The story really starts in 1066. William the Conqueror has defeated Harold at the battle of Hastings and immediately orders a full inventory to be taken of his new Kingdom, The Doomsday book was the record created from this stock taking exercise. Once the new King knew what lands he had he proceeded to share some of it amongst his most favoured Lords.
The Bury was the Manor House at High Easter in the county of Essex. William awarded this Manor, complete with the Manor House to Geoffrey De Mandeville as reward for the help Geoffrey gave William in winning his Kingdom. The Bury passed down the De Mandeville line until Geoffrey’s great, great, great Granddaughter gave it to Henry De Bohun when they married in 1227. The Bury stayed in the De Bohun family until 1403.
Fast Forward to today. Paul Keating, a London ambulance service paramedic was out metal detecting with his Minelab Etrac at Earls Colne, about 20 miles away from High Easter. It was a bright autumn day, the sort of day where you’re just happy to be out in the fields enjoying the warmth of the sun and getting some fresh air. Finds wise it was an unremarkable day but it only takes one interesting item to turn a day round. That item came late in the day; it was a large pendent of the type that would hang from the martingale of a noble man’s horse traces. Once Paul had got the pendent home and given it a gentle clean he could see the remains of some blue enamel surrounding six Lions, almost certainly heraldic, the property of a noble man.
Paul submitted photos, measurements and a description of the pendent to the United Kingdom Detecting Finds Database (www.ukdfd.co.uk) where it was identified as belonging to Humphrey de Bohun, grandson of Henry de Bohun.
Faith has a way of making things happen and fate certainly played a part in what happened next. I invited Paul out for a day detecting on a permission I have at High Easter. In the afternoon I suggested that we go door knocking to see if we could gain permission on land to the north of the village, a purely speculative exercise as you never know how cold calling a farmer on a Sunday afternoon will be received.
Our first call was at an old farmhouse owned by Michael and Ommy Lucking. I introduced ourselves to Ommy and asked if we could have permission to detect their land. Ommy explained that they already have a metal detectorist who searches their land and who also keeps a complete record of what he has found and where on the farm he has found it. Then she asked if we would like to see the record and the finds. Well, it would be rude to refuse such an offer! We were shown into an oak beamed kitchen, tea was made and served and book after book of finds was shown to us. The record that the detectorist has built up over his years of searching the land is impressive to say the least.
Ommy then asked us if we would like a tour of the house, the construction of which spans many, many centuries from the 9th century at the west end through to the 16th century at the East, kitchen end. Whilst she was showing us around the house Ommy told us about its history. It was during the telling that the De Bohun name was mentioned and Paul remembered the horse pendent. He told Ommy about the pendent and offered to bring it to show her and Michael.
When we returned we took the pendent with us and also a print out of the UKDFD identification. Once again Michael and Ommy welcomed us into their house and plied us with tea and home-made cake. We showed them the pendent and Ommy disappeared returning with what can only be described as a family tree of the houses ownership from 1066 to the present day. There, on the family tree was the name Humphrey De Bohun, the man who would have owned the pendent and who’s coat of arms was upon it. 700 years after Humphrey De Bohun left this Earth to meet his maker his pendent bearing his coat of arms had been returned to the house in which he once lived.
Michael and Ommy Lucking with the pendent, outside the house where it belongs.
The pendent alongside the name of its owner on the “family tree” of house ownership
