1363-11-27, Westminster

To the sheriff of Somerset. Order to remove the king's hand and to intermeddle further with a moiety of the manor of Haselbere by Sibyl who was wife of Alan son of Alan Plokenet, restoring to de la Bere any issues taken of that moiety; as lately upon received that Alan Plokenet at his death held the said which is held in chief, in his demesne as of fee by grant of King I, and died without an heir, whereby the same ought to pertain the king as an escheat, the king appointed Ralph de Middelneye, Cary and Robert de Hadham, three and two of them, to inquisition touching the premises ; and after on the finding of an taken before the said Thomas and Robert, that Alan held the said manor as aforesaid in chief by knight service, he was an alien and bastard, that after his death Alan his son the same as his true heir of him begotten, and continued his 3 years, that after his death King Edward II restored a moiety the said manor to Joan sister and heir of Alan the son, who died an heir of her body, and with the other moiety dowered g said Sibyl, and so Joan occupied one moiety 3 years and died an heir of her body, whereby Simon de Bereford late escheator side Trent in the 5th year of the reign took that moiety into the hand, that being deceived by the return of a writ of diem clausit after the death of the said Joan, obtained at the suit of de Bere alleging that he is cousin and heir of Joan, namely Richard was her cousin and next heir, the king restored to him moiety, whereof he died seised, and that after his death the king . 507 took that moiety into his hand and restored it to Thomas de la Bere son and heir of Richard, and so Richard and Thomas occupied it from the said 5th year, taking the issues and profits, the king by;writ ordered the sheriff to warn Thomas to be in chancery in the quinzaine of Easter then next to shew cause wherefore the moiety of the said manor, which he so held, ought not to be taken into the king's hand as an escheat, and wherefore he ought not to answer for the issues from the 5th year ; at which day Thomas came, and said that the said Alan was not an alien nor bastard, but born at Thornton co. Dorset, being begotten in lawful matrimony of Andrew de la Bere and Alice his wife sister of Robert Walrand of the English nation, and craved an inquisition of the country hereupon, and Henry de Greystok, who sued for the king, said he was an alien and bastard, and offered so to prove, wherefore a day was given Thomas to be before the king in the quinzaine of Trinity then next to do and receive what should be lawful in the premises ; and now it is found by inquisition, taken before the king, that Alan was son of the said Andrew and Alice, ancestors of Thomas whose heir he is, born as aforesaid, wherefore it was decided that Thomas should go without a day, as is found by the record and process which the king has caused to come before him in chancery ; wherefore Thomas has petitioned the king for livery of the other moiety of the said manor held in dower by the said Sibyl, which by her death is taken into the king's hand, and the wardship committed to him by letters patent under the seal of the exchequer, to hold for a set yearly farm until debate be had whether the manor ought to pertain to the king or Thomas, praying also his discharge of the farm and issues for the time it was in the king's hand.