North Petherton: Manors and other estates
A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6, Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and Neighbouring Parishes).

In 1086 NORTH PETHERTON manor was part of the king’s land and had never paid geld. (fn. 1) Its holders owed a fee farm to the Crown; (fn. 2)

The manor was said to have been given by Henry I to John of Erleigh. (fn. 7) John held it in 1157 (fn. 8) and died c. 1162. (fn. 9) His successor was William of Erleigh, the king’s chamberlain, (fn. 10) but John’s widow, Adela or Alice, held part of the estate in 1166. William’s lands were in the king’s hands in 1166 (fn. 11) and in 1169 Geoffrey de Mayenne accounted for North Petherton. (fn. 12) William, probably son of William of Erleigh, held the manor from 1170 until 1177 when his lands were confiscated. Henry II probably regranted the manor to him for a fee farm rent of 100s. (fn. 13) John of Erleigh had succeeded by 1189. (fn. 14) William of Erleigh was named as holding a fee in 1199, either in error for John or on behalf of John’s son. (fn. 15) John of Erleigh held North Petherton from 1202 (fn. 16) until 1231 when he was succeeded by his brother Henry of Erleigh. (fn. 17) Henry (d. 1272) (fn. 18) was followed by his son Philip (d. c. 1275) and Philip by his son John, who came of age c. 1290 (fn. 19) and died c. 1323. John of Erleigh, son of the last, died c. 1337, leaving a son (Sir) John, a minor. (fn. 20) Sir John sold the manor in 1371 to John Cole and his wife Margery. (fn. 21)

In 1086 3 virgates of land were attached to the church of North Petherton. The church was in the king’s hands but had formerly belonged to Peter, bishop of Chester (d. c. 1084). (fn. 551) The land may have been granted to John of Erleigh with the royal manor of North Petherton. The church and lands of Walter the priest were given to the canons of Buckland by William of Erleigh in the later 12th century. Walter may have held the land there as priest of the church or as heir to his father Robert and grandfather Leofric. (fn. 552) The gift was confirmed in 1186 for the support of the sisters at Buckland. (fn. 553)

A P Baggs and M C Siraut, ‘North Petherton: Manors and other estates’, in A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6, Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and Neighbouring Parishes), ed. R W Dunning and C R Elrington (London, 1992), pp. 283-300. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol6/pp283-300 [accessed 23 May 2023].