Description:When founders or benefactors made gifts of land or manors to a religious house they were basically enfeoffing them to a tenant. In the feudal system this tenant, even if it were an abbey or priory, would then be liable for military service just as a lay tenant was. Like lay barons in the early 12th century the majority of monasteries owed knight service for their lands. However, the new monastic and religious orders tried, on the whole successfully, to get grants in ‘frankalmoign’, that is in tenure of free alms, free of secular demands. These grants remained an important feature of the tenure by which the newer monastic orders held their lands. The only service required of the monastery was the spiritual one of praying for the benefactor, his family and descendants.
By the later 13th century kings were concerned at the amount of land which was being given to religious houses in frankalmoign and the consequent loss of feudal obligations. In 1279 Edward I introduced the Statue of Mortmain which prohibited the giving of land to monasteries without a licence that had to be bought by the king.
The introduction of this statute could not retrospectively remove the privilege of earlier grants in frankalmoign. In 1347 Edward III demanded 40s from Lilleshall Abbey for making his eldest son a knight in respect of their lands at Lilleshall, Attingham, Uckington, Longdon, Albrightlee, Hencote, Dinthill, Charlton, Preston Montford, Wistanstow, Lizard, Brockton, Cold Hatton, Tern, Bletchley and Eaton Constantine, but the abbot argued that the abbey held these lands in free alms and that this was confirmed by a charter of Edward I which in turn confirmed earlier charters of Henry II and John. This argument seems to have been accepted, but the collectors of the tax were ordered to find out if the abbey had acquired any lands by military service after the date of Edward I’s charter of 1285. (See Cartulary no.385)
Though Lilleshall Abbey had few unusual franchises, other than the temporary grant to hold view of frankpledge and to take the goods of felons found on their own lands (see 972/1/1/22), they achieved considerable success in acquiring grants which exempted them from secular services and dues.
To learn more about Medieval life in Shropshire, follow the link below to the article 'Aspects of Medieval Life: The Lilleshall Collection' written by Dr. Sylvia Watts and Robert Cromarty.
The transcripts and translations of Medieval deeds in the Lilleshall Collection and the stories written about Medieval life were produced by Dr. Sylvia Watts and Robert Cromarty at Shropshire Archives.