![HENRY III (King of England, 1216-1271). Document, a charter, confirming rights to Stephen [de Segrave] in his woodland at 'Alcmundeburii' [Alconbury], dated 'Fodergeye se[cun]do die Martii Anno Regni nostri Decimo octavo' [Fotheringay, 2 March 1234]. Manuscript on vellum, 16 lines in Latin, written in brown ink in a gothic documentary script, one membrane, 198 x 182 mm, folded back at foot, fragment of seal pendant from plaited silk laces, contemporary endorsement on verso (splits in lower fold, including one of 61mm from right margin, touching 5 words, 3 tiny holes).](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2001/CKS/2001_CKS_06521_0100_000(035154).jpg?w=1)
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HENRY III (King of England, 1216-1271). Document, a charter, confirming rights to Stephen [de Segrave] in his woodland at 'Alcmundeburii' [Alconbury], dated 'Fodergeye se[cun]do die Martii Anno Regni nostri Decimo octavo' [Fotheringay, 2 March 1234]. Manuscript on vellum, 16 lines in Latin, written in brown ink in a gothic documentary script, one membrane, 198 x 182 mm, folded back at foot, fragment of seal pendant from plaited silk laces, contemporary endorsement on verso (splits in lower fold, including one of 61mm from right margin, touching 5 words, 3 tiny holes).
The charter repeats the privileges of an earlier one, 'quod predi[c]tus Steph[anu]s et heredes sui Boscum illu[m] essartare possint et excolere vel illu[m] claudere' (that the aforesaid Stephen and his heirs may assart, cultivate or enclose the woodland), with an additional provision, 'ha[n]c libertatem q[uo]d canes sui no[n] expeditentur nec inde cora[m[ nob[is] vel Justiciariis n[ost]ris in aliquo occasionentur' (with this liberty that his dogs are not to be hambled, nor on that account are they to be liable for prosecution before us or our justices), and is issued in the King's name in the presence of the Chancellor, Ralph [Neville], Bishop of Chichester, and John, Earl of Chester, the witnesses also including Geoffrey de Cauz, John de Plesset, Hugh le Despenser (brother-in-law of Stephen de Segrave), Philip d'Aubigny and others.
Stephen de Segrave (d. 1241), a notorious early 13th-century figure, held offices under King John, who rewarded him with lands in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, and greatly increased his importance under Henry III. He was granted the manor of Alconbury (near Huntingdon) in 1220 and continued to add to his offices and estates. In July 1232 he was appointed Chief Justiciar of England, and encouraged the King against those lords who opposed the practice of government by foreigners. Hated by the bishops as well as the lords, he was accused of treachery in plotting the Earl of Pembroke's downfall. In May 1234 he was deprived of five of his manors including Alconbury, where he was accused of deceiving the King by leading him to believe that there was nothing there but a small osier bed, whereas there was a large quantity of arable land and forest which Stephen had allowed to deteriorate, charges which he strenously denied (Curia Regis Rolls, 18 Henry III to 19 Henry III, no. 1136).
Hambling was the practice of mutilating dogs by cutting off the pads of their feet to prevent them from hunting.
The charter repeats the privileges of an earlier one, 'quod predi[c]tus Steph[anu]s et heredes sui Boscum illu[m] essartare possint et excolere vel illu[m] claudere' (that the aforesaid Stephen and his heirs may assart, cultivate or enclose the woodland), with an additional provision, 'ha[n]c libertatem q[uo]d canes sui no[n] expeditentur nec inde cora[m[ nob[is] vel Justiciariis n[ost]ris in aliquo occasionentur' (with this liberty that his dogs are not to be hambled, nor on that account are they to be liable for prosecution before us or our justices), and is issued in the King's name in the presence of the Chancellor, Ralph [Neville], Bishop of Chichester, and John, Earl of Chester, the witnesses also including Geoffrey de Cauz, John de Plesset, Hugh le Despenser (brother-in-law of Stephen de Segrave), Philip d'Aubigny and others.
Stephen de Segrave (d. 1241), a notorious early 13th-century figure, held offices under King John, who rewarded him with lands in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, and greatly increased his importance under Henry III. He was granted the manor of Alconbury (near Huntingdon) in 1220 and continued to add to his offices and estates. In July 1232 he was appointed Chief Justiciar of England, and encouraged the King against those lords who opposed the practice of government by foreigners. Hated by the bishops as well as the lords, he was accused of treachery in plotting the Earl of Pembroke's downfall. In May 1234 he was deprived of five of his manors including Alconbury, where he was accused of deceiving the King by leading him to believe that there was nothing there but a small osier bed, whereas there was a large quantity of arable land and forest which Stephen had allowed to deteriorate, charges which he strenously denied (Curia Regis Rolls, 18 Henry III to 19 Henry III, no. 1136).
Hambling was the practice of mutilating dogs by cutting off the pads of their feet to prevent them from hunting.
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