Nature of Source
Records from a Crown inquest taken after the death of a feudal Tenant in Chief. The Inquest sought to establish the land held by the deceased as well as the legal heir. The inquest was often accompanied by an extent or survey which offers a complete description of the deceased’s manor. Surveys also reveal the topography of the area and the occupations and employment of those that worked on the estate or manor.
From the medieval period onwards the issue of land ownership and property rights and the matter of inheritance became a highly significant concern for those with a supposed claim on property. From the Norman Conquest onwards, the King granted estates to his most trusted followers who were known as Tenants in Chief. In return the Tenants in Chief owed certain obligations or fealty to the king, usually in the form of supplying knights to defend the power of the Monarch. They also held political power through their membership of the King’s Court or Curia Regis. The Crown recognised the problems with property inheritance and the need to maintain his support from the Tenants in Chief. To this end he initiated a series of inquests known as Inquisitions Post Mortem (IPM) following the death of a Tenant in Chief. IPMs finished after feudal tenure was abolished in 1662.
The inquiry, headed by a crown official known as the Escheator and in the presence of a jury, set out to establish the following information:
The land held by the deceased from the Crown
Annual value of the land
The services due from the land
The tenant’s heir
Age of tenant
The records only relate to a minority of the population mostly concerning important landowners. Regardless of the wealth of a sub tenant he or she will probably not be mentioned. The names of trustees or feoffees of the deceased are named in IPMs who were often related to the deceased. Elsewhere amongst the documents the names of the jurors are given. Sometimes extracts from wills or deeds can be found amongst the papers. The documents were written in Latin, but follow a set pattern so with a basic knowledge of Latin the documents are reasonably straightforward to interpret.
Summaries of the inquest were entered on to Fine Rolls lodged with the Chancery and any action taken following the survey is recorded in Close Rolls and Fine Rolls along with the name of the escheator. Copies of the inquest were lodged with the Chancery and Exchequer.
In the absence of an heir, the land and property reverted back to the crown who could then assign the land to a third party. If the heir was underage he became a ward of the crown with the land administered on his behalf as directed (from 1540) by the Court of Wards and Liveries. The minor legally inherited the land on reaching the age of majority or full age, 21 for males and 14 for females.
A Tenant in Chief was probably a person of some wealth and social standing, owning land and probably a lord of the manor. It is likely that he had the right to bear arms, so the records of the herald visitations should be investigated. His land and property holdings can be searched through a number of sources including Charter Rolls, Close Rolls, Title Deeds and Wills. Copies of wills were often attached to the inquest. If the subject of the inquest was a lord of the manor or a high ranking officer of the manor then a number of sources can be searched such as manorial documents which will place the person in their local environment and county histories, especially the Victoria County History series, which deal with the social history of an area and might even include a pedigree.
Also see
Court of Wards and Liveries
Heraldic Coats of Arms & Seals
Heraldic Visitations
Pedigrees and Family Histories
Where Found
- Series C 132, Chancery: Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series I, Henry III, c1216-c1272.
- Series C 142, Chancery: Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series II, and other Inquisitions, Henry VII to Charles I, c1485-c1649.
- Series E 150, Exchequer: King’s Remembrancer: Escheators’ Files, Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series II, and other Inquisitions, Henry VII to Elizabeth I, c1485-c1603.
- Series E 149, Exchequer: King’s Remembrancer: Escheators’ Files, Inquisitions Post Mortem, Series I, Henry III to Richard III, c1216-c1485.
- Series E 136, Exchequer: Escheators’ Particulars of Account, c1216-c1625.
- Series WARD 7, Court of Wards and Liveries: Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry VIII – Charles I.
- Series DURH, Records of the Palatinate of Durham. Records of the Palatinate of Durham relating to the legal and financial administration of the palatinate, 1311-1971.
- Series CHES, Records of the courts of the Palatinate of Chester, including the county of Flint. Records of the courts of the Palatinate of Chester relating to the financial and judicial administration of the Chester Palatinate, c1200-c1851.
- Series PL, Records of the Palatinate of Lancaster. Records of the Palatinate of Lancaster, mainly relating to the legal jurisdiction of the Palatinate, 1357-1977.
A catalogue of names covering series C 132-C 139 is available at the TNA Discovery catalogue. First click on ‘Advanced search’ and then type in the name being searched. Then under ‘Search for or within references’ enter a reference.
County Record Offices
Local archives may hold copies, transcripts, published calendars, abstracts, translations and related documents. Many county record societies and historical societies have published translations or detailed abstracts of IPMs for their specific county. These often include more local detail.
Period Covered
1235 – 1662
Genealogical Value
- Name, age and date of death of deceased landowner.
- Name of the manor and land held at death with a description of the landholding with a valuation.
- Name of landowner’s heir and his or her age.
- Description of landholdings.
- Tenure by which land held.
- Name of the escheator and names of jurors.
Further References
- Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem and other Analogous Documents preserved in the Public Record Office (Various volumes of transcribed summaries with some available online at the Internet Archive)
- Chambers, Paul. Medieval Genealogy: How to Find Your Medieval Ancestors: Sutton Publishing, 2005
- Jeaffreson, John Cordy (ed). Middlesex County Records. 4 Vols: Greater London Council, 1972 (1886) (Volumes available to download and view at the Internet Archive or at British History Online)
- Noble, Malcolm. A Practical Introduction to Medieval Genealogy: Bookcabin, 2026
- Westcott, Brooke. Making Sense Of Latin Documents For Family And Local Historians: Family History Partnership, 2014
Websites
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/inquisitions-post-mortem (The National Archives Research Guide: How to look for records of Inquisitions post mortem: land ownership and inheritance in the medieval and early modern periods. This guide will help you to find records of the following in the medieval and early modern periods: land ownership; prominent people; legal and administrative processes concerning land transfer and inheritance)
www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/guide/ipm.shtml (Public records: Inquisitions post mortem)
www.winchester.ac.uk (University of Winchester: The Inquisitions Post-Mortem Projects)
https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk/resource/glossary-of-medieval-terms (The History of England: Glossary Of Medieval Terms)
www.lordsandladies.org/feudalism.htm (Feudalism. The article provides comprehensive information about the English and European feudal system and its effect on the vassals, serfs and the lords and ladies who lived on the manors. The site includes a Feudalism Pyramid showing the hierarchical structure of feudal society)
https://fmg.ac (Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Promoting the study of medieval genealogy and prosopography. The Foundation was established in 2001 by a group of British genealogists and historians with a special interest in the medieval period. The Library Catalogue provides a bibliographic catalogue of secondary source material for medieval genealogy and heraldry)
Online Databases
Mapping the Medieval Countryside
Inquisitions Post Mortem. The website is research project dedicated to medieval English Inquisitions Post Mortem, covering landownership from nobles down to free peasants. The site offers a searchable digital edition of English translations of IPMs, focusing on the period 1399-1447 (Henry IV to Henry VI), with corrections, additions and extra details like the names of approximately 48,000 jurors not always included in printed versions.
www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol1 (British History Online: Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 1, Henry III. Covers the latter part of the reign of Henry III. This free content is sponsored by the University of Winchester)
www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol2 (British History Online: Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 2, Edward I. Covers the first nineteen years of the reign of Edward I. This free content is sponsored by the University of Winchester)
www.pase.ac.uk (The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England: An online database that aims to register every recorded individual who lived in Anglo-Saxon England from late sixth to the end of the eleventh century. The database is a collaboration between King’s College, London and the University of Cambridge and include sources such as chronicles, saints’ lives, charters, inscriptions and coins)
www.oxford-shakespeare.com/documents.html (English translation of the Inquisition post mortem taken at Stratford Langthorne in Essex in 1563 following the death of John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford. Transcription and translation by Nina Green)
www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/DevonWillsProject/TAPS (The Tapley-Soper Collection of Inquisitions Post Mortem covering Cornwall, transcribed by Lindsey Withers)
Some indexes and calendars complied by local groups.
CD Roms
Anguline Research (Yorkshire Inquisitions, 1241-1306)
The Internet Archive (The Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Association, Record Series Volume 1, 1885. The series includes a calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem for the County of York)
