Early history of the London Grosvenor Estate For a time, during the reign of Edward the
The manor of Eia continued with the Abbey
Confessor, the manor of Eia or Eye was held
of Westminster until the Dissolution of the
in the name of Harold, son of Ralph, Earl
Monasteries by Henry VIII in 1540. It was
of Hereford and nephew of the King. By the
at this time that Henry enclosed Hyde Park
time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, the
to create a deer park. During the reign of
manor was held by William the Chamberlain,
Elizabeth I, in 1585, Sir Thomas Knyvett, a
at which time it was confiscated. William the
Groom of the Privy Chamber, obtained a lease
Conqueror then granted Eia to his close friend,
for the Manor of Ebury (a large section of the
Geoffrey de Mandeville. At this time it covered
manor of Eia) for 60 years. By 1623, James I
1,090 acres, from today’s Oxford Street and
had sold the freehold to John Traylman and
Bayswater Road down to the Thames, and from
Thomas Pearson for over £1000, who then
the River Westbourne (near today’s Lancaster
passed it to Sir Lionel Cranfield, Earl of
Gate) across to the River Tyburn (now flowing
Middlesex. Cranfield was a London mercer
underground). In the late 11th century, de
(a silk and fabric merchant) who became
Mandeville granted the manor to the Abbey
Surveyor General of Customs in 1613 and
of Westminster.
Lord Treasurer in 1621. However, but in 1624 he was charged with corruption and fined £50,000, and spent two weeks in the Tower of London. He sold the lands to Hugh Audley in 1626 for £9,400.
6 grosvenor estate: past & present
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