unty), who was Lord of Glentham and
Caenby, two parishes near Brigg. She had a castle in this town, the site
of which is not now known, but it was probably a restoration in whole, or
in part, of the old fortress. She took part against the King in his
quarrel with the Empress Maud, and her estates were confiscated by
Stephen, they were, however, subsequently restored to her on condition
that she should demolish her castle.

On her death the manor reverted to the crown and was granted by Henry II.
to a Fleming noble, Gerbald de Escald, who held it for one knight's fee.
{12a} He was succeeded by his grandson and heir, Gerard de Rhodes, {12b}
whose son, Ralph de Rhodes, sold it to Walter Mauclerk, {12c} Bishop of
Carlisle, and Treasurer of the Exchequer under Henry III. In the reign
of Richard II. Roger la Scrope and Margaret his wife, with Robert Tibetot
and son, his wife, as descendants of Gerbald de Escald, {12d} put in a
claim for the manor and obtained letters patent, by which the episcopal
possessor was bound to do them homage, but this was only for a brief
period, and they then disappear from the scene.

The manor remained a possession of the bishops of Carlisle until the
reign of Edward VI., when, by licence of the King, it was sold by Bishop
Aldrich in 1547 to Edward, Lord Clinton. {12e} In the reign of Mary he
was compelled to re-convey it to the see of Carlisle. {12f} Queen
Elizabeth took a lease of it under the then possessing bishop, in which
she was succeeded by James I. He assigned it to Sir Edward Clinton,
knt., but through neglect of enrolment this became void. {12g} In the
reign of Charles II. the former charters were renewed, {12h} and the
bishops of Carlisle remained lords of the manor until 1856, when it was
transferred, with the patronage of some of the benefices within the soke,
to the Bishop of Lincoln. Thus from the reign of Edward the Confessor to
that of Charles II., a period of about 600 years, broken by brief
intervals of alienation, Horncastle was connected with royalty.

The lease of the manor was held, under the bishops of Carlisle by Sir
Joseph Banks and his ancestors for nearly a century, the lease of Sir
Joseph himself being dated 21 March, 1803, and renewed 1 June, 1811. He
died in 1820 and was succeeded by his relative the Honble. James Hamilton
Stanhope and, three years later, by James Banks Stanhope, Esq., then a
minor, who, at a later period (in 1885) transferred all his ri