In his letters patent to John Archer for the Manor of Fordham, Governor Lovelace says: " I doe grant unto ye said John Archer, his heirs and assigns, that the house which he shall erect, together with ye said parcel of land and premises, shall be forever hereafter held, claimed, reputed and be an entire and enfranchised township, manor, and place of itself, and shall always, from time to time and at all times hereafter, have, hold, and

HISTORY

WESTCHESTER

COUNTY

enjoy like and equal privileges and immunities with any town enfranchised or manor within this government, and shall in no manner or way be subordinate or belonging unto, have any dependence upon, or in any wise be under the rule, order, or direction of any riding, township, place, or jurisdiction, either upon the main or Long Island," Thus, first of all, and as its great essential characteristic, the manorial estate was always made a political entity. As such it was under the government of its proprietor and his subordinates, who, however, in all their acts were subject to the general laws of the land, simply applying those laws as circumstances and conditions required. According to the theory of the old English manors, a so-called " Court Baron " was an indispensable attachment of every manor -- that is, a court for the trial of civil cases, over which the lord or his steward presided, the jurors being chosen from among the freehold tenants. There was also usually a socalled " Court Leet," which has been described as " a court of record having a similar jurisdiction to the old sheriff's ' Tourns ' or migratory courts held by the sheriff in the different districts or ' hundreds ' of his county, for the punishment of minor offenses and the preservation of the peace," which was provided for in order GOVERNOR LOVELACE. that the lords of manors " might administer justice to their tenants at home." In all the Westchester County manor grants, except Fordham, authority is given to the grantee to hold " one Court Leet and one Court Baron." This privilege was not always availed of; for example, we have seen that in the Manor of Scarsdale the manorial courts were never organized.