The Manor of Thurleigh alias Whitwick

The Harvey family arms

Volume III of The Victoria County History for Bedfordshire, published in 1912, details all the known manors in the county. It dates the likely creation of the Manor of Whitwick to the 12th century, Henry Harvey holding it during the reign of Richard I (1189-1199). The Harvey family held the manor for many centuries thereafter, as it was only in 1715 that it was sold in accordance with the instructions contained in the will of John Harvey.

The manor was bought by Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice and it remained in that family until 1791 when it was sold to the Duke of Bedford for £1,796. In 1880 the Bedford Estate sold the manor to William Thomson. A succession of Law of Property Acts in the 1920s effectively abolished manors in all but name.

The Duke of Bedford's family arms