Source: Index Library xxx
Title: Abstracts of Inquisitiones post Mortem for Gloucestershire, returned into the Court of Chancery during the Plantagenet Period. Part IV. 20 Henry III. to 29 Edward I. 1236-1300. Edited by Sidney J. Madge, 1903, London, 95
Date: [20 November 1274 -19 November 1275]
Place: Gloucester

 

John de Mucegros

Inquisition made before Richard de Berkele sub-escheator in co. Gloucester,¹ by the oath of William de Benetham, John de Kerwerdin, Henry de Ruhes, Henry de Brichthampton, William de la Forde, William Ocholt, Nicholas Segrith, Reginald de Brichthampton, William de Wydecumbe, Peter Dameysele, William Ingeleys, Adam le Carpentir, and William de la Ploke, as to how much land John de Mucegros held of the King in chief on the day of his death, &c., &c.
...
Chan. Inq. p. m., 3 Edw. I, No. 23.

¹ No date given.

In feudal England, escheat (pronounced eesheet) referred to the situation where the tenant of a fief died without an heir or committed a felony. The fief reverted to the King's ownership for one year and one day, by right of primer seisin, after which it reverted to the original lord who had granted it. From the time of Henry III, the monarchy took particular interest in escheat as a source of revenue.
From the 12th century onward, the Crown appointed escheators to manage escheats and report to the Exchequer, with one escheator per county established by the middle of the 14th century. Upon learning the death of a tenant, the escheator would hold an "inquisition post mortem" to learn if the king had any rights to the land. These were often preceded by a "writ of diem clausit extremum" issued by the king to seize the lands and hold the I.P.M. If there was any doubt, the escheator would seize the land and refer the case to Westminster where it would be settled, ensuring that not one day's revenue would be lost. This would be a source of concern with land owners when there were delays from Westminster.
Source: Wikipedia