The Manor, Sutton in Ashfield
The Old Manor
By M Reid
The Manor of Sutton in Ashfield
The Manor was situated in Devonshire Square. According to the Domesday Book of A.D. 1084 land of the Manor was owned by King Edward the Confessor, latterly William the Conqueror. The Manor was then owned by William Peverel who was granted the whole forest in 1153. It was said that 55 Manors were given to William, Sutton Manor being one of them. William Peveril built Peveril Castle in Castleton, Derbyshire.
Walter de Sutton then owned the Manor in 1170. In 1279, Sutton in Ashfield was owned by Edward II it is stated that Sutton-in-Ashfield and Hucknall were a whole villa (town) "being of the ancient demense of the Crown". The Manor was then passed to Walter de Sutton. In 1515 the Manor was granted to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk the uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of King Henry VIII wives and whose father was Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk the great grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1528 the Manor was passed to Jasper the Duke of Bedford.
Tudor period
The Tudors and the Tudors and the Manor
The Manor in Sutton was passed to Roger Greenalgh of Teversal then unto James Hardwick the brother of Bess of Hardwick in 1574. Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, Bess of Hardwick made a ‘recovery’ to James Hardwick in 1574 who was to be in possession of the Manor of Sutton in Ashfield,having started to build a manor near Hardwick Old Hall. The Manor was passed unto Bess’s daughter Mary. Bess of Hardwick was the ‘wealthiest women in England’ at the time, a close friend of Queen Elizabeth I‘
16th & 17th Centuries
The Manor was then passed unto William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire in 1677, William being the eldest son of Bess.[16] The Manor remained in the family until 1800, when William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland became the owner. William being the Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1783. Property and lands were owned by William Cavendish in Sutton in Ashfield prior to 1614, which formed part of Sherwood Forest. The Devonshires and Portlands owned a large part of the land in and around Sutton in Ashfield.
References
Throsby J 'Thoroton's History of Nottinghamshire: Volume 2, Sutton in Ashfeild, and Hucknall Huthwayt' 1790 Nottingham Pages 298-300
Lindley L‘The History of Sutton-in-Ashfield’ 1907 p pub 1983 published by Wye Valley Press retrieved on 11th October 2020
Bonser G ‘History of Sutton in Ashfield’ 1993 Nottinghamshire County Council retrieved on the 30th October 2020
English Heritage 'The History of Peveril Castle’ 2020 https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/peveril-castle/history/ accessed on 25th of August 2020
Clay Dove B ‘Sutton in Ashfield in Times past’ 1978 Nottinghamshire County Council retrieved on the 30th October 2020
Riden P And Fowkes 2009 Hardwick: A Great House and it’s Estate, Phillimore and Co LTD page 544
The University of Glasgow ‘Bess of Hardwick Letter's Letters: The Complete Correspondence c.1550-1608’ 2013 https://www.bessofhardwick.org/letter.jsp?letter=235 Retrieved on 1st September 2020
National Archives ‘Offment £2000: Mary, Countess of Sherewsbury, John Gifford The Manors of Sutton-in-ashfield, Mansfield and Mansfield Woodhouse’ Cite Web
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/cdcdd231-6194-4814-95a7-111e898079ea
National Archives ‘Deed To use of a fine: Countess of Shrewsbury and her youngest son 1579 Cite Web http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/12d4300b-def6-4536-8b1f-86bc55f5fd83