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The
village of Woodnewton may the village mentioned in the Domesday
survey as Newton. The entry refers to a man named Rainald holding
three hides. The village is referred to as
Newton in several documents over the next few centuries. In the
12th Century a Robert de Cerveya holds land in Newton and in the
pipe rolls of 1166-7 there is a reference to a Reginald son of Urse.
In later years the FitzUrse family were strongly connected with
the village and some sources quote this as the date when it passed
into their hands. Vitalis FitzUrse (probably the grandson of Reginald
FitzUrse) died in 1248. His son Henry gave the manor of Woodnewton
to the priory of Fineslade which had been founded in the reign of
King John by a family who married into the FitzUrse family.
The priory in return was to maintain thirteen poor people and two
priests and to say payers for Henry FitzUrse and his heirs. In the
reign of Edward IV the Priory leased the manor house to Sir Guy
Wolston who owned other properties and land in the area. The Manor
House of the middle ages appears to have been on the South side
of the main street. The two separate 'manors' were amalgamated by
Sir Walter Milday in 1551.
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