The Watford Knight's Fee

Today, Watford village in Northamptonshire is known for little more than the Watford Gap motorway stop. But, for 600 years, the parish was home to one of medieval England’s first knight’s fees.


As far back as the Norman Conquest of 1066, Watford with three towns was exceptional. Soon after, the king awarded Watford as a knight’s fee—a parcel of land sufficient to support a knight. Two centuries on, the single holding was broken into separate manors for the deceased lord’s daughters. Some 350 troublesome years and three families later, the manors of Watford were recombined by a wealthy London merchant.


Remarkably, the heirs of the Ardern family of Watford held the manors continuously for nearly 500 years from the twelfth century, claiming a unique place in English history.