Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Kilsallaghan parish, Co. Dublin in the Thirteenth Century

Kilsallaghan parish, Co. Dublin in the Thirteenth Century

Niall C.E.J. O’Brien

The civil parish of Kilsallaghan is situated in the Barony of Castleknock, Co. Dublin, and about eight miles north of Dublin. The village of Kilsallaghan with the ruins of a medieval church and castle is situated on the old mail coach road between Dublin and Drogheda, now the R122. The parish comprises about 2,595 acres, mostly devoted to arable farming.[1] Kilsallaghan means the church of the wood of the osiers.[2]

This article recounts some events and activity in the parish in the thirteenth century. There are a few references to Kilsallaghan in the twelfth century such as in c.1185 when half the tithes, alms and benefices attached to the land of Roger Poher in Kilsallaghan was granted by Archbishop John to his clerk, Audoen son of William Brun, with other property and income  for life.[3]

In the time of King John

The earliest reference to Kilsallaghan, or Kilsalthan as it was also written, comes early after the Anglo-Norman Conquest. In 1169-1180, it is said that Prince John, Count of Mortain, granted the church of Kilsallaghan to the Abbey of St. Thomas the Martyr in Dublin with the consent of Aubertus Secard. But Prince John did not become Count of Mortain until 1189 and so there may be a mix up in dates over the centuries. Nevertheless the grant was renewed in April 1202 by John as King of England and Lord of Ireland. An inspeximus and confirmation of this grant was made in January 1291.[4]

At about the same time Richard de la Feld rented the land of Kilsallaghan from King John for an unknown rent per annum. He also rented land in Chapelizod from the crown.[5] In 1201 Richard de la Feld was described as the Queen’s servant. On 7th November 1201 Richard de la Feld was granted the land in Ireland which was formerly held by Elias de Pinkney.[6] It is not clear if Kilsallaghan formed part of these lands once held by Elias de Pinkney.

In the time of King Henry III

On 17th August 1220 King Henry III made a grant to Thomas Fitz Adam of the land of Chapelizod and Kilsallaghan which was formerly leased by Richard de la Feld from King John. Thomas Fitz Adam was to hold the land during the king’s pleasure at a rent of 100s per year.[7] The children of Richard de la Feld must have been minors in 1220 and thus could not get seisin of their father’s property. Sometime after this, the Justiciar of Ireland extended the lands to 30 librates which pleased the King. A librate of land was so much land as was worth £1 per year. But on 7th December 1220 Henry III wrote to the Justiciar of Ireland to give the lands to Thomas Fitz Adam for a yearly farm of £10 payable to the Dublin Exchequer.[8]

Thomas Fitz Adam and Richard de la Feld had known each other for a number of years and were trusted people by the crown. In July 1218 the two men transported over £493 from Ireland to the Exchequer in London.[9]

Thomas Fitz Adam

In 1210 Thomas Fitz Adam was part of the army of King John which advanced into Ulster in pursuit of William de Breouse and the de Lacy rebels. Up to November 1213 Thomas Fitz Adam was constable of Dublin castle when he was instructed to deliver the castle to Henry, Archbishop of Dublin. In June 1217 the justiciar of Ireland was told to help Thomas Fitz Adam to fortify his castle of Corcobasky Ethragh (Co. Clare) which he held of the Bishop of Norwich. In July 1218 Thomas Fitz Adam was named as the first escheator of Ireland. In August 1219 Thomas Fitz Adam was granted custody of all the royal forests in Ireland.[10]

In March 1221 Thomas Fitz Adam was made a justice itinerant with Bartholomew de Camera. In October 1223 Thomas Fitz Adam was made constable of Athlone castle and in December 1223 Laurence, Thomas’s servant, was paid 2 marks for travelling between England and Ireland on government business.[11]

Nicholas de la Feld

Richard de la Feld was dead well before November 1223 when his son Nicholas de la Feld and Richard’s two daughters were involved in a case of serious constitutional concern. Nicholas de la Feld had sought by assise of Mort d’ancestor in the King’s court to recover two carucates of land at Kelredheri from the Abbot of St. Thomas in Dublin. But an objection of bastardy was entered against Nicholas de la Feld and the proceedings were halted. The King’s justices ordered Nicholas de la Feld to establish his legitimacy in the court of the Henry, Archbishop of Dublin. After producing evidence to prove his legitimacy the Archbishop was about to give sentence when two daughters of Richard de la Feld, minors at the time, appeared before the court and objected to sentence as they would be precluded from claiming any inheritance. The Archbishop then stopped the case and sent the cause to the Pope.

When Henry III heard that the case was sent to Rome, he was “much moved with wonder” at the actions of the Archbishop. In November 1223 the King wrote to Archbishop Henry that he had ample proof of the legitimacy of Nicholas de la Feld and should have given sentence. The two daughters were not part of the court proceedings and could have claimed any rights they may have had through the King’s courts. More importantly Henry III told the Archbishop that he had erred in declining the King’s right of inquiry and transferring the case to a foreign dignitary (the Pope). At the time of the case Archbishop Henry was Justiciar of Ireland and therefore the King’s representative in Ireland. He should have sent the case on to the King and the English council. The King ordered the Archbishop to declare Nicholas de la Feld to be legitimate and send any appeal to the King’s courts according to the law and custom of Ireland.[12]

But the matter was not so quickly solved and on 10th March 1224 Henry III wrote to the Archbishop of Dublin, in his capacity as Justiciar of Ireland, to take the two carucates of land at Kilredheri into the king’s hand until further orders. By the letter it would appear that the legitimacy of Nicholas de la Feld was not yet confirmed.[13]

Nicholas de la Feld and Kilsallaghan

Yet Nicholas de la Feld was not for waiting round to hear the Archbishop’s judgement. In the winter and spring of 1223-24 Nicholas Fitz Richard de la Feld made a claim to Henry III for his father’s lands in the vills of Chapelizod and Kilsallaghan. Nicholas offered the King 60 marks to have Richard’s lands and pay £20 a year in rent. On 12th March 1224 Henry III wrote to the Justiciar of Ireland to inquire how much land Richard de la Feld held in capite in the vills; how much was it worth yearly; and whether Richard de la Feld held it by lease from King John or by gift.[14] 

In April 1225 Nicholas de la Feld did homage to Henry III for the land which his father, Richard de la Feld, held in Clensuerd. On 22nd April the King instructed the Justiciar of Ireland to give Nicholas seisin of the land.[15] All doubts to the legitimacy of Nicholas de la Feld must have been well put aside by 1225 and it is possible that by that time Nicholas had also got seisin of his father’s lands at Chapelizod and Kilsallaghan. On 11th May 1225 Nicholas’s standing got a further boost when he was appointed custodian of the door of the Exchequer in Dublin.[16]

St David's Church, Kilsallaghan

Reginald of Kilsallaghan

After 1225 we hear no more about Nicholas de la Feld until 1240. In the meantime another person enters the Kilsallaghan story. In 1228 Reginald of Kilsallaghan paid 2s to John Travers, sheriff of Dublin, for rent of the royal lands, presumingly in Kilsallaghan.[17] A person called Reginald de Kilsallaghan, or more correctly his wife, appears often in the public records in the reign of Edward the First as noted below.

Nicholas de la Feld in the 1240s

In 1240 the two carucates of land at Kilredheri (Kilrethelin) came once again to the courts attention. Before September 1240 twelve knights formed a jury in an assize before the justice in eyre at Dublin to hear a dispute between the Abbot of St. Thomas, Dublin and Nicholas de la Feld. The result of the assize is unknown but it would appear that the jury sided with the Abbot. Nicholas de la Feld lodged an appeal to Henry III. On 18th September 1240 Henry III instructed Maurice Fitzgerald, Justiciar of Ireland, to cause the twelve knights who formed the jury to come before the King when Henry III came to Dublin after Easter 1226. The Abbot of St. Thomas was also to attend.[18]

We hear no more of Nicholas de la Feld for another eight years until 1248 when he was a member of the jury who inquired into the lands formerly belonging to Walter de Ridlesford in the Vale of Dublin. These lands were held by Walter de Ridlesford since at least 1216 and were claimed by Christina de Marisco, one of his daughters and heirs.[19] We hear no more of Nicholas de la Feld after 1248 and must presume that he died without any heirs.

Other references to Kilsallaghan

In about 1262 Robert de Clahull, sheriff of Dublin, collected rents from Kilsallaghan but the amount was not recorded.[20] in about 1270 William de Cadewelly held land on the bounds of Kilsallaghan as it bordered the land of Thomas son of John Leonis in Kilreske.[21]

Kilsallaghan in the time of King Edward I

In 1284 the crown collected a half mark (6s 8d) in rent from the lands in Kilsallaghan which formerly belonged to Reginald de Kilsallaghan.[22] On 14th November 1285, Sarah Condam, wife of Reginald de Kilsallaghan, paid 40d (pence), or a quarter mark (3s 4d), to the Dublin Exchequer for the rent of Reginald’s land.[23]

On 30th January 1286 Sarah Condam, written as Sarah of Kilsalaghan, paid 4s for the rent of Reginald’s land.[24] On 29th May 1286 Sarah Condam, now known as Sarah de Benford, paid 40d for the rent of Reginald’s land.[25] On 11th February 1287 Thomas de Isham paid the 4s rent on Reginald’s former lands at Kilsallaghan.[26] On 21st October 1287 Sarah of Kilsallaghan made two payments to the Dublin Exchequer of 3s 4d and 3s 8d for Reginald’s land.[27]

On 9th April 1288, 8th October 1288 and on 2nd May 1289 Sarah of Kilsallaghan paid 40d each time for the land of Kilsallaghan to the Exchequer. On 9th December 1290 Sarah de Beanford paid 11d for the rent of Kilsallaghan.[28]

On 20th October 1291 Sarah de Beanford paid 40d to the Dublin Exchequer for the rent of Beanford and again on 15th April 1292 for Beanford.[29] There was a place near Black Hall in the Parish of Balrothery, Co. Dublin which was called Benford in 1606 and was owned by Philip Hore who also owned the manor of Kilsallaghan.[30] On 7th October 1292 Sarah de Beanford paid 40d to the Dublin Exchequer for the rent of land which formerly belonged to Roger de Kilsallaghan.[31] On 3rd December 1298 and again on 26th November 1299 Sarah de Beanford paid another 40d for the rent of Kilsallaghan to the Exchequer.[32]

It is not clear for how long Sarah de Beanford held the land of Kilsallaghan. Sarah de Beanford was not the only woman to hold property in Kilsallaghan. Before 1355 Joan Locard held various parcels of land, rents and tenements of the manor of Kilsallaghan which on her death passed to her son, Robert Cruys.[33] By the sixteenth century the manor of Kilsallaghan was held by Sir Christopher Plunkett of Rathmore.[34]

Church of Kilsallaghan

In 1202 the church of Kilsallaghan was granted by King John to the Abbey of St. Thomas the Martyr in Dublin as noted above. The church was dedicated to St. David which possibly indicates early Welsh settlement in the area. In 1275 the abbot of St. Thomas held Kilsallaghan church for his own use.[35]

In the papal taxation of 1302-6 the parish of Kilsallaghan was located in the deanery of Swords and was worth 7 marks (£4 13s 4d) with the tenth worth 9s 4d. Kilsallaghan was the poorest parish in the deanery of Swords apart from the vicarage of Hollywood (46s 8d) which was entered separately to the parish of Hollywood (£10 13s 4d).[36] Kilsallaghan parish remained in the deanery of Swords until the end of the medieval period.[37]

In 1532 the Abbey of St. Thomas the Martyr still held Kilsallaghan church along with a chapel at Chapelmidway (midway between Kilsallaghan and the church of St. Margaret).[38] In 1540 the tithes of Kilsallaghan were leased to Thomas Stephens with the rectory of Grenock and other property by the Abbey of St. Thomas the Martyr.[39] No mention is made of St. Thomas abbey directly holding Kilsallaghan apart from this reference to the parish tithes. Local complaints at the time said that lay impropriators had taken over church property in Kilsallaghan, Howth and Holmpatrick.[40]

At the suppression of St. Mary’s abbey in Dublin in 1540 it was found that the abbey held one messuage and 30 acres arable, pasture and meadow land at Stradbally in Kilsallaghan from Thomas Plunkett.[41] In the same year of 1540 the priory of Gracedieu held a messuage and garden at Stradbally worth 3s from Sir Thomas Plunkett.[42] It is not known when St. Mary’s and Gracedieu acquired these lands.

After the medieval period the parish church of Kilsallaghan fell into decay. In 1615 the chancel was in ruins while the nave was still standing but by 1630 the entire church was in ruins. In 1812 a new church of St. David was built at Kilsallaghan and in 1871 the parish was united with Swords.[43]

Bibliography

Griffith, M.C. (ed.), Calendar of inquisitions formerly in the Office of the Chief Remembrancer of the Exchequer (Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 1991)
Lewis, S., Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (London, 1837)
McNeill, C. (ed.), Calendar of Archbishop Alen’s Register c.1172-1534 (Dublin, 1950)
Sweetman, H.S. (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland (5 vols. Kraus reprint, 1974)
Thirty-fifth report of the Deputy Keeper of Public Records in Ireland (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1903)
Walsh, R., Fingal and its Churches: A Historical Sketch of the Foundation and Struggles of the Church of Ireland (Dublin, 1888)
White, N.B. (ed.), Extents of Irish Monastic Possessions 1540-1541 (Dublin, 1943)
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[1] Lewis, S., Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837), Kilsallaghan
[2] Walsh, R., Fingal and its Churches: A Historical Sketch of the Foundation and Struggles of the Church of Ireland (Dublin, 1888), p. 238
[3] McNeill, C. (ed.), Calendar of Archbishop Alen’s Register c.1172-1534 (Dublin, 1950), p. 14
[4] Sweetman, H.S. (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland (5 vols. Kraus reprint, 1974), vol. 3 (1285-1292), p. 381; Walsh, Fingal and its Churches, pp. 88, 204
[5] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 959; Walsh, Fingal and its Churches, p. 93
[6] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 159
[7] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 959
[8] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 979
[9] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 843
[10] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), nos. 409, 492, 784, 840, 891
[11] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), nos. 985, 1142, 1151
[12] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 1149
[13] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 1166
[14] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 1169
[15] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 1270
[16] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 1281
[17] Thirty-fifth report of the Deputy Keeper of Public Records in Ireland (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1903), p. 29
[18] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), no. 2495
[19] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 1 (1171-1251), nos. 679, 2970
[20] Thirty-fifth report of the Deputy Keeper of Public Records in Ireland (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1903), p. 44
[21] McNeill, C. (ed.), Calendar of Archbishop Alen’s Register c.1172-1534 (Dublin, 1950), pp. 134, 136
[22] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 2 (1252-1284), p. 549
[23] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 3 (1285-1292), p. 58
[24] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 3 (1285-1292), p. 85
[25] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 3 (1285-1292), p. 104
[26] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 3 (1285-1292), p. 132
[27] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 3 (1285-1292), p. 153
[28] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 3 (1285-1292), pp. 165, 186, 360
[29] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 3 (1285-1292), pp. 434, 472
[30] Griffith, M.C. (ed.), Calendar of inquisitions formerly in the Office of the Chief Remembrancer of the Exchequer (Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 1991), no. A 59
[31] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 3 (1285-1292), p. 501
[32] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 4 (1293-1301), pp. 253, 316
[34] Griffith (ed.), Calendar of inquisitions in the Office of the Chief Remembrancer, no. H VIII 16
[35] Walsh, Fingal and its Churches, pp. 37, 196
[36] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, vol. 5 (1302-1307), p. 239; Walsh, Fingal and its Churches, p. 198
[37] McNeill (ed.), Calendar of Archbishop Alen’s Register c.1172-1534, p. 275
[38] Walsh, Fingal and its Churches, pp. 204, 239
[39] White, N.B. (ed.), Extents of Irish Monastic Possessions 1540-1541 (Dublin, 1943), p. 35
[40] Walsh, Fingal and its Churches, p. 134
[41] Griffith (ed.), Calendar of inquisitions in the Office of the Chief Remembrancer, nos. H VIII 137, 139
[42] Griffith (ed.), Calendar of inquisitions in the Office of the Chief Remembrancer, no. H VIII 137
[43] Walsh, Fingal and its Churches, pp. 178, 209, 214, 261

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