The Liberty of Rufford was an extra-parochial liberty

Liberty (division)

Originating in the Middle Ages, a liberty was traditionally defined as an area in which regalian rights were revoked and where land was held by a mesne lord...

 in the County of Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

.

It extends southward from the vicinity of Ollerton, for more than six miles, along the banks of the Rainworth-water, and consists of 10,221 acres. It is defined as an area in which regalian rights were revoked and where land was held by a Lord of the Manor

Lord of the Manor

The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...

, that is to say, an area in which rights reserved to the King had been devolved into private hands.

Liberties were areas of widely variable extent which were independent of the usual system of hundreds and boroughs for a number of different reasons, usually to do with peculiarities of tenure. Because of their tenurial rather than geographical origin, the areas covered by liberties could either be widely scattered across a county

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

. The Liberty of Rufford included the Parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

es of Bilsthorpe

Bilsthorpe

Bilsthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 3,076. It is about five miles south of Ollerton, and near the junction of the A614 and A617....

, Eakring

Eakring

Eakring is a village in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire.-Geography:It is situated between the A617 and the A616 roads between Ollerton and Southwell. Dukes Wood to the south is situated on the top of an escarpment, giving good views over the Trent valley to the east and towards...

 and most of Ollerton

Ollerton

Ollerton is a town in Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest in the area known as the Dukeries. It forms part of the civil parish of Ollerton and Boughton....

, Ompton, Boughton

Boughton, Nottinghamshire

Boughton is a village in Nottinghamshire, England forming part of the civil parish of Ollerton and Boughton.Boughton windmill was located close to the present B6381 road ....

, Wellow

Wellow, Nottinghamshire

Wellow is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 444It has a village green and a maypole, which is still in use. The parish church of St Swithin is 12th century, which was restored, with a new chancel, in 1878-9. On the east and south sides of...

, and extended into Blidworth

Blidworth

Blidworth is a small village approximately five miles east of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. Its history can be traced back to the 14th century, although many of the current houses were built in the first half of the 20th century to provide housing for workers at Blidworth Colliery .-Robin...

, Edwinstowe

Edwinstowe

Edwinstowe is a village in the heart of Sherwood Forest, north Nottinghamshire, England.Its name means Edwin's resting place because King Edwin of Northumbria's body was hidden in the church after he was killed in the Battle of Hatfield Chase, near Doncaster, probably in 633. References to...

, Egmanton

Egmanton

Egmanton is a small village located one mile south of Tuxford and one mile north of Laxton in Nottinghamshire, England. The name derives from the Old English words for Ecgmund's farm/settlement.The nearest larger towns are Retford and Newark-on-Trent...

, Farnsfield

Farnsfield

Farnsfield is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire in Sherwood Forest. It is in the local government district of Newark and Sherwood....

, Kirton

Kirton, Nottinghamshire

Kirton is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east of Ollerton. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it had a population of 273 ....

, Tuxford

Tuxford

-Geography:Tuxford is a village and a civil parish on the southern edge of the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England. It may also be considered a small town as it was historically a market town. Nearby larger towns are Retford and Newark-on-Trent. From Harvest Cottage, near the ECML, the...

, and Walesby

Walesby, Nottinghamshire

Walesby is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 1,255. It is located north of Newark. The parish church of St Edmund is Perpendicular in style The village is famous for its forest, part of which forms a Scout camp...

,

History of Liberty of Rufford

The manor house

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

 of the Liberty of Rufford was called Rufford Abbey

Rufford Abbey

Rufford Abbey is an estate in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England. It was originally a Cistercian abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century it became a country house...

. The Manor of Rufford was granted on 12 July 1147 by Gilbert de Gant

Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln

Gilbert de Gant, 1st Earl of Lincoln was an English nobleman who fought for King Stephen during The Anarchy.He was the son of Walter de Gant and Maud of Brittany...

, to the Abbots of Rufford and his Cistercian monks in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

The Cistercian monks who lived at Rufford Abbey

Rufford Abbey

Rufford Abbey is an estate in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England. It was originally a Cistercian abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century it became a country house...

 received many grants and charters

Charters

Charters is a surname and may refer to :* Ann Charters , American professor of English* Charlie Charters , former English rugby union official and sports marketing executive* Frank Charters, , English cricketer...

 and letters patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 of prerogative

Prerogative

In law, a prerogative is an exclusive right given from a government or state and invested in an individual or group, the content of which is separate from the body of rights enjoyed under the general law of the normative state...

 and extraterritoriality

Extraterritoriality

Extraterritoriality is the state of being exempt from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Extraterritoriality can also be applied to physical places, such as military bases of foreign countries, or offices of the United Nations...

 and of confirmation of manors and land

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

 and Franchises from King

King

- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...

s and Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, Dukes

Dukes

-Albums:-EPs:-Singles:...

 and Earls, Barons and Lord

Lord

Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...

s and Knights.

The grants and charters which created the Liberty of Rufford are known as the Rufford Charters

Rufford Charters

The Rufford Charters were charters which were grants of land and grants of Regalian rights over land, Which created an extra-parochial liberty, known as the Liberty of Rufford in the County of Nottinghamshire...

.

At the dissolution it possessed a revenue of £254.6.8.

The remains of Rufford Abbey

Rufford Abbey

Rufford Abbey is an estate in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England. It was originally a Cistercian abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century it became a country house...

 have been incorporated into a spacious mansion, situated in a richly-wooded park of 1400 acres; the large hall was altered to its present state in the reign of Elizabeth. An apartment in which George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...

 slept on one of his visits to the north is still called the Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...

bed-room.