutbury, which as we have seen was included in the earldom of Derby and passed to John of Gaunt with that earldom.
The Tutbury Horn, from a photograph in the reference library at Sheffield.
About the end of the 13th century, the important office of escheator and coroner throughout the whole honour of Tutbury within the county of Stafford, was claimed by Walter Agard who demanded to hold office by right of inheritance; but he was unable to produce any written evidence in support of his claim; and in lieu of charters or writings, he produced a white hunting horn garnished with silver-gilt in the middle and at both ends, to which was affixed a girdle of black silk adorned with buckles of silver, on which was placed the insignia of Edmund earl of Lancaster; this horn was offered and accepted as the charter and evidence of title to the office of escheator and coroner, to which he made claim.