Crawley coat of arms

In his History of Luton of 1855 Frederick Davis suggested that Haverings Manor was the ancient seat of the Crawley family in Luton. The Victoria County History for Bedfordshire, published in 1908, however, suggests that Plenties Manor was the most ancient family seat as it was devised in the will of John Crawley of 1519: "To my wife Joan, my house that I dwell in called Plentisse till Richard my son comes of age 23 years".

Richard Crawley left Plenties in his will of 155 to his son William. The house had seven acres of land attached to it. William Crawley sold Plenties in 1568 to Robert Wolley from Saint Albans [Hertfordshire] for £300. Richard Wolley, Robert's son, held the manor between 1635 and 1656, when he conveyed it to a Henry Knight alias Brothers. By 1688 Guy Hillersden held the manor and he conveyed it to trustees in 1708 after which time there is no further mention of the manor in surviving records.