Old Church House, Colyton

[puddleshark]

Old Church House, Colyton. Dated 1612. Formerly the meeting-place of Colyton's Council, the Feoffees, established in the 16th century. Colyton Grammar School moved into the building in 1612.





"The Lord of the Manor [of Colyton], Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter, fell foul of his cousin Henry VIII. He was executed and all his lands confiscated to the crown. A while later, shrewdly judging the moment when the King was in need of money for his wars and shipbuilding, a group of farmers and merchants got together the sum of 1000 marks. With this they travelled to London and managed to negotiate the purchase of much of the seized estates from the King. This resulted in a deed of "feoffment" being signed on 6th January 1546.

Colyton Chamber of Feoffees became the body charged with using the proceeds for 'good, godly and commendable purposes'. Included was the management of local fairs and markets at which a Court of Pie Powder could be held – a system for administering on-the-spot justice. In 1547 the Chamber appointed a Bailiff to administer its affairs and keep meticulous records of meetings and accounts. These continuous records remain in existence providing a record of over 450 years history in the parish for which translation is awaited. Subsequently it is the Feoffees who have been responsible for many public initiatives and the forerunner of what we know as local government.

The first development of note was the founding of Colyton Grammar School in 1546. An early water supply was introduced in 1641 when they arranged for "spring water to be channeled into a leat (ditch), cut through meadows and collected in a large underground tank" which is still in existence. They were also instrumental in creating a local fire brigade in 1641." www.colytonhistory.co.uk/colyton-history-brief.php

'A court of piepowders was a special tribunal in England organized by a borough on the occasion of a fair or market. These courts had unlimited jurisdiction over personal actions for events taking place in the market, including disputes between merchants, theft, and acts of violence. In the Middle Ages, there were many hundreds of such courts, and a small number continued to exist even into modern times. Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England in 1768 described them as "the lowest, and at the same time the most expeditious, court of justice known to the law of England"...

There is no one standard spelling of "piepowder": the most common variant is perhaps "pie poudre" (as in Bristol). In the past, variations included "pipoulder" in the sixteenth century, "pepowder" in the fifteenth, and "pipoudre" in the fourteenth. "Piepowder" is a modern respelling of the term based on more familiar English words. Originally, it referred to the dusty feet (in French, pieds poudrés) of travellers and vagabonds, and was only later applied to the courts who might have dealings with such people.

Also, since the members of courts of "piepowder", were not sitting on a bench, but walking around in fairs, they would often get their feet dusty. This can be another explanation of the name that is given by some common law history teachers. In modern French, the word pieds-poudreux is still occasionally used for travelling beggars; it occurs, for example, in the works of Victor Hugo.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_piepowders