fee for the Lord the King."

Gerbald was succeeded by his grandson and heir, Gerard de Rhodes. This
is shewn by a Carlisle document. {17c} A dispute arose between Hugh, son
of Ralph (surname not given) and Gerard de Rhodes, concerning the manor
and soke of Horncastle, the advowson of the church, &c., which were
claimed by the said Hugh; but a compromise was effected, 400 marks being
paid to Hugh, and Gerard de Rhodes left in undisputed possession.

It has been thought probable that this Ralph, father of Hugh, was
Ranulph, Earl of Chester, who was lord of the manors of Revesby and
Hareby, and had other possessions in the neighbourhood. He, it is
supposed, held the manor of Horncastle, as trustee, during the minority
of Gerard. Gerard was, in due course, succeeded by his son and heir,
Ralph de Rhodes, in the reign of Henry III. This again is proved by a
Feet of Fines, {17d} which records an "agreement made in the court of the
Lord King at Westminster (3 Feb., A.D. 1224-5), between Henry del Ortiay
and Sabina his wife on the one part, and the said Ralph de Rhodes on the
other part," whereby the former acknowledge certain lands and
appurtenances in Horncastle and its soke to be the property of the said
Ralph, and he grants to them, as his tenants, certain lands; they, in
acknowledgement, "rendering him therefor, by the year, one pair of gilt
spurs at Easter for all service and exactions."

We have now reached another stage in the tenure of this manor and find
ourselves once more at the point where the present chapter opened.
Hitherto the manor had been held "in capite" (or "in chief") of the king
by lay lords, or, in the two cases of Queen Editha and Adelias de Condi,
by a lady; but in this reign Walter Mauclerk, the third Bishop of
Carlisle, purchased the manor from Ralph de Rhodes. He was himself a
powerful Norman and held the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer (a
common combination of civil and ecclesiastical duties in those days), but
now he and his successors were bound "to do suit and service to Ralph and
his heirs." This purchase is proved by a Lincoln document called a "Plea
Quo Warranto," which records a case argued before the Justices Itinerant,
in the reign of Edward I., when it was stated that Ralph de Rhodes
"enfeoffed Walter Mauclerk to hold the church, manor and appurtenances in
Horncastre, to him and his heirs, of the gift of the said Ralph." {18a}
That the Bishop, although an ecclesiastic, was bou