ly than their company.

The present lords of the Manor of Stowheath are the Duke of Sutherland,
and W. T. C. Giffard, Esq., of Chillington; the Steward of the Manor is
Mr. W. E. Stamer, of Lilleshall; and the Deputy-Steward Mr. Frederick T.
Langley, of Wolverhampton. The Court Bailiff is Mr. H. G. Duncalfe, of
Wolverhampton, but none of the ancient customary officers are now
elected; and as most of the copyholds have been enfranchised, no Court
Baron for Stowheath has been held in Willenhall since 22nd December,
1865; till then it had taken place annually for many years at the house
of Mr. George Baker, the Neptune Inn. Subsequently this manorial court
was held at the Bank, Cock Street, Wolverhampton, and now more privately
at the offices of the Deputy-Steward, in that town, which was anciently
within the jurisdiction of two manors, Stowheath and Wolverhampton.

THE MANOR OF WILLENHALL, which, though prebendal, is impropriate,
comprises the rest of the township; of this manor the Baron Barnard is
the present lord, and the sole recipient of all tithes from Willenhall,
Short Heath, and Wednesfield.

A glimpse of the mediaeval village of Willenhall was obtained in Chapters
VIII. and XI.; it is clear the prebendal manor remained always a taxable
area for the mere production of tithes, and it was the royal manor of
Stowheath, when it had passed into the hands of a subject, which
developed into the community in the midst of which the "mansum capitale,"
or manor house, was erected.

By whom or when a manor house was first set up in Willenhall is not
known; but it is not improbable that the lordship of Stowheath, soon
after it passed out of the hands of the King, was acquired by a Leveson,
who seated himself on the estate, reserving to himself the portion which
lay nearest his mansion (demesne lands), and distributing the rest among
his tenants (tenemental lands).

The house in which the Levesons resided, as previously recorded, was
situated on the east side of Stafford Street; the Midland Railway now
runs through the site, but before the line was cut, and whilst the mines
remained ungotten, traces of its ancient moat were clearly discernible.

The residence now known as the Manor House, and occupied by Dr J. T.
Hartill, though it has no connection with the manorial mansion of the
Leveson family, is not without some association with the manorial form of
government. It appears that upwards of half a century ago, when the