. 121) in 1305-6 he complained that his servant had been robbed and murdered at Wicken. (fn. 122) John died in 1310, leaving a son and heir named Henry, (fn. 123) returned as lord of Wick Dive in 1315, (fn. 124) who in turn died in 1327, leaving a son and heir named John, aged seven. (fn. 125) Henry's widow Martha held the manor in dower in 1343, when her son John granted the reversion to feoffees, who regranted it to John for his life, with successive remainders to Sir John Lewknor, John's son Henry de Dive, and Henry's wife Elizabeth, Sir John's daughter. (fn. 126) The feoffees held half a fee in Wike Dive in 1346 and presented to the living the following year. (fn. 127)
After Martha, John de Dive and John Lewknor had all died, Henry de Dive and Elizabeth entered into seisin of the manor, which they retained until 1356-9 when Henry demised the estate to Roger de Mortimer, earl of March (d. 1360) and Sir Ralph Spigurnel for their lives. Afterwards Henry released all his right in the manor to Roger and Ralph, and Roger's heirs. Henry died without heirs and his widow later married Sir Edward de Twyford; in 1361 Elizabeth and Edward successfully recovered the manor from Ralph Spigurnel, Earl Roger then being dead. After both Ralph and Edward had died, Edmund son of Earl Roger (1352- 81), who was seised of the reversion, confirmed the manor to Elizabeth. After her death in 1384, the reversion was found to pertain to Roger son and heir of Earl Edmund, a minor in the king's wardship. (fn. 128) Immediately after Elizabeth's death the king committed the keeping of the manor to Roger, the earls of Arundel, Warwick and Northumberland, and John de Neville, Lord Neville, to hold until Roger came of age. (fn. 129)
Earl Roger died in 1398 seised of the manor of Wick Dive, leaving a son named Edmund, who was again a minor. (fn. 130) In 1424 Edmund first leased and then released the manor to William Lucy and his wife Margaret, who were in possession when the earl died the following year. (fn. 131) In 1449 Richard Woodville of Grafton and his wife Jacquetta purchased the reversion of the manor from Richard duke of York and his wife Cecily, (fn. 132) and appear also to have acquired the Lucys' life interest. (fn. 133) Woodville, by then Lord Rivers, had a grant of free warren in Wicken in 1457. (fn. 134) Wick Dive thereafter descended with the Woodvilles' home manor of Grafton to Thomas Grey, 2nd marquess of Dorset, (fn. 135) who in 1511 sold the estate to John Spencer of Snitterfield (Warwicks.) (d. 1522), (fn. 136) the founder of the Spencer family of Althorp. (fn. 137) In 1512 Spencer was granted free warren in his manors of Althorp and Wicken, and the right to create a park of 500 acres at Wicken. (fn. 138) It was John Spencer's great-grandson, Sir John Spencer of Althorp and Wormleighton (Warwicks.), who secured the union of Wick Dive and Wick Hamon into a single parish in 1587, (fn. 139) from which time the manor was also conveyed as a single estate, generally known as 'Wicken alias Wick Hamon and Wick Dive'. (fn. 140)
The Unified Estate.
Sir John Spencer died in 1600 (fn. 141) and was succeeded by his son Robert, created Baron Spencer of Worrnleighton three years later, who in 1604 received confirmation of his ancestor's grants of free park and free warren. (fn. 142) The following year he laid claim to lands in Wicken formerly belonging to Snelshall priory (fn. 143) and in 1609 received a grant of some additional land in the parish. (fn. 144) Lord Robert built new stables at Wicken in 1614 and rebuilt the manor house six years later, although he only visited Wicken occasionally to hunt. (fn. 145) The house may in these years have been the home of Elizabeth, countess of Southampton, (fn. 146) whose daughter Penelope in 1615 married Lord Robert's son and heir William, who succeeded as 2nd Lord Spencer on his father's death in 1627. (fn. 147)
William died in 1636, bequeathing the manor of Wicken and lands there to trustees to help raise portions for his daughters. (fn. 148) He was succeeded by his son Henry, who in 1639 married Dorot