The Manor of Kempston

Volume III of The Victoria County History for Bedfordshire was published in 1912 and contains histories of each of the manors in Kempston. Kempston Manor was detailed by Domesday Book in 1086 and was then held by Countess Judith, niece of William the Conqueror as formed part of the Honour of Huntingdon.

Later the manor is stated to have been held directly from the king at the rent of one red sparrow hawk per annum. In 1237 John le Scot, the overlord under the king, died and the manor was divided between his three sisters as co-heirs after the death of his widow Helen, who later married Robert de Quincey. The division was disputed and the whole manor was taken by the Crown in 1254 until the division could be settled. This is the genesis of the three manors of Daubeney, Hastingsbury and Brucebury.