عنوان

The Claxtons :

Number

TLets521875

Title Proper

The Claxtons :

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Barker, Brian Austin

Title Proper by Another Author

a north-eastern gentry family in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Teesside

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2003

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

University of Teesside

Text preceding or following the note

2003

Text of Note

The purpose of this thesis is to discover the history of the Claxton family in northeasternEngland in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; it is divided into six chaptersdealing with separate but related topics. The first identifies individual family members andclarifies many obscure relationships that have confused previous attempts to produceaccurate genealogies of the family. The second is an in-depth examination of the familyestates, tracing the accumulation and disbursement of individual manors and parcels ofland. The third is an evaluation of the estates in the context of the regional economy, withan analysis of economic structures and change on particular manors. Chapter four is anexamination of the local community and the social networks in which the Claxtons wereinvolved, including the `horizontal' and `vertical' links of several family members, andparticularly their close association with the Nevill family. These connections help explainthe relative importance of magnate affiliation and gentry independence (or dependence) inthe palatinate of Durham. The fifth describes those legal disputes in which members of thefamily were involved and what influence they were able to bring to bear to secure theirobjectives, revealing the nexus of private relationships that lay behind conflict resolution.Chapter six looks at office holding and the political involvement of the family, both in thepalatinate and on the wider national scene. Also addressed is the extent to which Claxtonmilitary and diplomatic service extended beyond the confines of northern England and theScottish border. The final part discusses individuals who have featured prominently in theprevious chapters, with special reference to their religious affiliations. The conclusionamplifies and reviews key themes that emerge from the thesis and places them in theirhistoriographical context.The gentry in the bishopric and the county of Northumberland are under-researchedin comparison with the bishops of Durham and the ecclesiastical corporation of DurhamPriory. The thesis also discusses the careers of several members of the local gentry whoseinterests and activities coincided with those of various Claxtons across the period. Theprincipal source used is the Claxton family archive, deposited with Durham Priory in thelate fifteenth century and thereafter never retrieved. Using this rich and recently untappeddocumentation, together with other detailed records of the palatinate of Durham, the thesisfills a significant gap in our knowledge of the late-medieval north-east and contributes tothe current debate concerning regional differences in the period.

Barker, Brian Austin

University of Teesside

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y