BFootnote

Baldwin	The name Baldwin appears spelled several different ways in existing old registers. The most common forms were Baldwyne, Baldeweyne and Baldwin.
Missenden Abbey	Missenden Abbey is located about a mile from Wendover on the London Road. It has been converted into a dwelling and is now used for Bucks County Extension Education. English Abbeys were originally constructed to accommodate Monks of one Order or another. Usually they were situated in beauty spots, sylvan in type, with a stream to supply Friday fish. A farmstead was part of the estate for a Monastery was a halt place for Kings and Nobles in moving about the kingdom. The Abbeys not only accommodated the Hierarchy, the poor were also assisted, and travelers considered them as hotels. The difference though between the Lords and Commons was shown chiefly at table, feasting on venison, goose, swan, lark etc. while the lower orders would sit on benches at the long refectory table running the length of the hall and take "potluck". The Abbot kept a "daybook" which recorded the happenings, mostly business of the Abbey. It was called the Cartulary.
Tithing	When the Anglo-Saxons became Christians, the Lords or Thanes were obliged to provide a church and priest for their demesnes or estates. Then the Lord of the Manor would have to appoint a Rector - some squire or man of education, not necessarily a priest - to manage church affairs. This person, the Rector, might appoint a vicar, who would live in some cell in the church and be available for spiritual instruction and priestly services. The Rector would collect tithes in cash or kind which would represent a tenth of the produce from which he was obliged to make provision for the needs of the church.
Default	If a freeman neglected the Summons to the Court, he was fined. He may have had any of the reasons given by jurymen of today.
Essoined	Selected Freemen would be called upon by the Knight of the area to attend the Lord of the Manor's Court to try offenders in his jurisdiction, for it was the law that offenders should be tried by their peers, or equals in society. The Serfs were treated as cattle having no rights and dealt with summarily.
Dundridge	In many of the old records Dundridge appears spelled Dourigge.
Medieval England	In order to explain the social structure of Medieval England the following outline is presented. Serf An individual in bondage, without rights and treated almost as a chattel or domestic animal by his "Lord and Master". Cheorl or Ceorl Anglo-Saxon Serf. Villain Norman Serf. Freeman One out of bondage - his own master by purchase or reward - able to range about without the signs of serfdom on him, such as the iron collar, which could only be struck off by order of his Lord. He was not allowed to trespass however. Artisan Freeman with a trade. Man at Arms Freeman attached to a Baron or other leader. Yeoman Possessor of a farmstead or homestead with surrounding land. These men could be called to military service and were often referred to as "the backbone" of England in medieval times, when monarchs respected their sturdy honesty of purpose. They were fine soldiers. Knight Either a gentleman bred to his profession of arms or admitted to military rank by special designation. Squire One who cared for the armorial bearings of a Knight or Baron could receive the accolade from his master for some deed of "derring do" and become a Knight or Sir, and serve his King with his sword. Baron Usually owner of a castle and of a retinue of warriors, which he maintained at his own expense - or sometimes at the expense of the lands he ravished.
Muster Roll	Muster Roll - was the period census taken of Freemen, Squires, Knights and Lords, who owned goods valued at £12 and over, together with their arms. It was an aid to mobilisation.
Manor	A Manor was an area under the jurisdiction of a Lord with tithing ground and farm. Farm - The homestead of a Freeman. Croft - A small holding.
Lord of the Manor	The Lord of the Manor was a rather despotic ruler of a large demesne , or estate with legal powers. Lords of Aston Clinton and Dundridge were one and the same originally because the area was the demesne of ESTON. The Countess of Salisbury favoured the smaller manor (Dundridge) with her presence before her tragic death in 1541. A Bailiff managed the estates. (See Robert Baldwin, who from managing the Countess's Dundridge, gave his family, at a later stage, the opportunity of purchasing it from the Monarch, to whom it had reverted after the Countess's death.)
Countess of Salisbury	Three years after the execution of the Countess of Salisbury the Manor, which had been forfeited to Henry VIII, was transferred to Sir John Baldwin, the Chief Justice for Common Pleas in Buckinghamshire, either by gift or purchase. But he died in the next year (1545) seized of the Manor, which he left in the charge of Sir Robert Pakington, who, in 1579 passed it over to Henry and Richard Baldwin (father and son). So Henry was now Lord of the Manor, with Richard as heir. Incidentally, it may be surmised that the escutcheon of Sir John Baldwin - three pairs of green oak leaves on a silver shield - might have been emblazoned on the Manor of Dundridge at the time of its acquisition by him and retained by the subsequent Baldwin Lords on grounds of collateral relationship.