A bailiwick's the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff. The term was also applied to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal imperial writ. The word's now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of authority, experience, activity, study, or interest. At Bicester in Oxfordshire the lord of the manor of Market End was the Earl of Derby who in 1597 sold a 9,999 year lease to 31 principal tenants. This in effec… (More on Bailiwick)