Genealogy Richard Remmé, The Hague, Netherlands » Esquire John Yate Esquire (1471-1540)

Personal data Esquire John Yate Esquire 

• Alternative name: John Yate Lord
• He was born in the year 1471 in Lyford, Oxfordshire, England.Sources 1, 4

  Berkshire
  Berkshire

• (Alt. Birth) about 1465: Charney Bassett, Oxfordshire, England.
• (Alt. Death) before March 8, 1541: Lyford, Buckland, Oxfordshire, England.
• He died in the year 1540 in Lyford, Oxfordshire, England, he was 69 years old.Source 4

  Berkshire
  Lyford Grange, Buckland Parish, Berkshire

• Probate on March 8, 1541.
• A child of Richard Yate and Joan Ashendon
• This information was last updated on December 4, 2022.

Household of Esquire John Yate Esquire

(1) He is married to Joan Goddard.

They got married in the year 1496 at Lyford, Oxfordshire, England, he was 25 years old.Source 4

Child(ren):

1. James Yate  1497-???? 

(2) He is married to Alice Hyde.

They got married in the year 1520 at Lyford, Oxfordshire, England, he was 49 years old.Sources 1, 4

Child(ren):

1. Susannah Yate  1527-1583 
2. Ursula Yate  ± 1520-???? 

Notes about Esquire John Yate Esquire

John was Lord of Lyford Grange, Berkshire Co., England, UK.  Lyford Grange Manor was built by Lord John around 1500.

In 1511, John was living at Andrews Court Manor, West Haney, Berkshire Co., England, UK, which he owned.  Even though he lived at Andrews Court Manor, he also owned Lyford Manor and Charney Manor.

He was the Merchant of the Staple of Calais, which meant he handled transactions of wool between England and France.

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Of Charney, Merchant of the Staple, and Lord of Lyford in Berks; Visitation of the County of Oxford.  Second son and heir to Richard, Visitation of Berkshire, 1566.

An estate at LYFORD, consisting of 3 hides*, was held of the Abbot of Abingdon at the Domesday Survey by Rainald, the ancestor of the St. Helen family, (and this part of Lyford followed the descent of St. Helen for two centuries.

In 1428 Thomas More and others held the land which had belonged to Philip de St. Helen.  It was doubtless his estate which came to be known as More Place and appears in the 16th Century in the hands of the YATE family.

John YATE (1465-1541) died in possession of it in 1541, and was succeeded by a younger son Thomas (1505-1565) (from John's second marriage), who founded the family of YATE of Lyford.

Thomas was succeeded by son and heir Francis (1545-1588), who died in possession in 1588.

Francis' son Thomas (1570-1658) succeeded Francis.  Thomas had a son John, Sr. (1612-1658), who died shortly before Thomas, his father. John, Sr.'s, son, John, Jr. (1634-1672), inherited the estates upon the death of his grandfather, Thomas.

John, Jr., was in possession of the estates from 1658 and died in 1672.

Charles (1656-1696) son of John, Jr., was the next owner; he died in 1696, and seems to have left co-heiresses.

Charles left no male heirs, and Winifred YATE, spinster, released the manor in 1713 to William DUNN and his wife Mary, a daughter of Charles.

William Dunn died in 1745 and was succeeded by Charles Dunn, probably his son. (A History of the County of Berkshire, vol. 4, pp. 285-294).

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(The following is included because Drayton Manor became the possession of Lord John YATE in 1501.)

The most important estate in Drayton (Oxford County) apart from the Abingdon Estate was that acquired at the end of the 14th century by Nicholas Drayton (d. by 1402). It was known in the 15th century as DRAYTON MANOR. ; Nicholas Drayton was either the same as or was close connection of Nicholas le Naper of Drayton, who in 1362 acquired the estate of John Sheepwash in Drayton, Baldon, and Clifton.  The connection between Nicholas le Naper of Drayton and Nicholas Drayton is supported by the association of both with Sir Hugh Segrave.

Nicholas Drayton's younger son Nicholas II inherited Drayton Manor.

He had a daughter, Elizabeth, who married Peter Idle, a minor civil servant.  In 1442 Peter Idle and Elizabeth were granted all the estates in Drayton that had been possessed by her father Nicholas. This estate was augmented by grants from Sir Richard Drayton, John Delabere, and others.  In 1473 Peter Idle made a will in which he directed his trustees to grant his property in Drayton to his son William and his heirs with reversions to other children of his.

Peter died shortly afterwards and in 1475 his son William petitioned Chancery that his father's will be complied with and that Drayton Manor and property be conveyed to him.  In November 1475 the trustees granted Drayton manor with all lands, &c., in Drayton to William with reversions according to the will.  William's step-mother Anne was provided for in Peter's will by an annuity of 5 marks payable out of the estate at Drayton and Dorchester, and she was also to have the use of the parlour, chapel, chambers, and gardens 'within my place at Drayton' until she left them or married.  She apparently found employment in the household of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, as Mistress of the Nursery, and it was perhaps in 1479 that the duke wrote to William Stonor and Humphrey Forster asking them to see that William Idle and Elizabeth his sister paid the annuity due to their stepmother.

Peter Idle had an eldest son Thomas, to whom his Book of Instructions was addressed, but neither he, nor apparently any of his heirs, is mentioned in Peter's will.

Nevertheless, Thomas's son Richard claimed, through his grandmother Elizabeth Idle, all the property in Drayton that had once belonged to Elizabeth's father, Nicholas (II) Drayton.  Apparently this claim was successful, for in 1481 William Idle aided in person by the Duke of Suffolk used force to eject Richard's mother Alice.  Alice petitioned the King's Council for redress and a Privy Seal writ was issued to restore Alice and Richard to Drayton Manor and to see that William Idle appeared before the Council.

The outcome of this dispute is unknown, but by 1489 the manor seems to have been in the hands of Henry Dene of Drayton.

In 1501 it was conveyed to John YATE of Charney Basset (Berks.), and remained with his family during the 16th Century. This estate was not treated as a separate manor in later records, but as part of Dorchester Manor held in free Socage*.

In 1530 John Yate settled his Drayton estate on his wife Alice and younger son Thomas.

Thomas (d. 1565) was the founder of the Yate family of Lyford (Berks.).  In the mid-16th Century he was one of the most substantial tenants in Drayton, paying 60s. 6d. rent for his land held of Dorchester Manor; at his death in 1565 he held 4 Yardlands* copyhold as well as about 200 acres, 9 yardlands called Drayton Farm, freehold, which was leased to Richard Pawling of Drayton. Thomas Yate's son Francis succeeded him and seems to have lived in Drayton. By 1597, however, Francis's son Thomas had sold the farm to a Robert Doyley of Hambleden (Bucks.) and George Lazenby of Drayton.

(The above from: "Parishes: Drayton St Leonard, A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 7: Dorchester and Thames Hundreds* (1962)", pp. 71-81.  URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63769&strquery="Jo hn Yate of Charney Basset" Date accessed: 07 April 2009.)

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(The below is included because West Woodhay Manor was inherited by John CHENEY, who married Lord John YATE's daughter, Dorothy.)

Sir Robert Cheney died Seised* of the Manor (of West Woodhay) on 6 August 1503, and, as he had no sons, and Sir Roger Cheney, Robert's brother, was already dead, the estate should have passed to Sir Roger's son John Cheney, but Francis, son of William Cheney, nephew of Robert and Roger, and first cousin of John, took possession of the profits, and brought an action against Margaret, Sir Robert's widow, for detention of deeds relating to this manor. Sir Francis died childless in 1512 Seised of the estate, which passed to John, his cousin and son of Roger, who had livery of this manor in 1515, settled it on the marriage of his son John II with Dorothy daughter of John Yate of Charney in 1531 and died Seised of it in 1545.

(The above from "Parishes: West Woodhay, A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4 (1924)", pp. 242-245.  URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?

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(The below is included because it deals with the Manors of West Hanney and Abingdon, which came into the possession of Lord John YATE, Esq.)

Memorandum of acknowledgment, 10 January 1509.

John Fetyplace of Bukland co. Berks, gentleman, to Henry Bruges of Newbury, esquire, Robert Hyde of Esthenred, gentleman, and John and James Yate, their heirs and assigns.

Charter confirming gift with warranty to the use of John Yate and his heirs of all his messuages and lands in Abyngdon and Westhanney co. Berks. Dated 12 Feb. 1558/9, 24 Henry VII.

The same, to John Yate of Charney co. Berks, merchant of the staple of Cales.  Memorandum of receipt of 53 m. in part payment of 221 m. for the premises. Sealed 12 Feb., 24 Henry VII.

(The above from "Close Rolls, Henry VII: 1503-1509, Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry VII: volume 2: 1500-1509 (1963)", pp. 350-372.  URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=111328&strquery=cl ose rolls, henry VII - 1509.  Date accessed: 06 April 2009.

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The Manor of West Hanney was held in the early 13th century by Peter Malherbe was granted in 1233 to Hugh de Corneville to hold during the king's pleasure. (fn. 29)

Its subsequent history cannot be traced with any continuity.

In 1316, however, it was in the hands of Andrew de Hautot, and it seems probable that it must be identified with the manor of ANDREW'S COURT in West Hanney, which begins to be mentioned in the next century.

In 1408 Henry Archdekne granted it to William Massy and his heirs.

Thirty-five years later it was in the possession of Peter Fettiplace, who died in 1443, leaving a nephew and heir John.  In 1511 it was conveyed by John Fettiplace of Buckland and his mother Amice to John YATE [Lord John YATE, Esq.].  For several generations it followed the descent of the Lyford estate of the Yates, and it was finally conveyed by John Yate and others in 1670 to George Eyston and John Weedon.  It could not be identified at the beginning of the 19th century.

(From "Parishes: Hanney, A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4 (1924)", pp. 285-294.  URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=62716&strquery=tho mas yate will 1654.  Date accessed: 06 April 2009.

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(The following is included because the Manors of Longworthe and Draycotte came into the possession of Lord John YATE, Esq.)

I (John Cheney) thank your Lordship for your great goodness to me especially at my first acquaintance, at the coronation of queen Anne, when I made relation of my poverty and my long service to the late and present kings.  There are certain parcels of land lying near to me belonging to Abingdon, lately suppressed, which I understand are not yet given, viz.:  The lordship of Charney, yearly value 38l. 10s. 5d., and Longworthe with Draycotte, 42l. 5s. 9d., which are partly in the holding of John Yate, merchant of the Staple. Would be greatly bound to Cromwell for these or others if they be given to him and his son and heir.  Woddaye, 17 Oct.

(From "Henry VIII: October 1538 16-20, Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 13 Part 2: August-December 1538 (1893)", pp. 239-253.  URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75801

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Lord John YATE's estate was proved in court at West Hanney in Berkshire 8 Mar 1541.

(From "White, Jim. Richard Wells & Francis White Virginia & Maryland Immigrants 1635-1637"; Lulu Press, Inc, pp. 155-156)

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(The following is included because it mentions various lands and estates in several counties/shires, which had belonged to Lord John YATE, Esq., and his sons, James, Richard, Andrew, and Bartholomew, prior to 1545.  The document is difficult to decipher and I'm not certain what all this means.  [GWD])

William Gorffyn. of Beading, Berks.  Grant (for the manors of Middelton. Suss., and Newberry alias Newbery. Kent, with the advowsons of the parish churches of Middelton, Suss, and Earde alias Crayford, Kent, sold to the King, 26 March [1545] 35 Hen. VIII.. and for 127l. 14s. 2d.), in fee, of the manors of Cherney and Bassys, Berks., with appurtenances in Cherney, Shepehousefyld and Bassys. in tenure of John Yate and James, Ric., Andrew and Barth. his sons, lands in Gosey, Berks, called Gosewykes, Parke-mede, &c. (extents given), tithes in Cherney in tenure of Ric. Yate, and all appurtenances of the premises in Cherney, Shepehousefyld, Bassys and Pewsey altos Peusey, Berks, ? Abendon mon,; the pasture upon Hurstedowne and lands in Welleheigh within Warneford parish, Hants, and lands called Merehulles and Walys Lands in Warneford parish, in tenure of Wm. Boyes and Eliz. his wife, and Thomas his son. ? Mountague priory, Soms.; a messuage and land called Chauntrye Land in Warneford, Hants, late in tenure of Sir Thomas Lysle, dec., ? Boxgrave priory, Suss.; and the advowsons of the churches and rectories of Farneborowe alias Farneburgh, Est Ildesley and Pewsey, Berks. Westm. 31 Jan. 36 Hen. viii. Del. Westm., 1 March.? P.S. Pat. p. 1,m. 1.

(From "Henry VIII: March 1545, 26-31', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 20 Part 1: January-July 1545 (1905)", pp. 193-229.  URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=80386&strquery="Wi lliam Gorffyn. of Beading, Berks."  Date accessed: 07 April 2009.

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*Definitions:

Hide was a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax, in Anglo-Saxon England from the 7th to the 11th Centuries.  It continued in use for some time after the Norman Conquest of England, notably in the Domesday Survey: the hide was not a fixed area of land.

Originally the hide seems to have represented an amount of land sufficient to support a peasant and his household, but it became the basis of an artificial system of assessment of land for purposes of taxation.  Many details of the development of the system remain obscure.  According to Sir Frank Stenton, "Despite the work of many great scholars the hide of early English texts remains a term of elusive meaning."  By the end of the Anglo-Saxon period it was a measure of "the taxable worth of an area of land", but it had no fixed relationship to its acreage, the number of ploughteams  working on it, or its population; nor was it limited to the arable land on an estate.  According to Bailey, "It is a commonplace that the hide in 1086 had a very variable extent on the ground; the old concept of 120 acres cannot be sustained."

A hide was made up of four Virgates.  The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide.  A similar measure was used in the northern Danelaw, known as a Carucate, consisting of eight Bovates, and Kent used a system based on a "Sulung", consisting of four "yokes", which was larger than the hide, and on occasion treated as equivalent to two hides.[3]

The Hundred was sometimes assumed to consist of one hundred hides.  In areas added to Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (such as Devon added to Wessex) the hidation will be later than in other areas.

Socage was one of the feudal duties and hence land tenure forms in the feudal system.  A farmer, for example, held the land in exchange for a clearly-defined, fixed payment to be made at specified intervals to his feudal lord, who in turn had his own feudal obligations, to the farmer and to the Crown.  In theory this might involve supplying the lord with produce but most usually it meant a straightforward payment of cash, i.e., rent.

In this respect it contrasted with other forms of tenure including Serjeanty* (the farmer paid no rent but had to perform some personal/official service on behalf of his lord, including in times of war) and Frankalmoin* (some form of religious service).  For those higher up the feudal pyramid, there was also knight-service (military service) as a condition of land tenure.

The English statute Quia Emptores* of Edward I (1290) established that socage tenure passed automatically from one generation to the next (unlike leases). As feudalism declined, socage tenure increased until it became the normal form of tenure in the Kingdom of England. In 1660, the Statute of Tenures ended the remaining forms of military service and all free tenures were converted into Socage.

The holder of a soc or socage tenure was referred to as a Socager (Anglo-Norman) or Socman (Anglo-Saxon).

Quia Emptores (medieval Latin for "because the buyers", the incipit of the document) was a statute passed in 1290 by Edward I of England that prevented tenants from alienating their lands to others by subinfeudation, instead requiring all tenants wishing to alienate their land to do so by substitution.  Quia Emptores, along with its companion statute of Quo Warranto*, was intended to remedy land ownership disputes and consequent financial difficulties that had resulted from the decline of the traditional feudal system during the High Middle Ages.

Quo Warranto (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority he has for exercising some right or power (or "franchise") he claims to hold.

Sergeanty:  Under the feudal system in late and high medieval England, tenure by Serjeanty was a form of land-holding in return for some specified service, ranking between tenure by knight-service (Enfeoffment) and tenure in Socage.  It is also used of similar forms in Continental Europe.

Frankalmoin or Frankalmoigne (from Norman French Fraunch Aumoyne free alms) was one of the feudal duties and hence land tenures in feudal England.  By it an ecclesiastical body held land in return for saying prayers and masses for the soul of the granter. ; Not only was secular service frequently not due but in the 12th and 13th Centuries jurisdiction over land so held belonged to the ecclesiastical courts.

Thus, in English law, Frankalmoign(e) was tenure in free alms.  Gifts to religious institutions in free alms were defined first as gifts to God, then to the patron saint of the religious house, and finally to those religious serving God in the specific house.

The Virgate (Medieval Latin: Virgata) or Yardland (Middle English: Yardland) was a unit of land area measurement used in medieval England, typically outside the Danelaw, and was held to be the amount of land that a team of two oxen could plough in a single annual season.  It was equivalent to a quarter of a hide, so was nominally thirty acres.  A Virgater would thus be a peasant who occupied or worked this area of land, and a Half Virgater would be a person who occupied or worked about 15 acres (61,000 m2).

The Danelaw equivalent of a virgate was two Oxgangs, or Bovates: as these names imply, the Oxgang or Bovate was considered to represent the amount of land that could be worked in a single annual season by a single ox, and therefore equated to half a virgate.  As such, the Oxgang represented a parallel division of the Carucate*. Accordingly, a 'Bovater' is the Danelaw equivalent of a half virgater.

Virgate is an Anglicization of the Medieval Latin Virgatus.  In some parts of England it was divided into four Nooks (Middle English: Noke; Medieval Latin: Noca).  Nooks were occasionally further divided into a Farundel (Middle English: Ferthendel; Old English: Feorban, "fourth deal, fourth share").

Carucate (Medieval Latin: Carrucata, from Carruca, "wheeled plough") or Ploughland (Old English: Plogesland, "plough's land") was a unit of assessment for tax used in most Danelaw counties of England, and is found for example in Domesday Book.  The Carucate was based on the area a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season.  It was sub-divided into Oxgangs, or "Bovates", based on the area a single ox might till in the same period, which thus represented one eighth of a Carucate; and it was analogous to the hide, a unit of tax assessment used outside the Danelaw counties.

The tax levied on each Carucate came to be known as "Carucage".

Seisin (also spelled Seizin) is the possession of such an estate in land as was anciently thought worthy to be held by a free man.  As ownership and possession of land was paramount in the Middle Ages, Seisin approximates modern "freehold" ownership of land, or the right to immediate possession.  To be "Seised" was to own and possess a property.

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