Philip de Marmion vs Richard de Wyvelesley

Philip de Marmion, 5th Baron Marmion of Tamworth, inherited Middleton in the middle of the 13th century and owned it along with many other manors until his death in 1291. Throughout his life, Philip was no stranger to court proceedings. There are numerous court documents recording when he was summoned and these were often to answer charges. June 2025 marks the 750th anniversary of one of these proceedings.

In 1275, Richard de Wyvelesley, a precentor from the church at Leighlin in Ireland, was visiting England in order to seek a licence to elect a bishop there. It was stated that he was in the country under the king’s protection in order to do so.

When Richard was passing by Tamworth, he had become ill and ended up staying there over three months. In his claim, he stated that, on the morrow of the Trinity, his two grooms had taken his two horses to water and were bringing them back along the royal highway when Philip sent out six of his men-at-arms from Tamworth Castle to intercept them. These men were named as: John le Procurator; Nicholas FitzLedeu; Robert son of Ralph de Monte; Warin le Normaunt; and Nicholas the servant of William le Taillard. Philip’s men then beat Richard’s servants and stole the horses, which were led away by two grooms in the service of Nicholas. They took the horses from the Staffordshire side of Tamworth to Philip’s Castle, which was on the Warwickshire side. When the servants raised the alarm, Richard and other people from Tamworth came running. Richard stated that Philip would give no explanation for his actions and instead attacked him, drawing blood. He added that Philip also kept the horses.

Richard stated that he was petitioning the King for justice, as would be done to a layman in a similar case, and that he would like to have his horses back or at least their value. The reason that Richard was having to directly petition the king and in this manner was because, as one of the most important landholders in Warwickshire, the king had granted Philip the privilege of not being able to be summoned by the local courts for any common charges in Warwickshire. Therefore, the only way someone could seek justice against Philip in a dispute relating to that county was to appeal directly to the king.

On June 19th, King Edward I responded to the petition by sending two commissioners, one who represented Staffordshire and one for Warwickshire, to investigate and commission a jury made up of members from both counties in order to hear the case. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to find what the outcome was.

Stocks at Middleton Hall, 2013. Photograph taken by Richard Jordan.

Further Reading: Calendar of the Patent Rolls of King Edward I, A.D. 1272-1281, 1901. pp.120-121.

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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