Jenkins was a manor under the

overlordship An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or serjea ...

of Barking manor. It was also known as 'Dagenham' manor, 'Dagenhams' and 'Dagenham Place' throughout the centuries. Today, the once open area has been consumed by suburbia.

The Manor of Jenkins in Essex, England

It was originally property of the Abbey of Barking, and was granted status of a freehold. This meant throughout time it was put for lease and indeed some manorial Lords did also lease nearby

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

s. As such the estate at its largest spread as far as

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

village and it was found in some historical records to have stretched as far as East Hall. The original estate was located in present-day

Mayesbrook Park Mayesbrook Park is a 43 hectare public park in Dagenham in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is owned and managed by the borough council. The southern end, which is mainly a large lake, is a Local Nature Reserve. The area covered by ...

in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, north of where

Eastbury manor house Eastbury Manor House is a Grade I listed building situated in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in Greater London, England. It dates to the Elizabethan period, although the land on which it was built was formerly part of the demesne of ...

stands today. Eastbury is a popular tourist attraction. Records from 1540 suggest that, at an ancient and unknown time,

Barking Abbey Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country". Originally established in the 7th century, fr ...

had allowed the holding of Jenkins to a family recorded as Fitz-stephen, at a rent of 4 shillings and 4 pence. In 1273 the manor of Jenkins was recorded as being held by Emery de Bezill, for a rent of 8 shillings 8 pence and a suit-court. The

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

was leased Jenkins by Robert Osborne in 1448 for a rent of £13 6 shillings 8 pence. Osborne was purported to have assaulted the Abbess in 1450 over a disagreement regarding his access rights to a tenement he held in the Abbey grounds. Records show that in 1456 the manor was owned by the Abbey and was leased to a T. Plomer for a rent of 31 shillings 2 pence. Records show that in 1479-80 Jenkins was purchased by a H. Brown and H. Wodecock. They sold Jenkins to a H. Brice, who held the neighbouring manor of Mal-maynes, further down the Mayes Brook towards the marshes. His son received the manor, but he was a child and died without heirs of his own. It then passed to his sister who married the

Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an important office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between ...

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, Robert Amadas. In 1555, the Jenkins estate belonged to Frances and Martin Bowes. In 1567-68 the manor was conveyed to Henry Fanshawe who died later that year. His nephew then received the manor dying in 1601. The manor passed to his wife, but reverted to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

in 1628 and it was conveyed to Sir Thomas Fanshawe, their son. Documents describe the house of the time as a large

gabled A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

building which included a chapel with a window of

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

containing an image of a woman suspected to be a depiction of the

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

. A farmhouse stood on the original manor house site until 1937 when what was then called Jenkins farm was torn down for development of the expanding suburbs of London. By tradition, a

court baron The manorial courts were the lowest courts of law in England during the feudal period. They had a civil jurisdiction limited both in subject matter and geography. They dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, primarily ...

and a court leet were held annually at Barking in April and a

manorial court The manorial courts were the lowest courts of law in England during the feudal period. They had a civil jurisdiction limited both in subject matter and geography. They dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, primarily ...

at Ilford in October.Ogborne, E. (1814) The History of Essex: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Reproduced by Nabu Press (2011), also available in the public domain The

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

is no longer duty bound to hold these events as technically there are no people working the land for the manor; the manorial lands have now been consumed by the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham. However the title holder, Benjamin Harvey, Esq. retains the right to hold manorial courts at will.

References

{{Reflist Manor house History of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham fr:Seigneurie#Le seigneur