The fight for Puttenham Manor: 1550 – 1560

Robert and Anne Puttenham were popular owners of Puttenham Manor, well trusted by everyone who had dealings with them.

The same could not be said for their two sons, Richard and George, who were well known for their constant matrimonial and financial difficulties, travelling around Europe and getting into various scrapes.

In 1550 Robert and Anne transferred their ownership of the Manor to the eldest son Richard and, being short of money, Richard looked around for opportunities to sell. A local farmer Richard Duncombe heard that the Manor might be for sale but he also was short of cash. The two Richards met and a deal was agreed; Duncombe would take ownership of the Manor in return of a yearly payment made up of agreed quantities of malt, sheep and lambs.

All went well until Richard Duncombe died in 1556 and his estate was passed on to John Duncombe his son. John Duncombe tried to assume ownership but was told by Richard Puttenham that he had reclaimed the Manor because the annual payment in kind had not been made in 1555.

John Duncombe refused to believe this as he knew his father was never allow that to happen. He was furious and hired expensive London lawyers to challenge the reclaim in court. He put his case to the Justices of the Peace in the Hertfordshire Circuit Courts but they rejected the claim because there was no evidence of payment.

He appealed to the Conciliar Court in Berkhamsted but the judge also rejected his claim. What Duncombe and his London lawyers did not realise was that rulings in local courts were always likely to be in favour of long standing local families like the Puttenhams. Presumably the judges had not heard about the Puttenham brothers escapades in Europe!

In 1559 Duncombe gave up his legal battle and in 1960 Richard Puttenham sold the Manor in 1960 to a John Saunders

This flashback is based on Margaret Vincent’s History of Puttenham and British History Online. A two episode story, based on the above and with some poetic licence, can be read here: ‘The fight for Puttenham Manor’.

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