Bracton: Thorne Edition: English. Volume 2, Page 219

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Volume 2, Page 219

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[001] and partition made, then the sheriff shall have their bodies by this writ.

Writ to produce the bodies of extenders so they may certify.

[003] ¹‘The king to the sheriff, greeting. We order you to have before etc. at such a
[004] place and on such a day, the bodies of A. B. [and] C. and D., extenders of such a
[005] manor, to certify to those persons, our justices, how and in what things and by
[006] what parcels and at what valuation they made that extent, as to which the aforesaid
[007] A. claims they extended to such a one twenty librates of land for ten. And you
[008] are yourself to be there together with the aforesaid extenders to make that certification.
[009] Witness etc.’ And note that if it can be ascertained that the sheriff has been
[010] negligent, lax or remiss in executing the precepts of the lord king, on his default
[011] let the coroners be ordered to execute them, as [in the roll] of Easter term in the
[012] eighth year of king Henry in the county of Wiltshire, [the case] of Thomas de
[013] Gymeges etc.² And if they prove negligent, then let the keepers of escheats be
[014] ordered to do so.

The duty of extenders.

[016] ³The office of extenders lies in the extending and valuing of things comprised in an
[017] inheritance; first that they see what and how much there is in demesne in each
[018] manor, that is, how many acres or virgates of arable land and the annual value of
[019] each acre or virgate. Also how many acres there are in pasture and what each is
[020] worth per annum. Also what and how much lies in waste. Also how many acres of
[021] meadow and in what year they may be mowed and in what year not. Also how
[022] many acres of wood and how much they are worth a year, with the pannage
[023] and without it. Also let the gardens be valued and, if there are any, the game
[024] preserves and fish ponds. And in brief all the other things that belong to the corpus
[025] of the manor and from which profit could be derived. Also what and how much
[026] there is in villeinage, how many virgates, and how much they are worth a year in
[027] rents, tallages and all other things. Then let the services and rents of the free
[028] tenants be extended. If there is an advowson, let it be extended and valued together
[029] with the other things comprised in the inheritance, that is, at twelve pence to the
[030] mark according to the value of the church, as where the church is worth a hundred
[031] marks a year according to common estimate, let the advowson be valued

Notes

1. Cf. C.R.R., xiv, no. 2480 (Trin. 14, a writ attested by W. de Ralegh): ‘H. Dei gracia etc. vicecomite Surr’ salutem. Precipimus tibi sicut alias precepimus, quod habeas coram justiciariis nostris apud Westmonasterium in octabis sancti Johannis Baptiste corpora [names endorsed] extensorum manerii de Gumeshelf’ ad certificandum eosdem justiciarios nostros de extensione illa qualiter et in quibus et per quas particulas et per quam appreciationem illam fecerunt, unde ballivi W. comitis Marescalli, qui custodiam habet terre W. de Breus, dicunt quod predicti extensores extenderunt Johanni de Breus triginta libratas terre pro viginti. Et tu ipse tunc sis ibi simul cum predictis extensoribus ad certificationem illam faciendam, et habeas ibi hoc breve. Teste W. de Ralegh’ apud Westmonasterium xviij die Maii anno regni nostri xiiij.’

2. B.N.B. no. 1019 (Trin. 8 Hen. III). No roll for Easter 8

3. Extenta manerii: St. of the Realm, i, 242