Liberty of St Edmund

The Liberty of St Edmund covers the entire area of the former administrative County of West Suffolk.[1] This area had been established by Edward the Confessor in 1044 and was a separate jurisdiction under the control of the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds Abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries affected Bury St Edmunds Abbey in 1539.[2]

The area of the Liberty of St Edmund was originally known as the "Eight and a Half Hundreds" which included the Hundreds of Thingoe, Thedwastre, Lackford, Risbridge, Blackburn and Babergh, and the half hundred of Cosford. Blackbourn and Babergh each counted as a "double hundred'. Combined these made the Eight and a Half Hundred.[3][4]

The Liberty was granted to the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds by Edward the Confessor.[5] A Steward was appointed to administer the Liberty on behalf of the Abbot in the same way that the Sheriff acted for the county.[3] The first Steward was named Ralph, and was appointed by William I. The title subsequently passed through various hands and became hereditary with the de Windsors in 1115.[6]

The present Hereditary High Steward of the Liberty of St Edmund is The 8th Marquess of Bristol.[7]

  1. ^ "St Edmundsbury Local History – Home mapping using QGIS". www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk.
  2. ^ "History of Bury St Edmunds Abbey". English Heritage. English Heritage. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b Green, Angela (1967). "The Stewardship of the eight and a half hundred". Suffolk Institute of Archaeology.
  4. ^ Lilian J. Redstone. "The Liberty of St. Edmund" (PDF). suffolkinstitute.pdfsrv.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  5. ^ Commission, Record (1812–18). Hundred Rolls (vol II ed.). p. 143.
  6. ^ Calder, Julian (2000). Keepers of the Kingdom: The Ancient Offices of Britain. Cassell Illustrated. pp. 15–16. ISBN 1-84188-073-6.
  7. ^ "Distinguished Families Bristol". www.burkespeerage.com.