The estate steward had been a familiar figure in rural England for centuries before the Stuart era saw him rise to a greater prominence. In Ely Cathedral stands a rude stone monument commemorating Ovin, steward to the eighth-century queen, St Etheldreda. Ovin was more likely a household majordomo than an estate administrator, but there is no need to penetrate the gloom of the Dark Ages in search of such shadowy figures. The mediaeval period provides ample evidence of identifiable men pursuing stewardship as a career. In the thirteenth century manuscript texts appeared describing the duties of a manorial steward, notably the anonymous Seneschaucie, which covered the duties of all estate servants, while Walter of Henley's Husbandrie, although concerned with farming rather than the techniques of estate management, appears to have found its audience in part among stewards. Many other texts ‘were reference books of experienced estate stewards who probably acted as teachers in their profession’. Lay stewards and bailiffs became a feature of monastic estates during this century, partly as a result of the injunctions issued by Archbishop Peckham who was determined that monks should not live outside their monasteries. However, this was a great age of demesne farming, and with the decline of demesne farming later in the mediaeval period the popularity of these texts declined and it may be that the office of steward became less significant.