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THE HISTORY
THE COUNTY OF ESSEX
BOOK II. — CHAPTER V.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD.
GOSFIELD.
The parish of Gosfield is bounded northward by Sible Hedinghani, and extends to CHAP. V
Bocking southward, to Halstead eastward, and on the west is bounded by Wethers- Gosfield.
field. The general situation of this parish is considerably elevated, the grounds
gradually rising in almost every direction; the soil is in various proportions mixed
with sand and gravel, and generally very productive.* The name is supposed to be from
the Saxon joj^, a goose, or jojijt, a heath, and peld a field, and in records is written
Gocefeild, Gorefeld, Gorsfeild, Gosfeld, and Gosfend. When Domesday-book was com-
piled, Gosfield was included in the lordships of Hedingham Castle, Halstead, Bocking,
Wethersfield, and Gestingthorp;f but Avas separated and made a distinct parish in the
time of Henry the second, as is evident from a charter of Alberic de Vere, J and from
the ancient family of De Gosfend having flourished here about that time.
This parish is distant from Halstead two, from Braintree four, and from London
forty-five miles.
The ancient and stately mansion of Gosfield Hall is much altered from its original Gosfield
Hall
appearance, yet presents one of the most perfect specimens of the castellated mansions
of the nobility of this country, in the time of Henry the seventh; who, strictly
enforcing the ancient prerogative of the crown, which prohibited his subjects from
erecting fortresses, gave occasion to the introduction of this mode of constructing
houses, possessing the impregnability without the appearance of castles. This building
* Average annual produce per acre— wheat 22, barley 32 bushels.
+ Therefore it is not mentioned in that recoid.
t The second earl of Oxford, who succeeded his father in 1194: his charter for the endowment of the
nunnery of Hedingham Castle, mentions Gosfield as '* boscum de Gosfeld qui appellatur Ruthebrake.
quod est feodo de Heghnm. "—3Ionastic. Anglic, vol. i. p. 1021.
VOL. II. B
2 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK 11. jjjjg underg-one the greatest alteration on the north, east, and south, and only the
western l"a9ade has preserved its original character. It was an extensive brick build-
ing, consisthig of suites of apartments, inclosing a quadrangular court, into which all
the windows of the lower floors opened, there being originally no windows on the
outside, except to the upper story, and those strongly barricaded; which rendered it
difficult to force an entrance by any other method than that of effecting a breach in
the walls, which were of astonishing strength and thickness. The original ground
plan allowed of only one apartment in breadth, and there was no passage but from
one apartment to another: it was therefore found convenient, in the new arrange-
ment, to cut off a passage the whole length of the interior court, from the north and
south tiers of rooms; and outwardly, the north, east, and south fronts were rebuilt
by John Knight, esq. and much improved in elegance and convenience. The west
side remains nearly in its former state, and the first floor is occupied by an apartment
one hundred and six feet in length, and twelve in width, which has received the appel-
lation of queen Elizabeth's gallery, in commemoration of that queen having tAvice
visited lady Rich, at Gosfield.
In the library room there is an ancient sculptured stone chimney-piece of con-
siderable interest, from its subject and execution. It represents, in bold relief, the
memorable battle of Bosworth Field, between Richard the third and the earl of
Richmond, and contains twenty-four figures on horseback, with the king lying pros-
trate under his own charger. Most of the personages introduced are known by the
armorial bearings on their shields. Among others are the duke of Norfolk, the earls
of Surrey and Northumberland, sir Simon Digby, sir Walter Blount, sir William
Herbert, lord Stanley, sir George Stanley, sir William Brandon, lord Edward
Stafford, sir Gilbert Talbot, sir R. Ratcliff"e, sir J. Tyrell, Edward lord Lovell,
and the earl of Oxford. At the extremities of the chimney-piece there are small
statues of Henry the seventh and his queen, exactly resembling those on the monu-
ment at Westminster Abbey. The exact date of this sculpture is not known, but it
is of indisputable antiquity, having been removed from Bois Hall in the year 1687;
and one of the earls of Oxford, the proprietors of that place, was a partisan of the
earl of Richmond.
The park is extensive, and ornamented by a great number of fine old trees. " Gos-
field," says Arthur Young, " in my opinion merits much attention, from the circum-
stance of having been formed, about sixty years ago, by the late earl Nugent, before
the spirit of decoration took place: he did it himself. The lake is a happy effbrt, and
just what Brown would have executed: the plantations are so disposed as to attract
the eye in every direction; and, were the hedges cleared of pollards for a few miles
around the village, the woods would be seen in a very magnificent outline on every
side."
I
^
M
H
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 3
The labouring population of Gosfield have received substantial benefit from the CHAP. V.
introduction of the straw-plat manufacture, by the marquis and marchioness of
Buckingham, which, though at first of difficult establishment, has now spread over
the country to a considerable distance.*
From the Grey family this lordship passed by sale to the Millingtons, in the com-
mencement of the eighteenth century; and was soon afterwards conveyed to John
Knight, esq. who, on his decease in 1733, bequeathed it to his wife Anne; and this
lady was married to Robert Nugent, esq. afterwards earl Nugent, from whom the
estate passed, in 1788, to George, marquis of Buckingham. Gosfield Hall is now
the seat of G. E. Bernard, esq.
The manor of Gosfield, or Bellowes, continued, for several ages after the Conquest,
in possession of the noble family of Vere, forming part of the demesne lands of the
honour of Hedingham Castle. Adam de Gosfend held it under Aubrey, the first earl,
and was succeeded by his son, styled Ralph, the son of Adam ; William Fitz- Adam,
the next recorded possessor of the estate, in the reign of Henry the third, is believed
to have been Ralph's brother and heir; in the two succeeding reigns of Edward the
first and Edward the second, it was in the possession of sir John Bellowe; in 1344,
a court was held in the names of John Galaunt and John Calth; and, in the same year,
John Hawkwood, Margery his wife, and John their son and heir, held their first
court here. John Hawkwood held this possession in 1353, and in the court rolls of
that period the manor is called Hawkwoods Gosfield, from which it appears that the
name of Bellowes had not been appropriated to it at that time, though it has since.
It soon after came into the Rolfe family.
The estate formerly named Gosfield manor, Monthermers, Mohermers, and Har- Manor of
mers, extended into the parishes of Gosfield, Bocking, and Finchingfield. Ralph de or Mont'-
Monthermer, the first possessor of this estate on record, was esquire to Gilbert de
Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, who died in 1295, having had the honour of
marrying Joan of Acre, second daughter of king Edward the first, who, after his
decease, took this Ralph for her husband, without the licence and authority of the
king, her father, who in consequence ordered his imprisonment, and her lands to be
seized. These were both, however, soon afterwards restored, and her husband, for
his good conduct, particularly in the wars in Scotland, was created earl of Athol.
During her life he bore this and the title of earl of Gloucester and Hertford; but,
after her decease in 1307, had only the title of baron Monthermer, by which he was
summoned to nearly all the parliaments of the reign of Edward the second. He had
* The first hats produced were of a coarse and unsightly appearance, vvhicli no person would wear,
and it seemed hopeless to attempt their introduction as articles of dress; but lady Buckingham decorated
one with ribbons, and wore it in sight of the whole village; the marquis went to church in another;
and, at length, by extraordinary perseverance, their benevolent purpose was completely accomplished.
4 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
fiOOK II. by her two sons, Thomas and Edward: the latter of whom died soon after his mother.
The baron's second wife was Isabel, widow of John de Hastings, sister and co-heiress
of Audomar de Valence, earl of Pembroke. On his decease in 1326, he was suc-
ceeded by his son Thomas, slain in a sea-fight, in 1340, leaving Margaret, his only
daughter and heiress, married to sir John Montacute, brother to William, earl of
Salisbury, who died in 1389, holding this among his other estates. Margaret, his
widow, also held this manor, one moiety of which is said to lie in Gosfield, holden
under tlie earl of Oxford; the other lying in Booking and Finchingfield, and holden
under the prior of Christchurch, in Canterbury: she died in 1394, and was succeeded
by her eldest son, sir John Montacute,* who, upon the death of his uncle William,
in 1398, became earl of Salisbury. He was slain in a popular tumult at Cirencester,
in 1399, and being opposed to the interests of king Henry the fourth, and one of
the friends and supporters of Richard the second, he was declared a traitor by the
parliament, and all his lands and possessions seized; therefore, Thomas, his son and
heir, does not appear to have had possession of this estate: he died in 1432, and in
the inquisitions it is stated that " John Mowbray, duke of Norfolk, held one fee in
Gosfield and Bocking, which Ralph de Monthermer once had :" John was his son and
heir. In 1466, Tywer, son of Philippa, grand-daughter of John Brokeman, was in
possession of this manor, which ultimately passed to the heirs of Thomas Rolfe, esq.
Hodings, The manor called Hodings, or Church Hall, had the mansion-house near the
Hall. ""^ church, and was at an early period in possession of the family of Hodenge, of Wansted
and Bm-nham. In 1246, John de Hodenge held this estate of the earl of Oxford, as
did also several of the same surname, in the reign of king Edward the first; and it
was holden, by Thomas de Hodenge, as a quarter of a knight's fee, in 1326 and 1360:
in 1371, Thomas de Vere, earl of Oxford, is recorded to have died, having, among
his possessions, this quarter of a fee in Gosfield, without any under tenant; from
whence it may be inferred that the family of Hodenge had become extinct. The
Rolfe family were soon afterwards possessed of this estate.
I'aik Hall. Park Hall was a very ancient manor, with an extensive park, named Winshey, or
Edwin's Hoy, near Codham Field. Some of the lands extended into Gestingthorp,
forming part of the manor of Overhall, in that parish.
In 1256, it was holden, by Otto Fitz- William, of the earl of Gloucester, as two
carucates in Gestingthorp and Gosfield, by the service of one knight's fee; and, in
1260, it was holden as two hamlets, by William Fitz-Otto; succeeded by Thomas in
1274, and in 1282 by his son.
The next recorded owner is sir John Botetourt, in 1338. In 1360, sir John
Hawkwood held a court here, as did also Nicholas Hawkwood, chaplain, and others,
* He married Maud, daughter and heiress of sir Adam Francis, by whom he had Thomas, Richard, and
three daughters. Arms of Montacute : Argent, three lozenges in fesse, gules.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 5
in 1363, and Roger Keterich in 1376: the same person held it of the duke of CHAF. V.
Gloucester in 1392, at which time it is stated to have been separated from Over-
hall.
Sir William Bourchier, John Tyrell, John Doreward, junior, John Green, Richard
Fitz-Nicholas and others, kept court here, supposed as trustees, in 1416; and, in 1420,
John Doreward, esq. of Bocking, held Park Hall of the earl of March, as of his
honour of Gloucester, by the service of half a knight's fee: his son, also, of the same
name, held it at the time of his decease, in 1476, of Cicely, duchess of York.
The ancient knightly family of Liston were the first recorded possessors of the J-i'^to"
manor which has retained their name. In 1266, Geofrey de Liston died, holding this
manor of the earl of Oxford, as the fourth part of a knight's fee: and it was retained
by the same family till toward the close of the reign of king Edward the third.
Richard Lyons, beheaded in London by the insurgents under Wat Tyler, was the
next recorded proprietor, by whom, previous to his murder in 1381, it was con-
veyed to Lady Alice de Neville: it afterwards passed to Thomas Hodings, and to
John Helyon, who died in 1450. It afterwards belonged to the heirs of Thomas
Rolfe, esq. Avhose daughter Editha, by her second husband, John Green, esq. had
two daughters; Mary, married to sir Herny Tey; and Agnes, to sir William Fin-
derne, and they jointly did homage for this estate in 1497. In 1524, it belonged to
Thomas Finderne, Esq.
In 1552, it was holden by Thomas Neville, and by Thomas Winterflood in 1558;
and Richard Winterflood died in possession of it, in 1563, leaving Thomas his son
and heir. It appears to have passed afterwards to the Wentworth family.
During the reign of Edward the third, the Shardlowe family was in possession of ^^'^'d-
the estate which has retained their name;* it was holden of the earl of Oxford,
by Thomas de Shardlowe, in 1352, 1360, and 1371, but the family seat was at
Tilbury, near Clare.
It afterwards belonged to Richard Lyons, and to John Doreward, esq. in 1480, in
whose family it remained till 1495; afterwards passing to the Wentworth family, it
was sold, by sir John Wentworth, to George Coe, of Byham Hall, on whose decease,
in 1625, it descended to his son, Isaac Coe, esq. of Lincoln's-inn, whose executors
sold it, in 1649, to John Green, esq. recorder of London; after whose death it was
sold, in 1668, to Andrew Harrington, of Gosfield, who sold it again, in 1669, to
William, lord Grey, of Werke, from whom it passed with the other estates.
The site of the manor of Morells cannot now be ascertained, but it was on the Morelis.
borders of Wethersfield and Sible Hedingham; it was in the possession of John
Doreward, esq. in 1420, and the proprietor of the estate of the same name, in 1476,
is believed to have been his son.
* Arms of Shardlowe : Argent, a chevron gules, between three cross crosslets, fitche, azure.
VOL. II. C
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
-Ayle-
wards.
Biggs.
Gosfield
Place.
Sparrow
family.
The manor of Aylewards was in the possession of Richard Ayleward in 1416, and,
as the other estates, passed to the Wentworth family.
The manor of Big-gs, in 1534, was in the possession of William Bigg-s, who is
believed to have been of the family of Bigge, of Ridgwell and Toppestield.
In 1541, it was holden under John Wentworth, es(|. by Henry Parker; aiid, in
1592, was holden in mortgage of Peter White, by Matthew Alliston. This estate
afterwards became the property of the Sparrow family.
The modern mansion-house of the manor of Biggs is Gosfield Place, the elegant
seat of James Goodeve Sparrow, esq. It is a handsome building, inclosed in a park.
The approach from the London road is over a light iron bridge, across a stream of
water, and through a shrubbery. The mansion is on an elevated bank, the eastern
front opening towards a spacious lawn, on either side of which rows of finely formed
trees, of ample dimensions, with shrubs of varied appearance, supply shady and retired
walks. Convenience and elegance are particularly observable on entering the haU,
from which a geometrical stone staircase, of an elliptical form and very superior work-
manship, conducts to the upper apartments, and to the drawing room, fitted up with
various appropriate ornaments, particularly some pure white marble statuary, ex-
quisitely beautiful, by Italian artists.
The balcony under the window of this apartment affords a pleasing prospect of rural
Nature, with a view, though limited, highly interesting, over rising grounds, with
forest trees of luxuriant growth, and woods and water, and the village church forming
an interesting object in the distance.
William Sparwe, or Sparrow, the ancestor of the family of that name, resident at
Gosfield Place, which formerly gave the name to a mansion-house called Sparrows,
in Sible Hedingham, was of West Harling, in Norfolk, and a person of some celebrity
in the reign of Edward the third: Robert Sparrow, of Long Melford, in Suffolk, was
his descendant. By his wife Marion he had Robert and William.
Robert Sparrow, esq. his eldest son and successor, was the first of the family that
held the estate of Combe wells, in the parish of Sible Hedingham. He married
Agnes, sister of Roger Martin, esq. of Long Melford, by whom he had an only son,
Thomas.
Thomas Sparrow, esq. succeeded to the family inheritance on the death of his father,
toward the close of the reign of king Edward the fourth. His residence was at
Bocking, where he died, at a very great age, about the year 1595. He had, by his
wife Joan, two sons, John and Clement, and two daughters.
.John, the eldest son, lived at Earl's Colne, and was steward to John de Vere, earl
of Oxford. He married Agnes, daughter and co-heiress of John Worthie, esq. of
Blamsters, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John Warner, esq. of Boys Hall, in
Halstead. The offspring of this connexion were John, Anthony, Edward, Thomas,
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 7
William, and a daughter, Agnes. The second son, Anthony, was of Maldon, and he CHAP, v,
had also an estate at Cowledge, in Suffolk, He died in 1567.
John, the eldest son, who succeeded his father, lived at Sparrows, in Sible Hedingham,
and was descended, by the mother's side, from the Worthies, Warners, Helyons, Swin-
bornes, Botetourts, and Gernons, all ancient families, of whom the two last were of the
old nobility. By his first wife he had Richard; Catharine, Anne, and Susan; and, by
his second Avife Joan, daughter of Jackson, of this county, he had W^illiam, John,
and Rachael. Richard, the eldest son, died before his father, and had three daughters,
who died unmarried. (John, the second son by the second wife, was of Gestingthorp
parsonage; Anne, daughter of Robert Buckminster, esq. of Poynton, in Lincolnshire,
was his wife ; and sir John Sparrow, of Gestingthorp, was his descendant. )
William Sparrow, of Sible Hedingham, the eldest surviving son, succeeded his
father, who died in 1589: he married Joan, daughter of John Finch, of Gestingthorp,
by whom he had three sons, John, William, and Joseph, and two daughters, Jane and
Barbara; the last of whom was married to Thomas Ady, M.D. of Wethersfield.
William, the second son, was a clothier, father of William, attorney-at-law, of Sible
Hedingham, and died in 1648.
John, the eldest son, succeeded his father, on his death in 1611: he married Mar-
garet, daughter of Stephen Cooke, of St. Edmundsbury; and had by her Margaret,
married to John Wade, of Halstead: John and William, who both died in infancy,
and a second John; also, Joseph and Benjamin, twins, who died infants, and Samuel,
who married Elizabeth Newman, and died in 1696, leaving no surviving offspring.
John, the third but eldest surviving son, succeeded his father. His first wife was
Anne, daughter of William Harrington, of Wallasses, in Great Maplestead, by whom
he had John, James, and Margaret, married to Jerome Richardson, of Halstead.
John Sparrow's second wife was Frances Harrington, widow, by whom he had no
children. He died in 1686, and was buried in the church at Sible Hedingham.
John Sparrow, esq. the eldest son, succeeded; he was of Christ's College, Cambridge,
in 1679, and about the same time admitted a member of Gray's-lnn, and called to the
bar in Michaelmas term 1686. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Clarkson,
esq. of Langham Lodge, (one of the masters in chancery), by Dorothy, daughter of
James Cardhial, of Langham Valley, son and heir of William Cardinal, esq. of Great
Bromley. John Sparrow, esq. died in 1720, leaving an only daughter, named Elizabeth.
James, the second son of John Sparrow, esq. of Halstead, was born in 1665, and
died in 1726. In 1690, he married Elizabeth Rose, daughter of John Rose, esq. of
Morgan Hayes, in the county of Devon, and had by her John, who, in 1719, married
Jane, only daughter and heiress of Robert Sparrow, esq. of Ofton, in Suffolk; by his
wife, Jane Risby, of Thorp Morieux, one of the daughters and co-heiresses of
Heigham Risby, esq. and Elizabeth his wife. He had by her James Sparrow, esq.
8 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
bODK 11. of Gosfield, who, in 1750, married Margaret Bernard, one of the daughters and co-
heiresses of the rev. Thomas Bernard, rector of Bardfield, vicar of Earl's Cohie, and
rector of Wimbish, sinecure: he died in 1777, aged fifty-two; leaving Jane, married
to Fiske Manistre, of Halstead; James, who died in infancy; Elizabeth, who died
unmarried; rev. John Sparrow, born 1756, and died, unmarried, in 1786; Marg? -^
and James, both of whom died infants; Sarah, born in 1760, married to tue rev. C. E.
Holden, of Great Cornard -vicarage, Suffolk; Mary died an infant; Thomas Bernard
Sparrow, born in 1760, died unmarried in 1793; Martha, born in 1768, married to
the rev. N. J. Stubbin, of Higham rectory, Suffolk; James Goodeve Sparrow, esq.
who married, in 1799, Anne, youngest of the three daughters and co-heiresses of
James Crowe, esq. of Lakenham, Norwich; who dying in 1813, he married, in 1817,
his second wife Dorothy, the eldest daughter of the rev. Basil Bury Beridge, of Algar
Kirk, Lincolnshire. By his first wife, Mr. Sparrow has only two daughters now
surviving, Margaret and Jane; and by his second, three sons, Henry Weare, Basil, and
John Beridge, and two daughters, Dorothy Emma, and Annette Rosalie.*
After having some time remained divided, and in possession of several proprietors,
the manors of Gosfield were united, and belonged successively to various families.
Rolfe Thomas Rolfe,f esq. had two wives. Margaret and Anne: by the first he had his
daughter of the same name, and by the second, supposed to have descended from sir
John Hawkwood, junior, he had his daughter Editha, who, from Hawk^vood, in-
herited the manor of Bellowes, and ultimately became her father's heiress. She was
first married to John Helyon, who in her right held, in this parish, the manor of Bel-
lowes, of Hodynges, and Liston Hall: their two daughters were Philippa and Isabel.
After the death of her husband, in 1449 or 1450, Editha was married to her second*
husband, John Green, who had been brought up to the profession of the law, under
her father's tuition, and was the third son of John Green, of Widdington. He died
in 1473, and his wife in 1498, having had, by this second husband, Elizabeth, Margery,
and Agnes; the great estates of the families of Rolfe, Helyon, and Green, were divided
between the daughters of John Helyon. Philippa, the eldest, married to sir Thomas
Montgomery, having no children, her inheritance passed to her sister Isabel, one of
the daughters of John Green; Elizabeth was an abbess at Dartford; Margery was
married to Sir Henry Tey; Agnes was married to Sir William Finderne, and had
with her Liston Hall; but, on the death of their grandson, Thomas Finderne, in 1523,
it descended to Anne, the only daughter and heiress of Isabel: she was married to
Humphrey Tyrell, esq. of Little Warley, third son of Sir John Tyrell, of Herons;
* The ancient arms of Sparrow were— Vert, a stag tiippant, or: but they were altered by William
Harvey Xorroy, king at arms, into or, three roses proper. Crest: An unicorn's head argent, on a mural
crown, or.
+ Anns of Rolfe: Argent, three cornish choughs, sable.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 9
and her only daughter, Anne Tyrell, by marriage, conveyed these and other great CHAP, v,
estates to her husband, sir Roger Wentworth; who, in her right, enjoyed here the
manors of Bellowes, Hodings, Shardlowes, Park Hall, Mohermers; and Liston Crofts,
Bastardby, Jordans, Broome, Burnhall, nineteen acres of wood in Hawkswood, and
' fo acres called Milliners and Monstronys, lying in Gosfield, Halstead, and Sible
Hedingham. He died in 1539, his wife having died before him, in 1534. Of their
several children, sir John, the eldest son, inheriting these estates, married Anne,
daughter of John Bettenham, esq. of Pluckley, in Kent. He died in 1567, and his
lady in 1575. Their only daughter Anne, lady Maltravers, was their successor, at
that time a widow. Her first husband, sir Hugh Rich, second son of sir Richard,
lord chancellor baron Rich, died in 1554. Her second husband, Henry Fitz-Alan,
lord Maltravers, having died at Brussels in the nineteenth year of his age, in 1556:
and having had for her third husband William Dean, esq.; the lady Anne died in
1580, leaving no offspring by any of her husbands. John Wentworth, esq. of Little
Horksley, the son of her uncle Henry, succeeded to her estates, and was the first of
the family who resided at Gosfield : he received the honour of knighthood, and mar-
ried two wives, but the maiden name of the second is not known: the first was Eliza-
beth, daughter of Christopher St. Laurence, baron of Howth, in L-eland. On his
decease in 1588,* he was succeeded by his son, sir John Wentworth, knt. and bart.f
who, being extravagant, wasted his inheritance; and, in 1622, vested the manors of
Gosfield, Bellowes, Codham, Aylewards, Hodinges, Withenfield, and Park Hall, in
trustees, for the payment of his debts, when they were conveyed to sir John Gerard,
knt.; and he, in 1629, sold them to Hugh Hare, lord Coleraine: who, in 1634, sold
them, with the rectory and advowson of the vicarage, to Thomas Allen, esq. of
Finchley, in Middlesex, from whom they were, in 1637, conveyed to Anne, widow
of Dudley Carleton, viscount Dorchester, whose first husband was Paul, viscoimt
Bayning; and this lady in 1638 had them, by deed, settled in trustees for her own life,
remainder to her youngest daughter, Elizabeth Bayning, married to Francis, lord
Dacre, of Hurst Monceux; and as part of her portion they Avere, in 1641, settled on
them both, in her right, for the term of their lives: remainder to the heirs of the said
lord Dacre.
Sir John Wentworth, who had alienated these estates, married Katliarine, daughter
of sir Moyle Finch, knt. and bart. by whom he had a son, who died young, and four
daughters ; of these the two first died unmarried ; Katharine, the third, was married
to sir William Grey, of Chillingham, in Northumberland, created baron Grey, of
Werke, in 1624. Lucy, the other daughter and co-heiress, was the second wife of
* He had the estates left by lady Maltravers, except that of VVlston, in Suffolk, and lands in Norfolk,
t He had another son and four daughters. Arms of Wentworth : Sable, a chevron, between three
leopards' faces, or.
10 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOoK II. Thomas Wentworth, earl of Cleveland, who had by her Catharine, married afterwards
to William Spencer, esq. of Cople, in Bedfordshire. Sir John Wentworth died in
1631, and his widow in 1639: on which event his two daughters and co-heiresses
divided what remained unsold, namely, Monthermers, Park Hall, Aylewards, and
Codham Hall; and, in 1653, Thomas Grey, esq. son and heir apparent of William
lord Grey, bought of Francis lord Dacre and his lady, Elizabeth, the whole of that
portion of these estates which was in their possession, which he, on his decease in
1654-, left by will to his father, William lord Grey, who, in 1669, purchased Shard-
lowes of Andrew Harrington, esq. and of William Spencer, esq. and Katharine his
wife, their respective share of the premises; and thus the capital estates of this parish
became re-united in the noble family of Grey.
WilUam lord Grey died in 1674, having had, by his lady Anne, daughter of sir
John Wentworth, William, Thomas, both of Avhom died young, Ralph, and two
daughters.* Ralph, the only surviving son and heir, married Katharine, daughter
and heiress of sir Edward Ford, knt. of Harting, in Sussex, widoAv of Alexander,
eldest son of John, lord Colepeper, by whom he had Ford, Ralph, Charles, and one
daughter: on his death, in 1675, his eldest son Ford, lord Grey, was his successor,
created viscount lord Grey of Glendale, and earl of Tankerville in 1695; previous to
which his two brothers had united with him in conveying the manors of Bellowes or
Gosfield Hall, and Liston Hall, to sir Thomas Millington, knt. M. D. president of
the college of physicians, who, dying in 1704, was buried in Wentworth chapel, in
Gosfield church, leaving Thomas his son and heir, who, in 1708, was sheriiF of the
county, and, in 1710, one of the representatives in parliament for the borough of
Great Bedwin. He died in 1714, without issue, by will leaving his estates to his
two sisters, Anne and Mary; who, in 1715, sold them to John Knight, esq. This
gentleman was born at Weymouth, and educated at Wadham College and Gray's Inn;
elected member of parliament for St. Germains, in Cormvall, in 1710, 1713, and 1714,
and for Sudbury in 1727, and was justice of peace and lord-lieutenant for the county
of Essex. He married, first, Elizabeth Slaughter, of Cheney Court, Herefordshire;
and to his second Avife had Anne, daughter of James Craggs, esq. and widow of
Nevvsham, esq. His only son, John Knight, esq. dying in 1727, he left all his estates
by will, to his wife Anne, previous to his decease in 1733; and she was afterwards
married to Robert Nugent, esq. vice-treasurer of Ireland, and member of parliament
for Bristol. Besides Bellowes and Liston Hall, he purchased, in 1716, the manors of
Shardlowes, Harmers, Park Hall, and Aylewards, of William, lord North and Grey.
* These were, Elizabeth, who died uninarricd, and Katluuine, first married to sir Kdward Moscley,
i)art. and afterwards to sir Charles North, knt. eldest son of Dudley, lord North ; summoned to parliament
in 1(573, by the title of baron Grey of Rolleston ; and had, probably with his lady, as they descended to
his son William, the manors of Shardlowes, Harmers, Aylewards, and Park Hall.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD.
11
An elegant modern mansion, named Cut Hedge, on the road from Gosfield Hall to chap. v.
Halstead, is the seat of Robert Wyatt, esq. (jut
Inclosed within the park, and at a short distance eastward from Gosfield Hall, is [?j^f,^|:j^
the village church, dedicated to St. Katharine : it has a small chapel attached to it,
originally built for a chantry, founded here by Thomas Rolfe, esq. for a priest to per-
form divine service, and to help to serve the cure; this building was repaired in 1560,
by J. Rolfe, esq. and used as a cemetery for the family: adjoining to this erection is a
private chapel, which has been used for a similar purpose by the Knights, and other
families.
The vicarage was augmented, in 1720, by John Knight, esq. and Mrs. Anne and
Mary Millington, in conjunction with queen Anne's bounty.
There are two ancient tombs in the chancel, one of which is to the memory of ^^^'•""-
Thomas Rolfe, esq. buried in 1440, but the Latin inscription is not very intelligible in inscrip-
its composition ; we however learn from it, that he left legacies for the support of
persons afflicted with leprous diseases, and for marrying virgins.
The remains of John Green, who died in 1449, lie under a plain stone near the
centre of the church.
There are several old tombs, from which the brass tablets were taken away in the
time of the civil wars ; among these are memorials of sir John Wentworth, who died
in 145 — , and also of his lady : of sir Roger Wentworth and his lady, who died between
the years 1534 and 1539; and of lord Grey, who died in 1567.
In the chapel there is a large and elegant monument, with whole-length figures of
various individuals of the Knight family; and an urn bears the following:
" Joanni Knight, de Gosfield, in com. Essex, Armig. qui obiit Oct. ii, mdccxxxiii,
aetat l. Anna Craggs, Jacobi Craggs, Regi Georgii I. a secretis, soior, memorise et
amori sacrum conjugi suo clarissimo H. S. P."
In English:
" To John Knight, of Gosfield, in the county of Essex, esq. who died Oct. 2, 1733,
in the 50th year of his age : Anna Craggs, sister to James Craggs, privy counsellor
to George I. in memory and for love of her dearest husband, has erected this stone."
The elegant workmanship is by Scheemaker, under the direction of Alexander Pope,
who also wrote the following elegiac inscription, Avhich is on a white marble tablet.
" O I fairest pattern to a falling age,
Whose public virtue knew no party rage ;
Whose private name all titles recommend.
The pious son, fond husband, faithful friend.
In manners plain, in sense alone refined ;
Good without show, and without weakness kind
To reasons even dictates ever true ;
Calm to resolve, and constant to pursue :
In life with every social grace adorn'd,
In death by Friendship, Honour, Virtue, mourn'd.
12 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK ri. There are inscriptions on the pedestal in memory of Robert, earl Nugent; lieu-
tenant-colonel Edmund Nugent, his son; Margaret Nugent, his sister; and Anne
Craggs, who was first married to James Newsham, esq.; secondly, to John Knight,
esq. and lastly, to Robert Nugent, esq. afterwards earl Nugent. She died in 1756,
aged fifty-nine.*
Clarity. i,j 1G05, Edward Hunter left ten shillings yearly, for ever, out of the rent of his
tenement of Hoblins, in Gosfield, to be distributed by the churchwardens to the poor
of this parish, on Good Friday.
This parish, in 1821, contained five hundred and ninety-eight, and, in 1831, five
hundred and twelve inhabitants.
STISTED.
Stisteil. The large retired village of Stisted is pleasantly situated near the river Blackwater,
from which the grounds gradually rise, affording a wide expanse of prospect, as we
proceed toward the great public road between Braintree and Halstead, from which
this village is considerably distant. An open and well-cultivated district extends east-
ward to the extremity of the hundred of Lexden, toward the town of Coggeshall;
to Braintree on the south; and the parish further extends west and northward to
Bocking, Gosfield, and Halstead: it is computed to be thirty miles in circum-
ference. The lands are in some parts hilly, in others quite low, with corresponding
varieties of soil : there is a good proportion of woodland, and some hops are grown
here. The name is supposed to be from the Saxon ytrS, rough, or f ti^e, a path, and
j-ret>e, a place. It is written in records Stigestede, Stiesteda, Stistede, Stited, Styes-
tede, and Stystead. This village is distant from Braintree two, and from London
fortv-two miles.
Stisted The large and ancient manor-house of Stisted Hall is described as an " exceedingly
good old mansion;" but this has been pulled down, and in its place, near the church,
a very handsome modern edifice erected, under the superintendence of Mr. Penrice,
of Colchester. The entrance front is ornamented with an elegant Ionic portico, and
the entire building finished in the most improved style of modern architecture. This
seat, from its surrounding shrubberies and plantations, commands, in various direc-
tions, extensive and interesting prospects.
The lordship of Stisted, with that of Little Coggeshall, being in the possession of
Godwin, earl of Kent, and Wisgith, the widow of a noble Saxon named Elfwin, were
given by them to the monks of Christchurch, in Canterbury, previous to the Norman
conquest, in the year 1046; but, soon after that event, they were deprived of these
possessions by the rapacity of Odo, bishop of Bayeux, and earl of Kent ; at the great
* Near the entrance to this chapel there is a fine wax-work figure, as large as life, inclosed in a case,
of Mrs Knight, mother of John Knight, esq.
I
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 13
trial on Pinenden Heath, they were, however, restored, and remained in possession CHAP. V.
of the prior and monks till the dissolution of the house in 1539, when king Henry the
eighth made this manor part of the endowment of the dean and chapter of Canterbury.
From this appropriation it again passed to the crown, in 1545, being assigned to the
king, with other estates, in discharge of an annuity of £200, which this house was obliged
to pay for the maintenance of scholars at Oxford and Cambridge; and in the same year
it was granted to sir Richard Rich, who disposed of it to Henry Pigott, esq. of
Abingdon, in Cambridgeshire; of whom it was purchased, in 1549, by Thomas Wise-
man, of Northend, in Great Waltham, in whose family it continued till it was con-
veyed by lady Mary, the widow of sir Thomas Wiseman,* knt. of Rivenhall, to her
second husband, sir Henry Appleton, bart. of Great Baddow; and, on his decease,
to her third husband, Thomas Turner, who resided at Stisted Hall; and he, on the
decease of the lady Mary in 1685, sold the estate to William Lingwood, esq. of Lingwood
Braintree; the progenitors of whose family were of the counties of Hereford and
Gloucester. The first who settled in Essex was John Lingwood, resident at Brain-
tree in 1571: he had three sons and two daughters; of whom Geofrey, the eldest son,
marrying Elizabeth, daughter of John Sibthorp, of Great Bardfield, had several sons
and daughters, of whom William, his eldest son, Avas a student in Barnard's-inn, and,
in 1629, made escheator-general for the county of Essex, to king Charles the first.
He died in 1665, and his son William, by his first wife Mary, daughter of Thomas
Wilson, of Jenkins, in this parish, was the purchaser of Stisted Hall: he was of Gray's-
inn, bred to the law, and many years in the commission of the peace for the county.
He had three wives, but died in 1700, without surviving offspring, leaving this estate
to Elizabeth,! his third wife, daughter of John Jones, esq. of Chiswick; and this lady
dying in 1719, bequeathed it to John Saville, esq. counsellor-at-law, who, dying a
bachelor in 1735, left his brother, Samuel Saville, esq. of Colchester, his heir; who
was one of the representatives in parliament for that borough in 1741, and, on his
decease in 1763, left, by his wife Sarah, daughter of Edward Husbands, esq. of Little
Horkesley, two daughters, his co-heiresses. The inheritance of Sarah was the manor
of Great Fordhara, with other possessions; and Anne had Stisted Hall, as part of her
patrimony.- in 1763, she was married to the rev. Charles Onley, from whom the family
inheritance has descended to the present proprietor, Charles Saville Onley, esq.+
The manor of Milles has the mansion near the road from the village to Blackwater, Milles.
* Arms of Wiseman : Per pale, 'or and azure, on a chevron two dragons encountrant, counterchanged :
on a chief ermines tliree cronels, argent.
•f- Arms of Lingwood : Azure, a saltier, or, cliarged with five annulets, gules between four tieur-de-lis
of the second. Crest: On a torse, a lion's head erminois, couped, langued and eared gules, round the
neck a mural crown.
X Arms of Saville : Argent, on a bend, sable, three owls of the field. Crest : on a wreath an owl,
argent.
VOL. II. D
14 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. and not far from the bridge. This estate anciently formed part of the lordship of
Stansted Hall, in Halstead, which also extended into Pateswick. In the time of king
Henry the fifth, it belonged to John Mille, from whom it is believed to have been
named. In 1510, it was granted to John Basset, of Bradwell Hall, by king Henry
the eighth; and, some time afterwards, belonged to Griseld, daughter and co-heiress
of Ralph \\'rittle, esq. who was successively married to John Rochester, Thomas
West, and Edward Waldegrave, esqs. By the first of these she had Robert, John,
and William. Robert Rochester was controller of the household to queen Mary; he
held this manor of the queen by knight's service; and also held lands called Harvies,
of Thomas Wiseman, as of his manor of Stisted Hall. On his decease, in 1557, his
youngest brother William was his heir, whose only son John succeeded; and he sold
the estate to Thomas Wiseman, esq. who, in 1579, was succeeded by his grandson,
John Wiseman; and, after his decease in 1579, it became the property of Richard
Browne, esq. of Islington; in 1738, succeeded by his son Richard, who, dying a
bachelor in 1747, this estate became the property of his eldest sister's husband, Walter
Sandys, esq. high sheriff for the county of Gloucester in 1725.
Jenkins. The manor-house of Jenkins is about a mile south-west from the church, on the
northern side of the Black water; some of the demesne lands belonging to it extending
into the parish of Bocking. An ancient owner of this estate called Jenkins, sometimes
found written Renkyns de Bocking, is understood to have given occasion for the name.
This manor was originally derived from those of Stisted and Bocking Hall, and was
afterwards divided into shares, in which state it continued till 1375, when being again
united, it became the property of Clement, the son of Robert Spice, of Bocking, who
sold it to Robert Sewell, of Coggeshall; from whom it was, in 1397, conveyed to
Stephen Fabian, from whose family it passed, with other estates, to Thomas Wilson,*
of Bethnal Green; in whose family it continued till 1716, when, on the decease of
the male heir, without issue, it was conveyed to William Basey.
Hayne Tlie manor of Rayne Hatch and Boltwoods has the mansion about a mile and a half
and Bolt- north east from the church, on the road toward Halstead. The first part of the name
woods. -g fj.Qjjj g^ hatch or gate somewhere on the road toward Braintree, formerly called
Rayne, in which parish part of this estate was situated. The name of Boltwoods is
from an ancient family in possession of this estate in the reign of king Henry the
fourth, some of whose descendants were living in Essex in the time of king Henry the
eighth. This manor and tenements were in the possession of Thomas Naylinghurst,
at the time of his decease in 1419; Hugh, his son, succeeded; and Ralph Nayling-
hurst, in the time of king Edward the sixth, held this estate of the manor of Boones.^
Edward Jackson was succeeded by John, his son, in 1569, holding the manor of
• Arms of Wilson : Gules, a fesse between three cushions, argent, tassels, or, each charged with a fleur-
de-lis gules.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 15
Rayue Hatch, described as lying- in Booking, Braintree, Stisted, Gosfield, and Hal- CHAP. V.
stead. The Wiseman family had this possession, with Boltwoods, which Anne, the
only daughter and heiress of William Wiseman, conveyed to the Clopton family, and
it was given, by Dr. Clopton, to the town of St. Edmundbury, for charitable uses.
The farm named Boltwoods, as well as Rayne Hatch, belonged to the family of ^^',™ "^
Naylinghurst, and passed from them to the Davenants, of Sible Hedingham. It was woods.
at that time called the manor or messuage of Boltheds, holden of the manor of Boones,
and was in the possession of William Aylet in 1583;* Richard was his son and suc-
cessor.
A farm and messuage called Kentishes, belonged to a family named Polly, in the Kentishes
time of king Henry the third; and the family of Kentish, from whom it has been
named, were in possession of it in the reigns of the fourth, fifth, and sixth Henries.
It passed to the Wiseman family in 1614, on the decease of William Wrothe, esq.
who had intermediately been in possession of it. From the Wisemans it passed to the
Boltwoods, and to Sir Gerard Sammes, who, in 1629, gave his daughter Isabel this
estate; and this lady sold it, in 1631, to Robert Plumme, who, the same year, disposed
of it to John Alston, of Hawkshall, in Toppesfield; and Ehzabeth Alston, of this
family, having this estate left to her by her brother, Lestrange Alston, in 1689, con-
veyed it to her husband, William Jegon, whose son, Charles Jegon, dying in posses-
sion of it, his heirs sold it, in 1762, to Samuel Saville, esq. of Stisted HaU.
A farm here called Peckstones, consisting of about forty acres of land, is part of the Peck-
endowment of the free school at Earl's Colne.
The church has a nave, north and south aisles, and a chancel, on the north side of Church,
which is the vestry; and a tower rising from its opposite southern side, with a shingled
spire, contains five bells. The nave is separated from the aisles by Norman arches,
supported by columns of uniform diameter, and of large dimensions. The living is a
rectory, and one of the archbishop of Canterbury's peculiars: it has one hundred and
thirty-two acres of glebe lands.
There is a monument in the chancel to the memory of lady Mary Wiseman, of Monu-
Stisted Hall, who died in 1685; and also of Elizabeth, the wife of John Wiseman,
who died in 1584; of Elizabeth, the wife of William Lingwood, interred here in 1719;
of Samuel Saville, esq. and his wife Sarah; and also a very elegant marble monument
to the memory of the wife of the rev. Samuel Jackson, M. A. rector of Stisted in 1742.
The parsonage-house is a plain brick building, erected by the rev. Peter Wagoner,
during his incumbency in 1712.
This parish, in 1821, contained seven hundred and ninety, and, in 1831, eight hun-
dred and ninety-five inhabitants.
* Arms of Aylet : Azure, a fesse embattled between three unicorns' heads erased, argent.
BOOK II.
Braintree.
16 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BRAINTREE.
The populous and flourishing town of Brainti'ee is pleasantly situated on the verge
of Hinckford, where it meets the northern extremity of Witham hundred; and on its
opposite side, this town joins to Booking, one of the most considerable of the villages
of Essex.
Wliat remains of tlie old town of Braintree, which forms the central part, consists
of several streets irregulai'ly formed, and inconveniently narrow; many of the houses
are ancient, and some of them built of wood : but in the great thoroughfare street, and
other parts of these combined towns, there are many capital houses belonging to
opulent tradespeople; and handsome chapels, or meeting houses, for dissenters of
various denominations; of Avhich that of the Independents is a large and elegant struc-
ture of white brick and Bath stone, seventy-one feet long by tifty-three wide, esti-
mated to contain fifteen hundred persons. It is at the entrance to the town from
London, on the eastern side of the road, to wliich it forms an interesting ornament.
The old chapel, built in 1788, and enlarged in 1813, was pulled down in 1832, and
the present building erected. The site of the old chapel, together with a burying
ground adjoining, is now inclosed with a brick wall six feet high, and forms a most
safe and commodious cemetery. It is near the centre of the town, with two approaches
to it, one from the principal street, and the other from the Rayne road.
In the wall is inserted a neat stone tablet, with the following inscription:
" Where this wall stands was the front of the Independent ciiapel, which was
built A. D. 1788. In A. D. 1832, it was taken down, a new chapel erected at the
south-west entrance to this town, on ground presented by the rev. J. Carter, and
this wall built to enclose a burying ground for the use of the congregation assem-
bling there."
The name of Braintree is variously written in records Branketre, Branchetren,
Branctoe, Brautree, Bromptre, Raines, Raine Magna, and Hamlettum de Magna
Raines. In the survey of Domesday it has the two names of Raines and Branchetren,
of Avhicli one is Saxon, the other British; the meaning is defined to be either a " town
upon a hill," or "a town near a river;" which last applies with some propriety to this
place, for on the southern side of it is Podd's brook, and on its northern, the river
Blackwater.
The lordship, named Raines in Domesday, included Braintree, and what constitutes
the present parish of Raynes; the separation into Great and Little Raynes having
taken place toward the close of the reign of king John, or the commencement of that
of Henry the third.* Both in ancient and modern times, it has derived important
* Rayne Hatch, a small estate of forty acres, in Stisted, pays tithe to this parish.
^
£ I
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 17
advantages from its situation on the great road from London into the counties of Suf- CHAP. V.
folk and Norfolk; and, in 1199, William Santa Maria, bishop of London, obtained
the grant of a market and an annual fair; and the vast crowds of pilgrims going to the
shrines of St. Edmund, and our lady of Walsingham, proved a source of emolument
to this place, which rapidly increased in population and importance; and at a later
period, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, the Flemings, who fled from the persecution
of the duke of Alva, introduced the woollen-cloth manufacture, which flourished here,
and for several centuries proved the means of greatly enriching the inhabitants. This
business has now become extinct, and is succeeded by the silk manufacture, Avhich
employs a large portion of the labouring population : the straw-plat manufacture has
also been introduced.
It has a market on Wednesdays, well supplied with all kinds of necessaries, and at
which considerable quantities of corn, malt, and hops, are sold by sample. There are
also two fairs annually, on the 8th of May* and the second of October.
The petty sessions for the southern division of the hundred are holden here.-j-
From Chelmsford this town is distant eleven miles, and from London forty.
In the time of the Confessor, most of the lands of this parish belonged to William,
bishop of London, a Norman, who came into England with Emma, Avife of king
Etheldred, mother of king Edward, by whom he was promoted to that see in 1051.
Upon the reconcilement of the king with earl Godwin, who hated the Normans,
Robert, archbishop of Canterbury, and this William, bishop of London, and Ulf,
bishop of Lincoln, effected their escape from the fury of the earl, and retired into
Normandy : two of them died abroad, but the bishop of London returned, and at the
time of the survey had a portion of these lands; the other two portions being in the
possession of Hamo Dapifer and Richard, son of Gilbert, earl of Clare. On the
death of bishop William, in 1079, the inhabitants of London erected a monument over
his remains, with an inscription, expressing their gratitude for his intercession with
the Conqueror in their behalf; for, by his influence and authority, they enjoyed great
and important liberties and immunities.^
The largest of the three manors or lordships of Braintree, was that which belonged Hisliops
. luannr.
to the bishops, who had a palace, which was also the manor-house, and stood on the
side of the hill that rises above Braintree-mill, near the site of the present parsonage-
house. No vestige of the palace remains, but the hill is believed to be tbe same as is
mentioned in the survey. The bishops of London retained this lordship till Nicholas
* The fair in May was procured for the town by Herman Olniius, esq. in tiie reign of (jiieen Elizabctli.
t The mode of parish government by a " select vestry," was introduced here at an unknown remote
period; and as early as 1584 they were called the twenty-four headboroughs, governors of the town, and
town magistrates.
X Bishop Godwin's Catalogue of Bishops, and Stowe's Survey of London, cd. 1720, book v. p. 347.
liiirst.
18 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. Ridley disposed of it, by the name of the manor of Branketry, to king Edward the
sixth, hx 1550; and that prince, in the same year, made a gi-ant of it, with the advow-
son of the vicarage of Coggeshall, to lord Rich, in whose family it remained till
Charles, earl of Warwick, in 1673, dying without issue, the large inheritance of
the family was divided among his sisters and amits, and this lordship became the pro-
perty of his sister, lady Frances, wife of Nicholas, son and heir of sir Francis Leake,
lord Deincourt and earl of Scarsdale; who, on his decease, in 1680, left his son Ro-
bert, the third earl of this family, and a younger son named Rich, and Mary. The
earl married Mary, daughter and co-heiress of sir John Lewis, knt. and bart. of Led-
stone, in Yorkshire, and had by her an only daughter, who died in infancy. He sold
this estate to Herman Olmius, esq. ancestor of the family of lord Waltham,* and it
continued in the possession of the lady dowager till her decease.
Nayline- The manor-house of Naylinghurst is about a mile distant, westward from the town,
on Braintree Green, not far from Felsted Common : it is vulgarly named Nannegale.
This manor was anciently holden of the honour of Hedingham Castle, by the service
of one knight's fee. It was in the possession of Stephen de Haia, in the reigns of
Richard the first and king John, and till 1245, when it passed to Simon de Rennes, suc-
ceeded, in 1268, by his son Robert, followed by Walter de Rennes: afterwards, it
was in the possession of Roger de Xaylingherst, succeeded by John Oxeneye, John
Naylingherst, prior of Duimiow, and ^^^illiam at Parke, who died in 1358. Thomas
Naylingherst held the estate under Thomas, earl of Oxford, who died in 1370.
The family of Naylingherst derived their honours and riches from Robert, son of
John Naylingherst, a clergyman of learning and celebrity in the reign of Edward the
third, who at the same time held the rectories of Stisted, Sible Hedingham, and Great
* Herman Olmius, esq. of St. Peter le Poor, London, married Judith, heiress of John Drigue, esq., by
whom he had six daughters, all of whom died young, except Judith ; and four sons, of whom John, Her-
man, and Driguey, arrived at the age of maturity. In 1706, Bishops manor was settled upon John, the
eldest son, who married Elizabeth, heiress of Mr. Thomas Clarke, merchant, of the Clarkes of St. Ives, in
Huntingdonshire. He was hinh sheriff in 1707, and justice of tlie peace and deputy-lieutenant for the
county; and, on his decease in 1731, was deputy-governor of the Bank of England. His only son, John,
was his successor ; who married Anne, daughter of sir William Billers, knt. alderman of London, by
whom he had John Drigue, and Elizabeth. In 1762, he was created baron Waltham, of Philipstown, in
the kingdom of Ireland, and died the same year; and John Drigue Olmius, the second lord Waltham,
died without issue in 1764. Arms of Olmius, lord Waltham: Party per fesse, azure and argent, a fesse
embattled and counter embattled, or; in chief of six points argent; in base, on a mount, vert, an elm
tree, proper. The family used to quarter, second : sable and argent; in chief a deer's head couped, azure:
over the ears a ducal coronet, argent. In base five bezants, or, three and two, Reinstein. Three : azure
a vine proper, fructcd argent, bronsed on by a goat erect, argent, hoofed and horned, or, cappre. Fourth:
sable, a dexter hand proper, issuing out of a cloud proper, grasping five .stalks of bearded wheat, or, Ger-
verdiney. Fifth : sable, an herring, or, in bend, Drigue. Crest. On a wreath, a demi-Moor proper, in
armour; head escarsioned, or, inhis ears a pendant, argent ; on a belt, or, a fesse embattled as above,
between two strips of bays proper. Motto, " Meritez."
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 19
Leighs. The family was ennobled by the marriag-e of Catharine, daughter and heiress CHA^^
of sir Hug-h Badewe, (niece of Richard Badewe, chancellor of Cambridge in 1326,
and first founder of Clare Hall, at that time called University Hall,) to Thomas, son
of Thomas de Naylingherst, in the time of Edward the third. John Naylingherst
added the manor of Glanville to this estate, by marrying Alice, daughter of Geoffrey
Glanville of Felsted; he died in 1362, and his son and successor, Thomas, in 1409;
succeeded by Hugh, who, on his decease in 1493, left Clement his heir.* In 1636,
this estate Avas in the possession of Henry Haselfoot, succeeded by a family of the
name of Bridges; afterwards by Rowland Holt, esq. brother to lord chief justice
Holt. The next possessor of this estate was sir William Smith, knt.
The manor-house of Marks is about a mile from the town, on the north side of the Marks,
road to Coggeshall; it was in the possession of a thane named Coding, in the time of
Edward the Confessor, and at the svu'vey was holden under Hamo Dapifer, by Ralph
de Marci, from whom its name is derived : it continued in this family till the reign of
Edward the third. In 1254, William de Mark was presented at Chelmsford and
fined, because he held a knight's fee here without receiving the honour of knighthood.
Richard, his son, was his successor, followed by John; and, in 1347, this estate was
conveyed by John de Bocking to sir John de Bourchier, knt., of the very ancient and
noble family of the Bourchiers of Stansted Hall, in Halstead. On the attainture of
William, earl of Essex and marquis of Northampton, on account of the unfortunate
lady Jane Grey, this estate was forfeited to the crown, and, in 1555, was granted, by
queen Mary, to sir Robert Rochester, comptroller of her household; who gave it, by
will, to the priory of Shene, in Surrey; and, on the suppression of that house, it was
restored to the marquis of Northampton ; on whose decease, in 1571, and that of lady
Anne, the marchioness, in 1572, this manor returned to the crown, and was granted
by queen Elizabeth to Walter Devereux, viscount Hereford, whom she created earl
of Essex in 1572; he being great grandson to John Devereux and Cicely, sister of
Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex, cousin and next heir to the said lady Anne. Sir
Walter was made K.G. and marshal of Ireland, and died at Dublin in 1576, leaving,
by the lady Lettice, daughter of sir Francis KnoUes, several sons and daughters, of
whom Robert, his successor to the earldom, was the envied and unfortunate favourite
of the queen; falling a sacrifice to the malice and treachery of his enemies, lie was be-
headed in 1600: but his father, previous to his decease, had sold this manor and estate to
Ralph Wiseman, esq. of Rivenhall, son of John Wiseman, es({. of Wimbish. Richard,
Thomas, and Robert were the surviving progeny of Ralph Wiseman, on his decease
in 1594, of whom Richard, the eldest, succeeded to the estate, which remained in the
family till Elizabeth, widow of sir William Wiseman, knt. and bart. in conjunction
* Anns of Naylingherst : Gules, a cross ^engrailed, or.
20 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
JJOOK II. with Samuel Wiseman, her husband's nephew and heir, sold it, in 1696, to Thomas
Western, esq. of Rivenhall, who gave it to Robert, his youngest son; from whom it
passed to his daughter Sarah, and to Thomas Mashiter, yeoman; and afterwards to the
Ruggles family.
Sandpit The Clare family held possessions here in the reign of William the conqueror, as
appears from the record of Domesday, where they are entered as encroachments on
the king's demesnes; yet they were afterwards allowed to retain these lands as an
appendage of the honour of Clare, and part of the dutchy of Lancaster. The court-
leet belonging to this lordship used to meet annually on the 22d of September, when
a constable was chosen, whose jurisdiction was limited by the boundaries of what has
been named the Sandpit leet; it lies on the north-west side of the town, beginning at
a pond near the commencement of the road to Rayne, and from thence extending to
the Boar's Head.
Hui)i)ai(ls Lands in this parish, named Hubbalds and Mallands, were part of the gift of Ralph
hlmls''^' Diggen, esq. in 1649, to the master and fellows of Clare Hall, in Cambridge.
Fiiniiiy of The Hawkins family had formerly large possessions here, which ultimately became
Hawkins, ^j^^ property of Frances, daughter of Robert Hawkins, the only surviving son of John
Hawkuis, esq. alderman of London, who died in 1633: she conveyed the estate to her
husband, sir John Dawes, knt. and hart, of Putney, by whom she had Robert, John,
William, and Elizabeth, wife of Peter Fisher, D.D. Sir Robert Dawes succeeded
his father, and dying without issue, as did also his brother John, sir William Dawes,
the youngest brother, succeeded to the title ; he was dean of Docking, master of Ca-
tharine Hall, in Cambridge, bishop of Chester, and archbishop of York. He married
Frances, one of the sisters and co-heiresses of sir Robert Darcy, hart, of Great Brack-
sted, by whom he had sir Darcy Dawes, and a daughter married to sir William Milner,
bart. of Yorkshire.
Church. Xhe church, dedicated to St. Michael, isi^a spacious structure of flint and stone, with
lofty north and south aisles, a nave, and chancel. The tower is apparently the most
ancient part of the building, and is surmounted by a spire, comparatively modern.
This edifice is believed to occupy the site of an ancient camp, and is on tne highest
part of the town. There was a parish church erected here of much greater antiquity
than the present building, having been founded a considerable time before the Nor-
man conquest. It was situated near the palace, about half a mile from the present
church.* A clause in the will of John de Naylingherst, dated 1349, informs us that
he bequeathed a black bullock toward the work of the church, and this is considered
decisive evidence of the erection of this building about that time. The arms in the
church of most of the neighbouring gentry who were then living, is a further
* Some remains of this building are yet to be seen, in which there are three very narrow lancet-shaped
windows, in what appears to have been the east wall of the chancel.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 21
confirmation that this structure was erected toward the close of the reign of Edward CHAP. V
the third. Allowing- these inferences, yet it is evident that numerous additions and
alterations have been made in this building; of these, the most ancient is the north
aisle, and the period of its erection is not known; but, by an old ledger belonging to
the vestry, we are informed that the new porch was added in 1522, and the aisle is
there called the " new isle." The south aisle is stated to have been erected in 1532;
and when the old shingled roof was taken doAvn, and the walls raised a story higher,
and covered with lead, Henry Eve, who died in 1535, is recorded to have laid the
first stone. In addition to large contributions toward the expenses of these improve-
ments, further assistance was derived from the acting of three plays in the church:
the first was St. Swithin, in 1523; the second, St. Andrew, in 1525; and the last of
these performances was named Placy Dacy, or St. Eustacy, which was acted in 1534.
It is remarkable, that, besides pleasing the eye and amusing the mind, ample provision
was made on these occasions for satisfying the appetite, of which a very particular
account is given in the register books. After the reformation, the churchwardens
lent out the players' garments, and at last sold them for fifty shillings, and also sold
the books for twenty shillings.
The patronage of this church was in the prior and convent of the monastery of the
Chartei'-house, in 1416, and Avas appropriated to that house by Richard Clifford,
bishop of London, reserving, in this appropriation, six shillings and eight pence per
annum to himself and his successors, which has continued to be paid to the present time.
After successively passing to various proprietors, the advowson was sold to Richard,
lord Rich, who, when he founded a hospital and free-school at Felsted, gave some-
thing to each of them out of this rectory; which, on the division of the earl of War-
wick's estate, formed part of the share of the earl of Nottingham, and was held by
lease for life, by the vicars of Braintree, who pay out of it yearly to the almshouse
and free-school at Felsted, the sum of thirty pounds one shilling and eight pence in
money, sixteen cpxarters of wheat, and the same quantity of malt.
The advowson of the vicarage was conveyed to the earl of Scarsdale, and after-
wards became vested in lord Waltham.
In 1725, the rev. Stephen Newcomen, the incumbent at that time, gave two hundred
poutuls, to which the same sum was added from queen Anne's bounty, for the augmen-
tation of this living.
In records of the date of 13C4, an account is found of a chapel, near the old church, Chapel.
for a chantry priest to sing mass in daily. It was of the foundation of the bishops ot
London; was dedicated to St. John the Baptist; had a yard, two messuages in Black
Notlev, four messuages in Braintree, and a barn, included in its endowment; all which,
with many others, were pranted to Thomas Goldiny.
•^ " " . . . Obits,
In this church there were twelve obits, and also several gilds, or fraternities; par- Gilds, &c.
VOL. II. E
22 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK li. ticularly those of Jesus; of St. John the Baptist; of Crispin and Crispina; a plow gild;
a torch gild; and a gild of women of our lady's-lights, to which belonged an alder-
woman and two wardens.
Inscrip- A mural marble monument in the chancel is inscribed to the memory of John
Hawkins, esq. alderman of London in 1623, who died in 1633.
On a brass plate against the wall of the chancel, above an altar tomb, inclosed in a
grate, is the following inscription : —
" This grate was ordered to be set up by the last will and testament of Samuel
Collins, late doctor of physick, eldest son of Mr. Samuel Collins, here under buried,
who served about nine years as principal physician to the great Czar, emperor of
Russia, and after his return from thence, taking a journey into France, died at
Paris, Oct. 2«, 1670, being the fifty- first of his age.
" Mors requies peregrinantibus."
There is an inscription on the south side of the tomb, which informs us that the rev.
Samuel Collins, father of the abovenamed gentleman, and many years vicar of this
church, died on the second of May, 1667, and was buried here.
Charities. In 1533, John Payne left a tenement in this town called Copped Hall, for the relief
of the poor.
In 1565, John Surinam left one hundred pounds for the erection of four almshouses.
This benefaction was enlarged by an additional donation from Robert, lord Rich, of a
piece of waste ground; and by a further grant of land from Robert, earl of Warwick;
on this inclosure a house was erected, in 1630, called "The Hospital," for the enter-
tainment and support of poor children and poor people.
Alice Griggs, widow, in 1579, left a piece of arable land of four acres, and one acre
of meadow, the annual profits to be disposed of to the poor, at the discretion of the
churchwardens.
In 1626, John Lawrence gave an orchard, rented at four nobles per annum, to the
poor of this parish. This was afterwards exchanged for a field of greater value.
This parish receives a portion of the interest of two thousand eight hundred pounds,
left to the poor of five ditferent parishes, by Henry Smith, esq.
In 1630, Thomas Trotter, a native of this place, left a house, barn, and four acres
of arable land, at that time of the yearly value of five pounds ten shillings, of which
four pounds was to be annually given, by two payments, at two shillings each, to
twenty aged poor; the remainder of the money to be expended in the repairs of the
church, and disposed of as specified in the will. In 1651, the tenement on the pre-
mises was burnt down, which reduced this charity to four pounds per annum.
In 1631, Thomas Hobbes, esq. of Gray's-inn, gave a farm in Braintree called
Brooms, of the income of which six pounds per annum were to be given to the vicar of
Braintree; five pounds per annum for a catechising lecture in Katharine Hall, in
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 23
Cambridge; and the remainder to two or three poor students in Cambridge, either in CHAP. v.
Katharine Hall, or Emanuel College.
In 1637, Mark Mott, ancestor of the family of that name, of Shalford, gave a house
and a small field, at that time of the yearly value of forty shillings, the income to be
disposed of in shirts and smocks, of cloth, at twelve pence a yard, to be given to the
poor of this parish. His son, Adrian Mott, also gave, in 1638, one hundred pounds
into the hands of the minister and the rest of the vestry, desiring that land might be
purchased with it, as soon as conveniently it might; and in the meantime that it should
be improved to the best advantage, and the profits disposed of yearly, on the fifth of
November, as his father had directed in his will. But the donor lived to see the
greater part of this money lost, by those to whom it was lent.
In 1640, sir Stephen White gave an annuity of six pounds thirteen shillings and
four pence, out of a farm in Black Notley, to purchase shifts to be given to six poor
women of Braintree, on All Saints day, of the value of fourteen shillings each; and
for each of them four two-penny loaves of Avheaten bread, upon the first Sunday in
every month in the year; and to the upper churchwarden, one shilling and four pence.
In 1691, Isaac Skinner, of Wivenhoe, but born in this parish, left the reversion of
his house in Wivenhoe to the churchwardens and overseers of the poor there, upon
condition that they should pay yearly to the churchwardens of Braintree, the sum of
four pounds, for the use of the poor of this parish, for ever.
In 1698, Henry Summers, a native of this town, gave an annuity of seven pounds
ten shillings out of his manor of Gains, in Huntingdonshire, with which five pounds'
worth of bread is to be purchased and given to the poor of Braintree, on the 4th of
February (being the day of his baptism) yearly, for ever: the remaining fifty-two
shillings to be given to the minister and churchwardens, to be expended in a good
dinner, or otherwise, as they shall think fit.
In 1702, James Coker gave out of a farm at Stoke Neyland, in Suflfolk, an annuity
of ten pounds, for teaching ten poor children of Braintree, English and Latin in the
parish school.
In 1707, John Aylett gave the reversional moiety of a house and land in Booking,
to the poor of this parish for ever.
In 1802, a charity was established here, supported by subscription, to clothe and
instruct sixty poor children. The subscription has been greatly enlarged, and the
number of children increased since its commencement.
An urn filled with Roman coins was found, some time ago, in grounds belonging to Roman
High Garret; of these a considerable number, chiefly of the emperor Vespasian, were ties!^"
carefully preserved by Mr. Jonathan Reeve, at that time proprietor of the estate; but
many were dispersed and lost through the ignorance and carelessness of the workmen.
In 1828, as a gardener, employed by Mrs. J. Tabor, was at work near that part of
the road which separates Bockiug from Braintree, he discovered a very large quantity
24 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. of Roman coins, in a particular part of the inclosure, where many single coins had
))een at different times found, which had induced Mrs. Tabor to request to be informed
if further discoveries should be made; and on this occasion a half-peck measure was
filled and carried to her, and sold for three guineas, though the workman had jestingly-
asked fifty pounds for tiiom. On hearing of this occurrence, the person who trans-
mitted the account to the Gentleman's Magazine,* repaired to the gardener and
secured twenty-six of the coins, and the bottom of the pot which had contained them;
and, on going to the spot, found six more. Many other persons in Bocking and Braintree
have also been supplied with considerable numbers. The whole were at first believed
to be copper coins, but have since been ascertained to be many of them silver. Mrs.
Tabor's collection amounted to upwards of two thousand two hundred, and the whole
are believed to have exceeded three thousand. The following are the only letters
legible on the inscriptions:
"...VALERIANVS P F AVG... DIV... MARIANA... GALLIENVS AVG...
IMP GALLIENVS AVG... CAL SALONINA AVG... IMP C VICTORINVS P F
AVG... VICTORINVS p F {left Side face) imp c postvmvs p f avg...
IMP MARIVS P F AVG... IMP CLAVDIVS... IMP MACI QVINTILLVS...
IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG. ..IMP FVL gVIETVS P F AVG... IMP C TETRICVS
P F AVG... TETRICVS C AVG..."
The coin or medal of Mariana is a beautiful silver one, in a high state of preser-
vation; she was the second wife of the emperor Valerian, and it appears to have been
struck on the occasion of her marriage. The obverse bears the head of the empress,
the reverse (as is supposed) a peacock with a cupid — legend, consecratio.
Braintree is situated on the Roman road leading from Verulam (St. Alban's) to
Camuloduuum (Colchester), being about fifteen miles from the latter; the turnpike
road intersects it in one place, and further on from Colchester divides it from the village
of Bocking. About two or three years ago there were found, near the confines of
Bocking, and where it adjoins Braintree, three or four urns, which are said to have
been Roman; the largest of them contained a small black vessel, which the workmen
declared had no aperture; their curiosity induced them to break it open, but it did
not appear to contain any thing; the urns were all broken by the workmen, but their
fragments were collected, and are preserved by Mrs. Tabor: those of the largest are
capable of being placed and tied together, so as to exhibit the original form. There
were found in the urns fragments of bones, apparently human, the most perfect
specimen of which seems to have been part of a skull.
There have been found at Stisted (which joins to Bocking and Braintree, and is
still nearer to Colchester,) several urns, stated to have been decidedly Roman. A
Roman coin of the emperor Carausius, of great rarity, has also recently been found
• Gentleman's Mag. vol. xcviii. part i. p 163.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 25
in high preservation, in this neighbourhood, at Debenham, in Suffolk: it bears on one CHAP. V.
side the effigies of the emperor, crowned with laurel, circumscribed imp. carausius
P. F. A. On the reverse, the emperor extending his right hand toward a female
figure (Britannia) both holding a standard, circumscribed, " expectate veni."
Carausius reigned in Britain anno 294. The coin is now in the collection of a gentleman
at Woodbridge.
Some time ago, a coin or medal of Antoninus was found at Braintree, in excellent
preservation.
Samuel Dale, M. D. an antiquary and botanist, born in 1669, was originally an Dr. Dale,
apothecary at Braintree: in 1730, he became a licentiate of the royal college of
physicians, in London, and a practitioner at Bocking, where he died in 1739, aged
eighty. He published a Pharmacopoeia and Materia Medica, of considerable celebrity,
which passed through numerous editions: Silas Taylor's history and antiquities of
Dover Covu't, with an appendix, topographical, dynastical, and political; first collected
by Silas Taylor, alias Dorneville, and now much enlarged, with notes and observations,
and cuts; 4to. London, 1732: and wrote numerous papers in the Philosophical
Transactions, on medical and philosophical subjects, and on natural history.
In 1821, this parish contained two thousand nine hundred and eighty-three, and, in
1831, three thousand four hundred and twenty-two inhabitants.
BOCKING.
The parish of Bocking extends from Braintree on the south to its junction with Rocking.
Gosfield northward; and from Stisted eastward to Pantfield on the west; it is inter-
sected by the river Blackwater, which puts several corn-mills and the machinery
of some silk factories in motion. The village is one of the largest in Essex, principally
consisting of one long street, extending into the heart of the town of Braintree: it
contains many well-built houses, and has places of worship for the Society of Friends,
and dissenters of other denominations.
The name is supposed to be formed of the two Saxon words, Boc, a beech tree,
and inj, a pasture, or meadow; or, in the opinion of some etymologists, it has been
so named because it was bock land, or free land, holden by deed, as the tenure of soc-
land was by service.* In records the name is written Boccinge, Boccinges, Bochinges,
Bockyng, and Boquhing. The agricultural character of this district is described as
in some instances better adapted for meadow ground than arable, some of the lands of
a shallow staple, the substratum a clay, rendered whitish from a mixture of chalk-stones.f
Two Saxons, named iEthelric and Leofwine, were in possession of this parish in !^"[,^'"°
the time of king ^thelred, whose reign commenced in 978; and these noble thanes,
* Sec Spelinan's Glossary.
f Average annual produce per acre of Bocking and Braintree — whetit 24, barley 30, oats 30 bushels.
26 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. in 1006, gave it to the priory of St. Saviour, in Canterbury, for the support of the
monks.* This monastery was what originally formed the cathedral church, founded
by St. Augusthi, and served by monks: in 1011, it was burnt down by the Danes, and
the new erection, by Lanfranc, was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, as appears from
the record of Domesday.
After the suppression of religious houses, it was granted, in 1540, to Roger Went-
worth and his wife Alice,f and their heirs; their son John was their successor, and
died in 1603. Roger, the son of Edward, was next in succession; from whom the
Barker estate passed to sir Robert Barker, created K. B. at the coronation of king James the
first. He married first, Judith, daughter of George Stoddard, esq, of Mottinghara, in
Kent; his second lady was Susan, daughter of sir John Crofts, knt. of Saxham, in
Suffolk; by the first he had two sons and a daughter, of whom the eldest son was
the ancestor of sir John B^ker, bart. By his second, he had his son sir Thomas, who
succeeded to this estate, and five sons and five daughters, of whom Elizabeth was
married to Roger Wentworth; and sir Thomas, the eldest son, was of Basford, in
Suffolk, and possessed of this estate, succeeded by his son William, created a baronet in
1676, by the style of sir William Barker, of Booking Hall.f Being bred to the law,
and made a judge, he mortgaged his estate here to Prisca Cobourne, widow, of Strat- '
ford-le-bow, and retired into Ireland, where, on his decease, he left, by his lady
Elizabeth, daughter of Jerome Alexander, of Norfolk, three sons, William, Jerome,
and Robert: of these, the eldest, sir William Barker, bart. was seated at Ringsall
Hall, in Suffolk, where his son of the same name and title was his successor.
The widow, Prisca Cobourne, mortgagee of this estate, on application to chancery,
after the decease of sir William, obtained possession of the premises, which, with her
other estates, she made the foundation of a noble charity for the relief of poor Avidows
and children of clergymen of the church of England.
The present possessor of this estate is John Thomas Nottidge, clerk, M. A. who
inherits it from his father, Thomas Nottidge, esq. late high sheriff of Essex. The
mansion-house is a capital new building, near the church: George Nottidge, esq. has
lately rebuilt Bocking Fulling-mill House, in an elegant style of modern architecture.
wards. Of the several subordinate manors, that of Dorewards has the mansion pleasantly
* Tlie grant began in these words : Ego ^Ethelric et Leofwina, annuente Deo et Rege Atheldredo,
donamus terrain juris nostri nomine Boccinges, et Mersega, ad Ecclesiam sci Salvatoris in Dorobernia
ad victum Monachorum ibidem Deo servientium pro salute anime mee, &c. Subscribed by king /Ethelred,
Arp. Alfric, Alfege bishop of Winchester. — From a manuscript in Corpus Christi College, library, Cambridge.
Mersega was the manor of Bocking Hall, in West Mersey.
f He was either the youngest son of sir Thomas Wentworth, who died in 1551, or the son of sir Roger,
of Codham Hall.
X Arms of Barker : Party per fesse nebulae, azure and sable, three martlets, or ; with a canton ermine.
Crest : On a wreath or and azure, a bear sejant, or, collared sable.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 27
situated on an acclivity, with a fine open prospect southward: it is a short distance CHAP. v.
eastward from the church, near the road from High Garret to Braintree, and was
new-built by Edward Thorsby, in 1579. This manor was holden of the paramount
manor by fealty and rent.
Robert de Bocking- held this possession in the reign of king John and Henry the
third: his son, Osbert, was the father of Richard, from whom, in 1316, the estate was
conveyed to Ralph, son of Roger Doreward, of Bocking.
Alwine Doreward was the father of Thomas and Roger, who lived in this parish in Dore-
the time of Henry the third ; of these, the former was the father of Ralph, the pur- family,
chaser of this estate; his two wives were named Cicely and Agnes: by the first of
these he had William and Roger, of whom William was his successor; who, by his
wife Joan, only daughter and heiress of John Olivers, of Stan way, had John; who
had, by his wife Katharine, a son and successor of the same name, born in 1390; he
had also Joan, married to Richard Waldegrave: Eleanor, wife of John Knivet, esq.
and Elizabeth, married to Chamberlain. Having made great additions to his
patrimonial estate, he died in 1420. John Doreward, the son, acquired celebrity in
the legal profession; was speaker of the house of commons in 1414, and sheriff" of
Essex and Hertfordshire in 1425 and 1432. He married Blanch, eldest daughter of
sir William de Coggeshall, by whom he had John, William, Richard, Ralph, and
Elizabeth. On his decease, in 1462, he, by will, divided his extensive possessions
among his children. John, the eldest son, married Anne, daughter and co-heiress of
Thomas Urswick, esq. by whom he had John, who succeeded his father on his death
in 1746, and who, dying in 1480, without issue, was succeeded by his uncle, William
Doreward, esq. who married Margery, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Roger
Arsick, of South-acre, in Norfolk, by whom he left his son and heir, John; and
Elizabeth, married to Thomas Fotheringay, esq. of Woodrising, in Norfolk; the son
resided at Spain's Hall, in Great Yeldhara, where, having married Margery, daughter
of John Nanton, esq. he died in 1495, leaving no issue; the three daughters of his
sister Elizabeth being his co-heiresses : these were Margaret, wife of Nicholas Beaupre,
of Norfolk; Ellen, of Henry Thorsby, esq.; and Christian, married to John de Vere,
afterwards the fourteenth earl of Oxford.* On the termination of the line of Dore-
ward, their extensive possessions, consisting of above twenty lordships and capital
estates in this county, with others in various parts of the country, were partitioned out
to the co-heiresses, and conveyed to the families of Beaupre, Thorsby, and Vere ; but,
soon after the decease of Margaret Beaupre, in 1513, her share came into the family
of her sister, Ellen Thorsby, and was the property of Thomas Thorsby, esq. the eldest
son of Henry, who had these possessions at the time of his decease in 1532.
* Arms of Doreward : Ermine, a chevron charged with three crescents.
28
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Thorsby
family.
BOOK 11. Ankfritli, a Danish nobleman, and the ancestor of the Thorsby family, flourished
about the year 1014, in the time of king Sweyn, and had vast possessions in the
northern parts of the kingdom. They derive their surname from a manor or village
in the north riding of Yorkshire. Of this family, Edward Thorsby, esq. was the first
who resided at Dorewards Hall, which he possessed at the time of his decease, in
1602, with a park and several parcels of land. He left, by his wife Mary, daughter
of Philip Bedingfield, esq. Christopher, John and Edward, twins, and six daughters.
The eldest son, Christopher, succeeded his father, and married Audrey, daughter of
Nicholas Tiperley, esq. of Hintlesham, in Suffolk; he had by her William, Henry,
John, EdAvard, and three daughters; and, on his decease in 1626, was succeeded by
William, his eldest son, who married Elizabeth, daughter of William Perte, of Mid-
dlesex, by whom he had Christopher, William, Edward, Tindal, John; Elizabeth,
Anne, Penelope, Mary, and Sarah.* Christopher Thorsby, the eldest son, had four
wives, of whom the first was Jane, daughter of Thomas Smyth Neville, esq. of Holt,
in Leicestershire, by whom he had his only son Thomas. His second wife was of a
family of the name of Dove; but his two other wives are not mentioned by name.f
In 1637, he sold this and the manors of Bradfords and Harries to Richard Eden, LL.D.
whose son or grandson sold them to John le Motte Honeywood, esq. of Markshall,
whose descendants have retained possession to the present time.
The manorial estate named Bradfords is near Braintree, on the south side of the
river Blackwater. From ancient deeds, it appears to have belonged to the family of
Bradford as early as the reign of king John ; from which it passed to John FuUere, in
1420; and, in 1476, to John Doreward, who united it to the manor of that name.
The mansion-house of Harries is about a quarter of a mile from the bridge, on the
road from Halstead to Braintree. Its name is believed to be derived from Henry, or
Harry de Bocking, who owned it in 1315, and on whose decease it was devised to
W^illiam de Goldington. In 1352, it was conveyed, by John de Goldington, to Alban
PVere, whose son and heir, John Frere, sold it to John Doreward, esq. and, in 1476,
John, the son of John Doreward, died in possession of this estate, described as two
tenements, with a watei'-mill and two hundred acres of meadow and ai'able land,
including Harries, in Bocking, and Ilenkyns, in Bocking and Stisted. This estate
was afterwards united to Dorewards Hall.
The mansion of Fryers is in Bradford-street, on the road to Braintree. Alban
Frere, or Fryer, is supposed to have been the origin of the name of this manor; John,
his son, married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Powers, of Witham, and had by her
Elizabeth, his only daughter, who, by marriage, conveyed this estate to William
Bradfords
Harries.
Krvers.
* Mary was married to Rice Gwyn, scrjcant-at-law ; Pliilippa, to John St. John, esq. of Hatfield Peverel;
Elizabeth, to Edward Dennys, esq. ; Katharine, to John Smith, clerk ; and Sarah died unmarried,
t Arms of Thorsby : Argent, a chevron between three lioncels rampant, sable.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 29
Brokeman, esq.;* and tlieir son, John Brokeman, esq. married Florence St. Leger, <^'HAW. \
on whose death, in 1500, he was succeeded hy Thomas, his son, who, by his wife, of
the maiden name of Rochester, had John, Emerias, Abigail, Anne, Agnes, and Frances.
John, the eldest son, was living in 1544.
In 1625, Jonas Windle, clothier, held this estate of the manor of Bocking Hall,
and, in 1632, his son Richard sold it to Hercules Arthur; whose brother, John
Arthur, D.D. of Clapham, in Surrey, was his heir. He married Anne, daughter of
Miles Corbet, esq. (one of those who signed the warrant for the execution of Charles
the first) and had by her John, Henry killed in a duel, Anne, Elizabeth, and Dorothy.
In 1696, John, the heir, sold the estate to John Maysent, of Bocking: he was the
son of John Maysent, of Justices, in Finchingfield, by his Avife Judith, daughter of
Henry Pye and Margaret his wife, sister to Hercules Arthur. John Maysent married
Judith, daughter of Joseph Maysent, of Hatfield Peverel: he died in 1723, having
had three sons, who died young, and six daughters. By his will, he left this estate
to Jeremiah, his younger brother.f Of the daughters of John Maysent, Susannah
was married to the rev. John Palmer, of Coventry; and Judith, to William Raymond,
attorney-at-law, of Braintree, and afterwards of Black Notley. This estate was
afterwards the property of Henry Ray.
In the reign of Edward the Third, a family lived at the estate of Fennes, whose Fennes.
surname was Att Fenn, from whence the name of the place may be inferred to have
been derived from its situation. The mansion is near Braintree, on the confines of
Gosfield parish.
In 1580, this manor and estate were sold, by Robert Rampson, of Chingford, to
Robert Dawes, of Stisted; who again sold them to Martha, the widow of Thomas
Heigham, esq. of Denham, in Suffolk; who, in the following year, conveyed them to
William Benlowes, esq. of Finchingfield, in whose family the estate continued till
1655, when Edward BenlowesJ and his co-heirs joined in the conveyance of it to
Nathan Wright, esq. : and, in 1662, his successor in this possession, sir Benjamin
Wright, bart. of Cranham, conveyed it to Jeremiah Reeve, of High Garret. It
afterwards became the property of Mrs. Baynes, as the estate of Willoughbys was the
property of John Thomas Baynes.
The mansion-house of the manor of Boones is nearly opposite to High Garret, and Boones.
a mile and a half distant from the church.
* Arms of Fryer: Sable, a chevron between three dolphins, argent.
t Robert Maysent, of Lysons, in Bocking, made the first long bay manufactured in England.
X In 1635, Edward Benlowes, esq. sold a yearly rent of twelve pounds for ever, issuing out of this estate,
to Ellen GouLston, of London ; which her son, Theodore Goulston, M.D. gave by deed to the college of
physicians, in London. See Wood's Allien, vol. i. col. 570. He calls this Ellen the doctor's widow, nut
his mother.
VOL. II. F
30 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
]50(JK II. In 1547, Roger Wentworth, esq. sold to William Goodwin, esq. "lands, woods,
and underwoods, formerly belonging- to Richard Boone, in Bocking; a grove called
Hedgeland; two others named Halywell Weld, and Boone's Weld." He died in
1554, and his son Thomas sold the estate to John Fitch, on whose decease, in 1569,
he was succeeded by his brother Oswald, who came and resided at Lyons, where
he died in 1612: he had also the farm of Morrels, which he ordered to be sold
for the payment of his debts. From his brother Stephen, Boones passed to Joseph
Reeve.
UockiuQ Bocking Park, and the farm called the Lodge, belong to the earl of Essex.
Lvoiis The mansion of Lyons is rather more than a mile south-east from the church, and
about a mile from Boones. A family surnamed Lyon flourished here in the time of
Edward the first and Edward the second. It was holden of Bocking Hall, and, in
1548, was sold, by Roger Wentworth, esq. to William Goodwin, esq. whose son
Thomas sold it, with the estate of Boones, to John Fitch, esq. on whose decease they
passed to his brothers, Oswald and Stephen, and to Robert Hawkins, esq. whose only
daughter Frances conveyed them, in marriage, to Sir John Dawes, bart. on whose
decease they became the property of his lady. This estate was purchased, in 1819,
by William Rankin, esq.
jj'p'^ A handsome larsre mansion-house, on the west side of the road from Gosfield and
Garret. '^
Halstead, has received the name of High Garret, from the peculiar form of the old
house, which stood on the opposite side of the Avay, surrounded by a deep moat, the
remains of which are yet visible. It belonged to John Barret in 1428, from whom it
took the name of Barrets, and has, in records, been named a manor. In 1526, it
passed from William Heggeman and Edmund Rede, to John Gierke; and, from his
successor of the same name, to Clement and Andrew Gierke, in 1538; the latter of
whom sold it, in 1584, to John Reeve; and, after passing to several other proprietors,
became the property of Osgood Gee, esq,
Ro\in5- Bovington Hall, about a mile north-west from the church, near the road to
Wetherstield, was given to the prior and convent of Christchurch, in Canterbury,
by Richard Bovington, in 1353,* and forms part of the estate belonging to the cor-
poration of the clergv.
Church. 'pjje church is supposed to have been erected about the time of king Edward the
third, and is a noble specimen of the architecture of that period; being a stately
building of flint and stone, situated on high ground, and forming a conspicuous object
at a considerable distance. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary; both the church and
chancel have north and south aisles, and the tower contains six bells.
In this church there were formerly three altars, dedicated respectively to St. Mary,
St. Nicholas, and St. Catharine; and five chantries. The living has a glebe of one
* Appendix to Sumner's Antiquities of Canterbury, ed. 1703, No. 36, p. 40.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD.
31
hundred and eight acres; it is a rectory and deanery, the head of the archbishop's
peculiars in Essex and Suffolk, all of which are exempt from the jurisdiction of their
diocesans, and subject to the archbishop's commissary, who is called the dean of
Booking.
The parsonage, or deanery, is a fine old mansion, of considerable antiquity, on
rising ground, commanding an agreeable prospect.
Male and female figures, in the south aisle of the church, are believed to represent
individuals of the Dore ward family, to whom this aisle belonged ; but the inscriptions
are entirely defaced.
The north aisle of the chancel belongs to Bocking Hall, and has a marble monument
on its northern side, upon which, under a pediment supported by marble columns, a
female figure, in a devotional attitude, represents Mrs. Moore, wife of Adrian Moore,
esq. who died in childbed in the year 1624, and was buried here; below this monu-
ment a black marble bears the following: —
CHAP. V.
Inscrip-
tions and
monu-
ments.
" Having lost one dear to me,
Reader, I would let you see,
If this stone could help to show
How my heart is plunged in woe :
To want the comfort once I had,
Ere she within this tomb was clad.
Too greatly should I be opprest.
Did I not know her happy rest :
Who, while she lived, made Christ her stay,
And now doth live with him for aye."
A handsome marble monument on the east side of the same chancel aisle bears the
following :
" Sacred to the memorj' of Prisca Cobourne, relict of Thomas Cobourne, of Stratford-le-
Bow, gent, who, though young and of great fortune, yet, for the sake of the public, refused
to alter her condition. She was the daughter of the rev. Mr. Foster, minister of Bow, and
lived worthy that church she sprung from ; and died not unmindful of her descent from it,
piously disposing of her estate, which was very large, to religious, charitable, and prudent
purposes ; thus her manor of Bocking Hall, with all the lands appertaining to it, (one farm
only reserved for another charity,) she bequeathed to the corporation of the sons of the
clergy, for the relief of poor widows of the church of England ministers; and to place
out their children, unprovided for, to honest trades and proper employments. Though her
body lies entombed at Bow, yet the corporation of the sons of the clergy, in gratitude to
their good benefactress, ordered this monument to be here erected, to her honour, and for
the example of others ; and the following lines to be inscribed to her perpetual memory :
" Stay, passenger,
Though Cobourne's ashes lay not here enshrined.
Here view the lively portrait of her mind ;
Chaste, pious, liberal, good ; graces that claim
Immortal honours, and a deathless fame ;
Her monument for ages yet to tome,
Wouldst thou behold ? leave this imperfect tomb ;
Go and survey the spacious lands around.
That fair inheritance her poor have found ;
Those virtues bore her noble soul above.
And raised this stone with gratitude and
love."
32
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. A tomb in the church-yard, to the memory of John Maysent, gent, of Booking
Hall, bears the following poetical inscription:
" Let these mementos of mortality
Warn us on earthly gifts not to rely,
Youth, beauty, wisdom, virtue, strength, estate,
Without respect or favour have their fate;
Surticient proof each day, each hour affords,
Eight here this single monument records.
A wife, in whom each noble virtue join'd,
A wife, in whom the graces all combined ;
And seven hopeful children here do lie.
Bearing their lovely mother company.
The last was John, whose praises let me tell,
Who knew his virtues and his goodness well.
Since then our loss their gain is, cease to mourn.
For we to them shall go, not they return :
Tlien bear it calmly, though a heavy loss,
The only way to heaven is by the Cross."
Charities. [^ 1 138, John Doreward, esq. built an hospital on two acres of land belonging to
his own estate, at the corner of Church-lane: he endowed it with the manor of Tend-
ring,* and a rent of ten pounds yearly. This house was named Maison de Dieu, and
continues to the present time an habitation for seven poor people.f There is also an
almshouse for eight dwellers.
In 1571, William Benlowes, esq. gave an annuity of three pounds out of an estate
in Little Bardfield; and also a yearly rent of two pounds thirteen shillings and four-
pence, to be paid out of Rookwoods, in this parish, to be distributed to the almshouse
people, and for the reparation of the almshouses.
In 1573, \^^illiam Marten, of Halstead, gave an annuity of four pounds, out of a
messuage in Castle Hedingham, to be distributed in equal portions, at Michaelmas
and Lady-day, to the poor of Booking.
In 1601, Mrs. Joanna Smith bequeathed four hundred pounds to piu'chase lands of
forty marks yearly value, for the relief of the poor of Coggeshall and Booking; the
twenty marks belonging to this parish to supply five shillings' worth of bread every
Sunday, and the distributors to have six shillings and eight pence for their trouble.
The sum of thirty pounds was bequeathed by sir Stephen White, knt. in 1680, to
the poor of Booking, which, with Mrs. Smith's annuity, supplied the purchase money
for four fields, near King's Corner, in Booking, the yearly rents and profits of which
are distributed to the poor, on some Sunday between Michaelmas-day and the 10th
of November, at the discretion of the rector and feoffees.
A bequest of forty pounds to the poor, by John Stocker Jekyl, esq. was included in
the sum expended in the purchase and fitting up of the workhouse ; but forty shillings (the
interest of this money) are received and distributed by the minister and churchwardens.
In 1628, Mr. Skinner gave the rents and profits of two crofts called Wentlands, to
be distributed in linen and woollen to poor and honest sort of people, on St. Andrew's
day, for ever.
In 1630, Thomas Trotter gave an annuity of three pounds six shillings and eight
* In Debden^ in Uttlesford. f Monast. Anglic, vol. ii. p. 477.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 33
pence, out of a house in Braintree, to be disposed of to thirty poor people of honest CHAP. v.
Hfe, fourteen days before St. Thomas's day. "
Mr. Gerard left the income of a tenement and a field of two acres, to be given to
the poor of Bocking at Michaelmas and Lady-day.
Georg-e Elkin gave fifty pounds to be vested in lands or tenements, the interest or
profits to be distributed yearly, for ever, to poor deserving people, on All Saints' day,
which was his birth-day.
John Aylet, of Bocking, in ITOT, left an annuity of seven pounds, the yearly value
of the moiety of a house and land, to be given to the poor of this town and of Brain-
tree.
In 1721, John Mathum, of Braintree, bricklayer, left an annuity of twenty-one
pounds, to be given to twenty poor persons in Bocking.
In 1723, John Maysent, of this parish, left an annuity of forty shillings for repaii'ing
his tomb and vault ; the overplus to be given to the poor of the parish.
John Gauden, D. D. rector of Bocking, and afterwards bishop of Worcester, gave
four hundred pounds for a school-room in Church-lane, and to purchase a farm called
Langlands, in Much Lees, out of the income of which, sixteen pounds* a year were
assigned to the schoolmaster for his maintenance, and the remainder to be paid into
the hands of the dean of Bocking for the time being, as a stock for the improving and
repairing of the premises. The schoolmaster and every scholar to be nominated and
elected, and, if occasion requires, suspended from the school, by the dean of Bocking,
the rector of Stisted, and the vicar of Braintree, for the time being; or by the dean and
either of the other two, who are overseers of the school, which is for the teaching of
thirty poor boys, born and living in this parish, to read and write; not to be admitted
under seven years of age, to continue three years, and none to remain beyond the
age of twelve years.
In 1821, this parish contained two thousand seven hundred and eighty-six, and, in
1831, three thousand one hundred and twenty-eight inhabitants.
RAYNE.
The parish of Rayne, or Raine, is surrounded by Braintree, Bocking, Great Uaync.
Saling, and Stebbing. At the time of the survey it was joined to Braintree, with
which it constituted the lordship of Raines, and was in possession of Roger de
Ramis, whose name was also written Rennes, and Reymes. The village contains
many good houses, and is pleasantly situated on the road to Dunmow, at the distance
of one mile from Braintree. The stream that rises in Bardfield, and waters several
neighbouring parishes, passes here; and, opposite the residence of Mrs. Blenco, a fine
* This annuity has been advanced to twenty-one pounds, and the number of scholars taught limited to
thirty.
34 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. larg-e pond of water, in which a small islet is covered with elegant shrubs, forms an
attractive ornament to this beautiful villag-e. The parish has been noticed as re-
markably healthy, and by a strict course of observation it is found, that, except when
a malignant fever prevailed here, all the burials have been either infants or persons
above sixty, many above seventy, some eighty and upwards, and one John Hawes
died here at the age of ninety-four : to this statement there has not been an exception
in the course of ten years. The soil consists of strong loams on a whitish clay bottom,
but very much intermixed and broken, the higher parts sometimes consisting of clay,
and the hollows and sides of the hills of gravel; in some instances, soils of various
descriptions have been mixed together with good effect,* and some of the clay beds of
considerable depth are valuable for the manuflicture of Avhite bricks.
In the time of Edward the confessor, the lands of this parish were chiefly in the
possession of Gudmund and Aluni; and, at the survey, were become the property of
Hugh de Montford and his under-tenant Alcher, and of Roger de Ramis.
Rayne Rayue Hall was that portion of this parish which was given by the Conqueror to
Hugh, the younger son of Turstin de Bastenbure, a Norman lord, commonly called
" Hugh with the beard," the Normans being at that time usually shaved : one hundred
and fourteen lordships were given to him, of which sixteen were in this county. He
was slain in a duel with Henry de Ferrers, leaving a son named Hugh, who, by his
first wife, had Robert, and Hugh, a monk of Bee, in Normandy. Robert, the eldest,
was general of the army of William Rufus; but afterwards, being accused of favouring
the party who attempted to restore the crown to duke Robert, he obtained leave to
go to Jerusalem, leaving all his possessions to the king. He died on his pilgrimage,
as did also his brother Hugh, leaving their father childless by his first wife; but, by his
second wife, he left an only daughter, married to Gilbert de Gaunt, who had by her
a son named Hugh, who, on account of his mother's large possessions, assumed the
title of Montfort-t
In the reigns of Henry the second, Richard the first, and king John, Robert de
Welles is named in records as lord of Raynes; and, in the time of Henry the third,
Thomas Welles held the manor of Little Raynes of the king, as of the honour of
Rayley, by the service of one knight's fee. In 1268, Nicholas Lewkenor died holding
this manor by the same tenure, with the service of ten shillings yearly to Dover
Castle, and suit at the monthly court of Haghele or Hawle; the king confirmed this
possession to Roger, the son of Nicholas, in 1267. The estate again reverted to
the family of Welles, in 1293, in which year Thomas de Welles succeeded his father
Henry, on his decease; whose successor was his son Walter, in 1315, followed by
* Average annual produce per acre— wheat 24, barley 36, oats 36 bushels.
t Will. Gemineticensis, p. 286, 289, Gesta Gulielmi Ducis, p. 202. Ordericus, p. 506, 773, S23.
Chronic. Norman, p. 992.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 35
his son of the same name, in 1325: he left Joan, his only daughter and heiress, by his CHAP. V
first wife Isabel, sister to Edmund de Kemsek, who held Kemseks, in Felsted, and
the manor of Great Samford; but Alice, his second wife, was with child at the time
of his decease. The Welleses of Essex are a branch of the noble family of that name
in Lincolnshire, and from their long continuance here gave their name to the manor.
William de Rushbrook, of Roysbrooke, marrying Joan Welles, came to this pos-
session, and was living here in 1362, but the time of his decease is not known.
Eleanor, his only daughter and heiress, was married to John Pyke, who had by her
Nicholas Pyke: he presented to this church in 1439; and, on his decease without
issue, Maud, his only sister, became heiress of the estate. She Avas married to John
L'Estrange, esq. descended from sir Hamon L'Estrange, of Hunstanton, in Norfolk,
second son of John, lord Strange, of Knocking, in Shropshire. Eleanor Pyke, having
survived her husband and son, died in 1471, and left the manor and advowson of the
church to Henry L'Estrange, esq. her great grandson and heir, being the son of
Roger, son of Alice, daughter of Maud, daughter of the said Eleanor. The lordship
was afterwards alienated to Richard Tournant, or, as his name appears in the fine,
Turvant; who, in 1486, conveyed it to sir William Capel, in whose family it has
continued to the present time.
The ancestor of the noble family of the present owner of this lordship was Hugh Capci
Capel, of Capel, in Stoke Neyland, in Suffolk; he held Jakeham of king Henry the
first, by the service of two knights' fees; sir Richard de Capel, in 1261, was lord
justice of Ireland;* and sir John Capel was chaplain to Lionel, duke of Clarence,
who, by his will, left him a girdle of gold.f
John Capel, esq. of Stoke Neyland, dying in 1449, left three sons and a daughter,
minors: John, the eldest, had the Suffolk estate: William, the second son, from whom
the earls of Essex descended, was an eminent merchant in London, where he acquired
an immense fortune,:}: which tempted Empson and Dudley, Henry the seventh's
detested agents of oppression, to extort from him the sum of sixteen hundred pounds,
and also to attempt to get from him a further sum of two thousand pounds, under the
pretence of his having neglected to punish a false coiner; but, not tamely submitting
to this gross injustice, he was committed to the Tower. He was knighted at the
coronation of Henry the seventh; was sheriff of London in 1489; in 1503, lord mayor,
and one of the representatives of that city in the parliaments that met in 1491, 1512,
and 1514. At an entertainment which he gave to Henry the eighth, he is said to
have thrown several bonds for money owed to him by that monarch into the fire; and
* History of Ireland, by sir Rich. Cox, part i. p. 69.
t Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 167.
X Hh riches became proverbial; Alexander Barclay, the poet, says, in reference to him, "I Jisk not
the store of Cosmies, or Capel." — Eclogue iv.
36 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liuoK II. at another time, on a similar occasion, as a frolic, drank to the king's health a dis-
solved pearl of great value. He was in possession of large estates in Essex, particularly
of Rayne Hall, and married Margaret, daughter of sir Thomas Arundel, of Lanhern,
in Cornwall, by whom he had Giles, knighted in 1513, for his valour at Terouenne
and Tournay; Elizabeth, married to sir William Paulet, afterwards marquis of Win-
chester; and Dorothy, married to John, lord Zouch, of Harring worth. Sir Giles
Capel succeeded his father, on his decease in 1515.* He attended king Henry the
eighth into France, in 1520, where, with some others, he challenged all comers in
feats of arms for thirty days: he was afterwards appointed sheriff of Hertfordshire
and Essex, in 1528, and was also justice of the peace for Essex, and died at Rayne
Hall in 1556: by his first lady, Mary, daughter of sir Richard Roos, younger son of
sir William Roos, of Belvoir, he had Henry. His second lady was Isabel, daughter
and co-heiress of Sir John Newton, of W^ake, in Somersetshire, by whom he had
Margaret, wife of William Ward, esq. of Brooks, and Edward. Sir Henry Capel
succeeded his father, and married Anne, daughter of George Manners, lord Roos,
but died without issue, and was succeeded by his half-brother, Edward, who received
the honour of knighthood, and was sheriflFof Essex and Hertfordshire in 1560: he
married Anne, daughter of sir William Pelham, ancestor to his grace the duke of
Newcastle, by whom he had Henry, Giles, W^illlam; Elizabeth, Mary, Anne, and
Gi'ace, of whom the last died in 1587: Henry succeeded his father on his decease in
1577, was sheriff of Essex in 1579, knighted in 1587, and died in 1588: he married,
first, Mary, daughter of Anthony Brown, viscount Montacute; secondly, Catharine,
fourth daughter of Thomas Manners, earl of Rutland, by the latter of whom he had
Arthur, William, Edward, John, Gamaliel, Robert; Agnes, Frances, Anne, and
Mary. Sir Arthur Capel, the next succeeding representative of this noble family,
resided at Rayne and at Little Hadham, in Hertfordshire, highly distinguished by a
generous and liberal spirit, and unbounded hospitality. By his lady, Mary, daughter
of John, lord Grey, of Pirgo, brother to the marquis of Dorset, he had Henry, Ed-
ward, Arthur, Robert, Humphrey, W^illiam, Giles, John, Roger, Gamaliel, James,
and eight daughters. Henry, the eldest son, died in 1622, before his father, having
married, first, Theodosia, sister to Edward, lord Montague, of Boughton, by whom
he had Arthur, Henry who died in 1633, Elizabeth, and Theodosia. On the decease
of his first lady, in 1615, sir Arthur married Dorothy Aldersey, widow of Hos-
kins, knt. by whom he had three daughters, and Thomas, who died an infant. Arthur,
the eldest son of Henry, succeeded his grandfather, and was elected representative in
parliament for the county of Hertfordshire in 1639; and again in the Long Parliament,
Avhich commenced in 1640. He was exceedingly charitable to the poor, and very
• He was buried in a cliapel of his own erection, in tlie church of St. Bartholomew, near the Exchange,
London.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 37
hospitable to his neighbours: in 1641, he was created baron Capel of Hadham. On chap. v.
the commencement of the civil war, in 1642, he raised nine hundred horse soldiers, at
his own charge, for the king, and lent him twelve thousand pounds in money and plate.
After bravely fighting in the royal cause in several engagements, and having made an
ineffectual attempt to rescue the king from his imprisonment in the Isle of Wight,
he was taken prisoner at Colchester, and beheaded in 1649, exhibiting, in his last
moments, great composure and resignation. He was the author of a book of medi-
tations: the family seat of Cashiobury, in the parish of Watford, in Hertfordshire,
was part of the large inheritance which he had with his lady Elizabeth, daughter and
heiress of sir Charles Morison, knt. and bart. of Hertfordshire; by her he had nine
children,* of whom Arthur, the first-born, was his heir and successor, created viscount
Maldon and earl of Essex, in 1661, by king Charles the second. In 1670, he was sent
ambassador to the king of Denmark, and, on his return in 1672, was highly applauded
for his good management of this mission, and made one of the privy council, and, in
1680, lord lieutenant of Ireland; he was also made first commissioner of the treasury.
He was opposed to popery, and the adoption of violent measures ; and, with other
peers, petitioning against the parhament's sitting at Oxford, was accused of the Fanatic
Plot, and committed to the Tower; and, in 1683, found lying on the ground with his
throat cut, strongly suspected to have been the ruffian act of an emissary of James,
duke of York; but the truth or falsity of this assumption has not been discovered.
By his lady Elizabeth, daughter of Algernon, earl of Northmnberland, this unfortunate
nobleman had six sons and two daughters, but was only survived by Anne, married
to Charles Howard, earl of Carlisle; and his fifth son, Algernon, the second earl,
who succeeded his father in 1683. He was highly esteemed by king William, whom
he attended in his expeditions into Holland and Flanders: queen Anne made him
constable of the Tower, and lieutenant-general of her forces. He married Mary,
daughter of William Bentinck, earl of Portland,f by whom he had Elizabeth, Mary,;]:
and William, the third earl, who succeeded his father on his decease in 1709: he
married, first, Jane, eldest surviving daughter of Henry Hyde, earl of Clarendon and
Rochester, by whom he had four daughters.§ The earl's second lady was Elizabeth,
daughter of Wriothesley, second duke of Bedford, by whom he had his only son,
* Henry was created baron Capel of Tewksbury, in 1692; the other children were Edward, Charles ;
Mary, married to Henry lord Beauchamp, son of the marquis of Hertford, and afterwards to Henry, duke
of Beaufort ; Elizabeth, married to Charles, earl of Caernarvon ; Theodosia, to Henry, earl of Clarendon ;
and Anne, the wife of John Strangeways, esq. of Dorsetshire.
t Re-married, after his decease, to sir Conyers D'Arcy, brother to the earl of Holderness.
I The first married to Samuel Molyneux, esq., and, after his decease, in 1728, to Nathaniel St. Andre,
esq. ; and Mary, married to Alan Broderick, viscount Middleton.
§ Caroline and Jane died young; Charlotte was married to Thomas Villiers, carl of Clarendon; and
Mary, to admiral John Forbes, son of George, third earl of Granard.
VOL. II. G
38 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
1300K II. William-Anne-Holles, who, succeeding his father on his decease in 1743, became
the fourth earl: he married, first, Frances, daughter of sir Charles Hanbury Williams,
K.B. (by Frances, daughter of Thomas, earl of Coningsby) by whom he had George,
and two daughters.* His lordship marrying, secondly, Harriet, daughter of colonel
Thomas Bladen, had by this lady (who died in 1821) four children ;f and, dying in
1799, was succeeded by his son George, present and fifth earl; heir presmnptive,
Arthur Algernon Capel, esq. the earl's nephew.:]:
The mansion-house of Rayne Hall has apparently been erected at two different
times; the more ancient part by the Welles family, and the new by sir Giles
Capel.§
Old Hall, In the time of Edward the confessor, the two great landholders, named Aluin and
nards. Edric, had the manor of Old Hall, or Baynards, the whole of which, at the time of
the survey, belonged to Roger de Ramis, whose family resided here several ages.
The house was in the northern part of the parish, in an inclosure called Chapel-field,
on rising ground, near the river, where traces of the ground plan, and the moat that
surrojinded it, are yet visible. || This manor was the head of the barony of Little
Raines, which consisted of ten knights' fees,
Roger de Rennes is mentioned in records in 1140; and, in 1167, William de Reymes
paid a mark for each knight's fee to king Henry the second, when Matilda, his eldest
daughter, was married to Henry, duke of Saxony, from whom king George the first
of England was lineally descended. William and Richard de Raines paid twenty
shillings for each knight's fee, for the war in Ireland, in 1172; and the same persons,
in 1194, paid these sums for the redemption of king Richard out of captivity. Robert,
Richard, and William de Ramis were brothers, descendants of Roger; and, on the
decease of Robert, without issue, the barony became the inheritance of Richard, who,
on his decease, about the close of the reign of king John, left his three daughters his
co-heiresses. Alice was the widow of Roger de Marmos; Amicia, the second, was
* Diana, and Anne.
t These were John Thomas, who married Caroline Paget, daughter of Henry, earl of Uxbridge ;
Edward, major-general in the army; William Robert, AM. chaplain to his majesty, rector of Rayne, and
vicar of Watford, in Hertfordshire; Rladen Thomas, rear-admiral of the blue, and C. B.
I Arms of Capel : Gules, a lion rampant, between three cross crosslets litch6, or. Crest : a demi-lion
rampant, supporting a cross crosslet fitchec, or. Supporters : two lions or, ducally crowned gules.
Motto : •' Fide et fortitudine." " By faith and fortitude."
§ There were several escutcheons in the windows of the chamber over the parlour, the first of which
contained fifteen coats within a garter, under an earl's coronet ; and in the window on the great staircase,
Capel quarterly, one and four, two and three argent, a chevron below three torteaux gules, on a chief
azure, a fret between two cinquefoils, or ; under which, the year 1553 ; consequently, the arms of sir Giles
Capel, who at that time lived here, and built this part of the house.
II The name of Ramis is supposed to be a corruption of Rennes, or Raines ; probably, in its first appli-
cation, derived from the city of Rennes, in Bretagne.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 39
given by the king, her guardian, to William de Marini; and Joan, the youngest, was CHAP. v.
married to William de Harlow. The family of Baynard, of Messing, had become
possessed of this manor in the time of king Henry the third, and it was afterwards on
that account called Ba}Tiards. Imania Baynard died holding this estate in 1272, suc-
ceeded by her son Roger, Avho died in 1295, and whose heir was Thomas, the son of
his brother Richard, who died in 1344, holding this and other possessions, which
descended to his son John; Thomas, who is supposed to have been his brother, held,
with Katharine his wife, this manor, and also lands in Saling: he died in 1362.
The last of the family that resided here was Walter, the son of Geoffrey de Raynes,
who sold this manor to John Oxensey, who had also a messuage in this parish called
Oxenseys:* Catharine, his daughter, conveyed this estate to her husband, Richard
Downman, esq. who had by her Ralph and Humphrey. He died in 1454, and Avas
succeeded by Ralph, whose brother Humphrey became his heir, on his decease without
issue; in the inquisitions, on the conveyance of this inheritance, this manor is for the
first time named Old Hall. On the decease of Humphrey Downham, in 1478, his
son Henry became his heir, who died young, leaving his only sister Mary to inherit
the family possessions, which were conveyed, by marriage, to her husband, Richard
Fillol, esq. second son of William, one of the sons of John Fillol, esq. of Kelvedon;
he came to this estate in 1504: John was his son and heir, who, dying in 1551, was
succeeded by his son of the same name, whose son Anthony came to the estate in 1618,
and died in 1629, his eldest son not being of age. Afterwards the family possessions
were divided among- his sons and grandsons, continuing in the family till James Fillol,
esq. in 1720, sold this estate to Thomas Smith, esq. of Bardfield Magna.
An estate called the Lodge, belongs to the right hon. the earl of Essex.
The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a building of great antiquity, having been Church,
erected about the time of Henry the second, or Richard the first, soon after the
division of the lordship into two parishes, by Robert de Welles, lord of the manor of
Rayne Hall, to which the patronage of the rectory has continued attached to the
present time. The floor is paved with tiles about four inches square, disposed in the
form of lozenges. The tower is lofty and of ample dimensions, with a small shingled
spire; it was built by sir William Capel, whose arms appear in the brick- work near
the foundation, on either side of the belfry door:f the tower contains four bells.
In 1199, Robert de Welles and Harvey de Reynes endowed this church with a
house and twenty acres of glebe land, as appears from the original deed, which is yet
extant.
An altar in a chapel at the east end of the south aisle of this church, dedicated to
the Virgin Mary, was in high reputation in Catholic times, and much visited by child-
* Arms of Oxensey : Per fesse, sable and argent, a bull's head counter horned, or.
t These ancient arms are, on one side of the door, a lion rampant ; and on the other, an anchor.
40
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Inter-
ments.
BOOK II. bearing women, from a superstitious belief that prayers to the Virgin from this shrine
were of peculiar efficacy.* There were also two obits here.
Many of the Capel family are interred in this church, particularly sir Giles Capel,
who died in 1556, and also his first lady, who died before him. Sir Edward Capel,
who died in 1577, and lady Grace, his daughter, buried here in 1587. Sir Henry
Capel, who died in 1588, and was buried with Katharine, his lady. Henry Capel, esq.
interred in 1615, and Thomas, the infant son of sir Arthur, who died in 1621.
Edward Symonds, M.A. rector of Rayne, in the time of king Charles the first, was
a person of considerable celebrity, and author of various publications ; among which
are Hermes Theologus; a New Descant upon Old Records; a Vindication of king
Charles the first, &c. ; and various political and theological works.
Dr. Richard Kidder, bishop of Bath and Wells, a very learned divine, was rector
here from 1664 to 1674; his death was caused by the fall of a chimney, in the great
storm of 1703. Among his valuable and learned writings are, A Demonstration of the
Messiah, in which the truth of the Christian religion is proved, especially against the
Jews, 3 vols. 8vo. frequently reprinted; a Commentary on the Pentateuch, 2 vols.
8vo.; Life of Dr. Horneck, 12mo.; Critical Remarks on some difficult passages of
Scripture, 8vo.
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and forty-three, and, in 1831, three
hundred and twenty inhabitants.
Edward
Symonds
Bishop
Kidder
Pantfield.
PANFIELD, or PANTFIELD.
This parish extends southward to Rayne, westward to Great Saling, and is bounded
on its north, north-east, and eastern extremities, by the river Blackwater, formerly
named Pant,f and by the town of Braintree. Its name in records is written Pang-
field, Pamfield, Pantisfield, Pauntield, Puntfend; and, in Domesday, Penfeld. The
parish from east to west measures two miles, and three from north to south, and
contains fourteen hundred acres of land, including the Avoods, by which it is very
agreeably diversified: the soil is a strong loam on clay, variously modified.:}: The
village, agreeably situated, is not far distant from the river, and has always been con-
* The occurrence from which this superstition arose happened in tlie time of Edward the third, when,
during a difficult and almost hopeless labour of the wife of John de Naylinghurst, her attendants were sent
to offer prayers and vows here, in her behalf; and, on their return, finding their mistress safely delivered,
declared it was what they had with confidence anticipated, for, said they, " Our lady of mercy smiled
upon us."
t The antiquity of this name appears from a passage in the chronicle of Ralph de Coggeshall, who,
speaking of the old city of Ithanchester, or, as he names it, Stancaster, has this passage : " Civitas Stan-
caster stetit super ripam rivoir de Fante, currentis per Maldunum." See also Bede's Eccles. Hist. b. 3,
ch. 22. '
X Average annual produce per acre— wheat 24, barley 36, oats 36 bushels.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 41
sidered in a high degree salubrious, which opinion is confirmed by an inspection of the CHAP. v.
register.* The distance from Braintree is two, and from London forty miles.
The lands of this parish were in the divided possession of a thane named Wisgar,
and a free woman, in the time of Edward the confessor; but, at the Domesday survey,
had become the property of Richard Fitz-Gilbert, and the abbey of St. Stephen, at
Caen, in Normany.
Pantfield Hall is a large building, commanding a very beautiful and interesting Pantfield
prospect: it is south of the church, from which it is not far distant. This fine old
mansion has necessarily been much altered by frequent repairs, but its quadrangular
tower and handsomely clustered chimneys are interesting features of its original
antiquity, f
Robert de Watevil, or Watervil, held this estate under Richard Fitz-Gilbert, at Waurvil
the time of the survey of Domesday; he also held under him the lordship of Hemsted,
and is believed to have been either the brother or son of William de Watervil, who
held High Rooding and Hanningfield in the reign of the Conqueror. The successor
of Robert de Watervil was his son sir Robert, who lived at Hemsted in the time of
king Richard and king John; and, by Maud his wife, had sir William, to whom, in
1253, king Henry the third granted a charter of free- warren in his lordships of
Hemsted and Pantfield. His son and successor was the second sir William, who,
marrying Thorema, daughter and heiress of sir Robert Roos, of Radwinter, had by
her his only son, sir John de Watervil, who left a son of the same name, and Joan,
who, on her brother's decease, without issue, became sole heiress of the family,:}: and
conveyed this estate to her husband, Richard de Mutford, in 1330, who, dying before
her, without issue, she was again married, in 1341, to her second husband, sir William Langham
de Langham, of the family of sir Ralph de Langham, a person of celebrity in the time
* The number of deaths in three years, from Easter-day 1814 to Easter-day 1817, was five; of the
respective ages of eighty-eight, ninety, eighty-one, and two of eiglity-four, making a total of four hundred
and twenty-seven years. In five years, the burials were only eight : the average of deaths, one in fifty.
t The hall was built in 154-6, and the other modern part of this erection in 1583, by George Cotton
and Frances his wife, the initial letters of whose names appear on the mantel- piece in the dining room.
t Of this family was the gallant sir William de Watervil, who accompanied king Richard the first to
the Holy Land, and acquired fame by his magnanimous conduct at the taking of Ptolemais, and in other
actions. Robert of Gloucester speaks of him in his rhyming chronicle :
" King Richard, with gud cntent,
To yat cite of Tafes went ;
On morn he sent after sir Robert Salkevile,
Sir William Watervile,
Sir Hubart and sir Robart of Turnham,
Sir Bertram Brandes, and John de St. John."
There were three knights bannerets of this family, all living at the same time in this county, in the
reign of Edward the first, bearing the following arms : sir John de Watervil, aigent, three chevrons ; sir
Robert, ^he same, within a bordure, indented sable: sir Roger, argent, three chevrons gules, a martlet
sable. — Barnes' Hist, of Ed. the Third, p. 293. Fuller's Church Hist. p. 43. Knight's Bannerets, temp.
Ed. the First, io\ 45.
Friorv.
42 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. of Henry the second:* the estate continued in this family for several generations, till
Alice, the only daughter of Richard Langham, esq. by marriage, conveyed it to her
Cotton husband, John Cotton, esq. a descendant of the celebrated sir Robert Cotton, founder
of the Cottonian library.f Thomas, the son of George Cotton, of this family, in
1611, sold Panttield Hall to sir Henry Gawdy, knt. of Claxton Castle, in Norfolk,
who, on his decease, left it to his son Anthony, and he, in 1613, sold it to William
Hart and William Stoke, who, in 1616, conveyed it to Lawrence Washington; who
sold it, in 1617, to James Heron, esq. and he, in 1641, disposed of it to Richard Fitz-
Simonds, esq, of Yeldliam Magna; who, dying in 1680, left this estate to his nephew,
John Symonds, esq. of the Pool, in Great Yeldham; and he, in 1691, gave it to his
nephew, Martin Carter, esq. of Great Saling Hall, of whom it was purchased, in
1702, by Richard Beale, esq. of Maidstone, in Kent, on whose decease, in 1712, it
descended to his nephew, Alexander Beale, esq. of Hale Place, in Kent: it now
belongs to Guy's Hospital. J
Panttield The ancient priory of Pantfield was at a short distance northward from the church:
the precise time of its original foundation is not known; but it is known from records,
* Sir William, soon after his marriage, came and resided sometimes at Hemsted Hall, and sometimes
at Pantfield : the offspring of this marriage were William, Robert, John, and Thomas ; of whom, sir Wil-
liam, the eldest, succeeded his father, and married Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of William, son of
Geoffrey de Darsham ; by this lady he had John, Robert, and Katharine, married to Ralph de Hemenall.
John de Langham, the eldest son and heir, had two wives, but had issue only by the first, who was Alice,
daughter and co-heiress of sir William Coggeshall, of Little Samford Hall, widow of sir John Tyrell, of
Herons. He died in 1417, in the life-time of his father; his son and successor, George Langham, esq.
was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1449, and married Isabel, daughter of William Hasilden, lord of
the manor of Little Chesterford, by whom he had an only son, his successor, Richard Langham, esq. who
married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of William Southcote, esq. by whom he had his only daughter, Alice,
married to John Cotton, esq. Arms of Langham : Argent, a fesse gules ; a label of three points, azure.
+ Alice was married, first, to Thomas St. John, esq. and, secondly, to John Cotton, esq. By her first
husband she had five daughters, and to her second she bore three sons and three daughters ; surviving
both her husbands, she died in 1525, at the time of her decease holding the manors of Hemsted and Pant-
field, of Catharine, queen of England, as of her honour of Clare. Her successor in this estate was her son,
SigLsmund Cotton, esq. who married Bridget, daughter of Thomas Sale, of London, and whose second
wife was Jane Garnish : on his decease, in 1590, he was succeeded by William Cotton, esq. (his only son
by his first wife) who marrying Anne, daughter of John Vescay, esq. of Cambridgeshire, had George, and
several other sons, who died without issue, and Giles, William, and Anne: dying in 1561, he was suc-
ceeded by his son, George Cotton, esq. who married Frances, daughter of Thomas Felton, esq. of Playford,
in Suffolk, by whom he had Thomas, George, Anthony, William; Beatrice, married to Robert Berners,
esq. of Gray's-inn; Frances, the wife of Pepper, of Hemsted; Abigail, married to Robert Cooke,
esq. of Langham, in Suffolk ; .Anne, and Mary. On his dccca.se, in 1592, he was succeeded in the estates of
Hemsted, Lanijham, and Pantfield, by his son and heir, Thomas Cotton, esq. who sold the manor of Pant-
field Hall. Arms of Cotton : Azure, an eagle displayed, argent ; beaked and legged, gules.
I This lordship, from the time of the Con(|iieror, was holden of the honour of Clare, by the service of
half a knight's fee, and the advowson of the church was annexed to it, and now belongs to Benjamin
William Page, esq. vice-admiral of the blue.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 43
that in 1070, Waleran Fitz-Ralph gave his little manor of Pantfield* to the abbey of CHAP. v.
St. Stephen, in Normandy ;f and this donation was confirmed by king William the
first, Henry the second, Richard the first, and Henry the fourth. It is also recorded
that the prior and monks had a licence for free-warren here in 1250; the foundation,
therefore, of this house, was previous to that period. The priors of this house, after
its becoming a cell to the great foreign abbey, were invested with a greater power
than they previously possessed, and several of them were made procurators-general
to that abbey throughout all England, to take account of their lands and rents;:}: and
their power and influence increased till the commencement of a war between France
and England, in 1285, when this, as one of the priories alien, was seized by king
Edward the second, in order to prevent the carrying money out of the kingdom into
the hands of the enemy. The same policy was also pursued by Edward the third,
who, in 1337, or 1338, during his wars with France, confiscated the goods and estates
of all the alien priories in England which were cells to monasteries in France.
These he let out to farm during the space of twenty-three years, and among others
this of Pantfield, with that of Wells, were farmed by Hugh Falstolf. When the war
ended, all the lands, tenements, and possessions of these religious houses were restored,
and the full enjoyment of them allowed, till the year 1414, when all the alien priories
in England, not conventual, were totally suppressed, and their possessions vested in
the crown. In 1415, king Henry the fifth granted this priory of Pantfield, with that
of Wells, to John Woodhouse, esq. of Norfolk, to hold by the service of a red rose;
and his son John enjoyed this possession till his decease, when it returned to the
crown, and, in 1460, was granted, in free alms, by king Henry the sixth, to King's
College, in Cambridge. In 1461, king Edward the fourth granted this manor of the
priory of Pantfield to Gresild,§ widow of John Hind, esq. to hold by the service of
a red rose yearly, on St. John Baptist's day, for all services; and the said Gresild
Hind, in 1471, left this estate in trust for Thomas Bourchier, cardinal of St. Cyriac,
and archbishop of Canterbury ;|| and, in 1472, he gave it to the prior and convent of
* Manerioliuii, as it is writ'ten in the original grant, and in subsequent confirmations. This appears
from the great roll of king Edward the Third, where it is stated that Edward, the father of Edward the
third, having wars with France, did seize this priory and that of Wells, and granted the custody of them
to Robert de Stokes, then prior of Pantfield ; he being required to pay the customary farm of seventy-six
pounds a year. — From the original roll in possession of the IVright family.
t Founded by William the conqueror, in 1064, and dedicated to God, and St. Stephen, the proto-martyr.
X Besides tiie priory manor, there belonged to this cell a contiguous wood and lands, and tlie tithe of
all the land that Waleran had in England, with very extensive possessions in various parts of the country. —
Monast. Anglic, vol. i. p. 571, vol. ii. p. ysfi.
§ Her name is yet to be seen on a painted window of the manor-house, where it must have remained
from 145.5 to the present time, a period of nearly four hundred years.
II The cardinal was the second son of sir William Bourchier, by the lady Anne, eldest daughter of
Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, the sixth son of king Edward the third : he wore the mitre
fifty-one years, and was archbishop of Canterbury thirty-two years. He died in 1486.
44 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. Canterbury,* who retained possession of it till the general suppression of religious
houses, after which, in 1538, it was granted, with Docking Park, and four hundred
acres of wood there, to sir Giles Capel, of Rayne Hall, who, in 1549, conveyed it to
John Goodday, clothier, of Braintree, who sold it to his son John, in 1575, from
Seaman whom, in 1579, it was conveyed to John Seaman, of Chelmsford, some parcels of it
^'^'"''' " excepted, which, in 1587, were, by the said John Goodday, granted to John his son,
on a lease of two thousand years; and both father and son, in 1399, released all their
ri"-ht and title to Pantfield priory to the said John Seaman,f who lived at the priory
house where he died in 1604: his son was John Seaman, LL.D. who held this
manor and messuage, with divers lands and appertenances; and also Bocking Park:
his son John was his successor, on his decease in 1623, who, dying without issue, his
brother, Samuel Seaman, esq. became his heir, who died in 1632, leaving his son
Richard his heir, who lived at Painswick, in Gloucestershire ; and marrying Katharine,
dauo-hter of Martin Wright, alderman of Oxford, had by her his only daughter and
heiress, Katharine, who conveyed this estate to her husband, John West, esq. of
Hampton Poyle, in Oxfordshire. Katharine, the wife, dying without issue in 1668,
the estate was left in trust for William Wright, esq. the elder, from whom it de-
scended to his son, William Wright, esq. of Trinity College, Oxford, afterwards of
the Inner Temple; recorder of Oxford in 1688, and, in 1714, one of the judges or
iustices for the principality of Wales. He died in 1721, and his heir and successor was
his eldest son, sir Martin W^right, of the Inner Temple, baron of the exchequer, and
one of the justices of the king's bench. The present possessor is lady Frances Eliza-
beth, third daughter of the earl of Aylesbury, and widow of sir Henry Wright Wilson.
The lands of this estate have been divided into two farms, called the Great and Little
Priories; but of the ancient monastic fabric no traces can now be discovered,
cimrch. The church of Pantfield, dedicated to St. Christopher, is a small but handsome
structure, pleasantly situated on elevated ground; the chancel is large in proportion
to the nave; the altar-piece, of wainscot, is very elegant, and was erected at the
expense of the rev. Thomas Kynaston, when rector. In the whidows there appear
some remains of stained glass, of superior workmanship. At the west end there is a
tower, with a spire shingled, and a belfry, containing three bells. The parsonage is
near the church, and is a cheerful modern erection, well sheltered by woods belonging
to the hall and priory manor. The glebe lands do not exceed seven acres.
• The prior and convent, in acknowledgment of this generous donation, obliged themselves, by inden-
ture, dated second of September, 1473, to pray for the good estate of the archbishop whilst he lived, and
to perform at his funeral the solemn office for his soul, and the souls of his parents and friends; also
henceforth, for ever, to keep his obit, in the same manner as they kept that of other archbishops, and to
give a penny a-piece to a hundred poor people. — Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 460.
t In 1.587, Edward Wymark, a hungry chantry-monger, and a hunter after concealed lands, obtained a
grant of Pantfield priory of queen Elizabeth, but he could not oust the lawful possessors.
Ouseley.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 45
There are some inscriptions in this church, and a handsome monument to the CHAP. V.
memory of the wife of the rev. Robert Kynaston, the above-mentioned rector and Monu-
patron of this parish. ments.
Among- the remarkable persons interred here are John Cotton, esq. ancestor of the
family of that name, of the Hall manor. In the middle aisle there are inscriptions to
the memory of several of the same family, particularly of Alice, the wife of John
Cotton, who was buried with her husband in 1525; her first husband, Thomas St.
John, esq. is also interred in the same grave.
Richard Beale, esq. who died in 1712, lies at the upper end of the north side of the
chancel.
The learned Mr. John Ouseley, son of the rev. John Ouseley, of Claypool, in Lin- Rev. J.
colnshire, was rector of Pantfield from 1668 to 1694; in that year he became rector of
Spring-field Boswell, and, in 1703, rector of Little Waltham: to his superior accom-
plishments as a scholar and a divine, he added a profound knowledge of the antiquities
of his country; the excellent and learned bishop Gibson justly estimated his superior
qualifications. Mr. Richard Newcourt mentions his name with deserved commen-
dation, and Mr. Holman acknowledges himself not a little indebted to his collections
and discoveries, which were communicated to him by Mr. Ouseley's son-in-law, Mr.
Anthony Holbrook.
This parish, in 1821, contained two hundred and sixty-three, and, in 1831, three
hundred and sixteen inhabitants.*
GREAT SALING.
This parish, named Great Saling, Sailing Magna, and Old Saling, extends north- Great
westward to Little or Bardfield Saling, in Freshwell half hundred, and in other
directions is bounded by Shalford, Pantfield, Rayne, and Stebbing. Formerly,
these two parishes were united, and, in Domesday-book, are entered as the undi-
vided possession of John, son of Waleran, which was held under him by Turstin
Wiscart: it had also been held undivided in the time of Edward the confessor. The
village surrounds a pleasant green, of a triangular form, containing five acres and a
half; and the northern corner extends across the Great Bardfield road, on which
rows of tall elms form an avenue to the church and the hall, where a highly pleasing
and extensive prospect is presented, including the town and church of Danbury, with
the high grounds southward, from Tiptree Heath to Pleshey.
A small stream called Pods, or Ponds-brook, waters part of this parish : it rises in
Great Bardfield, and in its course visits this and the parishes of Rayne, Braintree, the
* The advowson of Pantfield is with the Pages. Benjamin William Page, esq., vice-admiral of the blue,
received it from the Kynastons.
VOL. II. H
Saling.
46
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Saiing
Hall.
Bibbes
worth
tainilv.
BOOK II. Notleys, Faulkboume and Rivenhall, and afterwards falls into the Blackwater. This
parish measures two miles across either way, and the soil is of various descriptions,
but generally very fertile. It is distant from Braintree three, and from London forty-
two miles.
Sir Baldwin Wiscart, the son of Turstin, was lord of the manor of Great Saiing
Hall toward the close of the reign of king Henry the first: his son and successor was
sir Hugh, living in 1199, whose son, John Wiscart, was the last of the family who
had this estate.
In the commencement of the reign of king Edward the first, sir Walter Bibbes-
worth was the possessor, and succeeded by his son sir Hugh, who flourished in the
reigns of Edward the first and second ; and sir John, his son and heir, held the manor
of Saiing of the lord de Saye, by the service of half a knight's fee. Hugh de Bibbes-
worth was his son and successor, who, by Amicia his wife, had Edmund, living in
the reigns of the fourth and fifth Henries, and to the thirteenth of Henry the sixth ;
he married Goditha , and had by her John; Joan, the wife of Glouseter,
and Agnes, wife of Thomas Cotys, of Warwickshire. John Bibbesworth died in
1449, leaving his son and heir, Thomas, who died without issue in 1485:* his heirs
were Joan, daughter of the above-mentioned Joan Glouseter, wife of Thomas
Barley, junior, and John, son of Thomas Cotys, and Agnes. John Cotys had Saiing
Hall for his pur party, which he conveyed, in 1486, to Richard Pole and others; from
whom it was conveyed to John Knight, esq. and Emmeline his wife, widow of John
Maxey, esq. and to their heirs and assigns; and it was given by them, in 1487, to
John Maxey,f son of the said Emmeline, in whose family the estate continued till it
Maxey
fainilv.
• Anns of Bibbesworth : Azure, three eagles displayed, or. Arms of Barley : Barry wavy of six,
ermine and sable.
t The Maxey family was originally of Cheshire. Organ Maxey's two sons were Jordan and Albert.
Jordan was the father of John, who, by his wife , daughter of Thomas Grosvenor, had Thomas, John ;
Alice, wife of Brian Paver, and Isabel, of Thomas Bengham. Thomas had James, Anthony, Francis,
and a daughter. Sir James Maxey, the eldest son by his first lady, whose maiden name was Buckley, had
Robert, Christopher, and two daughters; and married, secondly, Goodman. His successors, down
to John Maxey, esq. the possessors of Saiing Hall, in 1486, were Robert, who, by his wife , daughter
of William Bramme, had Anthony, Matthew, and two daughters : Sir Anthony Maxey, by his lady,
daughter of sir Thomas Ledson, had sir John, who married, first, Margaret Doane, and had by her James,
Robert, and a daughter. The maiden name of his second lady was Ashen. James, the eldest son, mar-
ried the daughter and co-heiress of Milbrome, and had Thomas, Robert, Henry, and two daughters.
Sir Thomas, his successor, married, first, a daughter of Thomas Venables, and had George, Robert,
Oliver, and two daughters. Thomas Maxey, esq. by Marcy, of Puddington, in Devonshire, had his
only son John, who married a daughter of Humphrey Barrington, esq. and had by her Edward, Richard,
and John. Edward Maxey succeeding his father, married a daughter of Thomas Huddleston, by whom he
had Thomas and John, of whom Thomas succeeding his father, had, by a daughter of Nicholas de la Pole,
Brian, John, and Thomas. Brian Maxey, esq. by a daughter of Leonard WoUand, was the father of John
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 47
was sold, in 1665, to Martin Carter, esq. son of Martin Carter, of Redfans, in Shal- CHAP. v.
ford, of a family originally from Lincolnshire: he was of Queen's College, Cambridge,
and of Gray's-inn; and marrying Elizabeth, only daughter of Anthony Wolmer, esq.
of Lincolnshire, by Elizabeth, daughter of John Symonds, esq. of Great Yeldham, had
by her Martin; John, attorney-at-law, of Braintree; Thomas, captain or master of a
merchant ship; William, a bookseller in London; Elizabeth, wife of Anthony Maxey,
esq.; Mary, married to Knows worth, of London; Anne, and Jemima. Martin
Carter, esq. who succeeded his father of the same name, was of Christ's College, in
Cambridge, and of Lincoln's-inn, a gentleman of distinguished learning and pro-
fessional eminence. He married Mary Westwood, but had no offspring;* and after
making great alterations and improvements in the house and gardens, sold this estate,
in 1717, to Hugh Raymond, esq. who was succeeded by his son, Jones Raymond, esq.
The late B. Goodrich, esq. proprietor of the Hall estate, and nearly the whole of this Saling
parish, had his residence at the handsome mansion of Saling Grove, on the opposite
extremity of the village : but, since this gentleman's decease, that seat, with a portion
of the surrounding property, has been purchased of his executors by W. Fowke, esq.
the present occupier; and the ancient manorial mansion belongs to Mr. Goodrich's
heirs, and is occupied by the widow of the late captain Dobbie, R. N. on the western
side ; and the eastern side belongs to captain Dick, R. N.
Picotts is a manor which has derived its name from sir Ralph Picott, who lived in the Picotts.
time of Richard the first, and king John, being a descendant of Picott, sewer to
Alberic de Vere in the time of king Henry the first. Sir Ralph was succeeded by his
son sir William, who, in the reign of Henry the third, held lands here of the king by
the service of keeping one sparrow-hawk; and sir William, his son and heir, held this
manor by the same tenure ; they had also the manor of Picotts, in Ardley ; he died in
1283, and was succeeded by sir Ralph, who held this manor by the same tenure as his
predecessors, with the additional conditions that the king was to find him maintenance
for three horses, three boys or grooms, and three greyhounds: his sons, by his wife
Maud, were William and Robert; on his decease, in 1334, he was buried in Dunmow
Maxey, esq. who married Enimeline, daughter and heiress of Anger, and had by her his only son John.
Emmeline's second husband was John Knight, esq. the purchaser of Saling Hall, in 1516. By his wife,
whose maiden name was Strangwich, he had his only son, John INIaxey, esq. : his first wife's maiden
name was Appleton, and his second, Cornwall : by the first he had Anthony, his successor on his decease
in 1S46, and also a second son, named William. Anthony Maxey, esq. married Dorothy Basset, widow
of Robert Bonham, by which he acquired the estate of Bradwell Hall, and other considerable possessions.
His successors here and at Bradwell Hall were sir Henry, sir William, Greville, and Anthony Maxey, the
last of whom, in 1665, sold Saling Hall to Martin Carter, esq. The rev. Martin Brunwin is the pre-
sent owner of Bradwell Hall, in Witham, and possessor of the rectory and a handsome mansion newly
erected.
* Arms of Carter : Gules, a cross patonce, or ; on a chief azure, three firmeaux (i. e. buckles) of the
first. Crest : A lion's head erased, or.
48 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. priory, to which he was a benefactor. His heir was John, son of his son William,*
who sold the estate, in 1349, to Thomas de Mandevil, of Black Notley, by whom it
was conveyed to John Hande, who died in 1418, and Gresild, his widow, in 1473;
and their only daughter, Joan, conveyed it in marriage to Walter Writtle, esq. who
was succeeded by his son and grandson, both named John; the latter of whom dying
without issue, the estates descended to his kinsman and heir-at-law, John Basset; then
to Gregory Basset, whose only daughter and heiress, Dorothy, conveyed it, in marriage,
to Robert Bonham, esq. and to her second husband, Anthony Maxey, who died in
1592, and Dorothy in 1602; and from that period to 1665, the successive possessors
were sir Henry Maxey, sir William Maxey, Greville and Anthony Maxey, esqs.
the last of whom sold it to Martin Carter, esq. who sold it to a son of the rev. Samuel
Collins, vicar of Braintree, whose widow sold it to sir Martin Lumley, hart.; and the
heirs or assigns of his descendant, sir James Lumley, conveyed it to Guy's Hospital.
Parks. An estate named Parks has the mansion about half a mile from the church; it has
been reputed a manor, and, in the time of Richard the first, was holden of the manor
of Felsted, belonging to the Holy Trinity at Caen, by a family surnamed De Salynges;
of this family, Roger de Salynge was living in the reign of Henry the second, who,
by his wife Alice, daughter of Walter de Reynes, had Walter, father of Alan, who
married Hawise, daughter of Geofrey Botiler, and had by her Robert de Salynge, an
eminent clergyman, who disposed of the estate to Roger at Parke, son of William de
Parco, of St. Osyth, in 1293; and it remained in possession of that family till, in the
time of king Henry the eighth, it was mortgaged to Anthony Maxey, esq. who con-
veyed it to John Ellis, of Rayne; upon whose decease, in 1651, it became the property
of James Porter, succeeded by his son Nathaniel; and, from the arms of Vere in the
hall window, it is supposed to have belonged to that noble family. In 1769, it became
the property of John Yeldham, esq. The mansion, built in 1754, is on the side of
the green fronting the hall.
An estate called Bleak End Farm, belongs to the right lion, the earl of Essex.
Church. The church is a small ancient building, in very good repair, dedicated to St. James.
In the tower there are three bells. There was a priest here at the time of the survey
of Domesday, which is a sufficient evidence that there was also some place of worship,
and probably a parish ; but the present church is believed to have been erected in the
time of king Henry the second, when sir Baldwin Wischard was lord of this place.
This church was originally a rectory, till Baldwin Wischard gave it to the priory
of Little Dunmow, when a vicarage was instituted, which remained in the patronage
of the prior and convent till the dissolution, when, in 1536, the rectory and advowson
of the vicarage were granted, by king Henry the eighth, to Robert, earl of Sussex;
* Arms of Picott : a griffin rampant, wings displayed ; on a chief three escallops. Crest : a greyhound
courant.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 49
but, three years afterwards, it was removed from the patronage of the earl, and CHAP. v.
granted to John Maxey, esq. of Saling Hall.
In the reigfn of Edward the first, Amicia Baynard gave two acres of land in Little Al^^^'' of
. . .... theVirgin.
Raynes, to light the altar of the Virgin Mary, in the chapel in Sailing churchyard.
An annuity of twelve shillings and four pence was given by Emmeline, widow of Charity.
John Knight, esq. out of a tenement called Mares, for one obit for ever.
This parish, in 1821, contained three hundred and twenty-six, and, in 1831, three
hundred and sixty-seven inhabitants.
STEBBING.
From Great Saling this parish lies south-west, and is bounded southward by Fel- Stebbing.
sted; extends westward to the junction of the hundreds of Hinckford and Dunmow;
eastward, to Pantfield and Rayne; and northward, to Little Saling. It is computed to
be twenty-six miles in circumference; the situation is on high ground, and much of
the soil light and fertile.*
In records, the name is written Stabinge, Stebinge, Stebings, Stebbings, Steb-
binge, Stibinghara, Stobinge, Stubing; the latter syllable is believed to be inj, meadow
or pasture, but the other part of the word is not so clearly understood.
There are several mills on the stream that flows through this parish toward Chelms-
ford, and the village contains some good houses, and a place of worship for dissenters
of the denomination of Independents. It is distant from Braintree five, and from
London forty miles. There is an annual fair here for fat calves and other cattle, on
the 10th of July.
There are two apparently artificial mounts, on the highest of which is traditionally
said to have been a castle, but of this there is no historical evidence.
The lands of this parish were in the possession of a Saxon thane, named Siward,
in the time of Edward the confessor, and at the general survey belonged to Henry
de Ferrers, and Ralph Peverel, two Norman lords. What originally belonged to Stebbing
Ralph Peverel formed the larger half; yet the lordship of the whole seems to have
always been in the family of Ferrers, to whom also the estate of Stebbing Hall was
ultimately conveyed.
Ralph Peverel married Maud, whose mother was the beautiful daughter of Ingelric,
a Saxon nobleman, founder of the collegiate church of St. Martin-le-Grand, in Lon-
don. The offspring of this marriage were, Haman, one of the barons of Roger de
Montgomery, earl of Shrewsbury; William, castellan of Dover, and founder of Hat-
field Priory, called Hatfield Peverel; and Pain, standard-bearer to Robert Courthose
in the Holy Land, and to whom king Henry the first gave the barony of Brune, in
Cambridgeshire. He was succeeded by his son William, whose successor, of the
* Average annual produce per acre— wheat 25, barley 36, oats 32 busliels.
50
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Ferrers
family.
BOOK n. same name, driven from the country on account of the murder of Ralph, earl of
Chester, left this and his other estates to the disposal of king Henry the second,
who g-ranted Stebbing- Hall to John, earl of Mortain, brother to the fugitive earl. It
was afterwards, by marriage, conveyed to the family of Ferrers, with whom it re-
mained during several generations, till sir Edward Grey, son of Reginald, lord Grey,
of Ruthin, married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Henry Ferrers, of Groby. He
was one of the commissioners appointed by the Conqueror to survey the county of
Worcestershire, and held two hundred and ten lordships, five of which were in Essex;
his chief seat was Tutbury Castle, in Staifordshire. Robert, his son, was his suc-
cessor ; who, for his magnanimous conduct in the battle of Northallerton, was created
earl of Derby by king Stephen. On his decease, in 1139, he was succeeded by his
son Robert, earl of Derby, founder of the abbey of Merevale, in Warwickshire,
where he was buried, wrapped up in the hide of an ox. His son, William Ferrers, suc-
ceeded, and marrying Margaret, daughter of William Peverel, earl of Nottingham,
had by her Robert and Walcheline de Ferrers, lord of Eggington, in Derbyshire.
Robert, earl of Derby and Nottingham, by Sibilla, daughter of William de Braose,
of Brecknock, had William; Melicent, married to Roger Mortimer, of Wigmore;
and Agatha, concubine to king John. This earl, and Maurice Fitz-Geofrey, were
the founders of Tiltey Abbey. His son, William Ferrers, accompanied king Richard
the first to the Holy Land, and died at the siege of Acre in 1191, leaving his son
William, who, by a special charter, was created earl of Derby, and girt with a sword
by the king's own hand, being the first on record so honoured. Lands were given to
him formerly belonging to Ralph Peverel, but which had gone to the crown. He
married Agnes, sister and co-heiress of Ralph, earl of Chester, with whom having
lived seventy-five years, they both died in the same month, in 1246. W^illiam,
son and heir of Ralph Peverel, by Sibil, a co-heiress of William Mareschal, earl of
Pembroke, had seven daughters; and marrying, secondly, Margaret,* one of the co-
heiresses of Roger de Quincy, earl of Winchester, had by her Robert, his successor;
and William, seated at Groby, in Lincolnshire; he also had by her Joan, married to
Thomas, lord Berkley. Robert, succeeding his father, was the last earl of Derby of
the Ferrers family, who, joining the barons against Henry the third, was taken pri-
soner at Chesterfield, and by authority of the parliament, stripped of his vast posses-
sions, which were given to Edmund, the king's second son. After suffering three
years' imprisonment, his estates were restored, on condition of his paying to prince
Edmund, on a certain day, fifty thousand pounds, which not being able to do, his
sureties made over these lands to the prince and his heirs for ever.f
* She held this manor, with those of Woodham Ferrers and Fairsted, in dower.
t The original charter has been preserved, and was formerly in the possession of Peter le Neve; the
only seals remaining attached to the labels, is that of Henry Alemania, which is a lion rampant within a
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 51
In 1251, William, the son of William, and brother of the said Robert, re- chap. v.
ceived from his father the manors of Woodham, Stebbing, and Fairsted, with one
messuage in chiche, whereby these estates were retained in the family, when the
rest were confiscated. This William Ferrers, the son, had also the manor of
Groby, in Leicestershire, the gift of his mother, Margaret, daughter and co-heiress
of Roger de Quincy, earl of Winchester. By Joan, daughter of Hugh le Despencer,
William de Ferrers had William, and Anne, married to John, lord Grey of Wilton.
William, his son, succeeded him on his decease, in 1324; whose son and heir was
Henry de Ferrers, of Groby: he, in 1338, obtained a charter for a market, to be
holden every Monday, at his manor of Stebbing; and a fair on the eve and day of St.
Peter and St. Paul, and two following days. He died in 1343, leaving William de
Ferrers, of Groby, his heir; who, by Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of Robert de
UflPord, earl of Suffolk, had Henry : his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Henry
de Percy, survived him, and held the third part of the manor of Stebbing in dower
till her decease.
Henry de Ferrers succeeded his father, (who died in 1371,) and marrying Joan,
daughter of sir Thomas Poynings, had William, and Thomas:* he died in 1388.
William, his son and successor, had a son named Henry, who died before him, leaving
a daughter named Elizabeth, to whom her grandfather William left the estate of the
Ferrers, in this county ;f which she, by marriage, conveyed to sir Edward Grey,
second son of Reginald lord Grey, of Ruthin, who, in consequence of this connexion,
bore the title of lord Ferrers of Groby, to distinguish him from lord Ferrers of
Chartley; on his decease, in 1457, he left sir John Grey, his heir, created lord Lisle;
Reginald, slain in the battle of Wakefield ; and Ann, married to sir Edward Hunger-
ford. Sir John Grey married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Richard Widvil, earl
Rivers, and was killed at the battle of St. Albans, in 1460, fighting for Henry the
sixth; he left two sons, sir Thomas and sir Richard. Their mother Elizabeth, pros-
trating herself before king Edward the fourth, to petition his clemency in behalf of
herself and children, by her appearance and demeanor so powerfully excited his sym-
pathy and affection, that he made her his queen. Her son, Thomas, was advanced
to the dignity of earl of Huntingdon and marquis of Dorset; but, in the reign of
bordure, charged with bezants and circumscribed, + Sig. Henrici fil. R. Regis Romanorum ; and that of
William de Valence, viz. Barry an orle of martlets, circumscribed, + Sig. Willi, de Valence. The other
sureties were John, earl of Warren and Surrey, Roger de Somers, Thomas de Clare, Thomas Walraund,
Roger de Clifton, Hamon le Strange, Bartholomew de Sudley, Robert de Briwer. — See Dugdale's Baron-
age, vol. i. p. 263.
* Previous to his decease, he, by will, left the manors of Stebbing, Woodham Ferrers, F'airsted, Merks,
and Blounts, to Robert, bishop of London, and others.
+ Thomas, the other brother, enjoying all these lands, which were entailed on the male heirs. From
him are descended the lords Ferrers, of Chartley and Tamworth.
52 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Richard the third, being attainted of high treason, he fled into Flanders, and attaching
himself to Henry, earl of Richmond, was by him, when he became king of England,
restored to his estates and honours. He married Cicely, daughter and heiress of
William lord Bonvil, by whom he had seven sons and eight daughters. The eldest
son, Thomas Grey, marquis of Dorset, succeeded his father. By Margaret, daughter
of sir Robert Wotton, of Bocton, in Kent, he had Henry, his successor; John, of
Pirgo, in Essex; Thomas; Leonard; Elizabeth, married to Thomas lord Audley, of
Walden; Catharine, married to Henry Fitz-Alan, earl of Arundel; and Anne, the
wife of Henry Willoughby, esq. of Wollaton, in Norfolk; the marquis died in 1530,
possessed of the manors of Stebbing and Woodham Ferrers. His eldest son Henry,
marquis of Dorset, was created constable of England during the coronation of Edward
the sixth, and, in right of his lady Frances, eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, duke
of Suftolk, by the princess Mary, third daughter of king Henry the seventh, queen
dowager of Lewis the twelfth, king of France, was created duke of Suifolk in 155L
He had by her lady Jane, married to Guilford Dudley, fourth son of John, duke of
Northumberland, and proclaimed queen of England on the death of Edward the sixth,
by which she and the duke lost their lives: her father was also beheaded in 1544, for
joining sir Thomas Wyatt; previous to which he had conveyed the manor of Stebbing
to sir Robert Southwell, who, in 1545, sold it to king Henry the eighth, Avho ex-
changed it with sir Giles Capel, of Rayne Hall, for lands in Hertfordshire, Middlesex,
Cambridgeshire, and the moiety of Reves Hall, in the parish of East Mersey, in Essex.
This estate has continued in the noble family of Capel to the present time.
Porters The manor house of Porters Hall is an ancient buildingf, with a moat.
Hall, .
This estate formei'ly belonged to the Peverel family, at least the chief part of it:
John de Stebbing, a younger branch of the Ferrers family, held it of the honour of
Peverel, in the time of king John; afterwards it was in possession of families surnamed
Dunstavil, Umfravil, Porter, and Badlesmere; and was ultimately incorporated into
the estate belonging to the Essex family.*
Church 'pi^e church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a large and lofty building, with a nave, side
manor of aisles, and chancel; it is very pleasantly situated on an eminence, at the highest part
Hall. of tl^G village. The chancel has two aisles, and is exceedingly well lighted. This
church has lately received an addition of one hundred and forty free sittings; the
incorporated society for the enlargement of churches and chapels having granted thirty
pounds towards defraying the expense.
The living was originally a rectory, annexed to the chief lordship here, holden by
the Ferrers family; and, in the time of king Henry the second, William de Ferrers,
earl of Derby, gave this church to the knights hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem,
the grant being confirmed by his son Robert, on which the rectorial great tithes
* Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 268.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 53
were appropriated to their house, and a vicarage ordained, of which the hospital con- CHAP. v.
tinned patrons till the dissolution of their order, when this rectory was given to the
crown, and, in 1543, was granted, with the advowson of the vicarage, to Thomas
Cornewall, whose descendant, Humphrey Cornewall, in 1567, sold them to William
Tiffin, who, in 1575, sold them to William Fitch, esq. from whom they passed, in
1585, to William and Bartholomew Brook, who, in 1601, conveyed them to John and
Thomas Sorrel, in whose family they remained till John Sorrel,* jointly with his mother
Dorothy, sued a fine, and gave this family possession to John Lane, of Norfolk, who
gave it to his son, Roger Lane, who dying unmarried, it came to his father and
mother, for the term of their lives; and, after their decease, became the property of
Roger, the son of Francis, second son of Henry Mansir, who sold this posses-
sion to Arthur Batt, merchant, of London, who, on his decease in 1731, left it to
his brother, Christopher Batt, esq. of Salisbury; and it now belongs to Thomas Batt,
esq. who, in right of the rectory, is also lord of the manor of Priors, or Friars Hall,
so called as formerly belonging to the prior of the hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.
There was a chantry in the church of Stebbing, founded by sir John Bultell, clerk. Chantry
... . liiid obit.
and endowed with lands and tenements in this parish. Also an obit, endowed by the
founder, John Gunnock, with a tenement and sixteen acres of land. These were both
of them granted to Thomas Golding, esq.f
In 1821, this parish contained one thousand three hundred and eleven, and, in 1831,
one thousand four hundred and thirty-four inhabitants.
FELSTED.
This parish occupies the south-west corner of Hinckford hundred, on hilly ground. Foisted,
exceedingly healthy and pleasant: its Saxon name, Fell-j-tede, a hilly place, is
accurately descriptive; it is in records written Feldelsted, Felestelda, and Phensted.
It is a large parish; the soil, a strong wet heavy loam, on a whitish clay marl,:}: requires
draining, and the singular mode of cultivation termed crop and fallow.§ The river
Chelmer separates this parish and the hundred from Dunmow westward, and the
village of Felsted, on the banks of this river, is distant from Dunmow town three, and
from London thirty-six miles.
Algar, the celebrated earl of Mercia, was the possessor of this lordship in the time
* Arms of Sorrel : Gules, two lions passant, ermine. Arms of Lane : Argent, three chevronels, sable.
t The following arms were painted on the windows of this church : Edmund Crouchback, earl of Lan-
caster; Bohun; Vere ; Warren, earl of Surrey; Fitzwalter ; Louvain ; Quincy; John Holland, duke of
Exeter; and Umfraville ; which last was, or, a frette gules, charged with six cinquefoils, azure.
I Felsted-water was a chalybeate spring in this parish, formerly found useful in nervous and other
diseases ; but it has been undeservedly neglected.
§ The prevalent course — 1 fallow, 2 wheat, 3 fallow, 4 barley. Average annual produce per acre-
wheat 22, and barley 36 bushels.
VOL. II. I
54
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Felsted
Bury.
Graunt
Courts.
I^jOOK II, of Edward the confessor, and, on his decease in 1059, was succeeded by his son
Edwin, who, on the accession of the Conqueror, was deprived of this possession,
which was given to the monastery of the Holy Trinity of Caen, in Normandy.
The manor of Felsted Bury is that which belonged to the abbey; Richard the first,
and Henry the third, granted them free-warren here, but they had no cell in Felsted,
this house being subservient to that in Fantfield, and passing with it on the partial and
general suppression of alien priories: on which last event this estate was given, by
Henry the fifth, to the monastery of Sion, in Middlesex, founded by him in 1413, and
dedicated to St. Saviour, St. Mary, and St. Bridget, for nuns and priests; and this
lordship and advowson of the church continued in that house till the general sup-
pression of religious houses.* Agnes, the last abbess of this house, in 1537, alienated
by special licence, among other things, to sir Richard Rich, chancellor of the court of
augmentation, the manors of Felsted and Graunt Courts, and one messuage in Felsted,
to hold of the king by fealty only, by him and his heirs, for ever.
The manor of Graunt Courts, mentioned in the grant, was part of the manor of
Felsted, to which it has since been united. It had a very large mansion-house, on
rising ground, near the road from Rayne to Dunmow. The name was derived from
an ancient family, who flourished here in the time of Henry the third and of Edward
the first.f
Havering. The manor of Havering, in this parish, was dependant on Felsted Bury; but the
mansion-house is in Rayne» There was also another estate holden of Felsted Bury,
which was sold by Roger Wentworth, of Codham Hall, to sir Richard Rich, who soon
after had possession of all the considerable estates in this parish. Those already
mentioned were included in the manor of Felsted Bury, with its appertenances: the
following nominal manors and estates had no dependance on the abbey of Caen.
Glanvils, Laver, and Entields, constitute a nominal manor, which lies in the parishes
of Felsted, Little Leighs, and Great and Little Waltham. Walter de Glanvil held
messuages and lands here in 1329. Geofrey was his son and heir, and he had also
Margaret, married to Stephen Alistre, and Alice : Geofrey succeeding his father, had
an only daughter, Alice, married to John Naylinghurst, who died in 1542.
Enfields, or Glandfields, is a farm between Felsted and Hertford End; it was
holden of the crown by John de Enfield, by the service of two pence per annum: he
died in 1342, leaving his son Robert, his heir; he had also a daughter named Agnes.
Glanvils,
Laver, and
Enfield.s.
Enfields.
* On the suppression of tlie alien priories, their possessions were not suffered to be alienated to the
laity till the total dissolution of religious iiouses, by king Henry the eighth.
t Sir Walter Graunt Court was witness to a deed of sir William Pikot, of Salinges, in the commence-
ment of the reign of Henry the third ; and Thomas de Graunt Court and Simon de Felsted held of the
abbess of Caen some lands here called Bortheya and Ralpeya, with a park. William de Graunt Court was
one of the barons of the e.xchcqucr in 1268. — From Old Deeds, and Madox's Hist, of the Exchequer.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 55
William de Enfield was hig-li sheriflF of Essex in 1356. From this family it passed CHAP. v.
to the Tyrells, from whom it was conveyed to sir Richard Rich.
The manor of Frenches has the mansion on the great common, near the windmill, Frenches
where the court was held in the gravel pit. It passed, with the other estates, to lord Rich. Fah-y^
The mansion-house of Whelpston was on an eminence, near the road to Lee's Whelp-
Priory; it was in the possession of Thomas de Helpston in 1358, and another of the Helpston.
same name was high sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1366. In 1373, it was
holden by Edmund de Helpston, and, in 1540, was sold by Edward Bury, of Hadleigh,
in Suffolk, to sir Richard Rich.
The mansion-house of Camseys is at the extremity of the parish, near Hertford Camseys,
End, on the border of Great Waltham. In Domesday this manor is called Keventuna,
and, in other records, Camsey Hall, or Kamseke, Kemesec, Camsec, and Keusec.
In the reign of king Henry the second, it belonged to Geofrey de Mandevil, earl of
Essex, and was held under him by Henry de Camse, as a knight's fee: he also held the
manor of Samford. Edmund Kemsek is mentioned in the records as under-tenant
here to John de Balencomber, lord of the manor of Samford; he had also lands in
Tilbury in 1288: his son Edmund was his successor, who, by Joanna his wife, had
Petronilla and Isabel, to whom he left his estate. Petronilla, the elder sister, on her
decease in 1313, gave her portion to Isabel, who, being married to Robert de
Wells, Joanna, her mother, the widow of Edmund de Kemsek, left her grandson,
Philip de Wells, heir to the family possessions, on her decease in 1331.
In 1536, this lordship, with the site of the priory of Leighs, or Lees, was granted, t^f"' ^'^h
by king Henry the eighth, to sir Richard Rich, who died in 1556, in possession of
an immense estate, collected fi-om the spoils of the monasteries. He had here Felsted
Bury, and Graunt Courts; Entields, and Glanfields; Whelpston; Frenches, and
Camsey-barnes ; the rectory and advowson of the vicarage; tenements named Butlers
or Gales, Rumbolds, Otefield, and with various other possessions, including such of the
demesnes of Lees Priory as extended into the hundred of Hinckford, and the most
valuable part, indeed nearly the whole of this parish. On the decease of Robert Rich,
earl of Warwick, in 1659, without surviving oflFspring, his brother Charles became
his heir, who also died childless, in 1673, leaving Mary his widow, sister of the cele-
brated Robert Boyle, esq. ; on whose decease, in 1678, the great estates of the family were
divided between the co-heiresses of the two last earls of Warwick, of the name of
Robert. Of these, the earl of Nottingham had in this parish only the nominations to
the free-school and almshouse; the earl of Scarsdale had Whelpstons; the earl of
Manchester had that part of the priory estate which lies in this parish, and which was
sold to the duke of Buckinghamshire, whose heir, sir Charles ShefSeld, alienated it to
Guy's Hospital, being part of Lees Priory, the Lodge, and Pond Park. But the
most considerable portion of the estate in this parish belonged to the share of John
lord Roberts, of Truro, in right of Lucy, his lady, namely, Felsted Bury, Grand
56 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Courts, Camseys, Enfields, Lavers, and Frenches, with the rectory and advowson of
the vicarage, and various farms.* This estate was sold by John, earl of Radnor, to
Vandenbendy, and John Rotherham, esq. in trust; and these gentlemen con-
veyed it to sir Josiah Child, knt. and hart, from whom it descended to sir Richard
Child, earl Tilney, of Castlemain, and now belongs to the hon. W. L. P. Wellesley.
Numerous estates in this parish have been detached from the great Warwick estate,
and some of them are no longer distinguished by their ancient names.
In the remains of Lees Priory, there are two sides of one of the quadrangles, and a
gateway, with an octagonal tower at each corner, and embattled turrets. The other
parts of those remains have been converted into a farm house. Distinct traces of a
very extensive fish-pond yet remain at some distance from the priory, and the fisher-
man's house is entire, and inhabited.
A large house on the side of Thistley Green bears the name of the Priory Lodge,
or Lodge Farm; and the habitations by which Bunster Green is surrounded, form a
considerable and pleasant village.
Church. The church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, Is on ground considerably elevated, and
has a nave and two side aisles, and a chancel, on the south side of which there is a
chapel, built by Robert, the second lord Rich, with a vault, the burial place of the
Rich family. A lantern rises from the top of the tower, which is embattled, and
contains five bells.f
The incorporated society for the enlargement of churches and chapels having
granted fifty pounds towards the expense, an addition of seventy free sittings has been
made to this church.
Obits. There were two obits in this church, of which one was endowed with a piece of land
called Dunstal: the other, founded by Robert Collins, was endowed with two acres
and a half of land. They were both granted by queen Elizabeth to William Tipper
and Robert DaAve.
Chapel of Formerly there was a free chapel, called the chapel of Camseys, or Hertford chapel,
of which the prior and convent of Leighs were patrons: it was dedicated to St. Mar-
garet. It is not known who was the founder of this chapel, but was supposed to be
very ancient, and erected by some of the Kemsec family, near Hertford End. In
the London Registry it is called " Capella de Hertford in parochia de Felsted." The
lands belonging to it were granted, by queen Elizabeth, to Edward Wymark, in 1591.
* He was the .son of Richard Roberts, esq. of Truro, in Cornwall, and appears to have been reluctantly
compelled to receive the honour of the baronial title in 1624; as it is stated in the ninth article of the
impeachment of the duke of Buckingham by the house of commons, that, *' knowing the said Robert
to be rich, he forced him to take that title of honour ; and that in consideration thereof, he paid ten
thousand pounds to that duke'.s use."
t Three escutcheons in the east window of the chancel bear the arms of John of Gaunt, Rich, Devereux,
Bouchier, Bohun ; the earls of Gloucester, Hereford, and Chester ; Mandeville of Essex, Louvain, Widville,
Marshall, Ferrers, Quincy, Baldry, Cropul, Verdun, and Paganel.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD. 57
Against the south wall of the chapel there is a superb monument to the memory of CHAF. V.
Richard lord Rich, the generous founder of the school and almshouse, who died in insciiu-
1567. It is composed of various kinds of beautiful and costly marble, and rises to the ^'""^'
height of thirteen feet. A whole-length effigy of lord Rich, in his chancellor's robes,
is placed in a reclining posture under a grand cornice, elegantly decorated and sup-
ported by Corinthian pillars. The arms of this noble family in relief, of inimitable
workmanship, under the cornice, surrounded by various emblematical devices, extend
along the east and south walls, and an angelic figure is seen above the cornice; there
are large plates of brass inlaid in fine marble tablets, with engraved devices not easily
explicable ; and upon the western side, the figure of a person in a posture of devotion
is supposed to represent the son of the nobleman here interred. This monument
appears never to have borne any inscription.
On the south floor of the chancel a brass plate on a black marble bears the effigy of
an infant, and the following inscription :
*' Thomas Ryche, filius Roberti Ryche, militis, obiit 1564 ; et sepultus est apud Felsted, 4°. Febr."
There were also interred here, in 1580, Richard, son of the right hon. sir Robert
Rich: in 1619, Richard, earl of Warwick, and, in the same year, the honourable lady
Lettice, daughter of Robert, earl of Warwick. Lady Rachel Montague, daughter of
the earl of Manchester, was buried here on the thirtieth of July, 1704; and there is
the following inscription, bearing the date of 1639: —
" Robertus Cromwell, filius honorandi viri militis Ollvari Cromwell et Elizabethae uxoris ejus, sepultus
fuit tricesimo die Mail, et Robertus fuit eximie plus juvenis, deum timens supra multos.
*' Robert Cromwell, son of that honorable and gallant hero Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth his wife, was
buried on the thirtieth day of May. The said Robert was a youth of exemplary piety, fearing God more
than most."
On stones on the ground are the following:
" Here lies the body of the reverend and truly pious Thomas Woodrooffe, sometime the worthy pastor of
this parish, over which he faithfully presided thirty-three years. As he was a bright ornament to the place
he filled whilst alive, so at his death he proved a kind benefactor, in bequeathing to this vicarage twelve
pounds per annum, for ever. He died much lamented, Oct. 13, 1712, aged fifty-seven."
" Here lyeth the body of Dionysius Palmer, gent, who departed this life the first of August, an. Dni. 16.30,
aged 63 years."
A small plate of brass probably bore the arms of Palmer.
On the north wall of the chancel:
" In a vault in this church arc deposited the remains of Mr. George Andrews, of Felsted, who died May
6, 1742, aged 77 years : by his wife Essex, daughter of the rev. Thomas Woodrooffe, formerly of Lee Park,
in this county, he had two children, Margaret and George. She died Jan. 2, 1748, aged 85 years, and
58 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. with her children is also buried here. Margaret was born in Oct. 1703, and died March 14, 1765 ; George
was born May 7, 1706, and died Jan. 17, 1791."*
" Here lies the body of Thomas Boteler, who married Sydney Humphreys, daughter of Henry Humphreys,
of Caernarvon, esq. He died y« 10th of Aug. 1688, aetat. suae 73."t
Charities. Arthur Wilson,;]: esq. gave an annuity of five pounds four shillings for two dozen of
bread weekly, to be distributed to the poor every Sunday, for ever.
Dionysius Palmer, esq. gave two pounds twelve shillings yearly to purchase bread,
to be given weekly to the poor.
Mr. Tanner gave the same sum, for the same purpose.
In 1690, Mrs. Sidney Boteler, of Felsted, gave seven pounds twelve shillings yearly,
payable out of a certain meadow in Felsted, of which two pounds twelve shillings are
for a dozen of bread, to be given weekly to the poor: two pounds eight shillings yearly
to clothe three boys and three girls: and two pounds twelve shillings for teaching the
said poor children to read English, and instructing them in the Protestant religion.
The rev. Thomas Woodrooffe, vicar of Felsted, on his decease in 1712, augmented
this living by a bequest of twelve pounds a year. He also left to the vicar a meadow
of nearly twenty acres, chargeable only with Mrs. Boteler's charity of seven pounds
twelve shillings.
Free- In 1564, Richard lord Rich founded a free-school in Felsted, with provision for a
schoolmaster and usher. He ordered that the master of this school should be a
clergyman, chosen by the heirs of the founder, to teach eighty male children, born in
Essex; the usher to assist in teaching, and neither the master nor usher to be absent
above eight days in a quarter, without good excuse; and if either master or usher
be removed, another to be appointed in six weeks, otherwise the bishops of
London may collate. If the chaplain (or master) of this foundation has any other
spiritual promotion besides what is the gift of the heirs of the founder, he is to be
removed. The churchwardens are to pay thirteen shillings and four pence for a
sermon to be preached every Whit Sunday in the afternoon; and on Low Sunday the
churchwardens are to make out their accounts before the heirs, or any one whom they
* Arms of Andrews : Gules, a saltier vert, fimbriated or, in chief a crescent or, impaling argent between
a chevron three crosses pattee litch^e, gules. Crest : On a wreath of the colours a blackamoor's head.
t Arms of Boteler: A fesse chequy between six cross crosslets, in chief a bird; impaling a chevron
charged with a mullet between three cross crosslets fitch^e.
X He was a native of Suffolk, and a gentleman commoner in Trinity College, Oxford, where he took
the degree of A. M. in 1 633. After leaving the University, he travelled through Spain, Italy, Germany, and
France, with Robert Devereux, the last earl of Essex of that name, who manifested a friendly attachment
towards him, and engaged him to write the life of king James the first, which was printed at London in
1653. After the death of the earl, he was received into the family of Robert, earl of Warwick, and became
his steward. He died at Felsted in 1652, and is buried in the chancel of the church. IFood's Athen.
ed. 1721, vol. ii. col. 163.
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD.
59
shall appoint, with the vicar of Felsted and the master and usher, or two of them, and CHAP. V.
two other honest persons of the parish. The churchwardens to pay six shillings and
eight pence to the vicar for his trouble.
The present patron is the earl of Winchelsea, and there are no exhibitions or church
preferments belonging to this school: it has a field of about two acres and a half, with
a good garden, and a convenient school-house on the south side of the church fronting
the street, and the institution is in a very flourishing state. The statuteable salary
of the master is fifty pounds, and fourteen pounds by a subsequent grant of the earl of
Nottingham, of which three pounds are to be annually put in the foundation chest.*
The same benevolent nobleman also founded an almshouse in this parish for six poor Alms-
house
people, with an orchard, brewhouse, barn, and other out-houses, and a sufficient quan-
tity of pasture land in Felsted, for keeping six milch cows towards their maintenance ;
and a grove of wood, with liberty to cut firewood, with other advantages and con-
veniencies for the comfortable subsistence of five poor, weak, old, impotent, and lame
persons; and a grave woman to attend them, and provide, dress, and prepare their
meat and drink, and wash and cherish the said five poor people, to the utmost of her
power. If the heir puts no person in a place vacated within one month's time, the
chaplain or churchwardens may place one. The woman of the house removed on
account of weakness or incapacity, to have the next place of the five that falls vacant.
The following corn rents are payable quarterly for the support of the almshouse :
Bush, of wheat. Bush, of barley.
From Bloomfield Parsonage. . 18 29
Braintree 16. ... 16
Bush, of wheat. Bush, of barley.
From Matching 18 33
Morton Farm ... 4 4
Four bushels of each to be delivered monthly, reckoning twenty-eight days to the
month, to the six poor people; and five shillings and four pence each month to the
housekeeper, and three shillings and four pence to each of the other five: the church-
wardens of Felsted have ten shillings allowed betwixt them out of the Braintree par-
sonage rents. There also was originally provided yearly, out of the above rents,
eleven barrels of white herrings, and eleven cades of red herrings, to be distributed
to such poor, not in the poor's rate, on every Sunday in Lent, as follows: three
barrels of white, and some part of the red, to the churchwardens of Much Waltham,
for the poor there; two barrels and a cade to Little Leighs, and the remainder to the
poor of Felsted.
In 1821, this parish contained one thousand seven hundred and twenty-four, and,
in 1831, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight inhabitants.
* The following persons of celebrity were educated at this school: Isaac Barrow, D. D. mathematician
and divine; John Wallis, D. D. under the learned Mr. Martin Holbeach : Thomas Cooke, a jioetical and
miscellaneous writer; also, Oliver, Richard, and Henry, three sons of Oliver Cromwell.
60
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN HINCKFORD HUNDRED.
R. Rectory. V. Vicarage.
+ Discharged from payment of First Fruits.
P. C. Perpetual Curacy.
* From Returns to Parliament in 1818.
Parish.
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Alphainstone, R. . .
Ashen, R
Belchamp Otten, R.
Belch. Walter, V, . .
Belch. St. Paul's, V.
Birdbrook, R
Hocking, R
Borley, R
Biaintrce, V
Bulmer, V
Bumsted Steeple, V.
Felsted V
Middlesex.
William Ward, D.D.
Richard Yates, D.D.
John Cox
Oliver Raymond . . .
Jon. Walton, D.D...
Ch. Barton, D.D....
J. P. Herringham. ..
Bernard Scale
V. Bel. Walter
Hen. Stuart
J. Awdry
James Westerman. .
Jere. Pemberton . . .
Charles Hughes
Barrington Syer
Under sequestration
William Adams, D.D.
H. D.Morgan
Henry Warburton . .
C.J. Carter
Thomas Mills
James Sperling ....
Thomas Wallace . .
James Sperling
J. Ware
Oliver Raymond . . .
Charles Fisher
R. L. Page
Under sequestration
John Bull
Hon. W. R. Capel..
R. S.Joyncs, D.D...
Bart. Goodrich
Richard White ....
James Hopkins ....
G. Belgrave, D.D. . .
J.B. Scale, D.D
William Hicks ....
Charles Fisher ....
Charles John Gooch
Robert Gray
John Walker
William Gibson ....
E. W. Clarke
Robert Gray
1812
1804
1820
1827
1801
1816
1822
1796
1827
1801
1798
1810
1810
1804
t....
1804
isio
1821
1803
1800
1797
1823
1809
1809
1816
1805
1816
1816
1810
1809
1802
1792
1829
1809
1828
179.3
1814
1779
1832
1802
11
8
12
t 6
14
19
35
9
tl2
t 8
15
13
18
10
13
7
t 8
17
Not in
22
13
12
12
8
C.V. 10
8
7
10
10
12
14
10
t 7
t 7
15
tl2
22
8
8
26
6
14
9
20
8
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
10 0
0 0
3 4
0 0
2 1
6 8
0 0
4. 4i
6 8
0 0
0 0
0 0
charae
0 0
6 8
0 2'
0 0
3 4
0 0
0 0
0 0
JO 0
0 0
0 0
13 4
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
10 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
2 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
Lord Chancellor.
Ch. of D. of Lane.
Incumbent.
5 Trustees of S. R.
I Raymond.
] D. and Chap, of St.
i Paul's.
Sir W. Rush, knt.
Archb. of Canterb.
Earl of Waldegrave.
W. Bel. Walter, V.
Lord Chancellor.
5 Hon. W. T. L. P.
I Wellesley.
R. Marriot, Esq.
Rev. J. Pemberton.
^ J. T. H. Elwes.
D. of Buckingham.
Bishop of London.
L. Majendie, Esq.
Corn. Stovin, Esq.
N. Barnardiston,Esq.
H. Sperling, Esq.
W. H.Campbel,Esq.
J. Judd, Esq.
Mr. Davis.
< J.T. Mayne, Esq.
( and three others
John Fisher, Esq.
In the Page family.
Earl of Verulam.
Rev. J. Bull.
Earl of Essex.
Cath. Hall, Camb.
Goodrich family.
5 Pre. of Shalford in
i Wells Cathedral.
Ch. of D. of Lane.
Thomas Batt, Esq.
Archb. of Canterb.
Duke of Rutland.
John Fisher, Esq.
The King.
Lord Chancellor.
Trin. Hall. Camb.
(, D. and Chap, of St.
I Paul's.
Sir W. B. Rush, knt.
Lord Chancellor.
Peculiar. . .
Middlesex.
Peculiar. . .
Middlesex.
Finchingfield, V. . .
Foxearth, R
Gestingthorpe, R. . .
sin. V
Gosfield, V
*Halstead, V
HedinghamCast.P.C.
Hedingham Sib. R..
Henny, Great } „
Henny, Little $ ""
Lammarsh, R
Liston, R
Maplestead, Great,V.
Maplestead, Little, D.
Middleton, R
Ovington, R
Pantfield, R
Pebniarsh,R
Pentlow.R
Raine, R
Ri(lge\vell,V
Saling, Great, V
Shalford,V
Stambournc, R
Stcbbing, V
Stisted, R
Peculiar . .
Middlesex.
Sturmer, R
Tilbury nearClare,R.
Toppesficld,R
Twinstcd, R
Weathersfield, V. . .
Wickham,St.Paul,R.
Yeldham, Great, R..
Yeldham, Little, R..
Peculiar. . .
Middlesex.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 61
CHAP.
VI.
CHAPTER VI.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL, OR FROSHWELL.
The half hundred of Freshwell extends to the northern extremity of the county, ^^^^ l^""-
to Haverhill and Linton, on the borders of Suffolk, and of Cambridgeshire : southward Freshwell
it is bounded by parts of Dunmow and Hinckford, eastward extends to Hinckford,
and westward to Uttlesford. In its form, this half hundred is long and narrow ; from
north to south ten, and from east to west, where broadest, six miles.
The name is supposed to be from a spring or rivulet, which has its source in a valley
near Radwinter, and is remarkable for containing abundance of frogs; in Saxon,
f jiocx; and in German, frosh. This stream pursues its course through the Samfbrds,
and afterwards falls into the river Pant. It contains the following nine parishes:
Bardfield, Great; Bardfield, Saling; Bardfield, Little; Samford, Little; Samford,
Great, with the chapelry of Hemsted; Bumsted Helion; Radwinter; Ashdon;
Had stock.
GREAT BARDFIELD.
The Bardfields are three contiguous parishes, of which this, as the name imports. Great
is the largest; in length it is about two miles, and in breadth one; separated from Bardfield.
Hinckford hundred northward by the Pant, or Blackwater; westward extending to
Saling Parva, and southward to Bardfield Saling. The town is small, yet it is the Town.
most considerable in this half hundred, and consists of two streets, in which there are
several good houses. The situation is pleasant and healthy, on elevated ground, rising
from a small stream that flows toward the river Pant, and is well stored with roach,
dace, and other fish. An eminence between Park Gates and the church, on the road
to Braintree, presents a pleasing view of the surrounding country, in which are seen
the spire of Thaxted church, the two Samfords, Hemsted, Finchingfield, and part of
Wethersfield ; and from the town in various directions, there are many other agreeable
walks and fine prospects. Two rooms in an old house, named the Place,f are
memorable as having been the secret retreat of the princess Elizabeth, when she was
attempting to escape from the unnatural persecution of her bigot sister, queen Mary.
* Camden'.s Britan. in Essex. And in W. Harrison, in Holinshed's Chron. vol. i. p. 107.
t Edward Bendlowes resided in this house, and is buried in the chancel of the church.
VOL. II. K
62
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Bardfield
Hall.
Gilbert
family.
Wrothe
family.
The soil of this parish is a fruitful heavy loam, on clay; on the north and west
it is lighter, and sandy.*
There are two manors in this parish.
The town had formerly a market on Tuesdays, and has at present a fair yearly, on
the twenty-second of June. The distance from Braintree is nine, from Dunmow
seven, and from London forty-two miles.
Bardfield Hall is on the south-east side of the church- yard : this manor belonged to
Richard Fitz-Gislebert, or Gilbert, at the time of the survey; the same person is also
named Richard de Tonebruge, in that part of the record which relates to Kent, where
he was lord of that castle and manor. On his decease he was buried at Gloucester,
and succeeded by Gilbert, his eldest son, who became earl of Clare, and died in 1132.
The fourth in succession was Richard, who had the earldom of Gloucester, in right of
his lady Amicia, daughter and heiress of William, the former earl of that city; he was
also earl of Hertford, in right of his father. The last male heir of this family was
Gilbert de Clare, surnamed the Red, earl of Clare, Hertford, and Gloucester: he
was slain at the battle of Bannockburn, on the eighth of July, 1314, on which event
his three sisters became co-heiresses of his very extensive possessions.f Elizabeth,
the youngest, had this estate. She died in 1359, having had three husbands, the first
of whom was John de Burgh, son of Richard de Burgh, earl of Ulster, the father of
her only daughter Elizabeth, who conveyed this and other extensive possessions, by
marriage, to Lionel, third son of king Edward the third, in her right earl of Ulster,
and created duke of Clarence in 1362. He died in 1368, leaving his daughter Philippa,
his heiress, who, by marriage, conveyed this manor to Edmund Mortimer, earl of
March; and her grandchild Anne, married to Richard de Coningsburgh, earl of
Cambridge, conveyed it to that nobleman: he was the second son of Edmund de
Langley, fifth son of king Edward the third, and in his mother's right it descended to
her son by this marriage, Richard, duke of York, father of Edward the fourth, king
of England.
In 1539, king Henry the eighth granted the burgh of Bardfield to his queen, the
lady Anne of Cleves, for her life; and, after her decease, this lordship remained in
possession of the crown, till king Edward the sixth, in 1550, granted the manor and
lordship, and borough of Bardfield, to sir Thomas Wrothe,:}; on whose decease, in
1573, he was succeeded by his son sir Robert, whose successor was his son, the second
* Average annual produce per acre — wheat 26, barley 32 bushels. Some hops are grown here.
t The family had very large estates in this county.
X The court for the borough was distinct from that of the manor of Bardfield, and used to meet in the
Town-house or chamber over the Market-cross; and the grant to sir Thomas Wrothe included an annual
rent for the tenth of the lordship and manor of Bardfield, with the burgh and parks, and the manors of
Chigwell and West Hatch; Luxborough and Loughton were also part of the family possessions.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 63
sir Robert, in 1605; whose only son, on his father's decease in 1614, being only five t; H a p.
weeks old, and dying in 1616, his estates descended to his father's brother, John '
Wrothe, esq. who, in 1621, sold this estate (at that time comprising the Great and
Little Park) to sir Martin Lumley, knt. sheriff of London in 1614, and in 1621, lord L"mley
mayor of that city. He built an elegant mansion on the site of the keeper's lodge, and
at the time of his decease in 1634, had, besides this manor, extensive possessions in
this parish, in Wethersfield, and the Salings.
The family of Lumley, or Lomeley, also written Lomelin, was of Italian original, of
great antiquity, and nobly descended, deriving their surname from Laumelin, in the
dutchy of Milan. Dominico Lomelini, the first who settled in England, was gentleman
of the privy-chamber to king Henry the eighth, and commanded a troop of horse at
the siege of Boulogne. In 1560, he had the grant of an annuity of two hundred
pounds. James, his son, was an eminent merchant, and died in London in 1592,
leaving his son, sir Martin Lumley, the purchaser of this estate, Avho, on his decease
in 1634, left his son Martin his heir, created a baronet in 1640, and elected member
of parliament in the same year. He married Jane, daughter of John Meredith, esq.
of Denbighshire, by whom he had his only daughter. Prudence, married to sir Roger
Mostyn, hart. His second lady was Mary, daughter of Edward Alleyn, by whom
he had Martin, Thomas, and James, of whom the two last died unmarried. Sir
Martin, the eldest son and heir, marrying Anne, daughter of sir John Langham, knt.
had by her his son Martin, and a daughter, who died young. Sir Martin, the son,
succeeded his father on his decease in 1702. He married, first, Elizabeth, daughter
of sir Richard Dawes, of London : secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Cham-
berlain, esq. of Gray's-inn: thirdly, Elizabeth, daughter of Clement Rawlinson, esq.
of Sanscale, in Lancashire. By his first lady, sir Martin had Martin, who died young,
and Anne, married to sir Stephen Anderson, hart. : by his second lady he had James,
and Elizabeth, married to the right rev. Dr. Cecil, bishop of Bangor. Sir James
succeeded his father, who died in 1710; and, in 1725, an act of parliament was pro-
cured for vesting his several estates in trustees, to be sold for the payment of his own
and his father's debts and legacies ; and a second act was also passed for the same
purpose in 1729, when Bardfield Lodge, with the parks and several manors, were
purchased by Edward Stephenson, esq. who had been a governor in the East Indies.
This lordship afterwards became the property of Jones Raymond, esq. The Great
Lodge was pulled down, the stables converted into a farm-house, all the inclosed lands
disparked, and the remainder of the Lumley estates, consisting of Great Bardfield
Hall, Coxhills, Claypit Hall, Little Lodge, and the Bushets, all capital farms, were
purchased for the use of Guy's Hospital.*
* Arms of Lumley : Or, a chief gules. Crest : On a wreath, an eagle displayed, sable, beaked, legged,
and crowned, or.
64
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. The manor of Pitley was also named Pitsea, Pitsey, and Packley, and formed part
Pitiey. of the estate here which originally belonged to Fitz-Gilbert, and was given by his
son, Gilbert, earl of Clare, to the abbey of Bee, in Normandy; or, according to re-
cords, to the priory of Stoke, near Clare, which was a cell to that abbey. After the
suppression of religious houses, king Edward the sixth, in 1551, granted this estate,
with woods called the Marsh and Pinkwell Grove, to his preceptor, sir John Cheeke,
who was deprived of it by queen Mary, in 1556; and it was granted, in 1557, to
Henry Vavasor and others. It belonged afterwards to Thomas French, esq., and to
John Owen in 1636 ; and a proprietor of the name of Plumb forfeited this estate to
the crown for having kiUed a bailiff. It was granted away by king- Charles the first,
and a proprietor of the name of Haslefoot gave it to the company of haberdashers in
London, charged with the following payments: eight pounds for the better support of
a weekly lecture at Cold Abbey; to twenty poor housekeepers of the haberdasher's
company, twenty pounds; to four hospitals, twenty pounds; to Ludgate, Newgate,
and the two Compters, ten pounds ; and ten pounds to the company and officers, as a
stock for laying up corn. The manoi'-house is in Little Bardfield.*
Park Gates is an estate in this parish, which for a considerable time was in posses-
sion of the Searle family, of whom the last was William Searle, buried here in 1692.
Church. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is at a short distance from the town; it
is built of stone, with a nave and north and south aisles leaded, the chancel tiled. A
tower of stone, with five beUs, supports a tall wooden spire, leaded.
This church was given to the abbey of Bee, in Normandy, with the manor of Pit-
ley ; which grant was confirmed by Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, and
by the bull of pope Alexander the third, dated June, 1174. The great tithes were
appropriated, and a vicarage ordained in 1214; by a composition between the monks
of Stokef and the v'icar here, the vicarage was endowed with the small tithes, and the
tithe of hay, and tithe of corn to the value of five marks, or the money, at the option
of the vicar; with all the tithes of corn and pulse out of the prior's demesnes, except
the garden. On the dissolution of the convent and college of Stoke, this church and
advowson of the living were granted, by king Edward the sixth, to Anthony Bourchier
and John Wiseman, esqs., who conveyed them to William Bendlowes, serjeant-at-
law, Avho, in 1556, obtained a licence to convert the vicarage into a rectory; and
having leased out the great tithes for five hundred years, at twenty marks yearly, set-
tled on the rector and his successors the yearly sum of six pounds thirteen shillings
and four pence, being one moiety of the twenty marks. The other moiety he employed
Chantry, in founding a chantry, with the licence and authority of the bishop of London, and the
dean and chapter of St. Paul's ; it was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and the priest
* Strype's Survey of London, b. 5. p. 65.
t This priory being a cell to the foreign abbey.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL.
65
was to pray for the souls of king Philip and queen Mary, living and dead ; also for the « H A p.
souls of Christopher Bendlowes and Elizabeth his wife, father and mother of the '
founder; for whose soul, and that of his wife Alienor, prayers were also to he offered
up for ever. In 1588, the lands belonging to this chantry were granted, by queen
Elizabeth, to Edward Wymark.
There were also three obits in this church. Obits.
Serjeant Bendlowes died in 1584, and with Alienor, his second wife, lies buried Inscrip-
under the south window of the chancel. Their portraits are engraved on a plate of
brass, but much defaced, as is also the following inscription:
"Mole jaces tectns gelidi, Bendlose, sepulchri,
Tuta jacent pietas, jusque, legesque simul.
Aula dedit patrii juris quae semina primum
Laeta bibi Celebris Lincolniensis erat.
Ilia juventutem generosa stirpe creatam,
Quse juri studium sedulo navat, alit.
Auxit in immensum vigili concepta labore
Sedulitas, studii laurea fama comes.
Turba prius sidum vocitat plebeia patronum,
******
Hinc fit ut ad decus eximium conscendit et amplura,
Factus qui legi serviat unus erat.
Consultor fidus causas agit ille clientum,
Patronum ut cupiat quilibet esse sibi.
Lintea confestim capiti concessa, superstes
******
Servieris qui gereres ad legem unus eras.
Nee solum evasit solus, sed fama secuta est,
Sic mansit per tres septuaginta dies.
Solus et a mensis quindena luce Novembris,
Ad Januas sextum vicesimumque Diem.
Ast annus regni Mariae regnante Philippo
Regina2 sextus quintus et hujus erat.
Auxerat huic, Bendlose, satis tua lauta suppelles ;
Quae tibi, quae multis, parta labore fuit.
Parta fuit multis, multis quia profuit ille.
Quid dederis, narrat narrat egenus opem.
Non erat 6 multis, unus sed is omnibus unus.
Profuit et patriae, lux erat ille suae,
Sic patriffi vixit magno dum vixit honore,
Sic patriae magno concidit ille malo.
Ergo teget tumulus, leteget quid terra cadaver.
Bendlosi volitat fama per ora virum.
Terra teget terram, mens summis mentibus haeret
Vita perennis ave, vita caduca vale.
Qui legis hos versus nostras adverte ruinas,
Disce carere malo, disce timere deum.
Corpora debentur morti, mens querat Olympum,
Semper et Authorem cogitet ilia suum.
Nunc teneas portum, valeant ludibria mundi.
Optima Mors salve, pessima vita vale.
FINIS.
Obiit mortem 19 die Novembris, Anno Domini
1584, annoque regni Elizabethae reginae 27."
In English:
" Cover'd by the cold sepulchral mound, O Bend-
lowes, dost thou lie,
Safely with thee lie piety, equity, and laws together.
Pleasant was to thee the celebrated Lincoln's Inn,
Which first furnished the seeds of thy country's ju-
risprudence.
Youth sprung of a generous race, docs it cherish.
Such as sedulously apply themselves to legal pursuits.
Immeasurably what by vigilant labour was under-
taken
Industry encreased, v<;ith laurelled Fame as the com-
panion of Study.
First asks the plebeian crowd a faithful pleader,
******
Hence happened it that he reached pre-eminence
and fulness of honour.
Being made the sole serjeant-at-law.
A faithful counsellor, he so manages the causes of
his clients,
That every one is desirous of securing him as his
advocate.
The honour being forthwith conferred, thou wcrt
left
The only one of thy rank who administered the law;
66
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Nor was he in this solitude alone ; his fame also fol-
lowed him :
So did he remain for three and seventy days,
And was alone from the fiftcentli day of the month
of Novemher,
To the twenty-sixth of January.
Now the year was the sixth of queen Mary,
And the fiftli of Philip's reign.
Hitherto, Bendlowes, sufBciently had thy splendid
furniture accumulated.
Which to thee, which to many, (because to many he
was aidful)
Relates what assistance thou hast furnished to the
needy.
Not one of many was he, but the only one of all.
He was beneficial to his country, and its light.
So to his country, while he lived, he lived with great
honour.
So to his country's great detriment did he fall.
Therefore let the tomb cover the body which earth
shall again deliver up,
Bendlowe's fame soars through the mouths of men.
Let earth cover earth, the soul to loftiest souls clings
fast.
Immortal life, all hail ! Corruptible life, farewell I
Thou who rcadest these lines, mark our decay.
Learn to be free from guilt, learn to fear God.
Bodies are due to death, let the soul seek heaven.
And always let it think upon its Author.
Now you steer for the haven, bid earthly vanities
farewell.
Hail thou best of all things, death ! Farewell thou
worst of all things, life !
THE END.
He died the death on the I9th day of November,
in the year of our Lord 1584, and in the 27th year of
the reign of queen Elizabeth."
Charities.
A free-school was founded here hy serjeant Bendlowes, and endowed with an
annuity often pounds: this has been advanced to about thirty pounds per annum, and
additional benefactions have been added.
A pightle, or inclosure, of three roods, was given to the poor by J. Smith. And
there is also a house for the use of the poor.
The sum of thirty shillings is given annually to the poor, instead of a dole of her-
rings. The poor of this parish have also an annuity of twenty shillings, out of the ma-
nor of Nichols, in Shalford.
In 1821, this parish contained eight hundred and eighty-seven, and, in 1831, one
thousand and twenty-nine inhabitants.
Bardfield
Saling.
Wagtails.
BARDFIELD SALING.
This small parish, which extends southward from Great Bardfield, unites with the
parish of Great Saling, and has been named Bardfield juxta Saling; and also Little
and New Saling, and Bardfield Saling.
In the time of the Saxons it was in the possession of two servants of a thane named
Wisgar; but afterwards became the property of Richard Fitz-Gislebert, whose under-
tenant was named Wielard. The village is five miles from Great Dunmow.
There are two manors.
William de Wastail, who married Maud, one of the daughters of Stephen de Beau-
champ, lord of the manors of Lammarsh and Twinsted, was the possessor of this
manor, which derives its name from him: in the time of Edward the third, the re-
corded lord of Wastails was Ralph, the son of William Fitz- Ralph, knt. by whom it
was granted to William, vicar of Great Saling; and this grant was afterwards trans-
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 67
ferred to John, son of Walter de Oxenhey, of Little Rayne ; it was, during a con- CHAP,
siderable period, in possession of the Maxey family, of Bradvvell and Old Saling.
John Maxey, esq. died in 1546, and was succeeded by Anthony, his son, successively
followed in this possession by sir Henry Maxey, sir William, Greville, and Anthony
Maxey. The next following possessor was Martin Carter, esq.; and, in 1717, Hugh
Raymond, esq. succeeded by Jones Raymond, esq.
In 1329, Robert, the son of John Wymer, held the manor which is distinguished Wymeis.
by his family name : the style in which he is mentioned in records is that of Wymer
of Offington. In 1581, Christopher Purple became possessed of this estate, succeeded
by his son of the same name ; from whose family it was conveyed to sir James Lumley,
and with part of his estate, was sold to Guy's Hospital.
The church or chapel was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul in 1380, and the Church,
inclosure or cemetery where it stood was consecrated the following year, by the bishop
of Pisa, commissioned by Courtney, bishop of London, and in 1384, confirmed, by
Robert de Braybroke, his successor, who also sanctioned an agreement between the
vicars of Great Bardfield and the inhabitants of this hamlet, by which it was stipulated
that the latter should " yearly, on the feast of the ascension, and the dedication of the
mother church, make their accustomed offerings; and that they should also bear a third
part of the third part of the charge belonging to the lordship's quarter, towards the
repairing or rebuilding of the said church; in return for which, the inhabitants of this
hamlet or parish should have liberty of burying in their said chapel or chapel-yard;
and, on non-performance of the conditions of this agreement, the chapel and chapel-
yard to be interdicted till satisfaction be made :" among the patents of the twenty-second
of Richard the second, there is an exemplification of the composition made between
the vicar of Great Bardfield and the parishioners of Bardfield Saling.
In the reign of king Henry the eighth, this parochial church or chapel having been,
by mistake, entered as a chantry, was, in 1546, with all that belonged to it, granted
to Henry Needham, who soon afterwards, by the name of the chantry of Great Bard-
field, conveyed it to George Maxey, esq.; on which, William Jenkinson, chaplain of
the chapel of ease of Great Bardfield, with the churchwarden* of the chapel and other
inhabitants, brought a suit in chancery against George Maxey, esq. for the recovery
of the chapel and lands belonging to it; and, in 1554, it was determined by sir William
Paulet, lord keeper, " that the chapel and yard should be for the use of the inhabitants
of this hamlet; the chaplain to be nominated by George Maxey and his heirs, with
the consent of the chief inhabitants. The chaplain shall enjoy the tenement called the
priest's house, a garden, a little croft, and the church-yard; that he shall enjoy all the
small tithes, offerings, and oblations, in as ample a manner as any incumbent enjoyed
them before, in the memory of man; all which were then esteemed worth seven
* The name of churchwarden in the record proves this church to have been parochial.
68
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. pounds yearly, besides the priest's house, croft, &c. or to be made up so much, by
George Maxey, who was to hold those tenements, called Lucknors, Hulls, Allponds,
and Purley, and all other lands and tenements formerly belonging to the said chapel,
except such as have been before excepted." George Maxey, esq. died in 1558, but
this decree was not ratified, till his son, in 1574, alienated this ecclesiastical estate to
William Bendlowes, serjeant-at-law, who gave it to the inhabitants, for the mainte-
nance of the word preached, divine service, the administration of the sacraments, and
other rites of holy church; and he endowed it with the priest's house, a garden,
orchard, and croft, with all tithes of hay, wool, lamb, pig, goose, calf, sheep, fruit,
oblation, and other spiritual rights and customs; and also an annual rent of three
pounds to the chaplain. The inhabitants to repair the chapel and chapel-yard, and
the patron to have the nomination of the chaplain.
Altar. In 1424, Catharine, lady of the manor of Old Hall, in Little Rayne, married to
Richard Downman, esq. gave, by will, an annuity of three shillings and four pence, in
honour of St. Margaret the Virgin; from whence it may be inferred that a private
altar here was dedicated to that saint.
In 1821, this parish contained two hundred and eighty-tAVO inhabitants, which, in
1831, had diminished to two hundred and fifty-nine.
Little
Bardfield.
Little
Bardfield
Hall.
LITTLE BARDFIELD.
From Great Bardfield south-eastward. Little Bardfield extends north-westward to
Little Samford, and east and westward to the extremities of the half hundred: the
road to the Samfords passes here over a fine open and well-cultivated country; the
soil generally light and sandy. The labouring population, almost entirely dependant
on agricultural employment, has considerably diminished in number during the last
ten years. Among the few good houses here is the parsonage, a handsome brick
building, about three quarters of a mile from the church, on the road toward the
Samfords; it was erected by the rev. T. Bernard, M. A. during his incumbency.
Distance from Thaxted three, and from London forty-three miles.
There are two manors.
The paramount manor-house of this parish is a handsome building near the church.
The parish or lordship, in the time of Edward the confessor, belonged successively to
a thane named Norman, and to Ingelric; and, at the time of the survey, was holden
under Eustace, earl of Boulogne, by Adelolf de Merk, or Merks. In 1210, his
descendant, Henry de Merk, held three knights' fees, here, at Latton, and at Short-
grove, near Newport.* His successors were Henry, in 1268, whose son of the same
name was followed, in 1274, by Alda, daughter of Geofi*ey Dynant. Andrew de
Merk held it in 1283, and Henry de Merk held it at the time of his decease in 1291:
* Peter le Botiller also held half a knight's fee in this manor, of the honour of Boulogne.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 69
and, in 1351, king Edward the third granted a licence to Clement de Rumburgh to chap.
give this manor and advowson of the church to the abbot and convent of St. John's, '
in Colchester, with liberty to appropriate the church to their use.
In 1539, this estate having become vested in the crown, was granted to Robert
Foster, esq. who disposed of it to William Chishul, esq. of an ancient family: he died
in 1570, holding this possession, and also Moad Hall, and the manor of Fitz-Ralph,
in Halstead. His successor was his son Giles, whose son and heir, William,* sold
the estate to John Buttal, whose son Christopher sold it to Thomas Wale, esq. son of
Thomas Wale, of Radwinter, by his wife Jane, daughter of Richard Westley, of
Hemsted.
Wale, or De Wale, is the surname of a family seated in Northamptonshire, in the Wale
reigns of Edward the second and Edward the third ; and sir Thomas Wale, highly
distinguished in the wars of this last monarch, was one of the first knights of the
garter, on the institution of that noble order, and rendered this family illustrious. He
died in Gascony, in 1352.f
Thomas Wale, the purchaser of this estate, married Elizabeth, daughter of Geofrey
Nightingale, esq. of Newport Pond, by whom he had eight sons and two daughters:
on his decease in 1659, he was buried here, and succeeded by Henry, his fifth and
oldest surviving son, whose son John was the next in succession: Henry Wale, his
son and heir, married Elizabeth, daughter of James Clarkson, esq. of Tendriug, by
whom he was the father of Henry Wale, esq. of Little Bardfield.
A large ancient manor-house, named Moad Hall, formerly stood between Bardfield Moad
Hall and a farm called the Hide; it was also named Mole Hall, and More Hall: this
building has been entirely destroyed. The estate is supposed to be what in the records
of 1317 is stated to be holden of John Gacy, or Geney, and Roger Damory and
Elizabeth his wife. In 1426, it was in the possession of John Gevey; of John Knes-
worth and Nicholas Hewysch, who purchased it of Henry Skinner and William
Thymming, of Walden. In 1434, it became the property of Robert Boyton, by
purchase : it also belonged to the family of Boteler, and was distinguished by the name
of Botelers. John Chycel, or Chishul, was possessed of it in 1445, succeeded by
William Chishull, whose son Giles was his successor, in 1570. In 1632, Israel Owen J
died, holding this estate and the advowson of the church: his son, John Owen, was
his successor, and, on his decease, left four daughters, his co-heiresses. The estate
afterwards became the property of the Bernard family.
The church, dedicated to St. Katharine, is a small ancient building, tiled, having a Cluncli.
tower with two bells.
* Pedigree at the end of tlie old register of the parish.
t Barnes' history of king Edward the third, p. 299, 464. He bore for his arms, argent, a cross, sable.
X An estate in this parish, named Wanfords, was holden of Israel Owen, by John Botolphe.
VOL. II. L •
70
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The advowson of the living being attached to the manor, passed with it to Thomas
Wale, esq. in 1643; and he settled it on his son, John Wale, who, by will, devised
it to be sold: it was consequently purchased, in 1663, by Robert Dawge, esq. of
Loughton, who, in 1665, sold it to Thomas Lund, clerk, of Bayleham, in Suffolk:
and he, in 1673, sold it to Thomas Bernard, esq. of this parish, who settled it on his
son, Thomas Bernard, clerk, and his heirs: on his decease in 1718, it descended to his
son, the rev. Thomas Bernard, who being patron, could not present himself; and not
having made over his right, previous to the death of his father, on that account suffered
a lapse, and was collated by the bishop. The diocesan frequently grants this favour,
yet, in this case, a legal investigation was instituted, it being questioned whether the
bishop could collate the patron before a lapse: the civilians divided upon it; Dr.
Henchman was of opinion it could not be done, but Dr. Andrews thought it might.
In previously suffering a lapse, there is evidently this hazard, that if the diocesan
should die before he had collated, the turn would be lost to the patron, and be trans-
ferred either to the archbishop or the king, who might present another. In an
occurrence of this kind, it is therefore found best for the patron to pray or petition
the diocesan to admit him.
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and eight, and, in 1831, two hundred
and ninety-five inhabitants.
Little
Samford.
LITTLE SAMFORD, Or NEW SAMFORD.
The two parishes named Samford, or Sandford, are believed to have formerly con-
stituted only one possession, yet the time of their being divided is not known; they
were found to belong to different persons, at the survey of Domesday. The name is
written in records Sanford, and Santford,* derived, as is believed, from a sandy ford
across the stream, which in its course, as it enlarges and becomes a river, assumes the
name of Pant. This parish lies between Little Bardfield on its southern extremity,
and Great Samford northward; and extends from Rad winter on the west to Hinckford
hundred eastward; it is estimated to be four miles from east to west, and from north
to south three miles. The clay soil of this district is considerably diversified, and
contains a good proportion of sound arable land; the roads, formerly described as
among the worst in the county, have been much improved. Little Samford is distant
from Saffron Walden four, and from London forty-five miles.
In the time of the Saxons, this lordship was in the possession of Wisgar; and at the
survey, belonged to Richard Fitz-Gislebert, from whom the earls of Clare and
Gloucester descended: it was afterwards holden of the honour of Clare and Gloucester
by the service of two knights' fees. There are three manors.
* Samford, and particularly Saiupford, are considered to be unauthori.sed vulgarisms, as is also Saford :
this place is also called New Samford.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 71
Little Samford Hall is a fine old mansion, near the church, on considerably elevated chap.
ground, rising- from the stream named Freshwell. This elegant seat has lately been '
put in complete repair by the present proprietor, general sir William Eustace. Little
There is a park and a considerable extent of woodland belonging to the estate; and Hall.
on elevated ground, opposite to Little Samford Hall, a handsome newly-erected man-
sion is the seat of John Hinxman, esq.
The earliest recorded possessors of this manor after Fitz-Gislebert were sir Peter Taie-
de Taleworth, and sir Peter his son: it was part of the fourteen knights' fees held by family.
them under the earls of Gloucester and Hertford. In 1262, Roger de Taleworth and
Roger de Bechesworth held lands, according to the record, in " Little Samford, in
Esse," of Richard de Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, which, in 1314, were in
the possession of Richard de Taleworth and Roger de Bechesworth. Successive
proprietors were William de Clopton and sir Simon de Swanland, knt. who sold
it to William de Pampesworth, in 1347; what belonged to William de Clopton was
one knight's fee and a half, and Simon de Swanland's share was three quarters of a fee.
The estate afterwards belonged to sir Thomas and sir Richard Tendring; and, in
1391 and 1392, William Bateman held it of the earl of March.* Margaret, the
daughter and heiress of William Bateman, by marriage, conveyed this possession to
her husband, William Green, second son of John Green, esq. by his wife Agnes, Green
daughter and heiress of John Duke, of Widdington Hall. William Greenf died in '
1488, and his wife in 1495, and are buried in the chancel of this church: sir John
Green was their son and successor; they had also a second son, named David, who
was rector of this parish, and two daughters. Sir John Green died in 1530; by his
first lady, Anne Ratclitf, he had Edward, and Richard, who died in 1566, without
issue. Sir Edward succeeding to the estate, died in 1554; by Margery, daughter of
William Allington, his first wife, he had Rooke, Roger; Frances, Joyce, and Mary.
Rooke Green, esq. marrying Eleanor, daughter of William Fitch, esq. of Little Can-
field Hall, had by her four sons and eight daughters, and, on his decease in 1601, was
succeeded by William, his eldest son, who marrying Katharine, daughter of Nicholas
Timpernel, of Hintleshara Hall, in Suffolk, had by her four sons and four daughters;
of these John, the eldest son, died before his father, having married Frances, daughter
of sir John Russel, by whom he had Edward, Francis, John, William, Rooke, and
* He was a great benefactor to the priory of Dunuiow, and was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in
the time of king Richard the second. He married Margaret, (daughter and co-heiress of sir William
Coggeshall), who after his decease, was married to John Roppeloy, and, at the time of her decease, in
1459, held this manor of Richard, duke of York. Her daughter IMargaret, by her first husband Bateman,
was married to William Green. Arms of Bateman : Sable, three lions couchant, two and one, argent.
f They died possessed of the moiety of this manor, (the other moiety belonged to sir Thomas Tyrell,
son of sir John Tyrell, of Herons, in right of his mother Alianor, daughter and co-heiress of sir William
Coggeshall.) •
72 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Katherine. In 1621, William, the father of John, dying, was succeeded by his grand-
son Edward, who, in 1660, was created a baronet : by his first lady Jeronyma, daughter
and co-heiress of William Everard, esq. of Linsted, he had six daughters ; by his
second lady, Mary Tasborough, he had a son ; and by his third and last, whose maiden
name was Symonds, he had a daughter. He was the last of the family who enjoyed
this estate, which he imprudently lost by gaming.* In consequence of which it was
conveyed, in 1640, to William Halton, esq. created a baronet in 1642. He was the
third son of Robert Halton, esq. of Sawbridgeworth, whose father was Robert
Halton, esq. serjeant-at-law, in 1580. He was also heir and executor to his uncle sir
William Halton, of Abington, in Cambridgeshire, the Serjeant's second son. By
his first wife, Mary, daughter of sir Edward Altham, knight, of Latton, he had Mary,
who died unmarried; and sir AAllliam Halton, bart., his eldest son and successor in
1662, who sold this estate, with that of Tewes, to Edward Peck, esq. in 1670,f in
whose family it continued till the decease of William Peck, esq. in 1745, without
issue; when Thomas Stanton, esq., burgess of, and member of parliament for,
Ipswich, married the widow, and purchased the reversion of this estate.^
Tewes. Thomas de Tewes, whose arms § and name appear in the east window of the north
aisle of the church, was of an ancient family, from whom this manor has been named.
The mansion-house is about half a mile from the church northward ; yet this estate
has generally gone with the chief manor, and has been in possession successively of
the families of Tendring, Bateman, and Green ; and of the Peck family ; holden of
the honour of Clare.
Friers. Friers, in the court-rolls written Frerys de Sanford ; the manor of Jones, alias
Fryers ; Freres- Sanford, alias Sanford-parva, is about three miles distant from the
church; it is named Friers, and Jones, on account of its having belonged to the
brethren of the knights hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem : in some deeds it is
. * Arms of Green. Gules, a lion rampant, counterchanged, argent and sable. The Green family had
great possessions in this county; at this place, at Widdington, Navestoke, Stanford Rivers, and especially
at Shelly, in Ongar hundred.
t He was a younger son of William Peck, of Methwold, in Norfolk, and educated for the bar ; was
Serjeant in 1674, and king's serjeant in 1675 : marrying Grace, daughter and co-heiress of William Green,
of Hertfordshire, he had by her William his heir, who married Gertrude, daughter of sir William Green,
bart., of Mitcham, in Surrey, by whom he had eight sons, and three daughters ; of whom, at the time of
his decease in 1694, there survived him his eldest son William ; Philip, who died in 1717 ; and Grace,
wife of John Trenchard. William Peck, esq. was sheriff of the county in 1705; and married Bridget,
daughter of Morgan Randall, esq. of Chilworth, in Surrey, by whom he had Randall, and eight daughters.
On the decease of the father, in 1727, he was succeeded by his son William, sheriff in 1730 ; he died in
1745, having married Katherine, daughter of Thomas Thunston, esq., by whom he left no issue.
J Arms of Peck : Or, a chevron, gules, between three crosses patted, or crosslets, of the field.
§ Arms of Tewes: Azure, a fesse charged with three plates, between two chevronels, argent : under
them tliis inscription, " Ore p'le Alme Thomas de Tewes et Elizabeth son Femme."
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL.
73
called the hospital of Samford. Near the mansion-house the foundations of the CHAP,
ancient chapel may yet be traced, and the keeper of the hospital of Samford is '
mentioned in the record. The oldest remaining court-rolls of this house are of the
year 1390, in which it appears that the manor had free-warren, assize of bread and
beer, and view of frank-pledge. In the time of king Henry the third, Olivia, daughter
of Geofrey Fitz-Baldwin, wife of Remfre, son of Roger, was in possession of this
manor, and after the death of her husband gave it to the knights hospitallers ; which
grant was confirmed by Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford ; * it was
granted, by Henry the eighth, to Richard Higham, esq., and he disposed of it to
William Humphrey, who died possessed of it in 1573 :f and it remained in possession
of his descendants till the decease of Nicholas Humphreys, the last of the family.
Afterwards this possession became the property of the Henniker family.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is a plain stone building, with a nave. Church.
north aisle, and chancel, the whole leaded; with a lofty stone tower, having three bells,
and above the tower a spire. The rectory belonged to Little Samford Hall, till it was
sold by William Peck, esq. After whose decease, in 1727, a person was presented,
in order to contest the title, assisted by the income of the living. The purchaser,
however, got the affair compromised.
Geofrey, son of Haman, gave two parts of his great tithes here, and the whole of
his small tithes, to the priory of Stoke, near Clare ; the gift was confirmed by arch-
bishop Becket and pope Alexander the third : when that church became collegiate,
this was assigned to a prebendary.
Ancient monuments on the north and south walls of the chancel, bear the following Inscrip-
tions,
mscriptions : —
" Lo ! in this tombe combyned are thes toe bereft
of lyfe,
Sur Edward Greene, a famus linyghte, and Margerye
his wyfe."
"' Obiit Edvardus Greene, miles, vicesimo secundo
die mensis Junii, A.D. 1550.
Obiit Margery Greene, vicesimo quinto die Martis,
A.D. 1530."
On a monument on the north side of the chancel, above which, in a niche, are
* From Mr. Holman's MSS.
t He was succeeded by a son of the same name, on whose decease, in 1592, he left his son William his
successor : he also had Robert, John, Samuel, Anthony ; Joan, Mary, and Ellen. The heir on his decease,
leaving only two daughters, settled the estate on his brother Samuel, who becan)e his heir in 1607.
Samuel Humphrey, esq. was of Bocking, and was succeeded by Samuel his son, who marrying Anne,
daughter of William Mascall, also left a son, Samuel, who by Elizabeth his wife left William, Robert,
Nicholas, and IMartin. The father in 171 1 , by will, left the estate to his eldest son ; or in defect of issue,
to his brothers : consequently, on his decease, his brothers William, Robert, and Nicholas followed in
succession, but left no offspring. It was a family of some note and ancient, in this parish, and at
Thaxted. The last-mentioned William was mayor of Thaxted in 1634 ; and John, his 1)rother, was chief
burgess in that town, and resided at Goldings."
74 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. eiSgies of the persons commemorated, in devotional attitudes, with emblematical
devices, is the following- : —
" Hie jacet depositiim Guliclini Tweedy, armigeri, qui quondam sub augustissimae memoriEe regina Eli-
zabetha, in tumultibus illis qui a parte boreali, sedandis Angliae : Dein sub invietissimi herois dni. baronis
de Willougliby, Galliac : postremo sub illustrissimi comitis Leicestriai, auspitiis, Belgiae prsefectus mili-
tuni, meruit. Uxorem duxit primo Mabellam, Henrici Curwen, equitis aurati, ex comitatu Cumbriae,
filiam ex qua unum filium filiamq. unam habuit. Mox Margaretam Rooke Green, de Samford Parva, in
comitatu Essexiensi, filiam de qua tres Alios totideniq. bis filias genuit. Obiit vii die Julii, anno mdcv.
Cujus anima requiescat in^)ace."
In English:
" Here lies the body of William Tweedy, esquire, who distinguished himself as a military officer, first
under queen Elizabeth of glorious memory, in suppressing the tumults in the north of England; next
under that invincible hero the lord baron de Willoughby, in France ; and lastly, under the auspices of the
illustrious earl of Leicester, in the Netherlands. He married first Mabell, the daughter of sir Henry
Curwen, knight, of the county of Cumberland, by whom he had one son and one daughter : and afterward.s
Margaret, the daughter of Rooke Green, of Samford Parva, in the county of Essex, by whom he had three
sons, and twice as many daughters. He died on the seventh day of July, in the year 1605 ; whose soul rest
in peace ! "
In the north aisle there are several monuments belonging to the Peck family ; the
most magnificent of these is about twelve feet high, with an effigy of excellent work-
manship, lying on a mattress, over which a scroll bears the following : —
" Sub hoc marmore conditur, quod mori potuit, decor scilicet, venustas, et forma perquam elegans,
liberalis, et honesta, Brigittae, lectissimae et singularis exempli foeminae : quae virum habuit Gulielmum
Peck, patrem Morganum Randyll, armigeros, hunc de Chillworth, in agro Surriensi ; ilium de Samford-
hall in com. Essexia : his quae, superstes, fuerat, egregium decus deliciaequae : nunc longum, eheu, jacet,
atq ; ingens desiderium ! deflenda universis ! si tamen illi facienda fletu sunt funera, cujus amabiles
milleamplius virtutes; aeternum victiirae, per ora vocitabunt omnium, quorum ad aures vel jam pervene-
runt, vel olim sunt perventurae ; fuit quippe haec, tamquam divinitus dotata, ad omne officium vitae
imjjlendum, qua; Deum, quae proximum, quae semet ipsam spectaret, felicissime composita; filia eadem,
uxor, parens, mater familias, optima ; mira erat illi indolis suavitas, mirus ingenii candor : et, quod aegre
tenero illo in sexu vix reperias, mira, quotiescunq ; res postularet, animi fortitudo in formandis libero-
rum moribus. Prudens simul mater et fertilis, (binos quippe pueros, puellas octo moriens reliquit) operam
posuit baud infelicem ; feliciorem indies positura. His studiis occupata nee cupida nee metuens sepui-
chri, tandem coelo matura, coiliq. monitis obsecuta decersit, Junii xiv, anno Dom. mdccxii, natu
annos xxxi."
Two lines of this inscription are illegible.
" Under this marble is deposited so much as could die (the comeliness, namely, the beauty, and the
perfectly elegant, accomplished, and symmetrical figure) of Bridget, that choicest and indeed unrivalled
model of a woman: who had for her husband William Peck, for her father Morgan Randyll, esquires;
the latter of Chillworth, in the county of Surrey, the former of Samford Hall, in Essex : of both of whom,
while living, she was the pride and the delight. Now she lies, alas ! the object of their long and anxious
desire, by all lamented ! If, however, the obsequies of her, whose were these more than thousand
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 75
endearing virtues, must be observed with tears ; they, destined ever to survive, shall frequently by the lips CHAP,
of all be repeated, whose ears they have either already reached, or are doomed hereafter to greet. For
this lady was qualified, as it were, from above, for the discharge of every duty of life, in admirable con-
junction, whether they related to God, to her neighbour, or to herself; at once the best of daughters,
wives, parents, and mistresses. Wonderful was her suavity of temper ; wonderful was her ingenuousness
of mind ; and, what is seldom to be found in the tenderer sex, wonderful, whenever circumstances required,
was her fortitude of soul in the education of her children. A prudent at once and a fruitful mother, (for
she left at her death two boys and eight girls) she applied herself to toils not ungratifying, with others
still more so in prospect. Engaged in such pursuits, neither desirous of nor dreading the grave, being at
length ripe for heaven, she, in obedience to a summons from thence, departed on the 14th of June, A. D.
1712, aged 31."
An elegant monument has the following inscription on a table of white marble: —
" In a vault near this monument lieth interred the body of William Peck, of Sampford Hall, of this
parish, esq. a gentleman of most distinguished accomplishments, having lived with the devoutest piety
towards God, suitable to the doctrines of the church of England, in the profession of which he lived and
died ; with an uncorrupted loyalty to his prince ; with an unsullied faithfulness to his wife ; and with
the discreetest tenderness to his children. Virtues truly rare, in the age in which he lived. He married
Gertrude, daughter of sir William Green, of Mitcham, bart. by whom he had eleven children, eight sons
and three daughters, of which four only survived him. William married the daughter of Morgan Randall,
of Surrey, esq. ; Grace was married to John Trenchard, of Cutteridge, in Wilts, esq. ; Gertrude, to the
unspeakable affliction of her entirely loving mother, and the most sensible sorrow of her whole family,
and all who knew her, was taken away, in the flower of her age, by the small-pox ; being of a most pious,
sweet, and engaging disposition. Philip still a single person.
"This monument was erected in the year of our lord 1713, to the grateful remembrance of her dear
husband, and her daughter Gertrude, who lieth buried in the same vault, by Mrs. Gertrude Peck, his most
affectionate relict, who lived the whole time of her life, wherein she survived him, a solitary and dis-
consolate widow. An uncommon testimony of the unextinguishable impressions of her affection for
him, and indulgent concern for her children."
Another monument on the east wall bears the following: —
" Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Grace Trenchard, late wife of John Trenchard, of Cutteridge, in the
county of Wilts, esq. and daughter of William Peck, late of this parish, esq. who died on the thirteenth
day of October, 1770, about an hour after she had been delivered of a dead son. She was buried at Leigh,
in Somersetshire, where her husband now enjoys a noble seat, and a very large estate. She was happy
in a judgment infinitely superior to what is usually met with among the brightest of her sex ; and of her
many other extraordinary qualifications, none shined so bright as her exemplary piety, her inexpressible
affection for her husband, her constant dutiful behaviour to her parents, her tender concern for the
welfare of those for whom she professed a friendship, and her unwearied application to serve them. Her
dear mother, who put up this inscription, would not have supported herself under this great affliction, but
by the hopes she entertains of meeting her again at the joyful resurrection of the just."
A small mural monument bears the following: —
•' In memory of Philip Peck, esq. whose affability to all mankind endeared him to all who were in-
timately acquainted with him, and procured him the esteem of all others who knew him. His natural
wit, improved by a liberal education, rendered him capable of being an ornament cither to the court or
Samfoid.
76 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
FOOK II camp ; but being ambitious to serve his prince and the country at the greatest hazard, he chose the army,
where he served with great reputation : and being on his command in Ireland, he died of the small-pox,
on the 22d of June, 1717, in the 27th year of his. age, and was buried at Dublin. This inscription was
set up by his afflicted mother."
Charity. Gertrude, one of the daughters of William Peck, esq. of this parish, who died
August 28, 1705, in the twenty-fourth year of her age, and is interred here, gave, by
will, sixty-six pounds, six shillings, and eight pence to the poor, the interest of which
is distributed in bread every Sunday fortnight.
This parish, in 1821, contained three hundred and sixty-five, and, in 1831, four
hundred and tAventy-three inhabitants.
GREAT SAMFORD.
Great From Little Samford, Great Samford extends northward to Hemsted, in which
direction it measures about three miles; and the same from east to west, where it is
bounded by Finchingfield, Thaxted, and Radwinter. The village has a pleasant and
healthy appearance, containing some good houses, generally at a short distance from
each other:* the inhabitants are principally engaged in the labours of agriculture, except
such of the females as are employed in the straw-plat manufacture, which has been
introduced here.
The road from Finchingfield to Saffron Walden passes through the centre of the
village, and this being the nearest route to Cambridge from the Braintree quarter,
it is much frequented, and kept in good repair. Distance from Cambridge twenty-one,
from Bishop's Stortford sixteen, and from London forty-eight miles.
Formerly there was a fair here on Whit-monday, but all that remains of it are a few
benches with toys. Gently rising grounds, with groves of oak, elm, and ash, and rich
pasture and meadoAV land, bordering the rivulet of Freshwell, give a pleasing appear-
ance to this part of the country. On the higher grounds, abundance of wheat, barley,
and oats are grown, and sparingly turnips, where the land is found sufficiently light
and sandy.f Water is abundant here, and of a good quality; the rivulet of Freshwell
* The air of this parish is very healthy, if we may judge from the advanced age of many of the inhabi-
tants ; and indeed there is generally not much sickness, considering its population and extent. The
following statement gives the number and comparative ages of persons deceased in sixteen years : —
22 under 1 year; 22 above 1, and under 10; 22 above 10, and under 20; 26 above 20, and under 30;
8 above 30, and under 40; 9 above 40, and under 50; 13 above 50, and under 60; 15 above 60, and under 70 ;
22 above 70, and under 80 ; 11 above 80, and under 90; 3 above 90, and under 100 ; 1 age not entered.
t Mangel-wurzel has been grovvn, and suits some of the soil well, but the agriculturalists here have
not become familiarised to the culture of this plant. A large portion of the land is arable, and the number
of dairies have diminished, yet there are several, consisting of from fifteen to twenty cows. Bullocks,
sheep, and calves, the usual stock of the Essex farmer, are bred here, and in the farm-yards turkeys seem
to be preferred to geese.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 77
has a wooden bridge southward from the church, and, in heavy rains and snow-thaws, chap.
frequently overflows and causes floods.*
The lands of this parish forming part of the royal demesnes, belonged, in Saxon
times, to Edeva ; and were given to Ralph de Guader, created duke of Norfolk and
Suffblk by William the conqueror. This nobleman was the son of a Saxon, by a
British lady born in Wales. His surname, De Guader, was derived from a castle in
Brittany, where he had also another castle named Montfort : he is said to have been a
native of Norfolk, and, in 1075, at Ixning or Exning, in Suffolk, married Emma,
daughter of William Fitz-Osborn, earl of Hereford; sister of William, lord of Breteuil,
in Normandy, and of Roger, son and heir of earl of Hereford. At this marriage
he was accused of uniting with Waltheof, earl of Huntingdon, in a conspiracy against
the Conqueror, on which account he was deprived of this estate. The parish was
divided into three manors.
The mansion-house of Great Samford is in the village, near the church, and on the Manor of
same side of the way: one moiety of the estate was holden under the crown by the Samford.
Roos family, and the other was granted by king Henry the second to a family surnamed
Kemesec, who retained possession during several generations, till it was conveyed by
females to the family of Welles, and passed successively to Coggeshall, Tyrell,
Bateman, and Green.
In 1210, Henry de Kemesec, son of Arnulf; and Derkin de Lare, held Samford,
by the service of half a knight's fee ; which, in 1284, was in the possession of Ralph de
Kemesec, whose service for it was a whole knight's fee ; Edmund, of the same sur-
name, and probably his son, at the time of his decease, in 1287, and another of the
same name, with Robert de Roos, in 1299, all held this possession by the same service;
Matilda, wife of the said Robert, bore him two daughters, co-heiresses of this estate,
of whom Petronilla died unmarried, in 1313, leaving her sister Isabel, wife of Robert
de Welles, sole heiress ; but Joan, second wife of her father Edmund, held the third
pai-t of this manor till her decease in 1331, her heir being William, son of Philip de
Welles, who died in 1349, leaving his daughter Joanna, married to sir Henry de
Coggeshall, his sole heiress : sir Henry died in 1375, and sir William, his son and
successor, was living in the beginning of the reign of king Henry the sixth, having
married Antiochia, daughter of sir John, son of the celebrated sir John Hawkwood,
of Hawkwoods, in Sible Hedingham: on his decease he left four daughters, his
co-heiresses; Blanch married to John Doreward, esq., Alice to sir John Tyrell,! of
* On these occasions the brook rapidly fills, and covers a considerable portion of the low meadow
grounds, rendering the ford impassable. These floods would be considerably diminished by clearing away
.sand-beds and other obstructing matters, which might be usefully applied to the heavy lands.
t He was treasurer of the household to king Henry the sixth; his son, sir Thomas, held a moiety of
this estate at the time of his decease in 1476, followed successively by sir William; sir Thomas Tyrell,
VOL. II. M
78
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Herons, Margaret to William Bateman, and Maud married first to Robert Dacre,
esq. and afterwards to John St. George. This estate was the inheritance of Alice
and Margaret, the latter of whom, on the decease of her second husband, John
Roppeley, esq. held the whole of this manor, of which one moiety was held of the
king as half a knight's fee, the other of William Roos:* her heiress was her only
daughter Margaret, wife of William Green, esq. of Little Samford Hall : this lady, on
the decease of her husband, held one half of the premises ; her successor being her son,
sir John Green, whose successor was his son sir Edward, who dying in 1554, his son
Rooke Green purchased of Henry Tyrell, esq. the moiety of this estate belonging to
that family, and on his decease in 1602 held the whole of this possession. William
Gilford, of an ancient family in Buckinghamshire, and whose ancestor was sheriflf of
Essex and Hertfordshire in 1318 and 1319, became the proprietor of this estate,
which descended to his son John, who died in 1414, leaving Margaret his sister his
heiress, who was married to John Chauncy, esq., son of WiUiam, baron of Scirpen-
beck : John Chauncy, esq. their son, married Anne, daughter of sir John Leventhorp,
of Sawbridgeworth, by whom he had John, Ralph, and six daughters, but how long
it remained in the possession of this family is not known.
The demesne lands of this manor were afterwards divided among several proprietors,
the nominal manor remaining with the Harvey family, till it was conveyed by the
marriage of Emma, second daughter of the late Eliab Harvey, to general sir William
Eustace, of Little Samford Hall.
The mansion-house of Giffordsis in that part of the parish which is named Tinning-
end ; the old house was on an inclosure containing about two acres, and surrounded by
a moat, at an equal distance from the new house and a farm-house called Godmail : it
was holden of the chief manor, under the Roos family. Ellen, daughter of sir John,
son of John, and grandson of Sacer de Roos, was married to sir Geofrey Brockhole,
Giffords
knight banneret, who died in 1510 ; Thomas Tyrell, esq., and Thomas his son, who dying in 1540, left
Katharine and Gertrude, co-heiresses.
* The Roos family derive their surname from the lordship of Roos, in Holderness, in Yorkshire.
Robert de Roos, lord of Helrasley or Hamlake Castle in that county, married Isabel, daughter and heiress
of William de Albani, also named Todeney, lord of Belvoir Castle, in Rutlandshire, by whom he had
William, Robert, and Emlin, married to William de Thany : sir Robert the second son, was knighted by king
Henry the third : of his two sons, Robert and Sacer, the first was a knight templar, who after his return
from Jerusalem, died in Yorkshire ; from whence his portraiture was brought and deposited in tiie Temple
church in London. Sacer de Roos, the younger brother, inherited this among the other family posses-
sions : his two sons were Robert and John. Robert received the honour of knighthood, and in 1310 was
representative in parliament for Hertfordshire. Sir John de Roos possessed this estate in the reign of king
Edward the third ; as did also Alice his widow, who died in 1375, and was succeeded by her grandson
John de Roos, of Brockholcs, in Radwinter. The noble family of Manners, duke of Rutland, derive the
title of lord Roos from Alinore, eldest sister, and one of the co-heiresses of Edmund lord Roos, married
to sir Robert Manners.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 79
who, on her decease in 1419, left him two daughters, (in her right heirs of this CHAP,
estate of GiflFords, also named Stanley) ;* Joan, married to Thomas Aspall, and
Margery to John Smnpter, of Colchester, whose son and heir was John, on whose
decease, in 1425, he left a moiety of this manor to his daughters. Christian and Elene,
by whom it was conveyed to their husbands; Elene to Ralph Holt, and Christian to
Thomas Bernard, esq., and this lady dying without issue, the manor became the undi-
vided property of her sister, Elene Holt.
This estate was next in possession of the family of Gilford, from whom it derived its
present name. John Gifford dying without issue, it descended to his sister Margaret,
who was married to John Chauncy, esq., and on her decease, in 1448, it became the
property of her son of the same name, who left it to John his younger brother ; the
family retained it till the year 1547, and a short time afterwards it became the property
of William Bradbury, esq., of Littlebury, who dying in 1550, left a son Robert his
heir, whose younger brother Henry was his successor in 1576, and died in 1596,
leaving William his son and heir. Afterwards it was successively the property of the
rev. John Baker, in 1637; of the rev. W^illiam Byatt, rector of Foxearth; and in 1743
of John Piper, esq., of Ashen; from whose family it was conveyed by marriage to
Henry Sperling, esq. of Dynes Hall.
A reputed manor in this parish has received the name of Roberts, or Free Roberts; Free
the house is about half a mile from the church, on the road towards Hemsted: this
estate was successively the property of Robert Mordaunt, esq. who died in 1572 ; of
John Mordaunt, son of Philip, his son, who died in 1574, and whose brothers, James
and Robert, were his successors. Afterwards the estate passed to the Harvey family.
The church, dedicated to St. Michael, on a slight elevation in the centre of the vil- Church,
lage, at the junction of the Walden, Thaxted, and Finchingfield roads, is a large and
handsome building of stone, and has a nave, and north and south aisles of equal length,
covered with lead, and a square tower, flanked with stone buttresses, and parapeted at
the top. The chancel is exceedingly well built with stone, and supported by but-
tresses, ornamented with niches, in which there are no figures remaining; the roof,
rising high and acutely pointed, is covered with tiles. A capacious gothic arch sepa-
rates the church from the chancel, on either side of which, as Ave enter, there are stone
stalls, beautifully formed with clusters of three pillars, supporting elegant trefoil
arches, retiring into the thickness of the wall; the beauty of some of them has been
unfortunately obscured by unsightly pews. A very handsome gothic window, on the
east end of the chancel, is believed to have been originally of stained glass, but none now
remains : the windows in other parts of the church also exhibit superior workmanship,
* The manor was holden of Philippa, duchess of York, as of her manor of Wimbish ; Elene had also
the manor of Roos in lladvvinter, and of Newhall in Asheldam.
80 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. but not agreeing Avlth each other in dimensions or form, yet all in the gothic style.
The whole building is lofty and capacious; the nave and aisles measuring in length
forty-three feet, and in width forty-six and a quarter; the chancel, forty-seven feet ten
inches in length, and eighteen feet nine inches in width. The aisles are separated
from the nave by four pointed arches, supported by well-formed pillars; those on the
north clustered, and those on the south octagonal. On the south side of the chancel
there is a building, originally entered under an archway, nearly of its whole width,
but which has been filled up with a plastered partition. This building, which is be-
lieved to have been the founder's chapel, is used as a vestry, and entered through one
of the stalls. At the south end of this building, a spacious window has been destroyed,
and the place filled up by a Avail of bricks, below Avhicli there are the remains of a
handsome tomb of highly ornamented gothic stone- work; its mutilated state is partly
accounted for, from the circumstance of the recess which it forms having been many
years used for a fire-place, without any outlet for the smoke, excepting the door; a
proper fire-place has however been erected.*
Church- The church-yard forms a tolerably extensive inclosure, but having been entirely
without trees, had a rather naked appearance ; to remedy which, sir William Eustace,
the present patron, has inserted some rows of young lime trees, which in time will
prove highly ornamental.
William the conqueror gave the living of this parish, together with the chapel of
Eure Herapsted, to Battle Abbey, which, in 1535, was parted from it, and became
the property of Robert Mordaunt, esq. of Hemsted, in whose hands it continued till
1634, when it was conveyed to the Harvey family, and, by marriage of the daughter
of the late sir Eliab Harvey, to general sir William Eustace, the present proprietor.
It is a vicarage; the great tithes belonging to the dean and chapter of Canterbury.
Parsonage There is a farm, called the Parsonage, also belonging to the rectorial part of the
li\dng ; but there has been no vicarage-house for many years : formerly, the founda-
tions of the original vicarage-house were visible at a short distance eastward from the
church. '
A glebe of about fifteen acres, belonging to the vicar, lies in various parts of the parish.
Chantry There was a chantry in this church for a priest to sing mass, and to assist the par-
son in the cure; the revenues were granted by Edward the sixth to Thomas Tyrell,
esq. in the year 1548.f
Obit. The sum of three shillings and four pence was given yearly, out of Pound-mead, for
a yearly obit; and from this, three shillings were to be given to the poor.
* The Registers are perfect from the year 1559, generally well and regularly kept, especially the earlier
ones.
t They were collected from lands in Great and Little Samford, Hemsted, Little Bardfield, Debden, and
Pantfield.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 81
A black marble slab in the chancel is inscribed: chap.
VI.
" Hie jacet Jacobus Calthorp. Generosus, obiit 28 die May, Anno Domini 1694, tetat. 65." Inscriu-
tions.
Also memorial inscriptions, of John Burrows, g-ent. who died January 31, 1694,
aged 53 years; of Thomas Burrows, gent, who died June 21, 1780; of Richard Bur-
rows, gent, who died on the 2d of December, 1753, aged 35; of his wife Elizabeth,
who died 24th of July, 1782, aged 66; of John Burrows, who died May 10, 1784,
aged 34; and of Mary, who died May 7, 1786, aged 39 years.
Other inscriptions inform us that here a family vault was formed for Thomas Smith,
esq. of Great Bardfield, in 1736; and that beneath a stone near the font is deposited
the body of the Rev. John Gretton, A.B., son of the late Rev. Charles Gretton, A.M.
rector of Springfield and Wicken Bonant, in this county, ob. March 2d, A.D. 1788,
setat. 34.
On an obelisk in the church-yard :
" 1738. Put here by Jonas Watson, in pious memory of his father, Jonas Watson, who was buried near
this place, July 4, 1693. Colonel Jonas Watson, who caused this stone to be erected, was killed at the
siege of Carthagena. The nature of that climate rendered it impossible to bring his body over, according
to his own and his friends' desire. After having served his king and country upwards of fifty years, he
lost his life with great honour, in the 58th year of his age, Anno Domini 174*1."
Mrs. Catharine Riley, who died in the year 1820, by her will, gave to the minister Benefac-
of Old and New Samford two hundred pounds, to be distributed by them, in such
manner as they should think best; which legacy was paid in the year 1828, and has
been laid out in the purchase of Bank Annuities ; one half of the dividends of which
is distributed amongst the poor of Great, and the other half amongst the poor of New
or Little Samford, by the ministers of the respective parishes.
The rev. W. Sword er was vicar of this parish from 1701 to 1726; he published, ^^; ,
in 1703, An earnest Persuasive to the practice of Family Piety, and the Reasonable-
ness of the Fast of the Thirtieth of January; on Matt, xxiii. 35, in 1706; three Ser-
mons against practical Atheism and occasional Conformity; on 1st Kings, xviii. 21, in
1714; and a Funeral Sermon, on Phil. i. 21, in 1715.
In 1821, this parish contained seven hundred and fifty-six, and, in 1831, eight
hundred inhabitants.
HEMSTED, or HEMPSTED.
Hemsted, also written Hempstead, is a reputed chapelry to Great Samford, though Hemsted.
in extent it considerably exceeds that parish, being in length four miles, and in breadth
nearly three miles and a half; it lies between Great Samford and Bumsted HelioU,
82
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. bordering on Hinckford hundred. The name is written Hamsted in Domesday, and
in other records Hemsted and Hemstead, from the Saxon hem, or ham, a habitation
or dwelling-, and j-tebe, a place : the present mode of Avriting- this name Hempsted,
or Hempstead, is that least authorised by analogy or ancient usage. Included in the
strong wet land district, it has the general character of a tenacious clay on marie, yet,
with land ditching and good management, proves in a considerable degi'ee productive;
and near the village and in many other places there is good sound land, and some of it
dry enough for turnips.* This part of the country, including the two Samfords,
Hemsted, and Radwinter, was formerly noted for large dairies, which have much
diminished, many of them being employed in suckling calves, or fattening bullocks.
This parish is well wooded, and celebrated for having produced remarkable timber-
trees.f
The village consists of a small number of straggling houses, and the inhabitants are
generally employed in the labours of husbandry.
Distance from SaflFron Walden six, and from London forty-four miles.
Previous to the Conquest, Hemsted had no connexion with Great Samford; it was
held, under Edward the confessor, by a thane named Wisgar; at the survey of
Domesday, it belonged to Richard Fitz-Gislebert, whose under-tenant was Robert
de Watevil. There are two manors.
The ancient mansion of Hemsted Hall is about two miles distant from the church,
north-eastward. This manor, from Richard Fitz-Gislebert, passed to one of the earls
of Clare, who, at an early period, gave it to the De Veres, earls of Oxford,:}: and it
was holden of them, as of their honour of Hedingham Castle, by the service of two
knights' fees, but yet the earls of Clare remained lords paramount. Robert de Wate-
vil, a descendant of sir Robert de Watevil, lived here in the reigns of king Richard
the first, and of king John. The estate continued in this family till it was conveyed,
by the marriage of Joan, daughter of sir John de Watevil, to sir William Langham,
in 1341, who came and resided here, in his lady's right holding in Hemsted two
knights' fees, under John de Vere, in 1358, and under Thomas de Vere, in 1370;
Hemsted
Hall.
* Average annual produce per acre— wheat 22, barley 30 bushels.
t Arthur Young, esq. remarks, in his Agricultural Reports, " At Hempsted I viewed two immense
oaks, one of which is apparently of very great antiquity; they are, unfortunately, both pollards, but the
size is such as must astonish the spectator." Many years ago, the celebrated Hemsted oak measured in
diameter, of the extent of the boughs, 36 yards from north to south, 35 from east to west, and in height
99 feet. Seven waggon loads of hay have stood under its shelter at one time. Also, on land belonging to
sir W. Eustace, a wych elm, of a beautiful form, called the " High Tree," rises to an astonishing height.
X The grant was in these words : " Ricardus de Clare, Comes de Herteford, Omnibus, &c. sciatis quod
clamo quietum Comiti Albrico, cognato mes, et heredibus suis, de me et heredibus meis, servitium de
Emsted, viz. duorum militum." This deed was written in the reign of king Henry the second, but was
without date.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 83
their son, sir William,* succeeded his father, and this manor continued in the family tiH ap.
till Alice, only daughter of Richard Langham, esq. by marriage, conveyed it to her '
son and heir, Sigismund Cotton, esq. succeeded, in 1541, by his son William, followed
by his son George in 1561, whose son, Thomas Cotton, esq. succeeded in 1592.
The last of the family mentioned in the record as holding this possession was Anthony
Cotton, esq. in 1631: his immediate successors cannot be traced, owing, as is believed,
to the confusion of the times. Sometime about the middle of the seventeenth century,
this estate became the property of the Harvey family, seated at Chigwell, purchased
either by the learned physician Dr. William Harvey, or by his brother, Eliab Harvey,
esq. with Crochmans and other lands in this parish, and Woodhall in Finchingfield.
After having remained in this family for many generations, the Hemsted Hall estate
has been lately sold, and is now in the possession of the Houblon family, of Chigwell.
Gilbert le Moigne, of the family of that name, in Bumsted Steeple, held half a Moynes.
knight's fee here of the earl of Oxford, as of his honour of Clare : it was in the pos-
session of Robert le Moigne in 1257 and 1258, and from this family the estate retained
the name of Moynes.
The manor of Crochmans, also named in the record Winslows, alias Goldinghams, Croch-
alias Free Roberts, had the mansion-house about half a mile north-west from the wtnsiows
church or chapel of Hemsted : in 1332 it was holden of the house of Clare by John
Grigge, esq. who left an only daughter named Egidia, married to William Crochman,
who on his decease, in 1358, was succeeded in the possession of this estatef by his son
John, followed by William Crochman his brother, and heir, in 1368;:}: who on his
decease in 1391, left Mariota, his only daughter and heiress, married to Thomas
Winslow,§ and afterwards to Thomas Holgyll. Mariota, on her decease in 1409,
holding this estate, was succeeded by William Winslow, her son; who died in 1419
leaving, by Agnes his wife, Joan his only daughter, on whose decease in 1431, her
cousin Walter Huntingdon became heir to this estate; || Thomas his son did homage
for it at Hedingham Castle in 1444, and died in 1498,^ leaving by his wife Margaret,
daughter of William Tyrell, esq. of Beches, in Rawreth, Margaret, married to John
* His heir was his son John, who died before his father, in 1417, leaving his son George his successor;
whose only son, Richard, was the father of Alice.
t This manor is stated to have been at that time in Hemsted, Great and Little Samford, Finchingfield,
Radwinter, Ashdon, and the Bumsteds Helion and Steeple.— /?/(7M(\j. 11 Rich. II.
X Arms of Crochman: Sable, three cinquefoils, between nine trefoils slipt. Other accounts of the arin-s
of Crochman describe them as three cinquefoils between eight cross crosslets fitch^e.
§ Arms of Winslow : Ermine, on a bend gules, three escallops, or.
II He was the son of John Huntingdon, son of Elizabeth, sister of William Crochman the younger, fa-
ther of Mariota.
If Arms of Huntingdon: Party per fesse sable and argent, a fesse gules : in chief three mullets, or: the
fesse party fretty, sable.
84 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. Parys, son of Robert Parys, esq. of Linton : and Anne married to William Mordaunt,
of Woodhall, in Finchingfield : by their marriage settlement, to which the Parys,
father and son, were parties, this manor became the property of the said William and
Anne Mordaunt; in whose family it continued till sir Charles Mordaunt, sometime
previous to his decease in 1647, sold it, either to Dr. Harvey or to his brother Eliab
Harvey, esq., and it is now in the possession of Miss Harvey, youngest daughter of
the late sir Eliab Harvey. The hall, which was formerly an occasional residence of
the family, is demolished ; but the moat remains, and part of some out-houses form
a cottage.
Blackdon. 'Yhe hamlet and reputed manor of Blackdon, is about a mile north north-east from
the chapel. Robert Watevil, by a charter without date, gave it to William, son of
Isabel, as land in Hamsted ; namely, the whole land of Blackdon, and the land which
was Walter Chamberlain's, and the land which was Alwine's, the provost. It was
granted by William, son of Isabel, to Aubrey de Vere, earl of Oxford, of whom, and
of Watevil, it was holden by John de Launde, in 1268; and belonged to George
Westley, in the reign of king Henry the seventh : Richard Westley was his son, or
descendant, and lies buried in the chapel; it afterwards was in the possession of
Thomas Onyons, of sir Martin Lumley, bart. in 1637, and has since been purchased
for the use of Guy's Hospital.
Chapel 01- The church, or chapel, stands on a hill, nearly in the centre of the parish, and
where there are the greatest number of inhabitants. It has a nave, and north
and south aisles, a chancel, and a handsome tower, flanked with buttresses,
ornamented with niches. The tower is lofty, and commands an extensive view
towards the north, in which the church of Lavenham, in Suffolk, is visible. There
are five musical bells.
The exterior of this church has a plain appearance, devoid of ornament; and a
building on its northern side has been erected over the vault belonging to the Harvey
family, a portion of which, appropriated to the vault, is used for the monuments : the
other apartment is used as a school-room and a vestry, and for parish business.* The
interior is highly ornamented and beautiful; four clustered pillars, supporting pointed
arches, separate each of the aisles from the nave, and an arch under the steeple exhibits
a handsome west window in perspective. The nave and aisles measure in length
* The Registers commence in the year 1664. and, with the exception of a year or two, are perfect down
to the present time : the earlier entries are in a particularly neat hand-writing. From 1813 to 1829
inclusive, the Register shows the amount of baptisms to have been 326, of marriages 96, and of burials
170 i and the following statement will show the comparative ages of those who have died in this parish
during that period: — 15 under 1 year; 17 above 1, and under 10 years; 1,3 above 10, and under 20;
15 above 20, and under 30 ; 15 above 30, and under 40 ; 10 above 40, and under 50; 10 above 50, and
under 60; 15 above 60, and under 70; 35 above 70, and under 80 ; 19 above SO, and under 9U; 8 above
90, and under 100 ; 2 ages not entered.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 85
fifty-nine, and in breadth thirty-nine and a half feet; and the chancel is in length C H A i\
twenty-six and a half, and in breadth sixteen and a half feet.
Several slabs in the chancel and other parts of the church bear brasses with figures, tji^'iip-
but without inscriptions, except the following, which is in black letter characters:
" Pray for the souls of Richard Westley and Jane his wife : which Richard deceased the 23rd day of
January, the year of our Lord 1518, on whose souls Jesus have mercy. Amen."
In the apartment over the vault there are several very handsome monuments to
the memory of the family whose remains are deposited beneath; the first and oldest
is of black and white marble, forming a niche, in which is placed a well-carved bust
of the celebrated Dr. William Harvey, who discovered the circulation of the blood.
On a square pannel is the following : —
" Gulielmus Harveius, cui tani colendo nomini assurgunt omnes academise, qui diurnum sanguinis
motum, post tot annorum millia, primus invenit, orbi salutem, sibi immortalitatem consequutus ; qui
ortum et generationem animalium solus omnium a pseudophilosophia liberavit ; cui debet qui sibi
innotuit humanum genus seipsam medicina. Sereniss. majestat. Jacobo et Carolo Britanniarum monarchis
archiatrus et charissimus ; Colleg. Med. Lond. anatomes et chirurgiae profess, assiduus et foelicissimus,
quibus illustrem construxit bibliothecam suoq. dotavit et ditavit patrimonio. Tandem post triumphales
oontemplando, sanando, inveniendo sudores, varias domi forisq. statuas, quum totum circuit microcosmum,
niedicinae doctor et medicorum, iniproles obdormivit 3 Junii, anno salutis 1657, atatis 80, annorum et
famae satur. Resurgemus."
*' William Harvey, (a name so venerated that to it every seminary of learning does homage,) who, by
being the first, after the lapse of so many thousands of years, to discover the circulation of the blood,
insured health to the world, and immortality for himself; who rescued, unaided by any, the origin and
generation of animals from a spurious philosophy; to whom mankind is indebted for Medicine having
made a revelation of herself to them ; the chief and most respected physician to their most serene
majesties James and Charles, monarchs of Britain ; and the indefatigable and successful professor of
anatomy and surgery in the College of Physicians at London ; (for whom he founded, endowed and
enriched, out of his own patrimonial property, a noble library ;) after labouring triumphantly in his
studies, his practice, and his discoveries, — after various statues had been erected to him at home and
abroad; — after having made himself acquainted with every thing connected with medicine and medical
professors, — fell asleep, without offspring, on the 3d of June, in the year of salvation 1657, in the 80th
year of his age, and full of honours. We shall rise again."
A marble mural monument bears inscriptions to the memory of the following: —
Eliab Harvey, of London, merchant, who departed this life the 27th of May, An.
Dom. 1661, aged 72 years. Sarah Harvey, daughter of the said Eliab Harvey, who
died on the 17th of May, 1665, aged 13 years. Also Elizabeth, another daughter of
the said Eliab Harvey, who departed this life the 15th day of July, 1666, aged 9 years.
Also, the body of Mrs. Mary Harvey, who died 30th of December, 1673, aged 67
years, she being the only wife of the abovesaid Eliab Harvey. Also, sir Eliab
Harvey, knt. eldest son of the abovesaid Eliab Harvey, died Feb. 20th, 1698, aged
VOL. II. N
86 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II. 64 years. Also, dame Mary Whitmore, relict of sir William Whitmore, bart. of
Astley, in Shropshire, eldest daughter of the same Eliab Harvey, died Jan. 30, 1710,
aged 71 years. Also, Eliab Harvey, esq. eldest son of sir Eliab Harvey, knt. died
June 3, 1686, aged 28 years. Beneath also lie William and Dorothy Harvey; he
Avas second son, (and by the death of his brother Eliab) became eldest son and heir
of sir Eliab Harvey, knt. and died October 31, 1731, aged 68: she was only daughter
and heiress of sir Robert Dicer, bart. of the counties of Suffolk and Hertford, and
died June 28, 1711, aged 48. They married Sept. 2, 1681, and had issue tvi^o sons,
William and Eliab, who also lie beneath, and three daughters : Dorothy, married to
sir Philip Monoux, bart. of Wooton, in the county of Bedford. Mary, to sir Edward
Anderson, bart. of Kilwich, in the county of York: and Agnes, to Pulter Foraster,
of Broadfield, in the county of Hertford, esq.
A beautiful marble monument, under a funeral vase, bears the following: —
" Here lieth interred the body of William Harvey, of Roehampton, in the county of Surrey, esq. ; he
departed this life, the 18th of August, 1719, aged 80; and also Bridget, his only wife, daughter of sir
Richard Browne, of this county, bart. She departed this life the 13th day of Nov. 1761, aged 58."
Two medallions of white marble, with portraits of the persons commemorated,
finely wrought by Roubiliac, are suspended on a pyramid of grey marble, which bears
the following inscription: —
" In the vault beneath lieth the body of William Harvey, of Winchlow Hall, and of Chigwell, in this
county, esq. who died Dec. 24, 1742, in the 50th year of his age. He married the daughter and heiress of
Ralph Williamson, of Berwick, in the county of Northumberland, esq. who, in the year 1758, erected this
monument to the memory of her deceased husband. They had issue three sons, William, Eliab, and
Edward now living, and two daughters, Mary and Philadelphia, who died infants, and lie by their father.
Beneath also lieth the body of Mary Harvey, widow of the same William Harvey, who surviving her
husband, died in the 76th year of her age."
A plain black marble tablet on the wall bears the following:
" Sacred to the memory of captain Edward Harvey, of the Coldstream Guards, eldest son of admiral
Harvey, who fell honourably in the lines of Burgos, October 18th, 1812, aged 22 years, lamented by his
friends, and respected by all who knew him."
Many other members of the same family have been interred in this vault, the last
of which was sir Eliab Harvey, admiral of the blue, knight grand cross of the bath,
and member of parliament for the county of Essex, who died Feb. 20, 1830, aged 71.
The considerable number of leaden coffins, of the shape of the human body, and
which seem never to have been inclosed in wood, give a singular appearance to
this vault.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 87
John Pound, of Hemsted, gave a messuage and six acres of meadow or pasture lying (J H A f.
here, for the relief of the poor and maintenance of the church : there is also another ^
messuage and some parcels of land, amounting in the whole to about six acres. The Ciunitif-
donor unknown.
The celebrated Dr. William Harvey, the son of Thomas Harvey, of Folkstone, in Dr. w.
Kent, was the eldest of seven sons; he was born in 1578, took his degree of M.D. at
Cambridge, was afterwards admitted into the college of physicians in London, to
which he was appointed lecturer of anatomy and surgery. Li these lectures he opened
his discovery relative to the circulation of the blood, which, after a variety of experi-
ments, he communicated to the world in his " Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et
sanguinis." He was physician to king James the first and to king Charles the first,
and adhered to the royal cause in the civil wars. His discovery has eternized his
memory: in 1651, he published his " Exercitationes de generatione animalium," a
very curious work. His papers were destroyed during the contentions between
Charles the first and the parliament. In 1654, he was chosen president of the college
of physicians in his absence; but as he could not discharge the duty of that office, he
desired them to choose Dr. Pringle. As he had no children, he settled his paternal
estate upon the college: in 1653, he built a library and a museum, and, in 1656,
brought the deeds of his estate and presented them to the college, and was then present
at the first feast, instituted by himself, with a commemoration speech in Latin, to be
spoken on the eighteenth of October annually, in honour of the benefactors of the
college ; and he appointed a handsome stipend for the orator, and also for the keeper
of the library and museum, which are called by his name; he died in 1657: this great
physician had the happiness in his life-time to find the clamours of ignorance, envy,
and prejudice against his doctrine totally silenced, and to see it universally established.
A knowledge of the circulation of the blood is of the greatest importance in medicine,
as it is perhaps impossible to define health and sickness in fewer words than that the
one is a free, and the other an obstructed circulation. Dr. Harvey was not only an
excellent physician, but of an admirable character as a man and a Christian philosopher:
his modesty, candour, and piety, were equal to his knowledge ; the farther he pene-
trated into the wonders of nature, the more he venerated its author.
Hemsted, in 1821, contained six hundred and fifty-five, and, in 1831, seven hundred
and eight inhabitants.*
BUMSTED HELION.
isted
borders of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk; in length it is about three miles, and nearly
From the extremity of Hinckford hundred this parish extends northward to the t^"">*"
„„._.. . ^ _ ^ .. . . Ht'hon.
* The editor gratefully acknowledges his obligations to the rev. W. Myall, of Great Sauiford, for
valuable information relative to this and some neighbouring parishes.
88 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
ROOK II. the same in breadth;* distant from Saffron Walden nine, from Braintree fourteen,
and from London fifty-fiv^e miles.
Lewin Cilt, and Ulwin, were the names of the possessors of the lands of this parish
in the time of Edward the confessor, which, at the survey, belonged to Tihel de Brito
and Alberic de Vere: it Avas divided into five manors.
Hclions. The mansion-house of Helions is half a mile south-west from the church. This
manor is what was originally holden by Tihel Brito; his surname, derived from his
being one of the Britons or Armoricans who served in the rear of the Conqueror's
army under Alan the red, which is Ti-Hellus in the record, is believed to have
originated the family name, and also that of the parish, and of the manor. Robert de
Helion had large possessions in the time of king Henry the second, f and was succeeded
by his supposed son, William de Helion, who lived in the reigns of Richard the first,
king John, and king Henry the third : his widow had possessions here, and Andrew,
son of William and Amicia, died in 1289, holding estates here and in Haverhill:
Henry de Helion was their son, who held this estate in 1304, of which a third part
was in the possession of Alice, his widow, in 1314; their son Henry died in 1314,
and his son John, and Agnes his wife, held this and other estates in Suffolk of the
king, as of the honour of Helion: he died in 1349, and his son Henry died in 1391,
in possession of this manor, and also of Nortofts, in Finchingfield; and his son and
heir, John Helion, marrying Alice, daughter of sir Robert Swinborne, by his lady
Joan, daughter and heiress of John Boutetort, esq. exceedingly enlarged the family
possessions; John Helion, esq. his son, was the last male heir of this ancient family,
who, dying in 1449, by his wife Editha, only daughter and heiress of Thomas Rolf,
esq. of Gosfield, left two daughters, Philippa and Isabel 4 their mother Editha held a
third part of this estate at the time of her decease in 1498. Philippa, the eldest
<laughter, married to sir Thomas Montgomery, of Falkborne, and died without issue,
leaving her sister Isabel her heiress, who conveyed the extensive possessions of the
family to her husband, Humphrey Tyrell, esq. of Little Wai'ley, third son of sir John
Tyrell, of Herons: their only daughter was Anne, married to sir Roger Wentworth,
of Codham Hall, in Wethersfield, who made acknowledgement in the courts in West-
minster Hall, in 1501, that he held, in right of Anne his wife, the third part of this
manor of the king; yet this estate is not mentioned in the inquisition taken after her
decease in 1534, and it is not known how it came to the crown; but, in 1553, it was
* This parish, and also Bumsted Steeple, contain a larger proportion of meadow and pasture than of
arable land, and are reckoned among the best grass lands in the county.
+ Maud, the empress, when she made Alberic de Vere earl of Oxford, granted to him and his heirs the
service of William de Helion, namely, ten knight's fees. — Diigdale's Baron, vol. i. p. 190. But unques-
tionably they were restored to the Helion family.
X Arms of Helion : Gules, a frette argent ; over all a fcsse, or.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 89
granted, by king Edward the sixth, under the name of Denge Hullyons, with CHAP.
Alvithley, Gerons, and the New House, Tailfeers, and Stewards, in Great Parndon, '
to the mayor, commonalty and citizens of London, and has been appropriated to the
use of St. Thomas's Hospital, in Southwark.
The manor of Bumsted Hall is the largest in the parish, extending into Bumsted ^"1"'^'^^
Steeple; it also formerly had a park, and, at the time of the survey, belonged to
Alberic de Vere, ancestor of the earls of Oxford, in whose family it continued from
the Conquest to the time of queen Elizabeth,* when, in 1571, this manor was sold to
William Stubbing, esq. who died in 1603, and was succeeded by his son Richard,
whose successor was his brother Edmund, who, on his decease in 1630, left William,
his eldest son, his heir: he had also Thomas, Henry, and John. William Stubbing,
esq. married Mary Collin, and, dying in 1638, left by her his son Edward, his heir.
Proprietors of the estate, belonging to this family, have been Thomas, a second
Thomas, on whose decease in 1744, he was succeeded by his son, Thomas Stubbing,
esq. from whose family it passed to Richard Salway, esq. succeeded by William Salway,
esq. The mansion-house is about a mile from the church eastward.
The ancient manor-house of Bublowes is on rising ground, about half a mile from Bublowes,
the manor of Helions, towards Hemsted: Simon de Bublowe, of an ancient family
who were a long time owners of this manor, gave it to the hospital of St. John of
Jerusalem, in the possession of which house it continued till the dissolution; and, in
1543, was granted, by king Henry the eighth, to William Burnel, Avho, the same
year, sold it to John Golding, on whose decease, in 1548, it descended to his son,
Thomas Golding, who, in 1564, sold it to Francis Burnham, who conveyed it to sir
William Cordel, from whom it passed to William Stubbing, esq. whose grandson,
Thomas Stubbing, sold it, in 1701, to Thomas Took, D.D. who, in 1713, conveyed it
to Robert Denet, esq. : it afterwards became the property of Richard Salway, esq.
The manor of Olmsted Hall is on the northern extremity of the parish, near Castle- Olmsted
camps and Ashdon; formerly it was considered a hamlet in Castlecamps, though
styled the village of Olmsted, in Bumsted. It originally formed part of the lordship
of Bumsted Hall, and was holden under the earls of Oxford by the Olmsted family,
from whom it was conveyed to William and John Screen, and to Queen's College,
Cambridge, to whom it at present belongs.
Hersham Hall is also in the most northern part of the parish, extending into Castle- Hersliam
camps and Haverhill. The Vere family were the original proprietors of this estate
from the time of the Conquest, under whom it was holden by Aldelelm at the survey,
being at that time reckoned in the hundred of Hinckford. In the reign of Henry the
third, Peter de Tye held Hersham Hall under the family of Vere ; and it afterwards
* In records of 1331, besides Bumsted Hall, it is named Earl's Bumsted ; and, in 1371, the distinction
between Bumsted Helion and Bumsted Steeple first occurs, as does the name of Countess' Meadow, in 1416.
90 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
IJOOK II. passed into the possession of the Lacy family, in the time of Edward the third: it
belonged to Peter Bateman in the time of king Henry the seventh, and in the record
a succession of noble proprietors are named, among whom are Hugh de Audley, earl
of Gloucester, Ralph, Hugh, Thomas, William, and Edmund, earls of Stafford, and
Humphrey, duke of Buckingham. This possession, together with the manor of Mole
Hall, vulgarly More Hall, and formerly named Scoteneys, now belongs to Trinity
College, Cambridge. The court is kept in Haverhill.*
Churcli. The church is a good stone building, with a nave and south aisle, leaded; and a
small chancel tiled, with a modern brick tower, containing five bells; it is dedicated to
St. Andrew, and pleasantly situated on high ground : this churcli belonged originally to
the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, and was let by them, in perpetual farm, to the
prior and convent of Hatfield Regis, at the annual rent of thirty-four marks, the
agreement confirmed in 1246, by Fulke Basset, bishop of London.f In 1538, king
Henry the eighth granted the rectory and advowson of the vicarage to Richard
Mabott, clerk, master of the hospital of St. Thomas the martyr, in Southwark, who
presented one vicar; the lands being again surrendered to the same king, who granted
them to William Burnel, and he, in 1552, conveyed them to John Stubbing and others.
Afterwards they passed successively to Thomas Lond, or Lownd, in 1571, to William
Lond; William Lamb, who died in 1608, in possession of the rectory and advowson
of the vicarage, with the glebe lands of the rectory, containing forty-one acres: at
the time of his decease, Mabel Hawkins, his cousin, Avas his heir. Devereux Talla-
karne:]: held the rectory, and the fourth part of the fifth part of the manor of Rands:
on his decease in 1628, he left John his son and heir, who afterwards married Frances,
daughter of Henry Gent, esq. The Cowle or Cole family presented to the vicarage
from 1635 to 1694. It afterwards passed to Trinity College, Cambridge.
Guild of There was formerly a guild here, dedicated to St. Peter; a messuage belonged to it
which was named Le Yeld Hall; in 1549, it was given to John Herford and WiUiam
Willison, by king Edward the sixth.
This parish, in 1821, contained seven hundred and seventy-three, and, in 1831,
eight hundred and forty-seven inhabitants.
* In the record of Domesday, Battle Abbey is stated to have held the manor of Hersam, in Hincfurd
hundred.
t They farmed also the tithes of the demesne lands of Helion's estate here of the prior of Prittlewell ;
and, in 1336, Roger, vicar of this church, and John de Gippewic, vicar of Great Canfield, gave lands here,
to the priory of Hatfield Broadoak.
X On the northern wall of the chancel a monumental inscription informs us that the body of Devereux
Tallakarne, son of sir John Tallakarne, who was slain in the battle of Rees, in France, at the age of 60,
is buried here. His mother was Lucy, eldest daughter of Thomas Cotton, esq. His wife Mary, daughter
of Thomas Steward, of Barton Mills, in Suffolk, is also interred here : this and another monument
belonging to the Gardiner family are illegible.
St. Peter.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 91
CHAP.
RADWiNTER, (in Records, redewintre.) vi.
From Hemsted, this parish extends westward to Wimbish, and from Great Sam- Radwin-
ford to Ashdon northward : it is ten miles in circumference. A fine spring named
St. Pris's well, is the source of a rivulet which passing- across the greater part of the
parish, and to the village, pursues its course towards Great Samford; the surrounding
country is agreeably diversified by hill and dale, well-wooded, and richly cultivated.*
Distant from Saffron Waldon four, and from London forty-three miles.
In Saxon times the holders of the lands here, Avere Orgar; Aluric, a sochman; and
Leffin ; to Avhose possessions, Frodo, Alberic de Vere, Tihil Brito, and Eustace de
Boulogne had succeeded, at the time of the general survey :f there are four manors.
The lands held by Frodo, Alberic, and Tihel constitute the manor of Radwinter Radwin-
ter Hflll
Hall, the mansion of which is about half a mile south-west from the church. Frodo
Avas brother to Baldwin, abbot of St. Edmundsbury, in Suffolk; and progenitor of the
ancient family of Tilney, in Norfolk: Gilbert, his son, was the father of Richard, and
the father and son united in the conveyance of their part of this lordship, to Alberic de
Vere and his heirs : the part in possession of Tihel, was that which afterwards was
incorporated into the barony of Helion,:}: given by the empress Maud to Alberic de
Vere. What Alberic himself held in this parish was very considerable, stated to have
been half of Radwinter, and to which there belonged ample privileges.
Robert, son of Robert, son of Ailric, one of Alberic de Vere's knights, held one
fee under him in the reign of Henry the second. The heiress of Alberic de Vere was
his only daughter Beatrix, married to Jordan Chamberlain, one of her father's
retainers, who held under him, this manor and the advowson of the church: their two
sons were John, and Martin; and they had a daughter named Arabella. The eldest
son was mortgaged as a ward to Dionysia de Montchency, for the sum of two hundred
pounds. His wife's name was Joan, who Avith her husband held lands and a tene-
ment in RadAvinter,§ in 1309: on his decease without issue, his brother Martin
Chamberlain was his heir; Avho had, by his Avife, also named Joan, his son and heir
William; and Catherine, and Helen. W^illiam Chamberlain had Cecilia, married to
AndrcAv de Bures; Avho on her decease without issue, in 1351, enjoyed this estate in
her right, till his decease, when it came to the sisters of William Chamberlain; Helen,
married to John Oveine, died Avithout issue, leaving Catherine sole heiress : by her
first husband William Philip, she had no issue, but left by her second husband,
* Average annual produce per acre — wheat 22, barley 30 bushels.
t The under-tenant of Alberic de Vere was Blanc, and Goderet held under Tihel Brito.
X Warine Fitz-Gerald held half a knight's fee of the honour of Helion.
§ In the record these possessions are said to be in part in Little Radwinter, holden of the king : the
other in Great Radwinter, holden of the countess of Oxford.
familv.
92 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK li. William fie Hemesi, Brian, her only son, who dying- without issue, the estate passed
to sir Ralph de Hemenhall, some time previous to 1386, in virtue of a deed of assign-
ment agreed upon by the heirs of the families of Philip and Oveine. Sir Ralph gave
it to Robert de Ashtield, and others.*
Cobhaiii This manor afterwards was conveyed to the noble family of Cobham, of Kent.
The last of that surname was John lord Cobham, whose only daughter Joan, married
to sir John de la Pole, left by him an only daughter, also named Joan, who had tive
husbands: her children by John de Havenal, of Suffolk, died young; by sir Gerard
Bravbroke she had her daughter Joan, afterwards baroness Cobham; her children
by sir Nicholas Hawberk died young ; as did also those by her fourth husband, the
celebrated sir John Oldcastle, of Cowling, in her right lord Cobham, who was with
cruel injustice hanged and burnt under pretence of heresy : by her last husband, sir
John Harpenden, this lady had no issue: and on her decease in 1433, her only daughter
Joan was heiress to this, and her other estates, and in her right baroness of Cobham :
previous to her mother's decease she was married to sir Thomas Brooke, a descendant
of Williamde la Brooke, lord of the manor of Brooke, near Ilchester, in Somerset-
shire: he had by her his son sir Edward, distinguished by the stjde of sir Edward
Brooke of Cobham, Avho died in 1464, and was succeeded by his son John, Avho was
summoned to the parliament in 1472 by the title of lord Cobham, and held a whole
knight's fee in Radwinter of the earl of Oxford. He married Margaret, daughter of
Edward Nevill, lord Bergavenny, by whom, on his decease in 1506, he left Thomas,
his son and heir, who was thrice married, having by his first lady, seven sons and six
daughters, but by the other two, he had no children. On his decease, in 1529, he was
succeeded by his son George, who in the record is said to be possessed not only of
this manor, but also of Bendish Hall. Sir William Brooke, his son, was his suc-
cessor in 1558, succeeded by his son sir Henry, lord Cobham, in 1597; and these
estates continued in the familj'- till 1603, when this unfortunate nobleman, George his
brother, Thomas lord Grey of Wilton, sir Walter Raleigh, and others, were
arraigned at Winchester for high treason. On this occasion, George, the younger
brother, was beheaded, and the life of lord Cobham spared ; but his estate was con-
fiscated, and though his ladyf had a noble jointure, yet she suffered him to live in
extreme indigence and misery. He died in the utmost distress, in a mean garret,
where he would have perished by hunger if he had not been relieved by his laundress.
Upon the seizure of this estate it was granted, by king James, to Duke Brook, son of
George Brook, esq., second son of the said George lord Cobham: it was afterwards
conveyed to Alexander Prescot, alderman of London, and sheriff in 1612: his family
* In 1422, this manor was in the possession of Mariota, daughter and lieiress of William Crochenian.
t This lady was Frances, daughter of Charles Howard, earl of Nottingham. — Sir A. JFeldoii's Court of
King James the First, p. 37.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 93
was succeeded by sir William Wiseman, who sold it to sir Mark Guyon, knight, of c H A F.
Cog-geshall, whose daughter Rachel conveyed it by marriage to Edward Bullock, esq. '
in whose family it has continued to the present time.
The mansion belonffingf to the manor named Brockholes, also named Roos, is about Great
• 1 1 • • p 1 • Brock-
a mile and a half distant southward from the church: m the beginmng of the reign of hoks.
Edward the second this estate was in possession of Robert de Roos, whose son and
successor, sir John, married Alesia, daughter and heiress of sir Robert Asheldam :
John his grandson, the son of his son John, was his heir, who died without issue only
two months after the decease of his grandmother ; and was succeeded by his aunt
Elene, daughter of sir John de Roos, by his lady Alesia. This heiress was married
to sir Geofrey de Brockhole,* of an ancient Kentish family: Margery, their second
daughter, and ultimately sole heiress, conveyed the family possessions to John, her sou,
by her husband, John Sumpter, of Colchester, who, on his decease in 1420, left two
daughters, his co-heiresses : Christine, married to Thomas Bernard, and Ellen,
married first to James Bellers, esq., and secondly to Ralph Holt, of Grislelmrst, in
Lancashire ; and who, on the decease of her sister, without issue, became sole heiress.
By her first husband she had no children, but by Ralph Holt she had James and Alan.
The latter held this manor in 1485, after which it passed to the Wiseman family, of
Felsted, to that of Marshall, of Wethersfield, and to Thomas Wolfe, esq. deputy
recorder of the corporation of Saffron Waldon.
The mansion of Bendish Hall is a quarter of a mile northward from the church: in fiendish
the reign of Edward the confessor the lands of this manor were included in what ^ '
belonged to Ledmar a priest, and afterwards to Ingelric, a noble Saxon, related to
that king : at the time of the survey it belonged to Eustace, earl of Boulogne ; at
present this manor forms a hamlet, partly in this parish, and partly in that of Ashdon,
and is said to have formerly been a parish called Bendishes, of which the church has
been destroyed. William earl of Boulogne, youngest son of king Stephen, gave this
estate to the abbey of Feversham, in Kent, founded by his father in 1147, of which
they retained possession till the dissolution of monasteries. In 1538, it was granted
to sir Richard Riche, who, in 1546, sold it to George Brooke, lord Cobham, who
being condemned for alleged treason, forfeited this and his other estates to the crown,
from which it passed, through several families, to that of lord Maynard.
In the time of Edward the second and Edward the third, the family of Westley,
also named Bendish, had a considerable estate here, from which they are said to have
derived their surname. We are informed by the rev. William Harrison, rector of
this parish from 1558 to 1593, that Edmund Bendish, esq., attending king Edward
the third to the siege of Calais, mortgaged his estate of Bendish Hall in Radwinter,
* He was of Great Samford, knight of the shire for Hertfordshire in the time of Edward the third, and
in 1385 sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire.
VOL. II. O
94 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. to the monks of Feversham; and the siege proving of longer duration than expected,
'- he came over to confer with his creditors, before the lapse of the mortgage; on which
occasion he was assured that he need suspect no unfair treatment from them, especially
as he was in the king's service, which would always he considered as a sufficient
excuse for his delay of payment beyond the day assigned; on which he returned again
to the siege. But when the day came, the monks secured the estate to themselves,
notwithstanding their fair promises. This ungenerous treatment is said to have
induced this gentleman constantly to warn his contemporaries, and to leave a written
admonition to posterity, not easily to be persuaded to trust the fair promises of knave
monk, or knave friar. Being deprived of their estate, the family removed to Steeple
Bumsted, and made that the place of their residence.*
Radwin- A reputed manor here, named the Grange, belonged to Tiltey abbey till the disso-
ter Grange j^^^^^j^ q£ monasteries, and, in 1538, was granted to Charles Brandon, duke of
Suffolk: it is stated to have formerly belonged to the Roos family, but is not known
by whom, or when it was given to Tiltey. It successively passed to Humphrey
Shelton, Henry Norris, and to the families of Bird, Brown, and Sharp, and to John
Bullock, esq. of Radwinter Hall, to whose family it now belongs. The parsonage
house, the residence of the rev. J. Bullock, is a large and handsome modern building,
covered with cement, on elevated ground, rising above the road from Samford to
Saffron Waldon ; and on the opposite side of the same road a capital mansion, called
the New House, belongs to the Carter family.
Chuicli. f hg church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is an ancient building, chiefly of stone,
in good repair; above its massive square embattled tower, a pointed spire rises to a
considerable height, and is covered with lead : it has a nave and north and south aisles,
and chancel, the whole leaded. There are five bells. In the east window of the
north aisle are the arms of Bendish ; and an arch in the wall, with vestiges of arms
and ornamental sculptures, is believed to have belonged to the same family.f •
In the church-yard, near the large antique wooden south porch, a plain tombstone
bears the following inscription : —
Inscrip- " Sacred to the memory of John Carter, who died December 19, 1830, aged 55.
tion.
" How frail is mortal life ! a transient day il In vain the spring returns, the spring no more
Gives it at once to blossom and decay ; Can wasting man to former prime restore :
Manhood is lilce the rose, when wide display'd, ' Seek then eternal life ; thine hours improve.
As fast his strength decays, his beauties fade. j| And taste a Saviour's everlasting love."
iiev. w. The rev. William Harrison, a native of London, was inducted to this rectory in
Harrison.
* This statement appears in Holinshed's Chronicles, yet the truth of it has been disputed.
t A plain stone in the church is inscribed to the memory of Elizabeth, wife of Richard Baines, who
died in 1684, and in the church-yard there are several inscriptions to the memory of individuals of tlie
family of Wale.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 96
1558, and to the vicarage of Wimbish in 1570, which last he resigned in 1581: he C H A F.
died in 1593. This gentleman wrote an historical description of the island of Britain, '.
published in Holingshed's Chronicles; also the description of Scotland, translated by
him from Hector Boethius, is prefixed to Holingshed's History of Scotland.*
In 1821, there were seven hundred and seventy-three, and in 1831 eight hundred
and nineteen inhabitants in this parish.
ASHDON.
This parish extends northward from Radwinter to the border of Cambridgeshire, -^*liJ"n-
and to Hadstock north-westward; in length it is about three, and in width two miles.
A fine spring of water rises near Wismore hill, which, flowing toward Bartlow End,
joins the stream that separates that hamlet from Cambridgeshire. The heavy clay
lands join the chalk district at this place.f The name is supposed to have been derived
from the Anglo-Saxon, Ash and Dun; Ash-hill must, in that case, have been written
^j-cej--bun, as is observed by the learned bishop Gibson;:}: but in the Saxon Chronicle
it is Aj-j-an-bun, which Marianus Scotus, Florence of Worcester, and Roger de
Hovenden, translate ColHs Asinorum, and Mons Asini, deriving it from Aj-j^a and bun.
In old records it is written Ashden, Ashedon, Ascenduna, Assandun, Asheton,
Aston, Essedune, and Hasheton. The village is distant from Safiron Walden three,
and from London forty-five miles.
Ailid, Alsy, and Ingelric; Oslac, a freeman; Alwin and Orderic; and Edeva, held
the lands of this parish in the time of Edward the confessor; and, at the survey, they
belonged to Ralph Baignard; Eustace, earl of Boulogne; Alberic de Vere and his
under-tenant Renold; Tihel Brito, and Hervey de Ispania. There are three manors.
The mansion-house of Ashdon Hall is near the eastern end of the church. Ralph A^^lidou
Hall,
Baynard was lord of this manor, and Geofrey was his son and successor; whose son
William, for alleged treason against king Henry the first, was deprived of this and his
other estates, which, in 1111, were given by that king to Robert, a younger son of
Richard Fitz-Gislebert, from whom the noble family of Fitz- Walter descended, who
held this lordship for many generations: John lord Fitz- Walter in 1361, Walter Fitz-
Walter in 1375, and Walter his son, were succeeded by sir Walter Fitz- Walter,
who died in 1406: his successor, Walter lord Fitz- Walter, left two daughters,
* In the south window of the ancient parsonage-house of Radwinter, there was painted, " the sun in
his glory," within which was a hare, couchant, argent; and encircling the hare, this inscription: "In
sole posuit tabernaculum suum — In the sun hath he set his tabernacle ;" according to the taste of the age
of Elizabeth, intended to form the rebus, " Hare in Sun" for Harrison.
t There is a tolerable mixture of a lighter soil on gravel, in this parish,
X Nominum locorum explicatio, ad calcem Chronic. Saxonici, p. 13.
96 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. co-heiresses, of whom Anne, by marriage, conveyed this possession to Thomas Rat-
cliffe, esq. succeeded by sir John, whose son and successor of the same name was
summoned to parliament in 1485, and, in 1494, espousing the cause of Perkin War-
beck, was condemned for treason and beheaded; but, in 1505, Robert, his son, was
restored to his honours, and advanced to the title of viscount Fitz- Walter in 1525,
and also the same year created earl of Sussex. He died in 1542, succeeded by his son
Henry in 1556, followed by Thomas, his son, whose successor was his brother Henry,
in 1583, who, on his decease in 1593, left R,obert Ratcliffe, earl of Sussex, his son,
the last male heir of this noble family; and he, in 1619, conveyed this estate to
William Bramston, esq. succeeded by his eldest son of the same name in 1649, whose
heir was his son John, from whom the estate was conveyed to William Richardson,
in trust for Robert Prujean. Afterwards it became the property of Thomas Richers,
esq. of Fring, in Norfolk, whose son of the same name sold it to Thomas Sclater
Bacon, esq. who, on his decease in 1736, left it to Robert King, esq. whose heir was
Thomas Sclater King: the estate afterwards became the property of the right hon.
lord Maynard.
Newnham The manor named Newnham, originally belonging to Alsy and Ingelric, and
afterwards to Eustace, earl of Boulogne, has the mansion-house about half a mile
from the church: it formed part of the four knights' fees held of the honour of
Boulogne by Bernard de Bailiol, and was what Gilbert de Lacy held in 1210, named
Nivenham, near Walden, in Essex: he was probably of the noble family of the Lacies,
earls of Lincoln. Sir Robert de Lacy died in 1347, holding this manor of John de
Lacy, of Wiltshire, by the service of half a knight's fee: John, his son, in 1347, sold
it to sir William de Clopton, of Listen, who came and resided here; the estate con-
tinued in the possession of his family till Anne, the daughter and heiress of sir William
Clopton, of Kentwell Hall, in Suffolk, conveyed it to Symonds D'Ewes, knt. and
bai't. of the ancient family of Des Ewes, syndics of Kissel in Gelderland; the lady
Anne was living in 1630, and was survived by two of her children by sir Symonds,
of whom Sibil, the younger, was married to sir Thomas Darcy, bart. who had with
her this estate, and Kentwell Hall.
Mortis- A small rep\ited manor, named Mortlsfaux, Mortishaus, Mortivaux, or Mortimers,
was formerly holden of Newnham Hall, as part of its demesnes: in 1381, it was sold,
by sir John Seyton, to Edmund Bendish, esq. and was in the possession of Thomas
Bendish, esq. at the time of his decease hi 1448, and, in 1545, was sold, by William
Bendish, to Stephen Cobb, haberdasher, of London. It afterwards passed with
Newnham to the noble family of Maynard.
Walton?. Waltons is a large brick building, in a park, on the northern extremity of the
county, rather more than a mile eastward from the church; it was originally erected
by sir William Maynard, esq. and has descended with the other family estates, being
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 97
at present occupied as the seat of Wright, esq. It is not far distant from the C H A p.
village called Ashdon Street, near Ashdon Place, now a farm-house. '
This portion of the parish is what belonged in Saxon times to Oshic, Alwln, and
Orderic; and to Tihel Brito and Alberic de Vere, at the survey, beuig at that time
named Stenitune, and Stauintun, and, at the present time, is known by the appellation
of Stevington-End, or Stenton-End; there appears some ground for the belief that
anciently it formed a distinct village, or parish: the inhabitants support their own
poor, keep their accounts distinct from the rest of Ashdon, and though they apply on
all necessary occasions to the justidfes of Essex, and to the quarter sessions at Chelms-
ford, yet usually resort to Bartlow church, to which they pay churchwarden's rates,
and are generally reckoned to be in the spiritual jurisdiction of that parish: the place
is also named Bartlow End. The posterity of Tihel, surnamed Helion, held this
estate in the time of Henry the second; it was afterwards in possession of the Wange-
ford family,* and, in 1259, John de Wangeford and his wife Margaret, conveyed it
to sir Richard de Wanton, Wawton, or Walton, but it is not known how long it
continued in the possession of this family, from which it took its name.f
That part of this estate which belonged to the Vere family was holden by Henry
Gerret, at the time of his decease in 1344, and afterwards passed successively to the
families of Chamberleyn, Kedington, Sandon, Crochman, Lekaud, Cordy, Arneburgh,
Hotoft, NoAvers, and to a branch of the ancient family of Tyrell. Sir Thomas Tyrell,
esq. of Herongate, living in 1458, married Emma, daughter of sir John Marney, of
Layer Marney: his third son by her was Humphrey Tyrell, esq. of Little Warley,
who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Walwyn, of Lounsford, esq. in Hertford-
shire, by whom he had six sons; of these, Robert, the youngest, by his wife Dalston,
had five sons, of whom Richard Tyrell, esq. resided at Ashdon Place, and died in
1566, possessed of the manor of Waltons, lying in " Asheton and Barklowe;" by his
wife Grace, he had his successor, Edward Tyrell, esq. warden of the Fleet, who
married Elizabeth, daughter of sir Valentine Brown, by whom he had Robert, Henry,
and Elizabeth. Sir Robert Tyrell, the eldest son, knighted in 1607, was his father's suc-
cessor as warden of the Fleet, and married Susannah, daughter of Robert Millicent, esq.
by Dorothy, daughter of John Maynard, esq. of St. Albans, the ancestor of lord Maynard.
Sir Robert Tyrell removed to Bartlow, and sold this estate to William lord Maynard.
Thickhoe is a reputed manor, anciently holden of the earls of Oxford as part of the Thickhoe.
barony of Helion. In the time of king Henry the third, William de Thickhoe left
John, his son and heir, and the name of Geofrey de Thickhoe appears in 1262, and
* The Wangeford family remained some time settled at Toppesfield.
t Their estate is called a carucate, in Essenden, Radwintcr, Barklow, Newenhani, Bendish, and
Stiveton, in Essex, and lirend in Cambridgeshire. The family of Walton rose in importance, as, in
1304, William de Wanton, Wawton, or W^alton, was representative in parliament for this county. Arms
of Wanton : Argent, a chevron, sable.
98 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK 11. John de Laundress and Maud, his daughter and heiress, also appear as early as 1334,
" and as late as 1351. Richard Floud, servant of the crown,* in 1445 held here, among^
other lands in Ashdon, Londres, called also Black Garden; and, in 1747, this manor
belonged to Audrey Buck, widow, at that time ninety years of age; she died in 1750.
A parcel of land held by Edeva, and afterwards by Hervey de Hispania, was formerly
named Roda, and Rede, and Rothe End.
Chuicli. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is agreeably situated on ground rising above
the village, and commanding an extensive and pleasing prospect: it is a large ancient
building of stone, having a nave, and north and south aisles, leaded, and a chancel tiled :
on the south side of the church there is a square building, which, by the parishioners,
is called the old chancel. A small square tower, with a spire leaded, contains five bells,
and a fine-toned organ has been recently presented by the rev. B. Chapman, the
present rector.
This rectory was appropriated to the priory of Lewes, in Sussex, to which it was
given by Geofrey and Ralph Baynard; and having come to the crown, was, in 1537,
granted, by king Henry the eighth, to Thomas lord Cromwell, on whose fall, coming
again to the crown, it was, in 1552, given, by king Edward the sixth, to Richard
Tyrell, of Waltons, and has since been purchased by Caius College, Cambridge.
This rectory is a manor, with several copyholds.
The parsonage-house, about a quarter of a mile north from the church, is a conve-
nient and handsome mansion, on rising ground, with agreeable and extensive prospects.
Chantry. John Chalne left lands for the endowment of a brotherhood of priests, or a chantry.
CJiaiity. Some land and a house called Guild Hall having been left for charitable purposes,
the parishioners have appropriated the former to the apprenticing the children of poor
people, while the latter is used as a workhouse.
Bartiow At Bartlow End, on ground separated from Bartlow church-yard, in Cambridge-
shire, by a rivulet, there are several artificial mounds of earth, which are called Bart-
low hills. They stand on a gentle acclivity, the country gradually rising round them
like an extended amphitheatre. They consist of a line of four greater barrows, and
of three smaller ones in fi'ont, at a distance of about seventy or eighty feet from the
others. The diameter of the largest barrow is one hundred and forty-seven feet, and
that of the three other principal barrows is about one hundred feet. The altitude of
the largest is ninety-three feet, that of the one on each side of it sixty-nine feet, and
the other principal hill, which has been lowered, is about forty-five feet high. The
diameter of the smaller barrows is ninety-five feet, and as they are not more than
from eight to ten feet high, the plough has passed over them. The earth of these
was thrown up from the side of the brook which runs down the hollow between the
hills and the church. The others were raised chiefly from the pit in front.
These works of our forefathers are remarkable, as afibrding an instance of the errors
* Valectus Corone Domini Regis.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 99
Into which we may be led by trusting in tradition alone. Their antiquity is proved C H A P.
to be great by the fact of their giving name to the place, low (hlfep) in Saxon '.
signifying a barrow.* Camden speaks of Bartlow, or, as he calls it, Barklow, in the
following words: "On the edge of the county next to Cambridgeshire is Barklow,
remarkable for four artificial hills, such as were anciently thrown up for soldiers slain
in battle, whose remains, as some think, could not be found. But, upon digging down
a fifth and sixth, some time since, I am informed they found three stone coffins, with
broken human bones in them. The country people say they were cast up after a
battle with the Danes, for the dwarf elder, which grows plentifully hereabouts, with
blood-coloured berries, goes by the name of Danes-blood, in memory of the numbers
of that nation slain here." Holinshed describes this as the scene of the sanguinary
battle of ^scendun, or Assandun, where, in 1016, Canute** finally triumphed over Battle of
Edmund Ironside, and he says that the Bartlow Hills were raised over the bodies of
those killed in that battle.f This battle of Assandun was fought, according to some
authorities, in the kingdom of Essex, or, according to others, on the confines of
Mercia. Camden and Gough place the scene at Assingdon, in the hundred of Roch-
ford, in Essex; Blore fixes it at Essendune, in Rutlandshire; and Morant agrees with
Holingshed in placing it at Bartlow, in the parish of Ashdon.if
On the 2d of January, 1832, the three smaller barrows were opened, and a full Opening
account of the discoveries which were made in opening them is published in the smaller
Arch3eologia.§ The remains that were found were all purely Roman. In the central
* See a disquisition on the lows in the peak of Derbyshire, Archaeolog. vol. vii. p. 131.
t " In this place," Holinshed says, " where the field was fought, are yet seen seven or eight hills,
wherein the carcases of them that were slain at the same hills were buried, and one being digged down
of late, there were found two bodies, in a coffin of stone, of which the one lay with his head towards the
other's feet, and manie chaines of iron (like to the water chains of the bits of horses) were found in the
same hills." The hills are on lord Maynard's estate.
X Malmesbury, speaking of Canute, says : — " Loca omnia in quibus pugnaverat et precipu^ Achedune
ecclesiis insignivit ; ministros instituit, qui per succidua seculorum volumina Deo supplicarent pro ani-
mabus ibi occisorum. Ad consecrationem illius Basilicas et ipse affuit, et optimates Anglorum etDaborum
donaria porrescerunt. Nunc, ut fertur, modica est ecclesia presbytero parochiano delegata." With
reference to this passage Morant remarked, that Canute's church " could not be the present church of
Ashdon, because it stands too far from the field of battle : therefore it is with great reason supposed that
it is Bartlow church, which stands near the hills, and hath a round steeple, being the Danish way of build-
ing." From Robert of Gloucester, however, we are led to suppose that he built several churches in the
neighbourhood of the field of battle, as he says —
" An vp Assesdone & J>er aboute mest chyrchen he let rere.
As vor her soulen, ]iat yslavve were Jjere.
Vor he & ])c kyng Edniond mest armes J»ere here,
An mest man slazt jjoruhem & batayles Jjcr were."
^ It was written by John Gage, esq., and is entitled, " An Account of Roman Sepulchral Antiquities dis-
covered at the Bartlow Hills, in the parish of Ashdon, Essex, on opening the lesser barrows." From it
the present account is chiefly taken.
Barrows.
100 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. barrow, and in one of the others, there appeared to have lain in the bed of the chalky
Romaii ^^ ^he depth of about a foot and a half, a Avooden chest, which was in both entirely
ties
aiiti<iui- pulverised. In the central barrow, the spike nails, that had fastened the chest on all
sides, some of which were four inches and a half long, were seen lying in a square as
they had fallen, and at the angles were the iron straps, with portions of wood adhering
to them. Considerable quantities of pulverised wood were found lying about. A
number of glass and earthen vessels, of different forms and texture, were found in both
these barrows; the earthen vessels were generally marked with the potter's mark,
among which marks four only could be distinctly traced ; on the first of which were
the letters vtaiismsf, the t being in the form of a cross, and the fourth letter (marked
here by ii) being not very distinct; on a second was visible the letters agomarvs;
on a third oficvirili, and on a fourth ofceli. In the first of these barrows, a small
deposit of burnt human bones was lying on the chalk, surrounded by the vessels just
mentioned. In each of them was found an iron lamp, and in the central one there was
also a little bronze lamp, and one or two bits of iron, with wood adhering to them, as
if belonging to some small wooden coffer.
In the other barrow, which was the second opened, there was discovered a remark-
able brick sepulchre, in the shape of an altar, six feet three inches long, two feet three
inches and a half wide throughout, and one foot eleven inches and three quarters high.
It stood north and south on the bed of chalk, about a foot below the natural surface,
and between seven and eight feet below the artificial soil. The basement consisted of
a single course of bricks, raised in a floor of cement, full two inches thick. Each of
the walls had seven courses of brick, regularly laid, excepting that the top course of
the side walls was set two inches within the rest, by which means the mouth was con-
tracted to eight inches, and the interior was thus better secured from wet. The lid
was composed of two courses of brick, of different sizes, the under-joints being lapped ;
and the whole was covered with a thick coat of cement. The largest of the top bricks
measured one foot five inches, by eleven inches and a half, and was five inches in thick-
ness. Within the sepulchre were found a number of glass and other vessels, several
of them containing liquids and other matter, which were afterwards analysed by Dr.
Faraday. A large cylindrical glass urn, open at the mouth, was nearly two thirds full
of a clear pale yellow liquor, covering a deposit of burnt himian bones. On the top of
the bones lay a gold ring, which, when taken out, was found to be a signet ring,
having a cornelian intaglio, with the design of two ears of bearded coin. Afterwards,
when the contents of this vase was examined by Dr. Faraday, a coin was discovered,
much corroded, and adhering with rust to one of the bones at the top. It was of that
kind denominated second brass, with tlie head of the emperor Hadrian on the
obverse, and on the reverse a figure seated, holding something nearly defaced in
the right hand, and a cornucopia in the left, " Probably," says Mr. Gage, "a Fortuna
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 101
Redux."* At the southern end was found the decomposed wood of a small coffer, CHAP,
and the lock and iron straps that had belonged to it.f ;__
From the discovery of the Roman origin of these barrows, we may presume that Earth-
they are connected with the camp or station which appears to have existed in their Bartlow.
immediate vicinity. Vestiges of an earthwork may be observed in a little meadow by
the brook side, within one hundred and fifty yards of the mounds to the north-west.|
The agger is three hundred and seventeen feet long, from east to west, the eastern
end being cut through by a ditch, which separates it from the Bartlow rectory garden,
in which direction there is the appearance of the mound being continued. The
western end is broken by the highway leading from Linton to Ashdon, which passes
at the distance of rather more than eighty yards from the smaller barrows on the
western side. At an angle, here, the earthwork forms a little enclosure in the form
of a parallelogram, one hundred and twenty feet by sixty-three, with two entrances.
Li this spot is a low mound, twenty-six feet in diameter. Towards the latter end
of the year 1832, in a field near Linton, in Cambridgeshire, an urn full of Roman
coins was discovered by a man attending on the plough : they were all of them soon
dispersed.
In 1821, the parish of Ashdon, with Bartlow End hamlet, contained one thousand
and fourteen, and in 1831, one thousand one hundred and three inhabitants.
HADSTOCK.
The parish of Hadstock occupies the most northern extremity of Essex, and much Hadstock.
of it projects into Cambridgeshire; from which it is in part separated by the stream
that flows from Bartlow End to Linton: southward it joins Ashdon and Waldon, and
does not exceed six miles in circumference. Distant from Linton three, and from
* "There are several coins of the emperor Hadrian, having on the reverse a Fortuna Redux, with a
rudder in her right hand, and a cornucopia in her left. Hadrian visited Britain in the year 120, and some
of his coins are inscribed Britannia." — Arc.hcEolog.
+ Among the vessels found in this sepulchre was one of wood, four inches and a half in height, and two
inches in diameter, hooped round the middle, and also at the top and bottom, with bronze, and having
a handle of the same material. The wooden ribs were in extraordinary preservation, but the bronze was
much decayed.
X Stukeley, who carefully traced many of the Roman roads, after describing the remains of the camp at
Chesterford, gives the following notice of what he considers to be the course of the Icening- street from
thence towards Suffolk : " Not far off by Audlen-house, upon an eminence, is a great Roman camp ; a hunt-
ing tower of brick now stands upon it. Beyond this the Icening-street goes towards Icleworth in Suffolk,
parting the countys of Cambridg and Essex all the way, and almost parallel to it runs a great ditch, viz.
from Royston to Balsham, call'd Brentditcli, where it turns and goes to the river below Cambridg, there
called Flightditch. I imagin these to be ancient boundarys of the Britons, and before the Roman road was
made, which naturally enough would have serv'd for a distinction by the Saxons as at other places, had
their limits lain hereabouts. Two mile both ways of Royston is chalky soil. About I'uckeridg 'tis
gravelly. On Bartlow hills there is a camp too, castle camps, and Roman autiquitys found, I am told, of
VOL. II. P
UNrVERSTTY OF CAT.tfOKNI
102 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. London forty-three miles. The name is probably from the Saxon pab, or head, and
j-trocce ; but it does not appear how these terms can be applicable : the word hse'^, or
hat, hot^ has been assumed as the initial syllable; and the name, where it first occurs,
is written Hatestok; by which name, king Ed^v^ard the confessor confirmed the posses-
sion of this estate to the monastery of Ely: the common name does not occur in
Domesday, but the name of Cadenhou is understood to be applied to it in the reign of
king Stephen, at which time it was in the hands of Nigel, bishop of Ely, and of which
he had deprived the monks, but which he afterwards restored, with ample confirmation;
yet the bishop retained possession of the lordship, as part of his barony, and had
return of writs, pleas of unreasonable distress, gallows, tumbrel and assize of bread
and beer, and free- warren : he also, in 1337, obtained the grant of a market and fair
here, of which the latter is continued on the twenty-eighth of June, for horses and
cattle. The demesne lands, however, appear to have belonged to the monastery of
Ely till the dissolution, and were afterwards granted, by queen Elizabeth, in 1600,
together with the manor of Littlebury, to Thomas Sutton, esq., founder of the Char-
terhouse, who appears to have had the advowson of this rectory previous to the year
1570.* By will, dated 1611, he bequeathed both these possessions to Thomas, earl of
Suffblk, on condition of his paying, within a year after his decease, the sum of ten
thousand pounds: in 1635, Theophilus, earl of Sufi'olk, was lord of this manor; and
in 1691, the trustees of James, earl of Suffolk, sold it to Daniel Malthus, esq. This
gentleman had been apothecary to the very learned Dr. Thomas Sydenham, and was
afterwards apothecary to king William, and to queen Anne; marrying Elizabeth,
daughter of John Portman, esq., he had by her his son and heir, Sydenham Malthus,
esq., one of the six clei'ks in chancery, and a director of the South-Sea company in
174.1 : he married Anne, daughter of Richard Dalton, esq., by whom he had, Daniel,
Anne, Katherine, and Elizabeth. The lordship at present belongs to Malthus,
esq., a nephew of T. R. Malthus, A.M., author of the Treatise on Population, and
numerous other celebrated works.
Scgons.oi A second manor here, is named Segons, or Vances; it is believed to be the estate on
account of which a fine passed between Alured, son of Gilbert, and Martin Badekester :
it was in the possession of sir Giles Allington, of Horseheath, in Cambridgeshire, at
the time of his decease in 1586; Giles his son was his heir. There is no manor-
house, and the former existence of a court only rests on tradition: the lands lie
towards Bartlow, and are freehold, paying quit rents to Horseheath Hall.
three remarkabl bariows thereabouts where bones have been dug up. At Hadstok they talk of the skin
of a Danish king nail'd upon the church doors." — Itiner. Curios, cent. i. p. 75. Stukeley is evidently
making great confusion, but there can be little doubt of his camp on Bartlow hills being the identical
earthwork described by Mr. Gage.
♦ See Dr. Browne Willis's Cathedral Churches, vol. ii. p. 341.
HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL. 103
The church, dedicated to St. Botolph, is of stone, and of great apparent antiquity : C H A P.
the entrance by the north porch, is under a massive Norman arch, slightly ornamented '
with carvings; formerly, Avhat was traditionally said to be a Danish human skin, was Church.
nailed against the door here, and covered with iron rib-work: the iron remains, but the
skin has been taken away by degrees, and only a small piece of it has been preserved
at the parsonage, which from its appearance tends strongly to confirm the traditionary
account. The original windows have been few in number and very small, not unlike
the loop-holes of a castle: none of the present Gothic windows are ancient, and some
of them quite modern. This building is large for a village church, and has a nave
and two aisles, with a transept, as in a cathedral church. The screen, originally placed
under the rood loft, has been removed to the west end, and exhibits a curious speci-
men of carved work, in which is plainly distinguished a pretty well executed represen-
tation of a fox delivering a grave lecture to a flock of geese, who are attentively
listening to his admonitions; undoubtedly, a satire against the monkish hypocrisy of the
times. The chancel has been much larger than at present, and beyond it ancient
foundations may be traced in the church-yard, which, as well as part of the lower
courses of the walls of the aisles, have apparently belonged to a former erection.
On either side of the chancel there appear to have been chapels, or chantries : a plain
stone tower contains five bells.
There is a well near the church, called St. Botolph's well, from which a constant St.
stream passing under the wall of the church-yard, affords an ample supply to the vil- Well,
lage. The parsonage is a good old building, near the church, at the head of a pleasant
lawn ; at a short distance, from a station called Bantom Upper Stile, a prospect into
Cambridgeshire is presented, of wide extent, and highly interesting, including Horse-
heath, where the elegant mansion of lord Montfort has been pulled down. An ancient Alms-
building, called the guild, was accidentally burnt down, and an altns-house has been
erected where it stood, but it is without endowment.
Some allotments of land have been made here, to be occupied by industrious AUot-
labourers, which promise to be highly beneficial.* land.
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and ninety-two, and in 1831, four
hundred and twenty-four inhabitants.
* Charities belonging to this parish, are : ten shillings per annum to the poor, left by the rev. Edmund
Sherebrooke, rector of Ashdon and Hadstock.
A mark per annum, given by Mrs. Buck.
Five shillings a year, out of a farm in this parish.
Twenty shillings a year out of a farm. The same sum annually, being the interest of twenty pounds,
the purchase-money of a house in Linton, left to the poor here.
104
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II. ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE HALF HUNDRED OF FRESHWELL.
R. Rectory. V. Vicarage. C. Chapelry.
Ashdon, R
Bardfield,Great,V. .
Bardtield Saling, C.
Bardfield, Little, R.
Buinstcd Helion, V.
Hadstock, R
Heinsted, C
Radvvinter, R
Saraford, Great, V. .
Samford, Little, R- •
Archdeaconry.
Colchester.
Middlesex.
Colchester.
Incumbent.
B. Chapman
James Britton, M.A.
T. B. Harrison ....
Rev. — Hodson. .. .
J. A. Carn
V. of Great Samford
J. Watson Bullock .
Morgan Lewis ....
W. P. Windham . . .
Insti-
tuted.
1818
18-29
1782
1809
1786
1801
1806
1801
1822
Value in Liber
Regis.
^■28 3 4
11 0 0
Not in chajge
JI 0 0
13 0 0
19 0 0
Not in charge
•21 12 1
18 0 0
110 0
Caius Col. Camb.
SirC.M.Burrell.bart
John Harrison.
Trin. Col. Camb.
Bishop of Ely.
John Bullock, esq.
4 Sir Wm. Eustace,
\ K.C.B.ju7-e u,roris.
New Col. Oxford.
CHAPTER VH.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD.
Hundred
of Uttles-
ford.
The north-western extremity of the county of Essex is occupied by the hundred of
Uttlesford, which eastward is bounded by Freshwell and part of Dunmow, and by
the half hundred of Harlow southward; westward extending to Clavering and the
border of Hertfordshire, and to the county of Cambridge northward: it is of an
irregular form, from north to south measuring fifteen, and from east to west, where
■widest, nearly eleven miles; but from Plechdon Green to Broxted, it scarcely measures
half a mile.
The name has undoubtedly been derived from some ford, within the parish of
Walden, generally believed to have been that in which sir Edward Bohun was
drowned in 1333. The name is variously written in records, Odelsford, Odelsfort,
Udelesfort, Wdelsford, Huddlisford. In some writings it is distinguished by the
appellations of east and west Odelsford, Takeley being in the first of these divisions;
the river Cam undoubtedly forming the line of separation.
The general appearance of this part of the country is distinguished by a pleasing
diversity of hill and dale; and everywhere presents woodland scenery, with an
agi-eeable intermixture of meadow and arable lands. The hundred contains the fol-
lowing twenty-six parishes: Walden, Great Chesterford, Little Chesterford, Wim-
a
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 105
bish, Debden, Widdington, Henham, Elsenham, Takeley, Birchanger, Stansted Chap.
Montfichet, Quendon, Rickling, Newport, Wickharn Bonhunt, Arkesden, Great _
Wendon, Little Wendon, Wendon Loughts, Littlebury, Strethall, Elmdon, Haydon,
Chrishall, Great Chishall, Little Chishall.
WALDEN, or SAFFRON WALDEN, Walden
or Saffron
the chief town in this division of the county, is situated about a mile to the east of Walden.
the high road, leading from London to Newmarket; about forty-two miles from the
metropolis, fourteen from Cambridge, and twenty-seven from Chelmsford. Its name
is generally supposed to have been derived from the Saxon words pealb, a Avood, and
ben, a valley. The term Saffron is added to it, on account of the large quantity of
that plant, which was formerly cultivated in its immediate neighbourhood, but the
growth of which has been long since discontinued.*
The situation of the town is very delightful and healthy, and the scenery round it,
especially in the summer months, presents Nature in her gayest and richest attire.
This is greatly owing to the beautiful park and grounds connected with Audley End,
the seat of lord Braybrooke. The number of the principal streets in the town is seven.
The inhabitants, by the census of 1831, amounted to four thousand seven hundred and
sixty-two. The houses, many of which bear marks of antiquity, have, of late years,
* This plant, which, though now but little used in medicine, was formerly supposed to possess ex-
traordinary medicinal virtues, is said to have been brought into England, and first grown in Essex and
Cambridgeshire in the reign of Edward the third. The soil, which is considered the best for its growth,
is a moderately dry mould, such as commonly lies upon chalk. About the beginning of April, it is carefully
ploughed, the furrows being drawn much closer together, and deeper, if the soil will allow it, than is
done for any kind of corn. In May, the land is well manured with about twenty or thirty loads of good
rotten dung per acre, which is carefully spread and then ploughed in. About Midsummer it is ploughed
the third time, and between every sixteen and a half feet is left a broad furrow, which serves both as a
boundary to the several parcels, and for throwing the weeds into, as occasion may require. The plants
are usually set in July. From that time till September, or sometimes later, no more labour is required.
About the beginning of that month they begin to spire, when the ground is carefully pared with a sharp
hough, and the weeds are raked into the furrows. The flowers appear shortly after, and are gathered,
when in a proper state, early in the morning. The owners of the saffron fields get together a sufficient
number of hands, who pull off the whole flowers, carrying them home in baskets. They then pick out
the three yellow chives, which are in the middle of the flower, with a considerable proportion of the
style or string to which they are attached : the rest of the flower is thrown away. Next morning they
return to the field, without regarding whether the weather be wet or dry, and so on daily till the crop is
gathered. The chives are dried between sheets of white paper, on a kiln made for the purpose, in which
process they are said to lose four fifths of their original weight, and the plantation is renewed every three
years. So exceedingly rich was the ground when the growth of this plant was given uj), that it is said
to have wanted no further manure for more than fifteen years. At present, however, its cultivation is
but little regarded; and only here and there, in the garden of the horticulturist, is a root to be found,
bearing any resemblance to that which was once so abundant in this neighbourhood.
106 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. been much improved, and various alterations, of which notice will be taken hereafter,
' have contributed much both to the appearance of the town itself and the comfort of its
inhabitants.
Of the early history of Walden little is known, upon which dependance can be
placed, prior to the time of the Norman conquest. That it was in existence is evi-
dent ; but its origin and the number of its inhabitants are uncertain. Dr. Stukeley
supposes it to have been the site of a Roman station ; and many circumstances tend to
confirm his opinion. In the reign of Edward the confessor, it appears to have been a
place of some note. Ansgar was then possessed of it, and the following curious
account is given of its extent. It comprehended, "for a manor nineteen hides;* eight
carucates in demesne; twenty-two among the men or tenants; sixty-six villanes;
seventeen bordars; wood for a thousand hogs;f fourscore acres of meadow, and one
mill." At the time of the general survey, it was holden by Geoffrey de Magnaville,
and was one of the forty lordships which he had in this county.
Aiande- It is said that this powerful and illustrious individual accompanied William the con-
family, queror to this kingdom, and so distinguished himself by his services, that he was
rewarded with no less than an hundred and eighteen lordships. He fixed his residence
at Walden, and built the castle, of which a part of the keep and other earth-works
remain to this day. The name Magnaville, or Mandeville, was derived from Mande-
ville, a town in Normandy; and his estate at Walden became the head of the barony,
and of the honour of Mandeville. The time of his death is not known, but it was
after the year 1086.
He was succeeded by William his son, who, in addition to his other honours, was
made constable of the Tower of London. He appears to have been little inferior to
his father in bravery ; and was again succeeded by Geoffrey de Mandeville, his son.
He also was remarkable for his courage; was made constable of the Tower, and
advanced by king Stephen to the title and dignity of earl of Essex. It was, however,
at a time of great civil commotion, when the contention for the crown between
Stephen and Matilda, or Maud, to whom it had been left by her father, was dividing
the kingdom. Geoffrey took part with Matilda, who confirmed to him whatever his
grandfather or father ever had in lands, forts, and castles, particularly the Tower of
London, with the castle under it, to fortify at his pleasure. She also conferred upon
* A hide was as much land as would maintain a family ; some call it sixty, some eighty, and others one
hundred acres. A carucate was as much arable land as could be tilled in a year with one plough. A
villane was one who held land by a base tenure, and was in a state of great subserviency to his lord. The
bordars were those who had a bord, or cottage, with a small parcel of land, on condition that they should
supply the lord with poultry and eggs, and other small provisions, " for his board and entertainment."
t At the present day, it may seem strange that wood-land should have been rated or let by the number
oi hogs it would fatten. This, however, arose from the forests of oak, which were then cultivated, and
from the abundance of acorns, which, by this means, were furnished for the use of swine.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 107
him the office of hereditary sheriff of London and Middlesex, Hertfordshire, and CHAP
Essex, and the pleas and trials of all causes in those counties, with the third penny from —
the pleas of the sheriffalty. She granted him likewise one hundred pounds in lands at
Newport, to hold in demesne ; and licence to remove the market from Newport to his
castle at Walden, receiving all customs, tolls, &c. belonging to the market. The
market at Walden was to be held on Thursdays and Sundays ; and the fair there to
begin on Whitsun-eve, and continue all that week. In addition to this, she made him
very considerable grants of land at Depdene, Bonhunt, and the woods of Chatelege
(Catlidge), and elsewhere; gave him all Maldon, with its appurtenances; and, finally,
presented to him and his heirs the office of chief justice of Essex, and all pleas and
forfeitures appertaining to the crown.
It was not long that Matilda was able to support her hereditary dignity; nor was
the defection of Geoffrey long concealed from Stephen. By order of the king, he was
apprehended at St. Alban's in 1143; and, to obtain his liberty, was obliged to sur-
render up to him the Tower of London, and his castles at Walden and Fleshy. It
will not appear extraordinary that, in such lawless times, these indignities were
resented by a man of his disposition. Accordingly, with a band of partisans, as
desperate as himself, he ravaged the demesnes of the sovereign and his adherents with-
out mercy, and seized and plundered the abbey of Ramsey, in Huntingdonshire ; on
which account he was excommunicated. He is said to have been shot in the head by
an arrow, while besieging the king's castle at Burwell, of which wound he died on
the 14th of September, 1144.
His eldest son, being in arms against Stephen, was made prisoner and banished.
His second son, Geoffrey, was restored, by Henry the second, to all the lands belong-
ing to his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, as likewise to the earldom of
Essex. He married Eustatia, a relation of the king, from whom he was divorced, and
two of his best lordships, Waltham and Walden, were taken from him. At his death,
however, in 1167, they reverted to his brother and successor, William de Mandeville,
who went in pilgrimage to the Holy Land, with Philip, earl of Flanders, in 1177,
and returned in 1179. He spent a great part of his time in Normandy, where he was
entrusted with the custody of several forts and castles. But, having departed this life
at Roanne, in 1190, his body was buried in the abbey of Mortimer, in Normandy, and
his heart was brought over and deposited in the chapter-house of Walden priory, to
which house he gave half his lordship of Walden, with half of the meadows and pas-
tures, the mill, the little park, and his tenants and their services.
Beatrix, his aunt, would have succeeded to his estates, as his lawful heir; but, being
much advanced in years, waived her right in favour of her younger son, Geoffrey de
Say. This was afterwards transferred to Geoffrey Fitz- Piers, who had married her
grand-daughter (by her eldest son, William, then deceased), and obtained this barony.
108 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK U. The administration of the earldom of Essex, and the title of earl, were conferred upon
him. But the moiety of the lordship of Walden, with the appurtenances, which
William de Mandeville had given to the monks here, was taken from them by
GeoiFrey, notwithstanding their earnest efforts, and repeated applications to the king,
the bishop, and the pope ; while only one hundred acres of arable land, the mill, and
a meadow towards Periton, were left to them.
It appears that he was sheriff of this county and of Hertfordshire, from 1191 to
1194, and died October 2d, 1212, with a high character for his generosity, his legal
skill, and that consequence which his alliance by blood and friendship with some of
the chief persons of the nation necessarily procured him.
His eldest son, Geofeey Fitz-Piers, took the name of Mandeville, but died without
issue in 1216. His next brother, William, earl of Essex, died in 1227, unmarried,*
and entailed his lands, with the earldom of Essex, upon his sister Maud, wife of
Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, high constable of England. She died in August,
1236. Humphrey, her son, succeeded her, who also died in 1275. His grandson
and heir, of the same name, died in December 1298. His son and successor,
Humphrey, in 1322. His son John in 1335; who, having no child surviving, was
succeeded by his brother Humphrey, who had no issue. In 1347, he had licence to
embattle his manor-house at Walden. Humphrey, dying in 1361, had for his heir,
his nephew, Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton, baron
of Brecknock, and high-constable of England. At his death, in 1372, he left two
daughters, co-heirs ; Eleanor, married to Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester,
and Mary, to Henry, then earl of Derby, afterwards king Henry the fourth.
Ann, eldest daughter to Eleanor, (married first to Thomas, and Edmund, lords
Stafford, and afterwards to W^illiam Bourchier, earl of Eu,) became heiress to one
moiety of the Bohun estates ; and king Henry the fifth, in right of his mother, to
the other moiety. Upon the partition of this noble inheritance, in 1421, the manor 1
of Walden, then valued at seventy-two pounds, two shillings and three-pence, 1
with a park, fell to the share of the king ; and the manor was divided into the manors
of Walden, and Brook Walden. The family having granted parcels of them to
different persons, these fees, or parts of fees, took from their subordinate owners
the appellations of De le Mares, Cloptons, Westleys, &c. But these diminutive
manors have been incorporated into the others; and, of late, the only acknowledged
manors are those of Walden, or Cheping Walden, and Brook Walden.
In the year 1136, Geoffrey de Mandeville, the first earl of Essex of that family, m
and of whom mention has already been made, founded a priory, about a mile from the
town, and on the site of which Audley End was afterwards erected. This priory was
* Arms of Mandeville, eail of Essex : Quarterly, or and gules. Geofrey Fitz-Piers, the second earl, ^,
charged them with an escarbuncle of eight staves, uomette and fleury, sable. ;{
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 109
converted into an abbey in the year 1 190, dedicated to the honour of God, of St. Mary, chap
and St. James, and of the order of the Benedictines. It was richly endowed with ^^'"
lands and churches, of which Walden was one ; and appears to have continued to
flourish, until the suppression, in the reign of Henry the eighth. It was valued
(according to Speed) at four hundred and six pounds, fifteen shillings and eleven
pence, and was granted, in 1538, to sir Thomas Audley, who was, at that time, a great
favourite with the king. He was born at Earl's Colne, in this county, in 1488, was
bred to the law, and in 1526, was appointed autumn reader in the Inner Temple.
Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, to whom he was chancellor, recommending him to
the king, he was chosen speaker of the house of commons, styled afterwards "the long"
or " the black parliament." In this service, he acquitted himself so much to the king's
satisfaction, that the next year he constituted him attorney of the dutchy of Lancaster,
serjeant-at-law, and king's serjeant.
Upon the surrender of the great seal by sir Thomas More, in 1532, the king deli- ~ —
vered it to Audley, with the title of lord keeper, and knighted him. The year after,
he was appointed lord chancellor, in which office he continued above twelve years.
Soon after he was made chancellor, the king gave him the priory of Christ church,
Aldgate, which he made his town residence. In 1538, he was created baron Audley
of Walden, and installed knight of the garter. In April, 1544, he resigned the office
of chancellor, owing to ill health; died the last day of that month, and was buried in
the chancel of the church.
By Elizabeth, his second lady, daughter of Thomas Grey, marquis of Dorset, he
had two daughters; Margaret, four years and a half old, at the time of his decease, and
Mary, a year younger. The latter died when about seven years of age, and Margaret
became sole heir to her father's estates. She married, first, lord Henry Dudley, a
younger son of John, duke of Northumberland, slain at the battle of St. Quintin's, in
Picardy, in 1557; and, secondly, Thomas Howard, fourth duke of Norfolk, and had
by him two sons, Thomas and William, and two daughters; Elizabeth, who died in
her infancy; and Margaret, married to Robert Sackville, earl of Dorset. Their
mother died the 10th of January, 1569.
The duke of Norfolk, having been declared guilty of high treason for his political
intrigues with Mary, queen of Scots, was beheaded on the 2d of June, 1572, and his
estates were forfeited to the crown. However, his son, Thomas Howard, was
restored in blood in 1584. He was one of those brave men who signalized them-
selves in the defeat of the Spanish armada in 1588; and, for his good services therein,
received, at sea, the honour of knighthood from the lord high admiral. He after-
wards distinguished himself in several other expeditions, and particularly as vice-
admiral, at the taking of Cadiz, in 1596, where he commanded the attack on the Spanish
ships in the harbour. The year following, he was summoned to parliament, by the
VOL. II. 2
110 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. title of baron Howard of Walden. In May, 1597, he was installed a knight of the
garter; and in 1603, created earl of Suffolk. In 1614, he was constituted lord high
treasurer of England, and held the office four years. He built the extensive and
magnificent mansion, which, in honour of his maternal grandfather, he called Audley
End. He died on the 28th of May, 1626, and was buried in the vault at Walden.
Theophilus, his eldest son and successor, was made a knight of the garter in 1628.
He died the 3d of June, 1640, was buried at Walden, and succeeded by James, his
son, who had been made knight of the bath at the coronation of Charles the first.
He had three wives : the first was Susan, daughter of Henry Rich, earl of Holland,
by whom he had an only daughter, Essex, married to Edward lord Griffin, of Dingley,
in Northamptonshire. By his second wife, Barbara, daughter of sir Edward Villiers,
he had one daughter, Elizabeth, married to Thomas Felton, esq. afterwards a baronet.
His third wife, Ann, eldest daughter of Robert Montagu, earl of Manchester, by
whom he had no issue, survived him many years. Leaving only two daughters, he
Avas succeeded by his third brother, George ; who, dying soon afterwards without
issue male, was succeeded by his brother Henry, at whose decease, in 1709, he had
for his successor his son Henry; who, in 1706, had been created baron of Chesterford,
and earl of Binden. In 1714, he was constituted lord lieutenant of Essex, and in
1718 departed this life, leaving his son, Charles William, for his successor; who, in
1719, was also appointed to the same lieutenancy. In 1721-2, he died, in the twenty-
ninth year of his age, without issue ; whereupon the title and estates reverted to his
uncle Edward, second son of Henry, the fifth earl. He died the 22d of June, 1731,
in the sixtieth year of his age, unmarried; and was succeeded by his brother Charles;
who, dying two years afterwards, left an only son, Henry : he also died the 22d of
April, 1745, intestate, and without issue, in the thirty-ninth year of his age ; where-
upon the earldom devolved on Henry Bowes Howard, a descendant from Thomas
Howard, earl of Berkshire, second son of Thomas, the first earl of Suffolk above-
mentioned.
But, in pursuance of a settlement made in 1687, by James, the third earl, in favour
of his daughters, failing the issue male of his father, the estates were claimed and
obtained under a decree of chancery, by the representatives of those daughters,
Elizabeth, countess of Portsmouth, and Anne, her sister, married to William Whit-
well, esq., of Oundle, in Northamptonshire, as co-heirs of lady Essex Howard, wife
of lord Griffin, and George William, lord Hervey, afterwards earl of Bristol, grand-
son to lady Elizabeth Felton. Nevertheless, the house and park, which had been sold
by earl James to Charles the second, previously to the date of the settlement, though
returned to the family by king William, was excepted from its operation, and adjudged
to the earl of Effingham, as heir-at-law to Henry, earl of Suffolk, before mentioned ;
and purchased from lord Effingham by lady Portsmouth. At her decease in 1762,
f^
e >
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. Ill
she bequeathed her landed property to the son of her sister, John Griffin Whitwell, CHAP,
an officer in the army, who assumed the surname of Griffin, in pursuance of his aunt's '
will. Colonel Griffin, on his return from the campaigns in Germany, during which
he had served with distinction, was invested with the order of the Bath, and progres-
sively rose to the rank of Field Marshal. After having been frequently chosen to
serve in parliament for Andover, he, in 1784, established his claim to the ancient
barony of Howard de Walden, derived, through his maternal ancestor, lady Essex
Howard, and took his seat in the house of Lords. In 1788, he was created baron
Braybrooke, of Braybrooke, in Northamptonshire, with remainder to Richard Aid-
worth Neville, esq. of Billingbear, to whom, as his nearest relation, he left the Audley
End estates, at his death in 1797, at which period he was colonel of the 4th Dragoons,
and lord lieutenant of Essex. Lord Braybrooke died in February 1825, leaving two
sons; Richard, then member of parliament for Berkshire, the present lord; and
George, in holy orders, master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, who assumed the
name of Grenville, pursuant to the will of his cousin, James lord Glastonbury.*
The residence of this noble family, known by the name of Audley End, was built Audley
by Thomas, the first earl of Suffolk, already mentioned. It was commenced in 1603,
and finished in 1616, and is situated in a finely-wooded park, about one mile west of
Saffron Walden. The present mansion, although a large and beautiful structure,
comprises but a small part of the original building, which, if not superior, was deemed
equal to the palaces at Hampton Court, Nonsuch, and Richmond. The model was
brought from Italy, and is said to have cost five hundred pounds. The whole expense
of the building has been estimated at two hundred thousand pounds: the style of its
architecture is chiefly Elizabethan.
When first completed, it consisted of various ranges of buildings, surrounding two
quadrangular courts : that to the west was very spacious, and was approached through
a grand entrance gateway, between four round towers. The corridors, on the north
and south sides, were supported by columns of alabaster. Within there was a smaller
court, three sides of which remain, and form the present mansion. Many parts were
taken down at different times, including the gallery, two hundred and twenty-six feet
in length, thirty-two feet wide, and twenty-four high, which was removed by the
countess of Portsmouth in 1749. Two uniformly projecting porches ornament the
western front of the present mansion, each having seventeen marble columns at the
angles; some of them white, with black bases and capitals; the others of a dark veined
* Arms of Braybrooke : First and fourth ; sable, a griffin segreant argent, beaked and langued or, for
Griffin: second and third; quarterly gules, a saltier argent, charged with the rose of Lancaster : Fretty
often pieces, or and gules, in a canton per pale, or and ermine, a ship of three tops, sable, for Neville-
Crests : a talbot's head erased, sable, for Griffin, issuing from a ducal coronet or, a bull's head, pied, proper
attired, of the first, charged on the neck with the rose of Lancaster. Supporters : Two lions regardant
argent, maned and tufted sable, accolled with an olive branch proper. Motto : Ne vile velis.
112
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. niarble, with white bases and capitals. The ballustrade of these and of the house is per-
forated, and variously ornamented; and the summit is adorned with turrets and clustered
chimneys. The windows are large and square headed, with numerous stone mullions,
and several of them project from the rooms. No expense was spared by lord Howard
to render the interior of the mansion, which he found in a very dilapidated state, com-
modious and handsome; and his example has been followed by his successors, who have
scarcely suffered a year to pass away without making- some alteration. The hall,
which retains its ancient character, may be considered as an interesting- specimen of
the age to which it belongs, and the carved screen at the north end is well worthy of
notice. The saloon, which is approached from the hall by folding doors, at the top
of a double flight of stone steps, is spacious and lofty, and has a ceiling of stucco,
ornamented with pendantives. The frieze, cornice, and pilasters, are richly carved
and gilded, and the Suffolk arms are emblazoned on the mantle-piece of the chimney.
The room also contains portraits of many of the distinguished personages connected
with the history of the place, let into pannels, on one of which is the following
inscription : —
Inscrip-
tion.
" Henry 8. A. D. 1539, granted the monastery of Walden, on the site of which this house now stands,
to lord chancellor Audley. Elizabeth, A. D. 1597, by special writ, summoned to parliament Thomas
lord Howard de Walden, in the next reign created earl of Suffolk. He built this house A.D. 1616. After
many reductions, it descended, A.D. 1762, to sir John Griffin Gritfin, K.13., confirmed lord Howard de
Walden, Geo. HI., A.D. 1784. He, among other additions and alterations, refitted (the ceiling excepted)
this saloon, to commemorate the noble families, through whom, with gratitude, he holds these possessions."
In the drawing-room adjoining, on the south side, are some good pictures of the
Italian and Flemish schools; and the library, at the extremity of the wing, which
has been recently completed in a style to accord with the other apartments on the
same floor, contains a good collection of books, principally acquired since the
death of lord Howard. The chapel at the north-west end of the building was fitted
up about the year 1771, under the direction of Hobcraft, and has since remained
unaltered. The ceiling of the family seat is decorated with the arms of Audley and
Howard, and their numerous quarterings. The windows of stained glass were
executed by Picket, of York, from designs by Rebecca. The state apartments and
summer dining-room are on the ground-floor, and the house contains numerous por-
traits of members of the different families to whom its possessors have been allied.
Contiguous to the house is a flower-garden, recently laid out, and the park and
grounds are pleasantly diversified with hill and dale. Through this delightful spot
there are two public walks, one leading towards Littlebury, and the other towards
Audley End. The latter, in the direction of which there has been a slight alteration
within the last two years, by bringing the southern entrance nearer to the town, is so
constructed as to form a private carriage-way, as well as a foot-path for the public.
I
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 113
The ancient building of brick, at the southern extremity of the village of Audley chap.
End, probably used as an almshouse or hospital in the time of the monastery, is not '
devoid of interest to the antiquary. It consists of two courts, one of which was long-
since converted into a farm house : the other is occupied by poor persons, selected by
the owners of Audley End, to whom the property devolved with the rest of the
demesne. There is, however, no tradition of any charitable endowment connected
with the buildings; but the dwellings are neat and comfortable, and afford a desirable
asylum to those who are permitted to reside there. The chapel, now used as a barn,
between the two courts, is in a ruinous state; and, with the exception of an iron cross
still surmounting one of the gables, no traces of its original destination are observable.
Returning to Walden, from the village of Audley End, the first building which Chuich.
arrests the attention, as most deserving of notice, is the church, an edifice which must
be admitted by every one to be the chief architectural ornament of the town. On
the site of the present beautiful fabric, an old church is said to have formerly
stood, the revenues of which were connected with the abbey, to which the church of
Walden, together with those of Arksden, Great Chiswell, Elsenham, and many others,
were attached. The present is a comparatively modern building, chiefly erected in the
reign of Henry the seventh, and about the close of the fifteenth century.
A vicarage was instituted here by Reginald the first abbot, who came in about 1174.
Near two hundred years after, the abbey wanting money to repair the damages sus-
tained by a great wind, the monks prevailed with the bishop of London to appoint a
commission for re-uniting the vicar's portion to their revenue, they providing a secular
priest. This was so settled : but, about 1435, a vicarage was again appointed, to be
in the gift of the convent, and an agreement was made between the abbot and the
vicar, specifying what his tythes should be. Upon the dissolution, the patronage was
placed in the hands of lord Audley, and has since continued in those of his descendants.
The present structure is justly considered one of the most stately and beautiful
parish churches in the kingdom. Its appearance, whichever way you enter the town,
is imposing and magnificent; nor does it lose any thing of its architectural beauty and
grandeur by a nearer approach. The western end is remarkably fine, and has been
lately improved by the erection of a spire, from a design by Messrs. Rickman and
Hutchinson, at an expense of between three and four thousand pounds.* The work
is admirably executed, and cannot fail to excite the commendation of every beholder.
The interior of the church is very neat and well arranged: the windows are ornamented
with mullions and tracery, between several of which are niches, probably intended
for the statues or effigies of saints. The roofs of the nave, chancel, and side aisles are
of timber, elegantly painted ; and the spandrels between the arches, which support the
centre, are well carved in stone. Over the south porch is a council chamber, in which
* This sum was to be raised from the church rates by a vote of the parishioners in 1831.
114 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. the corporation annually meet to choose the mayor. Not far from this is a strong and
spacious vault, of curious workmanship, supposed to have been co-eval with the
church ; but there does not appear to have been any family deposited therein. It has,
therefore, for many years, been converted into a charnel-house. The eastern end,
and part of the south aisle of the chancel, were built by lord Audley; the north part
of the chancel by the inhabitants, assisted greatly by John Leche, vicar of the parish
from 1489, till his death in 1521. At the altar is a painting, copied by Peters, from
Correggio's Holy Family, said to have cost five hundred guineas, which is surmounted
by a dove in stained glass.
The burying place of the Howard family is under the communion table. The vault
was originally approached by steps from the chancel; but the present entrance is on the
outside, through the porch, which projects at the eastern end of the church. On the
left side are I'anged the coffins of the six last earls of Suffolk,* who possessed Audley
End; and, on the right side, those of lord Howard de Walden and his two wives.
Several plates are affixed to the walls, taken off the coffins of older members of the
family, when their remains were lowered into a vault, beneath the pavement of the
present one, to make room for their descendants.
On entering the church, one of the first impressions made upon the mind is con-
nected with its lightness, neatness, and accommodation. It was completely repaired
about forty years ago, at an expense of little less than eight thousand pounds. To
this the late lord Howard contributed very munificently, and erected, for the use of
himself and family, a handsome pew gallery, between the nave and the chancel. An
account of this general repair of the church is recorded by the following inscription
over the southern door: —
Inscrip- " Deo optimo inaximo auspice templuiu hoc sacro-sanctum vetustate pene prolapsum lestituerunt
^^on. Johannes Griffin, Dominus Howard de Walden, et Dominus Braybrooke de Braybrooke, patronus et
paraciani, A D. 1791, 1792, 1793.
Translation :
" Under the propitious eye of God, most mighty and most blessed, this church, consecrated to his
holy service, and almost fallen into decay by age, John Griffin, lord Howard de Walden, and lord Bray-
brooke de Braybrooke, the patron, together with the parishioners, restored, in the years of our Lord 1791 ,
1792, 1793."
So fresh does the work appear, that few persons would suppose so many years can
have rolled away since the restoration and the improvements, to which this inscrip-
tion refers.
There are, however, several other alterations of a more recent date. Many seats
have been erected for the convenience of the congregation, and a fine-toned organ,
with a handsome gallery to receive it, has been built at the west end of the church, at
* For their history, see pages 110, 111.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD.
115
the expense of many hundred pounds. This excellent instrument of sacred music
was opened for public worship, January 7th, 1824.
To enumerate at large the various monumental inscriptions in this church, would
much exceed the limits of a general history. There are, however, two, which, from
their antiquity and curiosity, as well as from the relation they bear to the history of
the church itself, it would be improper to omit. Of these, one of the most singular,
and which affords something like a specimen of the poetical genius of the times, is that
of lord Audley. His tomb, of touch marble, which is in the south chancel, has the
following inscription : —
CHAP.
VII.
" The stroke of deathes inevitable dart ; hath
Now, alas ! of lyfe beraft the hart ; of syr
Thomas Audeley of the garter knight ; late
Chancellour of Englond under our prince of
Might; Henry the eight wurthy high renoun; and Inscrip-
Made by him lord Audley of thys town ; obiit
Ultimo die Aprilis anno Domini 1544, regni regis
Henrici8.36. Cancellariatus sui 13,et sujE3etatis56."
In the north chancel is an altar tomb of John Leche, to whom allusion has been
already made. In addition to the vicarage, which he held at Walden, he was also a
member, as was likewise his sister, dame Bradbury, of " the gilde or fraternity of the
Holy Trinity," established by letters patent from king Henry the eighth, dated at
Westminster, the 24th of March. Leche was distinguished for his piety, benevolence,
and magnificence ; as appears, among other circumstances, from the following epitaph,
engraven on a tillet of brass, running round the altar tombstone which covers his
remains : —
'* Quo non est, nee erit, nee clarior exstitit ullus
Unctorum clausum hoc marraore pulvis habet.
Huic Leche nomen erat, divinae legis amator,
Hujus quem templi curam habuisse palam est.
Iste huic multa dabat sacro donaria fano,
Inceptique operis sedulus auctor erat.
Pauperibus fuit inde pius, pavit miserosque,
Et me, qui temere haec carmina composui.
Hujus sit ergo aniniae coelum jam munus ut altum,
Hue qui ades instanti pectore funde preces.
Spes mea in Deo est."
Translation :
" Enclosed within this altar tomb, the dust contains a man, than whom no saint is now, or was, or will
be more renowned. His name was Leche, — a lover of the law of God, — and who, it is manifest, had the
cure of this church. Many benefactions did he confer on this sacred place ; and was the diligent and per-
severing promoter of the building from its commencement. To the poor he was beneficent ; the wretched
he kindly relieved ; and me, among the number, who have ventured to compose this tribute to his memory.
That heaven above may, therefore, be the reward of his soul, do you who are present with a fervent heart
pour forth your prayers. My hope is in God."
On the north side of the church is an elevated seat for the children of the charity
school, against which the following list of benefactors is inscribed : —
" Mr. Thomas Penning, merchant, gave by his will five hundred pounds, in 1718. —
116 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. Ann, countess dowager of SufFolk, by her will, fifty pounds, in 1720.— Charles Wale,
by his will, a rent charge of five pounds a year for ever, in 1722. — Rebecca Dent, by
her will, one hundred pounds, in 1722.— Dame Elizabeth Osborne, by her will, in
1733, gave the sum of two hundred pounds, to be laid out in the purchase of lands."
As it regards the dimensions of the building, suffice it to say, that its entire length,
including the porch at the eastern end, is two hundred feet; its breadth eighty-two.
The height of the tower is eighty-five feet, that of the spire one hundred and eight,
making a total, from the ground to the top, of one hundred and ninety-three feet; but,
on account of the hill, on which it stands, presenting an elevation of little less than two
hundred and fifty feet from the lower parts of the town. The tower contains a peal
of eioht bells. The rev. Nicholas Bull was inducted to the vicarage in 1803, and is
the present incumbent.
Dissent- The dissenters, who are very numerous in this town, have six places of worship; of
o°Vor-'^^* which that devoted to the society of Friends, appears to have been the earliest.
^^'P" Although the meeting-house was not opened until 1676, yet, for many years before,
meetings were held by them in the town. There is a regular register of births from
1639, and of bui-ials from 1657.
The congregation of Lidependents, in the Abbey-lane, had its origin in 1665. On
the 24th of August, 1662, came into operation the " Act of Uniformity," by which two
thousand of the clergy were led to relinquish their benefices. Among these was the
rev. Jonathan Paine, incumbent of St. Michael's, Bishops Stortford, who was an
active and devoted minister of the gospel. He preached at that place, till compelled
to relinquish his engagements by the five-mile act, in 1665. He then visited the
neighbouring town of Saffron Walden, and had a congregation, which, under the
shelter of the proclamation, made by Charles the second, March 15th, 1672, formed
themselves into a regular worshipping assembly. Some of his hearers were the im-
mediate descendants of the congregation gathered together by the successful labours of
John Bradford, the martyr, who was for some time a preacher in the parish church.
In 1692, the site of the present place of worship was purchased, and the rev. William
Payne, M. A., was the first minister. He was followed by the rev. Thomas Harris,
the rev. S. Hayward, author of many celebrated theological works, the rev. James
Sutherland, M. A., and other ministers in succession. In 1811, the old place of wor-
ship was taken down, and the present building erected. The rev. William Clayton,
who was at that time minister of the congregation, continued to occupy it till April,
1831, when he resigned his pastoral charge, and is succeeded by the rev. Luke Forster,
Avhose acceptance of the office was publicly recognised, December 5, 1832.
A separation from the congregation, then assembling in the Abbey-lane, took place
in 1774, when a large proportion of the people came away with the rev. Joseph
Gwennap, and buijt the Baptist chapel, at the entrance of the toAvn. Mr. Gwennap
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 117
left Walden in 1783, and was succeeded by the rev. Matthew Walker, in 1786. He chap.
resigned the station in 1809, and was followed by the rev. Josiah Wilkinson, who was .
ordained October 18th, in the same year, and is still minister of the congregation.
In 1711, a society of dissenters, distinguished by the name of general Baptists, was
formed, which has continued to the present time. One of the first ministers was the
rev. Joseph Eedes, who presided over it from 1729 to 1769. He was succeeded by
the rev. Thomas Barom; who, having two other congregations to serve, one at
Melbourne and the other at Foulbourne, was assisted by Mr. Christopher Payn.
Mr. Barom resigned about the year 1790, and was followed by the rev. Stephen
Philpot, who died in 1821.
In 1819, a secession took place from different congregations in the town, owing to
a difference of opinion on certain points of doctrine. After meeting in an apartment
in tlie High Street for nearly three years, the present place was erected, at the ex-
tremity of the town, on the London road, and opened for worship in 1822. The rev.
John Dane Player is minister.
The last place built for public worship is Wesleyan. It was opened in 1824.
There are but few towns in the kingdom which, considering its population, present
on the Sabbath a more interesting spectacle than Walden. Perhaps in no one is that
sacred day more carefully and religiously observed than here. To this cause, aided
no doubt by the care which is taken of the instruction of the young, and the vigilance
of the magistracy, may be traced the order, by Avhich, generally speaking, the town
has been distinguished.
There is certainly very considerable attention paid here to the welfare of the rising National
generation. Beside those places of instruction which are intended for other classes schoolsr
of society, there are two schools upon the 7iational system, in which about two
hundred and sixty children of both sexes receive daily education. More than
three hundred others are connected with the Sabbath schools among the Dis-
senters, beside those who attend the church school only on the Sabbath, or receive
gratuitous education among the Dissenters during the week. There is in addi-
tion a blue-coat school, under the direction of the mayor and aldermen, in
which about twenty-four children are clothed and educated for three years. There
is also a grammar-school, which, from its antiquity, its endowments, and other
circumstances connected with its history, demands particular attention. It is
said to owe its foundation to " the good intente, mynde, and godlie purpose"
of the rev. John Leche, which was partly effected during his life-time, and fully
accomplished after his decease by his sister and heir, dame Johane Bradbury, of
London, widow.
It appears by an indenture tripartite, now preserved in the council chamber at
Walden, « made the 18th day of May, 1525, and in the seventeenth year of Henry
VOL. II. R
118
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. the eighth, between dame Johane Bradbury on the oon partie, and the treasorer and
chambrelyns of the fraternity or gilde of the Holy Trinite, in the parish churche of
Walden, on the seconde partie, and the abbot and covent of the monastery of the same
town on the thred partie," that a house and school-room were built by the " said dame
Johane and master Leche, opposite the lane called the Vicar's-lane, in the town of
Walden." And further, that dame Bradbury thereby granted a rent-charge of twelve
pounds per annum, out of the manor of " Willynghall Spayne," in the county of
Essex, to the gilde of Walden, for the support of " a priest to say mass, and to teach
children grammar in the school, after the order and use of Winchester and Eton."
He was to be chosen by the gilde, and examined by the abbot and vicar. After a
year's probation, he was to retain the situation for life, except in case of delinquency,
or being promoted to any "benefice, with or without cure of souls." In case of
infirmity, he was to provide an usher at his own charge. He was to reside in the
school-house, and was not to be absent above twenty days in the year, and that by
special licence of the vicar.
The first master of the school was William Dawson, clerk. He afterwards became
sir William Dawson, and further endowed the school with about five roods of
meadow ground, lying almost immediately behind the school premises.
The learned sir Thomas Smith, who was born at Walden, and was secretary to
Edward the sixth and queen Elizabeth, had his early education at this school. He
purchased the gild of Walden for five hundred and thirty-one pounds fourteen shillings
and eleven pence; and, through his interest at court, the school was raised to a royal
foundation. It was he that introduced the culture of saffron at Walden, from which
it has its present appellation. He was very partial to his native town, and thus de-
scribed it in his "de republica Anglorum;" "Walden vel Saffron Walden, a croco
dictum, oppidum in agro hlandissimo croco ridente, situm."
In 1593, Peter Manwood, esq. who had been also educated at this school, purchased
a piece of land, with a cottage upon it, of about three acres, called " the slade," situate
in the parish of Walden, near the road which leads from that place to Hadstock.
This is now let for ten pounds per annum.
Besides these endowments, there is some land at Tollesbury, in Essex, which pays
a fourth of its rent to the schoolmaster, so long as he remains unbeneficed. The whole
of the annual value of the school is about forty pounds, with a house, school-room,
and meadow. The management of the school is so far under the control of the mayor
and aldermen, that it is left to their discretion " to choose and nominate some fit man
to be master," according as " it shall be necessary." The school-room is used at
Charities P^'^sent for the instruction of boys on the national system.
and cha- fhe inhabitants of Walden possess no small share of charities and charitable insti-
ntable m- . *
stitutions- tutions. The almshouses are the first which deservedly claim our attention. The
1
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 119
present range of buildings, which is two hundred and sixty-two feet in length, is CHAP,
certainly one of the most imposing objects in the place. They were erected in a '
meadow, belonging to the old estate, at an expense of between four and five thousand
pounds, and entered upon in the spring of 1832. Provision is here made for thirty
persons who have paid to the parish rates, but who, either by age or misfortune, have
been reduced to the necessity of seeking such an asylum. The number is annually
filled up, as vacancies may occur, on the first Monday after Christmas.
Independent of two excellent rooms and a cellar, which are assigned to each person
elected to this charity, the present allowance is five shillings and six pence per week,
seven quarts of beer to a man, and half as much more if he has a wife living with him.
There is a fire constantly kept in the hall, for the general benefit of the occupiers, from
Michaelmas to old May-day, and occasional donations of wood and money are pre-
sented to them at different times in the year. Medical attendance and advice are also
furnished them, in case of sickness, free of all charge. Nor can any thing be more
convincing of the advantages and comforts of this pleasing retreat, than the earnest
manner in which it is sought for, when a vacancy occurs, and the gratitude and satis-
faction which are expressed by such as obtain admittance.
The present is, as we have observed, an erection of very recent date. The insti-
tution itself, however, has no small claim to antiquity. It appears to have been formed
in the year 1400. The following is a brief extract from a copy of the agreement, first
made and entered into at its establishment. " In the name of our Lord God Jhu,
Amen. Inasmuch as every good deed and work of charity ought and should be had
in perpetual mind, therefore, at this present time it is writt and set in memory, that in
the year of our Lord God 1400, the most worshipful men and parishioners of Walden,
by consent and help of all the commonalty of the aforesaid town, in the reverence of
God and of our lady, in help and subsidy of their souls, and of all their friends,
ordained and made a house of charity, in a street called Daniel' s-lane, &c." The form
of agreement here follows at length, from which it appears that the number of inmates
originally provided for was thirteen poor men. But, " if any poor strange sick man
or woman casually came" by the town, they were to " be received into the foresaid
house of alms, and there kept and relieved, until they were recovered and whole of
their sickness." The charity was supported by alms begged from the inhabitants, by
a person appointed to go round every week, if necessary, and make collections for
the purpose. A priest was also appointed to say mass, and the whole establishment
was formed upon the principles of the Romish church. Estates were soon left for its
support, and, within a hundred and fifty years after its formation, the far larger pro-
portion of the endowments which it now enjoys were in the hands of its managers.
But with other monastic establishments it appears to have fallen into the hands of the
crown, at the time of the suppression.
120 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. In the reign of Edward the sixth, it was re-granted and confirmed by charter, in
consequence of which it has been called " the almshouse of Edward the sixth." By
this name it is described in the charter granted by William and Mary, agreeably to
the provisions of which it is now governed. The election of members, and the general
management of the house, are at the direction of the mayor and aldermen for the time
being. Under their superintendence the present range of buildings was erected, and
the apartments in the old ones are let at a low rent to the deserving poor of the parish.
In addition to this charity, which appears to have been the first established in
Walden, a great number of legacies have been left at different times, of which the
following is a brief outline.
In 1481, a house and land were left by Geffrey Symond, alias Heyreman, at first
for superstitious uses; afterwards to the fraternity of our lady's gikle and their heirs,
and are now part of the almshouse estate. In 1676, Samuel Leader left a house to
maintain one poor person in the almshouse more than before. In 1612, William
Turner left five pounds a year, charged on lands, for the relief and cherishing of the
poor people in the almshouse, and five pounds a year for the poor of Walden for ever.
In the fifth year of his reign, Henry the eighth, in conjunction with Katherine Semar,
master Leche, and dame Jane Bradbury his sister, gave houses, lands, rent-charges, &c.
by letters patent, and by deeds or wills, for the support of the grammar-school. In
1623, Thomas Adams, esq. left copyhold lands at Tollesbury; one fourth to the
overseers, towards clothing the poor; one fourth to the master of the grammar-school,
having no cure or preferment; if otherwise, for further clothing; remaining two fourths
to apprentice out poor children. Elizabeth Erswell, in 1652, left houses and lands to
be paid to such poor men and women as the corporation should approve. William
Leader, in the reign of Charles the second, left a messuage and lands, to be given in bread
to the poor. For the same purpose, or money in lieu thereof, Anthony Pennystone, in
1659, left two hundred pounds, since laid out in lands, under the direction of the court
of chancery. In 1682, land was given by Matthew Bromfield, to clothe and put forth
children apprentices. Lettuce Martin, in the fifth of Elizabeth, left three pounds
six shillings and eight pence to the poor of Audley End and Walden, to be paid
annually out of lands. In 1692, land was left by Hayues Bailie, to apprentice one
child out of six parishes yearly, of which Walden is one. Jane Sparrow, widow, and
Joseph Sparrow, in 1705, left a house and barn, the rents to be distributed by the
corporation to poor inhabitants of honest life, overburdened with children, or meeting
with accidents in the world. In 1717, Thomas Penning, esq. bequeathed five hundred
pounds, laid out in the purchase of lands, by order of the court of chancery, toward
educating children in the charity-school. Charles Wale, esq. in 1719, for the same
purpose, left a rent-charge of five pounds yeai'ly. In 1733, dame Elizabeth Osborne
left two hundred pounds, to be laid out in lands, for the benefit and support of the
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 121
charity-school. James, earl of SuiFolk, in 1688, and Edmund Turner, esq. of Walden, CHAP,
in the same year, left upwards of two hundred and thirty pounds, since laid out in
lands, by order of the court of chancery, for the poor of Walden. In 1700, Edmund
Turner, of Audley End, left two hundred pounds to be laid out in lands, and the
rents to be divided : two thirds to Audley End, and one third to the poor of Walden.
Richard Reynolds, esq. in 1734, left a house for a workhouse, conveyed in con-
sideration of one hundred and forty pounds raised by the parishioners. In 1744,
Henry, earl of Suffolk, gave to tlie parish a piece of ground for a pest house, on which
it now stands. Sarah, viscountess of Suffolk, and also viscountess of Faulkland, in
1776, left six hundred pounds for the benefit of twenty poor men, and nineteen poor
women of Walden. In 1623, Thomas Turner left lands for five dozen loaves of bread
weekly to the poor ; twenty shillings as an increase of diet to the poor of the alms-
house yearly; twenty shillings for a sermon; one pound thirteen shillings and four-
pence to the ringers; and six and eight-pence to the parish clerk. A rent-charge of
five pounds a year was left by Matthew Rand, to the poor in Castle-street. A small
annual sum was left by Mrs. Hubbard, to be distributed to the poor in bread. Jeffrey
Symonds, alias Heyreman, left land, to repair a road at Sewer's End. And, by the
will of the late lord Howard, an annuity was left for clothing annually twelve poor
men, and twelve poor women, of the parish of Walden; and five of each sex of the
adjoining parish of Littlebury; to be chosen and nominated by the occupier of the
mansion-house at Audley End, with the advice of the respective vicars of the said
parishes.
Beside the charities, which are rendered permanent by legacies and annuities, there
are provisions for the comfort of the poor, derived from voluntary contributions.
For several years past, coals have been furnished them at reduced prices during the
winter. In 1831, a clothing society was established, the object of which was to
induce them to lay by a part of their earnings, which is paid into a bank, pro-
vided for the purpose, once a month, and is received by them in full, at the close
of the year, in the form of clothing. To encourage them in this act of economy, a
bonus is granted them equal to more than one fourth of the whole amount. In 1827,
a Ladies' Benevolent Society was formed, with the view of visiting the afflicted poor at
their own habitations, and rendering them such relief as their situation might seem to
require, and the state of the funds woidd allow. Each of these institutions has been
remarkably well conducted, has afforded relief to numerous families, and is yet in a
flourishing condition.
To these may be added the allotments of small portions of land to the labouring
classes belonging to the parish. The plan was commenced in 1830, in consequence of
the resolution of a vestry held December the 17th, 1829, at a period when the unem-
ployed population was unusually great. Through the zealous and active co-operation
122
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. of lord Braybrooke and other gentlemen, the proposal was acted upon without delay;
and, at this period, about thirty-five acres are so occupied, consisting, exclusive of the
road-ways, of one hundred and fifty-eight allotments, varying from twenty to eighty
rods. In these thirty-five acres, upwards of seven hundred individuals have an interest,
including the heads of families and their children. Nor does it appear, from subsequent
consideration, that any plan has been adopted in country towns and villages, which is
better, if equally adapted, to benefit the labourer, and attach him to the soil, from
which he is to derive support.
Of these institutions it is one important advantage that, as character is properly
regarded in those who make application for their benefit, they become, to no incon-
siderable extent, the giiardians of the public morals; at all events, they are a check
to that gross licentiousness which, in some places, is found to prevail to a disgraceful
excess.
Antiqui-
ties and
other cu-
riosities.
Of the antiquities of Walden, the castle is the first to attract the attention of the
tourist. It was built, as we have already observed, by Geoff'rey de Mandeville, in
the time of William the conqueror. But the documents which remain respecting it
are so few, and the history so scanty, that we have it not in our power to give an
accurate account of its original dimensions. Only a part of the keep and some of the
walls which belonged to the foundation, and formed the dungeon, are now standing.
Some of them are thirty feet out of the ground, which has been dug away round them,
and which has left them in the state in which they now appear. That it was a place
of great strength is evident, and that its extent was very considerable, may be inferred
from the remains of old walls, which have been found by workmen when digging for
the foundations of modern houses. It is probable that it bore a resemblance to other
castles of the same date, and that its original altitude was from fifty to eighty feet
greater than any of the earth Avorks which at present are standing. Were this not
the case, it would have been an exception to the castles of the same age, many of which
yet remain, and to the plan of building them, which was then so generally adopted.
The materials of which they were formed varied, according to the places of their
erection, and the form according to the choice of the architect. But the manner of
their construction, and the apartments of which they consisted, seem to have been pretty
uniform, and to have been used for similar purposes in every part of the kingdom.
The Pell, or Repel ditches, form the next subject for the researches of the anti-
quarian. They are the remains of an ancient encampment, of an oblong form, and
were originally of much greater extent than at present The south bank is about
seven hundred feet long, twenty high, fifty broad at the base, and six or eight feet wide
at the top. The west bank is five hundred and eighty-eight feet long. Both banks
and ditches are extremely bold and well preserved, but the time when they were first
formed is not certain. Near to them is a field, now in the occupation of Mr. Wyatt
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 123
George Gibson, in which were found, a short time since, the remains of a considerable CHAP
number of human bodies, evidently of those who had fallen in battle. Out of ten
holes which were dug promiscuously in different parts of the field, nine presented as
many bodies. In a trench, about one hundred and twenty feet long, were not fewer
than from fifty to seventy ; at the end of which, embedded in chalk, were the remains
of a man and a horse. From the teeth found in many of the heads which were taken
up and examined, and of which even the enamel was entire, they appeared to have
been between thirty and fifty years of age. On the breast of one was a buckle, said
to be Roman; and in the cavity, which contained the bones of the horse and man,
were a Roman tile, and a pot, which appeared to have been exposed to the tire. One
of the skulls had the evident marks of a cut from a battle axe, or other sharp weapon;
and the bodies, which are to be found in various parts of the field, are not two feet
from the surface. From these circumstances it is natural to conclude, that the persons
buried fell in battle, and not improbably the ditches just referred to were an embank-
ment, raised for defence at the time of this engagement.
In different parts of the parish have been found the tusks and teeth of elephants,
some of them embedded in gravel; some of them below the gravel, in a stratum of
black mould; and some in chalk; but most of them from ten to twelve feet below the
surface. Marine shells have likewise been discovered in a bed of blue clay.
To these natural curiosities may be added some of an artificial kind, which are not
undeserving of notice. In an old house in the town is a curious relic of old English
workmanship. It consists of a large oaken beam over the fire-place, eight feet six
inches in length, and one foot three inches in breadth, at the centre; beautifully carved
in relief, with the following devices. The figure of a ton is cut in a scroll, between
the syllables myd and dyl; and, being read after them, makes up the word Myddylton^
probably the name of the person who once possessed the building; and, upon the side
of the vessel is a single letter, seemingly an R. to denote his christian name; the date
of the year also in Arabic figures, which fix it at 1387, is placed at two transverse
angles of the same letter. All the letters, figures, and the bolt of the ton, are formed
of the twigs of vines stripped of their leaves.
Over the fire-place in the hall of the old almshouse was a curious plate, with an
inscription in old English characters; which, although it does not mentionthe year, is
sufficiently indicative of the time when it was engraven. The following is a full
length copy, only in a different letter.
" Orate pro anima magistrl Thomae Bryd, nuper rectoris ecclesiae parochialis de Munden Magna, ac
aniinabus Thomae Bryd, ct Agnetis uxoris suae parentiiin ejusdcni magistri Thomae, quibiis ex bonis hoc
caminum aedificatum est necnon animabus Johannis Bryd, fratris sui et Johannae uxoris suae, ac omnium
fidelium Domini defunctorum quorum animabus propitietur Deus. Amen."
124
BOOK 11.
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Translation :
Altera-
tions and
improve-
ments.
" Pray for the soul of master Thomas Bryd, late rector of the parish church of Great Munden, and
for the souls of Thomas Bryd, and Agnes his wife, parents of the said master Thomas, from whose goods
this hearth (or chimney) was erected ; also for the souls of John Bryd his brother, and Johan his wife,
and of all the faithful of the Lord who have departed this life, to whose souls may God be propitious. Amen."
On the green behind the castle, Dr. Stukeley mentions a singular work called the
maze, which he supposes to have been a British ciirsus, a place of exercise for the
soldiery. He describes it as formed by a number of concentric circles, with four
outworks issuing from the sides, all cut in the chalk. It is probable he refers to a
spot on the common known now by the same name, and which was re-cut some years
since, and turfed with grass, under the direction of Mr. Robinson, whose house was
immediately behind it. Although much worn away, the traces of it are still very
apparent, but the original design and use of it are, after all, uncertain.*
Beside the church and the almshouses, to which allusion has been made already,
there have been, within the last twenty years, alterations and improvements in the
town, which, while they add to the respectability of its appearance, contribute in no
small degree to the comfort of its inhabitants.
One of the first of these was set on foot by Mr. Robert Paul, who, having purchased
a building which greatly obstructed the entrance to the market-place on the southern
side, offered it to the parish for one hundred and ninety pounds, which sum was
collected by voluntary contributions. The building alluded to was opposite the White
Horse, and extended twenty-seven feet across the road. This was removed, and, in-
stead of an entrance eighteen feet wide, is now presented an openiug of forty-five feet.
* Mazy earth works, resembling that mentioned above, are found in different parts of England and
Wales. In Cambridgeshire we find them at Comberton and Hilton, and there are several in Dorsetshire
and Lincolnshire. In some places they go by the name of Troy-Towns, and in others by that of Julian's
Bower. Dr. Stukeley (Itin. Curios.) imagines them to have been introduced by the Romans, and would
have us believe that they were intended for practising the game called by the Romans Troja Ludiis, the
origin of which is described in the iEneid, (lib. v.) Stukeley's arguments, however, are only the sem-
blance between the names of Troy Town and Troja Ludus, and between Julian'' s Bower and lulus ; and
when we consider the nature of the Troja Ludus and the appearance of these earth works, his hypothesis
appears at least exceedingly improbable. In some parts of England, more particularly towards Wales,
Troy Town is a name sometimes given to the figure of a labyrinth among the lower orders. In Wales, these
earth works are called Caer Troi, and as troi signifies in Welsh to turn or tvind about, it would seem that
it should rather be interpreted the winding banks, than supposed to have any allusion to Troy. It may
be observed that the word bower, when found in names of places like these, seems to be a corruption of
the Saxon word Bup^, which is applied either to a town or to a work made with ramparts of earth.
At the maze (called there mazles) at Comberton, in Cambridgeshire, it has been a custom, from time
immemorial, among the villagers, to hold a feast every three years about the time of Easter. It would
seem most probable that such works originally served for some religious ceremony among the Britons, to
whom they are generally attributed, as among all the ancient systems the labyrinth was a sacred symbol. —
See Ilutchin's History of Dorset, \o\. i. p. 100, 101, for descriptions, with engravings, of mazes in Dorset.— Ed.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 125
In 1818, the old market-cross, the removal of which had been long considered a ^ H a p.
VII.
desideratum, was taken down. The gaol was also removed from the market-place,
and a house of correction built at the upper part of the town, together with a small
hospital for the reception of invalids. The expense of this alteration exceeded four
hundred pounds, more than three hundred and thirty of which were voluntary con-
tributions. The market-place is now one of the most open and airy of any in the county.
In 1831, was opened a new market for cattle, on the site of premises lately used
as a public-house, and known by the sign of the " eight bells." It is entered by a
handsome archway, and is bounded on the road-side by iron pallisades. The expense
of this was upwards of twelve hundred pounds, raised also by subscriptions.
Within the last two years a bridge has been built over the Slade, and a good road
made for both foot passengers and carriages, towards either Linton or Ashdon.
The hills leading to Cambridge and Newport have been greatly improved by being
lowered, and rendered in every respect more commodious both for the ascent and
descent of carriages. Footpaths, on different roads near the town, have been made or
improved, by which pleasant promenades have been furnished to the inhabitants,
especially towards Littlebury and Audley End.
In addition to horticultural and other societies, an institution has lately been formed,
the design of which is more particularly to encourage the cultivation of literature and
science, by the name of the Saffron Walden Institution. A small museum has been
already collected, to which additions are constantly made; and lectures are to be
delivered as often as practicable, for the benefit of the public. It is proposed also to
erect a commodious building in the vicinity of the castle, in which meetings may be
held, and accommodation afforded to societies, which either are or may be estab-
lished in the town. Under the Reform Act, it has been made one of the polling
places for the northern division of the county, embracing fifty-four parishes.
There is a good supply of every necessary comfort of life, at all times during the Market;,
week. A regular market, however, is kept every Saturday, which is well attended
by the inhabitants of the neighbouring towns and villages, and particularly by dealers
in corn and cattle. There are also two fairs; one on the Saturday before Midlent
Sunday, and the Monday following; and the other on the first and second days in
November, unless either of them should fall on the Sabbath; in which case it is kept
on the day following. An annual fair has also been kept at Audley End, on the fifth
and sixth days of August, with the same exception, which is now removed to Walden.
It only remains to treat of the manner in which the town is governed, and the Govern-
several changes which it has undergone. In the reign of Henry the eighth, it was a the town
Guild or Fraternity of the Holy Trinity. In a grant made to it by that king, it is
stated that, as he hoped " he might evermore be remembered in their perpetual
prayers, so he charitably desired that he might be admitted a brother thereof, and
VOL. II. s
126 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. his dear wife, queen Katherine, a sister."* This was afterwards dissolved, and, at
the intercession of John Smith, esq. and under the influence of his brother, sir
Thomas Smith, then secretary to Edward the sixth, a charter was granted by that
monarch, rendering Walden a corporate town. By this charter the corporation was
to consist of a treasurer, two chamberlains, who were justices of the peace, and
twenty-four aldermen. In the reign of James, the town was again incorporated by
his letters patent, " both burghers and inhabitants, (in room of the late treasurer,
chamberlains, and commonalty,) by the name of mayor and aldermen," and divers
liberties, franchises, and other privileges were granted to the same.
The charter, however, under which the town is now governed, was granted in the
reign of William and Mary, by which it is appointed that there shall be " one honest
and discreet man, who shall be, and shall be called, the mayor of the town aforesaid;
and one man, who shall be, and shall be called, the recorder of the town aforesaid;
and twelve honest and discreet men, besides the mayor of the town for the time being,
who shall be, and shall be called, the aldermen of the town aforesaid; and one honest
and discreet man, who shall be, and shall be called, the town-clerk of the town afore-
said; also one honest and discreet man, who shall be, and shall be called, the coroner
of the town aforesaid ; to do and execute all and singular the things, which do there
belong or appertain to the ofl&ce of a coroner of the town aforesaid." The recorder,
the deputy-recorder, the mayor, the ex-mayor, and the two senior aldermen, are
justices of the peace; and the mayor is to continue in office one whole year, or until
the appointment of one of the aldermen to occupy his place. This appointment is
required to be made on the feast of St. Michael, from year to year.
The gentlemen who at present act under this charter are the following : —
The right hon. lord Braybrooke, recorder; Vicesimus Knox, esq. deputy-recorder;
Charles Barnes Wilkins, esq. mayor. Aldermen: William Mapletoft, esq.; Thomas
Smith, esq.; Charles Fiske, esq.; Samuel Fiske, esq.; John Archer, esq.; Thomas
Archer Catlin, esq.; Nathaniel Catlin, esq.; Stephen Robinson, esq.; Charles T.
Master, esq.; Henry Burrows, esq.; C. T. Master, town-clerk and coroner.
This extensive and improving parish is between twenty and thirty miles in cir-
cumference: in 1821, it contained four thousand one hundred and fifty-four, and, in
1831, as already stated, four thousand seven hundred and sixty-two inhabitants.f
* See Strype'3 life of sir Thomas Smith, in 1698.
f The preceding interesting and very complete history of Audley End, and of Saffron Walden, is from
the pen of the rev. J. Wilkinson, of that town, who has kindly contributed it to this work.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 127
CHAP.
VII.
GREAT CHESTERFORD.
The district extending north north-west from SaflPron Walden, and including Great Great
and Little Chesterford, appears to have been divided at an early period, and in the ford''.
most ancient records bears these distinctive appellations. The Saxon name, which
is written rrea;-tejij:ojib, is derived from Ereaj-tep, the Saxon form given to the
Roman word castrum, alluding to the camp there, and from a ford over the river,
which is supposed to have been there. The village* is pleasantly situated, with an
open prospect into Cambridgeshire : distant from Saffron Walden four, and from
London forty-five miles.
The lands of this north-western extremity of the county are included in the chalk
district, which extends beyond Walden in that direction; the general character, on
the hills, a thin dry turnip soil, on chalk; in the vales a good loam, on gravel.f
There were formerly very extensive uninclosed common lands here, but, in 1803, an
act of parliament was passed for the inclosure of three thousand five hundred acres;
and cottagers, who previously had cowgates on the commons, have now allotments
of land which they cultivate to the best advantage.
Earl Edgar had the lands of Great Chesterford toward the close of the Saxon era;
at the time of the survey they were among the possessions of the king, and afterwards
this lordship became the property of the family of Mareschal, earls of Pembroke, and Mareschai
was made to belong to the marshalship of England. William le Mareschal married ^°" ^'
Isabel, daughter and sole heiress of Richard Strongbow, and was, in her right, created
earl of Pembroke, in 1199: their five sons were W^illiam, Richard, Gilbert, Walter,
and Anselm, who each in succession enjoyed the family honours, and the office of
marshal of England, but all died without issue: Anselm, the last of them, died in
1245: there were also five daughters; Maud, married to Hugh Bigot, earl of Norfolk:
Joan, to Warine de Montchensy, lord of Swanescarap; Isabel, to Gilbert de Clare,
earl of Gloucester, and afterwards to Richard Plantagenet, earl of Cornwall; Sibil,
to William Ferrers, earl of Derby; and Eva, to William Brus, lord of Brecknock.
In 1225, on the decease of Anselm le Mareschal, earl of Pembroke, his large estate
* It was formerly a market-town, described as a " great towne and populous, having in it to the
number of five hundred houseling people, and more :" and being of the ancient demesne of the crown,
enjoyed numerous important privileges on that account; these may be seen in the charter of king Charles
the first, dated May the twenty-third, 16.34, and preserved in the church chest. Of these privileges,
the exemption from tolls at fairs, markets, bridges, &c. was of importance, when a great part of a lord's
revenue was from this source ; and the knights of the shires' wages were felt as an incumbrance of some
weight, when they were paid by the country, and these were among the exemptions. The ancient tenure
here is borough- English ; the youngest son or daughter, uncle or other kinsman, claiming tlie inheritance
of those wlio die intestate.
+ Average annual produce — wheat 18, barley 22 bushels.
128 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II, was divided among his five sisters, his co-heiresses; and to Maud, the eldest,
was apportioned eleven hundred and twenty pounds per annum, with the office and
rod of marshal of England, into which she was invested in 1246. This lady, after
the death of her first lord, was married to John de Warren, earl of Surrey. Her
three sons, by Hugh Bigot, were Roger, Hugh, Ralph; she had also one daughter,
and resigned the office to her eldest son, Roger Bigot, earl of Norfolk,* in
1247, one year previous to her decease. — The earl married Isabel, daughter of
William, king of Scotland, by his third queen, Ermengard de Beaumont, great
grand-daughter of king Henry the second, but died in 1269, without issue. He
held this manor of the honour of Strigul, to which also belonged the advowson
of the church: Roger, the son of his brother Hugh, was his successor, who,
though he had two wives, had no issue. He left all his estate to king Edward
the first, to whom he also resigned his office of marshal, receiving in return, besides
a sum of money to pay his debts, a pension for life:f he died in 1307, and, in 1312,
king Edward the second conferred this manor, and afterwards the marshalship, on
his brother, Thomas de Brotherton; who married first, Alice, daughter of sir
Edward Hayls, of Harwich; and, secondly, Mary, daughter of William lord Roos,
who survived him, but had no issue. By the lady Alice he had Margaret, first
married to John de Segrave, and afterwards to sir Walter de Manny, knight of the
garter: the lady Margaret, in 1398, was created duchess of Norfolk for life, but died
in the following year, having survived her second husband, who died in 1372. By
her first husband she had two daughters, Anne, abbess of Barking, and Elizabeth,
married to John de Mowbray, of Axholm, to whom she conveyed this and other large
estates. He was slain by the Turks, near Constantinople, in 1368, on his journey to
the Holy Land; of his two sons, John and Thomas, John, the eldest, was created earl of
Nottingham in 1377, at the coronation of king Richard the second; and, dying in 1382,
in the eighteenth year of his age, was succeeded by his brother Thomas, created earl
of Nottingham in 1382, and, in 1397, duke of Norfolk, and constituted earl marshal
of England, being the first instance of the conjunction of these titles, the term,
" grand, or lord marshal," having been previously used. This nobleman being a party
in the murder of the duke of Gloucester, on that account received great honours and
* It is recorded of this nobleman, that he joined with Humphrey Bohun, earl of Hereford, in the reso-
lution of refusing to go to the war in Gascony, unless accompanied by the king ; and that when urged by
his majesty to go without him, he answered, *' Sir, I am ready to attend your person in the front of the army,
as I am bound by hereditary right." To which the king answered, *' But you shall go with others, without
me." The earl replied, " lam not so bound, neither shall I go without you ;" the king swore, " By ,
sir earl, you shall go, or hang;" but the earl, with the same oath, answered, " Sir king, I will neither go
nor hang." And so departed, without leave.
t He had one thousand pounds to pay his debts and for present use, and one thousand pounds per
annum for life ; and to have his office and estate returned, if he should have children.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 129
riches from Richard the second : but for seditious or disloyal expressions, was banished CHAP,
for life, and died at Venice in 1400. By his first lady Elizabeth, daughter of John !_
le Strange, of Blackmere, he had no offspring: but marrying, secondly, Elizabeth,
sister and co-heiress of Thomas Fitz-Alan, earl of Arundel, widow of William, son
of William Montacute, earl of Salisbury, he had Thomas, John, Margaret, and
Isabel: after his decease, his lady was married to sir Robert Goushill, who dying, she
was again married to Gerard Ufilet, and held this manor as part of her dower, till
her decease in 1424. Her eldest son Thomas, earl marshal, married Constance,
only daughter of John Holland, duke of Exeter, but had no children. He was
beheaded in 1405, being accused of a conspiracy against king Henry the fourth.
His brother John, in 1413, was restored to the earldom of Nottingham, with the
office of earl marshal, and to the dukedom of Norfolk, in 1416: he died in 1432,
leaving, by his lady Katharine, daughter of Ralph Neville, earl of Westmoreland,
John, his son, the third duke of Norfolk ; who, by his lady Eleanor, only daughter of
William Bourchier, earl of Eu, had his son, John Mowbray, the last duke of Norfolk
of this family, who died in 1477, leaving an only daughter, named Anne, on which
this and his other estates went to his heirs-at-law, of the families of Howard and
Berkley; as descendants of Margaret, married to sir Robert Howard, ancestor of Berkley
I3.TIlllv
the noble family of that name, and of Isabel,* who, married to James lord Berkley,
had by him William and Maurice. On the partition of the Mowbray estates, this
manor, with the title of earl marshal, was the portion of William lord Berkley,
knighted in 1458, created, in 1481, viscount Berkley; in 1483, made earl of Not-
tingham, and, in 1485, constituted marshal of England, and also advanced to the title
of marquis of Berkley. He was three times married, but had only two children,
Thomas, and Catharine, who died in their infancy; and he consequently, in 1487,
devised the castle and manor of Berkley, with several other manors, to king
Henry the seventh ;■]■ by this arrangement his brother Maurice, who had (as has been
supposed) incurred his displeasure, by marrying Isabel, daughter of Philip Mead,
alderman of Bristol, (a person beneath his quality), was disinherited, and enjoyed
none of the family honours, yet recovered a great part of the estate, including this of
the Chesterfords.J The ancient manor-house was not far from the site of the pre-
sent mill.§
♦ She had been first married to sir Hent7 Ferrers, of Groby, and had by him only one daughter, named
Elizabeth.
t In return, the king authorised him to convey twenty-five of his other lordships to whom he pleased.
J See Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i.
§ This appears from the record. " Maud, lady marshalless of England, countess of Norfolk and Warren,
gave forty shillings yearly, issuing out of her mill at Chesterford, just by her court there, to the nuns of
St. George, at Thetford, to buy them clothes, half linen, half woollen." — T. Madox's History of the E.v-
chequer, p. 33, from Hit. Brev. Ric. ii. rot. xviii. 0.
130
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Holdens.
Church.
BOOK II. In 1502, Maurice Berkley and his wife Isabel, gave this manor to the abbey of St.
Peter, in Westminster, which grant was confirmed, in 1503, by khig Henry the
seventh, to John Islip, abbot, with leave to appropriate the rectory to himself and his
successors, on which a vicarage was ordained. On the dissolution, it was granted,
in 1540, by Henry the eighth, to lord chancellor Audley, whose only daughter
Margaret, married to Thomas, duke of Norfolk, succeeded to this estate; and from
her it has descended to the present owner, the marquis of Bristol.
There was formerly an old ruinous building called Holdens, which from family
writings appears to have been in the possession of Thomas Lambert, whose only
daughter and heiress, Anne, was married to John Baker, esq., servant to king Henry
the eighth; of seven sons, John Baker, the second, had this estate: he married Jane
daughter of Thomas Sherbroke of Yorkshire, and left Jane his only daughter, his
heiress, married to Robert Newport, of Chesterford, who on his decease left by her
six daughters.
The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a spacious and lofty building of stone, with
nave, north and south aisles, and chancel, the whole leaded, and in an excellent state
of repair : a square tower contains six bells ; above which there is an ornamental
lantern.
Chantry. On the south of the chancel there is a chapel, formerly "our lady's chantry,"
founded by William Holden and Katharine his wife ; and endowed with farms, lands,
and rents : he died in 1523.* There is a room on the northern side of the chancel,
for a free-school, endowed with land, by William Hart, esq., and under the manage-
ment of the master and fellows of Magdalene-college, Cambridge.
In 1719, the living of this church was augmented by the gift of 200/. from bishop
Robinson, to which was added the same sum, from queen Anne's bounty.
* There is tlie following inscription in the chapel : " Pray for the sowls of William Holden and Katheryn
his wife, founders of our Ladies chauntre, which William decessed 2 Dec. 1523." On the grant of this
chantry by Edward the sixth, the property belonging to it, and the state of the institution, are described as
" lands and tenements put in feoffment by William Holden, to find a priest for ever to sing masse in the
church of Chesterford, and help the cure; and one sir John Gust, clerk, of the age of fifty-eight year.s,
and of good usage and conversation, and teacheth a grajumar schoole, and hath to the nombre of twenty
schollers and more, ys now incumbent thereof."
Also the following : *' Here lieth the body of Susannah Richers, one of the daughters of sir John Payton,
of Doddington, in the isle of Ely, knt., relict of sir John Richers, of Tring Hall, in Norfolk, esq., she
died in 1706, in the 90th year of her age."
" Here lieth Mr. John Howard, seventh son of 'JTiomas lord Howard, baron of Walden, and knight of
the garter ; he lived twelve days, and died the 24th day of May."
Charities : in 1459, the rev. Richard Hill, rector of this parish, gave an estate, value nineteen pounds
per annum, the income to be distributed to the poor for ever, by the minister and twelve trustees. It is
applied to supplying any poor farmer in the parish with the amount of any horse, cow or other animal he
may have the misfortune to lose. Also, an annuity of twenty shillings was given to the poor out of an
estate in this parish.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 131
The village of Great Chesterford is, without doubt, the site of a Roman station. C H A F.
. . VII.
The Roman camp which might, some years ago, be completely traced, was of an '
oblong form, rounded at the corners. Stukeley, in his Itinerarium Curiosum, has ^^^^^
given a plan of it, as it might be traced in 1722. The then Crown Inn was opposite Chester-
the centre of the wall of the south-east end, and was separated from it by the road;
and the south-west side reached along the brow of the bank that rose up from the side
of the river Cam. The foundations of the walls, Stukeley says, " were very apparent,
quite round, though level with the ground, including a space of about fifty acres."
Great part of it served for a causeway to the road from Cambridge to London. " The
rest," he continues, "is made use of by the countrymen for their carriages to and fro
in the fields. The earth is still high on both sides of it. In one part they have been
long digging it up for materials in building and mending the roads. There I measured
its breadth twelve feet, and remarked its composition of rag-stone, flints, and Roman
brick. In a little cottage hard by, the parlour is paved with the bricks. They are
fourteen inches and a half long, and nine broad." At the north-west end, Stukeley
observed the foundations of a temple very apparent. It being almost harvest time,
" the poverty of the corn growing where the walls stood, defines it to such a nicety,
that I was able to measure it with exactness enough. The dimensions of the cell or
naos were fifteen feet in breadth, and forty in length; the pronaos, where the steps
were, appeared at both ends, and the wall of the portico around, whereon stood the
pillars."* He adds, that he had seen many Roman coins which were dug up " in the
city or borough-field as they call it."
Many coins, both of the early and of the later emperors, have been found here,t
but the most numerous are those of Caligula, Trajan, Constantine, and Constajitius.
There were also found a bronze bust, various fibulae, with brass and gold utensils and
instruments, as well as many urns and entire skeletons, " and a small urn also of red
earth, containing several written scrolls of parchment, but dispersed before any account
or explanation could be obtained. A stone trough, the only one of the kind perhaps
in England, discovered here, and sometime used for water at a smith's forge, was in
the hands of the late Dr. Gower, of Chelmsford, who supposed it to be a receptacle
of ashes, of the kind called by Montfaucon and others, Quietorium. It is a half octagon,
with a flat back, about three feet long, and about a foot or eighteen inches deep : in
four compartments are reliefs of human figures down to the waists, in tolerable pre-
* " I remarked," he adds, " that the city was just a thousand Roman feet in breadth, and that the
breadth to the length was as three to five, of the same proportion as they make their bricks. 'Tis posited
obliquely to the cardinal points, its length from north-west to south east, whereby wholesomeness is so
well provided for, according to the direction of Vitruvius." — Stukeley, Itin. Cur. p. 75,
t A pot, containing a large quantity of very fine coins, was found here in 1769.
132
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Cambo
licum
Iciani.
BOOK II. servation. That in the middle, which seems older than the others, has nothing in its
hands; that to the right holds a kind of patera, with a handle; one to the left, in a
palvdmnerdum, has a singular weapon, like a trident, with a bar across the top, or
perhaps a vexillum; the other, but half a figure, holds a spear."*
Stukeley and Baxter thought that Great Chesterford was the Camboricum of
Antoninus, but every circumstance that we know relating to Camboricum points so
strongly to Cambridge as the site of that important station, that the supposition of its
being at Chesterford must be abandoned. Horsley imagined it to be Iciani, which
was, perhaps, the more probable conjecture, yet it does not seem to answer well to
that station, which Re}Tiolds has placed at Thetford, in Norfolk. It seems most
probable, therefore, that the station at Chesterford is one of which the Roman name
has not come down to us, with Cambridge, perhaps one of the important posts on the
line of forts which stretched from this part through Cambridgeshire towards the fens.f
A smaller camp, distinct from the great station, may be traced near the church, and
several others have been noticed within a distance of a few miles.
In 1821, this parish contained seven hundred and fifty-five; and in 1831, eight
hundred and seventy-three inhabitants.
Little
Chester-
ford.
Manor.
LITTLE CHESTERFORD.
This small parish is separated from Littlebury by the river Granta, and extends
from Great Chesterford to Walden ; in length it is a mile and a half, and in breadth
a mile and a quarter: the 'village is small, and the houses of humble appearance, chiefly
occupied by those who are engaged in agricultural labour.
InJ;he time of Edward the confessor, this manor belonged to queen Edeva ; and at
the survey, was holden under Walter the deacon.
The manor-house is pleasantly situated on the highest part of the parish, with an
agreeable prospect. The estate belonged to Robert de Hastings, forming two of the
ten knights' fees of his barony ; his daughter and heiress Delicia, by marriage conveyed
it to Godfrey de Louvain. In 1302, Thomas de Bret held this manor under Matthew
de Lovain, by military service, as one knight's fee: and died here in 1345. Thomas
Hasilden, esq. had this possession in 1409, whose family were seated here till Frances,
* Gough^s Additions to the Britannia, vol. ii. p. 62. — Horsely has given a figure, wretchedly engraved, of
this relic, in his Britannia Romana. He saw it in a mill at Chesterford.
•f- Speaking of Vandlebury, or the entrenchment on the Gogmagog hills, Gough observes, — " Vandlebury
is the fourth of the chain of forts which begins at the large camp on the hill where the hunting tower
stood, opposite to Audley End. Littlebury church stands in another. The walled town at Chesterford
is a third. To Vandlebury succeeded Grantaceaster ; then Arbury ; and last, Belsars hills ; all within
sight of one another, reaching from the woodland of Essex to the fens, and crossed by several parallel
ditches, quite to the Devil's ditch."
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 133
only daughter and heiress of Francis Hasilden,* by marriage conveyed this estate to C H A p.
sir Robert Peyton, of Isleham, in Cambridgeshire. Sir Robert was at the siege of '
Boulogne with king Henry the eighth : with his lady Frances he had, besides this
estate, those of Steeple and Gilden Morden, in Cambridgeshire; he died in 1550, his
lady in 1580, and both were biu'ied at Isleham: their children were Robert Peyton,
esq. of Isleham, and William ; and Richard, of this place, who married Margaret,
daughter of sir Leonard Hyde, of Sandon, in Hertfordshire, who on sir Leonard's
decease was married to John Carey lord Hunsdon. The Peyton family sold this
manor to Thomas lord Audley, through whose posterity it descended to the marquis
of Bristol.
Manhall, formerly a manor, and comprising seventy acres of woodland, is situated Manhall.
at the southern extremity of the parish. In the time of Edward the confessor,
the lands which bore the name of Manhall were in the possession of Siward,
and of a freeman whose name does not appear ; at the survey, this estate belonged
partly to Alan, earl of Bretagne, and partly to Geofrey de Mandeville: it was after-
wards given to the abbey of St. Edmundsbury, by Stephen; and in 1257 it passed,
in exchange for other lands, from Symond, abbot of St. Edmundsbury, to Richard,
earl of Gloucester, who, in 1259, obtained leave to build a castle here. William de
Montchensy, on his decease, held this manor of the earl by the service of half a knight's
fee, and the yearly payment of twenty-four shillings to the bishop of Ely ; two shil-
lings to William Putyne; two shillings to the abbot of Walden; eight pence to Simon
Voygard ; and to the heirs of William de Butiler a pound of pepper : from the
Montchensy family it passed to that of Bourchier; and by marriage, to sir William
Parr, baron of Kendal, created earl of Essex and marquis of Northampton, who, in
1545, conveyed it to lord Audley, from whom it has descended to the marquis of
Bristol, with the farm called Little Chesterford Park, as well as the advowsons of Little
Cli tester-
Great and Little Chesterford, which livings were consolidated some time ago : the ford Park.
former is a vicarage, the latter a rectory. In both parishes, the great and small tithes
were commuted for land under the Act of Enclosure. The hon. and rev. Richard
Fitzgerald King is the present incumbent, having been nominated by the crown, upon
the vacancy occasioned by the elevation of archdeacon Blomfield to the see of Chester.
* Arms of Hasilden : Argent, a cross florie, sable. This family was originally of Cambridgeshire :
Richard, the son of Thomas Hasilden, had by his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Stephen Tuber-
vil, his son and heir John, who marrying the daughter and heiress of Henry Hampton, esq. of Hertford-
shire, had by her, besides other children, John, her heir, in 1452, high sheriff' of the counties of
Huntingdon and Cambridge ; and who held the manor of Little Chesterford of the duke of York, as of his
honour of Clare. He married Elizabeth, sister of John lord Tiptoft, daughter and heiress of * * * *
Dennys, by whom he had several children, of whom Katharine was married to James Uockwra : John,
his son and heir, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of sir John Cheney, had Frances his daughter and
heiress.
VOL. II. T
134
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Climch.
Mouu-
inent.
The church is a small ancient building-, dedicated to St. Mary ; it is entered by the
north porch under a Gothic arch, ornamented with sculptured heads ; many of the
windows are single lancet-shaped, one of which is at the west end; some of those on
the north and south are Gothic, of later origin. The chancel is entered under a
heavy wooden screen. An ancient tomb of fine marble in the chancel bears the effigy
of the person it commemorates, in a recumbent postm*e, his right arm upon a cushion;
and in his hand a veil, partly shading a death's head, with various appropriate orna-
ments, well executed : above these, the family arms are inclosed in a pediment, and
under them is the following inscription : —
" Here lies the body of James Walsingham, esq., who was son of Thomas Walsingham, esq., late of
Scadbury, in the county of Kent, (by the lady Anne Howard, daughter of Theophilus, earl of Suffolk), he
was lineally descended from sir Richard Walsingham, knt., who lived in the reign of king Henry the III.
He died October the * * * * aetatis suae 82. This monument was erected by his sister, the lady Elizabeth
Osborne."*
In 1821, this parish contained one hundred and ninety-two, and in 1831 two hun-
dred and eleven inliabitants.f
WIMBISH, WITH THUNDERSLEY.
Wimbish. The two parishes of Wimbish and Thundersley were united in the year 1425,
when the latter was made a hamlet to the former : by their union a large parish is
formed, in circumference about sixteen miles ; extending from Walden south-west-
ward and eastward to Radwinter : in proportion to its extent it contains few inhabi-
tants, and those chiefly agriculturists. The soil, a deep and heavy loam, on clay,
requires the crop and fallow mode of cultivation. J The hedge-rows toward Walden
contain timber of a larger growth than those toward Hadstock and Ashdon.§ The
name of Wimbish, formerly written Gwimbich, is supposed to be derived from the
* A very ancient tomb, raised on a foundation of flints, to the height of two feet, had a Latin inscrip-
tion on a brass plate, which has been taken away ; it was to inform posterity that " George Langham,
esq., formerly lord of this village, died on the 13th of September, 1462, and is here buried with his
wife Isabel."
There are the broken remains of many other ancient monuments, and a Latin inscription is tolerably
perfect, which informs us that William Hasilden, esq. formerly lord of this manor, died 23d April, 1480,
and lies here with his wife, who died 20th of February, 1476.
t Charity. — Land of the annual rent of three guineas was left for the benefit of the poor of this parish,
to be distributed at the discretion of the trustees.
X Annual average produce per acre — wheat 20, barley 26 bushels.
§ Mr. Young mentions an oak at Wimbish, belonging to Allen Taylor, esq., which had been named
Young's oak ; in 1792, at five feet from the ground, it measured eight feet five inches and three quarters
in girth : also a larch,onIy twelve years old, at the same height, measured two feet four inches. In 1805,
the oak was eight feet ten inches ; the larch, five feet one incli : the oak having in thirteen years increased
four inches and a half : the larch, two feet nine inches !
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 135
Saxon Irpim, beautiful, and bach, a wood, and the whole country having been un- chap.
doubtedly covered with wood, adds to the probability of this conjecture. '
From Saffron Walden it is distant three, and from London forty-five miles.
The parish or lordship of Wimbish is believed to have been given to Christ
Church, in Canterbury, by Thurstan, in the time of Edward the confessor, and which
in the record is named Winebisc* It did not long remain in the possession of this
church, for in the Confessor's reign it had been conveyed to Ailid, and at the survey
belonged to Ralph Baignard. In Domesday-book it is entered under Dunmow hun-
dred, and Thundersley under that of Uttlesford. There are three manors in Wim-
bish, as there are also in Thundersley.
Wimbish Hall is near the church ; and the manor was originally part of the barony Wimbish
Hall
of William, the son of Ralph Baynard, which he forfeited to the crown by attaching
himself to the party of Robert Courthose, in opposition to Henry the first ; and that
monarch afterwards gave it to Richard Fitz-Gilbert, the ancestor of the earls of Clare.
The immediate descendants of Robert were the Fitz- Walters, lords of Woodham
W^alter; and by an heiress of that noble family it was conveyed, by marriage, to Thomas
Ratcliffe, esq. whose grandson, Robert Ratcliffe, lord Fitz- Walter, was created vis-
count Fitz- Walter, and earl of Sussex : and the estate continued in the possession of
these noble families, till Robert,f the last earl of Sussex of the Ratcliffe line, who died
in 1629, sold it to Allan Currants, esq., citizen and merchant- tailor of London, from
whose family it was purchased by Matthew Wymondsel, esq. of Wansted ; who
bequeathed it to his son, Charles Wymondsel, esq., and in 1775 sold this and other
estates in the neighbourhood to Allen Taylor, esq., who was possessed of it at his death
in 1830, and bequeathed it to his widoAV, Mrs. Elizabeth Taylor, Avho dying in 1833,
it is now the property of her brother, Thomas Walford, esq. of Birdbrook.
The mansion belonging to the manor of Tiptotes,^ is near Sewer's End,§ Tiptotes.
about two miles north-west from the church, and derives its name from the
ancient and honourable family of Tiptotes, or Tiptofts, some of whom became
barons of the realm, and earls of Worcester. In 1331, John de Wanton was
sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire; and lord of this manor at his decease in 1347;
John, his son and heir, by his wife Margaret, left Margaret, and Elizabeth his co-
* This grant, recorded by W. Thorn among the evidences of the church of Canterbury, is also given by
the learned T. Maddox in his Fonnulare Anglicanum, p. 238. It is witnessed by king Edward the con-
fessor, and lady iElgyva, the two archbishops, Eadsige and ^Ifric, earl Godwin, earl Lcofric, Elgar the
earl's son, ^Iweard bishop of London, Alfwin bishop of Winchester, .... Leofcild Scire, prepositus or
sheriff; and Osulf Fila, and Ufric and .-Elwin, son of Wulfred, and ^Ifric son of Withgar, and all the
theigns of Essex.
t John Fitz-Walter, at the time of his decease, in 1361, held this manor, of the king, as parcel of the
barony of Fitz-Walter. — Inq. 35, Ed. III.
X Also named Wantons and Pinkeneys, from subsequent possessors.
§ Formerly Siward's End.
136 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. heirs;* of whom Margaret had this estate for her portion, and being married to
Harleston, left by him her son Ivo de Harleston. He held this manor of Edward
duke of York: John, his son, was his successor; who married Elizabeth, daughter of
William Clopton, by whom he had his son John, who on his decease left Alice, and
Margaret, co-heirs, by his wife Margaret, daughter and co-heir of William Bard-
well. Alice, married to sir Richard Fitz-Lewis, conveyed to him this estate; and
Margaret was married to Thomas Darcy, esq. of Danbury.f
Sir John Fitz-Lewis, by his lady Alice, left one daughter, his heiress, in the pedi-
gree called Elizabeth; in the post mortem inquisition, YAd^; and in Dugdale, Ellen.
This lady was married to sir John Mordaunt, son and heir of John, lord Mordaunt,
whom he succeeded in honours and estates in 1562: this nobleman by will, dated in
1571, left this manor to King's Hall and Brazen-nose college, Oxford, for the main-
tenance of three scholars, to be nominated by his executors and afterwards by his
heirs for ever ; and for other charitable purposes.^
Bradokes. The old mansion-house of Bradokes, or Broadoaks, stands in the fields two miles
from the church. The account of the possessors of this estate cannot be traced back
farther than the reign of Henry the eighth, when it was in possession of the Mordaunt
family; and was conveyed, in 1551, by Edmund Mordaunt, to John Wiseman, esq.
of Felsted ; from whose family it passed by marriage to Mr. Richard Clagett, of Lon-
don ;§ and on the decease of Wiseman Clagett, esq. of Barnard's Inn, who died in
1741, this manor with appurtenances, was purchased of his executors, in chancery, by
the right honourable Charles, lord Maynard.
Thun- Thundersley, formerly a parish, had a church near the hall, but both the church
dtrslcy. ^ i
and church-yard have disappeared. The lauds of this parish belonged to Ailmer, in
the time of Edward the confessor; and at the survey became the property of Alberic
de Vere, whose under-tenant Ralf, from this place took the surname of De Tunderley.
There are three manors.
Thunderley-hall manor appears to have been in the joint possession of Geofrey de
Thunderley, and Alexander Rivollam, of this place, in the time of king Henry the
second ; it being on record that a moiety of the church was given to Hatfield priory
* Arms of Wanton : Argent, a chevron sable.
t Arms of Harleston : Argent, a fesse ermine between two barrs geraelles, sable. Crest : On a helmet,
mantled gules, doubled argent, out of a crown or, a stag's head ermines, attired or, browsing a hawthorn,
proper, with berries or.
X Dugdale's Baron, vol. ii. p. 312, and Wood's Hist, and Antiquit. of the University of Oxford, lib. ii.p.214.
§ Thomas, the son of John Wiseman, succeeded his father in this estate, and had William; Thomas,
who died without issue ; John ; Robert ; and two daughters, nuns. William, the eldest son and heir,
received the honour of knighthood, and by his lady, Jane, daughter of sir Edmund Huddleston, knt., had
John, Dorothea, and Winifred. Sir John, who next succeeded, had his son Aurelius Percy Wiseman, who
was killed in a duel in London in 1684 ; he died unmarried, and his two sisters were Lucy and Elizabeth.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 137
by Geofrey de Thunderley, and that afterwards the remaining moiety was given to ^ ^ '^ **•
the same monastery by Alexander Rivollam, for the remission of all his sins, and those
of his dear wife, and all his friends. This last grant was in 1143. It is hence con-
cluded that the church was at that time appendant to the manor, which was in posses-
sion of the said proprietors.* In 1485, a moiety of this manor belonged to John
Brett, in right of his wife Maud; and from that period till the year 1624, when the
manor, with the advowson of the church, belonged to Robert Wiseman, esq. there
appears to be no record. The son of Robert, was sir Richard Wiseman, hart, in
1628; and the Wiseman family of Torrel's Hall had this possession.
The reputed manor of Dales or Caldecots was a considerable time holden under P'^^'^s <'i-
the earls of Oxford, by the Thunderley family, till it passed to that of Att-Dale, in
1346, by the marriage of the daughter of Andrew de Thunderley to William Att-
Dale. In 1445, it was in the possession of Nicholas Caldecot, or Calcot; and of sir
James Caldecot in 1485; who, in 1498, did homage for this possession at Castle
Hedingham: he died in 1502, and Thomas, his son, is supposed to have died without
issue, for the next recorded owner is his sister, Muriel Caldecot,f the second wife of
Robert Mordaunt,:}: of Turvey, in Bedfordshire, to whom she brought this estate; in
whose family it continued, till it was purchased of John Mordaunt, esq. in 1652, by
Dr. Bromfield, who gave it to the poor of St. Andrew's, Holborn, London.
The manor of Abbots belonged to Walden abbey; the mansion-house is about two Abbots.
miles west from the church. Having passed to the crown, it was granted, in 1538,
by king Henry the eighth, to Thomas lord Audley, whose grandson, Thomas lord
Howard, of Walden, sold it to Richard Martin, junior, and John Haile. The next
possessor of it, upon record, was sir Robert Quarles, of Romford, knt. from whose
son it descended to William Holgate, of Walden, who died in 1672, and his daughter
Anne conveyed it to her husband, James Monteith, gent, of Greenwich, of an ancient
family of that name in Scotland: he died in 1681, his wife in 1685, and they are both
buried in the chancel of the church of Saffron Walden. His son, James Monteith,
sold this estate to Richard Derbyshire, esq. of the six clerks' office in chancery; from
whom it passed, in marriage with his niece, to John Birkhead, esq. of the same office.
* From the original grants at Colne priory, formerly in the possession of Richard Androwes, esq. and in
the Evidence-house of the Barrington family, adjoining to Hatfield church.
t Arms of Caldecott : Gules, on a chevron argent, three dolphins haurient sable.
I William, the son and heir of Robert Mordaunt, married Anne, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas
Huntington, by whom he had four sons and six daughters, and left this estate to George Mordaunt, his
fourth son, who, having no issue, gave it to his next brother, Edmund, who was succeeded by Henry
Mordaunt, his eldest son, whose eldest son of the same name was his successor, and living in 1620, who
married Barbara, daughter of Henry Bradbury, esq. of Littlebury, by whom he had, besides other children,
his eldest son Henry, who married Lcttice, daughter of John Holgate, esq. of Walden, by whom he had
his son John, the last of the family who had this estate.
138
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Church.
Inscrip-
tions.
The church of Wimbish, dedicated to All Saints, is an ancient building of stone,
with a nave, north aisle and chancel. In 1740, the tower and part of this church,
decayed by age, fell to the ground, and anew tower of brick has been erected, which,
with the other repairs, was finished in 1755. The tower contains three bells.
The following inscription is on a wooden tablet against the north wall of the chancel :
' } her
anagram.
" Deo uni trino sit Gloria.
Mrs. Mary Wiseman now with God,
Mi Jesu rais me ami
Maria Wiseman
Here pious eyes may justly weep
For her that's underneath asleep.
Could we believe one surely blest
Might in her tomb remain a guest.
But to her very ashes I
Must pay a devout obsequie ;
Justice and passion both incline
Me to adore her very shrine.
That by this venting of my grief.
My troubled soul may find relief;
All that to virtue will be just,
With me must reverence her dust ;
Beauteous before it was calcin'd,
But oh ! the beauty of her mind !
Though I her absence chiefly find,
The loss is unto all mankind.
Who fitly may with me bemoane
The loss of such perfectione ;
She to her sex a pattern stood
Of all that's imitably good."
" Here lies interred the body of Mrs. Mary Wiseman, who bore to her husband two daughters and one
son, (of whom she died in child-bed); she departed this life on Thursday, the twenty-second of June,
1654, in the flower of her age, having been married four years, seven months, and four days."
" So Phoenixes expire to be || And Pelicans their own lives give.
Renewed in their posteritie ; || To make their tender offspring live."
" She was of an honourable extract, being daughter to sir Rowland Rydgeley, of Dunton, of the ancient
family of that name and place, in Warwickshire. Her mother, the lady Lettice Rydgeley, being one of
the daughters and co-heirs of sir Thomas Knowlys, and the hidy Odela, his wife, who was one of the
daughters and co-heirs of the lord Meroda, marquess of Bergen, in the Low Countries. Sir Thomas
Knowlys, knight of the garter, treasurer of the household, and privy counsellor to queen Elizabeth ;
he was brother of the late earl of Banbury, and the lady Lettice, countess of Leicester, the earls of Essex
and Holland, and the earls of Northumberland and Warwick, being their nephews and her cousin
germans. Sir Francis Knowlys, aforesaid, married the lady Katharine Carey, sister to Henry lord
Hunsdon, privy counsellor, knight of the garter, and chamberlain to queen Elizabeth, to whom they were
cousin germans. Their mother was daughter to Thomas Bullein, earl of Wiltshire, and sister to queen
Anne Bullein, who was the wife of Henry the eighth, king of England. The marquis of Bergen was of
the house of Nassau, and uncle to the late prince of Orange."
There are also the following inscriptions in the chancel belonging to the same family :
" Ipsa Johan Wiseman repetito nomine Strangeraan,
Quod sibi conjugii posuerunt jura secundi,
Uxor erat binis, bis tristia funera vidit ;
Tertio temporei perfecit munera lecti ;
Anni plus decies sextum volvuntur in orbe,
Qui sibi nascenti gratas, traxere tenebras."
English:
" Johanna Wiseman, by her second name Strangeman, a name which the laws of a second marriage
conferred on her, was twice a wife, and buried twice her husband : she a third time performed the offices
of the bed, and died herself, being more than sixty years of age."
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 139
Upon a stone on the ground : CHAP,
" Here rest the sad remains of Aurelius Piercy Wiseman, of Broad-Oaks, in this parish, esq. the last
of the name of that place, and head and chief of that right worshipful and ancient family, who was
unfortunately killed in the flower of his age, Dec. 11, 1680."
The rev. John Raymond, the present incumbent, is patron of the vicarage.
In 1821, these consolidated parishes contained eight hundred and nine, and, in 1831,
nine hundred and twenty-one inhabitants.*
DEBDEN.
Debden extends westward to Newport, and southward to Widdington; it is bounded Debden.
eastward by Wimbish, and by Walden on the north: its computed breadth is about
three miles, and its length four.
The lands of this parish are diversified in appearance by an intermixture of valleys,
with hills of considerable height; the soil generally arable, with a considerable
portion of woodland.f The name in records is Depden, Deepden, Deopden, Depdon,
Dependon, Dependana, Diependin; supposed from the Saxon beop, deep, and ben,
a valley. The village is small, and pleasantly situated on an eminence : distant from
Saffron Walden two, and from London forty-one miles.
Siward was the proprietor of these lands in the time of Edward the confessor, and
they belonged to Ralph Peverel at the survey: the whole was ultimately divided into
six manors.
William, son of William, son of Ralph Peverel, succeeding to this estate, lost it, Debden
with all his other possessions, and was compelled to fly from the country for the
atrocious crime of poisoning Ralph, earl of Chester. Henry the second afterwards
gave it to his son John, earl of Mortain, who, succeeding to the English crown,
conferred this estate on Geofrey Fitz-Piers, earl of Essex, whose daughter Maud
conveyed it, by marriage, to Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, and high constable
of England; and who, in her right, became earl of Essex. His successors were his
son Humphrey, his grandson of the same name, who died in 1298, and his great
grandson, Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton, who
died in 1372, having married Joan, daughter of Richard, earl of Arundel, by whom
he left two co-heirs; Eleanor, married to Thomas, of Woodstock, duke of Glou-
cester, sixth son of king Edward the third; and Mary, married to Henry, earl of
* Charitable gifts — Sir Ralph Wiseman, of Rivenhall, gave an annuity of four pounds to the poor of
Wimbish, out of the manor of Broadokes : and Dr. Wivel, of Walden, gave three pounds a year, payable
out of a farm called Will's Abbey, in Walden, for six sermons, to be preached in Lent, in Tliundersley
church, which being demolished, they were, by a decree in chancery, ordered to be preached at Wimbish.
t In the Domesday record it is stated, that there were here at that time two arpenni (acres) of vine-
yard that bore, and two that did not bear.
140 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Derby, afterwards king Henry the fourth. The lady Eleanor had one son and four
" daughters, of whom Anne, the eldest, became ultimately the sole heiress of her mother,
succeeding to a partition of the Bohun estates with the other co-heir, who was king
Henry the fifth. Hence this manor becoming vested in the crown, as belonging to
the dutchy of Lancaster, was part of the jointure of the queens of Henry the fifth,
Henry the sixth, and Edward the fourth: it was conveyed, by a grant from
Henry the eighth, to Thomas lord Audley, from whose only daughter and heir
Maro-aret, it descended to her son, Thomas, baron Howard de Walden and earl
of Suftblk; in whose family it continued till 1660, when it was sold by James, earl
of Suffolk, to Thomas Grove, esq., who sold it to sir Richard Browne, knt. and
bart.; he died in 1672, and was succeeded by his son sir Richard, who married
Frances, sister of sir Robert Atkins, chief baron of the exchequer. They both died
within three days of each other, in 1685, sir Richard having previously, in 1630, sold
this estate to John Edwards, esq. whose son and heir Henry, one of the masters in
chancery, sold it) with the manor of Deynes, to Richard Chiswell, esq. in 1715.*
He was the son of Richard Chiswell, citizen and stationer of London ;f and his
grandson, Richard Muilman Trench Chiswell, erected the mansion, and in the im-
provements of this beautiful seat left a monument of his judgment and good taste.
Mr. Holland was the architect employed. The house is placed on a rising ground above
a fine sheet of water formed under Mr. Chiswell's directions ; and the south-eastern
front, built in the Grecian style, and ornamented with stately pillars, has a good effect.
The whole of this extensive inclosure is agreeably diversified, and from shady walks
on the higher grounds, fine views are presented over the surrounding country.
Mr. Chiswell married Mary, daughter of James Jurin, M.D. by whom he left an only
* Richard Chiswell, the father of the purchaser of Debden Hall, was born in 1639, in the parish of St.
Botolph's, Aldersgate, London ; and, on his decease in 1711, was buried there j his first wife, Sarah, was
daughter of Mr. John King; his second wife was Mary, daughter of Richard Royston, esq. bookseller to
king Cliarles the first and second : his surviving children by his second wife were, John who died in
India, Richard, and Royston : the former was an eminent merchant, elected member of parliament for
Calne, in Wiltshire, in 1714, died in 1751, and was interred in this church. He married Mary, daughter
and co-heiress of Mr. Thomas Trench, merchant, of London -. she died in 1712, having borne ten children,
of whom William and Trench died at Constantinople ; and two daughters, and Richard, one of the sons,
survived their father. Arms of Chiswell : Argent, two bars nebule, gules : over all a bend engrailed, sable,
thereon a rose between two mullets, or.
t He was the most considerable and esteemed bookseller and publisher of the age in which he lived ; the
eccentric John Dunton speaks of him as the most eminent of that business in the three kingdoms. "Mr.
Richard Chiswell (he observes) well deserves the title of Metropolitan Bookseller of England, if not of
all the world. His name at the bottom of a title-page does sufficiently recommend the book. He has not
been known to print either a bad book, or on bad paper. He is admirably well qualified for his business,
and knows how to value a copy according to its worth; witness the purchase he has made of archbishop
Tillotson's octavo sermons."— JoA« Dunton's Life and Errors, p. 280. In the original charter of the Bank
of England, Mr. Chiswell was appointed one of the first directors.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 141
The mansion-house of Mole Hall is about half a mile from the church southward, chap.
daughter and heiress, Mary, married, in 1779, to sir Francis Vincent, bart. to whom
she conveyed this estate; and by her, who died in 1826, he had sir Francis Vincent, '^"'*^Hall
the ninth baronet; and Anna Maria, married, in 1817, to captain William Johnson
Campbell, son of the late lieutenant-general Colin Campbell. Sir Francis died in
1791, and was succeeded by his son sir Francis, the ninth baronet, born in 1780; who
married, in 1802, Jane, daughter of the rev. Bouverie, brother of William, first
earl of Radnor, and by her (who died in 1805) had Francis, cornet in the ninth Light
Dragoons, and a daughter named Ellen. Sir Francis, the tenth and present baronet,
succeeded his father in 1808, and, in 1824, married Augusta Elizabeth, only child of
the hon. Charles Herbert, R.N. second son of the first earl of Caernarvon.*
The manor of Deynes belonged formerly to Tiltey abbey, and, till the suppression Deynes.
of that house, was held under it by a family named Wright. The mansion-house is
about half a mile from the church, and called Deynes House, and Debden Grange ;f in
1538, it was granted to Charles Brandon, duke of Somerset, from whom passing
successively to several proprietors, it became the property of Mr. Chiswell, in 1715.
The manor-house of the estate named Tendring is on the north of the road to Tendring.
Thaxted, eastward from the church: it was in possession of Roger Tewe in 1483,
and successively belonging to several proprietors, passed to John Wiseman, esq. of
Felsted, in 1526, and to his son, sir Thomas: to Thomas Knightingale, esq. in 1623,
to his son of the same name in 1635; to Robert Woolley; Henry Lewes in 1679;
and, in 1696, having become the property of Adam Newman, esq. was by him sold to
the proprietor of Debden Hall.
Contiguous to Tendring is the manor of Weldbarnes, having a mansion on the Weld-
same side of the road; it formerly belonged to the noble family of Grey, of Wilton,
and was in possession of John de Grey at the time of his decease in 1323, holden of
Eleanor de Verdun by the service of a rose. Successive proprietors were Henry,
the son of John de Grey, in 1342, whose heir was his son Reginald: sir Henry de
Grey, of Wilton, in 1395, whose son and successor, sir Reginald, died in 1441,
lea^'ing Reginald, his son, his heir. In 1501, lord Grey, of Wilton, conveyed this
possession to John Mordaunt, from whom it passed to several individuals of the family,
and was sold by Edmund Mordaunt, in 1551, to John Wiseman, esq. from whose
family it was conveyed, in marriage by a female heiress, to sir John Marshall,
descending to his son of the same name and title, and to his grandchildren.
* Arms of Vincent : Azure, three quatiefoils, argent. Crest : out of a coronet, proper, a bear's head
argent. Motto, " Vincenti dabitur." " It is given to the conqueror."
t In the patent it is styled " Maueriuiu, doniinum sive Grangia, sive firnia vocat Dynes, alias Dynes
house, ex antiquo vocat Depden Grange cum pcrtinen" spectautibus Monasterio de Tiltey."— 3 Pars Pat. 8
Elizab.
VOL. II. U
U2 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II. In 1510, this manor belonged to sir William Waldegrave, from whose family it was
conveyed to John Rowley, esq., of Berk way, high sheriff of Hertfordshire, in 1650;
from whose family it passed by marriage to William Levinz, of Grove, in Notting-
hamshire, who sold it to William Blackmore, esq.
Amber- The mansion-house of the manor of Amberdon Hall is two miles south-eastward
from the church, on ground rising high, and commanding extensive prospects over the
country, with woodland scenery in its vicinity. In records the name is Amberdana,
Ambredon, Ambyrden, Amerdene, Amerton, apparently formed from the Saxon
words Ambep, a wine or water vessel or a barrel, and bon, a hill: sometimes it is called
Flambards, from ancient owners of that name. Formerly there was a church or
chapel here ; the site of fish-ponds may be traced, and the house has evidently been
much larger than at present; there are also other evidences of its having been a hamlet
of itself, distinct from Debden. In the survey it is styled a viUa, and by the Confessor's
charter of confirmation, it appears to have anciently formed part of the possessions of
the abbey of Ely: it afterwards went with Debden Hall, to Si ward, and at the survey
belonged to Ralph Peverel; afterwards John Fitz-Lambert, and Robert de Mortimer,
successively held it of the crown, as of the honour of Peverel. In 1285, it was so
holden by Robert de Mortimer; and passed, by female heirship, to Geofrey de Corne-
wall, who held it at the time of his decease in 1365. The families of Berners* and
Fynderne succeeded ; and, in 1515, sir William Fynderne entailed this estate on his
heirs male ; and in want of such, on sir John Cutt, of Horeham Hall, in Thaxted ; to
whom it ultimately descended, and who, on his decease in 1554, left a son, named John,
eleven years of age. The estate was afterwards in the possession of Edward West,
esq., who about the close of the reign of queen Elizabeth, sold it to sir Thomas Dacre,
knt., whose son Tliomas sold it to sir James Stonehouse, son of George Stonehouse,
esq., of Little Peckham, in Kent: from this family it passed to Thomas Sclater Bacon,
esq., of Linton, in Cambridgeshire, who left it by will to Robert King, esq., who died
in 1749. A family of note took their surname from this place; and there are coats of
arms in various parts of the hall.
Church. The village church, dedicated to All Saints, is a handsome Gothic building within
* Hugh de Berners held lands at Eversden, in Cambridgeshire, in 1086, and Ralph, son of Hugh, by
marrying Nesta, the sister and heiress of Pain Burnel, became possessed of his great estate. The fifth in
descent from Hugh, was sir Ralph Berners, great grandfather to Nicholas Berners, possessed of this estate
in the time of king Henry the sixth : he was the son of John Berners, son of John, third son of Ralph, by
Christian his wife, daughter and heiress of Hugh de Wyndesore, esq. of West Horsley, in Surrey. He
lived at Amberdon Hall, having married Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of John Swynborne, esq., by
whom he had his only daughter and heiress Catharine, married to sir William Fynderne. This appears
from an epitaph formerly in the church, preserved by Weever, " Here lieth buried Nicolas Barners, with
hi« wife Margaret, one of the daughters and co-heirs of John Swindon, esq. (more correctly Swynborn,)
who died 1441." The head of this family resided at Little Horksley during several generations.
I
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 143
the park, and shaded by a fine grove of trees. It was originally built in the cathedral chap.
form, with two aisles, a nave, and chancel, and the tower in the centre ; this being "
decayed, fell down, and demolished the chancel, which has been re-edified, and the
ancient style of the architecture well preserved, with elegant and appropriate orna-
ments. A very elegant font, in Coade's artificial stone-work, was the gift of R. M. T.
Chiswell, esq.* At the east end, a chapel contains monuments of the Chiswells.f
In 1821, this parish contained nine hundred and forty, and in 1831, nine hundred
and eighty-five inhabitants.
* On the northern wall of the chancel, a monument bears the following inscription : — ,
" Binos abhinc passus meridiem versus, reconditum est quod mortale fuit Thomse Carter, S.T. P. et
hujus ecclesiae annos xlv Rectoris dignissimi : qui, post diutini ministerii vices, pie, prudenter, et fideliter,
impletas : post insigne probitatis, beneficentiae et humanitatis edilum in omni vit4 documentum : post
irruptum annorum circiter xliv, nee malis divulsum queri moniis conjugium: post extremam fere humani
curriculi metam feliciter et alacri animo assecutam prole auctus, famS. cohonestatus, omnibus charus,
dierum Satur. Tandem 8vo. id. Octob. A. D. 1697, Coslum petiit An. nat. 74, multis ille bonis llebilis
occidit. Tumulo accesserunt postea (viz.) 9 kalend Octob. A.D. 1698, Annae Uxoris ejus reliquite, vita
comitis fidissimae nee ips^ morte, nisi brevi etaegre sejungendae Anno nat. 75, moerens posuit Alius nat.
max. T. C."
"Two paces from hence toward the south is deposited what was mortal of Thomas Carter, professor of
theology, and the very worthy rector of this church forty-five years ; who, after having discharged the duties
of his long ministry piously, prudently, and faithfully ; after having been a singular example of probity,
beneficence, and humanity, in every part of his life ; after having lived in the strictest harmony with his
wife about 44 years ; after having happily and cheerfully attained almost to the utmost period of human
life, blessed with offspring, honoured with reputation, dear to all men, full of days, at length, on the
eighth of October, in the year of our Lord 1697, took his flight to heaven, aged 74 years. He died
lamented by many good men. To his tomb were afterwards added, on the twenty-third of September, in
the year of our Lord, 1698, the remains of Anna, his wife, during his life, a most faithful companion to
him, nor by his death separated from him, but for a short time, and not without difficulty, aged 75 years.
Their eldest and afflicted son, T. C. caused this to be erected."
There are also inscriptions to the memory of Richard Chiswell, esq., who died in 1751, aged 78 : and
also of Mary his wife, who died in 172G, aged 43. Also, here lie the remains of Mr. Dudley Foley, who
died in 1747, and of Elizabeth his wife, who died in 1742. Their two children, a son aged 14, and a daugh-
ter aged 16, lie buried at Cheam, in Surrey. There are also buried here, Richard Chiswell, esq., who died
in 1751, and Mary his wife, ob. 1726. Sir Richard Brown, knt. and bart. was byried here in 1672; and
also his son sir Richard with his lady, Frances, sister to sir Robert Atkins, baron of the exchequer : they
both died in 168.5, within three days of each other.
t Charitable gifts. Serjeant Bendloes gave twenty shillings yearly for ever, to three poor people, to buy
fire-wood or clothing, or to repair the poor-house. — An unendowed almshouse for four dwellers was given
by sir John Stonehouse.— In 1644, John Measont, of Henham, gave a house and five acres of land in this
parish: one third part of the yearly income for the use of the poor of Debden ; the like third part to the poor
of Henham, and the remaining third part he reserved to himself during life. — An annuity of four pounds was
left by Dr. Thomas Carter, rector of this parish, of which ten shillings is to be paid for a sermon on the
twenty-ninth of May, and the remainder to be expended in woollen cloth, for clothing four poor men
who keep their church, three of Debden, one of Bartlow.
144 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
WIDDINGTON, OR WIDINGTON.
Widding- Yhe parish of Widdington, from the extremity of the hundred of Uttlesford, where
it joins Freshwell, extends westward to Rickling, Newport, and Quendon ; and from
Debden southward to Henham : it is in length five miles, and one and a half broad ;
from Newport and Quendon it is separated by a small rivulet, over which there is a
good bridge of brick, kept in repair by this parish and Newport : it was erected at the
expense of Richard Chiswell, esq.
The Saxon name of this parish is compounded of Wib, inj, cun, a town by
the wide meadow or pasture lands; variously written in records, Wichington,
Widintun, Wedington, Wedyton, Widiton, Wyddington, and Wodeton, from
which last some have concluded the Saxon name to have been jJo^injcon, the town
among woods.
The village is small and of ancient appearance, the inhabitants dependant on agricul-
tural employment. Distant from Saffron Walden four, and from London thirty-
nine miles.
In the time of the Saxons, the two manors of this parish belonged to Ingulph and
Turchil; at the survey, Robert Gernon held Widdington Hall, and Priors Hall
belonged to the monastery of St. Valery, in Picardy.
Widdin?- Widdington Hall manor-house is an ancient building-, a short distance from the
ton Hall. " ^ .
church south-eastward : formerly it had a chapel, now converted into a parlour, the
massive walls of which were three feet in thickness : after remaining several genera-
tions in the family of Robert Gernon, the first Norman proprietor, this manor was
conveyed by the marriage of heiresses to the families of Playz, Howard and De Vere;
under the last of whom it was holden by a family surnamed Lenvois, Le Vasey, or
Veyse, from whom it was at one period named Basey. In the reign of king Henry
the second, Robert Lenvoise had tliis possession, and another, supposed of the same
family, had succeeded hi 1327, whose name is written Robert le Veyse, and in the re-
gistry of the diocese, Lennesey. He was succeeded by Gilbert Lenvois, who was lord
of Widdington, in 1361 : he is also named Veysy, in the inquisitions. His heiresses
were Katharine and Maud : of these, the first, married to John Duke, esq., master of
the pantry to king Edward the third, conveyed to him this estate, which his son of the
same name had possession of in 1393 : John Green, esq. married his daughter and heiress
Agnes; he presented to the living the last time in 1466,* and was buried with his
wife in the chancel. In 1516, sir Thomas Fynderne, of Amberdon Hall, in Debden,
died holding this possession, and was succeeded by his grandson, Thomas Fynderne,
* Arms of Green : Gules, a lion rampant double queued, parted per fesse, argent and or.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 145
esq. whose cousin and next heir was Anne, married to sir Roger Wentworth, of chap.
Codham Hall : succeeded by sir Thomas Seymour ; after whom the next possessor '
was Edward EIrington, esq., of the ancient family of that name, of Theydon Bois ;
whose successor, on his decease, in 1558, was his son Edward, followed by Edward
EIrington, his son, in 1578, and by his grandson, of the same name, in 1618, who
sold the estate to Edward Turner, esq., of Walden, who was in possession of it
in 1635,* and in whose family it continued till the decease of Edmund, the son of
Thomas Turner, esq. when, in default of issue male, the estate passed to various
possessors.
The mansion-house of Priors Hall is near the church, being of stone; it has on that Priors
account been named Stone Hall. The original appropriation of this estate being to an
alien priory, it was seized by king Edward the third during his French wars, and
obtained, either of that prince or his successor, king Richard the second, by William
of Wickham, bishop of Winchester, who gave it to New College in Oxford, which
was founded by him. It yet remains in this appropriation, and the college keep a
court here.
The chm'ch, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is a small building of stone, which was Church.
in part re-built about the time of the Reformation; and recently, the ancient square
tower having fallen down, a small wooden turret supplies its place above the west end,
which has been rebuilt with brick. There were formerly six stalls in the chancel,
understood to have belonged to Priors Hall ; and in the wall two slender pillars with
ornamented bases and capitals support a semicircular arch, with a Saxon moulding,
the whole having the appearance of Saxon workmanship. The parsonage is a good
house near the church.
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and sixty-seven, and in 1831, three
hundred and eighty-six inhabitants.
HENHAM.
The grounds of the parish of Henham are in general high, well wooded, and richly Henham.
luxuriant, extending from Widdington southward, and to the hundred of Dunmow on
the east; the river Granta, or Cam, forms the boundary between this parish and that
of Ugley, flowing towards Audley End and to Cambridge ; and other streams take
their course in nearly an opposite direction toward the Stort and the Chelmer; which
shows the propriety of the appellation "ad montem," "at the hill," usually applied to
this parish, its Saxon name Hean, high, and ham, a mansion, being nearly of the same
* Arms of Turner : Azure, a fesse engrailed, argent ; on it a lion passant, or, between three mill rinds
of the second.
146
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Henhani
Hall.
BOOK II. import. In length it is about three, and in breadth two miles : the village contains
some good houses, and a place of worship belonging to the Independents; it is on high
ground, pleasant, and healthy; distant from Bishop's Stortford seven, and from London
thirty-seven miles.
In the reign of Edward the confessor, the lands of Henham belonged to Ailid, to
two freemen, and to Ansgar, a sochman: at the time of the survey, they were in the
possession of Ralph Baynard, Eudo Dapifer, and Geofrey de Magnaville. There are
three manors ; and the rectory is also a manor.
Henham Hall is near the church ; and the manor is what belonged to Ralph Bay-
nard, from whom it passed to his son Geofrey, and to his grandson William, on whose
forfeiture, for desertion of the cause of king Henry the first in his contest with Stephen,
this possession was given to Robert, a younger son of Richard Fitzgislebert ; whose
son Walter was his successor, followed by Robert, son of Walter, who assumed the
surname of Fitzwalter, borne by his noble descendants, barons of the realm, for many
generations. Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Walter, lord Fitz- Walter,* con-
veyed this inheritance, by marriage, to sir John Ratcliffe, who died in 1461. Robert,
his descendant, created earl of Sussex in 1529, to his second lady had Frances, daugh-
ter of Hercules Meutas, of W^est Ham, widow of Francis Shute, esq., and she, at the
time of her decease, in 1627, held this manor of Henham, and the rectory, of the king
by knight's service. Her daughter and heiress, was Jane, married to sir Alexander
Ratcliffe, who had this possession in 1635, which he sold to Lawrence Wright, M.D.
of Dagenhams, in Havering : he died in 1657, and, with Mary his wife, was buried in
the church of South Weald. Sir Henry Wright, bart. of the same place, was his
son and heir : he married Anne, daughter of John, lord Crew, of Stene, by whom he
had Henry, who died in 1681, aged nineteen, and Anne. He himself having died
before his son, in 1663, aged twenty-seven; they are both buried in the church of
South Weald. The widow, lady Anne Wright, enjoyed this estate as part of her
jointure, till her decease, in 1708, when it descended to her daughter Anne, a very
rich heiress; married, first, to Edmund, son of sir Robert Pye, of Farringdon, in
Berkshire; afterwards to William Rider, esq. She sold this estate in 1720, with the
concurrence of the heirs-at-law, to sir John Blount, hart., one of the directors of the
South Sea Company; on the dissolution of which, it was purchased by Samuel Feake,
esq., of Shering, succeeded by his son, Stephen Feake, and by J. S. Feake, esq.
Plechedon Hall, vulgarly named Prison Hall, is about a mile south-eastward from
the church ; beyond which, in the same direction, is Plechedon Green, and the ham-
let, which is two miles in extent. This manor includes what belonged to Eudo
Pleche-
don.
* Thi.s noble family resided a considerable time at Henham Hall. Robert Fitzwalter was born there in
1249 : as was also Walter, his son, in 1275 ; Walter, the son of Walter, in 1370, and Elizabeth, eldest
daughter of Walter, lord Fitzwalter, in MSO.—Monaslic. Anglic, vol. ii. p. 76.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 147
Dapifer;* next to whom the earhest possessor on record was Gilbert Peche in 1274, c H A F.
and a second Gilbert Peche in 1322, held this manor of Adomar de Valence, earl of ^^^^'
Pembroke, by the service of a fourth part of a knight's fee ; as did also Gilbert, his
son and heir. In 1360, it had become the property of John Malewayn; soon after
which it again went to the Peche family, and was conveyed by Katharine, daughter
and heiress of sir Geofrey Peche?, to her husband, Thomas Notbend.f She died in
1405, holding this estate of Ralph Neville, earl of Westmoreland, as of his honour of
Clavering. Mirabel, wife of Robert Geddying, and Margaret, wife of John Hinkley,
were her daughters and co-heiresses. Afterwards the whole estate became vested in
Margaret Hinkley, who died possessed of it in 1442, leaving her daughters, Alice,
wife of John Marshall, and Cicely, wife of Henry Caldebeck, her co-heiresses. The
last of these became ultimately possessed of this estate, leaving two daughters co-
heiresses, Thomasine, married to John Turnor, of Haverhill, ancestor of the Tumors
of Hallingbury, and Margaret, married to Geofrey Bloodwell, of Thurlow. Henry
Turnor, son of John and Thomasine, married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Brooksby,
by whom he had Henry, who held this estate in 1520 and 1528: in 1613, it was
holden by William Watts, esq. of sir Francis Barrington, as of his manor and half
hundred of Clavering ; with a portion of the tithes out of Plechedon Hall. Afterwards
it passed to the Crewe family, and Nathaniel, lord Crewe, bishop of Durham, on his
decease, in 1721, left it to Thomas Cartwright, esq., of Aynho, in Northamptonshire,
who had married Armine, one of his brother's daughters : afterwards it belonged to
William Cartwright, esq.
The mansion belonging to the manor of the Broom, is a mile and a half south-west The
from the church. Of the proprietors of this estate there is no account from the first
owner, Geofrey de Mandeville, to the reign of king James the first. In 1616, sir
John Watts died, holding this possession, whose heir was his son John; and early in
the succeeding century it belonged to sir Philip Parker, hart., of Arwerton, who sold
it to sir John Blount, of the South- Sea Company, and it was afterwards purchased by
Mr. John Fell, wine merchant, from whom it passed to Joseph Fell, esq. of Saifron
Walden.
Little Henhara is a hamlet, consisting of a few houses, about a mile north from Little
^, , , Henhara.
the church.
The church has north and south aisles, the nave is separated from the chancel by a Church.
* In Domesday, it is placed under the hundred of Clavering; and is stated to be a hamlet in Henham
parish, belonging to the leet of Clavering hundred. Many instances occur in other counties of lands
exempt from the jurisdiction under which they are situated, and annexed to distant lordships. Suene
having been lord of Clavering, may have had extensive authority here, and the hundred may have had its
dependants, as the castle of Stortford had, from vi^hence the country had its protection from inroads, in
return for which, some estate had to pay towards their support.
f Arms of Peche : Argent, a fesse gules, between two chevronels of the second.
148 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. screen, and the Gothic arches of the aisles supported by massive clustered pillars ; the
building is large for a country village. A massive tower at the west end, above which
a lofty spire rises, contains a good ring of five bells.
Plechedon Robert, son of Richard Fitz-Gislebert, gave two parts of his lordship of Henham to
Canons. ^^^ priory and canons of Little Dunmow; and his son Walter gave this church of
Henham to the same appropriation : this gift was called a manor, and named Plechedon
Canons: afterwards the rectorial, or great tithes, being retained by the priory, a
vicarage was instituted and endowed in the reign of king Henry the third, which con-
tinued in the patronage of the convent till its dissolution; and in 1536, the rectory
and advowson of the vicarage were granted to Robert Ratcliffe, earl of Sussex, from
whom they passed to the successive owners of Henham Hall.
Anne, daughter of John, lord Crewe, married to sir Henry Wright, hart., gave a
farm at Little Henham, of about forty pounds a year, for the augmentation of
this vicarage.
Obit. A tenement, called Sammons, was given for a yearly obit.*
In 1821, this parish, with the hamlet of Plechedon, contained eight hundred and four,,
and in 1831, eight hundred and sixty-three inhabitants.
ELSENHAM.
Elsenham This parish is surrounded by Henham, Stansted Montfichet, Ugley, and Broxted.
A small stream, that puts a corn-mill in motion, separates it from Stansted Montfichet.
It is calculated to be two miles across either way : distant from Saffron Walden eight,
and from London forty-six miles.
In records the name is written, Alsenham, Elsingham, Elsinham, and Elsynham ;
the derivation unknown. In the time of the Confessor, these lands were in the divided
possession of Lestan, and of Meruena, a free-woman ; and at the survey belonged to
John, nephew or grandson of Waleram, and to Robert Gernon ; the former had no
other possessions in Essex, and his part of this was much the largest; what belonged
to Robert lying contiguous to his seat of Stansted, had been exchanged for another
possession less conveniently situated.
* Monumental inscriptions, and recorded interments : Walter, lord Fitzvvalter, who died in 1408, by his
will, ordered his body to be buried in this church. A grave- stone in the chancel, inlaid with the effigy of
a man in white marble, bears a Latin inscription, which informs us that beneath is interred the body
of Thomas Kirbie, gent., who died the 26th of October, 1603, leaving Bridget, Robert, and Sussex, his
children ; and Anne his wife, only daughter of William Brewster, late of Castle Hedingham, gent., and
Mirabella his wife, daughter of John Foley, of Badley.
Charities. Henry .Smyth, alderman of London, erroneously and unjustly called Dog Smith, left a good
sum of money to purchase lands for the use of the poor of Henham, and other parishes in Essex. There
are some alms-houses near the church, the gift of John Measont, of Debden.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 149
The ancient habitation of Elsenham Hall is near the church : it was named New chap.
VII.
Hall, to distinguish it from the more ancient manor-house, the site of which is not -
known ; the name of Nether Hall was also applied to the old mansion. Soon after the |\';Y."'''""
Conquest, a noble family named de Abrinci, barons of Folkstone, in Kent, had this
manor, of which they retained possession till the decease of William de Abrinci, in
1230, whose son William died young, and Maud, his only sister, a rich heiress, was
married to Hamo de Crevecoeur, who died in 1262, holding this manor of the earl of
Hereford : he left four daughters his co-heiresses, of whom Isabel, married to Henry
de Gant, had this estate : he died in 1271, and his wife in 1283, leaving no issue. The
manor afterwards passed to the families of Rochford, Walden, and Barley.
Katharine, the sister and co-heiress of John de Walden (who died in 1419, holding Barley
this estate), was married to John Barley, junior, of Barley, in Hertfordshire, from
whence their name was derived : they were afterwards seated at Albury, in the same
county. In 1445, John Barley dying, left his son Henry, who, in 1467, was sheriff
of Essex and Hertfordshire, and died in 1475, in possession of the manor of Wicken,
and holding jointly with his wife, relict of sir John Colville, all or part of this manor,
of sir John Say; which his son William forfeited with his other extensive possessions,
for supporting the party of Perkin Warbeck; but he was pardoned by king Henry
the seventh; had his estate restored in 1500, and died in 1520, holding this manor of
sir William Say, as of his manor of Saysbury: he was succeeded by his son Henry,
who died in 1529: having married Anne, relict of lord Grey, he left by her, William,
Antony, and three daughters : William married Joyce, daughter of John Perjent, of
Digs well, in Hertfordshire, by whom he had two daughters his co-heiresses; Dorothy,
married first to Clopton, of Suffolk, afterwards to Thomas, second son of Ed-
ward Leventhorpe, esq., of Shingey Hall, in Sawbridgeworth ; and Anne, married to
Richard Barley, son of Francis Barley, esq., of Great Waltham, a distant branch of
the same family. The Hertford estate was inherited by Dorothy; and Anne con-
veyed this to her husband, Avho died here in 1594:* Thomas their son and heir, left
an only daughter, married to Pine, esq., whose father was of Lincoln' s-inn.
This gentleman, in 1607, held the manor of Elsenham, the advowson of Springfield
church, and the manor of Bibbesworth, in Hertfordshire; but being lunatic, was put
under the guardianship of Henry Wiseman, esq., who had married his sister Mary,
and they came and lived here : she died in 1635. Sir Thomas Adams, hart, purchased
this estate of the heirs of Barley, and dying in 1668, left his son, sir William Adams,
who died in 1688, and whose lady, named Jane, died in 1727, at an advanced age. Sir
William was succeeded by his second son, sir Thomas, who, dying in 1690, was fol-
lowed by sir Charles, the sixth son, on whose decease, in 1726, the title and estate
descended to sir Robert, the eighth son; who sold this manor to William Dawkins,
* Arms of Barley : Barrj- wavy of six, ermine and sable.
VOL. II. X
150
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Klsenh.'iin
Cross.
Church.
liOOK [1. esq., and he gave it to Bayley Heath, eldest son of Thomas Heath, esq., of Stansted
Montfiehet.
A manor, or estate, called Elsenham Cross, with a farm belonging to it, were granted,
by king Edward the sixth, to Richard Chamond, and others, in 1553, to hold in socage.
The church is a short distance from the village, on an eminence ; an embattled
square tower, with a slender spire, contains four bells. The entrance to this ancient
edifice is under a semi-circular arch, with plain and reticulated Saxon mouldings, and
supported by massive pillars, covered with indented moulding, and having capitals
rudely formed and of very antique appearance. The whole, as we may reasonably
believe, either Saxon, or very early Norman workmanship.
This church in 1070 was given to the abbey of St. Stephen, at Caen, in Normandy,
by John, nephew of Waleram; and in the reign of king Richard the first, it was the
gift of Beatrix, sister of Geofrey de Mandeville, to the monastery at Walden, founded
by that earl, though it is not known whether this possession came to that lady, by ex-
change or purchase. The abbey ordained a vicarage, and retained possession till its
dissolution; Avhen the rectory, which is a manor, was granted by king Henry the
eighth to Thomas, lord Audley; who bequeathed it to his lady, afterwards married to
sir George Norton; from whose daughter and heiress, Margaret, it passed by mar-
riage to Thomas, duke of Norfolk, and to their son, lord Thomas Howard; Avho sold
it to John Weever; about the time of the restoration, it was purchased by William
Canning, esq,, whose family retained possession till a late period.*'
In 1821, this parish contained four hundred and thirty-four, and in 1831, four hun-
dred and eighty-four inhabitants.
* Arms of Canning : Argent, three negroes' heads couped, proper, escarsioned sable and argent.
Inscriptions : — On a grave stone in the chancel : " Here lieth the body of Thomas, the son of William
Adams, esq., grandson to sir Thomas Adams, of Elsenham, bart. He died Jan. 17, 1660." On a brass
plate in the chancel : " Here lieth the body of Alice Tuer, who died the wyfe of Doc. Tuer, vicar of this
church, with whom she lived twenty-two yeres within two nionets and four days, without any of the least
household breaches, either in deede or worde between them, .such was her goodnesse. The widowe (first
of Robert Claydon, of Ashdon, in Essex), by whom she had three children, Anne, who died before her
mother, leaving behind her a young suckling daughter, called Mary, yet surviving, as also Thomas and John
Claydon, who waited bothe at her funerall. Her humble soul God delivered from the downe- pressing
birthen of this flesh, Oct. 7, 1619, in the year of her age, as her friends accounted, 72." — A similar inscrip-
tion records the decease and burial of " Anne, wyfe of Thomas Fielde, only daughter of Alice (at the time
of the decease and burial of the said Anne) tlie wife of John Tuer, doctor of lawe, then vicar of Elsnham.
By her said sadd mother Alice (the daughter of Maister Richard Fitz-Hugh, of Eaton, in Bedfordshire,
esq.), descended of the ancient and sometimes noble family, whose virtuous soul God took to him.self the
9th of September, 1615, and of her age the 26th, leaving behind her one only image of herself, a young
suckling daughter." There are also buried here, sir William Say, with his lady, in 1520. Richard Barley,
with his wife, in 1594; and Anne his daughter, and wife of Henry Wiseman, who died in 1635.
Charities:— John Wells, fanwright, gave two cottages, of the yearly rent of three pounds ten shillings,
to purchase clothing for the poor, at the discretion of the minister and trustees. There is also an endow-
ment to teach two poor children.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 151
C H A F.
VII.
TAKELEY.
From Elsenham the parish of Takeley extends southward to the extremity of the Takeley,
hmidred of Uttlesford, and north-westward to Birchanger and Stansted Montfiohet.
It is in length three, and in width about two miles; in the village there is a place of
worship for Independents: it is distant from Bishop Stortford five, and from London
thirty-five miles. The lands are well adapted to the growth of oak, and other valuable
timber.* The name in records is Tacheleia, Tachel, Takelee, Takelegh, Takkeleye,
Tliacelee; its derivation unknown.
Ulmar, Turchill, and two other freemen held these lands in the time of the Saxons-
and, at the survey, they were in possession of Robert Gernon, Eudo Dapifer, and the
priory of St. Valery, in Picardy: there are four manors.
A farm-house has been erected on the site of the chief manor-house at Green End, ^''''^''''"'
where the courts are kept. It was named the manor of Takeley, and also Waltham
manor, from its appropriation to that religious house: it is not certainly known, but,
from presumptive evidence, believed to have been given by king Henry the second :
Henry the third granted them a market and a fair; and they had a grant of free- warren
by king Edward the third. On the dissolution of the abbey, it was granted to Richard ~~ —
Heigham, and in 1554, had passed to Thomas Miller; on Avhose decease it became
the joint property of Thomas his son, and Francis Salperwig, who, in 1574, united in
conveying it to Robert Petre, esq. on whose decease, in 1593, he Avas succeeded by
John, his eldest brother's son, afterwards created lord Petre; and, after remaining
several years in possession of that noble family, it became the property of sir Isaac
Shaard, knt. whose heir was his son Abraham.
Colchester Hall is nearly two miles from the church, north-eastward; this manor Coldies-
belonged to the abbey of St. John, at Colchester, having been in the possession of
Eudo Dapifer at the time of the general survey, who was the founder of that
monastery; yet, according to the record, he is only said to have endowed his foun-
dation with two parts of the tithes of Takeley; other portions of this estate were given
to them by other benefactors, and part of it was holden of the Playz family, of Stansted.
The abbey retained this possession till their dissolution; and, in 1538, it was granted '""''
to Robert Foster, from whom it was conveyed to Robert Heigham, esq. whose
brother William was his heir ; and his widow Mary, married to John Colt, esq. left -+'
her son Thomas heir to this estate, which, in 1553, he conveyed to Thomas Thorpe,
* Takeley forest, Mr. A. Young observes, " is about one half covered with wood, among which, with a
great deal of other very valuable timber, is an oak that measures, at five feet from the ground, fourteen
feet in circumference, and is thought will cut to timber at the height of ninety feet."
152 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. from whom It passed to Thomas Wyberd, in 1557; it afterwards passed through the
families of Russell, Wiseman, Crackbone, and Plumme; and to Russell, esq. of
North Ockingdon.
S'. The manor of St. Valery's, vulgarly called Warish Hall, was given, by William the
■ ' conqueror, to the abbey of St. Valery, in Picardy, which had a small priory here as a
cell to their house; it was founded in the reign of king Henry the first, and the prior
who resided in it was procurator-general of St, Valery's abbey, and collector of all the
lands they had in England. The revenues of the alien priories were repeatedly seized
by English monarchs, and this is said to have been obtained of king Edward the third
by William of Wickham, bishop of Winchester, for the endowment of his munificent
foundation of New College, Oxford, to which it now belongs; and there is an ancient
house about three quarters of a mile from the church, eastward, where the abbey was
situated, and where the court meets: in the rolls it is called Takeley St. Walerici.
iia>sinK- The larffe and eleafant modern mansion of Bassingbourne Hall is on an eminence
bourne " ® . . , i-
Hall. which commands an extensive view over the surrounding country: it was erected
by Francis Bernard, esq. who purchased the estate in 1745. It afterwards became the
seat of the late sir Peter Parker; afterwards of Laurence, esq.
The ancient estate of Bassingbourne is part of what belonged to Robert Gernon,
whose family was succeeded by that of Bassingbourne, from whom it derives its name.
Warine de Bassingbourne was sheriff of Cambridge and Huntingdon in 1170, and
some of the family were settled here in the reign of king Henry the third; Alexander
Bassingbourne, in 1239, and Stephen his brother, and John de Bassingbourne, are
recorded occupiers under Giles de Playz, who died in 1303, and under Richard de
Playz, who died in 1327; and from Nicholas Bassingbourne, who lived here in 1360,
this family continued to hold this possession till the reign of king Henry the sixth.
In 1437, sir John Howard, in right of Margaret his lady, heiress of the Playz family,
held this estate and Chaldwell Hall: their only daughter and heiress Elizabeth, con-
veyed it, in marriage, to John, son and heir of Richard de Vere, earl of Oxford, who
was beheaded in 1461: sir Giles Poulet, at the time of his decease in 1579, held it
under Edward, earl of Oxford, as of his honour of Stansted .Montfichet; his son
William was his heir. In 1634, William Towse, esq.* serjeant-at-law, town-clerk of
Colchester, and member of parliament for that borough, died in possession of this
manor, which was purchased of his heiress, in 1663, by John Kendal, esq. who, on
his decease in 1679, left his son William his heir; he was of Trinity College, Cam-
bridge, and a barrister of the Middle Temple, a gentleman highly esteemed: he
married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Beckford, merchant, of London, by whom he
* He re-edified, or greatly improved the manor-house, which was also further improved and embellished
by John Kendal, esq.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 153
had seven sons and three daughters. John Kendal, esq. the eldest surviving- son, was ^ H A p.
of Bennet College, Cambridge, and a barrister of the Middle Temple; he died unmar- "'
tied in 1T45,* and the estate being sold in chancery, was purchased by Francis Ber-
nard, esq. son of Francis Bernard, esq. one of the judges of the court of common
pleas in Ireland.
An estate named Tipswaynes in this parish formerly belonged to William Banne- '^'P-
bury, who was outlawed at Hertford for treason and felony in 1473, but its situation ''^^^^"^*'
is not known.
The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is of stone, and has a nave and chancel, with a CJhurcli.
south aisle, to which there is an apartment named Bassingbourne's chapel; and opposite
to it a strong room, formerly used as a depository for images of saints and relics.
William, son of Ralph de Hanville, gave the advowson of this church to St. John's
abbey, in Colchester; but, in 1237, the abbot and convent gave up the whole pa-
tronage of it to the cathedral of St. Paul, and to Roger Niger, bishop of London, and
his successors, for ever.
The parsonage, which is a manor, is leased out by the bishop of London ; and when
bishop Compton granted a new lease to William Kendal, esq. in 1680, he charged
the estate with forty pounds a year, payable quarterly to the vicar, in augmentation of
the vicarage.
A brass plate in the church bears the following inscription: — Inscrip-
tion.
" Hannah Kuollys gave to God, June 27, 1689, in augmentation of the vicarage, seven pounds per
annum, for the due payment of which a house and freehold lands are tied; she likewise settled a house
and orchard on the parish clerk for ever."
The tithe of about thirty acres of hay, ten of wheat, and ten of oats, are payable
to the vicarage, out of the tithes of Warish Hall; and the farm failing, are to be taken
out of the lordship.
A chapel was founded by Geofrey, son of William de Hanville, at his own house,
for his own convenience, on account of the badness of the roads, covenanting that it
should be no prejudice to the mother church: no traces of this building are now
discoverable.
Within the chapel and in the chancel are the following inscriptions: — Inscrip-
tions.
" Here lieth buried the body of William Towse, esq. sonn and hcyre of William Towse, serjeant-at-law,
who departed this life the 29th of May, 1692."
" Within the chapel belonging to Bassingbourne Hall is interred the body of John Kendal, esq. who
purchased the said manor of the heiress of serjeant Towse, in the year 1663, and departed this life the
29th of November, 1679, being the 78th year of his age."
* Arms of Kendal : Gules, a fesse chequy argent and azure, between three spread eagles, argent, two
and one.
154
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. " Stay, -ivhosoe'er thou art, view here this marble which does entombe the body of Hannah, daughter of
William Collin, of Lincoln's Inn, esq. relict of Francis Knollys, of Nether Winchington, in the county of
Bucks, esq. She lived long and happily, and died without issue on the 23d of June, 1689 ; her executors
fixed this stone as a lasting monument of her memory and their gratitude."*
In the church-yard: —
" To the memory of Mrs. Ann Nicholls, relict of Mr. John Nicholls, who departed this life the 6th of
September, 1801, aged 78 years.
" My weary pilgrimage at length is o'er, 11 I've laid my burden down, and in this cell
No pains or sickness now can vex me more ; || Bid all the troubles of the world farewell."
In 1821, this parish contained one thousand one hundred and thirty-four, and, in
1831, one thousand and ninety-nine inhabitants.
BIRCHANGER.
Birch-
an!{er.
Birch-
aneer
Hall.
Princes
Wood.
Cliurcli.
This small parish extends westward from Takeley to the borders of Hertfordshire,
and to Harlow hundred southward: from Bishop Stortford it is -distant two, and from
London thirty-one miles.
The name is in records Bilchaungre, Biliclangre, Bylchanger, Byleghengre, of
uncertain origin. In Edward the confessor's reign, it was in the possession of Turchill,
and having been given to the abbey of St. Valery at the time of the survey, was
confii'med to that monastery by king Henry the second; but was seized by Edward
the third during his wars with France, and remained in possession of the crown till it
was granted, by Richard the second, to William of Wickham, for the endowment of
New College, Oxford, who have also the advowson of this rectory.
The manor-house of Birchanger is an ancient building near the church.
Princes Wood was formerly called a manor, and holden as such by W^illiam Towse,
esq. at the time of his decease in 1634. On this manor a lawless court used to be held
at midnight. Stortford claims a right to this manor, which is believed to have been
erected before the bishop of London had his lands restored, when they were taken
away by king John, on account of the bishop's executing the pope's interdict.f
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is very pleasantly situated on the summit
of a hill, near the great London road. It is a small ancient building, the nave and
chancel of one pace, with a round tower and a low shingled spire.:|: The parsonage
house is a handsome building, not far distant from the church.
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and thirty-six, and, in 1831, three
hundred and sixty inhabitants.
* There were also buried here, William CoUyn, in 1681 ; Mrs. Mary English in 1695 : and the rev. John
English, her husband, vicar of this parish, in 1716, in the eighty-third year of his age."
t This Wood was sometime ago in the possession of W. Ely of Bishop Stortford, and since of John Nicholls.
: William Parsons, LL.D. who was instituted to this living, June 30th, 1641, read the Common Prayer
CHAP.
VII.
\
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 155
STANSTED MONTFICHET.
The parish of Stansted Montfichet is one of the largest in Essex, in circumference ^!''^"^^*^^
computed to be nearly forty miles. From Ugley and Elsenham northward, it extends ticlihet.
to Birchanger and Takeley; and westward to Bishop Stortford, in Hertfordshire,
and to Farnham, in Essex: distant from Saffron Walden nine, from Dunmow seven,
and from London thirty-four miles. There is a fair here on the twelfth of May.
The town is large and populous, and consists of two streets, one of which, on the
great road from London to Cambridge and NeAvmarket, contains numerous capital
houses, and a large meeting-house, belonging to dissenters of the denomination of
Independents. The other portion of the town is on the road to Elsenham and Takeley.
The meeting-house of Stansted is of considerable antiquity, and it appears from Stansted
writings in possession of the minister,-]- that some of the family of Nicholls, formerly iiouse.
dissenters, were among its earliest benefactors: and a small piece of ground in Farn-
ham was given by them for the purpose of a burying place.:}: In the indenture of the
trustees of this meeting-house, made in 1698, tenth of William the third, the names of
Anthony Nicholls, of Farnham, and John Nicholls of Hatfield Broadoke, occur;
in this church, during the interdict, in the time of Cromwell, notwithstanding the manifest danger he
incurred : he was afterwards prebendary of Chester, rector of Lambourn, and vicar of Great Dunmow.
Inscriptions in this church, within the communion rails :
" William Reade, of this parish, and Ann his wife, sole daughter and heir of Thoma^ Alcyn, of Branghen,
in Hertfordshire, gentleman, by Jane his wife, one of the daughters of Tliomas Laventhorp, of Albury
Hall, in the said county, esquire. She died, Uth Nov. 1639. He, the 3d April, 1659. This monument was
erected by their only son, Aleyn Reade." Arms : A griffin segreant .... a canton .... impaling per bend
rompu .... six martlets.
On the south wall: Charles Hippuff, esquire, late of Sion House, in this parish, and Birchin-lane,
London; died 28th November, 1815, aged 68. Catherine, his wife, died 30th July, 1808, aged 37.
J. M. Bingham, late rector of Runwell, in this county; formerly minister of Gosport chapel, Hants,
prebendary of the cathedral church of Chichester, and 4S years rector of this parish, died 30th January,
1807, aged 73. Catharine, his wife, died 3d July, 1799, aged 65. Arms : a bend cotised between
six .... impaling indistinct.
John Micklethwait, esquire, of Beeston St. Andrew, in the county of Norfolk, died 27th February, 1799,
aged 79. He was descended from the ancient family of Micklethwait, of Swine, in the county of York.
Also, ^Elizabeth his wife, youngest daughter of William Peckham, esquire, of Iridge Place, in the county
of Suffolk : she died 1806, aged 78 years. Arms : Chequy argent and gules a chief indented azure. Over
all, on an escutcheon of pretence. Ermine : a chief quarterly or and gules. Crest : On a wreath, or and
gules, a griffin's head.
On the floor : Michael Thompson, merchant, of London ; died Oct. 20th, 1705, aged 57.
Alexander Watson, of Billiter-square ; died 29th of March, 1789, aged bb.
f The rev. Mr. May, minister here, has compiled a short history of the meeting-house, for the use of
the trustees.
X In this burial ground are the following inscriptions ; " Elizabeth, late wife of Zachariah Nicholls, of
Barrington Hall, died 6 April 1787, aged 36. Zachariah Nicholls, late of Harrington Hall, died fourth of
February, 1793, aged 63.
156 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK n. and also, in the successive renewals of the said deed, are found, in 1717, the names of
John Nicholls, of Hatfield Broadoke, Zaehariah Nicholls, of Farnham, and Thomas
Nicholls of Little Hadham. A deed, bearing date 1724, tenth of George the first,
authorises the. grant, from Thomas Nicholls of Farnham, of a piece of ground at
Hazel End, in that parish, part of the orchard of the said Thomas Nicholls, and of Wil-
liam Nicholls his brother. A deed renewing the trust, in 1751, contains the name of
John Nicholls, of Little Hadham,* eldest son and heir of Thomas Nicholls of that
place ; and also the name of John and Zaehariah Nicholls, of Farnham : and in the j
next renewal of the trust, in 1772, the investment was in John Nicholls, of Farnham, ■
Zaehariah Nicholls, of Barrington-hall, John Nicholls, of Takeley, and others. In
1813, the consignment was from John Nicholls, of Thaxted, son and heir of Zaehariah
Nicholls, late of Dunmow, who was the only son and heir of John Nicholls, late of
Farnham.
The lands of this extensive parish are considerably diversified, some of them lying
very low, and others exceedingly high. The name is Saxon, compounded of Stan, a
stone, and j-teb, a place, derived from a visinal way, branching off from the great
Roman road between Bishop Stortford and Colchester, in the direction of Stansted-
street, toward Great Chesterford ; the appellation of Montfichet is understood to have
been given to this place in contradistinction to Stansted, in Hertfordshire ; and pro-
* John Nicholls, of Hadham (great grandfather of John NichoUsi, esq. of Islington), died in 1756,
leaving John, Joseph, and William : John Nicholls was of Takeley, in Essex, died without issue, and
was buried at Hadham, in 1775.
William, the third .son, was married, and had John, and Ann. John, the son of William Nicholls, had
by his wife , John, Anne, Jind Sarah.
Joseph, the second son of John Nicholls, of Hadham, married Susan, daughter of Baker, of
Matching, by whom he had John, and Zaehariah; this last was of Hadham, and by his wife Mary, had
William, who died without issue, and Ann and Sarah.
Jolm, the eldest son of Jo.scph Nicholls, born in 1763, died in 1790, and was buried at Hadham: he
married Mary, daughter of Mathias Miller, by whom he had his only son, John Nicholls, esq. of Islington,
born in 17S»0: he married Elizabeth Sarah, daughter of John Rahn, of Enfield, esq., by whom he has
Elizabeth, born at Islington in 1S25, baptised at Theydon Gernon. Edward Hadham Nicholls, born at
Islington, 1829, baptised at Theydon Gernon. John, born in 1 832, at Islington, baptised at Theydon Gernon.
The family of Nicholls is of very considerable antiquity in the county of Essex. John, son of John
Nicholls of Walden, is mentioned in a grant of land, dated 31st Edward I., and frequent mention is made
of tliem in various parts of tiie county ; a considerable branch of this family were long situated at Walden.
The ancestors of the NichoUses, benefactors of Stansted meeting-house, were principally settled at Hadham,
where they regularly appear for the last three centuries.
Arms of Nicholls of Essex : Sable, a pheon argent ; on a canton of the second, an owl proper. — Another
coat : Argent, on a chevron azure, between three wolves' heads erased, sable, as many crescents ermine ;
on a canton of the third, a pheon of the field. Crest : a squirrel, sable, holding a pheon, argent.
Arms of Rahn • A dexter arm issuing out of the sinister side of the escutcheon embowed and holding in
the hand a sprig of three acorns. Crest : a sprig of three acorns. The family of Rahn (then called Von
Rahn), came into England with George the first.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 157
bably arose from a large artificial mount of earth* remaining here, on which the keep c H a F
of a castle stood, erected by William Gernon, surnamed Montfichet. Some remains ^"'
of the castle are yet perceptible about a quarter of a mile from the church.
This possession in the time of the Saxons Avas an inconsiderable estate holden by
only one freeman : but, being given to Robert Gernon, and made the chief seat of
the family, and the head of their extensive barony, it on that account rose to import-
ance. The male line of this family continued five descents; first, Robert; second,
William, who took the surname of Montfichet; third, Gilbert; fourth, Richard; fifth,
Richard. The whole of this parish, divided into two manors, was in their possession.
Stansted Hall was a large and handsome ancient mansion, not far from the church, Stansted
on the summit of a lofty hill, with an extensive prospect into Elsenham, Henham, and ^ '
other neighbouring parishes. This venerable and stately fabric has been pulled down,
except what has been converted into a farm-house. The estate belongs to
Maitland, esq.
The time of Robert Gernon's decease is not known ; his son William, succeeding Gernon
to the extensive family possessions, exchanged the former surname of the family for ^^^^^'
that of Montfichet, afterwards used by his descendants. He was the founder of the
abbey of Stratford Langford, in West Ham. His son, Gilbert de Montfichet, is
mentioned in the assessment of the aid for marrying the daughter of king Henry the
second to the duke of Saxony. Richard, his son, was keeper of the forest of Essex
with the keeper of the king's house at Havering, and all the other houses of the king
in that forest, and this office was confirmed by Henry the second. In 1194, he
attended king Richard the first on his expedition into Normandy; and, in 1200, gave
one hundred marks for a confirmation of his forestership of Essex, with the custody of
the castle of Hertford ; and Avas made sheriff" of both these counties. On his decease,
in 1203, he left, by Melicent his wife, his son Richard, who being under age, Roger
de Lacy, constable of Chester, gave one thousand marks for his wardship, and his
mother Melicent, in 1210, gave one thousand one hundred marks for the same ward-
ship. Joining the discontented barons against king John, he was one of the twenty-
five appointed to govern the realm; and in 1217, was taken prisoner at the battle of
Lincoln: but regaining the king's favour in 1236, he was made justice of the royal
forests in this and other counties: and also, in 1242, sheriff" of Essex and Hertford-
shire, and governor of Hertford castle. He died witho\it issue, in I258f, leaving
three sisters his co-heiresses : Margery, married to Hugh de Bolebec, of Northumber-
land ; Aveline, married to William de Fortz, earl of Albemarle ; and Philippa, mar-
ried to Hugh de Playz. On the division of this noble inheritance, Bolebec had
Stansted Hall; and De Playz had Bendfield-bury; Walter, son and heir of Hugh,
* A fixed, or firm mount.
t Arms of Montfichet : Gules, three chevronels, with a label of three points, azare.
VOL. II. Y
158 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. was father of Walter Bolebec, who dying without issue, it remained in the several
branches of the family, till John de Lancaster, with his wife Annora, sold the
reversion of it to Thomas de Vere, one of the sons of Robert, third earl of Oxford,
to whose family the other parts of this manor, which had been detached from it, were
restored, and enjoyed by them through several generations.
Buinels. The manor-house of Burnels is on the side of the road from Stansted-bury to
Stansted town, and the manor is what was conveyed by Alice and Maud*, the two
youngest daughters of Hugh de Bolebec, to Robert Burnel, whose surname has been
retained by the estate. He was bishop of Bath and Wells, and died in 1292,f leaving
Philip Burnel, son of his brother Hugh, his heir, from whom it passed by several
female collateral heirships, to sir Edmund Hungerford, who held under Francis, lord
Lovel, Thomas being his son and heir ; after whom it became vested in the family
of de Vere.
Biii-y The manor-house of Bury Lodge is by the road from Stansted Hall to Takeley
Lodge.
common.
Bcndfield- The other most considerable manor in this parish is Benfield-bury, and the mansion
belonging to it is about two miles north-westward from the church, near the river
Stort. It is a hamlet to the parish of Stansted; yet the inhabitants elect a constable
of their own, and formerly did homage or service at the court-leet of the half hundred
of Clavering. This has descended with the other manors, from Robert Gernon to
the Montfichet family, from whom it was conveyed by marriage to the family of de
Playz ; one of whose female descendants marrying sir John Howard, carried with
her this estate, to which their grand-daughter succeeded ; and was married to John de
Vere, son and heir of Richard, the eleventh earl of Oxford, who, with his father, was
beheaded for adhering to the house of Lancaster. Of their estates, forfeited to the
crown, this of Bendfield-bury was, in 1498, given by the trustees of Richard, duke of
Gloucester, brother of king Edward the fourth, for the erection of a chantry in the
chapel of St. George, at Windsor. But this intention was prevented on the coming
of Henry the seventh to the throne, who restored the De Veres to their honours and
estates ; and Bendfield-bury continued in that noble family, till Edward, the seven-
teenth earl, sold it to John Southall, who, in 1584, conveyed it to Edward Hubert,
esq.,:]: from whose family it passed, in 1615, to sir Thomas Middleton, knt. Timothy,
his second son, had his residence here, whose son Thomas succeeded him, and erected
the modern part of Stansted Hall, improved the grounds, and made it a convenient
• She had four daughters, all of whom died before her ; and her husband, Hugh de la Vail, was a man
who rose to eminence, and acquired fame. — Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 626.
t He was afterwards lord chancellor ; and in 1274 appointed keeper of the great seal ; which high office
he retained till 1292. — Dugdale, Chronica Series.
X His son, Edward Hubert, esq. married Elizabeth, daughter of John Ashenhurst, esq. of Great Baddow.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 159
and elegant seat. Thomas, his son and heir, was many years burgess for Harwich, C H a i\
and left his son, Thomas Middleton, esq., his successor. This gentleman was mem- ^'""
ber of four successive parliaments in the commencement of the reign of queen Anne.
On his decease he left five daughters ; and by his last will vested his estate in trustees,
for providing portions for them, and to pay his debts, having no male heirs. After-
wards an act of parliament passed, authorising the sale of this estate, and it was pur-
chased by Thomas Heath, esq., of Mile End, in Middlesex. On his decease he was
succeeded by his eldest son, Bayley Heath, esq., sheriff of Essex in 1747. He died
in 1760, and left his son and heir, William Heath, esq.*
The priory of Thremhall was within the bounds of this parish, about two miles Priory of
south-east from the church, on the border of Hatfield forest : it was founded by hali^"^"
Richard de Montfichet, for black canons of the order of St. Augustine, and dedicated
to St. James; but the chief endowment of this house was by the noble family of De
Vere, earls of Oxford, into whose patronage it passed in 1289.
The site and manor of this priory, with that of Derbitots, Avas granted to sir John Ray
Carey, and Joyse Walsingham, a widow, whom he afterwards married. Wymond ^^"''y-
Carey, their son, sold this estate, in 1566, to William Glascock and John Pavyott;
and on the decease of the former of these, in 1578, his son, Richard Glascock, suc-
ceeded to this estate, whose son George was his heir; and in 1583 this and other
possessions here became the property of the Ray family, the sole heir of which, in
1608, was John Ray, attorney-at-law, who died in 1638; his son and heir, Thomas,
married Dorothy, daughter of Henry Glascock, esq., of Fernham, and had by her six
sons, and five daughters : he was succeeded on his decease, in 1692, by his son George,
educated at Christ's College, Cambridge : his son, the rev. Thomas Ray, erected a
handsome house near the site of the priory. On his decease, he left two daughters, his
co-heiresses ; one of whom was married to Dr. Robinson, the other to Wyatt,
esq. of Canfield ; and the former of these having purchased her sister's moiety of the
estate, came and resided here.
Several individuals of the families of Montfichet, of De Vere, and of Barrington,
were interred in the priory church.
Stansted church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is a small ancient edifice, which yet Church,
retains some interesting remains of its former appearance ; particularly some part of
the carved seats belonging to the chantry priests. The tower, which is of brick, and
contains five bells, bears the following inscription: —
"This steeple was rebuilt and the foundation new laid at the sole charge of sir Stephen Langham, of Inscrip-
Quinton, in Northamptonshire, knt., whose only daughter was married to sir James Middleton, knight, *'*'"•
* Arms of Heath : Parti per chevron, embattled, sable and argent. In chief two mullets of six points,
or, pierced gules : in base, a heathcock of the first, combed and wattled, proper.
tions.
160 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II ^"^'^ ^^ *^^ manor and patron of this church : as also the church was hy him ceiled, repaired, and whited,
and the porch rebuilt; all finished anno 1692."*
Advow- This church was given to the priory of Thremhall, but at what time is not known.
son. 'p'ljg u advowson of this vill," as it is named in the record, was the gift of John de
Lancaster. The first vicar was Robert de Bokkyngg, who died in 1361 ; but no
certain endownment was assigned to it till 1441. John Carey and Joyse Walsingham,
after the dissolution of the monastery, obtained a grant of the rectory and advowson of
this vicarage ; these were afterwards sold by their son, Wymond Carey.
Vicarage- The ancient vicarage-house, in Bradford-street, having fallen down, a piece of
ground was given by sir Thomas Middleton to Mr. Reynolds, for himself and suc-
cessors, where he, assisted by his patron and others, erected a convenient and hand-
some mansion, with outhouses, and garden ; and as a reward for having effected this
great and important improvement. Dr. Compton, bishop of London, gave him the
rectory of Thorley, in Hertfordshire.
Font. The font of Stansted church is ornamented with rudely-formed sculptures, and bears
undoubted marks of great antiquity.
Monu- On the north side of the chancel, the figure of a knight cross-legged, has been
inscrip- described by Mr. Gough, in his Sepulchral Monuments; as also by Weever;f it yet
remains, but more mutilated than in his time.:}:
On the floor of the chancel, on a small brass plate, in the cover of a stone coffin of a
pyramidal form, is an inscription, in characters partly Saxon and partly Gothic, to the
memory of the first vicar.§ Another brass plate bears an inscription. |1 Also, against
the south wall of the chancel, there is a handsome marble monument, to the memory of
sir Thomas Middleton, who is represented in a recumbent posture, in a suit of plate
armour with gilt studs, and a robe coloured gules and trimmed with fur, under a
highly decorated arch : the inscription nearly illegible.^
• Edward Huberd, esq. in 1582, gave a yearly rent-charge of twenty shillings, out of Crouch meadow, in
Birchanger, and also a rent of forty shillings yearly out of Moorfield, and Little Burgatefield, for the use
of the church.
t Cough's Sep. Mon. vol. i. p. 21 1. Weever's Sep. Obit. p. 654.
X Cough's description is as follows : " Under a large pointed arch, in the north side of the chancel at
Stansted Montfichet, a stone knight cross-legged in mail, round helmet, lion at feet, two angels at head.
Q. If a Montfichet from Tremhall Priory in this parish .' Perhaps Richard, the founder, t. Henry I. or the
founder of the church, as tradition says."
§ "Hie jacet Robert de Bokkyngg, prim, vicar, ecclie parochial. Stansted Mechet, qui ob. 22 kal. Sept.
anno Dni. 1361." " Here lies Robert de Bokkyngg, the first vicar of the parish church of Stansted Mechet,
who died on the -^ d day of September, in the year of our Lord 1361."
II Ann. Dni. I6U9, Ceorgium Ray, generosum virum Dei immortalis colentissimum, mortaliuraque
omnium amantissimum, hoc marmor occulit."
" In the year of our Lord 1609 ; this marble covers Ceorge Ray, gent., a very devout worshipper of the
immortal God, and a friend to all mankind."
f " Deo opt. Sacra. Repositum hie est depositum Thomse Middletonii, militis ex antiqua Middletonorum,
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 161
This church has been supplied with two hundred free sittings, toward the expense ^ ^ '^ P-
of which, the society for enlarging churches and chapels contributed two hundred '
pounds.
ordovicensium familia oriundi, qui ab Ephoebis Londinum receptus, hinc. Negotiandi causa in exteras Re-
giones Missus. Locoruni, Linguarum, Meicium Morum, pertissimus explorator: privata professionis suae
(mercatura) mysteria, turn publica Regni Negotia, sub auspitiisWalsingami, (cui intenotus) sumraa integri-
tate et singular! prudentia peragebat. Demum regressus Domum maximus urbis honoribus : Vicecomes et
Praetor Londini : laudatissime perfunctus supremi Purpuratorum ordinis Aldermanis in senatus facile
princeps ad mortem usq ; permansit. Nee immemor qualem sibi et Reipub : apud exteros navasset operam
gloriosissi ma Elizabethae prsecipuum in Monitis locum illius fidei demandavit. Vir fuit omne virtutem
laude cumulatissimus : Devotus in Deum ; fidus in principem ; pius in patriam, morigerus in amicos,
officiosus in omnes, viduarum vero et orphanorum propugnator acerrimus, et quale suis columen et asy-
lum, alios ad dignitatem, omnes ad divitias promovebat. Quatuor sibi uxores desponsavit, duabus
prioribus ex prima, Thomam Equitem auratum filium et haeredem ; et secunda Timotheum et duas filias,
Hesteram, Henrico Salisbury, militis et baronetta, nuptam (fato functam) et Mariam J. Mainard Nobilis
Balnei ordinis Equiti sociatam, postremo cunctis usq ; quo optari potuit successu coronatis ; pie et
placide Animam ccelo, corpus, humo, naturae vitam (anhelans meliorum) reddidit. At memoriam Amicia,
maerorem civibus, dolorum suis, desiderium sui bonis omnibus reliquit, die Aug. 12, An. Sal. 1631, aet.
suae 81 (aut eo circiter) mortuus et in hoc sacrario (sibi et suis condito) sepultus."
" Sacred to God all gracious. Here lie the remains of sir Thomas Middleton, knight, descended from
the ancient family of the Middletons, of North Wales ; who went in his early youth to London, from
whence he was sent as a merchant into foreign parts. He made himself well acquainted with countries
and their languages, merchandise and manners : he performed the private mysteries of his profession
(that of a merchant) as well as the public business of the kingdom, under the auspices of lord Walsingham
(to whom he was intimately known), with the greatest integrity, and an uncommon prudence. At length,
having returned home, he had the greatest honours of the city conferred upon him, those of sheriff and lord
mayor of London. Having with the greatest applause discharged these highest offices, he continued, to
the time of his death, chief of the court of aldermen. Nor was the most glorious Elizabeth unmindful of
the services he had done her and the state in foreign countries ; for she made him chief of her council.
He was a man of the greatest virtue; devout to his God, faithful to his prince, true to his country,
courteous to his friends, respectful to all, the strictest defender of widows and orphans. But what a sup-
port and refuge to his own relations ! Some he advanced to honour ; all to riches. He espoused four
wives; by the first of whom he had Thomas, knt., a son and heir; by the second, Timothy ; and two
daughters, Esther (deceased), who married sir Henry Salisbury, knight and baronet ; and Mary, who
married sir J. Mainard, knight of the noble order of the Bath. At last, all his affairs having been con-
tinually crowned with the desired success, he piously resigned his soul to heaven, his body to the ground,
in earnest expectation of a better life than this. But he left to his friends, the remembrance of himself ;
to his fellow- citizens, sorrow ; to his relations, grief; to all good men, a sense of their loss. He died on
the fourteenth day of August, in the year of his salvation, 1631 ; of his age 81, and is buried in this tomb'
erected for himself and his family.
" Occubuit virtus, et in hoc inclusa sepulchro
Middletonorum gloria magna jacet.
Deditus esse Deo, patriae pius, omnibus aequus
Londini celebras laude subire vices.
Indulgere bonis miseris solamen asylum
Orphanis viduis, et Deus esse suis .
Nil opus est saxis : hoc pectora fida loquuntur,
Illius illustrant hae monumenta rogum."
Translation. "Virtue hath perished; and in this tomb lies the great glory of the Middletons. Having
been devout to his God, true to his country, just to all men; having discharged, with applause, the highest
offices of the city of London ; having afforded relief and protection to good men in distress, to orphans
162
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
IJOOK II. The parish of Stansted Montfichet, with the hamlet of Benfield, in 1821, contained
~ one thousand five hundred and eighteen, and, in 1831, one thousand five hundred and
sixty inhabitants.*
QUENDON.
Quendon. Quendon is a small parish, intersected by the great road from London to Newmarket
and Cambridge. The lands here are of various descriptions, the appearance agreeably
and widows, and having been (as it were) a divinity to his relations -. there is no need of stones, faithful
breasts declare these things : these monumental erections adorn his grave."
Principal shield of arms, quarterly of nine; 1, on a bend three wolves' heads erased ; in the sinister chief
point a mullet : 2, a chevron between three wolves' heads erased : 3, a lion passant -. 4, on a bend three
lions passant: 6, two birds in pale: 6, per pale a lion rampant counterchauged : 7, three cocks:
8, between a chevron three owls : 9, two serpents entwined. Crest : on a wreath a dexter hand. There
are six other escutcheons on the monument.
Within the coniniunion rails a marble altar-tomb, of excellent workmanship, bears a female figure in
a reclining posture, habited in a close-bodied sable dress and a high-crowned hat; the mural compart-
ments of the tomb are ornamented with devices emblematical of mortality ; on the west end the following
inscription, on the south side two shields of arms :
" Justorum memoria sempiterna."
Here lyith the body of Hester Salvsbvrye, late wyf to Henry Salvsbvrye, of Lleweunye, in the county of
Denbighc, esquier, eldest davghter of sir Thomas Middleton, knight, alderman of the City of London, and
lord of this manor ; who had yssve John, Mort, Thomas, Vrsvla, and Elizabeth, and deceased ye 26 day
of January, 1614. Dexter shield quarterly of IG; impaling 6 quarters, the paternal coat of Salusburye,
a lion rampant between three crescents. Sinister shield .same as the impalement of the dexter : the arms
and quarterings of Middleton.
On the ground : Thomas Day, gent, an ancient inhabitant of this parish, and Dorothy his wife, daughter
of Henry Glascock, his wife, of Fafnham (should] be Fatnham) ; he died May 4, 1692, aged 76, and she
May 15, 1701, aged 82, having lived together 32 years.
The burying place of sir Stephen Langham and his lady. Sir Stephen died Sept. 1, 1709, aged 81 ;
his lady, March 3, 1721, aged 84.
* Charities. — In 1604, Elizabeth Cook (otherwise Chapman) gave an acre of arable land in Stansted
Stoneyfield, in Birchanger, the rent to be given by the churchwardens to ten poor widows of Stansted,
yearly : in 1609, the same lady gave a field called Bull's Croft, in Great Hallingbury, and five shillings
per annum for the use of the poor of Stansted. In 1612, Mr. Parnel Brown gave an annuity of twenty
shillings to the poor, out of lands called Revels, payable on Christmas Day. In 1615, Mr. Dionysius
Palmer gave an annuity of fifty-two shillings, to be given in bread to the poor, two shillings to the vicar,
and one shilling to the churchwardens. In 1620, Mr. Robert Buck, of Ugley, by will, gave every third
year, to three poor men, each a suit of clothes, and three suits to three poor women with hats, and three
jiounds in money for making. In 1705,Gertrude,oneof the daughters of William Peck, esq. of Little Samford
Hall, left, by will, sixty-six pounds, six shillings and eight pence, the interest of which to be given in bread
to the poor every Sunday fortnight. Grace Judson, widow of the late rev. Jonathan Judson, vicar of this
parish, beijueathed five pounds a year for ten years after his decease, to the poor widows of this parish,
under the direction of Bailey Heath, esq. her executor. One hundred pounds was bequeathed by Mrs.
Kitty Rush, sister of the late Bailey Heatli, esq. to the poor of this parish, the principal of which is vested
in the names of William Paris and Matthew Woodly, jun., and the interest, at five per cent, per annum,
applied to the benefit of the Sunday-school, instituted in the year 1812.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 163
diversified, in some parts hilly, in others flat and low. The village on the road-side C H a p.
is small, but has some good houses: the name fi'om the Saxon Cpen, a queen, and '
bon, a hill, Queen's Hill. The distance from Saffron Walden is six, and from London
thirty-six miles.
Aldred was the name of the possessor of the lands of this parish in the time of Manor,
Edward the confessor, which, at the survey of Domesday, belonged to Eudo Dapifer;
and descended from him to the noble families of Mandeville and Bohun : of which last
family, Humphrey, earl of Hereford, Essex and Northampton, in 1372, had two
daughters, co-heiresses; Eleanor, in 1372, married to Thomas, of Woodstock, duke
of Gloucester; and Mary, married to Henry, earl of Derby, who afterwards became
king Henry the fourth. When the duke of Gloucester was murdered at Calais, he
was succeeded in his estates by his daughter Anne, married to Edmund, earl of
Stafford; and by a partition of the estates in 1421, between the said Anne and king
Henry the fifth, the son of her aunt, this manor fell to the king's share, Avho settled
it upon Katharine his queen; who was succeeded in this possession by Margaret,
queen of king Henry the sixth, and afterwards by Elizabeth, queen of Edward the
fourth; it remained in the crown till the year 1530: in 1533, it had become the
property of Thomas Newman, esq. of Wethersfield, who was also possessed of a
moiety of the manor of Rickling Hall, and the Avhole of the manor of Fange. He
pulled down the ancient manor-house near the church, and erected a capital mansion,
from him named Newman Hall; it is about three quarters of a mile northward from Newman
. . Hall
the church. Mr. Newman married Anne, daughter of Rooke Green, esq. of Little
Samford, and had by her Anne, his only daughter and heiress, who conveyed this
estate to her husband, James Wilford, esq. son of Thomas Wilford, esq. of Hartridge,
in Kent, by Mary, daughter of sir Humphrey Browne, and grandson of sir James
Wilford, who married Joyse, daughter of John Barrett, esq. of Aveley. James
Wilford had by Anne Newman, Henry, his eldest son and heir, Anne, and several
other sons and daughters. Anne was married to Edward Stafford, father of Henry
lord StaflFord, descended from Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham. Henry
Wilford, esq. succeeded his father; and either he, or one of his descendants, wasin
possession of this estate in 1635, which, in 1645, he sold to John Benson,of London.
It next belonged to Samuel Gibbs, esq. alderman of London, whose wife Anne,
daughter of Francil Ashe, esq. dying young, left him no children, and he sold Newman
Hall to Thomas Turner, esq. of Widdington, whose son, John Turner, esq. rebuilt
the hall, and inclosed it in a park: it has since been named Quendon Hall. In 1717 Quendon
Hall
it was sold by his son, John Turner, esq. to John Maurice,* esq. of Walthamstow,
whose widow sold it to Henry Cranmer, esq. of the six clerks' office in chancery,
* He was the second son of sir William Maurice, knt. secretary of state to king Charles the second
Arms of Maurice : Gules, a lion rampant regardant, or.
164 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. who was succeeded by his son Henry: it is now the seat of James Powel
Cranmer, esq.
The church is small, having a nave, south aisle, and chancel.*
In 1821, this parish contained one hundred and fifty-six, and, in 1831, two hundred
and eleven inhabitants.
RICKLING.
Rickling. The parish of Rickling is separated from Quendon by the high road, from which it
extends westward; houses belonging to these parishes are on either side of this road:
in length, Rickling is about two miles, and in breadth one and a half: distant from
Saffron Walden four, and from London thirty-eight miles.
This parish is stated to have been originally in possession of Rickel, a Saxon, from
whom its name appears to have been derived. Earl Harold had possession of it in
the time of the Confessor, and, at the survey, it was retained among the crown lands
of the Conqueror.
Kickling 'pj^g ancient manor-house of Rickling Hall is about three quarters of a mile from
the church, most pleasantly situated among the southern hills, upon which are the most
delightful fields in the county. The house long retained some portion of its ancient
grandeur; the walls of brick, of great thickness, surrounding a quadrangular court,
the windows originally long and narrow, quoined with stone: the entrance-gate also
arched with free stone, the walls of the gate-house of the same material, and having
much the appearance of a chapel, or oratory, was embattled, and encircled by a moat,
with an artificial mount, and a keep on the south-western side, where there was sup-
posed to have been a dungeon. One of the apartments bore the name of the king's
parlour, probably having, at a remote period, been honoured by the presence of a
royal guest. The earliest recorded possessor of this estate was Beatrix de Saye, sister
of Geofrey and William de Magnaville, earls of Essex, who, on the failure of heirs
male, inherited the great estates of that family. She died here in 1207. In 1331,
Humphrey de Walden died in possession of this manor, and was succeeded by Andrew,
the son of his brother Roger, who, on his decease in 1352, left, by his wife Joan,
Thomas, his son and heir. In 1419, after having been alienated from this family, it
was in the possession of John Walden, f who held it of sir John Heron, as of his
manors of Sabrichford, Pouncyns, and Thurrocks, in Clavering. His sisters
* Inscription : — On a neat mural monument in the chancel : " Thomas Turner, of Newman Hall, in thi?
parish, esq. son and heir of Thomas Turner, late of Wcstlcy Hall, in Cambridgeshire, esq. His first wife
was Jemima, daughter of Thomas VValdegrave, of Smallbridge, in Suffolk, esq. ; his second and last wife
was Katharine, daughter of Robert Cheke, of Pirgo, in this county, esq. ; he died Feb. 2i, 1681, aged 39.
His wife Katharine died June 13, 1685, aged 38."
t Arms of Walden : Barry of four, argent and sable ; on a chief of the second, three cinquefoil.s of the
first.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 165
Katharine, wife of John Barley, jun., and Margaret, married to Henry Langley, were C H A p.
co-heiresses of the estate of the Walden family ; and this being the portion belonging '
to Mai'garet, was named, from her husband, Langley Wildbores. Thomas was his
son, whose son Henry died in 1488,* as did his wife in 1511, possessed of all the
family estates, which she left to their only daughter Katharine, married to John
Marshall, esq.; and she, on her decease in 1519, left her two daughters co-heiresses;
Elianor, married to Henry, son of sir John Cutts ; and Mary, married to John, son
of Richard Cutts. In 1547, Peter Cutts died in possession of this estate, succeeded
by Richard, his son, who held a moiety of the estate, the other being in possessionof
sii' Henry, the son of Henry Cutts. In 1626, it was sold by John, son and heir of
Richard Cutts, to Thomas Mitchel, of Codicote, in Hertfordshire. The other part
of the manor became successively the property of Turnor, Wilford, and Newman,
lords of Quendon, each portion of the manor retaining both a court leet and a court
baron.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, or to All Saints, is built of stone: Church,
having belonged to the manor, it passed along with it to Geofrey de Say, who gave it
to the abbey of Walden ; and that house appropriated the great tithes to itself, and, in
1237, ordained a vicarage, the collation of which, reserved to the bishop of London,
has remained in that see to the present time.f In 1729, Mr. Henry Rix left two
hundred and two pounds to the vicarage of this church, to which queen Anne's bounty
of the same amount was also added.
In 1821, the parish contained four hundred and nineteen, and, in 1831, four
hundred and forty-seven inhabitants.
NEWPORT.
This parish is surrounded by Wickham Bonhunt, Walden, Debden, Widdington, Newport.
Quendon, and Rickling; and is intersected by the high road from London to Cam-
bridge: it is one mile and a half in breadth, and in length three miles.
The village, formerly a market-town, occupies both sides of the road, forming a
considerably extensive street; from Walden distant three, and from London thirty-
nine miles. It has a fair annually on the 17th of November, and on Thursday, in
Easter Aveek. There are many good houses and shops, and a place of worship belong-
* Anns of Langley : Paly of six, argent and vert.
t Sir Henry Langley, esq. died in 1458, and Margaret his wife, in 1453; they lie under a tomb by the
south wall of the chancel.
On a mural monument in the church : " Near this place lieth interred the body of Robert Turner,
gent, third son of Edmund Turner, of Walden, gent, (and Elizabeth his wife) lord of one part of the
manor of Rickling. He died Feb. 2, 1657. This monument was erected by his brother and sole executor."
Charity:— Two acres of land were bequeathed to the poor of this parish, the annual rent of which i.s
given in bread, by the overseers.
VOL. II. Z
166 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
IK){)K II. ing to dissenters, of the denomination of Independents, which was erected above fifty
years ago.
The ancient name of Newport-ponds, applied to this place, was derived from a pond
of considerable extent, on its southern extremity.* There was also an ancient cross,
the remains of which were some time ago to be seen here, and which is mentioned
in records.
iiiich- Houses extending northward beyond the toll-bridge form a hamlet to Newport,
'^^^^"' named Birchanger; in the time of Edward the confessor, it belonged to Harolf; and,
in the record of Domesday, is said to have been in the possession of Tascelin, a priest.
St. Leo- An hospital, dedicated to St. Leonard, was in this hamlet, toward Shortgrove, near
Hosphai. the river, where there is a good house, the residence of Ward, esq. supposed,
in its present state, to contain a large portion of the original building: it bears on the
front the date 1692, fourth of William and Mary, with the figure of a royal crown,
and other ornamental carvings.f This hospital was founded in the reign of king John,
by Richard, son of Serlo, of Newport; it had a master and two chaplains, who were
under the jurisdiction of the dean of St. Martin's, in London, and had large endo%v-
ments in W^iddington, Great Wendon, Arkesden, Elmdon, and many other parishes;
in 1345, John Flamberd gave lands and tenements to the master and brethren of this
hospital, to find a priest to sing mass for his soul, in the chapel of St. Elene, within his
manor of Bonhunt; John Quyntyn, of Newport, also, in 1346, gave to this house one
and a half acres of meadow land, and nine of arable. The fair kept here on St.
Leonard's day, was granted, by king Henry the third, for their benefit. On the
suppression of this house, it passed with the hamlet, through successive proprietors, to
the earls of Suffolk, Bristol, and Thomond ; and to the present lord of the manor.
In ancient records a castle is mentioned as belonging to Newport, but nothing further
respecting it is known.
The prison is a large and strong building fronting the street, in the northern part
of the village. It is calculated to contain a great number of prisoners, and has a
Bridewell ; but, having no tread-mill, sends some of its convicts to Halstead, where a
machine of that kind has been lately erected.
• The Nightingale family had their residence at Pond Cross : particularly William Nightingale, who
married Gonora, daughter of Geofrey Thurgood, of Ugley ; and whose son Geofrey, esq. of the Inner
Temple, marrying Catharine, daughter and heiress of John Clamp, had by her seven children. He died
in 1608, and his eldest son Thomas was sheriff of Essex in 1627, and created a baronet in 1628.
t This building is traditionally said to have been the market-house ; and as the market and fairs were
originally for the benefit of the hospital, they were undoubtedly holden before the house, which, as long
as the market continued, might have some connexion with it. There is a house, apparently ancient, not
far distant from the church, which bears on the front toward the street well-executed old carvings,
representing a king, with an infant in his arms ; on his right hand, a performer on an organ, and on the
opposite left-hand side, a person playing on a harp : the proper application of these symbols is not at
present known.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD.
167
•In the time of Edward the confessor, this town and manor belonged to earl Harold; C H A f.
and afterwards, forming part of the royal demesnes of the Conqueror, continued in ^"'
possession of the crown till the reign of Edward the sixth, and under the early ^'''*"o' of
monarchs enjoyed ample privileges, with a market, fairs, and freedom from toll.
The empress Maud gave it to Geofrey de Mandeville, with licence to remove the
market to his castle of Walden; and afterwards, in 1203, king John granted a fair
here to Gerard de Furnival, who, in 1207, surrendered the town and castle* of
Newport to the same king; of whom Baldwin de Haverkert obtained a grant of this
manor. Richard, earl of Cornwall, and king of the Romans, the second son of king
John, held this possession at the time of his decease in 1271, and was succeeded by his
son Edmund. In 1307, it was granted to Piers de Gaveston, by king Edward the
second; and John Revell held it in 1311, and during the king's pleasure; as did also
Hugh de Audele, earl of Gloucester, with Margaret his wife, whose first husband
was Piers de Gaveston. Henry de Ferrers held it under Edward the third, by the
service of a knight's fee, till his decease in 1343; and king Richard the second gave it
to Edmund Langley, duke of York, fifth son of king Edward the third. Newport,
with the hamlet of Birchanger, was granted to William Lynde, for the term of forty
years: and, in 1550, in the reign of Edward the sixth, this manor, with appertenances,
was granted, as parcel of the dutchy of Cornwall, to Richard Fermor, esq. : it belonged
to sir Ralph Warren at the time of his decease in 1553 ; and to his son, Richard
Warren, esq. who died in 1597, and whose heir was his nephew, Oliver Cromwell,
esq. of Hinchingbrook, the son of his sister Joanna. Afterwards it passed, by pur-
chase, to the noble family of Suftblk, and, on the partition of their estates, Avas allotted
to George William Harvey, earl of Bristol, together with the hospital of St. Leonard,
and the hamlet of Birchanger.
The lands of the manor of Shortgrove belonged to Ulwin and Grichel, two freemen. Short-
in the time of the Confessor; and, at the survey, were holden under Eustace, earl of
Boulogne, his under-tenant, Adelolf de Merc, and Robert Gernon, who also had
Widdington. This estate is not entered with the village, in Domesday, and is, in the
Red Book of the Exchequer, said to be near Newport; and, in a charter of Henry
the third, is named the v ill of Shortgrove; yet, in a rental in the reign of Edward
the first, it is expressly stated to be in the parish of Newport. In the reign of Henry
the second, the prior and convent of St. Bartholomew, near Smithfield, in London,
held this estate, under the family of Merk, and under William de Verdun: they also
held lands and tenements included in the same manor, in Widdington, under Robert
* Ft is stated, that a market was continued at Chesterford, which Rohcrt Bisjot, earl of Norfolk, had
procured to he holdeu there, to the great injury of the market of Richard, earl of Cornwall, at Newport :
from which it appears, that if the market had been previously removed, it was brouijht back again. —
Picas be/ore the queen and king's council, 37 Ed. the third.
168 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. Lenveyse; and in Debden under sir Reginald de Grey. In 1515, sir William Fin-
' derne died in possession of this estate, as did also his grandson, Thomas Finderne, in
1523: in 1558, Edward Elrington, esq. left it to his son Edward, whose son of the
same name was his successor, and died in 1578, leaving a son named Edward, his
successor. Giles Dent, esq. citizen and alderman of London, who died in 1670, was
the next purchaser of this estate, which descended to his son of the same name, AA^ho,
in 1675, married Grace, daughter of sir John HeAvet, hart, and AA'idoAv of sir Thomas
Brograve, hart, of Hamels, in Hertfordshire. Afterwards the estate A\^as sold to the
right hon. Henry O'Brien, earl of Thomond, in Ireland, and Adscoimt Tadcaster, in
England: he married the lady Elizabeth Seymour, daughter of Charles, duke of
Somerset, but had no issue; and, on his decease in 1741, left this estate, by will, to
his nephcAv, Percy Windham, esq. second son of sir William Wyndham, bart. by the
ladA^ Katharine Seymour, sister to his lady. Sir William took the name of O'Brien,
and Avas created earl of Thomond in 1756. This estate l)elongs at present to William
Charles Pitt Smith, esq. whose father Avas secretary to the right hon. William Pitt.
It is the seat of sir John St. Au])yn, bart.* F.R.A. and L.S.
Spanow SparroAV End is a hamlet, or small collection of houses, a mile and a half northward
End.
from the church, on the road to Saftron Walden.
Church. Xhe church, dedicated to St. Mary, has been formerly named the Queen's Free
Chapel: it is on the highest part of the tOAA'n, having a spacious nave, side and cross
aisles, and a chancel; and a lofty toAver Avith embattled turrets. A handsome carved
wooden screen separates the chancel from the cross aisle, and behind tltis, under what
Avas formerly the rood-loft, there are six stalls ornamented with curious carved work ;
and near the altar, the piscina,f and three stone seats have been alloAved to remain in
the wall. The font is large, and of an ancient form. There are two tine old paint-
ings of Moses and Aaron.
Previous to the year 1353, the church of Newport belonged to the college of
St. Martin-le-Grand, in London, Avith Avhicli it Avas given, by Henry the seventh, to
the abbey of St. Peter of Westminster; Avhere it remained till the dissolution and
conversion of that abbey to a bishopric by Henry the eighth ; and on the abolition
of the bishopric under EdAvard the sixth, in 1550, this church was annexed to the
diocese of London ; the advoAvson of the vicarage remaining in the crown.
Obits. There were twelve obits founded in this church.J
* Sir John is of Clowance, in Cornwall. Creation 1671, born 175S, succeeded to the title 1772, married
in 1822, Mrs. Juliana Vinicome. Brother, rev. Richard Thomas. Arms of St. Aubyn : Ermine, on a
cross gules, five bezants.
t These vessels are commonly found in ancient churches, as there was generally one attached to every
altar, in which the priest washed his hands whilst performing the sacred rites, in allusion to the text,
" I will wash my hands in innocency." — Ps. xxvi. 0.
X Inscriptions -.—In the south aisle a slab of marble, with the engraved eifigies in brass of a man and his
I
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 169
The vicarage received an addition of five pounds per annum, from Geofrey.How- C H A c.
land, esq. Giles Dent, esq. g-ave lands in Widdington, and one hundred pounds; and '
it was further augmented by Mrs. Rebecca Dent's bequest of two hundred pounds,
to which was added a benefaction of the same amount from queen Anne's bounty.*
In 1821, this parish contained eight hundred and fifty-two, and in 1831, nine hun-
dred and fourteen inhabitants.
wife, with two children on each side of them, is inscribed, " Here lieth Thomas Brond, whos soulc God
pardon." Round tlie whole is the following inscription, with the emblems of the Evangelists at the
corners : " Pray for the soulis of Thomas Brond, and Mgery his wyf, whiche Thomas deceasyd the xxi day
of Septembr. the yere of our Lord God M°- ccccc°-xv. On whose souJis Jhu have mcy. Amen."
Within the rails surrounding the communion table : " Here lyeth buryed ye body of William Night-
ingale, citizen and merchant of London (yongest sonne of Gefferye Nightingale, esquire, and Katherine
his wife), who after three jornyes out of Turkey from Egipte and Sidon, departed this life ye 19 of July,
1609, Ano. iEtatis suae xxx." Sutton, the founder of the Charter-house in London, appointed the
before-named Gefferye Nightingale one of the sixteen governors of his institution, and at his decease
left him a legacy of forty pounds.
On a large slab close to this, are the portraits in brass of a man in a gown, and his wife ; above their
heads are the arms of Nightingale. The inscription is as follows : " Here lyeth buryed ye body of Katherine
Nightingale, wife to Gefferye Nightingale, esquire, who had issue between them 7 children— Thomas,
Henry, William, Marye, Anne, Jhone, and Elizabeth. She departed this life the 9 November, in the
54 yeare of her age, and in the yeare of our Lord 16U8. A grave and modest matron shee was, loveing
and faithful! to her husbande, carefuU and tender over her children, kinde to her freendes, curteous to all,
helpefull to ye poor, hurtfuU to none : her sorrowfuU surviving husbande hath caused to be made this
durable monument as a sadd memorial of his greate losse and her worthe."
Against the north wall of the chancel is a handsome mural monument, adorned with shields of arms
&c. The inscription is as follows : *' In a v^ult underneath lies interred ye body of Dame Grace Brograve,
youngest daughter of sir John Hewett, late of Waresley, in the county of Huntingdon, bart. InFebr. 1602
she was married to sir Thomas Brograve, of Hamells, in the county of Hertford, bart., who dying in ye
yeare 1670, she, on ye 27 of July, 1675, was married to Giles Dent, of this parish, esq., son and heir of
Giles Dent, late citizen and alderman of London, and depaited this life the 20 of Sept. 1704, in ye 68 year
of her age. Here also lies interred the body of ye said Giles Dent, her husband, who departed this life ye
9 of Febr. 1711, in the 73 year of his age. He built Shortgrove-hall, in this parish, and by his will
directed this monument to be erected."
There are also inscriptions to the memory of other individuals of the Nightingale and Dent families, and
of Margaret Firrain, widow of Thomas Firmin, and daughter of Giles Dent, esq.: she died in 1719, aged
78. 'I'here is also buried here Giles Firmin, son of Thomas and Margaret Firmin; he died at Oporto, in
Portugal, from whence he was brought here and interred.
•In the church-yard, an altar-tomb bears the following inscription : "Sacred to the memory of Chris-
topher Verlet, a native of Switzerland, who, in the year of our Lord 1777, entered into the service of sir
John St. Aubyn, of Clowance, in the county of Cornwall, bart., in whose service he continued till the
time of hia death, which took place on the 9th of August, in the year of our Lord 1827, at Shortgrove, in
the county of Essex, in the 80th year of his age. Sir John St. Aubyn, as a token of respect for a faithful
servant, ordered this memorial to be erected."
* Charitable gifts : — The free grammar-school was founded in 1588, by Joyse Frankland, widow, and
William Saxie, her son ; and endowed with a portion of the great tithes of Banstead, in Surrey ; two
houses in Little Distaff-lane, London; and a tenement at Hoddesdon, in the county of Hertford; then of
no HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II.
Hall
WICKHAM BONHUNT.
This parish lies between Newport and the half hundred of Clavering, from which
it is separated by the stream called Bonhunt Water: it is about a mile square, occu-
pies low ground, and is thinly inhabited : distant from Walden five, and from London
forty miles. It is distinguished from two other parishes in Essex, bearing the Saxon
name of Vickham, by its secondary appellation of Bonhunt : the name in records is
Wicken, Wiken, Wickin, Wykyn, Wylden ; with Bonant, and Bonnet. The name
in Domesday is Wicam, and Banhunt ; which two manors became united about the
time of queen Elizabeth. Sexi, a freeman, held Wickham in the time of the Con-
fessor ; and Banhunt, at that time, belonged to Aluric, also a freeman : at the survey,
the first was in the possession of Gislebert, son of Turold, and the latter belonged to
Saisselin. Wickham Hall is a short distance north-westward from the church ; and
the nianor-house of Bonhunt lies half a mile distant from it, in a north-easterly direction.
Wickham The family of Barlee, or Barley, for several generations held the manor of Wick-
ham of the king, as of his dutchy of Lancaster. John Barley died in possession of it in
1445, as did also his son Henry in 1475, followed by William Barley his son, who
held this manor of Wylden (as it is named in the inquisition) with the advowson of
the chui'ch: he was succeeded by his son Henry, who died in 1529, and in 1557 this
estate was sold by his son William to Robert Chatterton, of whom it was purchased
by Matthew Bradbury;* who was succeeded by his eldest son William, followed
successively by Matthew, a second Matthew, and Francis, who marrying Anne,
daughter of George James, esq. of Manuden, had by her his son and successor John,
who died without issue ; Francis, of Clifford' s-inn, who died a bachelor ; William, a
the annual value of twenty-three pounds, ten shillings, but now amounting to about two hundred and
seventy-five pounds, and the master's salary being two hundred and five pounds.
The master of Gonvil and Caius College, Cambridge, was appointed the governor of this school, which
is open to the boys of the parish free of expense, except that of books ; and if the number of fifty boys are
not sent by the parishioners, that number may be supplied from any other place ; but no other scholars
are educated here : they are admitted at the age of seven, and remain five or six years. During the last
twenty-five years, only reading, writing, and arithmetic have been taught, though the rules direct the
Greek and Latin languages, with algebra and trigonometry to be jncluded, if required by the parents ; and
at the annual visitations, scholars may be examined, and if three or four be found qualified, they may be
admitted, according to their " anncyenterye," to vacant scholarships of the foundation of Mrs. Frankland
and her son, in the said college.
A farm called Gaces, formerly twenty pounds a year, was given by John Covill, and Agnes his wife, to
help poor people who receive no collection. — An annuity of thirteen shillings was left for the poor of thi.s
parish, by Mrs. Ma.-tin, of Crishall. — An annuity of five ^hiUings was left for them by Mr. Stratton. — Mr.
Richard Coleman, of Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, left six shillings a year to be given to six poor widows.
* He was the second son of Robert, and nephew of Thomas Bradbury, sheriff of London in 1498, and
in L509 lord mayor.
HUNDRED OF UTTLES FORD. 171
captain in the guards, killed in a duel ; James, of Magdalen college, Cambridge, a c H A P
chaplain in the army, Avho adventuring farther than the duty of his office required, was '
slain in the Spanish \a ar ; and Thomas, who died an infant : be had also two daughters,
who died Avithout issue ; and his successor was therefore his brother Matthew, Avhose
only daughter Dorinda, conveyed this estate to her husband, Joseph Sharp» who sold
it to Joseph Hetherington, esq., on whose decease, in 1745, he was succeeded by his
brother, Henry Hetherington, esq., and in 1T65 it belonged to Martin, esq.
The first mention of the manor of Bonhunt is in 1340, when John Flambard had Boninmt.
licence to endow the hospital of St. Leonard, at Newport, that the brethren might
find a chaplain to celebrate mass for his soul within his manor of Bonhunt, in the
chapel of St. Elena there. In 1436, and afterwards for several generations, it was in
the family of Green, from whom it passed to those of Bradbury, and Nightingale, and
to Henry Cranmer, esq. cf Quendon.
The church, dedicated to St. Margaret, is a small building of stone, with a low Chmch.
wooden steeple, containing three bel!s.
This parish, in 1821, contained one hundred and twenty-two, and in 1831, one
hundred and thirty-four inhabitants.
ARKESDEN.
The Saxon name of this parish is Apceben, "a chest or coffer in a valley," but its Arkesden.
significant application cannot be understood. The rivulet that flows through Wickharn
Bonhunt to Newport has its origin here, and waters the grounds as it passes : the soil
is in some instances light and sandy, in others wet and heavy ; and the face of the
country of varied appearance. It extends from Wickham Bonhunt to the Wendons,
and to the half hundred of Clavering, being in length about three miles, and in breadth
of nearly the same extent. From Saffron Walden distant five, and from London
forty-two miles.
At the close of the Saxon era, this parish was in the possession of various proprietors,
but the names of the manors can only in a few instances be now identified with the
lands to which they belonged. Aleric Wants was the owner of Archesdana; Boso,
and a freeman, had Wiggepet and Coggeshalls; Ulmar, had Einesnurda; Lewin,
was in possession of Peverels ; Godwin Sech, of Bledstowes ; and Grinchel, of
Mynchins. At the time of the survey of Domesday, these lands belonged to Eudo
Dapifer, Geofrey de Magnaville, William de Warren, Roger de Otburville, and
Robert Gernon.
Woodhall, the mansion-house belonging to the capital manor of Arkesden, also ^Voodhall
named Chawdwells, is on a gentle ascent, distant from the church about half a mile,
southward. It belonged to Eudo Dapifer at the time of the survey ; and passed, in
marriage, with his daughter and heiress Margaret, to William de Mandeville. Some-
172 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. time previous to the year 1165, king Henry the second had given the honour of Eudo
to Henry his chamberlain, son of Gerold, whom he succeeded in that office ; and
under whom JorcUni and William de Arkesdeu held four knights' fees, wanting a quar-
ter- Henry, the chamberlain, married Ermentruda, daughter and heiress of Robert
Talebot of Gainsborough, in Lincolnshire, and left his daughter Alice his sole heiress,
married to Robert de Insula, or de Lisle, from whom the family of that name, lords of
Rugemont, in Bedfordshire, are descended; and of whom this estate was afterwards
holden, receiving the name of Lisle's fee : it descended with the chamberlainship of
the excliequer, from Margaret, the daughter of Warine Fitz-Gerald, to Isabel her
grand-dau"hter, whose father was Baldwin de Rivers: this lady was married to Wil-
liam de Fortz, earl of Albemarle. Adam de Stratton was appointed her deputy in the
office of chamberlain;* from which he was removed, in 1302, for having acted
feloniously in that office. The family of Bayeux afterwards held this estate ; sir
Richard and sir Robert, in 1357, sir Ralph, in 1362, and others of the same family,
till sir Richard de Bayeux, in 1369, granted ail his right in this manor to sir William
de Burton; who at the time of his decease, in 1375, jointly with his lady Alianore,
held itf of the duke of Lancaster; Thomas was his son and heir. In 1445, Joan,
wife of John Hotoft, died possessed of this manor, holden of the king, as of hlsdutchy
of Lancaster. Thomas Langley of Rickliug, held it with those of Peverells, and
W^iggepet and Coksales, with a tenement named Coshe, and possessions in other
parishes; on his decease, in 1471, he left Henry Langley his son and heir; who died
in 1483, and his wife Katharine had all these estates in jointure in 1511 ; which their
only daughter and heiress Katharine conveyed to her husband, John Marshall, esq.,
to whom she bore Elianor, married to Henry Cutts, son of sir John Cutts, of Hore-
ham-hall, in Thaxted ; and Mar}', married to John, son of Richard Cutts. Eleanor
died in 1537, and her husband enjoyed these estates till his decease in 1573, his suc-
cessor behig their son, sir Henry Cutts. Peter Cutts, the son of John and Mary, is
also recorded at the time of his decease, in 1547, to have held, as joint-tenant, the
manors of Woodhall, Wiggepet, Coggeshalls, Peverels, and a moiety of some others:
Richard Cutts was his son, between whom and sir Henry a partition being made, each
of them had a moiety of these estates, which remained in the family till baron Cutts, of
Gowran,:}: sold this estate, in 1721, to Thomas Maynard, esq. of Bury St. Edmunds;
* At the Pleas at Chelmsford in 1285, the jurors present : Item, as for what concerneth serjeancies,
they say that Arkesden is a member of the serjeancie of the chamberlainship of the exchequer of our lord
the king, which serjeancie Adam de Stratton has of the gift of the countess of Albemarle, by the king's
consent. — Placita apud Chelmsford, 13 Ed. I.
f Then first named in the iccord, Woodhall.
X Richard died in 1592, and Mary his wife, daughter of Edward Elrington, esq. of Theydon-Bols, in
1594. Their son Uichard, on the decease of sir Henry Cutts, in 1603, without issue, came to his share of
the estate, but dying in 1607, also without issue, was succeeded by his brother, afterwards sir William
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 173
of whom it was afterwards purchased by Richard Cheeke, esq. apothecary, in Wych- C H A P.
street, London, treasurer of Christ's Hospital, who on his decease, in IT^O, was sue-
ceeded by his son, Robert Cheeke, esq.
The manor of Mynchens, or the Parsonage, also named Beckets, belonged to Mynchens
1 T» 1 /-^ 1 • r 1 orthePar-
Grinchell, in Edward the confessor s time, and to Robert (jernon, at the time ot the sonage.
survey. In 1327, it had become part of the endowment of the nunnery of Campsey,
in SuflPolk, but by whom given cannot be discovered: the prioress and convent
demised it to the abbot and monastery of Walden for a term of years; and afterwards,
in 1364, by licence granted from king Edward the third, released to the said abbot
and monastery, and their successors, all their right to this manor ; which was retained
by them till their dissolution, when it was granted, with the advowson of the vicarage,
to lord Audley, whose only daughter Margaret conveyed it, with the manor and
rectory, in marriage to Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk; who, in 1562, sold
Mynchens, the rectory of Arkesden, and a tenement called Sherperers, to Richard
Cutts, esq., from whom they have passed with the other estates of the family in this
parish.
Bokeles is a manor belonging anciently to an owner of that name : it was in pos- Bokeles.
session of sir Thomas Meade, and on his decease in 1584, it descended to his son John
Meade, esq., from whom it passed through the families of Smith, Hanchet, and others,
to Alexander Forbes, esq.
The church is a large handsome building on the side of a hill, with a nave, north and Church.
south aisles, and chancel, and a square tower containing six bells. It is of stone, and de-
dicated to St. Mary. The north aisle was built about the time of king Henry the seventh,
by Thomas Alderton, stock-fishmonger, of London, who also founded a chantry here.*
In 1821, this parish contained four hundred and fifteen, and in 1831, four hundred
and ninety inhabitants.
Cutts, who dying in 1G09, left his son Richard his successor, whose son John, being, on his father's
decease, in 1626, only six years of age, was left in the wardship of king Charles the first. He married a
daughter of sir Richard Everard, bart. of Much Waltham, by whom he had his son and heir Richard, who
removed to Childerley, in Cambridgeshire, where he had an estate left by a distant relation of the same
family name. His children were Richard, John, and three daughters ; of these, John became heir of the
family. He was educated at Catharine Hall, Cambridge ; and going a volunteer to the siege of Buda, was
made adjutant-general to the duke of Lorrain. At the revolution he came home as a lieutenant-colonel of
a Dutch regiment : served in Ireland, had a regiment given him, and in 1690 was created baron Cutts, of
Gowram : in 1693 was governor of the Isle of Wight, on which he had made a descent with the former
governor, lieutenant-general Talmash, who there received his death- wound. In 1694, he was made
colonel of the Coldstream regiment of guards : was wounded at the battle of Steinkirk ; in 1702, com-
manded at tlie siege and storming of Venloe : made all the campaigns in the first and second war in
Flanders ; and signalized himself at the attack on the town of Blenheim. But not being sufficiently
obsequious to the duke of Marlborough, he was sent into Ireland, as one of the lords-justices, and died
there in 1706 : he was three times married, but left no issue.
* A large altar-tomb in the chancel bears the effigies of the two persons whom it commemorates ;
VOL. II. 2 A
174
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Great
Wendon.
GREAT WENDON.
Three parishes, distmgnished by the names of Great and Little Wendon, and
Wendon Loughts, are entered in Domesday as one lordship. The Saxon name
UJanbon, a compound of UJan, white, and bon, a hill, may have been with propriety
applicable ; but the first syllable has several meanings.
Great Wendon is situated on the west side of the Newmarket road, and lies
between Arkesden and Littlebury: it is distant from Stortford ten, from London
forty-one miles ; and in circumference is computed to be about seven.
Great Wendon, at the close of the Saxon era, was one possession, holden by a free-
man; and at the survey belonged to Robert Gernon, whose successors were the
families of Montfichet and De Playz. In 1165 it was holden as two knights' fees
under William de Montfichet by John de Wendene ; and Alexander Bayloll held it
under Giles de Playz, who died in 1303. Richard de Playz died in 1327, and it was
holden under him by Thomas de Berkeley; whose son sir Maurice succeeded to the
same possession under sir John de Playz by the service of one knight's fee : his widow
Elizabeth had it as part of her jointure, till her decease in 1389, it being at that time
holden of sir John Howard and Margery his wife, daughter and heiress of John de
Playz : Thomas, lord Berkeley, was their eldest son and heir, and seems the last of
the family who retained this possession. The names of Edrike and Loveney after-
wards occur in records as holding this estate ; and in 1442, John Loveney, esq. held
it of John, earl of Oxford : his heir was Thomas Cavendish, esq. Sir John Fray,
chief baron of the exchequer, was possessed of this estate at the time of his decease in
1461; his daughter Elizabeth, by marriage, conveyed it to sir Thomas Waldegrave;
and in 1571 it was sold by William Waldegrave, esq. to John Barker, esq., from
above which, six pillars support a canopy, on which are sculptured coats of arms, and the following
inscription : — " Heare lieth Richard Cutte, esquier, sonne and heire to Peter Cutte, esquier, sonne and
heire to John Cutte, esquier, sonne and heire to Richard Cutte, esquier, which Richard was brother to sir
John Cutte, of Horam Hall, in Thaxtcd, treasurer of the most honourable household of the mighty king
Henry VIII. This Richard died 16 Aug. 1592.— Heare lyeth also Mary Cutte, late wife of this Richard,
and daughter of Edward Elrington, of Theydon Boys, in Essex, esq., chief butler of England to the most
renouned king Edward VI., queen Mary, and queen Elizabeth. This Mary died 20 Jan. 1594." — There
are also figures of their four sons and two daughters : Richard Cutte, eldest sou of this Richard and Mary
Cutte, who caused this monument to be erected : William, their second ; Francis, their third; and John,
their youngest son : also, Barbara, their eldest, and Dorothy, their youngest daughter.
There is also an elegant marble monument, with a Latin inscription, of which the following is a trans-
lation : " Sacred to the memory of John Withers, of the Middle Temple, who lies under this marble,
together with his dearly beloved wife, Ann, daughter of Richard Cutts, esq., formerly of this parish : he,
after having lived 73 years, died on the 28th of November, in the year of our Lord 1692; but she in the
bloom of youth.
" William Withers, nephew and heir, erected this monument, as a testimony of his gratitude to his very
dear and worthy uncle."
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 175
whose family it was purchased by the earl of Suffolk, and on the partition of the ^ ^ '"^ •'•
Audley End estates, this manor and that of Little Wendon, with the united advowson '. —
and the rectorial tithes, were allotted to the earl of Bristol, whose descendant alienated
the whole of his property in both parishes (with the exception of the advowson) to
the late lord Braybrooke.
Little Wendon, before the Conquest, was the property of a thane named Ulmer, i^'"^*"
and at the survey of Domesday, of William de Warren : it afterwards belonged to
the knightly family of Fitz- Ralph of Pebmarsh, surnaraed Pebeners, from that place.
William de Pebeners, also named Fitz-Ralph, had free warren here in 1338 ; and
John Fitz-Ralph, knt. was his successor in 1399. It afterwards passed through the
families of Cavendish, Fray, and Waldegrave, to the noble families of Suffolk and
Bristol.
Clanmer, or Clanfield-end, is a hamlet in this parish.
The rectory of Little Wendon and the vicarage of Great Wendon, were consoli-
dated in 1662 by bishop Sheldon, at the request of the inhabitants, with the consent
of the earl of Suffolk, the patron ; and the rates are assessed in the proportion of two
parts to Great and one to Little Wendon. The church of Little Wendon, which
was on the northern side of the road from Wendon Loughts to Great Wendon, as
also the vicarage-house of Great Wendon, both being ruinous, were destroyed ;
but the parsonage-house of Little Wendon has been repaired and appropriated to the
Vicar of Wendons Ambo, as he is styled in the act of Union.
The church of Great Wendon, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is a small ancient ciimch.
building, with north and south aisles, a nave and chancel, separated by a carved
wooden screen ; and between the aisles and nave, by heavy pillars, supporting Gothic
arches. A square low tower, with a spire, contains five bells.
The united parishes contained, in 1821, three hundred and thirty-six, and, in 1831,
three hundred and thirty-three inhabitants.
WENDON LOFTS, Or LOUGHTS.
This parish northward is bounded by Elmdon ; extends westward to Crishall and Wendon
^ •' Lotts, or
Great Chishull, and to Littlebury on the east. It is approached through a fine open Louslits.
country, in every direction presenting extensive prospects, is thinly inhabited, and
contains few houses. The name Lofts, or Loughts, is also in records written Lout,
Loutes, Louth, Lowtes, Lendon, and was probably derived from Henry Lo Hout,
who possessed the manor in the time of Henry the third.
This parish belonged to Alwin Stille, a Saxon freeman, in the time of Edward the
confessor, and at the survey was in the possession of Ralph Baignard and his under-
tenant Amelfrid. On the forfeiture of William, the son of Ralph Baignard, this
estate appears to have been granted to the Fitzwalter family ; and about the time of
ne
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Manor of
Lofts.
BOOK II. king John, or Henry the third, two knights' fees, at Wendon, in Essex, of the barony
' of Baignard, then vested in the Fitzwalter family, were holden of them by Robert
Lanhot.
The two knights' fees in this parish which were holden under Robert Fitzwalter
by Maud Lawney and Alice le Bottiler, in 1328, and on his decease, under Walter
Fitzwalter, who died in 1386, formed what is now the chief manor. Thomas Lawney
and his partners afterwards held it as one fee. In 1406 it is said to have belonged to
sir Walter Fitzwalter, and to have been previously in the possession of Benedict de
Alders, the abbot of Tiltey, and Robert Rokele. It belonged to Richard Knes-
worth, who conveyed it to John Shelley in 1476; and in 1559, Thomas Crawley,
esq. held it under Henry, earl of Sussex, as of his manor of Wimbish ; Anne, daughter
of John, his grandson, was his heiress on his decease in 1559.
The Meade family were a considerable time in possession of this estate, which was
purchased by Thomas Meade,* serjeant-at-law, in 1567, and in 1578 one of the
judges of the King's Bench ; in his family it continued several generations, till it
was sold by the co-heiresses of John Meade, esq. to Richard Chamberlain, esq. of
London, sheriff of Essex in 1722 : he married Sarah, daughter of Geofrey Stane, esq.
of Hatfield Broadoak, by whom he had Stane Chamberlain, his son and heir. After-
wards this estate was sold under a decree of chancery to Nathaniel Wilkes, esq. from
whom it descended to John Wilkes, esq. the present possessor.
The manor-house is a fine old building, pleasantly situated on rising ground, and
commanding agreeable prospects of wide extent, in various directions. It is inclosed
in a park, with gardens and plantations, and at a convenient distance, on the southern
front, is an ornamental stream of water. It is the seat of John Wilkes, esq.
Dodenhall Grange manor-house is on the extreme boundary of the parish, and the
Meade
family.
Manor-
house.
Dodenhall
Grange.
* His father, Thomas Meade, esq. was the first of the family who came into this county: he settled at
Elmdon, where he was succeeded by his son Thomas : he had also Reginald, settled at Elmdon ; a second
Thomas seated at Crishall ; and two daughters. Thomas Meade of Wendon Lofts, married Joan Clamp
of Huntingdon, a widow, by whom he had Thomas, Robert, and Matthew, of whom the two last were
never married : the father died in 1585, but this estate does not appear in the inquisition taken on that
occasion ; but it was in the possession of sir Thomas Meade, his son, at the time of his decease in 1617 ;
who had holden it under Robert, earl of Sussex, as of his manor of Wimbish Hall ; secondly, under John
Pearndon, as of his manor of Crishall-bury ; and thirdly, under the lord of Cheswick Hall, in the same
parish. He had also large estates in Arkesden and Elmdon. He married Bridget, daughter of sir John
Brograve, knt. of Hertfordshire, by whom he had Thomas, who died before him, John, Charles, George,
Robert, and five daughters. He was succeeded, on his decease, by his eldest surviving son, sir John
Meade, knt., vvho by Katharine, his lady, had Thomas, his successor, and two daughters. Thomas Meade,
esq. married Margaret, only daughter and heiress of Debney, of Norfolk, by whom he had nine
children : his successor was John, his eldest son, who by his wife Jane, daughter of William Wardour,
esq. had John, who died an infant ; Jane, married to John Whaley, merchant, of London ; and Margaret,
the wife of William Pytches, of Crishall.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 177
houses are in Elmclon. It was given to Tiltey abbey in 1406 ; and on the dissolution CHAP,
of that house was granted to Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk ; sir Giles Paulet was
the proprietor of this estate in 1565; succeeded by his son William Paulet, esq. in
1580. It afterwards passed to Hugh Bonfoy, esq. ; to Robert King, by marriage; to
Hugh King his son ; of whom it was purchased by John Hatchet, esq., succeeded by
his grandson of the same name, and by Forbes, esq.
The church, dedicated to St. Dunstan, is a low ancient building, in good repair, Church.
very near the manor-house.*
The rectory belonged to the abbey of Lesnes in Kent, till the dissolution; it has
since been in the possession of Thomas Crawley, esq. of the Meade family; and suc-
cessively of the proprietors of the hall estate.
In 1821, this parish contained sixty-seven, and in 1831, fifty-four inhabitants.
LITTLEBURY.
Littlebury is surrounded by Strethall, Saffron Walden, and the Wendons. The Littlebury
village is on the Newmarket road : it is pleasantly situated, and distant from London
forty-two miles.
In the ninth century, during the reign of king Edgar, this parish belonged
to a religious house in the isle of Ely, which contained eight priests, with their
wives and children : but in 970, Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester, having purchased
the island of king Edgar, turned out the priests and their wives and children,
and put in an abbot and monks ; and Leofwin, the fifth abbot, with the consent of
king Canute, conditioned with the holders of the estates and lordships belonging to
the monastery, that they should supply maintenance to the household for the whole
year, toward which Littlebury had to find provisions for two weeks. Edward the
confessor, grandson to Edgar, confirmed to them this possession, with several other
estates, which they retained till the dissolution of the house in 1539. There are
three manors in this parish.
In the reign of Henry the second the manor of Littlebury was holden under Nigel,
bishop of Ely, by Ralph de Berners; and also by another of the same name in 1210,
when it was said to be in Strethall, because that was anciently a berewick or hamlet
to this parish. This manor remained in possession of the ecclesiastical establishment
of Ely till the dissolution, and afterwards was retained by the crown, till it was
granted, in 1600, by queen Elizabeth, together with the manor of Hadstock, to
Thomas Sutton, esq. the munificent founder of the charter-house; who bequeathed
* In the chancel there are several inscriptions to the memory of individuals of the Meade family, and
on a tombstone in the church, a figure of a man cut in brass has on a label, "Jesus, son of God, have
mercy upon me !" and by his side the figure of a woman with a label, on which is inscribed, " St. Mary,
pray for us !"
Manor of
Littlebury
178 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. them by will, in 1611, to Thomas, earl of Suffolk, on condition that ten thousand
pounds should be paid within one year after his decease to his executors. After
the death of the tenth earl, in 1745, Littlebury was apportioned to the earl of Bristol,
under the partition deed of the estates of James the third earl of Suffolk; and was
sold by his descendant, the present marquis of Bristol, to the late lord Braybrooke.
Bouideux The manor of Bourdeux is not mentioned in records before the year 1541, when
it was g-ranted, with a portion of the tithes of Littlebury, to the dean and chapter of
the cathedral of Ely, under whom it is held by lord Braybrooke.
Catmere Catmere Hall, formerly called Gatemere, was near Catmere End and Littlebury
Green : it Avas a large ancient building, surrounded by a double moat, the site of which
is yet evidently distinguishable, in a field about two miles distant from Littlebury
Street: it once formed part of the chief manor, and is supposed to have been what in
Domesday was entered as a berewic, and named Haidene, as lying towards Heydon,
or considered to have belonged to that parish: in the time of king Henry the second,
it was holden under Nigel, bishop of Ely, as one knight's fee, by William Peregrina :
in 1210, by Henry Pelevino: by sir John de Neville, of Raby, in 1388: the lady
Elizabeth, daughter of William lord Latimer, re-married to sir Robert de Willoughby,
held it in dower till her decease in 1395; and her son John Neville, lord Latimer,
dying without issue, this estate descended to Ralph Neville, earl of Westmoreland,
the son of her first husband, by his first lady: on his decease in 1425, it passed to
Ralph, his grandson, to whom the earldom of Westmoreland also descended. The
Neville family having strongly supported the Lancastrian interest,* renders the con-
jecture probable, that on the accession of Edward the fourth to the crown, this estate
was forfeited. It was granted, by king Henry the eighth, to John Gate, esq. in 1543,
with a water-mill, a messuage, and the rectory of Littlebury.
Littlebury Littlebury Green, a straggling hamlet, rather more than a mile west-south-west
Chapel from the church, is sometimes named Stretley Green, in old deeds ; from which may
be inferred the existence of a Roman road passing this place, and of which traces
remain; and about half a mile farther, the site of an ancient chapel is still known by
the name of Chapel Green.
Cluucli. The church (which is within the area of a Roman encampment) is a plain building,
of considerable antiquity, dedicated to the Holy Trinity : it has side aisles, a nave and
chancel, with a square tower, containing five bells.f The rectory is a sinecure,
* Sir John Neville was slain at Towton, on the 29th of March 1461, fighting for Henry the sixth ; and
Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, was killed at Barnet Field, on the 14th of April, 1471, fighting against
Edward the fourth.
t The following inscription was formerly in the south aisle of Littlebury church : — " Hie jacet Jacobus
Edwards, quondam satelles de Hadstock et Hadham, tunc hujus villae, qui omni morum probitate hoc
munus gessit et candidissimo favore domini Redman, Eliensis episcopi, qui hoc sumptus est officio,
tandem fatali ipeste pie expirans vii calendas Octobris, anno gra. 1522." English : " Here lies James
I
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 179
in the gift of the bishop of Ely; the vicarage in the gift of the rector. Bishop Wren CHAP.
left thirty pounds a year, payable out of the impropriate tithes for the augmentation of '
the vicarage.* The great and small tithes were commuted for land when the parish
was enclosed, and the rectorial or parsonage farm is held under a lease for lives by lord
Braybrooke.
Mr. Henry Winstanley, the architect, was a resident at Littlebury, where he Mr. Win-
• I 1 • 1 1 /> 1 . • Stanley.
erected a curious house, long snice pulled down: he was " clerk of his majesty's works
at Newmarket, and at Audley End," under Charles the second and his successors:
he published twenty-one plans, views, and elevations of Audley End, now become
rare, and affording a curious and interesting representation of a magnificent mansion,
whose character and extent would otherwise have been forgotten. On the large and
dangerous rock near the entrance of Hamoaze Bay, called the Eddystone, Mr. Win-
stanley undertook to build a light-house, for the guidance of mariners, which he
finished with great art, and much to the satisfaction of his employers. Mr. Winstanley
frequently visited and strengthened his work, and was so confident of its firmness
and stability, that he had been heard to express a wish to be within it whenever an
extraordinary storm should happen; and, in the dreadful tempest of November 27,
1703, his wish was unfortunately gratified, when he would gladly have been on shore,
making signals for assistance, but no boat durst go off" to him; and, in the morning,
when the storm had ceased, nothing appeared but the bare rock, the light-house
having been carried away, with the architect, and all who were with him. Previous to
this melancholy event, Mr. Winstanley being a prisoner in France, was offered a
Edwards, formerly bailiff of Hadstock and Hadham, then of this village, who filled this oflBce with the
greatest integrity, and fullest esteem of his lord, Redman bishop of Ely, who had procured it for him:
a fatal plague put an end to his life on the seventh day of October, in the year of grace 1522." And on
a brass plate in the chancel was the following: "Here lieth the body of Jane, the wyfe of Henrye
Bradburye, gent, daughter of one Eyles Poultoun, of Dashboroughe, in the countie of Northampton, gent,
who in her lyfe not onlye lyved vertuouslye, but finished her dales with faith in Christ. She died in
August 157S." There are also inscriptions to the memory of Thomas Byrd, gent, of Littlebury, who died
in 1630; William Byrd, LL.D. of London, in 1639; Thomas Byrd, of Littlebury, in 1640; Ann, wife of
Thomas Byrd, in 1624; John Wale, in 1631, and Mary his wife, in 1635; and Mary, her daughter, in 1759.
Charities : — There is an almshouse in the street near the church, without endowment, and a room over
it, used for a free-school, with sixty pounds a year endowment, from lands and tenements in and near
the town ; there is also a good house for the master. There is no record of the institution of this charity,
but it is supposed to have been founded by Thomas Sutton, Lord Braybrooke, as lord of the manor,
appoints the schoolmaster, and is visitor of the school.
In 1584, Henry Hervey, LL.D. gave an annuity of six pounds, to be divided equally between the poor of
Littlebury and Bishops Stortford, payable by the master and fellows of Trinity Hall, in Cambridge.
Twenty shillings yearly, called clerk's gift, payable out of a farm near Littlebury Green, is distributed in
money to the poor. There also belongs to the poor, an annual gift of three pounds, left by Dr. Covel, late
rector of this parish ; and the interest of fifty pounds, the remaining part of one hundred pounds,
given by Thomas Sutton, esq.
* Bishop Rennet's Case of Impropriations, &c. p. 257.
180
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. liberal salary by the French king to remain in that country, which he refused. He
invented the celebrated water-works in Hyde-park.
Littlebury parish, in 1821, contained seven hundred and sixty-six, and, in 1831,
eight hundred and seventy-five inhabitants.
Strethall .
Manor of
Strethall.
STRETHALL.
This small parish in length is two, and in breadth not quite one mile; extending
from Littlebury to Elnidon north-westward, and northward to the extremity of the
hundred, occupying a pleasant part of the country, on high ground: the village is small,
distant from Saffron Walden four, and from London forty-sLx miles. In records and
deeds the name is Strahall, Strathala, Strattehalle, Stratlait, and Strethall.
At the general siu'vey, and previous to that period, Strethall was a hamlet or
berewick to Littlebury, and holden of the monastery of Ely, by William and Elwin,
two freemen;* and afterwards by Hugh, supposed to be Hugh de Berners, who came
into England at the time of the conquest. Ralph de Berners was his successor in
1210, and held two knights' fees here of the bishop of Ely; of this family there suc-
ceeded here John in 1252, and Ralph in 1262.
There is only one manor; the mansion-house is near the church, from which the
prospect over the country is of the computed extent of thirty miles, comprehending
within the range of its wide perspective the cities of Cambridge and Ely, and the town
of S waff ham.
In 1298, Ralph le Tibetott held this manor of the bishop of Ely, by the service of
two knights' fees, and was succeeded by his son Papie: in 1362, John Oxney and
others, trustees, released the manor and advowson of the church to John, son of John
de Bayley, for his life, with appurtenances in Elmdon and Walden; except two natives
of the said manor, John, son of William, and John, son of Henry in the Hale, with
their children born or to be hereafter born. Adam Peche was lord of this manor in
1383 and 1392; John Broke in 1398, and till 1400; and, in 1433, it was granted, by
sir John Kyghley and others, to William Bredwardyn and Margaret his wife, for
their lives; the reversion being in Thomas Cawndishe, son and heir of John Cawn-
dishe, citizen of London: William Cawndishe was his successor, as was afterwards
Augustine; George, brother of Thomas, being the next heir. In the registry the
family name is written Cavendish, in 1460. In 1467 to 1486, the inanor was in the
possession of John Leventhorp, esq. and of John Gardyner in 1504, who died here in
1508; Henry was his son.
Thomas Crawley, esq. of Wendon Loughts, held Strethall and other large pos-
sessions in the Chesterfords and in Littlebury, of the bishop of Ely : Anne, his great
* Littlebury Green is in old deeds called Stretley Green, from the street or military way which passes
here toward the Roman camp; both Streethall and Littlebury belonged to the monastery of Ely, and were
called the lands of St. Etheldred, or Audry.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 181
grand-daughter, was his heiress; and it was in the possession of Thomas Crawley chap.
in 1573. ^^'•
Robert, son of Edward Newport, of the ancient family of the Newports, of Newpoi t
Pelham Brent, and Pelham Furneux, in Hertfordshire, had this estate in 1635, '*'"*■"
Robert Newport, of Arcole, in Shropshire, was the first that settled here : he married
Green, of Sandonbury, in Hertfordshire, and had by her John and George.
John Newport, by his wife Margery, daughter of Robert Newport, esq. of Pelham
Furneux, widow of Hanchet, had Robert, and three other sons, and a daughter.
Robert Newport succeeded his father on his decease in 1553, and marrying Jane,
daughter of sir Barrington, knt. widow of Lucy, had Edward, John, and
three daughters. Edward Newport, son and heir of Robert, was of Pelham Brent,
and Sandon; and dying in 1624, left seven sons and six daughters: of the sons, four
went out in the service of king Charles the first, and kept the field to the last; and
the consequent plundering and confiscations reduced this estate, and caused it to be
sold in successive portions. Robert Newport had possession in 1669, and his suc-
cessor, Leonard Newport, esq. sold Strethall to the munificent Edward Colston, esq.
of Bristol, who, having a mortgage upon it, foreclosed the equity of redemption.
Mr. Colston died in 1721. The manor afterwards became the property of Robert
Carr, esq. of Isleworth, in Middlesex, who, on his decease, left several children and a
widow. The parish is divided into about four farms.
The church is of stone, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Cluucli.
In 1515, a quit-rent of five pounds six shillings and eight pence, payable out of
tenements in Bucklersbury and Budge-row, was given to the living of this church,
which, in 1723, was augmented by the donation of two hundred pounds from Edward
Colston and Robert Carr, esqs. to which was added the sum of two hundred pounds
from queen Anne's bounty.*
In 1821, this parish contained fifty-four, and, in 1831, forty-one inhabitants.
* Inscriptions : — In the chancel, on a brass plate : " Pray for the soiiles of John Gardyner, gentilman, Inscrip-
heir buried, sometime lord of this maniir and patron of this churche ; and of Johane, sometime his wife, tions.
daughter of Henry Wodecock, of London, gentilman, and Henry their son; which John lieth buried in
the church of St. Mary Wolnoth. Lombard-street, London; and the said Henry their son lieth buried in
the church of Sevenoke, in Kent ; and the said John died at this manor at midnight, between the xxxth
and thexxxist day of August, in the year of our Lord God 1508: to all which souls Jesu be merciful. Amen."
There are other ancient inscriptions, among which is the following : " Here lieth maister Thomas
Abbot, late pson here, whiche decessed viii October, 1539, on whose soule Jesu have mercy."
The opposite side of the same plate bears the following : —
" Orate IVLirgaretam Sidey, raodo vermibus escam.
Quondam formosam muliercm religiosam.
Hie contemplantes, quales eritis memorantes.
Posuite solio deum; coelis jacet mihi mansio."
" Pray for Margaret Sidey, now the food for worms, formerly a beautiful and religious woman. Ye
who behold this, think what ye shall be. God sits upon his throne. My abode is in heaven."
VOL, II. ^ B
182
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
IJOOK 11.
Elindon.
Kliudon-
luiryHall,
Dag-
wnith.s,
and
Moun-
teneys.
ELMDON.
This parish lies westward from Strethall, and extends to Heydon, on the borders
of Cambridgeshire: in circumference it is about nine miles; it occupies a portion of
the chalk district; and the village, which is small, is on the sides of two of the
numerous hills by which this part of the country is distinguished: from Saffron Walden
it is distant four, and from London forty-two miles.
Two freemen, named Almar and Brictulf, held part of this parish in the time of
Edward the confessor, and were succeeded by Ingelric. Eustace, earl of Boulogne,
was the possessor at the time of the survey, and his under tenant was Roger de
Suraeri; it consequently formed part of the honour of Boulogne, belonging to which,
in 1210, there were holden here by Milo de Sumeri, the grandson of Roger, Roger
de Neville, and Serlo de Mercy, each one knight's fee; and Leticia de Pinkeni half a
fee. In the records, six or more manors are mentioned; Ehndon, Dagworths,
Mounteneys, Pigots, Leebury, Cocksales, which has some lands here, but more in
Arkesden, and Crawleybury, more properly placed in Christhall; the rectory or par-
sonao-e was likewise a manor : but the courts having been discontinued, none of these
have retained their manorial characters, except Elmdon and Leebur)^, of which the
lirst has absorbed the distinctions of Dagworths, Mounteneys, and Pigots, taken
from different owners.
Elmdonbury, the chief manor-house, is a good old building, near the church. This
manor is what in records has been named Dagworth and Mounteneys, being what
Roger de Sumeri, and Milo his grandson, held: they were a branch of the noble
family of this name, barons of the realm in the reign of king Stephen.
John de Dagworth, who died in 1332, had possessions here, as had Nicholas his
son; and Thomasine, wife of sir John de Dagworth, knt., in 1362. Mounteneys
was undoubtedly what Robert de Mounteney held here in 1286 ; Ernulph was his
son and heir ; and the same possession was holden by Ranulph de Montchensy in 1310,
as the eighth part of the manor of Elmdon ; John de Montchensy was his son. In
1321, Nicholas de Segrave died in possession of this estate, leaving Maud his daughter
his heiress, who was married to Edmund de Bohun. By the marriage of Thomasine,
daughter and heiress of sir John de Dagworth, to William de Furnival, most of these
manors were conveyed to that noble family ; he died in 1383, leaving Joane his heiress,
married to Thomas de Neville, brother of Ralph, lord NeviUe, first earl of Westmore-
land ; who on that account was summoned to parliament by the title of lord Furnival.
The offspring from this marriage was Maud, married to John Talbot, the renowned
earl of Shrewsbury : and Joane, married to Hamo Belknap. The name of Thomas
Knivet, esq. of Stanway, occurs in a deed of the date of 1430, for the conveyance of
this manor to Richard Fox, esq. and others ; afterwards these manors were in the
families of Langley, Marshall, Cutts, and Meade: and being sold by the co-heiresses
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 183
of sir Thomas Meade, after his decease in 1678, were purchased by John Wilkes, escj. C H a p.
and belong to his descendant John Wilkes, esq. of Wendon Loughts.
The mansion-house of the manor of Leebury is rather more than a mile dis- Leebmy.
tant from the church, on an eminence, by the road from this parish to Littlebury-
green : it was named a Lea in the time of Edward the confessor, being at that time in
possession of a freeman named Brictulf ; and with the rest of the parish passed to Eustace,
earl of Boulogne, after the conquest. It has successively passed to the families of
Philip, Baldock, Belknap, Green, Meade, Hanchet, Fuller, and Forbes, esq. of
Christhall Grange.
The church, which has a nave, side aisles, and chancel, with a tower, containing Church.
four bells, is dedicated to St. Nicholas. It belonged to the monastery of St. Thomas
the martyr, at Lesnes, in Kent, to which it was given by Robert de Lucy, chief
justice of England; and that house, in 1424, appropriating the rectorial tithes to
itself, ordained and endowed a vicarage here, of which it continued patron till
the dissolution in 1525, when it was granted to cardinal Wolsey; on whose fall it
passed to the crown, and was given by Henry the eighth to the convent of Sheen, in
Surrey, of which it was holden, under a lease, by Thomas Crawley, esq., who also
retained this possession under Edward the sixth. In 1588, it belonged to Thomas
Meade, sergeant-at-law ; from whom it passed to the family of Bendish ; and by pur-
chase to Nicholas Penning, merchant; and, successively became the property of John
Hanchet, esq. of Christhall Grange, of Richard Chamberlain, esq., and, in 1739, was
purchased by Nathaniel Wilkes, esq.*
In 1821, the parish of Elmdon contained six hundred and one, and in 1831, six
hundred and ninety-seven inhabitants.
* Inscriptions : — An ancient and magnificent monument in the chancel for Thomas Meade, esq. justice of
the King's Bench, raised to his memory by his most faithful wife Joan, informs us that he died in May 1585. tions
A decayed monument, in the south chancel, bears the following, in old English characters :
" Justarum memoriae in manu Dei sunt ; non tangent eos tormentum melitae.
Dilexit patriam, patrii quis testis amoris,
Haec scholae permagnis sumptibus orta suis,
Vera precor memoras verissimo pro quibus ecce
Impressum a;terno marmore nome habet."
English: "The memory of the just is in the hand of God ; malice shall never torment them. The
name of him whom this stone covers was Crawley ; in war he bore arms ; in peace he was a lawyer : he
left many monuments of his holy life ; and, what even his tomb can relate, he loved his country : that he
did so this school, which was built at his very great expense, is witness. In memory of these things,
behold ! his name is inscribed in everlasting marble. Thomas Crawley, esquyer, deceased the xxx daye
of September, An. 1559." Other plates bear effigies of four boys and eight girls : and the arms of Crawley.
Charities : — In 1559 a school was founded here by Thomas Crawley, esq., which he endowed with four- Charities
teen pounds per annum. The master to be a priest, and to teach, gratis, grammar and good manners.
An annuity of twenty shillings, the gift of Mrs. Martin of Christhall, is distributed to the poor at Easter.
Quem premit iste lapis Crawleum, quis fuit ille,
Armiger in bello, pace togatus erat,
Ux vixit sancte vitae moiiuraenta reliquit
Multa, quid et multis (tumba) referre potes.
184
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK n.
HEYDON, or HAYDON.
Heydon. From Elmdon, the parish of Heydon extends to the borders of the counties of
Cambridge and Hertford, forming the north-western extremity of Essex. It is com-
puted to be in length a mile and a half, and in breadth three quarters of a mile : distant
from Saffron M-'alden five, and from London forty-three miles.
The lands of this parish are among the most uneven and highest in the county :
the soil in some places thin on chalk, but at the Grange a stratum of sand and gravel
commences. The name, from the Saxon Heah, high, and bun, a hill, is in records
written Haidon, Heidone, Haidena, and Eydone. In the Saxon times this parish be-
longed to Alwin, and at the survey was in possession of Robert, the son of Roscelin.
Heydon- The chief manor-house is on an eminence, not far distant north-westward from the
'^""^' church : the wide extended prospect from this station includes the minster, or cathe-
dral church of Ely, distant about thirty miles. Heydonbury was originally holden
by the grand sergeancy of attendance on the kings of England at their coronation,
with a bason and towel, to wash the king's hands before dinner, and to have the
bason for their fee. The manor was anciently in two portions ; one of the lords
holding the bason, the other the towel.
Fic(;t The Picot family were possessed of this estate from the time of king Henry the
second, to that of the second Edward ; they were originally of Ratclitfe, in Notting-
hamshire, which lordship, and that of Kingston, adjoining to it, they held, in the time
of king Henry the first, by the sergeancy of keeping hawks for him. In the reign of
king John, Thomas, son and heir of Peter Picot, was commonly styled Thomas de
Hedon, from having his residence occasionally at Heydon ; sir Peter Picot, his son,
died in 1286, holding this manor, in the record named Eyden: John, his son and
heir, was also of Heydon, holding by sergeancy : his two sons were John and Peter,
who both died without issue; the last of these died in 1313, leaving his two sisters
his heiresses. Margery, married to Senevil, by whom she had a son, named
Simon de Senevil ; and Isabella Touke.
This estate passed successively from the Senevil family, to those of Seagrove, De
Lisle, Wiltshire, Asplond, and Ayleworth; after whom the next succeeding possessor
was sir Stephen Soame, knt., citizen and grocer, of London; his ancestor was Thomas
family. Soame, es(j. of Beetley, in Norfolk, who marrying Anne, only daughter and heiress
of Thomas Knighton, esq. and widow of Richard le Hunt, of Hunt's-hall, in Bradley,
had by her fourteen children; of these, Thomas, the eldest son, Avas of Beetley and
Little Bradley; and Stephen, the second son, Avas the purchaser of this estate; sir
Stephen was alderman of London and sheriff in 1589, and lord mayor in 1598. He
purchased this and other considerable estates; and on his decease, in 1619, left sir
William, his eldest son, who was of Little Thurlow, and whose second son William,
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 185
was created a baronet In 1684, with remainder to the heirs male of his uncle Stephen, c H \ i>
Sir Stephen Soarae, second son of Stephen, uncle of sir William Soame, was seated ^ "•
at Heydonbury, created a knig-ht and made sheriff of Essex in 1621. He married
Elizabeth, daughter of sir Thomas Playte, knt., of Soterley, in Suffolk, by whom he
had Peter, John, Martha, Mary, married to Edward Fettiplace, esq., and Jane,
married to sir Edward Flaxton, of Northamptonshire. Peter, the eldest son and
heir, succeeded to the title of baronet, on the decease of his kinsman, sir William
Soame, without issue, at Malta, on his embassy to Constantinople. At the coronation
of king- James the second, he preferred his claim to hold the bason and ewer for one
moiety of the manor of Heydon, and for the other moiety to hold the towel, when the
king washed his hands before dinner ; petitioning either to perform those services in
person, or by a convenient deputy; receiving all the fees, profits, and emoluments to
the said service belonging. The part of holding the towel was allowed by the com-
missioners of claims ; but that of appointing a deputy, to the king's pleasure, who
appointed Anthony, earl of Kent, to perform that office in right of the said Peter :
the rest of the claim was not allowed. Sir Peter married Susan, daughter of Ralph
Freeman, esq., by whom he had Peter, Freeman, Susan, married to sir Cane James,
bart. of Christhall, but who died in 1680, only seventeen years of age; and Elizabeth.
Sir Peter Soame, the eldest son and heir, married Jane, daughter and heiress of
George Chute, esq. of Stockwell, in Surrey, and had by her his only son, sir Peter
Soame, bart., who married one of the daughters of colonel Richard Philips, of Stan-
well, in Middlesex, by whom he had his son Peter. The claim at the coronation of
king George the second and third was allowed as to the towel only; and the lord of
the manor of Heydon attended with the towel, and performed his service at the
coronation of George the fourth, July 19, 1821.
The old manor-house was some time ago pulled down, and a capital mansion
erected.*
An estate is mentioned in the records, in 1526, as the manor in Heydon, with i^'i'^king-
appertenances called Buckingham's lands, at that time granted by king Henry the
eighth to Thomas Wolfe: it was also granted by the same monarch to John Ashton,
in 1537; and has since been incorporated into other estates.
Heydon Grange is two miles from the church, extending to the borders of Cam- Heydon
bridgeshire northward.f ^
The church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, has a nave, north and south aisles, and Ciiuidi.
* Arms of Soame : Gules, a chevron between three mullets, or. They ([uarter the arms of Knighton,
Underhill, Caldebcck, Hinckley, Notbeam, and Peche.
t In the street opposite the church there is a building supported by stone pillars: it seems to be very
ancient, and though apparently intended for a market-house, it is not known to have been appropriated
to that or any other purpose in particular.
186 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOKli. chancel, the whole building- in good repair, leaded and embattled: in the chancel, a
chapel is the burial-place of the Soame family. The steeple contains five bells.* The
rectory was given to the abbot and convent of Walden, by Thomas Picot, and again
reverting to that family, in the time of Edward the first, has since continued appendant
to the manor.f
This parish, in 1821, contained two hundred and seventy-two, and in 1831, two
hundred and fifty-nine inhabitants.
CHRISTHALL, Or CRISHALL.
Cliiisthali The high lands of this parish are pleasantly situated, but not very productive ; it j|
extends southward from Heydon ; is in length five, and in breadth, in some places ^
one, in others one mile and a half: from Saffron Walden distant three, and from >
London thirty-six miles. The name, of unknown derivation, is in records written Z
Christshall, Chrishall, Cristehale, Cristesshale, Christley-hall, and Carshall. 7
The recorded owners here, in the Saxon times, were Inguar, and LeflS, a freeman :
and at the survey, they were holden by Eustace, earl of Boulogne, and Ingelric ; by
Robert de Sumeri, under Eustace ; and by Robert de Todenei, being all that this
Robert had in Essex. There were then, as at present, three manors.
Clirist-' The lands named Christhall-bury are what belonged to Eustace and Ingelric; and
the mansion is not far from the church, in a southerly direction. Maud, gi'and-daughter
and heiress to Eustace, earl of Boulogne, conveyed this, with other great estates, by
marriage, to king Stephen; who gave it to his natural son William, by whom it was
granted to Richard de Lucy, who held it as one of the four knights' fees which he had
in Essex : and on the death of his two sons, Geofrey and Herbert, without issue, it
became the inheritance of his eldest daughter Maud, married first to Walter Fitz-
Robert, father of Robert Fitz- Walter; and secondly, to Richard de Rivers: she died
in 1242, and the family of Rivers retained possession during several descents, their
under tenants being successively Leticia, Henry, and Robert de Pinkeney, from
1253 to 1321, when it was holden under John de Rivers, by Nicholas de Segrave;
and in 1339, the estate was, by sir John de Rivers, conveyed to sir John de Sutton,
of Wivenhoe, from whom it passed in 1349, to Ralph, lord Staflford, under whom it
was holden in 1353 to 1358, by sir William de la Pole, and Margaret liis wife ;
ln.>cri|)- * Inscriptions : — In the chancel there is an epitaph for John, son of sir Stephen Soame, knt., who died
*•'"'• March 14, 1658. — Thomas, the son of Thomas and Ann Thackeray, who died in 1734. — Hugh, son of the
hon. and rev. Dr. Boscawen, who died in 1756. — There are several ancient tombs with effigies, but the
inscriptions have been taken away.
Charity. t Charity : — Dr. Davies, rector of this parish, founded a school near the church for the education of
twenty children, and endowed it with ten pounds for ever; but by some mischance the endowment has
been reduced to four pounds twelve shillings.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 187
whose heirs held it under Thomas, earl of Stafford, in 1392. It remained in this c M a p.
noble family, successively in the possession of William, brother of Thomas, and '
Edmund, earls of Stafford: of Humphrey Stafford, duke of Buckingham; and his
grandson Henry: after whom sir John Harpenden succeeded to the possession of it;
from whom it was conveyed to Thomas Brooke: and in 1544 it was conveyed, by
George Brooke, lord Cobham, and Anne his wife, to Thomas Crawley, esq., who, on
his decease in 1558, left Anne, his only daughter, his heiress. Christhall belonged to
sir Edward Penruddock, at the time of his decease, in 1612, succeeded by John, sir
Thomas, and John Penruddock, esq. of Compton Chamberlain, in Wiltshire, who
sold it to John James, esq., knighted in 1655. Sir John James built the family
mansion of Christhall.
The park, containing more than three hundred acres, was afterwards converted Ja'"es
into a wood. Sir John James* of Christhall, dying unmarried, in 1672, left this
estate to his nephew, Mr. James Cane, son of his sister Emlin,f who, in 1680, was
created a baronet, and took the name of sir Cane James. He married, first, Susan,
daughter of sir Peter Soame, hart, of Heydon, who dying five months after her mar-
riage, sir Cane married, secondly, Anne, daughter of Francis Phillips, esq. of the
Inner Temple, and had by her several sons, most of whom died young ; and two
daughters. He died at St. Edmondsbury in 1736: sir John James, his son and suc-
cessor, died in 1741. The estate afterwards became the property of the Brand
family, of Hide-hall.
Toward the close of the Saxon era, a proprietor, named Lefii, had the estate Crawiey-
of Crawleybury, which, at the survey, was holden by Roger de Sumeri, under
Eustace, earl of Boulogne, at that time named Crawelsea. The manor-house was
at a place named Crowley-end. It was in the possession of Robert Pynkeny in
1295, whose heir was his brother Henry. Sir William Furnival, at the time
of his decease, in 1382, held this manor of John Audin, lord of Radv/inter, by
the service of one pair of gilt spurs, of the value of twelve pence. It was after-
wards given to St. George the martyr, in the cathedral of Hereford: and in 1548
was granted by Edward the sixth, to Thomas Crawley, esq., who, on his decease
in 1559, left his only daughter, Anne, his heiress, at that time only six years of age.
In 1585, John Bendish, esq. of Steeple Bumsted, died in possession of this estate; in
which family it remained, till on the decease of sir Henry Bendish, in 1717, it passed
* The family of James was formerly surnamed Hsestrecht, from a place near Geuda, in Holland; and tlie
ancestor of those of Christhall, was James von Hawstert, who coming into England about the time of
king Henry the eighth, omitted his foreign surname ; Roger James was his second son, and was of London :
his son and heir of the same name possessed Upminster-hall ; whose brothers were of Farnham, and
another at Manuden. Arms of James : Argent, a chevron, sable, between three fers de moulins trans-
verse, of the second.
t She was married to James Cane, son of James Cane, citizen and vintner, of London.
188 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. to sir Adam Brown, who sold it to James Walsingham, esq. of Little Chesterford,
whose co-heirs were the right hon. lord Montacute, with the lady Osborn, and Mrs.
Villiers, his nieces ; and lady Osborn gave her part to the hon. Mr. Boyle, speaker of
the Irish house of Commons.
Cheswick- The ancient manor-house of Cheswick Hall, also named Flanders, is on an emi-
nence, three quarters of a mile from the church. A freeman held this estate in the
time of Edward the confessor ; and at the survey it was in the possession of Robert
de Todenei, whose estates in other counties, together Avith this one in Essex,
amounted to eighty lordships. He built Belvoir castle, in Lincolnshire; and
Robert Roos, lord of Hamlake, marrying Isabella, daughter and heiress of William
de Albini, lord of that castle, in the time of Henry the third, had with her this manor,
which was afterwards holden of Belvoir castle. Richard de Kelsal, in 1359, died
holding this manor of lord de Roos, as of his castle of Belvoir, by the service of three
arrows of the price of sixpence yearly. Sir John Helyon, of Bumsted Helyon, who
held this estate in 1449, had two daughters, his co-heiresses: Philippa, married to
sir Thomas Montgomery, of Faulkbourn-hall ; and Isabel, married to Humphrey
Tyrell, esq, of Warley, son of sir John Tyrell, of Herons. Tlieir only daughter and
heiress, by marriage, conveyed this with other estates to sir Roger Wentworth, of
Codham-hall, in Wethersfield ; whose second son, Henry, succeeded to this estate in
1529 ; which, in 1558, belonged to John Wentworth, esq. and to George Nicholls,
and Joan his wife, in 1586. It was in the possession of Robert Bradley, esq. in 1611 ;
and in 1635 had become the property of John Rowley, of Saffron Walden; Michael
and John Rowley were his sons, the former of whom was father of John Rowley,
who married Margaret, daughter of William W^illymot, of Leebury, in Elmdon, by
whom he had his son and heir, John Rowley, attorney-at-law, of Walden : who mar-
ried Alice, daughter of Mr. Thomas Arnold, by whom he had his son John Rowley,
esq. principal of Bemard's-iim, in London, in 1T34; and he sold this estate to
Nathaniel W^ilkes, esq., in whose family it has continued to the present time.
Christhall The manor of Christhall Grange is two miles and a half from the churcb, and the
|an^c. niansion-house is in a low situation, on the northern extremity of the county, joining
to Cambridgeshire. It belonged to Tiltey abbey, under whom it was farmed by
John Thake, at the time of the suppression. In 1554 it was granted by king Henry
the eighth to Edward Elrington and Humphrey Metcalf, who, in 1546, conveyed it to
Edward Meade, esq., on whose decease, in 1577, he was succeeded by his son John, and
bv Sir Thomas Meade, knt., who died in 1617, leaving his son and heir John Meade.
It afterwards belonged to John Smith, esq. of L'pton, who sold it to John Hanchet,
esq. of Heydon.* The estate afterwards became the property of Forbes, esq.,
* Of an ancient family in Hertfordshire : William Hanchet, esq. purchased Letchw orth, the faniil)
residence ; and his son Thomas was one of the eighty gentlemen of that county, in the time of Henry tlie
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 189
and passed to the noble family of Brand, lord Dacre. This estate contains about nine chap.
hundred acres.
The church has a nave, aisles, and chancel, with a square stone tower, containing Church.
four bells, the whole embattled, and having a handsome spire above the tower. It is
dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This church having from a remote period belonged to
the abbey of Westminster, was also retained by it when it was made a bishopric ; but
afterwards its jurisdiction, as to matters ecclesiastical, was given by Edward the
sixth to Ridley, bishop of London in 1550; and the patronage and advowson of the
vicarage was granted to the bishftp of London, by queen Marj'^, in 1553; but the rec-
torial, or great tithes, were granted to the dean and chapter of Westminster, by queen "
Elizabeth, in 1558.*
Li 1720, the vicarage was augmented by bishop Robinson with the gift of two
hundred pounds, to which was added the same sum from queen Anne's bounty.
In 1821, this parish contained four hundred and eleven, and in 1831, four hundred
and eighty-seven inhabitants.
CHISHALL.
A district at the extremity of the hundred and county, divided into two parishes, Chishall.
bears the names of Chishall, Great and Little; in Domesday, written Cishel. A
watercourse, named Cumberton, divides these parishes from Barley, in Hertfordshire;
and the division between Mercia and the kingdom of the East Saxons, is supposed to
sixth, who could support an annual expenditure of ten pounds, equal to above as many hundred at the
present time. Samuel Hanchet of Arkesden, married Joan, daughter of Mr. Creed of Icaldon, in Cam-
bridgeshire ; his son and heir was John Hanchet, esq., who married Mary, daughter of Mr. John Pauley,
of St. Malyn, in Cornwall ; he died in 1724, leaving John his son, the father of John, the purchaser
of this estate.
Arms of Hanchet : Sable, three dexter hands erect, couped at the wrist, argent, two and one.
* Morant, vol. ii. p. 605.
Inscriptions : — An elegant monument in the chancel bears a Latin inscription, of which the following is Inscrip-
a translation : " Near this marble rests, waiting for a happy resurrection, sir John James, knt. descended ^^°'^^-
from an ancient family of that name, in the county of Kent : to his God he was a devout servant ; to his
king, even in adversity, a truly faithful subject ; to his relatives very beneficent ; a true friend to his
friends ; to all men courteous, and strictly just ; and a man of singular dexterity in the dispatch of busi-
ness. He was divested of mortality on the 17th of February, in the year of our Lord 1676, of his age 72-
Cane James, whom he left heir of his whole estate, in memory of his beloved uncle, and as a testimony of
his own gratitude, caused this monument to be erected."
On the north wall, on a plain marble, is a Latin inscription, to the memory of Cane James, and Anne
his wife; their son caused this monument to be erected, 1739.
There are some remains of two very ancient monuments in the south aisle, but no inscription: on one
of them, an effigy of a woman in brass is said to represent Mrs. Lettice Martin, to whom the poor are
indebted for numerous charities, of which was a benefaction o^ various sums of money from lands in
Christhall, left in trustees, to be given annually to various parishes, of which the poor of Christhall was
to receive twenty shillings ; and Christhall with Wendon to receive the profits of the fall of trees.
VOL. II. 2 c
190 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. have been by an embankment, part of which yet remains near Shaftnoe-bridge, and
which is understood to have passed through Hertfordshire to Middlesex : the memory
of this mound is traditionally preserved at Cheshunt, though no vestige of it remains
for many miles : the land above the bank in the same fields is inherited by the eldest
brother; that below the bank descends by borough-English to the youngest. This
custom is frequent on the east side in Hertfordshire, not on the opposite or Mercian
side.* The village is small, on a high hill, with an open country toward the north
and north-west ; the prospect extending above thirty miles : the country southward
is in a good state of cultivation, and distinguished by woodland scenery. Distant
about forty-two miles from London.
In the reign of Edward the confessor, the lands of Great Chishall belonged to six
freemen, one of whom was named Ulfith ; and to Edric, and Lewin ; at the survey
they had been granted by the Conqueror to Geofrey de Magnaville, and Roger
Otburville. There have been five manors, or reputed manors, in this parish.
Cardons, -pj^g families of Cardon and Basset gave occasion for the names applied to a manor
Hall. in this parish, which was also named Wandens; it was holden in 1372 by William
Cardon, under Geofrey de Magnaville; and under Humphrey de Bohun, earl of
Hereford and Essex, by the heirs of John Depham, John Outlaw, Nicholas Jobyn,
with several others ; and also the abbots of Walden and Tiltey : it consisted of two
knights' fees. Toward the close of the reign of king Henry the seventh, it belonged
to John Basset ; Gregory, his son and heir, married Margaret, daughter of Robert
Forster, esq. of Birch, by whom he had Dorothy, his only daughter and heiress,
whose wardship, after his decease, was procured by Thomas Bonham, esq. of Kent,
who by artifice had her married to his son Robert Bonham, esq., who had by her
Jerome and Charles, and two daughters, and dying before his wife, she was married
to Anthony Maxey, esq. of Great Saling Hall, by whom she had several sons and
daughters : on her decease, she settled her estate on the eldest of these sons, disin-
heriting her son Jerome Bonham, who died in 1621. In 1615, John Bownest died
in possession of this estate, and his son Thomas sold it to Allen, of Great Had-
ham, and from his son William it was conveyed to John Hanchet, esq. of Christhall
Grange.
Belknaps. A manor named Belknaps was also part of the Magnaville lordship, in the possession
of Milo de Somery, in the reign of king John ; it afterwards was holden by
Belknap ; and in the time of Edward the third, by John de Benington, and afterwards
by his heirs ; from whom it passed to Thomas Pakeman.
Tewes, or A manor named Tewes and Lisles, formerly belonging to John de Lisle, was
holden of the honour of Lisle, by John Tawe, esq. of Coln-Engaine : it was after-
wards purchased by Richard Fox, and George Langham.
* Salmon's History of Essex, p. 137 ; and the Saxon Chronicle.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD. 191
A manor, extending into Great and Little Chishall, belonging to Tiltey abbey, was chap.
named Friers, and also Chishall Grange. It was granted to Edward Elrington, esq.
by king Henry the eighth; and sold in 1546 to Thomas Crawley, esq.: it after- Friers.
wards belonged to sir Cane James ; and to Thomas Brand, esq. of the Hyde, near ■ -^-j"
Ingatestone.
The mansion-house of the manor of Chishall is near the road that passes from Chishall
Chishall to Arkesden. This estate is what at the survey belonged to Roger de "^^'^^'"
Otburville. It was sold by Martha Higham, widow, to Thomas Cooke, esq. who
died in 1584. William Cooke was his son, after whose decease, in 1597, it was sold
by his son Thomas, to John Rowley, of Barkway, in Hertfordshire, who held this
possession in 1635; which his daughter Mary conveyed, by marriage, to James
Goulston, esq. of Widihall, in Hertfordshire : his son and heir Richard, married
Margaret, daughter of the right rev. Francis Turner, lord bishop of Ely, by the lady
Anne, descended by the father from the family of Horton, by the mother from the
Ferrars. His son Francis was his successor. The estate was afterwards purchased
by Thomas Brand, esq.*
The church, dedicated to St. Swithin, has a nave, north and south aisles, and a church,
chancel ; above the tower, which contains five bells, there is a small spire.f This
church, with its appurtenances, was given to the monastery of Walden, by Geofrey
de Mandeville, in 1136; and in 1239, the rectory and manor being appropriated to
that house, a vicarage was ordained, the diminutive endowment of which was aug-
mented in 1441. It was granted, after the dissolution, to sir Thomas Audley, who
bequeathed it, by will, to Elizabeth, his lady ; her second husband was sir George
Norton : after her decease it became the property of Thomas, duke of Norfolk, who
married lord Audley's daughter and heiress; and Thomas lord Howard, of Walden,
and Katharine, his lady, sold this possession to William Cooke, son of Thomas Cooke,
of Osborns in this parish ; whose son Thomas was his successor ; followed by John
Cooke, esq., who married Jane, daughter of colonel Richard Goulston, of Widihall,
who had four sons and three daughters: he died in 1701; and after the decease of
*0n a farm, called Osborns, in this parish, there is an ancient well, ninety-two yards and a half in depth.
f A mural monument in the chancel bears the following inscription : " Near this place, under the Inscrip-
communion table, lieth the body of the honourable John Cooke, esq., who departed this life the 27th of ^i*^"*-
January, 1701. He served as high sheriff of this county of Essex, by the special appointment of king
William, of ever-blessed memory, and commanded as colonel of the green regiment of militia, and wag
also a deputy lieutenant, justice of the peace, and one of the quorum of the said county ; who for his
integrity, love of justice, and usefulness in every station, lived beloved and died lamented. He left behind
him, by his surviving lady, Jane, daughter of colonel Richard Goulston, four sons and three daughters,
who, out of gratitude and honour to his dear memory, have erected this monument, though too mean and
unworthy of him. His age was 67."
Chaiities : — The rent of five acres of land was left to be distributed to the poor yearly at Christmas, by Charities,
the churchwardens and overseers. — An annuity of three shillings and four-pence was left to the poor by
Mrs. Martin.
192 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. John Cooke, esq. his third son, the title to the estate was for some time disputed, but
ultimately decided in favour of Mr. Richard Cooke, of Chelmsford, a relation of the
family; and in 1739, it was sold to Nathaniel Wilkes, esq.
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and fifty-three, and in 1831, three
hundred and seventy-one inhabitants.
LITTLE CH16HALL.
Little The lands of this parish lie low, on the border of Hertfordshire, and it contains only
'* * * a small number of inhabitants: it is distant from Saffron Walden five, and from
London forty-two miles.
In the time of Edward the confessor, it belonged to Sired and Godric, two freemen;
and after the Conquest, the whole estate was given to Eustace, earl of Boulogne, whose
under tenant Wido, son of Toce, left two daughters, Ellen and Alia, his co-heiresses:
Ellen had a son named Reginald de Argentine, Avho in the time of king Stephen, had
half of this estate, as had also his son of the same name, in the time of Richard the
first; whose son Richard, and Giles his grandson, were his successors.
Alia had the other half of this manor, which she held as the gift of king Henry the
second; and it descended to her son Roger, and to Nicholas, son of Roger, her grandson.
The entire manor ultimately belonged to the Argentine family, and was all or part
of it holden by John de Swineford, of John Argentine, in 1318, and of his widow in
1332: John was his son and heir. Sh* John de Argentine, and John Bataile, held
lands here in 1361, supposed to include the whole of the manor; in which year he
presented to this church; and the moiety to which the presentation belonged was that
which was holden of Giles de Argentine by knights' service; but the result of a trial
at laAv was, that the presentation should belong alternately to each moiety. It cannot
be ascertained at what time the undivided possession of this manor became vested in
the Uff"ord family, nor why Edmund de UflFord, who was lord of it in 1375, is named
Le Cosvne, unless it Avere because he was cousin to Robert de Ufford, earl of Suffolk:
in 1382, it was determined by a trial at law, that this manor was not to be holden of
the Argentine family, but of the king, as of his honour of Hagenet. From the year
1406, when William Effield, by fine, conveyed this manor to sir John Hende, and
his lady Elizabeth, in tail, the estate appears to have remained undi^nded. Sir John
died in 1418, John, his son, in 1641, and his mother Elizabeth in 1462, having
been married to Ralph Boteler, lord Sudley:* Joan, her grand-daughter, by her son
* This nobleman was actively engaged in affairs of great importance under Henry the sixth ; and in the
wars in France acquired fame, and riches to a considerable amount ; with part of which he built Sudley
castle. But, by his attachment to king Henr)-, incurring the hatred and suspicion of Edward the fourth,
that monarch caused him to be arrested and conveyed to London ; on which occasion, looking back
toward his castle, from one of the hills in its vicinity, he exclaimed, " Sudley castle, thou art the traitor,
not l."-^Dugdales Baronage, vol. i. p. 596.
HUNDRED OF UTTLESFORD.
193
John, held this manor at the time of his decease in 1507. Sir William Ayliff held t^ H a P.
this manor in 1517, followed by his son William: by Thomas Ayliff, esq. who died in — —
1553, and whose son and successor, William Ayliff, died in 1614, leaving- his son of
the same name: he was made king's serjeant in 1627. Lucj^, countess of Huntingdon,
held this possession in 1662; and in 1684, it had become the property of Peter Soame,
esq. from whom it has descended to the Soame family, of Heydon. The mansion is a
short distance southward from the church, and named Nether or Lower Hall.
The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is a small edifice, rising high, in proportion Church.
to its other dimensions; the porch is of free stone; the tower of wood, rising from a
foundation of stone.
A very ancient family took their surname from this, or the other parish of Chishall;
a distinguished individual of which was John de Chishull, dean of St. Paul's, arch- ,
deacon of London, lord treasurer, keeper of the great seal, lord chancellor, and bishop
of London: he died in 1279. A branch of this family was formerly seated at Little
Bardfield.
In 1821, this parish contained seventy-one, and, in 1831, one hundred and six
inhabitants.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN UTTLESFORD HUNDRED,
R. Rectory. V. Vicarage.
+ Discharged from payment of First Fruits. D. Donative.
Parish,
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent-
Insti-
tuted.
Value ir
Reg
1 Liber
is.
Patron.
Arkesden, V
Birchanger, R
Chesterford,Grt.V. )
Chesterford,Lit.R, J
Chishall, Great, V..
Chi-shall, Little, R. .
Christhall,V
Debden, R
Colchester.
J. S. Griffinhoofe ..
J. C. H. Stokes
Hon. J. H. King.. )
Ditto S
Robert Fiske
John Horseman . . .
Butler Berry
W. J.Totton
Robert Fiske
Thomas Canning . .
Rector of L. Chishall
George H. Glyn. . . .
J. Sparke
Henry Bull
Ed. G. Monk
Jolin Collin
T. G. W. Walker , . .
J. Torriano
W. F.Raymond
Ed. Harbin
Nich. Bull
i Edward Rider . . .
Vicar of Elmdon. ..
Charles George ....
C. A. Campbell
John Dolingnon . ..
John Raymond
1812
1808
1824
1822
1810
1787
1796
1814
1818
1810
1826
1818
1813
1828
1810
1828
1820
1804
1804
1814
1814
1814
1820
1816
1786
d£l3
9
tio
11
flO
14
13
34
19
11
IS
17
26
flO
t 9
t 9
tio
tl3
fiS
11
fSS
tl7
t 9
11
2.5
12
8
6
13
0
0
0
10
0
0
0
10
0
0
13
2
10
0
0
6
0
0
6
0
10
0
0
0
0
8
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
1
0
0
0
3
0
0
8
0
10
0
0
0
0
John Wolfe, Esq.
New Col. Oxon.
5 King and Marq. of
( Bristol alternately.
J. Wilkes, Esq.
Sir P. Soame, bart.
Bishop of London.
R.M.F.Chiswell,Esq.
J._ Wilkes, Esq.
Bishop of London.
W.Lit.Chishall,Rect.
J. S. Feake & others.
Bishop of Ely.
Rector of Littlebury.
Lord Chancellor.
H. Cranmer, Es<i.
Bishop of London.
E. F. Maitland, Esq.
Lieut. -gen. Raymond.
Bishop of London
Lord Braybrooke.
Marquis of Bristol.
W. Elmdon, Vic.
Auir. George, Esq.
W. Campbell, Esq.
R. John Dolingnon.
Rect. of Wimbish.
Essex ....
Colchester.
Elmdon.V
Elsenham, V
Haydon, R
Henham,V
Littlebury, R
Littlebury, V
Newport, V
Quendon, R
Rickling, V
Stansted Montf. V..
Strethall, R
Takeley, R
Walden, S.V
Wendon, Great, V. }
Wendon, Little, R. S
Wendon Loughts, D.
Wickham Bonh. R. .
Widdington, R
Wimbish, R
Wimbish, V
Middlesex.
Colchester.
Middlesex.
Middlesex.
194 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
CHAPTER Vni.
THE HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING.
Clavcring This half hundred forms the north-western extremity of the county, being a narrow
ilred "" tract of land, bounded on the north and east by Uttlesford hundred, and on the south
and west by Hertfordshire. It measures in length eight miles and a half, and in
breadth five and a half; in some places only half a mile; its name is from the chief
town, and it is within the archdeaconry of Colchester. At the survey, this lordship
belonged to Suene, of Essex; and in the time of Edward the first, both the lordship
and the manor were holden by Robert Fitz- Roger, from whom ,it has passed to the
Claverings, Nevilles, and to the family of Barrington, of Hatfield Regis. A con-
siderable part of this district was originally covered with wood, forming part of the
extensive woodlands belonging to Hardwin de Scalaris, or Scales, and the name of
Scales Park is yet retained by part of this estate. These lands are of various kinds,
some of which are described as consisting of rough and unimproved pasture lands,
which have, however, where hollow draining and judicious management has been
adopted, amply repaid the labours of the agriculturist. There are five parishes:
Clavering, with Langley; Berden, Ugley, Manuden, and Farnham.
CLAVERING, WITH LANGLEY.
Clavering. This parish, in length four and in breadth three miles, is the largest in this half
hundred; eastward it extends to Arkesden, Wickham Bonhunt, and Rickling; on the
west to Hertfordshire, southward to Berden, and northward to Little Chishall: it is
distant from Bishop Stortford seven, and from London thirty-seven miles. The
village is small, and irregularly built, containing a few shops, and some good houses.
The surrounding country is remarkably pleasant in appearance, the roads good, and
the hedge-rows well timbered. A small stream rising in Arkesden, uniting with a
rivulet from Langley, takes its course through this parish to Manuden, and to the
river Stort. The name is apparently from the Saxon rrla3j:jia, violets, and inj, a
meadow or pasture : it is sometimes in records written Claveling.
Robert, son of Wimarc, was in possession of Clavering in the time of Edward the
confessor, and, at the survey, it formed part of the extensive possessions of Suene, of
Essex, whose under tenants were Ansgot, Wicard, Robert, and Ralph.
HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING. 195
Hugh de Essex, the grandson of Suene, hereditary standard bearer and constable to chap.
the king, by cowardice in the wars in Wales, forfeited his offices and estates, which ^"^'
the king distributed among his favourites. He married Alice, sister of Alberic de
Vere, first earl of Oxford, by whom he had Henry, and Hugh, from whom the
Essexes of Berkshire descended. After the decease of her first husband, the lady
Alice was married to Roger Fitz- Richard, lord of Warkworth, in Northumberland,
and of Clavering in Essex; who had by her Robert Fitz-Roger, and a daughter,
married to John Constable, of Chester. There are two subordinate manors, which
have been detached from the capital manor of Clavering.
The castle of Claveringbury, the residence of the ancient lords, was near the church : Clavering.
the extensive area which it occupied may yet be perceived, and some time ago the
moat and part of the walls were to be seen.
After the forfeiture of Hugh de Essex, this lordship remained in possession of the
crown, till it was granted, by Henry the second, to Robert Fitz-Roger, whose family
retained possession for several generations, and took from it their surname of De
Clavering. John Fitz-Robert, son and heir of Robert, died in 1240, and left by his
wife Ada de Baliol, his son Roger, who held this manor of the king, by one fee of the
honour of Rayleigh: he died in 1249, and was succeeded by his son Robert, who
held this manor and the half hundred, and died in 1309, leaving by his lady, Margery
de Zouch, his son and heir John, who died in 1332. He married Ha wise, daughter
of Robert de Tibetot, by whom he had his daughter and heiress Eve, first married to
Ralph de Ufford, and afterwards to Thomas de Audley, and by each of these had
sons and daughters. Yet her father, the said John de Clavering, believing he should
have no male issue, settled the reversion of this and his other manors on king Edward
the first ; in return for which the king granted him an annuity of four hundred pounds,
or an estate of that value.*
Toward the close of the reign of Edward the third, this lordship came into the
family of Neville, lords of Raby, and eai'ls of Westmoreland : sir John de Neville, of
Raby, in 1338, held this manor, with the half hundred of Clavering, of the king, by
the service of one knight's fee : his lady died in 1395, also holding this estate ; which
descended to their son, sir Ralph de Neville, the first earl of Westmoreland, who had
also the advowson of a chantry in the chapel of Clavering; he died in 1425 :f Joan,
his second lady, was sister of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster; she died in 1440,
holding this estate, her eldest son, Richard Neville, earl of Salisbury, being her heir.
His grandson, Richard Neville, third earl of Salisbury, having married Anne, daugh-
ter of Richard Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, in whose right he was also earl of War-
wick, had by her Isabel, and Anne, first married to Edward prince of Wales, son of
* Arms of Clavering : Quarterly, or and gules, on a bend, sable, three mullets argent,
t Ralph, his grandson, by his deceased son John, was at that time his heir.
196 HISTORY OF ESSEX,
BOOK II. king- Henry the sixth ; and secondly, was married to Richard duke of York, after-
wards king Richard the third. Isabel, the elder daughter, was married to George
Plantagenet, duke of Clarence, brother to Edward the fourth, who had by her
Edward, born in 1575, and who took the title of earl of Warwick, but was beheaded
in 1598, for pretended treason, being the last of the lineage of Plantagenet. This
estate was in consequence forfeited to the crown. The lady Isabel also bore to the
duke of Clarence, her husband, a daughter named Margaret, married to sir Richard
de la Pole, knight of the garter, and had by him Henry, Geofrey, Arthur, and Regi-
nald; and Ursula, married to Henry lord Stafford. In 1513, she petitioned king
Henry the eighth, to be permitted to inherit the state and dignity of her brother, the
eai'l of Warwick, and be styled countess of Salisbury: which the king granted, and
the same year restored to her all the castles, manors, and lands of Richard, earl of
Salisbury, her grandfather, which came to the crown by the attainder of her brother,
and among the rest the manor of Clavering. But she also had the misfortune to be
beheaded for pretended treason, and the estates again reverted to the crown ; Henry
Pole, lord Montague, her eldest son, was also condemned, and sujBTered with his
mother. He married Jane, daughter of George Neville, lord Bergavenny, by whom
he had Catharine, married to Francis Huntingdon ; and Winifred, married to Thomas
Hastings, second son of George, earl of Huntingdon, and, after his death, to sir
Thomas Barrington : these two ladies, on petitioning parliament in 1553, were re-
stored in blood ; and queen Mary, in the first year of her reign, granted the manor of
Clavering to sir Thomas Hastings, and to Winifred and her heirs.* In 1602, the
lady Winifred Barrington died in possession of this manor and half hundred, and of
Barrington-hall ; and the same belonged to sir Francis Barrington, bart. at the time
of his decease, and has descended as the estate of Hatfield Broadoak, to sir Charles
Barrington, and to the heirs of the Barrington family.
Thurrocks The subordinate manor of Thurrocks has the mansion-house on Butts Green,
Pounces, about a mile north-west from the church ; but there are now no remains of Pounces.
Sir John Walden had these possessions on his decease in 1419; which were after-
wards, by female heirship, conveyed to the family of Barley, which retained posses-
sion till William, son of John Barley, esq., who died in 1541, sold Thurrocks and
Pounces to sir William Petre in 1568.f
* Queen Elizabeth, in 1578, by mistake, as has been supposed, granted the manor of Clavering, among
other things, to William lord Burghley, sir Walter Mildmay, and sir Gilbert Gerrard ; but this grant does
not appear to have taken place.
t William Barley, of Thurrocks, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of John Serle, of Barkway,
by whom he had John, and other sons and daughters. He died in 1610. John, his only surviving son,
married Mary, daughter of John Haynes, of Old Holt, in Great Birch, by whom he had Haynes, William,
and Elizabeth. He died in 1633. Haynes, his eldest son, married Margaret, eldest daughter of George
Oliver, of Great Wilbraham, by wliom he had four sons and nine daughters. He married, secondly.
HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING. 197
The manor of Curies is named from the family of CruUe, to which it passed, from CHAP,
the Walden family in 1403. Isabella de Walden, in the same year, released to ^''^'
Thomas Westle, vicar of Clavering, and John Basset, esq., and his heirs, all her right Curies.
in lands and tenements here, called Cliamberleyns, which had belonged to sir Thomas
Chamberleyn, and afterwards to Thomas Grey, of Pelham: from the Waldens it
passed to Haynes Barley, esq.
The reputed manor of Geddings is supposed to have been given by Peche, lord of Geddings.
Plecheden-hall, in Henham, to sir Robert Geddings,* with his lady, Mirabel, daugh-
ter of Katharine Notbeme, whose mother was the heiress of sir Geofrey Peche. The
mansion of Geddings is now named Clavering-place. It formerly belonged to Cap-
tain Hatch of London, and afterwards to Henry Patten, esq., who died in 1707, and
whose daughter, Anne, conveyed it to her husband, John Stevenson, esq., who died
in 1741. It was afterwards in possession of successive proprietors of the same
family.
Pondes, a capital mansion here, was the property of the Barrington family, and Pondes.
toward the close of the sixteenth century became the residence of Thomas Welbore,
esq.,f who married Ursula, daughter of Silvester D'Anvers, esq., by Elizabeth,
daughter of John lord Mordaunt: she died in 1591. A branch of the Cotton family
formerly lived here : William, second son of William Cotton, of Cotton-hall, in
Suffolk, was the first that was of Clavering, and his descendants were Thomas,
Robert, Edmund, and Roger, a general of the Dutch forces, who died without issue,
in 1638.
A messuage, and one hundred and seventeen acres of land, were given, in 1347,
by John de Bingham, to the hospital of St. John, of Cambridge, now part of St. John's
college, which yet enjoys this estate.
An estate named Arnolds, in this parish, in 1445, belonged to Joan, wife of John
Hotoft; and, in 1548, to Peter Cutt, esq.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary and St. Clement; it has a spacious nave, side Church.
aisles, and chancel ; the tower contains six bells : the whole building is of stone,
embattled, and leaded.
Mary, daughter of Edmund Turner, esq. of Walden ; and his third and last wife was Mary, daughter of
William Riddlesdon, son of sir Stephen Riddlesdon, knt.; by her he had William, Charles, and Edward
Haynes, who died in 1696, aged 90 ; having married Urith, daughter of sir Austin Palgrave, bart. of Norfolk,
by whom he had Palgrave; William, who married Judith, only daughter of Richard Carr, esq. of Bcrden;
Haynes, and Katharine, wife of Edward Hobert, esq. of Norfolk. Palgrave Barley, esq. had two third
parts of Thurrocks and Pounces, which he gave by will to Miss Catharine Buckle; the other third part
was in possession of Mrs. Jane Allen. On the decease of Palgrave Barley, the male line of this family
became extinct. Arms of Barley : Barry wavy of six, ermine and sable.
* Arms of Gedding : A chevron between three eagles' heads erased.
t Arms of Welbore : Sable, a fesse between three boars, passant, argent.
VOL. II. 2 D
198
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Inscrip-
tions.
This church was given, by Robert de Essex, to the priory he had founded in Prittle-
vvell, in the reign of Henry the second ; and that house instituted and endowed a
vicarage here, which after the dissolution, with the rectory, was granted by Henry the
eighth to Henry Parker, esq. of Berden, from whose family they passed to sir Thomas
Ramsey, lord mayor of London, in 1577 ; whose lady, in 1592, gave them to the
hospitals of Christ Church, Bethlehem, and St. Thomas, in London.*
In 1821, this parish contained one thousand and eighty-one, and in 1831, one
thousand one hundred and thirty-four inhabitants.
* Monumental inscriptions. — On the south wall of the chancel, on a marble monument, is a Latin inscrip-
tion, of which the following is a translation : " Sacred to the memory of Mr. John Smith, a Warwick-
shire-man ; sometime fellow of St. John's, Oxford ; then a divine of St. Paul's church ; afterwards rector
of this parish twenty-five years. He was a most vigilant pastor, and a man greatly esteemed for his real
piety, wisdom, learning, eloquence, and gravity. He piously slept in the Lord in the fifty-sixth year of
his age, in the year of our Lord 1616."
The family vault of the Barleys (anciently Barlee) is entered from-the north aisle, where several monu-
ments bear the following inscriptions : " Here under lieth buried Mary, fourth daughter of Edmund
Turner, of Walden, in this county, gentleman, and Elizabeth his wife, second wife of Haynes Barlee, esq.,
by whom he had a very plentiful fortune, but no issue. She died the 5th of March 1658, was a loving and
obedient wife, in whose memory he erected this monument."
On a marble monument, under a bust : " In a vault underneath are deposited the remains of Haynes
Barlee, esq. with those of his three wives : the last was Mary, one of the daughters of William Riddlesdon,
esq., by whom he left issue four sons; William, Haynes, Charles, and Edward : he died in 1696, she
in 1714. This monument is gratefully dedicated to their memories by Palgrave Barlee, esq."
A handsome monument is inscribed to the memory of "Margaret, eldest daughter of George Oliver,
and wife of Haynes Barlee, of Curies, by whom he had four sons and nine daughters : six of them died
in infancy, and the last was still-born, and within five days the mother died. She was a good woman,
and a faithful, loving, and obedient wife sixteen years, and died in December, 1653."
On the glass of the window there are memorials painted of '\^'illiam Bai-lee, of the Middle Temple, son
of Haynes Barlee, and Mary his wife: he died in 16S3. Frances Riddlcsdcn, daughter of William
Riddlesden, esq. son of sir Stephen Riddlesden, knt. and Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John Palgrave,
esq. She died in 1694". Haynes Barlee, eldest son of Haynes Barlee, esq. born in 1646, and died in 1661.
Some of these inscriptions have been preserved by Dr. Salmon, but the glass on which they were painted
has been broken.
In the nave, on the ground, a Latin inscription informs us that Ursula, wife of Thomas Welbore, of
Pondes, in Clavcring, and daughter of Sylvester D'Anvers, of Dauntesey, esq. in the county of Wilts, died
on the 26th day of December, 1591 ; and that Elizabeth, one of the daughters of sir John Mordaunt, knt^
lies buried with her. Richard Godfrey of this parish died October 11, IG99 ; and Mary his first wife in
1683: and Anne his second wife in 1690. Joan Day died on the 3d of February, 1483 : Robert, son of
George Day, died in 1581. William Barlee, esq. and Elizabeth his wife, daughter and co-heiress of John
Serle, of Barkway,are buried in the nave ; he died in 1691 : his son, John Barlee, married Mary, daughter
of John Haynes, esq. of Old Hall, in Essex; he died in 1633,Mary in 1643,and William, their son, in 1635.
In the north aisle, under an arch in the wall, there is the effigy of a man in armour, lying on his back,
with a sword in his right hand, resting on his breast, but no inscription states who it represents. A
mural monument bears a Latin inscription to inform us that, " Here lies John Stephenson, esq. only
son of William, of Howton, in Cambridgeshire, descended from the family of the Stephensons, of York-
shire ; and Anne his wife, daughter and one of the co-heiresses of Henry Patten, of this village of Claver-
HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING. 199
CHAP.
VIII.
LANGLEY.
This hamlet and chapelry were formerly appropriated to the priory of St. Bar- Langiey.
tholomew, in West Smithtield,* to which it is believed to have been given by Robert
Fitz-Rog-er, sometime previous to the year 1253.* The first time this place is men-
tioned in records is in the account of lands taken from the Normans, in the beginning
of the reign of king John, and there was at that time a park belonging to it. In 1543,
Langley Hall, after the dissolution of monasteries, was granted, by Henry the eighth. Hall.
with Langley Hall Grove, to John Gate, esq. who, in 1550, conveyed them to William
Bradbury, esq. who the same year died possessed of this estate, leaving Robert his
son and heir; who dying in 1576, was succeeded by his brother Henry, whose son
William died in 1607, leaving his son and heir, Henry Bradbury, under age: it after-
wards belonged to the family of Luther. Anthony Luther, esq. of Doddinghurst,
had possession of this estate sometime previous to the year 1700. His mother was
Mary, daughter of Edward Meade, of Berden: it was purchased of a succeeding repre-
sentative of this family by Jacob Houblon, esq.
The estate of Langley Lawn is about half a mile from the chapel Avestward: it was a Langley
considerable time in the possession of the Nightingale family, and a handsome house
named Clavering Park was built by sir Thomas Nightingale, bart. of whom it was pur-
chased by John Smith, esq. son of sir Thomas Smith, bart. of Theydon Mount, and his
daughter Anne conveyed it to her husband, Thomas Milner, esq. who died in 1733,
having pulled down the old house, and in its place erected a larger and more elegant
ing. He died on the 2d of June, 1741, aged 75 ; she on the 27th of November, in the year 17'i2, aged 49.
John Stephenson, esq. of Newtown, in Cambridgeshire, erected this monument to the best of parents."
On the ground : "William Benson, son of William and Elizabeth Benson, of Brent Green, died Jan. 1.
1677." " William Benson, gent, of Brent Green, and Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John Barley, esq. ;
he died Aug. 10, 1659; she in 1677. Christopher, their seventh son, died in 1G84." " Henry Patten,
gent, of The Place, in this parish, died Aug. 6, 1767 ; and had for his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John
Stock, of Chishall, gent."
An inscription to the memory of a person named Songar, informs us that he had fourteen sons and nine
daughters by one wife.
Charities. — A barrel of white, and a cade of red herrings are left to be given to the poor in Lent ; to be Charities
paid for out of a farm, lying toward Langley, called Valence. — A noble annually, left by Mrs. Martin. —
An unknown benefactor left an annuity of three pounds, payable out of the estate of Curies : of this, two
pounds is to purchase twenty-two loaves, to be given on the first Sunday in every month : the remaining
pound to be given in groats to poor widows. — John Smith, vicar of this parish, left eighty pounds, his
widow to enjoy it during her life, and on her decease to make it up one hundred pounds ; with thi.«
money, land in Langley, named Poor Darnels, was purchased, from which six pounds is yearly distributed
to poor families. — A farm in Berden, of six pounds yearly rent, was left by Haynes Barley, esq. of Curies,
to app-rentice poor boys, alternately one from six parishes, of which this is one.
* In Domesday it is not separately mentioned, being included in Clavering : the name in record.s
is Langelegh, and Hangeley.
200 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. building-. His son, Thomas Milner, esq. died in 1742, and was succeeded by his
cousin, Robert Milner. It afterwards became the property of Robert Cramond,
esq. who, on his decease, in 1762, left Elizabeth, his only daughter, his heiress.
It has since passed to several proprietors, and lately was in the possession of
Clayden, esq.
Chapel. Xhe chapel, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, belonged to Clavering church as
a chapel of ease, from an unknown remote period. It was in being in the time of
king Henry the second; and a new chancel was built at the charge of the hospitals.
The hamlet of Langley, in 1821, contained three hundred and twent)'^, and, in 1831,
three hundred and eighty-four inhabitants,
BERDEN.
Berdt-n. From Clavering this parish extends southward to Manuden, and westward joins
Hertfordshire: the situation is generally pleasant and healthy, and much of the soil light
and fruitful: in length it is three miles, and in breadth one and a half: distant fi'om
Bishop Stortford seven, and from London forty-seven miles. It lies about three
miles westward from the road to Cambridge and Newmarket. The name, in Saxon,
Bepeben; in records, Berdon, Byerden; in Domesday, Berdane.
Godman, a sochman, held this lordship under a thane named Robert, previous to
the Conquest; and at the time of the survey it belonged to Suene, whose under-tenant
was Alured.
Beideu The manor-house is near the church, and the manor, in the commencement of the
reign of Henry the second, was holden by John de Rochford,* under Henry de Essex,
as of the honour of Rayleigh; in 1247, sir Guy de Rochford had this possession, who
dying in 1273, was succeeded by his nephew, John de Rochford, son of his sister
Maud ; and Robert his son, who married Isolda, daughter of William Fitz-Warine,
held Rochford and Berden. On his decease, in 1337, he left sir Thomas Rochford,
his son, his heir. In 1340, on the failure of heirs male in the Rocliford family, king-
Edward the third granted Rochford and Berden to Bohun, earl of Northampton; and
William de Bohun, after the decease of Christina, wife of Robert de Rochford, gave
the manor of Berden to the abbey of Walden, which, in 1388, the abbot of that time
held by the service of one knight's fee. After the dissolution, king Henry, in 1538,
gave it to lord chancellor Audley; from whom it descended, with the Walden estates,
to Thomas lord Howard, and Katharine his lady, who, in 1597, sold it to Thomas
Sutton, esq. from whom it was conveyed to the family of Calvert, of Pelham Furneuse;
descending from William Calvert, esq. to Felix Calvert, esq. of Pelham Hall, who
died in 1655, to Nicholson Calvert, esq, of Hunsdon, in Hertfordshire, and to his
successors.
* This family derived their .surnaiue from the town of Rochford.
Hall
HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING. 201
A small hospital or priory for Augustine canons was founded here, as is probably chap
conjectured, by some of the Rochfords. The patronage of it was given, in 1343, to 1-
the abbey of Walden, by William Bohun, earl of Northampton. The prior had ^5'^^"
licence to hold a fair here, which was granted in 1266, by Henry the third. They
had also possessions here, in Manuden, Henham, Rickling, and Rochford : the prior
was also patron of the rectory, which, upon complaints of poverty to Bishop Grey,
he annexed to their house ; and a vicarage was ordained, endowed with all oblations,
obventions, and other profits of that kind, and all small tithes of this parish; but
continued complaints of the house, in 1514, induced bishop Fitz-James to appropriate
to them the vicarage also, which has since been only a curacy, to which the owner of
the priory lands nominates, and the bishop gives a licence. After the dissolution of
the priory, its possessions were granted to Henry Parker, together with the rectory,
in which possession he was succeeded by Thomas and Margery Avery, and by sir
Thomas Ramsey; who, in 1583, conveyed to the mayor and commonalty of the city
of London, governors of the hospitals of Christ, Bridewell, and St. Thomas, this
manor or priory, with the appertenances, twenty messuages, twenty cottages, twenty
gardens, twenty orchards, a thousand acres of arable, two hundred of meadow, three
hundred of pasture and one hundred of wood, and one hundred pounds rent; with the
rectories of Berden and Clavering, and the advowson of these two churches.
The church is in a low situation, and dedicated to St. Nicholas:* it has a nave. Church.
two side aisles, and a chancel ; and the tower, which is built of pebbles, contains five
belkf
The learned Joseph Mede, A.M. was born at Berden, in 1586. In 1602, he
was a student of Christ's College, Cambridge, of which he afterwards became a
fellow. He was so intent on the ardent pursuit of his studies, that he refused several
valuable preferments, from an apprehension that the duties of these engagements
would interrupt his pursuits. Among his learned writings, his Commentary on the
Apocalypse is esteemed the most valuable: he died in 1638.
This parish, in 1821, contained three hundred and thirty-eight, and in 1831, three
hundred and forty-two inhabitants.
UGLEY.
The road from London to Cambridge and Newmarket passes through this parish, Ugley.
which extends from Berden and the north-eastern extremity of the half hundred to
Manuden: the village is small, and in the whole parish the increase of the population
* Churclies in low situations, it has been observed, are very commonly dedicated to this .saint ; as
those on elevated ground were in ancient times usually dedicated to St. Michael.
t Charity : Between four and five pounds a year, of which fifty shillings arc paid out of Lamberts, arc Cliarity.
distributed to the poor.
202 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
^^^^ tt. has not exceeded five per cent, during the last forty years: from Bishop Stortford it
is distant five, and from London thirty-five miles.
In Domesday-book it is written Ugghelea, and in other records Uggele, and
Huggele, believed to be a barbarous perversion of Oakley, from the Norman clerks
employed by the Conqueror having been ignorant of the true pronunciation of the
Saxon language.
Ulwin held this possession previous to the Conquest, and at the survey it was one
of the fourteen lordships in this county which had been given to Alberic de Vere,
whose descendants, earls of Oxford, continued lords paramount here till it became
united to the dutchy of Lancaster.
Half^ The manor-house is near the church, and the manor was holden of Roger Fitz-
Roger, lord of Clavering, as half a knight's fee, by Reginald Fitz-Peter, who died in
1286; John was his son and heir. John de Vinonia held this manor of William
Tochet, who held it of John de Clavering, as a knight's fee ; he holding it of the earl
of Oxford by the same service. Thomas Gobion is recorded to have held it in 1360,
and in 1371, having become vested in the crown, it was given in dower with Blanch,
daughter and co-heiress of Thomas, duke of Lancaster, on her marriage to John of
Gaunt, earl of Richmond, fourth son of Edward the third, and who in his lady's right
became duke of Lancaster. In 1388, it was holden under John de Neville, lord of
Raby, by Thomas Waterton.
thorp' ^'^ 1409, this manor was granted, by Henry the fourth, to John Leventhorp and
family. Katharine his wife, and their heirs male, to hold in socage of the dutchy of Lancaster :
John, their son, succeeded to this possession in 1432, followed by Thomas in 1484,
on whose decease in 1492, John, his son, became his heir, who died in 1511: he was
sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1509, as was also Thomas his son in 1525, who
died in 1527. Sir Edward Leventhorp, knt. Avas his son, and died in 1551; whose
son and heir, Edward, died on his travels, at Rome, leaving by Mary, daughter of Sir
Edward Parker, son of lord Morley, his son John, knighted in 1603, and created a
baronet in 1622. He died in 1625, having had by Joan, daughter of sir John
Brograve, knt. four sons and seven daughters. John died at Tours, in France; sir
Thomas succeeded to the title and estate, and marrying Elizabeth, daughter of sir
Giles Allington, knt. of Horseheath, in Cambridgeshire, had by her John, who died
young, Thomas, Joan, and Dorothy. Sir Thomas Leventhorp,* bart. married Mary,
daughter of sir Capel Bedel, bart. by whom he had Mary, his only child and heiress,
married to John Cooke, esq. of Melbourne, in Derbyshire. In 1667, the estate was
sold to sir Thomas Middleton, knt. of Stansted Hall; his son, Thomas Middleton, esq.
was his successor, but he dying without male issue, this manor and woodlands in
Ugley were sold, by trustees, to Thomas Heath, esq. He died in 1741, and was
Arms of Leventhorp : Argent, a bend componee, gules and sable, cotized of the second.
HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING. 203
succeeded by his son, Bailey Heath, esq. who, on his decease in 1760, left his widow, chap.
and his eldest son, at that time under age.*
Bollington Hall is about half a mile south-west from the church, and the manor to Boliing-
which it belongs is believed to be what was named Balitun, and Bertun, and holden Manor.
under earl Harold, in the time of Edward the confessor, by a freeman named Godwin.
According to the record of Domesday, Suene had a manor here, as had also Robert
Gernon; the latter was, by the surveyor, allowed to hold his rightfully, but Suene's
was found to be an encroachment on the royal demesnes. Brend-hall is often men-
tioned in connexion Avith this manor, as if they were different estates, yet they are
believed to have been the same; the secondary name having been applied on account
of the house having been injured or destroyed by fire.
Fulk de Batonia had this manor in the time of Edward the first, which he sold to
William de Montchensy. This manor was afterwards parcelled out, and holden by
various persons ; and in 1502 was given to Westminster abbey, by sir Reginald Bray,
John Cutte, Edmund Dudley, and others; and that house retained possession till the
dissolution of monasteries ; after which, in 1542, Henry the eighth granted this with
various other manors to the dean and chapter of Westminster. But in 1553, the
manor of Bollington was granted by Edward the sixth to Richard diamond and
others. In 1562, Thomas Buck died holding this estate, described as parcel of the
possessions of the cathedral church of St. Peter's, Westminster : John Buck was his
son and heir ; whose successor was Robert Buck, who dying in 1620, the estate
passed to Thomas Buck, his cousin and heir. It afterwards belonged to the families
of Symonds, and of Pepys, of the Pool, in Yeldham, and passing into the possession of
John Poulter, attorney-at-law, of Clare, he sold it to William Plumer, esq.
A capital mansion on the right hand side of the road to Cambridge was erected by Oifoi d-
admiral Russel, afterwards earl of Orford, on which account it was named Orford-
house : it is rather more than a mile distant from the church, is of brick, and has been
much enlarged and improved in appearance by Isaac Whittington, esq.f It after-
wards became the seat of W. Chamberlain, esq.
The church and chancel are of one pace only ; and a tower, surmounted by a cupola, Clun cli.
contains three bells : there is a chapel on its southern side, but by whom erected is
not known : it belongs to Bollington Hall, and is kept in repair by the owner of
that house.
* The demesnes of Ugley Hall, and North Hall, from a proprietor named Wentworth, passed by
marriage to Charles Musters, esq. who gave them to Francis Musters, esq. his nephew, who died in 1741,
his successor being Robert Musters, esq. of Nottingham, between whom and William Earl Benson, esq.
a fine passed in 174-5, for lands and tenements, &c. in Ugley, of the yearly rent of two shillings and one
capon. On Robert Munster's decease in 1760, he left his daughter and heiress Elizabeth, married in 1764i>
to John Patridge, esq. of Nottingham.
t Arms of Whittington : Gules, a fesse compon^e, or and azure.
204. HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Formerly this church was a rectory, but bemg appropriated to the abbey of St.
Osyth, that house instituted a vicarage, of which it retained the advowson till the dis-
solution; and queen Elizabeth, in 1561, granted the advowson of the vicarage to
Ralph Bosville ; and gave the rectorial tithes to Henry Best and Robert Holland, to
hold of her manor of Greenwich. They were in the possession of sir Henry Maynard,
knt. at the time of his decease in 1610 ; and were sold by his son, sir William Maynard,
bart. to William lord Craven, who gave them to the hospitals of Christ's, and St.
Thomas, in the year 1619.*
This parish in 1821 contained three hundred and twenty-nine inhabitants, which,
in 1831, had diminished to three hundred and eighteen.
aiANUDEN.
Manudeii. From Ugley and Berden this parish extends southward to Farnham ; and a large
proportion of the district it occupies is used for pasturage, which under judicious
management is found abundantly productive; in other instances, where a lighter,
sandy, or gravelly soil prevails, the land is of a superior description. The village is
about a mile and a half distant from the London road, in a pleasant valley on the
borders of the river Stort : distant from Bishop Stortford four, and from London
thirty-four miles. A fair is held here for toys and pedlery wares on Easter Monday.
The name in records is Manuden, Manewden, Manyden, Magghedana, Menghedana,
Magellana; and is vulgarly named Mallendine. In the time of Edward the confessor
Inscrip- * Three mural monuments in the chancel are inscribed to the memory of " Martha Hester, who died
tions. T^i^^y 11^ 1759^ ^ged 17 : Jenny, who died April 29, 1755; Mary, Sarah, Charles ; and Elizabeth, who died
Jan. 10, 17C1 : the others died young.
"Mary, the wife of Paul Wright, M.A. vicar of this church, and daughter of Charles Bridgeman, gent,
alderman and twice mayor of Hertford. She was a dutiful child, an affectionate and prudent wife, a
tender and indulgent parent, a kind mistress, a true friend, a sincere Christian. These virtues procured
her love and esteem, and have prepared her for a glorious resurrection. She died Nov. 11, 1760, aged
forty-nine years.
" In memory of the rev. Edward Sparkes, M.A. vicar of this parish, and of King's Langley, in Hertford-
shire, who by a life adorned with Christian virtue, and a sincere unaffected piety, instructed those who
were committed to his care, no less than by his ministerial labours : humane and benevolent to all : the
sick and poor found comfort from his attendance, and relief from his charity. He died March 25, 1739,
aged fifty-six. Mary his wife died Nov. 5, 1762, aged eighty."
Below the effigies of a man and woman on a brass plate : " Here lyeth buryed the body of Richard Stock,
who deceased the iij of May, 1558. He had to wife Alice Hobbs, and had issue by her ii sons and iij
daughters."
Charities. Charities :— In 1620, Mr. Robert Buck, born in this parish, at Bollington Hall, left an annuity of
twenty pounds to clothe three poor men and three poor women of the parishes of Ugley, Manuden, and
Stansted Montfichet ; and these three parishes enjoy this benefaction in their turns. Thomas Buck, of
the same family, about the year 1670, left to the poor of this pari.sh a tenement and a small piece of land,
in Rickling, at that time let for five pounds a year. The income of this donation is at the _disposal of
trustees, who with it purchase coarse cloth for the use of the poor.
HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING. 205
ten freemen had the divided possession of it ; and at the survey it belonged to Robert CHAP.
Gernon, Alberic de Vere, Sasselin, William de Warren, and Ralph Baynard. These L
lands were consequently divided into five manors.
Manuden Hall was that part which belonged to Robert Gernon, and the manor-house Manuden
is a short distance north-eastward from the church: the estate descended to the family of
Playz, and to the De Veres. In 132T it was holden by John de Bassingbourne, under
Richard de Playz : and sir John Howard held it by the courtesy of England, after the
death of his wife, daughter and heiress of John de Playz, who died in 1388 : Elizabeth,
married to Sir John Howard, was their grand-daughter and heiress. John Gardiner
held this estate of king Henry the seventh by fealty and rent; and dying in 1508, left
his son Henry his heir, at that time seventeen years of age. In 1509, Thomas Brad-
bury died, holding Manuden and other estates, in which he was succeeded by his
nephew William.
In 1539, Thomas Crawley, esq. of Wendon Loughts, died in possession of this estate,
Avhich he held of Thomas Barrington, esq. and the lady Winifred Hastings his wife ;
Anne Crawley, his great grand-daughter, was his next heiress; but Margery, daughter
of Thomas Crawley the elder, great aunt to the said Anne, by marriage conveyed it
to John Bendish, of Bower-hall, in Steeple Bumsted; who dying in 1585, was suc-
ceeded by his son Thomas, the father of sir Thomas Bendish, bart., who sold this
estate to sir John Meade, knt. of Wendon Loughts; on whose decease, in 1678, his
successor was his son John Meade, esq., who mortgaged Manuden-hall to ' More;
and he in 1682 sold it to Felix Calvert, esq. of Stoken Pelham, whose son and heir,
William Calvert, esq. in 1712, sold it to Thomas Tooke,* D.D. rector of Lambourne,
and master of Bishop Stortford school, of the family of the Tookes, of Beer, in Kent :
he married Anne, daughter of Richard Lydial, M.D. warden of Merton college,
Oxford : to whom he left this estate for her life; he died in 1721. The estate after-
wards came to his nephews, John Tooke, who died in 1764, and Richard Tooke,
who died in 1776, having been successively rectors of Lambourne, in this county : on
the death of the latter of these, it became the inheritance of his sister Susannah, wife
of Peter Calvert, of Hadham, in Hertfordshire; who left it by will to her only son,
the rev. William Calvert, rector of Hunsdon and Stoken Pelham, in Hertfordshire.
He died December 10, 1831, aged eighty-six, and left this estate to his nephews, the
sons of John Martin Leeke, esq. of Thorpe-hall, by Mary, sister of the said
William Calvert.
The Hall is a very ancient building, in various parts of it bearing coats of arms,
among which are those of the Bendish family. The ancient place for calling the
* He has a monument in the church of Bishop Stortford, Herts, and the rest of the family are in
Lambourne church. Arms of Tooke : Per chevron, argent and sable, three griffins' heads erased,
counterchanged.
VOL. II. 2 E
206
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Battails.
Pachen-
hou or
Payton
Hall.
court-leet of this manor, is under a tree near the hall, in the street called White
Asli Court.
Sir William Waad, knt. erected the manor-house of Battails, which is about a mile
from the church ; the name is understood to be from a more ancient family, who
had possessions in Little Chishall and other places in the county, and some of whom
were formerly resident in this parish. From these the estate passed to the families of
Findern and Hiron, and to Roger Townshend, esq., of whom it was purchased by
Owen Waller, of the family of that name, of Parham, in Suffolii; after whose decease,
in 1574, his daughter and heiress, Anne, was married to sir William W^aad, knt. many
years clerk of the council to queen Elizabeth, and king James the first.* Sir William
was succeeded, on his decease in 1623, by James Waad, esq. son of his second
wife, daughter and co-heiress of sir Humphrey Browne, knt. : and he was followed
by his son William, commonly called captain Waad, on account of his having
been a captain of the trained bands. Marrying Anne, daughter of Haynes Barley,
esq. of Clavering, he had by her William and Anne, who died young. In 1607,
he was barbarously murdered in a field near his own house, by an assassin of the
basest character, of the name of Parsons, who had insinuated himself into his com-
pany, and on whom he had conferred important and undeserved favours.f Anne, his
widow, survived him many years; and as they had no surviving offspring, Anne, his
sister, succeeded to this estate : she was married to sir Edward Baesh, knt. of Stansted-
bury, in Hertfordshire ; and they l:\^ving no children, sold Battails to William Calvert,
esq. of Furneuse Pelham, who married Honor, daughter of Peter Calvert, esq. of
Hunsdon : he settled this estate on his eldest son, Felix Calvert, esq., who marrying
Christina, daughter of Josias Nicholson, esq., had by her Nicholson Calvert, esq. who
on the death of his father, in 1755, succeeded to this estate.
The manor of Payton is the part which belonged to William de Warren at the time
of the survey, and was named Pachenhou: the mansion-house is a mile and a half from
the church, northward. In 1518, Robert Newport died in possession of this manor of
Pakenhoo Hall, which he held of lady Bradbury, widow: John, his son and suc-
cessor, held it under the countess of Salisbury, by the same name, and on his decease
in 1524, left Grace, his only daughter and heiress, married to Henry Parker, lord
Morley; in which noble family this estate continued for some time; and afterwards
* A jiarticular account of sir William is given in the inscription on his monument in Manuden church.
Armigel Waad, esq. his father, was of an ancient family in Yorkshire, clerk of the council to king Henry
the eighth, and Edward the sixth. He was reputed the first Englishman who discovered the continent of
America, and on that account was styled the English Columbus : by his first wife, Anne Marbury.he had
three, and by Alice Paten, his second wife, he had seventeen children. He died in 1568, and his remains
lie under a monument in the chancel of Hampstead church.
t Arms of Waad : Azure, a saltier between four escallops, or.
HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING. 207
became the property of Amie, daughter of Haynes Barley, esq., married to William C H A p.
Waad, esq., and on her decease, in 1724, it descended to her nephew, Palgrave _
Barley, esq. of Cm-les, in Clavering, who dying without issue, in 1757, left this and
his other estates to Catharine Buckle, grand-daughter of his sister Hobart.
The mansion-house of Pinchpoles is nearly a mile north-north-east from the church, Pjijch-
in a low situation : this manor is what belonged to Sasselin at the survey, at that time
named Pincepo ; an ancient family took from it the surname of Pinchepoll. In 1502
it was given by John Cutte to the abbot of Westminster and his successors ; and it
remained in that house till its dissolution; after which, in 1542, it was granted by
Henry the eighth to the dean and chapter of Westminster : but in 1553 it was taken
from that appropriation, and by king Edward the sixth granted to Richard Chamond,
by whom it was sold to Clement Buck, of Manuden; who on his decease, in 1577,
left it to John, his son and heir, of whom it was purchased in 1592 by Thomas Hobbes,
esq., who dying in 1632, left his only daughter, Susanna, his heiress. Afterwards it
became the property of Peter Knight, esq. of West Ham, succeeded by his son Peter,
who married Charlotte Burnaston, by whom he had Joseph Douglas Knight, esq.
who married Sarah, only surviving daughter of the rev. Wentworth Bradbury.
The estate named Sawcemeres is what belonged to Ralph Baynard, and to the ^awce-
_ » ^ •' meres, or
honour of Mandeville; and was incorporated into the dutchy of Lancaster. The Sawce-
mansion-house is a mile distant fi'om the church, westward. From an unknown
remote period it had been holden as half a knight's fee by the family whose name it
had received, and passed from John Sawcemer to John Batayle ; and about the year
1575 was in the possession of John Thurgood, of Stansted, who died in 1614:
Nicholas, his son, was his heir ; of whose posterity it Avas purchased by Philip Mar-
tin, attorney-at-law, of Epping.
The church is built in the form of a cathedral, with a transept, nave, north and south Church,
aisles, and a spacious chancel. It is dedicated to St. Mary, and a stone tower con-
tains five bells.
Richard de Camville, and Alice his wife, gave this church to the monks of St.
Melan, in Bretagne, who had a cell at Hatfield Regis ; and when a priory was
founded there, this church was among its endowments ; the house, retaining the
rectorial tithes, instituted a vicarage here, of which it continued the patron till its dis-
solution ; and afterwards the rectory and advowson of the vicarage were granted by
Henry the eighth to sir Humphrey Browne, and have since passed to numerous
proprietors.*
In 1821, this parish contained six hundred and fifty-six inhabitants, which, in 1831,
had encr eased to six hundred and ninety-five.
* Inscriptions. In the north aisle, a mural monument bears a Latin inscription in gold letters, of Inscrip-
which the following is a translation : " Sir William Waad, knt. son of Armigild, sccietary to the lady tions. ^
208 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Hail
— FARNHAM, Or FERNHAM.
Fainham. This parish is on the southern extremity of the half hundred, extending- to the
borders of Hertfordshire; the village is pleasantly situated westward from the public
road; distant from Bishop Stortford three, and from London thirty-three miles.
Previous to the Conquest, five freemen held the lands of this parish, which at the
survey was the property of Geofrey de Mandeville, and of Robert Gernon. It was
afterwards divided into three manors.
Fainham The chief manor-house is at some distance south-westward from the church, and
consists of lands gained by successive encroachments on the king's demesnes. From
Geofrey it descended to his son William, and to Geofrey his grandson, who was
created earl of Essex : and from whom and his successors this manor-house was named
Earlsbury. Maud, sister and heiress of William de Mandeville, by marriage con-
veyed it to her husband, Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex: the sixth in
descent from him was Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton,
who left two daughters, co-heiresses; Elianor, married to Thomas of Woodstock,
duke of Gloucester; and Mary, married to Henry, earl of Derby, who afterwards
became king Henry the fourth. Elianor died in possession of this estate in 1399,
leaving three daughters, of whom Anne, the eldest, became ultimately sole heiress;
her three husbands were Thomas and Edmund, earls of Stafford, and William Bour-
Elizabeth's privy council many years ; sent once to the emperor Rodolphus, and to Philip, king of Spain,
and to Henry the third, king of France ; thrice to Henry the fourth of France and Navarre, and once to
Mary, queen of Scotland, on various affairs of the greatest importance ; commissary-general of England,
and superintendant of the soldiery in Ireland, and also secretary to the privy council of our most serene
lord, king James ; and lieutenant of the tower of London eight years ; afterwards living privately and
religiously till his seventy-seventh year, died, at his manor of Battleswood, in the county of Essex, on
the twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord 1623."
Beneath the inscription :'
" You that have place and charge from princes, trust
Whom honours may make thankful, not unjust,
Draw near and set your conscience and your care,
By this time-watch of state, whose minutes were
Religious thoughts ; whose hours heaven's sacred
food :
Whose hand still pointed to the kingdom's good
And sovereign's safety ; whom ambition's key
Never wound up guiltiness, bribe, or fee.
Zeal only, and a conscience clear and even.
Raised him on earth, and wound him up
heaven."
There is an epitaph on the ground, in the chancel, to the memory of Gertrude, wife of Richard James,
who died in 1634.
Charities. Charities. — In 1569, William Bull gave a mark ycaily to the poor here. — This parish partakes with
Berden in the benefaction of six suits of apparel, by Robert Buck. — In 1659, John Jacklyn gave a
tenement to the poor. Another tenement was also given to the poor here in 1675, by the rev. John
Pakeman. — Thomas Parkei', in 1699, gave one hundred pounds to purchase an estate for the benefit of
tlie poor of this parish.— The same sum was also given by William Gardiner, in 1709, to be employed for
the same purpose.
HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING. 209
chier, earl of Eu. The two last in her right enjoyed the manor of Farnham, which, c H a f.
on the partition of the Bohun estates in 1421, was allotted to king Henry the fifth, ^^^^-
and annexed to the dutchy of Lancaster. It was part of the dowry of Margaret,
queen of Henry the sixth, under whom it was holden by John Gaal; and was granted,
by Henry the eighth, to his first queen, Katharine of Arragon; in 1547, it was holden
of the king by Robert Chester; and under queen Elizabeth, in 1577, by Edward
Elliot; and it was left, in 1594, by the same queen, to James Quarles, clerk of her
kitchen. Li 1603, king James the first, by letters patent under the great seal and
the seal of his dutchy of Lancaster, granted this manor, in perpetuity, to John Erskine,
earl of Marr, to hold of the manor of Enfield, in fealty only; and he, in 1607,
mortgaged it to Peter Vanlore, of London ; his under-tenant at that time being
sir Robert, son of James Quarles, In 1610, it was purchased by the mortgagee,
who the following year sold it to Robert Yonge and Thomas Thompson, from whom
it was conveyed, in 1651, to Richard Hale, who, in 1678, bequeathed it to his grand-
son, Richard Hale, M.D. afterwards physician to Bethlehem and Bridewell hospitals,
and who died in 1728.* His widow, after his decease, enjoying the estate, which
afterwards became the property of Thomas Towers, esq.
The manor of Walkfares was taken from the chief manor, and consequently holden Walk fares
of the honour of Mandeville. In the reign of Henry the third, it was in possession
of Ralph, son of Richard Farnham, from whom it passed to the Lovel family;
Gunnora, widow of William Lovel, in 1256, claiming her dower out of this estate in
her husband's right. It was afterwards holden by Walter Arden. John de Walkfare
held it of the earl of Hereford, and on his decease in 1345, left Euphemia his wife,
daughter and co-heiress of Edward Comyn, and widow of De la Beche, of
Beeches, in Rawreth; John, his son, being at that time eight years of age: she
enjoyed the estate till her decease in 1361: in 1529, it became the property of the
family of Ap Rice, and was sold, by Roger Ap Rice, to John Eliot, in 1559, and
conveyed, by Elizabeth Eliot, to John Haynes, of Old Holt, in Birch; from whose
son John it was sold, in 1622, to William Hone, of the Temple, who, in 1640, con-
veyed it to William Halton, esq. created a baronet in 1642; and he sold it, in 1645,
to Thomas Meade, from whom it afterwards passed to another of the same name,
both being of the family of Meade, of Berden; this last sold it, in 1694, to John Gill,
attorney-at-law, whose executors sold it to Richard Hale, M.D. lord of Earlsbury;
after whose decease, passing as that estate did, it became the property of Thomas
Towers, esq.
The mansion-house of this manor is a short distance from the church, southward; Hertisho-
the manor, previous to the Conquest, was holden by a freeman; and at the survey ^^^'
belonged to Robert Gernon, an(J passed to his descendants the Montfichets: it was
* This learned gentleman published some valuable tracts in the Philosophical Transactions from 1701
to 1720.
210 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. holden under them, in 1117, by Roger Anglicus, or English, in whose family it con-
" tinned till 1293, and was afterwards, in 1366, in possession of sir John de la Lee, who
died in 1370, and whose son and successor, sir Walter de la Lee, died in 1395: he
was of Albury, in Hertfordshire, and representative for that county in nine parliaments:
Thomas, his son, died before him, without issue; and his three daughters, Margery,
married to Robert Newport; Joan, to John Barley; and Alice to sir Thomas More-
well, became his co-heiresses; and on the division of the estates, this manor, and
Albury, were the portion of John Barley, whose son of the same name was sheriff of
Essex and Hertfordshire in 1424 and 1425, and died in 1445. His son Henry was
also sheriff in 1467, and died in 1475. This manor was in the possession of Thomas
Leventhorp, at the time of his decease in 1500, and of Agnes Leventhorp, who died in
1512. It afterwards passed to the Glasscock family.*
Clmrcli. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is of one pace with the chancel, and has a cross
aisle, with a tower, containing five bells.f
* Henry Glasscock, of High Easter, by his wife Grace, daughter of John Ennew, of Coggeshall, had
Henry Glasscock, of Hevtishobury, who married Margery, daughter of sir Francis Fitch, knt. Edward
Glasscock, esq. of Brices, in Kelvedon Hatch, was their son; whose son Edward, of the same place,
marrying Hester, daughter of John Wingate, esq. of Harlington, in Bedfordshire, had by her Henry,
Thomas, and William ; and by Elizabeth, his second wife, daughter of Henry Capel, had Edward and
Elizabeth. Henry Glasscock, esq. the heir of Edward and Hester, married Mary, daughter of Thomas
Jerner, esq. of Whitby, in Yorkshire, and had by her William Glasscock, esq. who, on his decease, having
only a daughter, left his estate to his great nephew and godson, William Glasscock, esq. desiring it might
go to the next male heir, from one generation to another. He also, for the same purpose of continuing
the family name, gave the lease of the rectory of High Estre to Robert, brother of William ; but it did not
remain long in the family. William Glasscock, esq. second of the name, by Joanna, daughter of Edward
Raynesford, of Warwickshire, had Henry, William, and Anne : on liis decease in 1746, he was succeeded
by his son, William Glasscock, esq. Arms of Glasscock : Ermine, a chevron, sable, between three cocks,
azure, armed, wattled and legged, or. Crest : An antelope's head erased, argent, attired or, collared, with
a girdle, sable, buckled or.
Monu- t Monuments and inscriptions. — On the east wall of the chancel is a monument inscribed to the me-
jnentsand j^^^y ^f Henry Lillcy, rouge dragon, one of his majesty's officers of arms, who died 29th of August, 1638.
tions. There is also a sculpture of his arms : — three lilies proper, impaling a chevron — between
three wolves' heads, coupcd, — .
On the floor of the chancel : William Glasscock, esq. died 23d March, 1690, aged 82; with his arms:
Ermine, a chevron sable, between three cocks azure, armed, wattled, and legged, or.
Opposite the communion table, a stone is inscribed, " T. H. F. 1797. F. F."
On the wall of the church : to the memory of Nathaniel Geering, B.D. rector of this parish, who died
1784, aged 80; he was the fourth son of Gregory Geering, esq. formerly of Deuchworth, in the
county of Berks. Arms : Gules, on two bars, or, six mascles of the first ; on a canton sable a leopard's
head, or.
There was formerly an inscription on a stone in the middle of this church, to the memory of John
Gaal, who, in 1448, held lands in Earlsbury, under Margaret, queen of Henry the sixth. This has been
destroyed, as has also the fine old painting of the story of St. Catharine, which was to be seen in one of
the windows, when Mr. Salmon visited this church.
Charity. Charity. — Rowland Eliot left to the poor of this parish, forty shillings a year; to the poor of Bishop
Stortford the same sum ; and to London Bridge, twenty shillings ; payable out of the manor of Walkfares.
i
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW.
211
The rectory was in the gift of the family of De Vere, from 1386 to 1545, and pass- C H a F.
ing to various proprietors, by purchase or otherwise, was given, by Dr. Hale, to _
Trinity College, Oxford.
This parish, in 1821, contained four hundred and thirty inhabitants, which, in
1831, had increased to five hundred and twenty-four.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE HALF HUNDRED OF CLAVERING.
R. Rectory.
P. C. Perpetual Curacy.
V. Vicarage. C. Chapelry.
t Discharged from payment of First Fruits.
Parish.
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tution.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Berden, P. C
Clavering, V
Farnham, R
Langley, C
Manuden, V
Uelev V
Colchester.
Vicar of Ugley
L. P. Stevens
Wm.Greenhill
V^icar of Clavering. .
J. C. Hayes Stokes .
J . R. Pitman
1818
1816
1825
1816
1829
1818
£bO 0 0
22 12 Hi
23 8 9
Not in charge
tl4 0 0
tl4 13 4
W. Ugley, Vic.
Christ's Hospital.
Trinity Col. Oxford.
W. Clavering, Vic.
Rev. H. Marsh, &c.
Christ's Hosp. Lend.
CHAPTER IX.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW.
CHAP.
IX.
DuNMOW is surrounded by the hundreds of Hinckford, Freshwell, and Uttlesford,
Hundred
of Dun-
by Harlow, Ongar, and Chelmsford: it is in length twenty miles, and in the broadest mow.
part not more than eight, and contains the following twenty-six parishes: Dunmow
Great, Dunmow Little, Easton Little, Easton Great, Tiltey, Thaxted, Lindsel,
Chickney, Broxted, Barnston, Pleshey, High Estre, Good Estre, Mashbury, Can-
field Great, Canfleld Little, Roding High, Roding Eytrop, Roding White, Roding
Morells, Roding Leaden, Roding Margaret, Roding Berners, Shellow Bowells,
Willingale Dou, Willingale Spain.
GREAT DUNMOW.
This is the larger of two parishes into which the district has been divided ; the
town is on a gravelly hill of considerable height, in a healthy and pleasant part of the
county, near the river Chelmer: it consists principally of two streets. By some anti-
Great
Dunmow.
212 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II. quarians it is supposed to occupy the site of a Roman station, and to derive its name
7, from the Celtic dunum, a hill, and maffus, a town. Bishop Gibson has considered it
antiqui- ^^y |jg i\^q Csesaromagus of Antoninus; and Mr, Drake, in a letter published in the
Cae'saio- fifth volume of the Archseologia, streng-thens its claun to this appellation, by reference
masiis. ^^ ^^^ situation on a Roman road, and also to the circumstance of Roman coins having
been found here; particularly one of Honorius, of the finest gold, and some large
ones of the emperor Commodus of brass, were found in fields near the church; and
on the estate of lord Maynard in this neighbourhood, Roman denarii have been found,
of Gallienus, Tiberius, Posthumius, Victorinus, and others of the thirty tyrants.*
Other writers derive the name from bun, high, and mop, a heap.f In records this
name is written Dunemawe, Dunmaw, Dunmage, Dunmawge, Dunmore ; in Domes-
da v? Dommaw.
A market was granted here, in 1253, to John de Berners, by king Henry the third,
which was held weekly on Saturdays, but it has been long in a declining state: two
fairs for cattle are held yearly, on May 6, and November 8. The market-house is
near the centre of the town, and bears the following inscription:
" Williame Steward, bayliffe, 1578; Wyllyame Swetinge, 1578; Thomas Swetinge, carpenter. Repaired
and painted by Smeeth Raynor, bailiff, anno 1760."
The town is well lighted and paved, and supplied with water from springs in the
P . neighbourhood. It was incorporated in the reign of Philip and Mary, confirmed by
mcnt. letters patent of queen Elizabeth, in the thirty-second year of her reign, and is
governed by a bailiff, and eleven burgesses; twelve being elected, out of Avhich the
bailiff is chosen4 Magisterial authority is not at present exercised by this corporate
body, who only appoint a constable, fix the assize of bread, and examine weights
annually, on the Tuesday after Michaelmas-day. The petty sessions for the division
is held here, and occasionally a court-leet for the chief manor. Formerly the bay and
say trade flourished here, but is now extinct ; and the only manufactm'e that remains
* Dr. Salmon observes, " This name to me seems compounded of two words, bun and mop ; the first
signifying high, the latter, a heap. Let it be remembered that it stands upon the Roman way, as we have
traced it from London to Colchester, being a continuation from Stanes-street to Stanway. Dunmow
is a highway or causeway, where the road is raised above the level ; in Warwickshire and other counties
called the ridgeway." — Salmon's Hist, of Essex, p. 188.
+ At Merk's Hill, in this parish, among earth and rubbish in a gravel-pit, several small urns, some
small pieces of brass, and copper coins of Trajan and Antoninus, were discovered in the year 17G0 : the
urns were ranged in regular order, the largest holding about a pint, and each of the three smallest being
about the size of a tea-cup. — Cough's Camd. vol. ii. p. 54.
X The following are the gentlemen who at present act under this charter: — George VVade, esq. recorder;
John Gunn, bailiff; burgesses, William Wade, esq., Samuel Philbrick, Joseph Grice, Isaac Malster, John
Cavel Briggs, Joseph Sewell, Benjamin Mortier Foukes, John Scruby, John Fuller, William CoUis, Tho-
mas William James.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 213
is a kind of coarse cloth for sacks and bags. There are some good houses in the C H A p.
town, and places for religious worship belonging to the Baptists, Independents,
and Friends. It is distant from Bishop Stortford. seven, and from London thirty-
eight miles.
The parish is of considerable extent, and well watered by the river Chelmer, on
the banks of which there is some of the finest meadow land in the county; it is
included in the crop-aud- fallow district, yet is found to contain much excellent corn
land. There are seven manors.
Previous to the Conquest several freemen held the manor of Great Dunmow under Manor of
Wisgar ; but at the time of the survey a portion of it was in the possession of Richard, Dunn,ow.
son of earl Fitz-Gislebert;* the remainder being the property of Hamo Dapifer, steward
to the king; and who afterwards became the sole proprietor of this estate, which, Avith
other possessions, he left to Mabel, eldest daughter and co-heiress of his brother,
Robert Fitz-Hamon. This lady was married to Robert, earl of Gloucester, natural son
of king Henry the first ; from whom this estate descended to the family of Clare, and
was, Avith the honours of Gloucester and Clare, united to the dutchy of Lancaster. It
was holden under Richard de Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, by Simon Fitz-
Richard, in 1262, succeeded by others of the same family; and it Ai^as holden in 1298
by Richard Fitz-Simon, under Gilbert de Clare ; Avho left three sisters his co-heiresses :
Elizabeth, the youngest, was married to John de Burgh ; and their son William left
Elizabeth, his only daughter, Avife of Lionel, duke of Clarence, third son of king-
Edward the third; Avho had by her his daughter and heiress Philippa, after his
decease, in 1368, married to Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, Avho died in 13S1;
and Avhose son and successor Avas Roger ; Edmund, the son of Roger Mortimer, died
in 1421, and Avas succeeded by his sister Anne, married to Richard de Coningsburgh,
brother of Edmund, duke of York, by Avhom she had Richard, duke of York, Avhose
son Avas king Edward the fourth. In 1509, Henry the eighth made this manor part
of the dower of Katharine of Arragon, his queen; together Avith a park, Avhich Avas
afterv/ards granted by EdAvard the sixth to William, marquis of Northampton ; and
Avas in the possession of sir Richard W^eston, at the time of his decease in 1572, of his
grandson, Richard, earl of Portland, who died, in 1634, and also became the inherit-
ance of Jerome his son. DunmoAV Park, also named Dannocke Park, was bounded by
the brook on the right-hand side of the road to Braintree: the mansion Avas called the
Lodge; and a house not far from it belonged formerly to sir John Barrington, bart.
This manor and lordship continued in the croAvn till it Avas purchased by William, the
first lord Maynard.
In the time of EdAvard the confessor, Edmar, a freeman, had the manor of Merks, I^Icrks.
* A knight named Vltalis also ckiiincd this possession.
VOL, II. 2 F
\
214 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. which has been since named Merks,* from Adeloff de Merc, who held this possession
under Eustace, earl of Boulogne, at the survey of Domesday. Many places in Essex
have been named from this family, of whom Simon de Merc had possessions here in
1210 and 1211, and Ingelram de Merc held this manor in 1258, of the king, as of his
honour of Boulogne. Robert was his son and heir, on whose decease, in 1305, he
left Jacomima his widow, who held the estate till her death in 1340 ; her son and
heir, Ingelram, being at that time beyond sea : in consequence of which, or of his
dying abroad, it passed to his brother Robert, who sold it to Henry Ferrers, and he
dying in 1343, was succeeded by his son sir William, whose widow Margaret enjoyed
the estate after his decease in 1371, and it continued in this family till the death of
William, lord Ferrers, of Groby, in 1439: his tAvo sons were Henry and Thomas;
the first of whom died in his father's life-time, leaving Elizabeth his daughter, married
to sir Edward Grey, who, in her right, became lord Ferrers, of Groby. Sir Thomas,
second son and heir of William lord Ferrers, granted this manor for life to sir John
Bourchier, and his lady Elizabeth ; but it had again come into his possession at the
time of his decease in 1458: he married Elizabeth, one of the daughters and co-
heiresses of sir Baldwin Frevil, of Tamworth, and had by her sir Thomas, who died
in 1498, without issue, leaving his cousin, sir John Ferrers, his heir. He died ir
1511, having married Anne, sister of William lord Hastings, by whom he had John,
who having married Maud, daughter and co-heiress of John Stanley, of Elford, died
before his father, leaving John his son ; who marrying Dorothy, daughter of William
Rushall, had his son Humphrey, and he married Margaret, daughter of Thomas
Pegot, sergeant-at-law, by whom he had John Ferrers, of Tamworth, who married
Barbara, daughter of Francis Cockayne, of Ashborn. He sold this estate to John
Milborn, who married Eleanor, daughter of Meade, of Great Easton, and by
her had John, his successor on his decease, in 1594. John Milborn, the son by his
wife Joan, daughter of John Slade, of Warwickshire, had Robert, who married Alice
Brage, of Buhner, and had by her Robert Milborn, esq. of Merks, who sold this
estate to sir James Hallet, knt. who died in 1734, leaving his son James his heir ;
who married Mary, daughter of sir Ambrose Crawley, knt., by whom he had James
Hallet, esq., his successor in this estate.
Mynchons A manor, or reputed manor, named Mynchons, in queen Elizabeth's time, belonged
to the Glascock family; subsequently possessed by James Hallet, esq.
Newton The manor-house of Newton Hall is half a mile from the church, westAvard; the
manor to which it belongs was in the possession of Uluric Cawa, in the time of Ed-
ward the confessor ; and at the survey it was the property of Geofrey de Magnaville,
whose under-tenant was Hugh de Berners : his descendants retained possession of this
* Aims of Merk : Gules, a lion argent, within a bordure indented, or.— Arms of Milborn : Gules, a
chevron between three escallops, argent.
Hall.
HUNDRED or DUNMOW. 215
estate down to near the close of the reign of kmg Edward the third. A branch of C H A P.
the same family was also seated at Barnston. Margery, Avife of John de Gysors, who '
died in 1305, held a moiety of this estate under Edmund de Berners; and it Avas
holden under Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Essex and Hereford, by John de Berners,
at the time of his decease in 1372. John de Goldington, in 1419, and, in 1487,
William KyniAvolmersh, or Kindlemersh,* had this manor, which remained in the
latter family during several generations, till near the close of the fifteenth century;
and, in 1627, was in possession of Robert Gosnold, esq., who sold it to Richard
Deards, Avho died in 1630 ; after whom, the next recorded possessor Avas sir John
Swinnerton Dyer, bart., son of sir William Dyer, bart. of Tottenham, in Middlesex, Swin-
who married Thomaslne, daughter and heiress of Thomas Swinnerton, esq. of Stan- faiuily,
Avay-hall. Sir John Swinnerton Dyer married Elizabeth, daughter of Rowland
Johnson, of Gray's-inn, by Avhom he had five sons and four daughters : on his decease,
in 1701, he was succeeded by his eldest son and heir, sir Swinnerton Dyer, Avho mar-
ried, first, Anne, daughter of Edward Belitha, esq. of Kingston-upon-Thames, and
had by her Anne, married to Paul Wliitehead. Sir SAvinnerton married, secondly,
Mary, sister of John Kemp, esq. of Spain's Hall, in Finchingfield, Avho had made her
his heiress ; by her he left no issue. Dying in 1736, he Avas succeeded by his brother,
sir John Dyer, bart. of Spain's Hall. This estate Avas afterwards purchased by John
Henniker, esq. one of the burgesses in parliament for Sudbury.
Tavo small estates named Shingle Hall and Olaves, Avere held separately by Ansgar ^^'°°^^
and a sochman, who held under him, previous to the Conquest; and afterwards belong-
ing to Geofrey de Magnaville, became united in 1361. V/illiam Glyne, Avith Joan his
Avife, held this manor, Avhich passed to their son W^illiam. John Josselyn, esq. pur-
chased it, and left it, on his decease in 1525, to his son Thomas; and, in 1627, it
belonged to Richard Jennings, esq. Avliose son Thomas Avas his heir. AfterAA^ards
passing to several proprietors, it Avas conveyed in marriage to Mr. John Parker, linen-
draper, of London, and became the inheritance of bis son and heir, John Parker, esq.
of Whaddon, in Surrey. It has a court baron and court leet, and in the rolls is called
the manor of Sliingled Hall, alias Olaves, cum Waldraines. The mansion-house is
a mile from the church soutliAvard.
The manor of Martels is on the right-hand side of the road from tlie toAvn to the Maitels.
church. Previous to the Conquest it belonged to Ansgar, and afterAvards Avas holden
under Geofrey de Magnaville by Martel, Avhose name it has retained. The proprietors
of this estate have not been further recorded till 1637, Avhen being in possession of
Robert Smith, esq. it Avas purchased of him by Geofrey Stane, esq. of Rise, in Platfield
Broadoak, from Avhom it passed, as the Hatfield estate did, tu his grandson, Stane
Chamberlain, esq.
* Anns of Kindlemersh : Per fcss, erminois and sable, a Hon rampant, conntcrchanced.
216
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Bigods.
BOOK II. The manor of Bigods, or Alferestune, was formerly a hamlet to Great Dunmow,
and has had a chapel, from which the field where it stood has heen named Chapel-field.
The mansion-house is a mile from the church, toward Stehhing and Lindsel.
In 1201, Hugh de Chatillion, count de St. Paul, had this estate, as had also Thomas,
count de St. Paul, in 1210 and 1211: it sometime afterwards passed to the crown,
and, in 1226, was granted to Reimund de Burgo, and afterwards to Bartholomew
Bigod, or Le Bigod. WiUiani de Bigod had part of this manor in 127T; and Ralph
Bio-od held it at the time of his decease in 1315, as did also sir Walter Bigot in 1372,
leavino- his o-randson Walter, the son of his son Thomas, his heir; who, with Isabel
his wife, held this manor of Bacons, in Danesey, of the abbey of Bileigh; he died in
1398, leavino- his son William his heir. This estate, in 1426, was holden by Isabella,
wife of John Doreward; and, in 1434, a third part of it was holden by Richard Fox,
who left it to Anne, his daughter and heiress: this portion of the estate belonged also
to Joan, wife of John Hotoft, who, dying in 1445, left it to her son, John Nowers.
Jenouie The Jeuoure* family were possessed of this estate from sometime after this period to
family. ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ .^ ^^^^^ purchased by Michael Pepper, of Stansted Thele.
Southall. Two parcels of land, in the time of the Saxons belonging to Algar, earl of Mercia,
and to a freeman; and, at the survey, to William de Warren, and Suene of Essex,
have been imited, and form the maiior of Southall; the mansion being about a mile
southward from the church. In 1263, it was holden by Jollan de Durmers, under
the crown, as of the honour of the earl of St. Paul, by the service of a pair of gilt
spurs; his son and heir is, in the inquisition, named Jollan de Duresme,f succeeded
by his son Edmund, whose co-heiresses were his daughters, Ada, Elizabeth, and Maud.
In 1389, a licence Avas granted to Robert Rickedon, Robert Knechbole, Thomas
Houlet, and John Eleyne, clerk, to give this manor to the prior and convent of Little
Dunmow, holden of the king; and it remained in that house till its dissolution, after
which it is supposed to have been granted, under the name of Clopton Hall, to
* The Jenoure family was of Stonham Aspall, in Suffolk, and John Jenoure, esq. piothonotary of the
common pleas, had this manor in 1529, and dying in 154-2, left his son and heir Uichard, who died in
1548; whose son Andrew was his heir. He died in 1620; his son, Kenelm Jenoure, was created a
baronet in 1628, and died in 1629, having married Jane, daughter of sir Robert Clark, baron of the
exchequer ; he left by her sir Andrew, his eldest son and heir, who married Margaret Smith, of London,
by whom he had sixteen children ; of whom Andrew, the eldest son and heir, married Sarah, daughter of
Robert Milborn, esq. of Merks, but died before his father, leaving his son, sir IMaynard Jenoure, who
succeeded his grandfather, and marrying Elizabeth, only daughter of sir John Marshall, kut. of Sculpins,
had John Maynard, Joseph, and IMary, wife of James Bellenden, esq. son of lord Bellenden. Sir John,
the eldest son and heir, died in 1739, having married Joan, only daughter of Richard Day, esq. of Epping,
by whom he had his son and heir, sir Richard Day Jenoure, who, on his decease in 1744, was succeeded
by his kinsman John, son of Joseph Jenour, vvho married Anne, daughter of John Sandford, esq. of
Bishop Stortford.
t Arms of Duresme : Argent, a cross gules, charged with five fleur-de-lis, or.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 217
Robert, earl of Sussex, and liolden by William Withipole, in right of Joan his wife, chap.
widow of Henry Radcliffe, viscount Fitz-Walter. In 1634, it belonged to lord Petre,
•tind was afterwards purchased for the Drapers' company, with money left by Mr.
'Bancroft, founder of the almshouses at Mile-end.
The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a spacious Gothic structure, consisting of a Church,
nave with lateral aisles, a chancel Math a south aisle, at the west end a lofty tower
■embattled, and six bells. The east window is a fine specimen of what has been termed
the decorated style of English architecture.* About the door of the tower on the
outside were thirteen shields; some of the arms are well known, being those of
INIortimer, Bohun, Bourchier, Braybrooke, Louvain, Coggeshall, Quincey, Baynard,
Duresme, &c. ; these great men had probably been at one time or other contributors
to the building or repairs of this considerable church, which was the head of the
<daanery of DunmoAv. Two hundred and thirty new sittings have been lately pro-
vided here, of which two hundred are free.f
This church was anciently a rectory and sinecure, the rectors presenting to the
■* Mi. Symoncls collected the fenestral antiquities here, and arms and epitaphs, some of which yet
ic-main : in the chancel east window, Edward the confessor's arras; in the window of the south aisle,
Bourchiers ; in the south porch window, baron and femme, the woman's lost, the man's quarterly, sable,
.-d fess between three cinquefoils, or. (Salmon, from whom probably Mr. Morant copied this notice of
Z\Ir. Symonds' notes, has an additional reading, " quarterly sable, a fesse between three cinquefoils, or.
Arma Robti de Re . . . . armigi et Katerinae uxoris." — Salmon, p. 211.) On the west wall the See of London,
irapaling several bishops' arms ; in the south aisle, party per fess ermine and sable, a lion rampaut,
ccC'Uiiterchanged for Kindlemersh, impaling those that they matched with, amongst the rest four water
'bougets for Bourchier. Salmon notices two other shields of arms in this church : on the south wall,
^zare a leopard rampant guardant, or, impaling Jenour, and another quarterly. In the south aisle,
3Iaynard's coat and crest and quarterings. The following arms, in stained glass, were remaining in 1625.
Argent, a bend engrailed sable. South aisle of the nave : Argent, a cross gules charged with five fleur-
•de-lis, or. South aisle of the chancel : Argent, a cross gules between four water bougets, sable.
f Monuments in the church : Against the south wall of the chancel. — " Near this place lies the body Monu-
oi sir John Swinnerton Dyer, late of Newton Hall, in this parish, bart. son of sir William Dyer, late of i^^'-'nts.
"I'ottenham High Crosse, in the county of Middlesex, bart. He married Elizabeth, ye daughter of Rowland
.Johnson, of Gray's Inn, in ye same county, gent, by whom he had five sons and four daughters, who are
all living except the eldest son. He departed this life, ye 17th May, 1701, in the 4-lth year of his age, to
whose memory his lady erected this monument. Arms : Quarterly, one and four or, a chief indented
;gules ; two and three, argent within a bordure engrailed gules, a cross pattee fleury. Over all, the
.feadge of Ulster. Crest : Out of a ducal coronet, or, a goat's head sable, armed of the first."
On the floor of the chancel : " Under this stone lies deposited the body of Aim, late lady of sir Swin-
nerton Dyer, of Newton Hall, in the county of Essex, bart. and fourth daughter of Edward Belitha, of
Kingston-upon-Thames, in the county of Surrey. As she always shewed herself dutiful to lier parents,
•so the duties of love and obedience, fidelity, modesty and chastity, comfort and help, friendly and kind
-■society and conversation, she prudently paid to her husband. She died August 21, 1714, aged 33 years,
ieaving her disconsolate husband only one child, a daughter, named Ann." This epitaph is in Lc Neeve's
{irinted collection, 1700 to 1715. Also in the Harleian MS. No. 3616, in the British Museum. Other
opitiiphs on the Dyer family are on dame Elizabeth Dyer, wife of sir John Swinnerton Dyer, who died
218
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. vicarage: the duke of Clarence, and afterwards the Mortimers, earls of March, had
~ the patronage till 1479, when the rectory was appropriated to the dean and chapter
of the collegiate church of Stoke, near Clare; and from that time the l)ishop of
London, and the canons, alternately presented the vicar till the dissolution. In 1554
30th of May, 17-27, at. sus 58. Elizabeth Dyer, eldest daughter of sir John Swinnerton Dyer, bart. who
departed this life 1 0th of Aug. 1728, a^ed 42.
North wall of the chancel : " Sacred to the memory of William Beaumont, esq. son of sir Thomas
Beaumont, bart. of Staunton, Leicestershire, who departed this life, 31 Mar. 1718, aged 76, leaving issue
by his wife Jane, daughter of Hugh Watts, of the same county, esq. who died 22 June, 1719, aged 66,
William, Henry, Henrietta, Jane, and Mary. Also of William Beaumont, esq. junior, son of the above
William, who died 17th January, 1729, aged 47. The names of both of them, for their singular sweetness
of behaviour, probity of life, constancy in religious duties, remain with all who knew them, honoured and
dear, a pattern of piety to posterity, and an honour and ornament to their ancient lineage, derived from
noble ancestors. This monument was erected by the pious care of Elizabeth, daughter of William Jordan,
esq. of Cathwick, in the county of Surrey, now the sorrowful widow of the above William Beaumont, jun.
supported from this comfort alone, that she has borne and now educated his children, viz. George,
William, Thomas, Elizabeth, and Margaret, all of promising hopes, seeming already to aspire to the
imitation of their parent's virtues. Elizabeth, the daughter of William Beaumont, died 19th July, 1735,
aged 11 years. Arms: Azure semee of fleur-de-lis, a lion rampant, or: impaling the same crest on a
chapeau azure, sem^e of fleur-de-lis, or, turned up ermine, a lion passant of the second."
" In this chancel are deposited tlie remains of sir George Beaumont, bart. of this place, who died Feb.
4, 1762, aged 36, and of dame Rachel his wife, who died iNlay 5th, 1814, aged 96 years. Erected to the
memory of his parents by sir George Ho wland Beaumont, bart. of Colerton Hall, in the county of Leicester.
" The dreadful hour is come, 'tis come, tis past ;
That gentle sigh, dear mother, was thy last ;
And now, diffused among the blest above.
Glows the pure spirit of maternal love ;
Tinged by whose beam my very failings shone,
Graced in thy eyes with something not their own.
No more affection shall thy fancy cheat.
Or warp thy judgment when again we meet ;
But every action, in its native hue,
Rise undisguised and open to thy view.
Rlay every action then be duly weigh'd.
Each virtue cherish'd, and each duty paid ;
That when my trembling soul shall wing her
flight,
Through death's dark valley to the realms of
light,
I may ex])ect, where no false views beguile.
The approving look of that accustomed smile ;
Blest smile, becoming her sublime abode.
And harbinger of pardon from my God."
Arms of Beaumont : Impaling argent, two bars sable, in chief three lions rampant, of the second.
" Here lyeth the body of Mr. Thomas Beaumont, vicar of ye parish, second son of sir Thomas Beau-
mont, of Stouton Grange, in the county of Leicester, bart. He married Susannah, daughter of William
Oldys, D.D. vicar of Alderburg, in the county of Oxon, by Avhom he had four sons and two daughters.
He died Jan. 15, 1710, aged 71." Arms much defaced.
This epitaph is in part supplied from Salmon, being in 1826 considerably defaced ; he adds the following
particulars in the way of illustration : " The title is now devolved to his grandson, sir George, whose
residence is at Dunmow. The said Dr. William Oldys, fatlier of the famous civilian of that name, is
mentioned by David Lloyd, Anthony Wood, and Dr. Walker, but not particularly enough ; his monument
is in Alderbury church ; part of the epitaph is as follows : ' P. M. S. Gul. Oldys S. T. P. hujus ecclesiffi
vicarii qui flagrante bello plusquam civili Isesae et religionis et majestatis causae fidelis et strenuus assertor,
perduellium militibus prope banc villam, anno salutis 1645, setat 55, vulneratus occubuit, &c.' He was
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 219
and 1559, the bishop alone presented, and so did his successors up to the year 1590, C H A P.
Avhen queen Elizabeth granted the rectory of Great Dunmow, which is a manor, to __1_L_
John Aylmer, bishop of London, and his successors in the see for ever.
In 1821, this parish contained two thousand four hundred and nine, and, in 1831,
two thousand four hundred and sixty-two inhabitants.
returning from Oxford, where he had been to admit his son, and fearing he should fall into the hands of
the parliament soldiers, ordered his servant to ride at some distance before him, and if he saw any of
them, to drop his handkerchief, as a signal for him to go back to the garrison of Oxford or Banbury.
The man dropped his handkerchief, which his master passed without seeing: as soon as he perceived the
enemy he turned about, but his malignant horse would not leave his road, so he was shot through the
back." — Salmon's Hist, of Essex, p. 211, Lives of the Loyalists, Sujferings of the Clergy, &c.
" In this chancel are interred the remains of George Howland, esq. late of Haverill, in this county, who
died 16th February, 1098, aged eighty-five years. This tal)let was erected to his memory by his grateful
nephew, sir George Howland Beaumont, of this place and Colerton-hall, in the county of Leicester, bart."
" The rev. John Mangey, prebendary of St. Paul's, London, and only son of the late rev. and learned Dr.
Thomas Mangey; he lived twenty-eight years vicar of this parish, and departed this life on the 1st day of
November, 1782, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. His widow erected this monument." Arms : Argent,
a chevron vaire (argent and azure) on a chief gules, two mullets of the field ; impaling azure, a turtle, or
tortoise, argent.
" Near this place lies the body of Mrs. Dorothy Mangey, widow of the rev. Dr. Mangey, late rector of the
parish church of St. Mildred's, Bread-street, London, and prebendary of Durham, and second daughter of
the most reverend Dr. John Sharpe, late archbishop of York. Her son, John Mangey, the present vicar
of this parish, from a principle of sincere and tender regard to a most kind and affectionate parent, whom
he always loved and revered, caused this monument to be erected. She died July the 5th, 1780, in the
eighty-eighth year of her age."
" Near this place lieth interred the body of Mary, daughter of John Wiseman, of Bozeat, in the county
of Northampton, esq., late wife of Thomas Cullum,sonof John CuUum, of Thornden, in Suffolk, esq., by
whom she had issue seven sons and one daughter ; which four sons lie here also. She died in childbed,
31st of August." — Arms : A chevron ermine, between three pelicans, or, impaling quarterly one and four
sable, a chevron between three coronels argent, two argent, ten roundels gules, the whole within a
bordure sable three, argent, a cross gules, between four birds (supposed, peacocks) azure.
" Mr. Robert Hasel Foot, surgeon, died 12th June, 1748, aged seventy."
In the nave. — "John Pepper, esq. of this parish, who died June 1822: he was the last surviving
descendant of the late Michael Pepper, esq., and grandson of sir Richard Fitzgerald, bart. Also, ....
infant daughter, Susan Frances Maria, who died 31st October, 1819, aged four months."
" Dame Joanna Maria Fitzgerald, relict of sir Richard Fitzgerald, bart. of Castle ...., in the kingdom
of Ireland, who departed this life at her house in Portman-square, London."
" To the memory of lord John Henniker, of Newton Hall, in this parish, who died April ISOS, and is
interred with dame Henniker, his wife, in the cathedral church of Rochester. This monument was
erected by his son, tlie hon. major-general Brydges T. Henniker.
"To the memory of dame Ann Henniker, the wife of sir John Henniker, bart. of .... Hall, in this
parish." (The elevated situation of these monuments prevents the investigation of the arms.)
On brass plates. — " Hie jacet Johannes Calthorpc generosus qui obiit in anno 1616. Claudit Huthcrsauli
carpus lapis iste Johannis quern sacrum in Thalmos Martha relicta dedit obiit 3 die Decembris An. Dni.
1604 astatis sue An. 33."
" Here lieth the body of Elizabeth, the wife of Francis Vassall, citizen and draper, of London. She was
220 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
LITTLE DUNMOW.
^'"^^' Little Dunmow extends eastward from the larger parish of the same name, and is-
bounded south and south-eastward by Barnston and Felsted. In circumference it i».
computed to he twelve miles, and is distant from Chelmsford twelve, and from Londoa
forty miles.
Previous to the Conquest, the lands of this parish were in possession of a free-
woman, of a freeman, and of a sochman; and, at the time of the surve}', belonged to
Ralph Bapiard, whose son Geofrey was his successor, and the father of William, who
joining the enemies of king Henry the first, was deprived of his barony and large
estates, which were given to Robert, son of Richard Fitz-Gislebert, progenitor of
the ancient earls of Clare, and from whom the noble family of Fitz-Walter descended.
the daughter of John Smith, minister of this parish, and Elizabeth his wife: she died the I2th of May^
Anno Dni. 1652, being of the age of eighteen years."
" In memory of Thomas Waskett, of Barnston Hall, yeoman, ^vho died in 173S, aged ninety-two ; and of
liis son, Thomas Waskett, of Barnston Hall, who died in 1750, aged sixty-two: Also, John Waskett, of
Barnston Hall, obiit 21st June, 1758, aged sixty. — Elizabeth Waskett, wife of the above John, obiit 5th
Aucnst, 1771, aged seventy-five.— Also, John Waskett, son of the above John and Elizabeth, obiit 1st
March, 1776, ast. forty-six."
On a large flat stone in the chancel, the figure of a crosier, within a border ; but no brass or inscription
remaining. — On another stone, the figures of a man and woman, the brass of the man gone ; with tw(x-
shields of arras. Dexter side a chevron between three cocks .... sinister, same as the dexter shield^
impaling .... a chevron between three coronels .... Wiseman.
The following inscriptions are recorded by Weever and Salmon, but few or no vestiges now remain : —
" Exoretis niiain dei p. aia Walter! Bigood armigi qui ob. 16 Mar. 1397." Weever has—" 17 die mens-
Mar." "This is the first of the family," Salmon observes, "that settled at Bigods." — Salmon gives the
following inscription in Norman French, with Saxon characters, as being on the verge of a stone-" Simott
^s Rijhani jatnj pyone be Dunmaue ici Iriyc." Weever gives this inscription complete, but with the
spelling somewhat modernized, and the abbreviations supplied — " Simon de Righam jadis parson de
Dunmow gist ici Dieu de son Alme eit mercy. Amen." — Salmon observes, "This is no rector's name
since 1360."— In the middle of the church was this inscription: " Of your cherite prey for the sowls of
John Jeiione. esquyr, som tyni of the common pleas of Westminstre, and Alys his wyff, whych John dyed
xvii Septembyr mvcxlii." Salmon spells the name Jenour. — ^The next inscription, which is given by
Salmon, is said to have been removed from the chancel to make way for sir John Dyer's monument : —
"Here lyeth the body of Richard Deardes, of Newton Hall, gent, who died 28th April, 1630; and of
Thomas Deardes, his son, who died 2d of May following."— On another monument, " Hie jacet Gulielmus-
Glascock ct Piiilippa uxor ejus qui ob. 3 Dec. 1679, ct Philippa ob. 19 Dec. 1G08." i. e. " Here lies AVilliam
Glascock and Philippa his wife: he died 3d Dec. 1579; and Philippa died 19 Dec. 160S." Other monu-
ments recorded the names of Howland, Pindeck, Smith, Raymond, and Burr.
Charities. Charities. — The rent of a house and land at Cutler's Green is given to the poor by the churchwarden.?.
The rents of four houses aie for the repairs of the church.
There are almshouses for six poor people, and a charity school for fifty boys, and twenty girls ;.
supported by voluntary subscriptions.
i
^..
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 221
His posterity held this lordship, as part of the barony of Fitz- Walter, through ten chap.
generations, including Robert, who died in 1328; John, in 1362; Walter, in 1432, ^^-
whose widow Elizabeth died in possession of it in 1464; in defect of heirs male, leaving
the family possessions to be divided among co-heiresses. Anne, the second daughter
of Walter Fitz- Walter, married to Thomas Ratcliffe, esq, had this and other estates;
sir John, their son, Avas summoned to parliament in 1485, by the title of lord Fitz-
Walter : Robert, his son, was created viscount Fitz- Walter in 1526, and earl of
Sussex in 1529: his descendants retained this possession till after the death of Robert
Ratcliffe, earl of Sussex, in 1629, who v»'as the last of the family in the direct line.
By purchase or inheritance, it afterwards became the property of sir Henry Mildmay,
knt. of Moulshara Hall ; and from Thomas Mildmay, his descendant, it was afterwards
conveyed to sir Thomas May; and, sometime after the close of the sixteenth century,
was sold to sir James Hallet, knt. who died possessed of it in 1703. James Hallet,
esq. his son, married ISIary, daughter of sir Ambrose Crawley, knt. by whom he had
«ight children. On his decease in 1723, he left this estate in jointure to his widow,
on whose death it descended to their eldest son, James Hallet, esq.*
The priory of Dunmow was for canons of the Augustine order, and founded in the Prloiy.
3^ear 1104, by the lady Juga, sister of Ralph Baynard. There was a manor, or
reputed manor, belonging to it, as is apparent from letters patent of king Henry the
jeighth, in which he "granted to Robert, earl of Sussex, and his heirs, the site of
the priory of Dunmow, with the manors of Dunmow Parva and Clopton." This
estate was sold by Edward, earl of Sussex, in 1640, to sir Henry Mildmay, knt. of
Moulsham.
The manor, known by the name of Priory Place,f was, soon after the restoration,
in possession of sir William Wjdde, knt. and bart.J who dying in 1679, Avas succeeded
by his son, sir Felix Wylde, and his sister and heiress Anne conveyed it, in marriage,
to John Cockman, M.D. whose daughter was married to Nicholas Toke, esq^ from
whom it descended to his son, John Toke, esq.
Of the extensive buildings belonging to this monastery, no remains have been pre- Cinuch.
served, except what is made to constitute the parish church, including the east end of
the choir, and the north aisle § of the original priory church, which Avas both for
conventual and parochial use. It was consecrated by Maurice, bishop of London,
and dedicated to the Virgin Mary; and massive columns, the capitals covered Avith
* Arms of Hallet : Or, a chief indented sable, on a bend engrailed, gules, three bezants.
t Arms of the priory : Sable, a cross, argent, between four mullets, or.
% Sir William was recorder of the city of London : in 1668, made justice of the common picas, and of
the king's bench in 1672. "
§ Mr. Gough says, " the present church is only the south aisle and five arches of the nave."—
jDri(an?iia, vol. ii. p. 54-.
VOL. II. 2 G
S22
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II.
Chantrv.
Monti-
inents.
Inscrip-
tion;).
foliage of oak, elegantly carved, and beautiful Gotliic windows, the remains of the
original fabric, give sufficient evidence of its former magnificence.
The living of this church has been augmented by two separate donations of two
hundred pounds each, and by six hundred pounds from Queen Anne's bounty.*
In 1274, Roger de Saling founded a chantry in the chapel of St. Mary, in the court
of the priory, for the reception of strangers, to pray for his soul, and the souls of some
other persons for ever ; and endowed it with Much-mill and the mill-pond, Much-field
meadow, and other lands in Rayne.f
A tomb, under an arch, in the south Avail, is believed to contain the remains of lady
Juga, the foundress: it is of a chest-like form, and of great apparent antiquity. A
monument, not far from this, is to the memory of Waiter Fitz- Walter, the first of
that name, who died in 1198. He was buried, with one of his wives, in the middle
of the choir, and the tomb, with the effigies with which it has been ornamented, have
been removed to this place. The figure of sir Walter has received considerable
damage, and has the legs broken off at the knees ; the hair of the head has a singular
appearance, curling inwards, and seeming to radiate from a centre — a fashion com-
monly observable in monuments of the same period ; and the mitre-like head-dress of
the lady, with lace, a necklace, and ear-rings, give a correct idea of the fashionable
oi'naments of the time. Sir Walter is represented in plate armour; under which a
shirt of mail is seen above the collar and below the skirts. Others of this family were
also buried here, particularly Robert, son of Walter, who died in 1234, and was
buried before the high altar ; the second Walter, son of Robert, died in 1259, and
was also buried in this church, as was also Walter, lord Fitz- Walter, the last male of
the family, in 1432, under a mural arch, near the remains of his mother. An alabaster
figure, in a superior style of workmanship, lying between two pillars on the north
side of the choir, represents Matilda, the beautiful daughter of the second Walter
Fitz- Walter; who, according to the traditionary legend, was destroyed by poison,
secretly administered, in revenge for refusing to gratify the illicit passion of king John.:}:
* Originally, the induction to this church was by the prior and canons selecting one of their own body,
and presenting him to the bishop to serve the cure, but he was not instituted, as into a rectory or vicarage :
and since the dissolution, it is only a donative, or curacy, in the gift of the lord of the manor.
f To the south of the church of Little Duumow, two field-lengths from it, at the corner of a field, is a
square area, surrounded by earth-works, which are very high on the southern side.
X In Little Dunmow church are the following inscriptions : — " In memory of those whose mortal
remains were deposited in an adjacent vault at the following periods : Sir James Hallet, knt. died Jan. 31,
1703, aged 76.— October 1720, Dame Mary his wife, the daughter of Thomas Duncombe, esq., aged 72. —
Nov. 1723, James Hallet, esq. their son, aged 38.— Aug. 1732, Ambrose, also son of James Hallet, esq.,
aged 20.— Feb. 1733, sir James Hallet, knt. aged 76.— Feb. 1755, Mary, widow of James Hallet, esq., and
daugh^r of sir Ambrose Crawley, aged 67.— Feb. 176,), John, son of James Hallet, esq. aged 49.— April
1766, James Hallet, esq. his son, aged 56.— Oct. 1767, Mary, widow of the last James Hallet, esq. and
daughter of James Pearce, esq. aged 48.— April 17S0, Mary, the wife of William Hughes, esq. and
HUNDRED OF DUN MOW. 323
The ancient and whimsical tenure by deHvery of a flitch of bacon, is pecuHar to C H A V.
this town, and that of Whichnor, in Staffordshire. The custom is, by some writers.
supposed to be of Saxon, by others of Norman origin ; it was undoubtedly here, ^^^^^
as at Whichnor, a burthen upon the estate, and the condition of some charter.
The institution of it here may reasonably be supposed to have been by one of the
family of Fitz- Walter. The earliest recorded delivery of the bacon was in 1444, when
Richard Wright, of Bradbourn, in Norfolk, having been duly sworn before the prior
and convent, had a flitch of bacon delivered to him, in conformity to the conditions of
the tenure. The ceremonial required the claimant to kneel on two pointed stones in
the church-yard, and, after solemn chanting and other rites performed, to take the
following oath : —
" You shall swear, by custom of confession,
That you ne'er made nuptial transgression,
Nor since you were married man and wife,
By household brawls, or contentious strife,
Or otherwise, at bed or hoard,
Offended each other in deed or in word :
Or since the parish clerk said Amen,
Wished yourselves unmarried again ;
Or in a twelvemonth and a day,
Repented, even in thought, anyway ;
But continued true, in thought and desire,
As when you join'd hands in holy quire.
If to these conditions, without all fear.
Of your own accord, you will freely swear,
A whole flitch of bacon you shall receive,
And bear it hence, with love and good leave ;
For this is our custom at Dunmow well
known,
Though the pleasure be ours, the bacon's
your own."
Then the pilgrim, as he Avas called, was taken up in a chair, on men's shoulders
and carried about the priory church-yard, and through the town, with his bacon borne
before him, attended by all the friars, and by the townsfolk, with shouts and acclama-
tions ; and at last sent home in the same manner.
In the chartulary of the priory, now in the British Museum, three persons are re-
corded to have received the bacon previous to the dissolution of religious houses ; and
since that event, several instances have occurred of the observance of this custom,
in which the ceremony was performed at a court-baron for the manor by the steward.
One of these was at a court-baron of sir Thomas May, knt. holden the 7th day of
June, 1701, the homage being five fair ladies, spinsters, who found that John Rey-
nolds, of Hatfield Broadoak, gent, and Anne his wife, and William Parsley, of Great
Easton, butcher, and Jane his wife, were fit persons to receive the bacon. The last
that received it were John Shakeshanks, of Weathersfield, and his wife Anne, in 1751.
In 1821, the inhabitants of this parish amounted to three hundred and forty-two,
and in 1831, had increased to three hundred and seventy-eight.
eldest daughter of the said John Hallet, esq. — Oct. 1794, Elizabeth, widow of the said John Hallet, esq.
and only daughter of Richard Pinncll, esq., aged 68. — Feb. 1805, Elizabeth, third and youngest daughter
of the said John Hallet, esq. aged 48. — May 1823, James Hallet, esq. his son, aged 78."
On a marble tablet, is the following inscription ; — " The rev. Thomas Hambly, late incumbent of this
parish, died 28th April, 1802. He married Anne, second daughter of John Hallet, esq."
224.
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Easton-
Little
Easton.
EASTON.
Two parishes, lying nortli-nortli-west from Dunmoiv, have received this name, and
are distinguished from eacli other by the appellations of Little and Great. In records-
the name is Estames, Eiston, Eystanes, Eyston, Estaynes, Estaynys, Estones, and in
Domesday, Estanes.
Little Easton* lies northward from Great DunmoAv, and the pleasant country
village which belongs to it is on the border of the river Chelmer, over which it is
approached by a wooden bridge; the immediate vicinit)'^, possessing a fruitful soil
richly cidtivatcd, is luxuriant in vegetable productions, and partakes of the beautiful
scenery which distinguishes the elegant seat of lord Maynard, by the demesne lands of
which it is surrounded. It is distant from Thaxted five, and from London forty miles.
The manorial history of this parish contains accounts of the progenitors of great and
distlno'uished families of ancient origin. Previous to the Conquest, the holders of
these lands were a freeman, and a free- woman, named Duna : at the survey, they
belonged to William de Warren, and Geoffrey de Mandeville.
Even as early as the reign of the Conqueror, this lordship was holden of Windsor
castle, by a family surnamed De Windsor. Walter de Windsor, castellan of Windsor^
had a son named Robert, who was lord of tlie barony of Ewston, or Easton. William
de Windsor was his son, Avhose only daughter, his heiress, was married to Robert de
Hastings ; and had by her Delicia, by whom this possession was conveyed to her hus-
band, Henry de Cornhill, and afterwards to her second husband, Godfrey de Louvain,.
a valiant knight, brother to Henry, duke of Brabant, and his lieutenant of the honour
of Eye, in Suffolk.f In 1262, Matthew de Louvain, son and heir of Godfrey, held
* It was also named Easton ad Turrim. or at the tower, because its church had a tower, and Great
Easton had not.
f Godfrey, first duke of Lorraine and Brabant, count of Louvain, and marquis of Antwerp, married Ida,,
daughter of Henry, fourth emperor and fifth king of Germany; he was surnamed Earbatus, or the bearded,
because he had made a vow never to cut his beard till he had added the dutchy of Lorraine to his domi-
nions : his son Godfrey, the second duke, married Lutgarda, daughter of Berengarius, count of Zulzbach^
by whom he had Godfrey, the third duke, who married Margaret, daughter of Plcnry, earl of Limburgh,
and died in I ISO ; his son Henry was the fourth duke, and married Maud, grand-daughter of Stephen, king
of England, by his daughter Mary, who had been a nun, and became abbess of Romsey, in Hampshire ;
afterwards married to Matthew, son of the earl of Flanders, who had by her two daughters, of whom
Maud, the youngest, was married to the before-mentioned Henry, duke of Lorraine. Mary, the daughter
of king Stephen, by consent of Henry the second, possessed all the lands of her father in England, amongst
which was the honour of Eye, by marriage conveyed to the duke ; to whom the possession of them was
confirmed by king Richard the first. In the beginning of king John's reign, duke Henry made a grant of
them to his brother Godfrey, who, on that account, came into England. — Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 736.
The descent of some of the most dignified families of Europe trace their ancestry to this original ; and
from Godfrey's elder brother Henry, fifth duke of Lorraine, the landgraves of Hesse descended. Ogiva,
wife of Carolus Posthumus, surnamed, also, " the simple," was daughter of Edward, king of the West-Saxons-
,1/ I
I
i
«,
■I
,1(K
I
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 225
this manor of the Idng, as head of this barony : Matthew Avas his son and successor; CHAP.
followed by Thomas, Avho died in 1345, and whose son John died in 1317, leavino- ^^'
by his wife Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of sir Thomas Weston, Alianore and
Isabel. Margaret, their mother, died in 1349, and Isabel in 1359, leaving Alianore
sole heiress to this and the other family estates, which she, by marriage, conveyed to
sir William Bourchier, earl of Eu and of Essex, who died in 1483 : William, his
eldest son, who died before him, was succeeded by his grandson, Henry, earl of
Essex, Avho, in 1540, was killed by a fall from his horse, at his manor of Basse, in
Hertfordshire. His only daughter and heiress, Anne, was married to sir William
Parr, baron Kendal, earl of Essex and marcjuis of Northampton, who sold this manor,
with other estates, to sir William Wriothesley, lord chancellor. In 1558, it belonged
to sir Kenelm Throckmorton; and to Kenelm Throckmorton, esq. in 1582: in 1589,
it was granted, by queen Elizabeth, to Henry Maynard, esq.
The name of Mainard, or Maignard, is of great antiquity: a branch of the family J^'aynard
1 • 1 1 ■ T^ 1 T-> ' • family.
was, at an early period, seated in Kent, and at Brixton, in Devonshire; Nicholas
Maynard, of that place, married Margaret, daughter of John Ellys, of Ellys, in the
same county, and had by her a son, named John; he also by a second wife, had another
son of the same name. The younger of these, seated at St. Alban's, in Hertfordshire,
was steward of that borough for life; and represented it in parliament in the year
1553, in which he was one of the thirty-nine members who absented themselves from
the house, rather than admit the pope's authority in England. He died in 1556,
having married, first, Margaret, daughter of Ralph Rowlet, esq. of St. Alban's and
Sandridge, sister and co-heiress of sir Ralph Rowlet, by whom he had Ralph and
two daughters. His second wife was Dorothy, daughter of Robert Perrot, esq.
widow of John Bridge, and by her he had Henry, Robert, who died unmarried, and
Dorothy, married to sir Robert Clarke, of Pleshey, one of the barons of the exchequer.
Henry, the eldest son by the second marriage, was the first that settled here: he was
secretary to sir William Cecil, lord Burleigh, and representative in parliament for
the borough of St. Alban's in 1586, 1588, and 1597, and of the county of Essex in
1601; he served the office of sheriff in 1603, and in that year received the honour of
knighthood from James the first. By his lady Susanna, daughter and co-heiress of
Thomas Pierson, esq. gentleman usher of the star-chamber, he had eight sons;
William, his successor; John, made knight of the bath at the coronation of Charles
Of tlie same origin are also the ancient dukes of Suevia and Saxony, the landgrave of Thuringia, the counts
of Flanders and Limburgh. The emperor Louis le Debonaire, married Judith, daughter of Welph, or
Guelph, first count of Altorp, one of the earliest ancestors of the potent house of Brunswick ; and this
Judith was mother of the euiperor Charles the bald.
Arms of Louvain : A fess between nine billets, five above and four below. Or, according to some
accounts, fifteen billets, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
226 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. the first, who married Mary, daughter of sir Thomas Middleton, of Stansted Mont-
"~ fichet; Charles, one of the auditors of the exchequer; Francis, and two others; also
two daus^hters ; Elizabeth, married to sir Edward Bainton, of Bromham, in Wilt-
shire; and Mary, who was never married. Sir Henry died in 1610, and was suc-
ceeded by sir William, his eldest son, who was educated at St. John's College,
Cambridge. He was in the list of the first baronets, which distinction was
conferred upon him in 1611, and, in 1620, he was, by James the first, created
baron Maynard of Wicklow, in Ireland; and, in 1627, by king Charles the first,
further advanced to a baron of the realm, by the title of baron Maynard of Estaines
Parva, otherwise Estaines ad Turrim, and Little Easton. His lordship died in
1640, and was buried near his father, in this church. He married, first, Frances,
only daughter of William Cavendish, first earl of Devonshire of that family, and by
this lady, who died in 1613, had his daughter Anne. By his second lady, Anne,
daughter and heiress of sir Anthony Everard, of Great Waltham, he had William,
the only son who survived him, and Susan and Jane, Avho died unmarried; Anne,
married to sir Henry Wrothe, knt. of Durance, in Enfield, Middlesex; Elizabeth,
married to John Wrothe, esq. of Loughton; and Mary, married to sir Ralph Bovey,
knt. of Caxton and Longstoue, in Cambridgeshire. William, the second lord,
born in 1622, was of the privy council, and comptroller of the household to king
Charles the second, and to king James the second, and custos rotulorum of this
county. His first lady was Dorothy, daughter and sole heiress of sir Robert Banastre,
knt. of Passenhara, in Northamptonshire; and his second lady was Margaret, daughter
of James Murray, earl of Dysart. By the first he had Banastre, and William, father
of Thomas and Prescot Maynard, esqs. By his second lady he had Henry; and
Elizabeth, married to sir Thomas Brograve, hart, of Hamels, in Hertfordshire.
Banastre, the eldest son, on the decease of his father in 1698, succeeded as the third
baron, and died in 1717, leaving, by his lady Elizabeth, only daughter of Henry de
Grew, earl of Kent, eight sons and three daughters; Arabella, married to William
Lowther, esq. of Swillington, in Yorkshire; Dorothy, to Robert Hesilrige, esq. of
Noseley, in the county of Leicester, son of sir Robert Hesilrige, bart. and Elizabeth,
who died unmarried. Henry, the eldest surviving son, succeeded his father in honours
and estate, and dying unmarried in 1742, aged 70, was succeeded by his next brother
Grey, lord Maynard, who also dying unmarried in 1745, aged 65, had for his successor
his youngest brother, Charles lord Maynard, the sixth baron, who being the last male
descendant of sir William, the first baron, aged and unmarried, was created, by
patent, in 1766, baron Maynard of Much Easton, in the county of Essex, and viscount
Maynard, with limitation, on failure of issue male of his body, to his third cousin,
sir W^iliiam Maynard, of Waltons, in the county of Essex, bart. great grandson of
Charles, third son of Henry. The viscount died unmarried in 1775, Avhen the
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 227
baronetcy, and English and Irish bai'onies created in 1620, and 1628, became extinct, CHAP,
but the titles conferred in 1766, devolved on the late viscount, eldest son and heir of '
sir William Maynard, of Waltons.
The line of descent of the present family is from Charles Maynard, third son of
sir Henry, and brother of the first lord. He was auditor of the exchequer in the
time of Charles the second, and died in 1665, leaving- his son William, created a
baronet in 1681, and father of sir William and sir Henry, successively baronets, of
whom the last-named was father of sir William, to whom the remainder of the titles
of viscount and baron Maynard were granted, in 1766. This sir William Maynard,
born in 1721, married Charlotte, second daughter of sir Cecil Bisshopp, of Parham,
in the county of Sussex, bart. and dying in 1772, left issue by her Charles, who
succeeded, on the death of his cousin in 1775, to the title of viscount Maynard, being
the second viscount. The second son of sir William was Henry, rector of Radwinter,
and vicar of Stansted, in Essex, who died in 1806, leaving Harriet, Susan, and
Marianne; and Henr)^, present and third viscount. Heir apparent, Charles Henry,
the viscount's only son.*
This ancient, stately, and commodious mansion, is pleasantly situated within a Easton
spacious park, and the surrounding grounds are highly ornamented and picturesque.
The prospect from the house northward presents an interesting view of the noble
church and spire of Thaxted; and within this circuit are included a wide extent of
lands belonging to the lordship, with four parochial churches. The house was erected
in the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth, and is distinguished by large projecting
windows, and other peculiarities, which characterise the architecture of that period; at
more recent periods, however, important improvements have been made, and con-
siderable alterations. At the east end there is a handsome chapel, built by William
lord Maynard, in 1621; its eastern window is of stained glass, displaying the principal
events of the history of our Saviour.
The ancient church is kept in an excellent state of repair, chiefly by the munificence Church,
of its noble patrons, whose ancestors are interred in the chapel on the south side of
the chancel.
The parsonage is a good building of brick, erected by the rev. J. Pincent, when
rector here. A convenient house for the clerk of this parish was given by Charles
lord Maynard, to be kept in repair by his lordship's successors, owners of the manor.f
* Arms of Maynard : Argent, a chevron azure between three sinister hands coupcd at the wrist, gules.
Crest : A stag statant, or. Supporters : Dexter, a stag proper attired, or. Sinister, a talbot argent pied
sable, collared gules. Motto : " Manus justa nardus. The just hand is as precious ointment."
t Charity : — In 1662, dame Margaret Banastre, widow of sir Robert Banastre, left an annuity of twenty Charity,
pounds for the maintenance of four poor women of the parish of Little Easton, five pounds to be paid to
each of them by quarterly payments. Her grandson, Banastre lord Maynard, in addition to this benevolent
provision for the said poor women, built houses for their habitation, with provision for their being kept
in sutHcient repair.
228
HISTORY OF ESSEX.^
BOOK II.
Inscrip-
tions.
A handsome chapel on the south side of the chancel, called Bourchier's chapel, and
formerly belonging to some of the family of that name, has been made the bm-Ial-place
of the Maynards, and contains numerous splendid and appropriate monuments, with
inscriptions, amongst which are the following: —
" Qucra fucrim (lualcniquc fiii me curia novit :
Plebs, proccres, princeps, patria, testis erat.
Hos de nic (Lector) non niarmore consule : famiB
Saxa nihil tribuunt ambitiosa nieai.
Whence, who, and what I was, how held at Court,
My prince, the peers, my country, will report.
Ask these of me (good reader) not these stones.
They knew my life, these do but hold my bones."
" Here resteth in assured hope to rise in Christ, sir Henry Maynard, knt. descended of the ancient
family of Maynard, in the county of Devon, and dame Susan his wife, daughter and one of the co-heirs
of Thomas Picrson. esq. to whom she bore eight sonnes and two daughters. He ended this life 11th of
May 1610 his lady, six sons, and two daughters then living; as is expressed in the following lines :
" Sex natos natasq. duas charissima nuper
Pia:nora,mortemobienscummatresuperstiteliqui:
Tres me de natis morientem extemplo sequuntur :
Tarn breve, tarn vanum, tarn vita; fulgur inane
Ne tarn multum viduus, ne caelum solus adirem :
Ecce meos comites, me cetera turba sequetur."
'* Translation : — "At my death I left with their surviving mother six sons and two daughters, pledges, lately,
which I loved most tenderly : soon after my decease, so short, so vain, so empty is the lamp of life, three of
them followed me, that I might not go to heaven quite a widower and alone. Behold, my companions, the
rest will follow me."
" Rare was the roote, the braunches bravely spred,
And some still are, though some be withered.
Two of the precious ones (a piteous spoil)
Were ill transplanted to a foreign soil.
Where the hot sunne, (howe'er it did beiall}
Drew up their juice, to perfume heaven withall.
When will the heaven such flowers to the earth rejiay,
As the earth afforded heaven, two in a day."
** Here lyeth the lady Maynard, wife unto sir William Maynard, knt. and bart. and sole daughter of
William lord Cavendish, and of Anne, his first wife. She died 1st of Sept. 1613, aged 20. As her life was
most virtuous and religious, so was her end no less christian and saint-like. She left behind her one
daughter, named Anne, to the care of her truly grieved husband, for the unspeakable loss of so loving
a wife."
•' M.S. D. Dni Gulielmi Maynard de Estaines, in com. Essex, necnon de Wicklow, in Hibernia, baronis
honaratissimi. Qui sercnissimi Caroli primi in comitatu Essexiae et Cantabrigia; locum-tenens constitutus.
Provinclam banc per plures annos ingenti et regis et populi applausu adornavit, conscientii etiam sxiSl
apud utrosque inculpabili, dignissimi nimirum qui principis, et pacis, et legum, et fidei Catholico-Anglicanas
defensoris vices in omnibus suppleret. At vcro ingruenti indies fanaticorum rabic, cum religio etiam ipsa
exularet, incjuietoc, rebelli, et ingratia; valedixit; patria; tanto (tam in deum, quam in proximum) chari-
tatis vere Christiana; exemplari prorsus indigna;, quem tandem pro meliore nempe ccelesti feliciter commu-
tavit 10 Dec. 1640, setat. suae 55. — Juxta jacet Hannah conjux honoratissima, ex antiqua Everardorum
familia de Langleys in com. Essex oriunda. Quas postquam filium unicum et quinq. filias egregias utrius-
que parentis virtutibus quibus ad invidiam usq. excelluerunt adornatos videat, maritum denuo ad ccelos
sequuta est ; amabili ibidem et beatissimo ipsius consortio inter sanctos iterum fruitura, 5to die
Aug. A.D. 1617."
English.. — " Sacred to the memory of the right honourable William lord Maynard, baron of Estaines, in
the county of Essex, and of Wicklow, in Ireland. He for many years executed the office of lord lieutenant
of the counties of Essex and Cambridge, under king Charles the first, with great applause both of king and
people, and with a conscience unblamcable. In every respect, indeed, he was a man calculated to supply
the place of the most worthy prince, of the defender of the peace, the laws, and the Catholic faith, as pro-
fessed by the church of England. But when the rage of fanaticism daily encreased, when even religion
r
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 229
itself was banished, then he bid adieu to a restless, rebellious, and ungrateful country ; so great an exam- C H A F.
IX.
pie was he of truly Christian love (as well towards God as towards his neighbour) , to his unworthy
country, which at length he happily changed for a better, namely, a heavenly, on the 10th of Dec. 1640, in
the 55th year of his age. — Near hira lies Hannah, his right honourable wife, descended from the ancient
family of the Everards, of Langleys, in the county of Essex ; who after she had seen an only son and five
excellent daughters adorned with their parents' virtues, which they so excelled in as to excite the envy of
mankind, followed her husband to heaven, there to enjoy again his amiable and most happy company
among the saints, on the 5th of August, in the year of our Lord 1647.
" Within this vault lie interred the bodies of the right hon. William lord Maynard, who died Feb. 3,
169S, aged 76: and of the lady Dorothy his wife, daughter of sir Robert Banastre, knt. who died October
30, 1649, aged 27 : and of the right hon. Banastre lord Maynard, their son, who died March 4, 17 17, aged
76 : and of the lady Elizabeth Grey, his wife, the daughter of Henry, earl of Kent, who died Sept. 24, 1714 :
and of the hon. William Maynard, their eldest son, who died unmarried March 8, 1716, aged 50: and of
the right hon. Henry lord Maynard, their next surviving son, who died unmarried Dec. 7, 1742, aged 70 :
and of the right hon. Grey lord Maynard, the successor of his brother Henry, who died unmarried April
27, 1745, aged 65: and of the hon. Elizabeth Maynard, the sister, who died also unmarried, October 4,
1720, aged 43. To the memory of all these his most worthy ancestors, parents, brothers, and sister, by
whose care, and through whose hands the honours and estates of the family, after a splendid, hospitable,
and charitable use of them, have successively been transmitted to him the right hon. Charles lord Maynard
(the youngest son of Banastre lord Maynard, and of the lady Elizabeth his wife), in testimony of his piety,
love, and gratitude, erected this monument, A.D. 1746."*
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to three hundred and three, and in
1831, had increased to three hundred and fifty.
GREAT E ASTON.
This parish extends northward from Little Easton, and the village, which is small, Great
is near the eastern bank of the Chelmer. It has been named Easton ad Montem,
either from a small mount on which the church is situated, or from a similar elevation
near the Hall. The soil is in general light and productive, the situation pleasant and
healthy, and the roads good. From Thaxted it is distant seven, and from London
forty miles.
Previous to the Conquest, the lands of this parish were in possession of Achlns, a
freeman; and at the time of the survey, belonged to Matthew Mauritaniensis, or
Mortaing. In the time of Richard the first, William de Clinton held this estate by Manor.
the sergeantry of being the king's larderer at his coronation ; and it was in possession
* The last lord of the Bourchier family of this place is buried under an ancient monument of grey
marble, without inscription, as appears from a passage in Sandford's Genealog. p. 85 : " Isabel, countess
of Essex, only daughter of Richard, earl of Cambridge, was married to Henry Bourchier, carl of Essex and
viscount Bourchier ; by whom he had a numerous issue. The tomb of tliis Henry and Isabel is placed
between the chancel and Bowser's, (i.e. Boucher's) isle or chapel of Little Easton, in the county of
Essex." There is also in the chancel, a very ancient monument in the north wall, under an arch, sur-
mounted by a pyramid : it has no Inscription, but the arms are those of Bourchier and Louvaine.
VOL. II. 2 H
230
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Stouiton
family.
BOOK 11. of Ralph le Moyne*, by the same tenure, in the reign of Henry the third. WilHam,
son of Ralph, had Henry le Moyne, who died in 1314, and his wife, Joan, died in
1340. Their son and successor was John le Moyne, the time of whose death is not
mentioned. The next on record is sir Henry Moyne, who at the time of his decease,
in 1375, held this manor by knight's service : his son and successor, sir John, left a
daughter named Elizabeth, Avho was married to sir William Stourton, and conveyed
to him this estate, with the advowson of the church. This family derived their name
from the town so called, on the banks of the river Stour, in Wiltshire, and were
seated there from a very remote period. He held this manor by the grand ser-
geantry beforementloned. His son and heir, sir John, was created lord Stourton, in
1447, and died in 1462, holding this manor, with the advowson of the church: his suc-
cessors were, William lord Stourton, John, W^illiam, Edward, William, and Charles.
This last being guilty of murder, and executed for it in 1557, his estates passed to the
crown ; but this manor had been previously disposed of, and was in possession of sir
Ralph Warren, lord mayor of London, at the time of his decease, in 1553 ; it was also
holden by his son Richard, who died in 1597, and left this estate to his sister's son,
Oliver Cromwell, esq. of Hinchingbroke, who sold it to Henry Maynard, esq., from
whom it has descended to the present lord Maynard.
An estate named Blamsters, vulgarly, Blansted Hall, belonged to William de
Blamster, who died in 1280, leaving this estate to his daughter Beatrix, from whom
it passed to her sisters and heiresses, Eleanor le Strange, Joan, married to sir William
de Barentyne, and Maude the wife of sir William de Bracey. In 1499, George
Pakeman held this estate under William lord Stourton, as of his manor of Great
Easton ; Margaret and Elizabeth, daughters of his brother Thomas, were his co-
heiresses. In 1602, it belonged to Richard Jennings, esq., and passed afterwards to
the Kendal family of Bassingbourns, in Takeley; of whom it was purchased by John
Taleure, esq., remembrancer of the exchequer, from whom it passed to his descendants;
and has become the property of William Josling, esq. of Great Easton.
Tiltey abbey had a grange or farm here, named Croys, which, after the dissolution,
was granted to James Gunter and William Lewis, from whom it was conveyed to
William Fitch, who sold it to John Meade, of Henham ;f in whose family it continued
Blamster;
* The 111 St of this family was Geofrey le Moyne, lord of Oreshampton, succeeded by sir Robert ; and a
second sir Robert, father of Robert, and grandfather of this Ralph.
t Of his three .sons, John, Robert, and George, the last had Nortofts, inFinchingfield : John succeeded
his father on his decease in 1602, having married Ellen, daughter of Nicholas Colin, of Broxted, by whom
he had Thomas, of Henham, whose son John was of Matching. John, to whom he gave Dutton Hill, in
this parish : also Robert and William : he died in 1614. John, of Dutton Hill, his second son, married
Jane, daughter of John Glascock, of Roxwell, by whom he had his son and heir John Meade, who marry-
ing Elizabeth, daughter and co-heircss of Robert Samford, of Chapel, had by her fourteen children, of
whom there survived, on his decease in 1664, John, Robert, Philip, William ; Elizabeth, Anne, and Esther.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 231
till the failure of heirs male, on the decease of John Meade, of London, merchant, who chap.
died in 1689: and of his daughters, Anne in 1758, aged 87, and Elizabeth in 1761, _____
aged 85 ; they having previously sold to Henry, the youngest brother of their father,
the estate of Dutton Hill, where he, in 1721, built a handsome brick mansion, enjoyed Dytton
by his wife on his decease, and which became the inheritance of his daughter Elizabeth.
The church of Great Easton, dedicated to St. John, is a plain ancient building, in Church.
an excellent state of repair; and situated on a hill, is seen at a considerable distance
from various parts of the country. Its southern porch has a semi-circular arch.*
In 1821, this parish contained seven hundred and fifty-five, and in 1831, eight
hundred and forty inhabitants.
TILTEY.
The parish of Tiltey extends northward from Great Easton, and joins to Broxted, Tiltey.
Linsell, and Thaxted. The village contains few inhabitants, the increase of the
population of the parish not having exceeded twenty during the last forty years. Dis-
tance from Dunmow three, and fi'om London forty miles.
* Among the inscriptions in this church are the following : " Joseph Plume, B.D. rector, died January Inscrip-
16, 1686, aged 81. George Scott, esq. who died Jan. 16, 1647. Joan, wife of George Scott, esq. with ^'^ns.
their son and daughter, twins, buried in 1721. Thomas Leader, rector, died 27th June, 1618."
On a brass plate : " Dum libris vivo, morior : sic vita raihi mors. Nunc vitae evoluo librum : sic mors
mihi vita. — Mortalitatis exuviae viri immortalis Thomas Cecilii, rectoris, dum vixit,hujus ecclesiae dignis-
sinii, summi Theologi, morum candore, vitse integritate, artiura literarumque peritia, viri insigniter
ornati, sub hoc tumulo reconduntur. Ob. Jan. 29, 1627." In English : —
" Whilst I live to my books, I die : thus || Now I turn over the book of life : thus
Life to me is death. || Death is to me life."
*' Under this tomb are deposited the mortal remains of that immortal man, Thomas Cecil, the very
worthy rector of this church whilst he lived, a most excellent theologian, and a man endowed in an especial
degree with simplicity of manners, integrity of life, and knowledge in arts and literature. He died
January 29, 1627."
Among those of the Meade family, are the following : " John Meade, of Dutton Hill, who died in 1614,
aged 67. Jane, wife of John Meade, of Dutton Hill, in 1626 ; John, eldest son of the said John and Jane,
in 1666, aged 84-. Mrs. Ann Meade, daughter and co-heiress of John Meade, esq. of London ; and Mrs.
Sarah Meade, his wife ; she died 2d Jan. 1758, aged 87. Mrs. Rebecca Meade, sister to the above, who
died Jan. 20, 1761, aged 85, and others of the same family."
Charities. — Mrs. Rebecca Meade founded a charity school in 1759, for ten poor girls; endowed with Charities,
lands in this parish, named Kirby's, which, being copyhold, was enfranchised by lord Maynard; also two
fields called Cronehill, or Cramps, in VVeathersfield : and as an appendage to this charity, Charles lord
Maynard, in 1761, gave an annuity of five pounds, payable out of Great Easton Hall farm, for a school-
master to teach twelve poor boys of Great and Little Easton. A house and field have been given by an
unknown benefactor, for the use of the poor. — In 1761, a messuage or tenement, with appertenances, was
given for the use of the parish clerk, by Charles lord Maynard, to be at all times kept in sufficient repair,
by his lordship's heirs and assigns.
232
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II-
Abbev.
Church.
Monu-
ments.
Previous to the Conquest, this parish belonged to a thane named Doding; and to
Henry de Ferrers at the survey: under whose descendants, earls of Notting-hain, it
was holden by a family named Geofrey, who had possession under Henry the first ;
Maurice Fitz-Geofrey held it in the time of king Stephen; and he, in 1133, founded
an abbey here for Cistercian monks : it was dedicated to St. Mary, and the founder
endowed it with his " whole land of this parish without exception." It had also other
large endowments.* Their church was consecrated in 1221, at which time large
grants were made to them in Tha.x:ted, Dunmow, and various other places. After the
suppression, in 1542, Henry the eighth granted the site of the monastery, and the
church, belfry, and chapel; a mansion called the founder's lodging, and the guest
hall ; Tiltey grange ;f the manor of Tiltey, and other possessions of the abbey, to sir
Thomas lord Audley, of Walden, and his heirs.:]: Margaret, his daughter and heiress,
conveyed this with her other very large inheritance, to her two husbands, Henry
Dudley, slain at St. Quintins in 1557 ; and Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk. By
the last, she had Thomas, created earl of Suffolk, who sold this estate to Henry May-
nard, esq. ancestor of the lords Maynard, of Easton, to whom it has descended.
The remains of Tiltey abbey, which are in the open field between the church and
the mill, consist of traces of foundations, and considerable remains of a wall, said to
have been part of the cloisters. On the wall may still be seen the semi-circular
arches from which the groins sprung. The situation is very interesting, being a val-
ley surrounded by pleasant hills, and watered by a stream, the banks of which are
skirted by what is termed Tiltey Wood.
The present church, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, formed the east end of
the abbey church, and presents a remarkably fine specimen of what has been termed
the decorative style of English architecture. It has bold buttresses at the east angles,
with two rich niches, which are in a curious situation, being partly on the buttresses
and partly on the wall. At the east end is a very beautiful window of five lights, with
peculiarly elegant tracery. There is also a fine window of three lights on the north
side. The chancel contains some rich stalls. The roof is tiled, and a cupola above
contains one bell.
The monuments in Tiltey church are curious. On the fioor of the nave a flat stone,
which it is probable was formerly inlaid with brass or some other metal, appears, from
* Some writers have confounded this with the monastery of Bicknacre, in Woodham Ferrers ; probably
misled by the title given to it in the Monasticon, of Tilteyensis Abbatia, alias Wudeham : the two houses
were also founded by the same person, Maurice Fitz-Geofrey, but at different times.— Monaslicoii, vol. i.
p. S89. — BMop Tanner, p. 129 — Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 600.
t Cistercian monks had granges, or barns, having larger crops of corn than other religious orders, in
consequence of pope Paschal the second and Hadrian the fourth having discharged the lands held in their
own hands from payment of tithes.
t Arms of Tiltey abbey : Argent, on a cross gules, five fleurs-de-lis, or.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. . 233
the cavities, which are deeply cut, to have contained an ornamented cross. In a ^ ^^ ^•
border, round the edge of the stone, is the following inscription, in very old Gothic
characters : —
" MAHAVD DE MORTEMER GIST ICI lESV PVR * * * EIT PITE E MISERICORDE DE SA ALME EIT MERCI."
On the south side of the chancel, on a flat stone, are the effigies in brass of a man
in a suit of plate armour, his wife, five sons, and six daughters ; at each corner of the
stone a shield of arms, and round the ledge the following inscription in black letter : —
" Hie jacet sepultus, cum conjuge Maria, Gerardus Danet de Broukynsthorp in comitatu Lecestrie,
anniger et serenissimi Regis Henrici octavi Consiiiarius : obiit anno a Christo nato millesimo quingente-
simo XX. die mensis Maii quarto, et anno Regni predicti Regis Henrici xij. quorum animab' propiecietur
Deus." That is—" Here lies buried, with his wife Maria, Gerard Danet, of Broukynsthorp, in the county
of Leicester, esq. and counsellor of king Henry the eighth : he died in the year of our Lord one thousand
five hundred and twenty, on the fourth day of May, and the twelfth year of the reign of the aforesaid
king Henry ; to whose soul may God be propitious.^'*
On the north side of the chancel, on a flat stone, are the effigies, in brass, of a man
in plate armour, his wife, three sons, and two daughters, with the following inscription
in black letter : —
" Herevnder lyeth buryed, with Mary his wyfe, George Medeley, of Tyltey, in the covntye of Essex,
esquier, which dcessed the one and twentyth daye of INlaye, in the yere of oure Lord God one thowsand
fyve hundreth threscore and two, and in the fower and fyfteth yere of hys age."t
The two following inscriptions, also, either are or were in the church.
Within the communion rails, the effigies, in brass, of a woman kneeling, with three
male children, three female, and three in swaddling clothes ; beneath them : —
" Here lyeth buried the body of Margaret Tuke, wife unto George Tuke, of Layer Marney, in Essex,
who died 22d Oct. 1590."
In the middle of the church, on a plate of brass, on the floor : —
" Abbas famosus bonus et vivendo probatus, 11 Thomas dictatus qui Xto sit sociatus
In Thakely natus qui jacet hie tumulatus, II Rite gubernavit istumque locum peramavit."
i.e. " The well-known and good abbot, of approved life, born at Thakely, who lies here buried, by
name Thomas, (may he be now with Christ) ruled righteously, and exceedingly loved this place."
In 1821, this parish contained seventy-eight, and in 1831, eighty-two inhabitants.^
* Arms : Gutee a canton ; with several impalements and quarterings. — Salmon incorrectly reads the
name Dant. *
t Arms : Barry on a chief three mullets pierced.
X Charity. — The right hon. Charles lord Maynard settled a house, with appurtenances, on the parish
clerk, and his successors for ever, in the same manner as at the Eastons.
234 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II.
THAXTED.
rhaxtpd. The ancient town of Thaxted is on the borders of the river Chehner, near its
source. It is of considerable extent, containing many good houses, and there is a
large and handsome chapel here, belonging to the Dissenters of the denomination of
Independents. The road from Chelmsford to Cambridge passes through this town,
which is a considerable thoroughfare: formerly it was a borough, incorporated by
charter from Philip and Mary, its government being vested in a mayor, bailiff, and chief
burgesses. This charter was confirmed by queen Elizabeth, and additional privileges
granted by James the first; but all these were tamely given up, either through fear or
poverty, by the corporate oflicers, who, on being served with a quo warranto in the
time of James the second, thought fit to retire from their ofl&ces in silence. From a
visitation of the heralds in 1637, it appears to have had at that time a mayor, recorder,
two bailiffs, and about twenty principal burgesses, of Avhich ten had passed the
mayoralty; they had a common seal, but no arms. The market, which had been
discontinued, was some time ago revived, but it has not risen to importance. It is
on Thursdays; and there is a fair on the twenty-seventh of May, and another on the
tenth of August, for cattle. It is distant from Dunmow six, and from London forty-
seven miles.
The earliest account of this town is in the Monasticon,* which informs us that the
college of St. John the Baptist, at Clare, in Suffolk, founded by Eluric, in Edward
the confessor's time, had the church of Thaxted among other revenues; at which time
this lordship belonged to Wisgar, but was taken from him by the Conqueror, and given
to Richard, son of Gislebert, and grandson of Geofrey, natural son of Richard, first
duke of Normandy of that name. Coming over with the Conqueror, to whom he was
related, he had, besides other extensive possessions, the lordship of Clare, in Suffolk,
from which the family took the surname of De Clare.f Richard Fitz-Gislebert
marrying Rohaise, daughter of Walter Gifford, earl of Buckingham, had Gilbert, his
successor, the first earl of Clare; who marrying Adeliza, daughter of the earl of
Clermont, had by her Richard, Gilbert, Hervey, Walter, and Rohaise. Richard,
the eldest son, married Adeliza, sister of Ranulph, earl of Chester, by whom he had
Gilbert, Roger, and Alice, married to Cadwallader ap Griffith, prince of North Wales.
Gilbert, eldest son of Richard, dying without issue in 1151, his brother Roger suc-
ceeded, and married Maud, daughter of James de St. Hilary: his son, Richard de
Clare, earl of Hertford, married Amicia, daughter of William, earl of Gloucester,
» Vol. i. p. 1009.
t A full account is given of this powerful family in Mat. Paris, ed. 1640, p. 262, 995, &c. ; they were
very actively opposed to king John, and Henry the third. Richard, earl of Clare, was the first of the
twenty-five barons, conservators of Magna Charta.
•i:«.
*r'
S^"l'i!,'. .. \
''hi,
I
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 233
who was heiress of that earldom ; and their son Gilbert, earl of Gloucester and ^ ^ ■} ''•
Hertford, married Isabel, third daughter of William Marshal, earl of Pembroke.
Richard was his son and heir, who died in 1262, suspected to have been poisoned at
the table of Peter de Savoy, the queen's uncle : Gilbert de Clare, surnamed " the red,"
was his son and heir, who married Alice, daughter of Guy, earl of Angoulesme, niece
to king Henry the third. This lady becoming lunatic, he was divorced from her in
1285, having granted her the manor of Thaxted, and other possessions. He married,
secondly, Joan of Acres, daughter of king Edward the first, by whom he had Gilbert,
Eleanor, Margaret, and Elizabeth; on his decease in 1295, his lady had to her second
husband Ralph de Monthermer, a plain esquire. Gilbert de Clare, surnamed " the
red," her son by her first husband, was earl of Clare, Hertford and Gloucester; being
then under age, he had not livery of his lands till 1307, when he was obliged to give
satisfaction to the king. He was slain in 1314, at the battle of Bannockburn, where
he commanded the van-guard of the English army. His son John, by Maud, daughter
of John de Burgh, died before him, and in consequence his three sisters became his
co-heiresses.* Eleanor, married to Hugh le Despenser, the younger: Margaret, to
Piers de Gaveston; afterwards to Hugh de Audley, in 1337 created earl of Glou-
cester; and Elizabeth, married to John de Burgh, son and heir of Richard, earl of
Ulster; married, secondly, to Theobald de Verdun; and, thirdly, to Roger Damory,
who was summoned to parliament in the reign of Edward the second. He was taken
prisoner at the battle of Borough-bridge, with the earl of Lancaster, and his lands
seized by the king; but his life was spared for the sake of his lady.
In the reign of Edward the second, Bartholomew lord Badlesmere having married
Margaret, eldest daughter of Thomas, brother of Gilbert de Clare, had liberty of free
warren, and of holding an annual fair here on the eve, the day, and the morrow of St.
Luke, and was made constable of Tunbridge castle: joining the discontented barons,
he lost this and his other estates, and was beheaded in 1321. But by the favour of
Edward the third, his son Giles recovered his estates and honours ; he married Eliza-
beth, daughter of William de Montacute, earl of Salisbury, but left no issue; and this
manor was equally divided among his four sisters, who all married into noble families.f
Three parts of the estate became the property of the Mortimers, earls of March, and
were re-united to the honour of Clare, which had been conveyed by marriage to this
family;:]: the remaining fourth part descending to the Le Despensers, derived from
* Arms of the Clare family: Or, three chevronels, gules.
t Margery, married to William lord Roos, of Hamlake ; Maud, to John de Vere, earl of Oxford ;
Elizabeth, to Edmund Mortimer, earl of March; and, after his death, to William de Bohun, earl of
Northampton ; and Margaret, to sir John Tibetot.
X Roger Mortimer, the first earl of March, married Joan, daughter and heiress of Peter Geneville, lord
of Mede, Vaucolour, and Trim, in Ireland.— FeVjcen?, p. 325. The Mortimers afterwards quartered the
236 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. them its name of Spencer's fee. On the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of Edward
the fourth, to Henry the seventh, the honour of Clare reverted to the crown, and was
settled, by Henry the eighth, on Katharine of Arragon, afterwards his queen, who,
in 1514, granted the manor and borough of Thaxted to sir John Cutts,* knt. to hold
during her life, under a rent; and soon afterwards the reversion in fee-farm was
granted by the king to the same knight. His son of the same name died in 1528,
holding his father's estates; but sir John Cutts, his son and heir, on his decease in
1554, had considerably diminished the family possessions; and the succeeding sir
John, his son, being remarkable for unbounded hospitality and a magnificent style of
living, his affairs became embarrassed,! and he was obliged, in 1599, to vest the manor
and borough of Thaxted in trust to Thomas Kemp, esq. who had previously purchased
the estate of Coldham's fee, in this parish. Thaxted soon afterwards became the
property of sir William Smijth, knt. of Hill Hall, in whose family it has remained to
the present time.
Parish. The parish is large, and comprehends the northern extremity of the hundred,
bounded by Uttlesford and Freshwell: besides that of the borough or town, there
are six other manors.
Hoiaiu The manor-house of Horam Hall is nearly two miles distant from the church south-
Hall. . , ^ •'
westward; it is a venerable and stately edifice, and a valuable and interesting specimen
of the style of domestic architecture which immediately succeeded the ancient castellated
mode; and as in the more ancient arrangement, the castellated form was for use, in
this we find towers, turrets, and battlements added to houses merely for ornament.
If even there were no historical evidence of the time this building was erected, it
would yet be generally believed to have been immediately preceding, or early in the
reign of Elizabeth ; and it is remarkable that the chief front exliibits the greatest
arms of Gcncville, as they are found in this church. Arms of Mortimer : Barry of six, or and azure, on a
chief of the first three pallets between two base esquisses, dexter and sinister as the second: an ines-
cutcheon, ermine.
* Leland gives the following account of this family. " Syr John Cutte, knight, and undre treasorer of
England, bought of one Savelle, a man of fair landes in Yorkshir, then beyng yn trouble, the lordship of
Godhurste, with the mines of a castelle that standith aboute a 2 miles from the bank of Medwaye river,
and 2 miles from Maidstone.... Old Cutte maeried the doughter and heyre of one Roodes, about York-
shir, and had by her a 3 hunderith markes of lands by the yere Old Cutte buildid Horeham-haule, a
very sumptuus house in Est Sax, by Thaxtede, and there is a goodly pond, or lake, by it, and faire parkes
thereabout. Cutte buildid at Childerley, in Cambridgshir Cutte buildid at Salsbiry-park, by St.
Alban's Young Cutte, sun and heire to old Cutte, married one ...., and by her , by the
procurement of my lady Lucy." — Iliner. vol. iv. p. 30, part i. Arms of Cutts : Argent, on a bend engrailed,
sable, three plates.
t He rendered himself so remarkable for his housekeeping, that queen Elizabeth sent the Spanish
ambassador to be entertained by hira, during a fit of sickness. The tower of Horam Hall was used by
Elizabeth as an agreeable retirement and place of refuge, during a part of the reign of her sister Mary;
and often, after she succeeded to the crown, as a place which she took pleasure in visiting.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 237
variety of architectural forms, in which all uniformity of opposite parts has been c H A i'
studiously avoided. The stately toAver, the projecting gable, notched; the square ^^'
embattled turret, with double windows, with another turret of larger dimensions, and Curies,
ornamented windows, the whole height of the building; and, lastly, a plain bay
window of two stories, above which there is an ornamental gable. In some of its
parts this building bears a striking resemblance to detached parts of Gosfield Hall;
but in the same degree that uniformity has been avoided in this structure, in that more
ancient edifice it has been carefully observed. In 1262, the heirs of Walter de Acre
held lands here, which are believed to have been this manor; and William de Wanton,
who died in 1347, held the same, which his son William also held as three knights'
fees, of the honour of Clare.
The next recorded possessor was sir John Cutt, or Cutts, who held it of the queen,
as of her honour of Stambourne, by fealty and suit of court. The mansion-house was
erected by sir John, from whom the estate passed to sir Charles Smijth, with the
capital manor.
This manor, holden in 1262, under the earl of Clare, by William Beaucondre, was Ricli-
named Beauconders, and consisted of a knight's fee; his successor was Richard Beau-
condre, who died in 1398, succeeded by Ralph, son of Roger, who is stated to have
been a benefactor to the knights of St. John of Jerusalem : Nicholas Richmond was
the next possessor on record, and his name has been retained by the estate, which
became the property of sir John Cutts, by the name of Richmonds, at Richmond
Green: it was holden by Nicholas Fuller in 1528, and, in 1590, was sold, by sir John
Cutts, to William Godfrey. It afterwards belonged to Richard Beale, esq. of Hale
Place, in Kent, who died in 1712, and left it to his nephew, Alexander Beale, who
sold it to Guy's Hospital, also Thaxted Lodge. The mansion of Richmonds is half
a mile from the church south-eastward.
The family of Fitz-Ralph gave their name to a manor here, which belonged to P'tz-
William Chishul, esq. in 1570, who dying that year, left it to his son Giles, of whom
it was purchased by Israel Owen, who died in 1632, and left John, his son. This
estate afterAvards belonged to Henry Wale, esq. of Little Bardfield.
The manor named Venors, or Vernors, anciently belonged to Tiltey Abbey, and Vernois
was denominated a grange. It was granted, by Henry the eighth, to Charles Brandon,
duke of Suffolk, in 1538, who the same year sold it to John Wiseman; and he, in 1551,
conveyed it to Matthias Bradbury, of whom it was purchased, in 1552, by John
Wiseman; and he, in 1569, sold it to George Meade. This estate, about twenty years
after, belonged to the Pigot family, who retained possession till 1640, after wliich it
became the property of the Fenn family.
The reputed manor named Stanfold-garden was in possession of sir John Cutts, at Stanfold-
the time of his decease in 1520, holden by him of Henry Tumor.
VOL. II. 2 I
238 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BO(JM II. Gerdelay, named in Domesday Gerdelai, was reckoned a hamlet to Thaxted: under
^TjijJ^j^ Edward the confessor, it was holden by two freemen, and at the sm'vey belonged to
Tihel Brito, whose descendants, surnamcd De Helion, retained possession, till it was
conveyed, by William de Helion, to Aubrey de Vere, earl of Oxford in the reign of
Henry the second ; and some under tenants of that noble family took the surname of
Yerdley, or Yardley, from this place. Their names appear in the records from the
time of Henry the third to Henry the seventh; and John Yardley, attainted in the
tirst year of king Richard the third, had his lands in Thaxted seized on that occasion.
In 1558, it belonged to John Wiseman, esq. of Felsted, and continued in his family
till the decease of Wiseman Clagget, esq. in 1741, when it was purchased of his
executors by Charles lord Maynard. Goddards farm is a valuable estate in this
parish, formerly belonging to the Wale family.
cimicL. It is not certainly known at what time this church was erected, but is believed to
have been at various times, and completed about the close of the fourteenth century.
Different writers have spoken of it as dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the Virgin
Mary, and to St. Lawrence ; but all these assertions remain unauthorised.
It seems most probable, from various authorities, that the expense of this erection
was defrayed partly by parochial assessments, partly by public and private contri-
butions, and partly by the patronage of the illustrious house of Clare and their
descendants. It is true, none of the rates or other accounts respecting the first rise
of this building are now extant; but as four churchwardens are mentioned during its
erection, we may conclude the appointment of this extraordinary number to have
been for the receipt of contributions and management of the accounts. During the
same period, also, many donations of land are recorded, some expressly left in trust to
the four churchwardens, and others to the same number of trustees; the portions of
land referred to are also stated to have been soon afterwards sold ; undoubtedly, to
raise the necessary supplies for carrying on the undertaking. The number of armorial
bearings on the roof (some of which belong to families resident in Thaxted) serve to
confirm this account. As early as the reign of Edward the confessor, the church of
Thaxted belonged to the collegiate church of Clare, which, in 1090, was annexed to
the abbey of Bee, in Normandy; and its having belonged to the college of Clare
previous to this appropriation, leaves us no longer at a loss to account for its beauty
and magnificence.* It is universally allowed to be the finest specimen of ecclesiastical
/;. in.
* Width of the nave 21 6
Length of ditto 89 0
Width of the nuve and side aisle 23 10
ength of the transept 8G 0
Whole building in length 1B3, in breadth 87 feet, in the inside. The elegant stone tower and spire rises
to the height of 181 feet ; the tower being 80 feet. The circumferenre of the whole building, including
the projections of the buttresses, is 345 yards.
ft. in.
Width of the transept 20 4
Length of the chancel 49 8
Widthof the middle 17 0
Ditto of the sides 25 6
il^
^ HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 239
architecture in the county. The whole fabric is embattled, and supported by strong c H .\ p
buttresses, terminated by canopied niches, crowned with purtled pinnacles of curious
workmanship; on each buttress, below the niches, carved heads of grotesque appear-
ance form water-spouts. The original windows are large and elegant, and ornamented
with tracery and painted glass.
It has already been observed, that the time of the building of this church is not cer-
tainly known, yet it is conjectured that it could not have been earlier than some time
in the reign of Henry the third, but more probably in that of Edward the second.
First, because the benefactions of the inhabitants of Thaxted to the neighbouring
abbey of Tiltey, during the reigns of Henry the third and Edward the first, were more
considerable than could have been expected if this building had been then begun : but
in the reign of Edward the second, no more than one benefaction appears from Thaxted
to Tiltey, and that in the earliest part of it ; therefore this reign seems the most likely
period for fixing the date. When, in the further progress of this inquiry, we find in
whose hands the patronage of Clare was then vested, we shall see another powerful
evidence for the truth of this conclusion. The different parts of the church were
built at different times, as appears from the variation of the style. The south aisle, and
the south end of the cross aisle, are unquestionably its oldest parts. The south aisle,
which has no pilasters for its ornament within, and had originally no buttresses for its
support without, and where the windows are most simple and least expensive, were,
perhaps, erected by the inhabitants without any foreign aid. In the adjacent end of
the cross aisle, there is a visible difference in the style of architecture, from which we
may infer that it was erected by other means than what the parish afforded. The
female portraits in the twelve smaller lights of the great window at the south end of
this aisle, four of which are known to be St. Mary, St. Affra, St. Katharine, and St.
Petronilla, proclaim the patronage of some female architect, and we may fairly pre-
sume, from a coincidence of other circumstances, that this was no other than Elizabeth
of Clare, daughter of Gilbert, earl of Gloucester and Hereford. This lady was
patroness of the monastery, which was removed to Stoke, in 1124, and succeeded to
her share of the paternal property in 1313, the seventh year of the reign of Edward
the second. The arms of De Burgh, earl of Ulster, and son of the lady Elizabeth of
Clare, which appear in four of the windows, at the entrance into the nave, point liim
out as the architect of this part of the building. Though several of the De Burgh
family had connexion with that of Clare, none of them were chiefs of their house, except
William de Burgh, and his daughter. The arms before us being without abatement
must, therefore, have belonged to one of these ; but the daughter being so great an
heiress, and a ward to king Edward the third, contracted from her earliest infancy to
his son Lionel, the king undoubtedly caused the marriage to be completed before she
was of sufficient age to become the patroness of this work, and consequently the arms
240 HISTORY O F E S S EX.
BOOK II. belonged to her father. William de Burgh dying in or about the year 1340, the nave
must have been built by him sometime previous to that period.
The next part of the building, in order of time, is the south porch. That this was
erected after the adjacent aisle, is evident from inspection ; that it was built after the
nave is highly probable, from the style and ornaments, especially the coronet over the
principal entrance of the porch. There is some reason to suppose that it was built by
Lionel, duke of Clarence, son-in-law and successor to the earl of Ulster, who came
into possession of the Ulster estate in 1360, and died in 1368. As this agrees well
with the order of events, it is certainly the most probable supposition. The effigy
and arms of Edmund, earl of March, son-in-law and successor of Lionel, duke of
Clarence, in the principal window of the north side of the church, evidently shew that
he was the architect of the north aisle, and the north end of the cross aisle. The
superior elegance and taste displayed in this part of the church may well be applied to
him, as he was equally distinguished for his skill in architecture, and for his piety and
munificence.* As the effigy in armour, bearing on its shield the arms of March, is
unaccompanied with that of his countess, by means of whom he became connected with
Clare, we may infer that this part of the church was erected after her death in 1377 ;
her husband died in 1381. The short life of this nobleman seems to have prevented
him from putting the finishing hand to the windows of the north aisle ; for the paint-
ings there are in a very different style from the others. A sun, which tills the prin-
cipal rose in one of these windows, seems to allude to the victory of king Edward the
fourth at Mortimer's Cross, and, if so, must have been added in the reign of that
monarch. It is very probable that Roger, son of the last-mentioned earl of March,
was prevented from extending his charity to the church of Thaxted, by the pressing
exigencies of the monastery of Stoke, occasioned by a fine and the loss of a consider-
able part of their revenues, which was appropriated to Westminster abbey. On
account of the wars with France, this being an alien monastery, the revenues of it had
been seized long before the charters of denization. Under these circumstances, Ave
have great reason to suppose that the father was a principal benefactor to this church,
rather than the son. If we descend to Edmund, son of Roger, the former earl of
March, and last heir male of the house of Mortimer, as he was not of age till 1412,
this will occasion an improbable delay in the progress of the building. There are,
however, some cognizances in this part of the church, in the smaller lights of an adja-
* In the east window of the cross end there were several golden falcons, accompanied with white
roses, alluding, perhaps, to some benefaction of the house of York. The motto was, " Min grace :"
formerly, the arms of Stafford and Vere were caned upon pannels, and supposed to be those of Henry
Stafford, duke of Buckingham, and .John de Vere, earl of Oxford, to whom king Edward the fourth was
guardian. The beautiful ornamented niches, formerly on the east side of the south end of the transept,
were destroyed by order of Mr. Hcckford ; they were probably the same as are on the east side of its
north end."
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 241
cent window to that containing the effigy of the earl of March, which require expla- chap
nation. As the windows and paintings are exactly similar, there can be no doubt but —Li-
the cognizances in the one had an allusion to the person represented in the other.
The chief cognizance to be explained, and which would illustrate the subject, is a
dragon writhing round a ragged staff, both argent. The arms of March and Ulster,
still remaining in the groined arches of the tower at the west end of the church, point
out to us the munificent hand of a Mortimer in this beautiful building.* But it is
difficult at this distance of time to discover which of that great family erected this
tower as a monument of his taste, his munificence, and his piety. If, as has been
supposed, the north end of the north aisle was built before the tower and spire ; if
Edmund, earl of March, was prevented by death from finishing the windows in the
north aisle ; if, lastly, his son Roger, earl of March, for the reason assigned, could not
be concerned in the building, then it follows that Edmund, the last earl of March,
must have this honour ascribed to him.
In the chancel the arms and cognizances of Edward the fourth, in every part of it,
particularly in the windows of the north aisle, clearly manifest that he was the founder
of this part of the church, or at least that it was built in his reign ; there are also the
remains of two other shields, which, in their perfect state, contained the arms of York,
March, Ulster, and Geneville; also male and female figures in scarlet robes, both in the
attitude of devotion. The family of Geneville, which had only for two generations
been raised above the rank of commoners, failing in heirs male, the heiress of their
house was married to Roger Mortimer, afterwards the first earl of March ; but it does
not appear that any of his descendants bore the arms of Geneville, excepting in this
instance, which could not have been adopted to dignify the house, but only to denote
descent. The reason of this was evidently to justify his own marriage with Elizabeth
Widville, by removing the objections against her family, being only ennobled with a
single barony, when the same was to be found in his own descent. The centre of
the cross aisle, between the chancel and the nave, as it must depend on the eastern
side for support on the chancel, and could not well have been built without it, we
naturally conclude was built at the same time, and most probably by Edward the
fourth, or, as it may otherwise be supposed, by the inhabitants, who had now been
engaged in the building for more than a century and a half. The whole fabric,
except the north porch, may then be considered as finished under Edward the fourth ;
and if the observation respecting his arms be just, about the year of his marriage,
A.D. 1465.
It has been generally supposed that John of Gaunt was the founder of this church ;
but this supposition appears to have arisen in a mistake of the arms of Lancaster, in a
* There are escallop-shells, and pelicans between the arms of March and Ulster, on the roof of the
tower.
242 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. window of the south aisle, where we find the royal arms ; in a second instance, with
the addition of a label of three parts ermine, and in both with wreaths of white roses.
Now, it is very certain that no prince of the house of Lancaster bore the white rose
in his arms before Henry the seventh, and as these are connected Avith the guloche,
which was an ornament of architecture introduced in the reign of Henry the eighth,
these arms must be referred to him ; for the same reason, the portcullis, pomegranates,
and emblems of the martyrdom of St. Katharine, are all to be referred to the same
reign.
From all these appearances, and from the property which king Henry possessed in
Thaxted, as a descendant of the house of March, and which was part of the queen's
dower, we may infer that the south aisle was in some measure indebted to them, as
well as some other parts of the church, for improvements or repairs ; indeed, it is
most probable, from these circumstances, taken collectively, that Henry the eighth,
rather than Edward the fourth, was concerned in building and finishing the chancel ;
especially as the Avide-expanded windows in the side aisles were peculiar to the time of
the former, and the more pointed style to the time of the latter.*
Nothing has so much improved the appearance of the interior of this church as an
elegant window of stained glass at the east end, given by the present incumbent, the
rev. Thomas Gee, to supply the place of the old one, which was much broken and
defaced. The workmanship and colours supplied by Mr. Egginton, who executed the
windows in Arundel castle, are of superior excellence : it consists of the following arms
and cognizances, copied from the broken windows and carved roof: king Edward
the fourth ; Lionel, duke of Clarence ; Mortimer, earl of March ; De Burgh, earl
of Ulster; earl of Clare; Tiltey abbey; viscount Maynard : the Katharine wheel
and pomegranate, the cognizance of Katharine of Arragon ; portcullis, of Tudor ; of
Henry the seventh, red and white roses ; fleurs de lis, crosses, and celestial crown,
with a variegated border, and other embellishments.
The ceiling of the whole church exhibits abundance of carved work ; with repre-
sentations of martyrdoms, legends of saints, grotesque physiognomies, and animals.
The pulpit and the font are fine specimens of ancient workmanship.
Twenty obits were founded in this church ; and donations for Jesus' mass, and
various similar religious uses, the chief endowments of which have been appropriated
to charitable purposes. There were also numerous altars and chapels : the high altar,
the altars of St. Margaret, St. Thomas of Canterbury, St. Lawrence; with Our Lady's
* The roses in the windows are all white, as are those likewise painted on one of the beams ; the carved
work on tiie desks (formerly in the chancel) is filled with the heads and paws of lions ; with dragons,
pelicans, falcons, and swans, intermixed with roses ; but their chief ornaments were a range of figures
placed near their base, rejjresenting griffins, with the lion of March and the falcon of York united.
The great window of the north end was destroyed by a storm, Dec. 2, 1703, and the opposite window was
so much damaged as to require being taken down.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 243
lig-ht, and the lights of St. James, St. Katharine, and St. George the martyr.* The CHAP,
chapels were, the chapel of the Holy Trinity, at the north end of the transept ; the l!
chapel of St. Anne, at the opposite end ; the chapel of Our Lady, at the east end of the
south aisle in the chancel ; and the chapel of St. John, or St. Lawrence, in the north
aisle. In Our Lady's chapel, on the roof, are several Gothic letters; " M," surrounded
with glories, and the letters " J. H. S." alternately. A glory round the chalice repre-
sents the real presence at the sacrament.
* The following are among the inscriptions in this church :—" To the memory of Thomas Swallow, Inscrip-
bachelor of physic, of the university of Cambridge ; he married Anne, daughter of the rev. Robert Barnard, tio"*--
vicar of this church. He died of the small-pox in 1712, aged 26 ; leaving two children."
" Sacred to the memory of Daniel More, esq. son of John More, of Thaxted. He lived fifty-nine years
a life of integrity ; thirty of these years he was employed in offices under government, to which he proved
himself well qualified ; by Katharine his wife, he had Thomas, Daniel, Charles, Edward, Abraham, Humpli-
rey, Elizabeth, and Margaret. He was, whilst he lived, charitable to the poor of this town, (the place of
his birth and his burial,) to whom he left a donation of forty pounds. At length, to the great grief of his
friends, he fell a victim to death, on the 21st of July, in the year of his salvation 1631. Thomas More, his
eldest son, and heir of the most affectionate father, caused this monument to be erected."
" Here lie the remains of Bridget and Joan Smith, daughters of Thomas Smith, esq. and Joan his wife ;
they both died in the year 1638."
"Under this marble lies the mortal part of the Rev. Robert Barnard, A.M. late vicar of this church,
who, with the greatest diligence, an astonishing prudence, and a very happy success for about fifty years,
instructed, established, and built-up numerous inhabitants of this town in Christian faith and practice.
He w'as constant in his attention to the sick ; exercised a remarkable liberality to the poor and helpless ;
advised and assisted all who were acquainted with him ; and gave an example of an unblameable life of
sincere and unaffected piety. At length, full of years, and ripe for Heaven, he died June 26, 1720,
aged 79. Anne, his wife, died July 9, 1681, aged 30."
On the north door of the church : " Orate p aiab Henrici Boyton et Johis." — " Pray for the souls of
Henry and John Boyton."
In the north aisle : " * * * * yg the myrakell of our ***** shewyde by Anes Wentworth * * * * * "
One-fourth part of the manor of Thaxted belonged to the family of Wentworth, from 18th Ed. IV.
" In the vault beneath are deposited the remains of William Heckford, gent, who died Dec. 5, 1749, aged
59 : and of Elizabeth (daughter of T. Rayner, gent.), his wife, who died August 16, 1757, aged 66 : with
Anne, Thomas, Mary, and William, four of their children."
" John Rayner, gent, died August 27, 1679, aged 51. Thomas Rayner, of Trinity College, was buried
Dec. 20, 1674."
" Nathaniel Westley, and Sarah his wife, died April 27, 1711."
" Richard Turner, died Sept. 22, 1701 : and Richard, son of Richard Turner, and Hannah his wife, died
Aug. 10, 1706."
On the south side of the tower : " Near this place lieth the body of Peter Piatt, stone-mason ; of wliose
care and fidelity as a servant, his master, Edward Thompson, after eighteen years' experience, places this
stone as a memorial. Of his qualification as a mason, this south side of the tower, repaired under hi-
direction in the year before his death, will remain a lasting monument. He died Aug. 15, 1759, aged 54.
" Where Peter lies, 'tis fit this tower should show.
But for his skill, itself had lain as low."
Charities. — The charitable benefactions belonging to this parish are very extensive. The estate named Chaiities.
Yerdleys, in the time of Henry the sixth, belonged to Thomas Yerdele, and was, on his death, vested in
244 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. During the summer of 1814, the spire of this church was considerably injured by
lightning ; and scaflPolding was erected, at the expense of nearly four hundred pounds,
for taking down the damaged part; of which forty-six feet had been removed, when,
on the 16th of December following, a violent storm arose, which threw down the
scaffolding, and thirty feet of what remained of the spire. Tlie body of the church was
also very considerably injured, but was completely repaired, and the tower rebuilt in
1822, by Mr. Cheshire, of Over-Wliitaker, near Coleshill, in Warwickshire.
Prior's Previous to the Conquest, the rectory of Thaxted, called Prior's Hall, belonged to
the collegiate church of St. John the Baptist, of Clare, in Suffolk; in 1124, removed
by Richard, son of Gilbert de Clare, to Stoke, near that town. This appropriation,
first made bv Richard, bishop of London, was confirmed, and the vicarage endowed
by Roger Niger, his successor. The convent was afterwards converted into a college,
with a dean and chapter, who retained both the rectory and vicarage till the dissolu-
tion of their house, after wliich the vicarage and manor of Prior's Hall were granted
by Edward the sixth, to his preceptor, sir John Cheeke, who was deprived of this
possession on the accession of queen Mary. In 1560, they became the property of
William lord Howard, of Efiingliam, and of his son, Charles lord Howard, in 1580;
from whom they were the same year conveyed to Robert Petre, esq., and in 1605,
John lord Petre sold them to sir Henry Maynard, ancestor of the present proprietor.
A dispute arising between William lord Maynard, impropriator of Thaxted and
patron, and Norman Leader, vicar, respecting the tithe of hops, it was referred to
Dr. Laud, the bishop of London, whose decision was agreed to by both parties ; and
which ordered that the vicar should receive yearly, besides his usual oblations and dues,
twenty pounds of well-dried hops, that he should be discharged from his usual payment
of five marks for the reparation of the chancel, and that he should have from the rector
a yearly pension of thirty pounds.
feoffees, in trust for his four sons, and their issue, or, in default of such issue, to be sold for the benefit
of the church and poor, and for the repairs of the adjacent hiijhways. The sons all dying childless, the
estate was sold in 1489, and the produce made to form a fund, for the tenths and fifteenths that might be
levied on the parish by the government, or, when not wanted for this purpose, the revenues were to be
applied to other charitable uses. The mode of taxation by tenths and fifteenths having been long dis-
continued, the produce of the fund is now applied to the support of a school, repairing the church, im-
proving the highways, &c. — William lord Maynard, by will, in 1698, bequeathed four thousand pounds
for purchasing the rectory of Thaxted, or some other of equal value, to be vested in trustees, for the pur-
pose of increasing the salary of the minister, repairing and beautifying the church, marrying poor virgins,
binding out apprentices, relieving poor people overburthened with children, and for other purposes. The
rectory of Thaxted being entailed in such a manner that it could not be obtained, that of Potten, in Bed-
fordshire, and some estates in Suffolk, were purchased with the abovementioned princely donation, the pro-
ceeds of which are applied according to the directions of the donor. — Among the numerous other charities,
are endowments for almshouses in different parts of the town: one of the buildings appropriated to this
use is an ancient chantry-house: the Guildhall is now the parish workhouse, and the Mote-hall is used
for a school.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 245
Samviel Purchas, B.D., a learned divine, was born at Thaxted, in the year 1577 chap.
and died in 1628. He received his education at Cambridg-e; and was a man of '^'
universal learning-. With great labour and industrj^, he enlarged and perfected ^amu^l
Hackluyt's collection of Voyages and Travels; a work highly esteemed, and valuable
for the various instruction and amusement contained in it. He also wrote Micro-
cosmos, or the History of Man, and other works ; and died in poverty and distress,
from the charges of publishing.
This parish, in 1821, contained two thousand and forty-five, and, in 1831, two
thousand two hundred and ninety-three inhabitants.*
LINDSEL.
This small and pleasant parish, from Thaxted extends south-eastward to DunmoAv, l^in'lsel.
and to Hinckford hundred. In records the name is written Lyndesele, Lindezel; in
Domesday, Lindeseles. Distant from Great Dunmow three, and from London
forty miles.
The lands of this parish, previous to the Conquest, belonged to Ulmar, a freeman,
and at the survey had been given to Eudo Dapifer. There are three manors.
Lindsel Hall is near the church; this manor, in 1210, was holden under Eudo, by f^'i'^lsti
the service of one knight's fee, by Ralph Pirot, whose descendants were the recorded
possessors of this estate till the reign of Edward the first, when it belonged suc-
cessively to Ralph Pirot in 1251, sir Ralph his son, and to John and Simon Pirot,
of the same family. Afterwards it became the property of the Clare family, from
whom it was conveyed, by marriage, to Bartholomew lord Badlesmere, and by his
youngest daughter Margaret, to her husband, John de Tibetot, on whose decease, in
1367, his son, Robert de Tibetot, or Tiptoft, was his successor, who dying in 1372,
left three daughters, the youngest of whom, married to Philip le Despenser, brought
him this estate; and he, on his decease in 1423, left it to his only daughter Margaret,
married to sir Roger Wentworth, whose successors were sir Philip, sir Henry, and
sir Richard; which last died in 1528, in possession of this estate; his son, sir Thomas
Wentworth, was created baron Wentworth of Nettlested in 1529, and is supposed to
have sold this estate to William Fitche, esq. of Brazen-head, a capital mansion in this
parish, so named from a wolf's head of brass over the gateway. Richard, the second
son, succeeded his father liere; whose son Thomas, his successor, had by his wife
Margaret Meade, Thomas Fitche, of Margaretting, and Robert, of Brazenhead, whose
son Thomas was living in 1614. This manor afterwards became the property of sir
Francis North, lord Guilford, and now belongs to the earl of Guilford.
Latcheley Hall is on an eminence, near the road to Stebbing, three quarters of a Latcheiey.
mile from Lindsel church: it was holden of the honour of Clare by the family of
* We cannot pass this opportunity of acknowledging the great and kind assistance which we have
received, in the history of his own parish, from the rev. Thomas Jee, vicar of Thaxted.
VOL, II. 2 K
246 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. Badlesmere, succeeded by William Bohun, afterwards earl of Northampton, from
whom it descended, with Thaxted, to Richard, duke of York; and passing- to the
crown, was granted, by Henry the eighth, to Richard Jenour, esq. from whom it
descended, with Bigods in Great Dunmow, to his heirs and successors.
Pi ioi '> Prior's Hall is a short distance from the church, and the considerable manorial estate
"'^"' to which it belongs was in possession of Harolf, in the time of Edward the confessor;
and at the survey had been given to the monastery of St. Valery, in Picardy. Being
one of the priories alien, it passed to the crown in the time of the wars with France,
and was afterwards given to New College, Oxford.
Clinrtli. I'he church is of one pace with the chancel, and the steeple stands on the south side
of the west end. This church was appropriated to the abbey of Walden, and a vicarage
endowed, to which, in 1433, the convent added six marks per annum.*
In 1821, there were in this parish three hundred and fifty-three, and, in 1831, three
hundred and eighty-one inhabitants.
CHICKNEY.
ciiickuoy. This parish extends from Lindsel and Thaxted south-westward to Henham, on the
border of Uttlesford hundred. The name is written Chikeneye, Chigney, and in
Domesday Cichenai: sometimes it is called Great Chickney.
A thane named Siward, had the lands of this parish in the time of Edward the
confessor, and at the survey it was one of the thirty-five lordships belonging to Ralph
Peverel, in this county; Garin was his under-tenant. Ralph Peverel married Ingelric,
a concubine of the Conqueror, by whom, previous to her marriage, she became the
mother of William Peverel, of Nottingham, one of whose sons was the ancestor of
the family who were seated here. In 1210 and 1211, William Peverel held five
knights' fees; Hugh Peverel had free- warren here in 1247, and, at the time of his
decease in 1298, held the manor of Chickney of the king, as of his honour of Peverel,
by the service of one knight's fee. John, his son and heir, held jointly with Joanna
his wife, the manor of Chickney; he died in 1314, leaving Hugh his son and heir.
Here a chasm of one hundred years occurs in the records, and during this interval
the family of Bourchier had come to the possession of the estate. In 1456, it belonged
to Henry viscount Bourchier; to Henry, earl of Essex, in 1472, and to his successor
of the same name, who died in 1540, when, on failure of heirs male, it became the
inheritance of his only daughter Anne, who, by marriage, conveyed it to William
Parr, earl of Essex and marquis of Northampton, who presented to the living in 1542;
but being implicated with the party who supported the cause of lady Jane Grey, he
was attainted, and his estates forfeited. He was restored in blood by queen Mary,
* Inscription : Beneath the efBgies of a man and woman, with six girls, and five boys, is a Latin
inscription, of which the following is a translation. " Here lie Thomas Fitche and Agnes his wife, which
Thomas died 21 April, 1614. May God be merciful to their souls."
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 24T
but not to the whole of his estates and honours till 1558. Afterwards this estate C H A i'.
IX
became the property of Henry CoUyn, esq. succeeded by colonel Evan Lloyd, of '
whom it was purchased by Joseph Cranmer, esq. of Quendon Hall.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is on g-round considerably elevated, Church,
commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country. A tower of stone, with
a spire shingled, contains two bells.*
In 1821, this parish contained sixty-six, and, in 1831, seventy-two inhabitants.
BROXTED, or CHAWRETH.
The parish of Broxted extends from Chickney southward, and westward joins to Bioxtcd,
Henham. The lands are fruitful and well-cultivated, presenting from the high grounds reth.
pleasant and extensive prospects. A brook rises here which falls into the Chelmer
at Tiltey, from which the name of the place has been supposed to have been derived;
this name in records is written Broxted, Brokesed, Brokesefede, Brokeshend,
Brokesheved, Broxhed, in Domesday Brocheshevot; and it has formerly been divided
into Great and Little. It is also traditionally reported to have been originally a hamlet
to what was named Chawreth; yet this last name does not appear in Domesday. It
is distant from Dunmow four, and from London thirty-seven miles.
A part of this parish is stated to have been in possession of two sochmen in the time
of the Confessor, which at the survey belonged to Eudo Dapifer, whose under-tenant
here was named Richard. This part, both before and after the Conquest, belonged to
the monastery of St. Ethelbert, at Ely. There are three manors.
Broxted Hall is a short distance south-westward from the church, and the manor is Broxted
Hall
supposed to be what was holden as a knight's fee in 1210, with part of two fees and a
half in Chaure and Brokesheved, which the earl of Clare, and the heirs of Walter
de Acre, held of Richard de Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, who died in 1262.
After the decease of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, in 1314, this estate was
holden of Elizabeth de Burgh, lady of Clare, by John de Lovaine, who died in 1347:
his family retained possession till 1359, when it was conveyed, by Alianor his daughter,
to her husband, sir William Bourchier, in which family it remained till Anne, the
only daughter of Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex, conveyed it, by marriage, to
William Parr, marquis of Northampton. In 1558, it was granted, by Mary and
Philip, to sir Thomas White; and by Queen Elizabeth, in 1590, to Henry Maynard,
esq. ancestor of the lords Maynard, of Easton Lodge.
Chawreth Hall, vulgarly named Cherry Hall, at the time of the survey belonged to Chawreth
the monastery of St. Ethelbert, at Ely. In 1294, William de Wanton held it in
right of his wife Maud, of John de Lovetott, sen. by the service of two knights' fees;
and it passed to his descendants, William in 1347, sir William in 1397, and to his
* There is an ahnshouse on Chickney Green for two dwellers.
248 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BuuK II. co-heiresses, Joan and Anne. In 1540, it had become the property of sir Richard
Gresham, alderman of London, who sold it in that year to Thomas Crawley, esq.
of Wendon Loughts, who died in 1559, holding this manor of John Newdigate, esq.
as of his manor of Harefteld, in Middlesex. It was afterwards in the families of
Bendish, Adams of Elsenham, and by purchase passed to sir Strange Jocelyn, bart. of
Sawbridgeworth, in Hertfordshire, who left it by will to his younger son, sir Conyers
Jocelyn, M.D. bart. who sold it to Charles lord Maynard.
Cliiucli. The church is on the side of a hill; it is dedicated to St. Mary; the chancel unusually
iiigh, with a south aisle; a low wooden belfry contains four bells.
Uectoiy. The rectory is a manor, and the manor-house is near the church. In 1151 it was
given, by Alured de Bendeville and his wife Sibil, with Roger Pigot's land, and all
appertenances, to the hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, for the souls of the noble
house of Clare, and for their own souls: Gilbert, earl of Clare, is on this occasion
called " their lord." This gift was confirmed by Richard de Clare, earl of Hertford,
king John, and Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury. After the suppression, in 1541,
the rectory, with the advowson of the vicarage, were granted to George Harper, and
he, in 1543, conveyed them to sir Thomas Audley.
This parish, in 1821, contained five hundred and ninety-seven, and, in 1831, six
hundred and ninety-four inhabitants.
BARNSTON, or BERNSTON.
Hiiiiistoii, This parish, pleasantly and conveniently situated on the river Chelmer, southward
or licji'ii"
stou. from Dunmow, is thinly inhabited, and the labouring part of the community chiefly
dependant on agricultural occupations. It is distant from Ongar fifteen, and from
London thirty-six miles.
Beniston Hugh de Berners held this manor, the only one in the parish, under Geofi'ey de
Magnaville, at the time of the survey; he also had Roding Berners, in this hundred,
and both of these estates have retained his name, this being originally Berners-town,
corruptly pronounced Bernston, and Barnston. The Berners family continued tenants
of this estate many generations after the Conquest. Sir Ralph died possessed of it in
1297; sir John in 1375; and his son sir James, surnamed of West Horseley, in
SuiTey, was beheaded in 1388, for the alleged treason of giving evil advice to king
Richard the second; his estates being confiscated, this manor was sold to Thomas of
Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, who, according to the Monasticon, settled it on his
college of Fleshy; and on the dissolution of religious houses, in 1546, it was granted
to sir John Gate, on whose attaindure for being of the party who advocated the cause
of lady Jane Grey, this and his other estates fell to the crown, and were granted, by
queen Mary, to Robert, brother to Richard lord Rich, to whom part of this estate
afterwards came by co-heirship; and it remained in this family till Daniel, earl of
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 249
Nottingham, who married lady Essex, one of the daughters and co-heiresses of the ^ ^ A i*.
last earl of Warwick, sold Bernston to sir Felix Wylde, hart, of Town-Marden, in '
Kent, whose sister was married to John Cockman, M.D. and their daughter, by
marriage, conveyed this estate and Priory Place, in Little Dunraow, to Nicholas
Toke, esq. whose descendant is the present possessor.
Albanes is a capital mansion on the road to High Roding, about a mile from the Aibanes.
church westward; it was for many generations the residence of the Collard family;
William Collard died here in 1668, aged 88, and on the death of Ady Collard, esq.*
unmarried in the 74th year of his age, he left two sisters, Barbara, wife of Nicholas
Stiles, and Dorothy, who died single in 1743, in the 82nd year of her age: on which
the estate became the property of sir Robert Fagg, hart, whose lady was daughter of
William Ward, L.L.D. commissary of York, whose grandmother was a daughter of
Dr. Ady.
The church, which is on the top of the hill, and rather an old-looking building, had C'luucii.
the original entrances by semi-circular arches; of which, that on the south side had
its mouldings distinct, which are plain: both are now blocked up, and the entrance is
at the end, by a modern square wooden door.f
In 1821, this parish contained two hundred and eighteen, and, in 1831, two hundred
and fifteen inhabitants.
* Arms of Collard : Party per fesse, argent and or, two moors' heads couped, sable, lips gules, escar-
sioned, or and sable,
f Inscriptions: Memoriue sacrum. " Hie situs est Robertus Scottus, theol. professor, decanus Roffensis, Inscrip-
magister Aulas Clarensis, in academia Cantabr : sub-decanus Wellensis, vir prisca tide, antiquis moribus,
pietate in deum, probitate in homines, instructissimus, e Collegio, S: et ind ; Trinit. Cant, ubi socius
summo cum bonorum amore, et pari honore vixit, ad aulam regiam evocatus, sub-eleemosynarius regius
factus, olim ElizabetliEe, nuper serenissimo Jacobo ; episcopis, proceribus, famulisq : certatim charus,
etiam dissidentium centrum et amor communis, tanta charitate ut prsefectus regiis eleemosynis suas
exerceret, et etiam cum cederet loco regiis eleemosynis praefectus videretur, Aulae Clarensis, factus
magister iisdem moribus rediit Cantabr : quibus olim egressus est, tam aulicarum artium ignarus, quam
peritus academicarum, quemcumq : locum allegit beavit, templum Roffcnse eo decano Clarense sacellum et
bibliotheca eo praefecto redornata. Tot loca tot trophaea. Procancellariatum academicum mirabili justitia
exegit; deniq. vir etiam cum viverit coelestis tam supra adulationem meam (lector) quam tuam fidem.
Obiit 23 Dec. 1620, ^Etat. 51."
In English : Sacred to memory. — " Here lies Robert Scott, professor of divinity, dean of Rochester,
master of Clare Hall, in the university of Cambridge, sub-dean of Wells, a man faithful and good in a
greater degree than the generality of the people of this age ; most remarkable for piety towards God, and
integrity towards man. He was of Trinity College, in Cambridge, where he lived as a fellow, highly
esteemed and honoured by good men. Being called to court, he was made sub-almoner, first to queen
Elizabeth, then to king James. To bishops, nobles, servants, lie was equally dear ; even those who
disagreed among themselves, agreed in their love of him. He was so charitable, that when dispenser of
the royal alms, he gave his own; and even when he quitted this office, he seemed yet a prince's almoner.
Being appointed master of Clare Hall, he returned to Cambridge with tlie same habits he had when he left
it, as much ignorant of court-arts as acquainted with academic virtues. He was a blessing to every place
tions.
250 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
ville
PLESHY.
Piesliy. -piiis parish, from tlie extremity of the hundred eastward, extends to Leaden
Roding, and to High Estre on the north. The village consists of one long street.
Distant from Donmow seven, and from London thirty-five miles.
It was anciently a place of importance, being the seat of the high constables of
England till some time after the year 1400. The name has been supposed to come
from the French word Plaisir, applicable on account of its situation, on elevated
ground, with agreeable prospects, especially toward the south, in which direction it is
watered by a small stream, and by a brook on the north. It is variously named
in records, Pleshynchou, Plesinchou, Plessy, Pleshe, Plashe, Pleysie, Placy, Placeis,
Plaisiers, Pleshites, Plecy, Plaisy, alias Belhous, alias Bowles.
Little is known of the history of Pleshy before the period of the Norman conquest.
If it was, as some think, included in High Estre, it was, though by usurpation, the
seat of the high constable in the Conqueror's time ; for Alf here, or Esgar, entitled
stallere, which is interpreted by the Latin dux, and in another passage constabulariust
took that place from the abbey of Ely in the Conqueror's reign, and they could not
regain it without granting him a life estate therein. He was soon after imprisoned
by order of the king, and ended his life in confinement. But the monks never
recovered their property, it remaining in the crown. Pleshy was granted to Eustace,
earl of Bologne, who held it at the survey, and his under-tenant was one Bernard.
When Maud, grand-daughter of earl Eustace, was married to king Stephen, her
father's great estates became vested in the crown, and Pleshy was by Stephen con-
Mande- ferred on Geofrey de Mandeville, who was created earl of Essex. Having joined the
party of the empress Maud, he was seized and imprisoned ; and the tower of London,
with the castles of Walden and Pleshy, both of his own building, were made the
price of his release. He was shortly afterwards slain at the siege of Burwell castle
by a missile from the walls. Henry II. restored all his estates to his son Geofrey,
and gave him his cousin to wife ; but soon after took her away, with his two manors
of Walden and Waltham. Geofrey died at Chester in 1167, on an expedition against
the Welsh, and was succeeded by his brother William, who obtained leave of the king
to fortify his castle here, wherein he solemnized his marriage with Hawise, daughter
he filled; to the church of Rochester, as dean; to Clare Hall chapel and library, the latter of which was
re-beautified under his mastership. The more offices he held, the more trophies there were of his recti-
tude, and was in short, whilst he lived, a heavenly-minded man, as much beyond my flattery (reader) as
thy belief. He died on the 23d of Dec. 1620, in the 51st year of his age."
There are also epitaphs on Richard Scott, gent, who gave one hundred and sixty pounds for the
poor ; Robert Scott, who died in 1620 ; Ady Collard, esq. son of William and Dorothy Collard, who died
July 31, 1747, aged 74 ; and several others of the same family.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 251
and heir of William le Gros, earl of Albemarle, in 1 180, by whom he had the earldom c H a F
of Albemarle. "From this time," Gough observes, "we must probably date the ^^'
Norman fortification of this place." Geofrey was sent on several embassies by
Henry II. and Richard I., and is represented by the compiler of the Chronicle of Wal-
den abbey, which was founded by his ancestors, as a person of lively parts, consummate
prudence, great personal bravery, and resembling his brother in person, stature, and
address.* He died without issue in 1198, and his estate devolved to his second cousin,
Beatrix de Say, grand-daughter of his aunt Beatrix. She married Geofrey Fitz- Piers,
of Ludgarshal castle, in Wiltshire, chief justice of England, and, in her right, earl of
Essex : their sons, Geofrey and William, assuming the surname of Mandeville, also
enjoyed the same dignity and title. They had a daughter named Maud, married to
Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, and lord high constable of England. Geofrey,
the father, died in 1213, his son Geofrey in 1216, and William in 1227, both without
offspring; the last of them entailing his estates, with the earldom, on Maud, his
sister ; whose husband, created earl of Hereford by king John in 1199, and constable
of England, dying in 1220,-]- was succeeded by his son Humphrey, known by the
popular appellation of the " Good earl of Hereford;" likewise, in right of his mother,
earl of Essex. He married, first, Maud, daughter of Ralph de Issodun, by whom he
had his son Humphrey, Avho died before him : marrying, secondly, Maud de Avenes-
bury, he had John and Milo. Dying in 1275, Humphrey, eldest son of his son of
that name, succeeded as earl of Hereford and Essex ; and was also, in his mother's
right, baron of Brecknock : he obtained leave of Edward the first, in 1320, to inclose
one hundred and fifty acres, contiguous to his park of Waltham and High Estre ;
which has been known as Fleshy Great Park. He died at Pleshy in 1298, leaving
by Maud, sister of William lord Fines, Humphrey, his only son, slain at Borough-
bridge, in 1322 : having married Elizabeth, daughter of king Edward the first, widow
of John earl of Holland, by whom he had six sons and two daughters; Margaret,
married to Hugh Courtney, earl of Devonshire, and Eleanor, to James Butler, earl of
Ormond. John, the eldest son, and heir to his father's estates and honours, was twice
married ; but dying childless, in 1335, was succeeded by his brother Humphrey, who
also died without issue in 1361. William, earl of Northampton, his next brother,
died before him, in 1359, but Humphrey, his son, succeeded his uncle, as earl of
Hereford, Essex, and Northampton; baron of Brecknock, and high constable of
England. He married Joan, daughter of Richard Fitz- Alan, earl of Arundel and
Surrey, and on his decease, in 1372, left Eleanor and Mary, co-heiresses to an immense
estate : his widow died in 1416. Eleanor was married to Thomas of Woodstock,
* Vir acer ingenio, consilio providus, in armis nomine inagnus ; ipsuni autcm eadem complexio, simili
facundia, par corporis proceritas, fratri satis assiniilavit. — Monast. Augl. i. 451.
•fMaud, liis widow, was married to Roger de Dautsey, but divorced from him in 1227.
ccstei.
252 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. sixth son of king- Edward the third, and, in her right, succeeding to the family honours,
was also, in 1377, created earl of Buckingham, and, in 1385, duke of Gloucester.
With his lady he had Fleshy, High Estre, Waltham, and other estates.
Mary, the youno-er sister, was married to Henry earl of Derby, afterwards king
Henry the fourth.
The duke of Gloucester was uncle to king Richard the second, and highly distin-
guished for valour, probity, and honour ; but having great influence in public affairs,
and being o})posed to the measures pursued by his nephew's favourite advisers, his
destruction was determined upon, for Avhich purpose he was treacherously decoyed
from his castle of Fleshy, and forcibly conveyed to Faris, where he was murdered,
in 1397.
Death of This transaction is related as follows, by Froissart : — " On a day the kynge in maner
of Giou- as goyng a huntyng rode from Haveryng of Bour a xx myle from London in
Essexe, and within xx myle of Plasshey, where the duke of Gloucestre helde his
house. After dyner, the kynge departed from Haveryng with a small company, and
came to Plasshey about v a clocke ; the weder was fa}Te and bote. So the kynge came
sodainly thyder about the tyme that the duke of Gloucestre had supped. For he was
but a small eater, nor eat ne^'er long at dyner nor at supper. When he herde of the
kvnge's comynge, he went to meet hym in the myddel of the court, and so did the
duchesse and her chyldren, and they welcomed the kynge, and the kynge entered into
the hall and so into a chambre. Than a horde was spredde for the kynge's supper.^
The kynge satt not longe, and sayd at his fyrst cominge, ' Faire uncle, cause fvve or
sixe horses of yours to be sadylled, for I wyll praye you to ryde with me to London,
as tomorrowe, the Londoners wyll be before us. And there wyll be also myne uncles
of Lancastre and Yorke, with dyvers other noblemen. For upon tlie Londoners
requestes I wyll be ordred accordyng to your counsayle, and commaunde your stewarde
to foUowe you with your trayne to London, where they shall fynde you.' The duke,
who thought none yvell. lyghtly agreed to the kynge. And when the kynge had
supped and rysen, every thynge was redy. The kynge then toke leave of the
duchesse and of her chyldren, and lepte a horsebacke, and the duke with h^-m, accom-
panyed all onely but with sevyn servauntes, thre squyers, and fonre yeomen, and tooke
the waye of Bondelay, to take the playne waye and to eschewe Brendwode and London
commen hyghewaye. So they rode a greet payee, and the kynge talked by the way with
his uncle, and he with hym, and so aproched to Stratforde on the ryver of Thames.
When the kynge came nere to the bushment that he had layde, than he rode from his
uncle a great pace, and lefte hym somewhat beh}Tide hym. Than sodaynly the erle-
marshall with his bande came galopyng after the duke, and overtoke hym, and saide,
' Sir, I arest you in the kynge's name.' The duke was abasshed with that worde, and
sawe well he was betrayed, and began to call loude after the kynge. I can nat tell
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 253
weder the kynge herde hyra or nat, but he turned nat; but rode forthe rather faster ^ H A p.
than he dyde before." * ^____
The tenants of the duke did not long remain without an opportunity of showing
their love to their lord and their hatred to his enemies. The duke of Exeter, who
was concerned in the conspiracy against Henry IV., when he heard of the defeat of his
partisans at Cirencester, in Gloucestershire, being then at London, immediately took
horse, and, with sir John Schevele, fled to the coast of Essex, intending to escape by
sea. Being, however, driven back in repeated attempts, he contrived to secrete him-
self for some time, but was at last discovered by the country people while sitting at
supper in the house of a friend.f He was taken first to Chelmsford, and thence, for
the sake of greater security, to Pleshy, the manor of the late duke of Gloucester, in
whose death he was believed to have had too much concern. No sooner, therefore,
did the tenants and villaines of the manor understand that he was in their power, than,
resolving to be themselves the avengers of their lord, they seized upon him, and cut
off" his head.f
* Bourchier's Froissart, fol. cclxxxvii. — The duke of Gloucester is made to give the following account
of his apprehension in the Mirror of Magistrates ; —
" For lying at Plashey my selfe to repose
By reason of sickenesse which helde mee full sore :
llie king espying mee apart from those
With whom I confedered in band before,
Thought it not meete to tract the time more,
But glad to take mee at such a vauntage.
Came to salute mee with friendly visage.
Who having a band bound to his bent,
By colour of kindnesse to visite his game,
Tooke time to accomplishe his cruell entent ;
And in a small vessell downe by the streame,
Conveyd mee to Calais, out of the realme,
Where, without process or dome of my peeres,
Not nature, but murder, abridged my yeeres."
The parliamentary records contain the confession of John Halle, who was hanged for this murder. He
was a valet of the duke of Norfolk, and, among other particulars, stated, " that Norfolk came to him at
Calls, and called him out of his bed, telling him that the king and the duke of Aumerle had sent their
valets, Serle and Franceys, for the purpose of murdering Gloucester, and that he must be present in the
name of his master." Halle prayed that he might be suffered to go away, though with the loss of all his
property; but Norfolk told him he must be present or forfeit his life, and therewith struck him violently
on the head. The confederate valets first went to a church, and were sworn to secrecy ; they then repaired
to Gloucester's lodging at his inn, who, seeing Serle, asked him how he did, saying, " Now I know I shall
do well ;" but Serle, taking Franceys with him, called the duke into another chamber, and they there told
him it was the king's will that he should die. Gloucester answered, that if it was the king's will it must
be so: they asked him to have a chaplain, to which he agreed, and confessed ; they then compelled him
to lie down on a bed ; the two valets threw a feather-bed over him, three other persons held down its
sides, whilst Serle and Franceys pressed on the mouth of the duke till he expired ; there were three other
persons in the chamber on their knees, weeping and praying for his soul, whilst Halle kept guard at the
door. The duke of Norfolk came to them, and saw the body of murdered Gloucester. — Placeta, Purl. vol. iii.
t An old chronicle quoted by Leland (Itin. vi. 31) says he was apprehended in a mill at Pritewelle. —
Fabyan (ii. 342) says, "And at Prytwell, in Essex, was taken sir John Holland, duke of Exeter," &c.
X The authorities for this account are Walsinghara, Otterbourne, and the monk of Evesham. — We have
an account given by Dugdale (Baro. ii. 80) of the king's sending his precept to the churchwardens of
Pleshy, " to deliver his head," to the countess's messenger, " to be buried with his body." It would
VOL. II. 2 L
254
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The duke of Gloucester being in the ensuhig- parliament declared a traitor, his lands
and possessions were forfeited to the king ; his Avidow, however, at the time of her
decease, in 1399, enjoyed nearly the whole of the estates belonging to her ancestors,
with the office of high constable. The remains of the duke, her husband, were first
buried in his collegiate church here, but afterwards removed to Westminster abbey;
where she was also buried. They had an only son, Humphrey, who died unmarried,
and three daughters, Anne, Joan, and Isabel : the last of these was a nun ; Joan was
married to Gilbert lord Talbot, and died in 1400, and her only daughter died young;
so that Anne, the eldest daughter, became sole heiress to the Bohun estates. She was
married, first, to Thomas, and, secondly, to Edmund, his brother, successively earls of
Stafford ; and, thirdly, to William Bourchier, earl of Eu. But she did not enjoy this
lordship; for, in 1421, a partition being made of the estates of Humphrey de Bohun,
last of that name, earl of Essex, between king Henry the fifth, son of Mary, youngest
daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, and Anne, countess of Stafford, this castle and
nianoi*, with the park, became the king's property,* and were united to the dutchy of
Lancaster.
In 1547, Edward the sixth granted the "manor of Plecy, and Plecy parkes, alias le
great park and le little parke de Plecy," to sir John Gate ; on whose attainder, in
1553, this estate again passed to the crown. The great park, sometime afterwards
becoming the property of Richard lord Rich, was incorporated with the demesnes of
Waltham-bury ; and the little park of Pleshy, with a messuage belonging to it in
Great Waltham, was purchased by sir Robert Clarke, baron of the exchequer, who
held it in fee-farm of the honour of Mandeville, at the time of his decease, in 1607.
Robert, his son, was his successor; followed, in 1629, by his son of the same name,
who built the large house called the Lodge, using, on this occasion, the materials of
the ancient castle and the college. The successive heirs of this family retained pos-
session of the lodge estate and tithes of the parish, till Robert Clarke, esq. of Rifehams,
sold them, in 1720, to sir William Joliffe, knt. who on his decease, in 1750, left them
to his nephew, Samuel Tufnell, esq. of Langleys, in Great W^altham, ancestor of the
present possessor ; to whom, likewise, belong the estates of Pleshy-bury and farm.f
appear, however, that the duke of Exeter was actually buried at Pleshy ; for Wcever says, " Vpon one of
the parts of a dismenibred monument, carelesly cast here and there in the body of the church, I found
these words : ' Here lyeth lohn Holland, erle of Exceter, erle of Huntington, and chamberleyne of England,
who dyed ' "
* Statut. 9th Hen. V.
t The following memorandum, relating to the manor of Pleshy, is found among the records in the
Augmentation office :— " Mem. That there is a court-baron and court-leet belonging to the said manor
usually holden upon Wednesday in Whitsun week. That the mayor of Pleshey for the time being, is to
collect and gather all the quit rents, fines, and amercements of courts, without any consideration allowed
him for his pains; that the tenants holding of the said manor do usually pay one year's quit-rent, upon
descent or alienation, as a relief, unto the lord thereof."
Pleshv-
burv.
Roman
I'emains.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 255
The site of Pleshy appears to have been occupied by the Romans. A Roman ^ ^ -^ '^
fortification (Gough says) surrounds the village. It begins to the west of the church,
which stands just without it, and falls into the fosse of the keep of the castle on the
west side. The vallum, Avitli a noble fosse, is very perfect in parts of the north, east,
and west sides, and the four roads which led into the camp, may be easily traced.
That which enters the west side, running by the church, may be followed by piecemeal
almost to Chelmsford, to the west of the Walthara road. By its side have been found
many human bones, a bit of iron,* a stone coffin, and a glass urn with bones in it, as
also some tesselse of pavements.f The circumference of the vallum is within a few
yards of a Roman mile. " About twenty-five years ago several urns were found in a
field about half a mile from the church ; and, at Pleshy-bury farm, in a field called
Stickling, had been discovered a vault, about three yards square, paved with bricks,
about nine inches square, and containing in niches several earthen vessels with
stoppers (which a countryman, my informant, said were brass), and filled with earth
and bones. In a field about a quarter of a mile from the church, belonging to the
Bury farm, in the road leading to High Estre, was found, about thirty years ago, a
tine glass urn, with some burnt bones in it, which Samuel Tufnell, esq. shewed to the
society of antiquaries. I could hear of nothing else found there. In the tower of the
church are some Roman bricks ; and Mr. Morant finds such at the two corners of the
chancel of the adjoining church of High Estre.":}: The whole vallum, as measured by
surveyors in 1773, was said to be nineteen chains, eighty links, or sixty rods, in circum-
ference, and the keep thirteen chains, fifty links, or fifty-two rods.
Supposing the castle of Pleshy, with some writers, to have been a Norman struc- Pleshy
ture, still there can scarcely be a doubt that the prodigious earth-works which yet
remain are much more ancient; if not Danish, perhaps the work of the still older British
occupiers of the soil. Leland has preserved a tradition which clearly points to this
great antiquity of the earth-works. " One of the college of Plescy yn Estsax," he
* Gough is here supposed to mean, an iron bridle bit.
f " The road from Bromfield to Great Chicknal lies for nearly two miles very straight ; and the name of a
few houses that stand on each side of one part of it is, to this day, fick-street, or, as in Chapman's map,
JVick-street. Street has been always allowed to be a corruption of stratum, and Vick seems to retain the
sound of f^icus : so that such a road may naturally be supposed to lead to some ancient station. This
road ceases about a mile from Chelmsford, and turns off into that which leads to Margaret Rodintr. In
the fields opposite to yick Street, and in the line to which it points, is an evident artificial ford over the
river, which now lies only in fields and is disused. The street may be followed from this ford, though,
in some places, turned a little round, to lead to a farm house to within a mile of Pleshy, where it is lost
in enclosures, but pointed directly to the church, and its ridge may be seen from the keep extending some
way into the enclosure." — Gough, p. 3.
X Gough's " History and Antiquities of Pleshy," p. 2. Cough's book was published in 1803. — " Old
Lodge," Gough observes, " a small moated spot, about a mile north-east of Pleshy, is by some imagined
Roman, but is most likely a lodge in one of the parks, if nut a mansion-house."
256
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. says, " told me that he had heard of men of knowlege that the toun and place wher
the castelle nou standith was of auncient tyme caullid Tumblestoun, and that the new
name is writen thus, Castel de Placeto. It long-gid to the Mandevilles : but whither
they had it straite after the conquest or no I cannot know for a surety. Ther was a
great man caullid de Placetes that mariod the heire general of the erle of Warwick.
Thomas erle of Bukingham, sunne to Edward the 3 was — of this castelle : and built
the college there." *
The earth-works consist of an area of about two acres, enclosed by high and strong
embankments, with a deep moat on the outside of the embankments. On the east
side is an immense mound, separated from the enclosed area, as well as from the
surrounding grounds, by a very deep ditch. This mound has been called by topogra-
phers the keep, and on it appears to have been built the strongest part of the castle.
The area has no embankment on the side immediately adjoining to the moat which
surrounds the great mound. The walls of the castle appear to have been built on the
embankments, and it is to this arrangement, probably, that Leland alludes, when he
observes, " One tolde me that muche of the walls of Plaschey castle in Estsex is made
of erthe."f The walls have now disappeared, but the brick bridge of one lofty pointed
arch, which formed the communication between the castle and its keep still remains,
and, mantled with ivy and foliage, forms from the wooded moat below a most pic-
turesque object. The arch, according to Gough, is eighteen feet high, and eighteen
feet wide, and is, he says, " remarkable for the singular circumstance of contracting
as it approaches the foundations." He observes, also, that " on this bridge was till
very lately a brick gate mantled with ivy, the tottering condition of which rendered it
dangerous to attempt to clear the brick work of the ivy, in order to see if any arms or
inscriptions over the arch might be concealed under it. Foundations of brick run
from the end of this bridge to the left round the keep, and on each side of the way to
it are foundations of large rooms and angles of stone buildings. The site of the castle
has been a warren, and four ragged yews occupy the keep, in planting which some
foundations were laid open.":j:
College. A college was founded here in 1393, by Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester,
for nine chaplains ; of which, one was to be warden, or master, two of them clerks,
and two choristers : it was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and endowed with exten-
sive possessions. The collegiate church was also made parochial; a licence being
granted from the king and the bishop for that purpose. The old church was on the
* Leland, Itin. vol. viii. p. 13. He adds, " Syns one Hiimfrede duke of Bokingham was buried with his
wife and .'J of his sunnes at Plascey, wher of one, as I hard, was erle of VVilshir."
t Leland, Itin. vol. vi. p. 48,
+ The great mound of the castle has been stated to be upwards of " eight hundred and ninety feet in
circumference."
HUNDRED OF DUN MOW. 257
opposite side of the road, the living- a rectory, g-iven to the abbey of Walden by C H A f.
Geofrey de Magnaville, the founder of that house, which presented here till 1389.
Isabel, daughter of the duke of Gloucester, gave an annuity of twenty pounds for
twenty years, for three priests to celebrate mass for her. Humphrey Stafford, duke
of Buckingham, slain at the battle of Northampton, in 1460, was buried here, with his
lady and three of his sons; of whom, John, earl of Wiltshire, gave a hundred marks to
purchase lands for three priests and six poor men to pray for his soul, and the souls of
his ancestors. He also appointed a church to be built and hallowed to the worship
of the Holy Trinity and Our Lady, on the north side of the church, for a mass of Our
Lady to be said daily. Anne, his lady, who lies buried with him here, settled forty
marks upon them. Sir Henry Stafford, who married Margaret countess of Rich-
mond, mother to king Henry the seventh, {third son to Anne,) appointed his body to
be buried here, and gave one hundred and sixty pounds, to buy twelve marks' worth
of land to be amortised to find a fitting priest to sing for his soul, in this college for
evermore. Ed^vard Stafford, earl of Wiltshire, also founded a perpetual chantry
here, richly endowed. The names of the masters are in Newcourt.*
In 1546, king Henry the eighth granted the whole college of Fleshy, and the house
and church, and all manors and appertenances to the said college belonging, to sir
John Gate, one of the gentlemen of his privy chamber ; and this covetous and mean-
spirited proprietor, for the sake of the materials, pulled down the chancel ; and the
body of the church would also have fallen a sacrifice to his avarice, if it had not been
purchased by the parishioners, with the steeple and bells, that they might not be des-
titute of a place of worship. In 1553, on the condemnation of sir John Gate, these
possessions again passed to the crown ; and, in 1564, were granted by queen Elizabeth,
to William Pool and Edward Downing: and in 1589, under a new grant, they were
conveyed to William Tipper and Robert Dawe, of whom they were purchased by sir
Robert Clarke. In 1560, queen Elizabeth granted a portion of the tithes, and a
tenement here, to the dean and chapter of Westminster, by whom they are leased out
to the Tufnell family, to whom the other tithes of the parish belong.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, or to the Holy Trinity, was a large Church,
cruciform building, with a central tower. The part remaining of this building had
been purchased of sir John Gate, and had become quite ruinous, when, chiefly by the
munificence of bishop Compson, a good small church of brick was erected, in the year
1708 ; yet the tower remained ruinous, and there was no chancel till Samuel Tufnell,
esq. built one, between the nave and chancel, with a vault for his family under it; he
had also five bells re-cast.
After the dissolution, the church became a donative or perpetual curacy, in the dis-
posal of the owner of the site of the college, with a stipend of eight pounds a year ;
which, in 1721, was augmented with the donation of two hundred pounds, by the pious
* \'ol. ii. p. 471, Thomas Walker was the last master.
258 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
I'JUOK II. and munificent lady Moyer, sister of sir William Jolifi'e ; and, in 1728, with three
hundred pounds, by Mrs. Jennings, the daughter and executrix of this lady.*
This parish, in 1821, contained two hundred and eighty-nine, and in 1831, three
hundred and twenty inhabitants.
HIGH EASTER, Or ESTRE.
High This considerably large parish lies west-north-west from Fleshy, and its distin-
guishing appellation of High may be supposed to be applied because the ground is
higher than that of the contiguous parish of Good Easter. In circumference it is
computed to be upwards of twenty miles. The name in records is Estre, or Est€r,
and in Domesday Estra; the modern orthography of Easter being unauthorised.
It is remarked by Mr. Salmon, in treating of this parish, that the termination of tree^
corrupted from street^ is of frequent occurrence, as " Edwinstre and Estree, in Hert-
fordshire, and Becontree in Essex." He therefore believes this name came from
" East-street," or rather " the village east of the street." Both the Estres, and also
Fleshy, are on the eastern side of a Roman road, which, by the Saxons, would be
called a street. The village contains some good houses and shops. From Dunmow
it is distant six, and from London thirty miles.
Frevious to the Conquest, this parish belonged to the abbey of Ely, and had, in the
Inscrip- * Inscriptions. — *' I\I.S. In a vault under this monument lieth the remains of sir William Joliffe, eldest
tions. son of John Jolifife, esq. descended from an ancient and honourable family in the county of Stafford. He
was member of parliament for Heytesbury, during the reign of king Charles the second. Sir William,
in private life, was a steady friend, a generous relation, and of extensive benevolence. He represented in
parliament the borough of Petersfield, in Hampshire, and by his conduct proved himself a disinterested
lover of his country. Dying a bachelor, he left the bulk of his large estate to his nephews. This monu-
ment was erected by Samuel Tuffnell, of Langleys, in this county, and John Joliffe, of Petersfield, in Hamp-
shire, esquires, in gratitude to his memory, Ob. 7 March, 1749, aet. 85." Arms : Argent, on a pile vert
three dexter hands couped at the wrist— of tlie field. Crest : An arm in armour, holding a cimetar proper.
On another very elegant marble monument, with the arms, over a bust : " In a vault under this chancel
lie the remains of Samuel Tuffndl, esq. late of Langleys, near this place, descended from a family which
was situated at Hadley, in the county of Middlesex. His grandfather, Richard Tuffnell, esq. was member
of parliament for the borough of Soutlivvark, in the reign of king Charles the second. About the year
1733, Mr, Tuffnell was appointed one of the plenipotentiaries to assist at the congress held at Antwerp,
wiiere he resided some years, for settling the barrier treaty, tariff, &c. with the Austrians and Dutch. He
represented in parliament the boroughs of Colchester and Maldon in this county, and Marlovv, in Bucking-
hamshire, and discharged the duties of these several public stations through which he passed, with ability
and unblemished honour. In })rivate life, many virtuous and able qualities did not less adorn him. He
married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of George Cressener, esq. of Great Tey, in this county, and by her left
issue three sons ; John Joliffe, George, and William, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Maria Anna. He
died 27 Dec. 1758, aged 76. In this vault lie likewise interred, Elizabeth and Rebecca, sisters to the
said Samuel Tuffnell, who both died unmarried. This monument was erected by his eldest and most
affectionate son, John Joliffe Tuffnell, esq. of Langleys, to perpetuate the remembrance due to his worth,
and as a memorial of his gratitude to the best of fathers." Arms : Azure on a fesse between three ostrich
feathers ar. as many martlets sable.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 259
Confessor's reign, been seized by Algar stallere, constable of the arrny, as his title c H A ['.
imports : to persuade him to surrender this possession, a life estate had been granted '
to him, b.ut the Conqueror ordered him to be seized and imprisoned for life; and his
estate, which in the record is on this occasion named Estra, he gave to Geofrey de
Magnaville. There are six manors.
The manor of High Estre-bury is near the west-end of the church-yard. On the High
decease of the first lord he was succeeded by his son William; his grandson Geofrey, bury.
earl of Essex, who died in 1144; and the two sons of the latter, successively earls of
Essex; Geofrey, who died in 1166, and William in 1189. Beatrix de Say, by
marriage, conveyed it to Geofrey Fitz- Piers, who in her right was earl of Essex.
Their successors were their two sons, Geofrey, surnamed de Mandeville, who died
in 1216, and William in 1227. Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, and lord high
constable of England, marrying Maud, heiress of the house of Mandeville, she brought
him this estate. Humphrey de Bohun, their son, fifth of the name, died in possession
of it in 1274, as did also his grandson Humphrey, who died in 1298; it afterwards
descended through a succession of heirs male to Humphrey, the tenth of the name,
who died in 1371, leaving only two daughters, Alianor, married to Thomas of Wood-
stock, duke of Gloucester, who, at the time of his tragical death, held this manor in
right of his lady, who died in 1399, leaving High Estre to Anne, one of her daughters,
co-heiresses, who conveyed it to her husband Edmund, earl of Stafford, on whose
decease, in 1403, it passed, as the manor of Fleshy did, to king Henry the fifth, who
annexed it to the dutchy of Lancaster; and king Richard the third, to engage Henry
Stafford, duke of Buckingham, to be of his party, made him a grant of this manor,
Avith the rest of the Bohun estates, in 1483, but his enjoyment of it was of short con-
tinuance; it soon afterwards reverted to the crown as part of the dutchy of Lancaster.
It was sold, in 1629, by king Charles the first, to the citizens of London, for money
he had borrowed of them. It afterwards became the property of the rev. Richard
Master, rector of Woodford, of whose son it was purchased by John Joliffe Tufnell, esq.
The manor-house of Hayrons is a mile from the church southward, on the left-hand Hayions.
side of the road to Good Estre. It is an ancient mansion moated round. The
dignified families who have had this estate in succession since the Conquest are those
of Mandeville, Hayron, Gedge, and Glascock.
The mansion-house of Mannocks is a mile fi'om the church east-north-eastward, Manmicks
and a quarter of a mile from the road to Dunmow; it formerly consisted of two
manors, named Bellows, or Bellhouse, and Powers; both these estates were holden
of Anne, duchess of Buckinghamshire, as of her hundred of Ongar, by John Mannock,*
* This family is of great antiquity, said to have flourished in England from the time of the Danish
monarchy. In the time of Eduard the third, they were seated at Stoke, by Neyland, and purchased
Gifford's Hall in the reign of Henry tlie sixth : they had Camoys, and other estates, and were lords of
Great Gravensdon, in Huntingdonshire, from the time of the Conquest.
260 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. esq. who died in 1476. He had married Jane Waldgrave a few weeks previous to
his decease, leaving George, his son and heir by a former wife, who married Katha-
rine Waldgrave, sister of his mother-in-law : he was fined for refushig to be made a
knight of the bath, on the creation of Henry, prince of Wales (afterwards king Henry
the eighth), for which offence he received a pardon in 1504. His son and successor
William, was of Camoys Hall, in Toppesfield, and married Audry, daughter of John
Allington, esq. of Westele, in Cambridgeshire, and on his death in 1557, left Francis,
his son, his successor: who marrying Mary, daughter of William Fitch, esq. of Little
Canfield, was succeeded in this possession, on his decease in 1590, by his son William,
who married Etheldreda, daughter of Ferdinando Parys, esq. of Linton, whose eldest
son, his successor in 1615, was created a baronet in 1627. He married Dorothy,
daughter of William Saunders, esq. and dying in 1634, left his son, sir Francis
Mannock, who married Mary, daughter of George Heneage, by whom he had five
daughters. Living in the time of the civil wars, and wishing to escape the ruinous
effects of fines and sequestrations, he sold this estate, which sometime afterwards
became the property of T. Brand, esq. of Hide Hall, near Ingatestone.
(iarnets The manor-liouse of Garnets and Merks is two miles from the church, near Bishop's
M('ik<. Green, on the road to Dunmow. This estate belonged to Geofrey Garnet in 1165,
and continued in his family till 1350. In the reign of Edward the third, it had come
into the possession of Thomas Gate, esq. the father of William; whose successor,
sir Geofrey, was a celebrated soldier, and held important offices. He died in 1477,
and Agnes his widow was re-married to William Bromlac, with whom she enjoyed
the estate till her decease in 1487, and was succeeded by W^illiam, the son of her first
husband, who married Mabel, daughter and heiress of Thomas Copdow,* of this
parish, and had by her Geofrey; and Anne, married to Thomas Darcy, esq. uncle of
Thomas lord Darcy, of Chich. Sir Geofrey marrying Elizabeth, daughter of William
Clopton, esq. had sir John, sir Geofrey, sir Henry, and William, who died without
issue, and Dorothy, married to Thomas Jocelyn. On the death of sir Geofrey the
father, his son, the celebrated sir John Gate, succeeded, who greatly improved and
made considerable additions to the estate; which after his violent death in 1553, went
with his other estates to the crown, and was, in 1558, granted, by queen Mary, to
Richard Weston, one of the judges of the king's-bench, who, in 1561, sold it to Kenelm
Throckmorton and John Paviott; and, in 1563, it was sold to William Fitche, esq.
whose son Thomas was his heir. Afterwards passing to the Dyer family, of
Dunmow, it was sold, in 1740, together with Newton Hall, to sir Brownlow Sher-
rard, but that contract having never been legalised, John Henniker, esq. became the
purchaser.
Bcrwicks. The manor of Berwicks, partly in this parish, has the mansion nearly four miles
south-westward from the church. It was holden under Humphrey de Bohun, earl of
* Arn)s of Copdow : Argent, three piles en point, gules.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 26]
Hereford and Essex, by sir Ralph Berners, in the time of Edward the first: Edmund CHAP,
was his son. It had passed to the crown in the time of Edward the sixth, and that '
king-, in 1547, gave it, as parcel of the dutchy of Lancaster, to sir John Gate : it was
afterwards in possession of the Capel family.
There is a hamlet in this parish named Pentlow End, vulgarly Pantlo. Pentlow.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is large and lofty, containing- a nave. Church.
north aisle, and chancel, of which the upper part has been named Garnet's chancel,
having been the burial-place of that family. There is a handsome gallery at the west
end of the church, and behind it a stately tower, in which there are five very good
bells; above which there is a spire leaded. The roof of the church is traditionally
said to have been raised several feet, and supported with curiously carved timbers.
This improvement is believed to have been effected by sir Geofrey Gate, about the
year 1460, who also erected, at the same time, a new chancel. Among the orna-
mental carvings several gates are represented, supposed to be the cognizances of this
family.
This church was given, by Geofrey de Mandeville, to the monastery of Walden,
and the donation confirmed by king Stephen and Henry the second, and the vicarage
continued in the patronage of the abbot and convent till their dissolution; after which
the rectory impropriate, which is a manor, was granted, in 1538, to Thomas lord
Audley. But king Edward the sixth settled it on the dean and chapter of St. Paul's,
with the advowson of the vicarge, of which they have ever since continued patrons,
the rectory being held under them by lease.*
In 1821, this parish contained eight hundred and nineteen, and, in 1831, eight
hundred and sixty-two inhabitants.
GOOD EASTER.
This parish lies between Pleshy and Mashbury, extending eastward from the Good
ancient Roman road to the extremity of the hundred; it is computed to be ten miles
in circumference: distant from Dunmow eight, from Chelmsford seven, and from
London thirty miles.
The following inscriptions, formerly here, have been preserved by Mr. Salmon : Inscrip-
Of Coppedo gentilman lyon behight,
Of Hiest' witness his wyff and executor
This yere and day come on his dely powers
XXII day January, 1456."
*' Pray for the soul, all ye that live in light.
Of sir Jeffry Gate, the curtesse knight;
Whose wife is buried here; by God's might.
He bought the manor of Garnets by right
" Here lyeth dame Agnes Gate, wife of syr Geffrey Gate, knt. the which syr Geffrey Gate was six yere
captain of the Isle of Wight, and after that marshal of Caleis ; there kept with the Pikards worshipful
warris .... eo. . . . intended as a good knight to please the kyng in the pties of Nornidi witii all his might.
The which Agnes dyed the ix of Dec. 1480, .... whose soule Jhu have mercy."
VOL. II. 2 M
262 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Ill Domesday book the name is written Estra; and, before the Conquest, it belonged
to Ailmar, a king's thane, but after that event was given, by earl Eustace, to the
collegiate church of St. Martin-le-Grand, in London, founded in 700, by Victred,
or Withrid, king of Kent; rebuilt and more sumptuously endowed, in 1056, by
Angelric, and Girard his brother, two noble Saxons; whose foundation and appro-
priation of this estate was confirmed by the Conqueror in 1068. From this period
the name appears in records Godicestre, Godichester, and God's Easter; supposed
from the usual expression of "giving to God" what is appropriated to his service;
the English words God and Good being both derived from the Saxon Irob. This
parish was also named the prebend of Good Easter, and the church said to be a pre-
bendal church, because wholly appropriated to the college of St. Martin; four of the
prebendaries having their endowments here, each of which had a house; Fawkeners,
on the south side of the church; Imbers, opposite to it, on the right hand; Bowers,
behind the vicarage; Paslows, below it, being a large house, moated round. These
Avere reckoned distinct manors, afterwards consolidated into two.
In the tim.e of Edward the first, or Edward the second, Peter de Cusance, of
White Roding, held two carucates of land here, under two of the prebends, who
Avere aliens; and he perfidiously sold great part of the estate to John Pointon and his
heirs, on which account the dean and chapter presented a petition to the king and
council.
Good Easter, with the adjoining berewic of Mashbury, and other possessions, was
given, by Henry the seventh, in 1492, with the collegiate church of St. Martin-le-
Grand, and the sanctuary belonging to it, to the monastery of St. Peter, of West-
minster, where it continued till the dissolution, and remained exempt from the
jurisdiction of the bishop, or archdeacon, till Edward the sixth placed it under the
government of the bishop of London: on the dissolution of Westminster Abbey, in
1539, all its possessions passing to the crown, were, by king Henry the eighth, in
1540, made part of the endowment of his newly-erected bishopric of Westminster:
after the dissolution of which, in 1542, this parish, with the rectory and advowson of
the vicarage, were granted to sir Richard Rich and his heirs: and, in 1544, the king
granted him the yearly tenths; of Avhich he died possessed in 1566, as did also his son
Robert, in 1580; followed by his great grandson Robert, earl of Warwick in 1618,
whose son Robert sold them, in 1620, to sir Henry Mildmay, of Graces, with all his
possessions in Good Easter, except the advowson of the vicarage and spiritual juris-
diction, which his grand-daughter, Elizabeth Waterson, sold to James Bonnel, esq.
from whom these possessions descended to his posterity.
Newark)?. The manor of Newarks, or Newland's fee, is on the side of the road to Roxwell,
distant a mile and a half south-eastward from the church. It was purchased of
Richard lord Rich, by sir Robert Clarke, baron of the exchequer, who made it the
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 263
place of his residence; and who, on his decease in 1606, left it to his posterity:* he chap.
married first Dorothy, daughter of John Maynard, esq. and sister to sir Henry May- '.
nard, by whom he had two sons and eight daughters, of whom Jane was married to
sir Kenelm Jenoure, bart.; Melicent, to sir Thomas Nightingale, bart.; Esther, to
King; another daughter to Cutting; and another to Still; Sarah and
Clemence were the other daughters. Robert, the younger son, had the manor of
Gibbecrake, in Purley. The elder son was sir Robert Clarke, knt. whose son and
heir was Robert, and whose daughter Jane, married to Utbert, was the mother
of Ehzabeth, who, by her husband, Thomas Hutchinson, esq. had Mary, married to
Harrison, on whose decease she, during her widowhood, possessed this estate,
and conveyed it, by marriage, to the rev. Charles Philips, vicar of Terling.
In 1459, the manor of Wares, which was holden by AHce Strange of the dean of St. Wares.
Martin's, was left to her grandson and heir, John Skrene, who died in 1474. It was
in the possession of James Gedge, esq. of Newland Hall, in Roxwell, in 1555, who
held it of the queen, as of her dutchy of Lancaster, and left it to his three daughters,
co-heiresses. It afterwards belonged to sir Samuel Thwayt, knt. of Newland Hall,
who, on his decease in 1636, left it to his son Samuel. It afterwards belonged to
John Nash, of London.
The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, has a nave, south aisle and chancel, with a church,
stone tower, above which there is a handsome, tall, wooden spire: there are five bells.
From stone arches in the walls of the chancel, there seem to have been several cells,
or chapels.f
In 1821, this parish contained four hundred and thirty-eight, and, in 1831, four
hundred and eighty-seven inhabitants.
MASHBURY.
This very small parish extends south-eastward from Good Easter; the name in Mashbury
records is Mascebery, Massebirig, Maissebery, Maysbury, Messebery, supposed a
corruption of Macy's capital mansion, or bury, from Macy, whose name appears in an
ancient writing as the possessor of a knight's fee here.
The lands of this parish, previous to the Conquest, were in the possession of a free-
woman named Alueva: after the Conqueror had given it to Uluric, an encroachment
is stated to have been made on this possession by Geofrey de Magnaville: part of it
* Arms of Clarke : Argent, on a fesse sable, three crosses fitche, or, between two chevrons of the
second. Otherwise, or, on a bend engrailed, axure, a plate argent. Crest : On a torse, or and azure, a
greyhound sejant, sable.
t Inscription in the church : " Under this stone lies buried the body of Margaret Norrington, wife of j!^^*^'"P"
Thomas Norrington, daughter of Edward Norrington Bugg, gent, who deceased Jan* 27, 1610.
Charity.— An annuity of about five pounds has been left by an unknown benefactor, for the repairs ol Chanty,
the church.
264
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. was a hamlet to Good Easter, and extended into the hundi'ed of Chelmsford. After
passing to the Mandeville family, where it continued for several generations, it passed
to that of Fitz- Piers, and was conveyed, hy the marriage of Maud, daughter of Geofrey
Fitz- Piers, earl of Essex, to Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex, who was
succeeded by his two daughters and co-heiresses, Eleanor, married to Thomas of
Woodstock, and Mary, to Henry Plantagenet, afterwards king Henry the fourth,
who had this included in his share of the Bohun estates; and he annexed it to the
dutchy of Lancaster ; after which it appears to have formed part of the dower of the
queens of England, till it was, in 1544, granted, by Henry the eighth, to Geofrey
Lukyn, whose posterity retained possession till the estate was sold, by William Lukyn,
in 1354, to sir William Petre, whose descendants have retained this possession to the
present time.
Mashbm-y Hall, which is the most considerable estate in the parish, is on the south
side of the church.
Cliuicli. The church is a plain building tiled; in the steeple there are three bells.
In 1821, this parish contained eighty-five, and, in 1831, ninety-six inhabitants.
Great
Canlield.
GREAT CANFIELD.
Lands extending northward to Takeley and Great Dunmow, to High Roding and
Hatfield Broadoak southward, and from Hallingbury westward to Little Dunmow
on the east, have been made to form two parishes, named Great and Little Canfield.
The larger of these is distinguished by the appellation of " Ad Castrum," i.e. at the
castle, from a castle which formerly stood here, on the site of which there is an artificial
mount of earth, planted with trees; and a deep moat surrounds what was the outer
court of the castle. This fortress appears to have occupied about two acres, and
having belonged to the De Veres, is believed to have been erected by one of the first
of that family.*
In Edward the Confessor's reign, Ulwin and Eddeva were in possession of this
parish, which at the survey was holden under Alan, earl of Bretagne, by Alberic
de Vere.
The situation of this parish is healthy and pleasant, it is eight miles in circumference :
* It has been supposed that Eddeva might have built a fortification here, before the Conquest, after she
had sold Stortford castle to the bishop of London : or, this castle might be built by Alberic de Vere, during
the war between Maud and Stephen. Or, De Vere might fortify this place, on the demolishing of the
bishop's castle of Weytemore, by king John, on the bishop's executing the pope's interdict. VVeytemore
was the chief place of strength in this part of the country, which seems to have been erected during the
octarchy; because the estates subject to the payment of Castle-guard lie on the Essex side of the bank
which passed through Hertfordshire from Theobalds to Barley; and this was their defence against inroads
from Mercia. — A'^. Salmon's Hist, of Essex, p. 217.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 265
the village, which is small, is distant from Great Dunmow four, and from London chap.
IX
thirty-five miles. '
The family of De Vere retained this possession from the time of the Conquest till
Edward, the seventeenth earl of Oxford, sold it to John Wiseman, esq. son of sir Wiseman
John Wiseman, one of the auditors to Henry the eighth, who had previously, hi 1548, ' ^'
purchased here of John, earl of Oxford, a messuage, with Great Canfield park, con-
taining two hundred and sixty acres of land in Great and Little Canfield, Takeley and
Hatfield Regis. He died in 1558, and was huried in this church with his lady Agnes,
daughter of sir Ralph Jocelyn, lord mayor of London in 1464. In this family it
continued till sir Thomas Wiseman,* in 1733, conveyed it to Thomas Hucks, or
Godfrey Woodward; and it was afterwards conveyed to Nathan Cooper, of St-
Giles's, whose daughter and co-heiress conveyed it, in marriage, to William Perkin,
* The offspring of sir John Wiseman and his lady Agnes were John; William, and another son, who
both died young ; Robert, gentleman pensioner to queen Elizabeth, who had five wives, yet died without
issue ; Thomas, who died in 1563, and was buried in Chelmsford church : Philippa, wife of William Glas-
cock, and of Andrew Pascall ; Margaret, wife of Everard, and of Church; Margery, wife of
John Pascall, of Great Badovv, and afterwards of Reade ; Clemence, wife of Richard Everard, of
Waltham; Katharine, wife of Thomas Young, of Roxwell; and Anne, wife of Lindhill, and after-
wards of John Glascock, of Roxwell. John, the eldest son and heir of sir John Wiseman, and the pur-
chaser of this manor, died in 1602. He married Margery, daughter of sir William Waldegrave, of Small-
bridge, by whom he had eight sons and daughters ; Joanna, married to Nicholas Brocket, of Willingale
Dou; and Agnes, wife of Thomas Fitche, esq. of Little Canfield and High Easter, and afterwards of Geo.
Wingate, esq. ; John, Robert, William, who was a monk, Thomas, Edmund of Little Maplested, and
Andrew. John Wiseman succeeding his father, married Anne, daughter of John Leventhorp, and had by
her an only daughter, who died young. He was succeeded on his decease by Thomas, the fourth' son, who
marrying Alice, daughter and heiress of Robert Myles, esq. of Suffolk, had Robert, William, John, William,
Kenelm, Edward; Mary, married to Thomas Bolton, of Woodbridge; Susan, and Parnel. Robert, tJie
eldest son, who had this manor and rectory, with the advowson of the vicarage, and the manor and tithes
of Little Maplested, died without issue in 1628, and was succeeded by William, the second son, knighted
and created a baronet in 1628, and constituted sheriff of the county in 1638. Being in the service of
king Charles the first, he died at Oxford, and was buried there : Elizabeth, his lady, daughter of sir
Henry Capei, son and heir of Arthur, afterwards lord Capel, died in 1660, and was buried in this church.
Sir William Wiseman, hart, married first Anne, daughter and co-heiress of sir John Prescot, knt. by
whom he had no children : he married, secondly, Arabella, fifth daughter of sir Thomas Hewet, bart. of
Pishobury, in Hertfordshire, by whom he had thirteen children ; of whom William and George died young,
Thomas, and Charles succeeded to the estate ; John was a barrister of the Temple ; Arabella died young ;
Anne was married to general Henry Lumley ; Margaret, Jane, and Mary, died young; Arabella, the
youngest, was married to Thomas Stisted, of Ipswich, attorney at lavv. Sir William, the father, died in
1684, and his successor was his son, sir Thomas Wiseman, who, dying unmarried, in 1733, was succeeded
by his next brother, sir Charles, who also died unmarried in 1751. The present representative of this
family is sir William Saltonstal Wiseman, capt. R. N. of Canfield Hall, who succeeded to the title and
estate in 1810, and, in 1812, married Catharine, daughter of sir James IMackintosh, who died in 1822,
leaving a son, Edmund, heir apparent. Arms of Wiseman: Sable, a chevron, ermine, between three
coronels, argent. Crest: On a wreath, a castle triple-towered, or, port open, argent ; out of it a demi-
moor, proper ; in his right hand a dart, j)lumed and barbed, or ; in his left hand a Roman target, or.
266
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. of Westminster; and his two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, sold it to William
Peers, fi-om whom it was conveyed to John Jones, esq.
Great Canfield Park, a considerable time in possession of the Wiseman family,
in 1561, was sold, by Thomas Wiseman, to William Fitche, and afterwards conveyed
to the Maynard family.
Church. The church is of one pace with the chancel; it has a stone tower, with four bells,
above which there is a wooden parapet and shaft. Formerly there was a lofty spire,
which having- become ruinous, was taken down by order of the bishop.*
Alberic de Vere, the first earl of Oxford, gave this church to the priory of Hatfield
Regis, who ordained a vicarage here, of which they retained the patronage till their
dissolution, when passing to the crown it was, in 1553, granted, by Edward the sixth,
to Thomas Cecil, from whom it passed to the Wisemans and other proprietors.
In 1821, this parish contained four hundred and thirty-four, and, in 1831, five
hundred and eleven inhabitants.
Little
Canlield.
Inscrip
tion$.
LITTLE CANFIELD.
The village of Little Cantield is on the high road from Great Dunmow to Bishop
Stortford ; from which latter town it is distant seven, and from London thirty-five
miles. The parish occupies a pleasant and healthy part of the county.f
Previous to the Conquest, this parish belonged to two freemen, and to Ansgar and
* Inscriptions: " In memory of sir William Wiseman, bart. who married Anne, daughter and one of
the co-heirs of sir John Prescot, by whom he had no issue ; who since married Arabella, daughter of sir
Thomas Hewett, bart. and Margaret his wife, of Pishoberry, Herts, by whom he had thirteen children,
whereof eight are surviving, viz. ITiomas, William, George, Charles, John, Anne, Margaret, Arabella;
he died Jan. 14, and was buried the 23d, 1684, and in the fifty-fifth year of his age."
" Soli dei gloria: In memory of the truly virtuous the lady Anne Wiseman, wife to sir William Wise-
man, of this parish, baronet, who put off the troublesome robe of mortality the II th day of May, 1662,
leaving thefour-and-twentieth yeare of her age unfinished, whose body lies here mortgaged to the grave,
until the grand jubile; the resurrection."
" Here lyeth Eliza Tyderlegh, eldest daughter of sir William Wiseman, bart. ob. April 26, 1654."
" Here lyeth Jhonn Wiseman, esquier, sometime one of the auditors of our soveraigne lorde kynge
Henry theight, of the revenues of the crown, and Agnes his wife ; which John dyed Aug. 17, 1558."
" To the memory of lady Elizabeth Wiseman, wife of sir William Wiseman, of this place, bart- and
daughter of sir Henry Capcl, knt. son and heire of sir Arthur Capel, of Hedham Hall, in the county of
Hertford, who died April 6, 1660."
" Here lyeth buried Thomas Fytchc, of Hye Estre, esq. who had to his wif Agnes, the daughter of John
Wyseman, esquier, and had issue by her three sons and three daughters : which Thomas deceased 29th
Nov. 1588."
t Remarkable instances of longevity have occurred here. Richard Wyatt, of Little Canfield Hall,
attained the age of one hundred years and upwards ; and when he was ninety-nine, is said to have walked
from this place to Thavies-inn, in London, in one day ; his son Richard also attained the same age-
Thomas Wood was clerk of Great Canfield church seventy-eight years, and died in May 1738, aged 106
years. He kept his bed only one day, and could read without spectacles to the last.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 267
Ulwin; and at the survey had become the property of Wilham de Warren, Geofrey chap.
de Magnaville, and Alberic de Vere, and was consequently divided into three manors. '^*
The manor-house of Little Canfield Hall is a mile northward from the church; the Little
estate is what at the survey belonged to William de Warren, and continued the pro- Hail.
perty of his posterity till the extinction of the family in John, the eighth and last earl
of Warren, Surrey, and Sussex, who dying in 134-7, Alice, his sister, by marriage
conveyed this estate to Edmund Fitz-alan, earl of Arundel and Surrey; whose suc-
cessors were Richard, another Richard, beheaded in 1397, whose son Thomas was
restored in blood in 1399, but dying without issue in 1414, his four sisters became his
co-heiresses : Elizabeth was married first to William, son of William Montacute, earl
of Salisbury; secondly, to Thomas Mowbray, duke of Norfolk and earl of Surrey;
thirdly, to sir Robert Goushill, and, lastly, to sir Gerard Uffleet; Joan, the second
sister, was married to William Beauchamp, lord Abergavenny ; Margaret was married
to sir Rowland Lenthall, and afterwards to Tresham; and Alice, to John
Charleton, lord Powis, under whom this estate was holden by sir John Hende, and
afterwards by his heirs. It afterwards became the property of the Fitche family,
originally of Fitches, in Widdington, from whence descended two branches, one of
which settled at Brazenhead, in Lindsel, and the other at this place.
William,* the eldest son of Thomas Fitche, of Brazenhead, died in possession of Fitche
this manor in 1578, and it continued the property of his descendants till it was sold,
by sir William Fitche, knt. to sir Henry Maynard, knt. whose descendants have
retained this possession to the present time.
Lands called Hodings belong to this lordship. Tliey were holden of the earl of Hodings.
Oxford by Walter de Hoding, in 1302, and supposed to be what was holden in 1397,
as the fourth of a knight's fee, by Margaret Sheering; by John Boucher in 1446, and
by Thomas Moore in the reign of Elizabeth.
The manor of Lano^thorns was holden by Richard, earl of Arundel, of Humphrey L^mg-
* ■' thorns.
de Bohun, who died in 1372; and John Someray, who died in 1416, had this manor
for life, as the gift of Thomas, earl of Arundel. William Scott, esq. of Chigwell,
held it of the dutchy of Lancaster, and it descended to his son, John Scott, who died
in 1526, and was succeeded by his cousin, Walter Scott. It afterwards belonged to
Ady CoUard, esq. of Bernston, who left it by will to Howland, esq. This manor
is what belonged to Geofrey de Magnaville at the time of the survey.
* William Fitche, by his first wife Elizabeth, had two sons and three daughters; and by his second
wife Anne, daughter of John Wiseman, of Felstcd, had Thomas, and three others, who died without
offspring. Thomas, the eldest son of Thomas and Anne Fitche, married Agnes, daughter of John Wise-
man, esq. of Great Canfield, by whom he had three sons and three daughters: on his decease in 1588,
his eldest son William was his heir, who dying in 1608, without issue, was succeeded by sir William
Fitche, the son of his brother Thomas, who sold this estate.
268
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
I400K 1!
Stone
Hall.
Howland
t'aiiiiiv.
CImrch.
Stone Hall is a reputed manor, its name derived from the mansion being- of stone ;
it lies north-eastward from the chm'ch, and the lands belonoinjr to it extend to Little
Easton and Dunmow. This estate is supposed to be that which Nicholas de Aldithely,
or Audley, claimed against Drogo, son of William de Barentyn, and Robert de Bray.
Thomas Raven is mentioned as of this place in a deed dated 1385; and it passed from
him to Thomas Nuttal; succeeded by Thomas Rampston : it afterwards belonged to
Robert Rampston, esq. yeoman of the chamber to Edward the sixth, queen Mary^
and Elizabeth. He charged his estate with twenty-two pounds in yearly charity to
the poor of several parishes in Essex, and to certain prisons in Middlesex.* He died
in 1585, and was buried in Chingford church, where his wife Margaret was after-
wards laid : previous to her marriage with him, she was the widow of Elencoe,
and her second husband left this estate to her son, Nicholas Blencoe, esq. who died in
1625, and was succeeded by a son or relation of the same name, who mortgaged it to
Thomas Gwillim, esq. of Highgate, and he, in 1647, sold it to Charles Howland, esq.
third son of William Howland, of this parish, who left it to his brother George ; suc-
ceeded in this possession by George his son, father of Charles, who married Elizabeth,
daughter of Matthew Pinchback, of Great Dunmow, by whom he had seven sons and
two daughters. Matthew, the eldest son, married Hannah, daughter of George
Coldham, esq. of Haverhill, by whom he had several sons and daughters.f
The church is small, and of one pace with the chancel : a small belfry, with a wooden
spire, contains three bells.J
Insciip
tions.
* The places to receive this donation were, Chingford, three pounds ; Walthara Holy Cross, two pounds ;
Walthamstow, two pounds ; Woodford, one pound; Loughton, one pound; Chigwell, two pounds ; Wan-
sted, one pound; East Ham, one pound; West Ham, one pound; Layton, one pound; Enfield, two
pounds ; to Newgate, King's Bench, and Marshalsea prisons, each one pound ; to both Compters, ten
shillings each.
f Arms of Howland : Argent, two bars, and three lions rampant, sable, in chief. Crest : An ounce,
passant, sable, gorged with a ducal coronet, or.
X The vestry is on the north side of the chancel, and has the following inscription over the door : " This
vestry, with the vault underneath it, designed for the burial-place of himself and family, was erected by
James Wyatt, esq. in the year 1757 ; who also, in the following year, contributed the sura of sixty guineas
for completing the ceiling of the church, and covering the spire with lead."
Inscriptions.—" James Wyatt, of Little Canfield Hall, to the memory of his dear father, and ancestors."
" Richard Wyatt, who died May 3, 1664, aged 103 years. Richard, son of Richard Wyatt, who died
Feb. C, 1696, also aged lOD years. Richard Wyatt, gentleman, who died May 9, 1715. Richard Wyatt,
gent, of Little Canfield Hall, who died Feb. 7, 1741, aged 82. Mrs. Elizabeth Wyatt, relict of Richard
Wyatt, the elder, who died Dec. 16, 1750, aged 90. John Wyatt, gent, son of Richard Wyatt, died July 4,
1757, aged 68." Arms of Wyatt : Gules, a fesse, or, with three boars' heads coupee, argent, between
three lions rampant, sable. Crest : on a closed helmet, and a torse azure and or, a lion rampant, sable,
mantled argent, doubled gules.
" Here lyethe buried under this stone the body of William Fytche, esq. late lord of this towne, which
had two wyffes, Elizabeth and Ann ; and the said William had yssue by Elizabeth his first wyffe, two
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 269
This church and rectory were given to the priory of Lewes, in Sussex, probably by C H A f.
William de Warren, the founder of that house, in 1078 : on the dissolution of monas- '
teries, it was granted, by Henry the eighth, to Thomas Cromwell, earl of Essex, on
whose attainder, again passing to the king, he, in 1545, granted it to James Gunter
and William Lewis, who sold the advowson of this rectory to William Glascock,
whose descendants presented to it about one hundred years: after which it was pur-
chased by Christ's College, Cambridge.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and forty-nine, and-
in 1831, to two hundred and seventy-seven.
THE KODINGS.
Eight parishes (originally nine) in this part of the county have retained the ancient The
Saxon name of Robinjs, in the record of Domesday, Rodinges, the Ings or Meadows
by the Rodon, on the borders of which river they are situated.* This district is of con-
siderable extent, and forms the first of the eight divisions of the county adopted by Mr.
Arthur Young, to assist in distinguishing the characteristic varieties of soil. The divi-
sion referred to, has been named the " crop and fallow," and also the "district of the
Rodings : " the whole of what has been so distinguished extends from Willingale Doe
on the south, to Wimbish northward; and from Felsted on the east, to Hallingbury on
the west. The soil here is described as a strong, wet, heavy, reddish or brown loam
upon a whitish marly clay; not yielding good crops without hollow draining and good
husbandry. The whole district is hilly, and the surface loam in the vales is better and
drier than on the hills, forming in some instances a very good soil.f Formerly the
sonnes and three daughters, and by Anne his second wyffe, foure sonnes, and the sayde William being of
the age of 82 yeres, changed this life on the 20th Dec. 1578."
"Ann, daughter of John Wiseman, esq. of Felsted, first married to Thomas Fitche, esq. sometime lord
of this parish, by whom she had Thomas, William, and Francis ; after her first husband's death, she was
married to Ralph Pudsor, esq. of Gray's-inn: she died Dec. 3, 1593."
" Thomas Rodea, of Takely, gent. ob. Aug. 17, 1657."
" The rev. Thomas Atherson, M.A., rector of this parish, who died June 14, 1749, aged 64. A pious
and learned divine."
* A Correspondent to the Gentleman's Magazine considers the derivation of the name of the Roodings,
or Rodings, from the river Rodon, to be erroneous ; observing, that there were nine stations for pilgrims,
in the respective parishes, still bearing the surname of Rooding, or, as sometimes written, Ruding; and
as these stations were formerly called Rood stations, a term derived from the holy rood, or cross, it is
more than probable the name has had this origin. To these stations, there were very lucrative emolu-
ments attached ; but what is very remarkable, though these facts are currently reported in the county, no
mention of them is made by Camden. — Gent. Mag. vol. xci. p. 64.
t Tlie crop and fallow system, as it is managed here, is considered by the inhabitants to be the only
mode that can be pursued with success ; the average annual produce being, wheat 24, and barley 36,
•l?ushels per acre.
VOL. II. 2 N
270 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. district of the Rodings was proverbially distinguished by the badness of the roads and
the uncouth manners of the inhabitants ; but great improvement has taken place in
these respects.
HIGH RODING.
'^'S'; This parish receives its distinguishing- appellation as lying' farther up the stream of
the river, and being on higher ground than the others ; having been anciently con-
sidered as the chief, or inost important, it was on that account sometimes named Great
Roding. Distant from Dunmow five, and from London thirtj^-four miles.
Tins parish and Avthorp Roding, previous to the Conquest, belonged to the
monastery of Ely; but the monks, for giving shelter to their fugitive countrymen,
having incurred the Conqueror's displeasure, were deprived of these possessions,
which were given to William de Warren, created earl of Surrey by William Rufus,
in 1088; he died the same year, and was succeeded by his son W^illiam, earl of Warren
and Surrey, who died in 1138, succeeded by his grandson William, in 1148; whose
only daughter Isabel, by marriage, conveyed it to W'^illiam of Blois, who died in 1160,
and was succeeded by Hameline Plantagenet in 1201; holden, in 1210 and 1211, by
\Mlliam Plantagenet, who died in 1240: succeeded by John, who died in 1304;
whose grandson, John, was his successor, and dying in 1347, without issue, was suc-
ceeded by his sister Alice, married to Edmund Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, who, falling
a victim to the intrigues of queen Isabel and Roger Mortimer, was beheaded in 1326 :
Richard his son, restored in blood, died in 1375, and his son, of the same name, was
beheaded in 1397. Thomas, earl of Arundel, his son, was restored in blood and to
the possession of this and his other estates ; and out of this, he is stated to have given
ten quarters of wheat jearly, to the prioress of Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire : dying in
1414, without surviving offspring, his sisters became his co-heiresses: these were,
Elizabeth, duchess of Norfolk, and, at the duke's decease, married to sir Gerard Ufflet;
Joanna de Beauchamp, lady Bergavenny; and Margaret, married to sir Rowland
Lenthall. In 1477, Thomas Boteler, earl of Ormond, had this estate : his onlv
daughter was married to sir William Boleyn, father of Thomas Boleyn, earl of W^ilt-
shire, who had two daughters, queen Anne Boleyn, and Mary, married first to William
Carey, and afterwards to sir William Stafford; who, in 1554, sold this manor to sir
Thomas Jocelyn, and he died in possession of it in 1562: and in whose family it con-
tinued about two hun(h-ed years.* High Rodiug-bury, or hall, is near the church;
* This family is of groat anticiiiity, tiiere being twenty-four successive generations in tlieir jjedigrec.
Kgidius Jocelyn, a nobleman of Brittany, passed into England in the time of Edward the confessor, and
was father of sir Gilbert Jocelyn. who returned into Normandy, and accompanying the Conqueror in his
expedition against England, obtained from him the manors of Sempringham ; he left issue two sons,
Gilbert and Geofrey. The eldest was born at Sempringham, and founded the Cistercian monastery of
that place, the monks of which were, from him, called Gilbertines ; he died in 1180, and was canonised
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 271
■a.nd Newhall Jocelyn, or Davies Hall, is nearly a mile distant from it westward : it is ^ h a i'.
supposed to have been built by some of the Jocelyn family, about a century and a half ^_1_—
ago ; it was a large house, with a court and chapel, and in the windows of the hall and
parlour there were several coats of arms.*
by pope Innocent the third, in 1202. GeoiVey de Jocelyn (his brother having embraced a religious life)
inherited the estate. Thomas Jocelyn was his descendant, who married, in 1229, Maud, daughter and
co-heiress of sir John Hyde, of Hyde Hall, in Hertfordshire; and by this marriage the earls of Roden
became possessed of that estate, which they have retained to the present time.
From the time of king Henry the third, this family produce their marriages in the following order :
Thomas, son of Thomas and Maud, married Joan, daughter of John Blunt; Ralph, their son, married
Maud, daughter of sir John Sutton ; Geofrey, their son, married Margaret, daughter of Robert Rokel ; Ralph,
their son, married Margaret, daughter of John Palmer; Geofrey, their son, married Katharine, daughter
of sir Thomas Bray ; Thomas, their son, married Alice, daughter of Lewis Duke ; George, their son, married
Maud, daughter of Edmund Bardolf ; John, their son, married Philippa, daughter of William Bradbury ;
who had sir Thomas, of High Roding. Sir Thomas Jocelyn, lineally descended from the first sir Thomas,
received the honour of knighthood from king Edward the sixth, and married Dorothy, daughter of sir
Geofrey Gate, by whom he had : Thomas and Leonard ; Richard, who succeeded his father ; Henry, who
married Anne, heiress of Humphrey Torrel, of Torrel's Hall, in Willingale Dou ; John, a very learned
antiquarian, secretary to archbishop Parker, and who was his assistant in collecting materials and writing
" Antiquitates Britannicae," (published by that learned prelate). He published, " Praefatio ad Epistolam
Gildae de Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae ;" several Saxon collections, with an English version, and a long
preface. " Libri Saxonici qui ad manus Jocelini venerunt ; necnon nomine corum, qui scripserunt Historian!
Gentis Angloruin, et ubi extant, per Th. Hearne." Also, " New England's Rarities Discovered, in birds,
beasts, fishes, serpents, and plants of that country ; with the remedies used by the natives to cure their
diseases, &c."
Arms of Jocelyn : Azure, a circular vvrcatli, or torse, argent and sable, with four hawks' bells attached
to it, or. Crest : A falcon's leg erased at the thigh proper, belled or. Supporters : Two falcons' wings
inverted proper, belled or. Motto : " Faire mon devoir. To do my duty."
* Inscriptions. — " Here lyeth buried the bodyes of Edward Jocelyn, esq. fourth son of sir Thomas Inscrip-
Jocelyn,late of Newhall Jocelyns, in the parish of High Rothinge, in the county of Essex, knight of the ^'^"S-
Hath ; and Mary his wife, the only daughter and heire of John Lambe, late of Middlesex, gent, by whom
he had six sones and eight daughters. He died April 15, 1627 : she Feb. 22, 1614."
" John Jocelyn, esquire, interred here doth lie.
Sir Thomas Jocelyn's third son, of worthy me-
mory.
Thrice noble was this gentleman by birth, by
learning great.
By single, chast, and godly life, he won in heaven
a seate ;
He the year one thousand and five hundred twenty-
nine was born.
Not twenty yeares old liim Cambridge did with
two degrees adorn.
King's [should he Queen's] college him a fellow
chose, in anno forty- nine.
In learning tryde whereto he did his mind ahvaies
incline.
But others took the praise and fame of his deserving
wit,
And his inventions, as their own, to printing did
commit.
One thousand six hundred and three, it grieves all
to remember,
He left this life, (poor's daily friend), the twenty-
eighth December."
Charities : John Jocelyn, of Sawbridgevvorth, and his son of the same name, of High Roding, gave six (^i,a,itips
milch kine for ever; the profits of two of them for the reparation of the church ; the other four for an
obit for themselves, and the souls of their ancestors. — In 1616, James (Chopping gave thirteen shillings
2T2 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a small low building, with a wooden turret
~ J and spire, and three bells.
This rectory was given to the priory of Lewes, in Suffolk, by some of the Warren
family, the founders of that house ; and on the dissolution of monasteries, was, by
Henry the eighth, given to Thomas lord Cromwell, on whose attainder it again
passed to the crown, and was conveyed, with the manor, to the Jocelyn family.
There is no parsonage-house, nor any traces of its former existence ; yet, according
to Newcourt, " there were twenty acres of land together, and a hoppet, where the site
should be looked for."
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to three hundred and eighty-eight,
and in 1831, to four hundred and five.
AYTROP RODING.
Aytiop -pj^g parish of Aytrop or Eythorp Roding is believed to have been named from an
ancient possessor, in the time of king Edward the first; in records, it is written
Eythorpe, Aylthorpe, Gytrop, and Roinges Grumbalds: it extends southward from
High Roding; in circumference, computed to be eight miles. Distant from Dunmow
six, and from London thirty-two miles.
A nobleman, named Leofwine, was the owner of this parish before the Conquest,
which he gave to the abbot and monks of Ely, to atone for the unnatural crime of the
murder of his mother. But it was taken from them by king William, and given to
William de Warren, except a part of it, holden by Samar, a Saxon; which Eudo
Dapifer, and his under-tenant, Turgis, afterwards had. There are three manors.
Aytrop Aytrop Roding Hall is near the west end of the church. This manor appears to
Hall. have been made part of the endowment of the bishopric of Ely; for Nigel, the second
bishop of that see, granted it to Alberic de Vere, earl of Oxford, by the service of two
knights' fees; and, in 1165, Simon de Roinges held two fees of the bishop of Ely; but
Alberic had the service of them. And in 1221, the earl of Oxford held four fees here
of the bishop ; and Robert and William de Roding possessed them in the reign of
Henry the third. Afterwards they appear in five generations of a family surnamed
De Aytrop, who held under the earls of Oxford, and whose name first occurs in
records in the time of Edward the first. In 1337, sir Thomas Weston, brother of sir
Humphrey, of Prested Hall, had this estate, which his daughter and co-heiress, Mar-
garet, conveyed, by marriage, to John de Louvaine, of Little Easton: Alianor, one of
and four pence to the poor, out of a cottage called Hills ; and a tenement and two crofts called Tooleys,
and two other crofts called Kingsleys, in Great Dunmow, were charged with the payment of twenty shil-
lings for ever to the poor of this parish. The field called Little Rowland, he also gave to the poor.—
Sir Strange Jocelyn, and his brother Edward, rector here, endowed a school for teaching poor children :
the house is in the Street.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 273
her daughters and co-heiresses, was married to sir William Bourchier ; and to this chap.
lady, her aunt Isabella, sister and co-heiress with her mother, gave her portion of the '
estate of sir Thomas Weston ; the whole of which, including this manor, appears to
have remained in the Bourchier family, till it descended to Anne, daughter of Henry
Bourchier, the last earl of Essex of this line, and married to William, marquis of
Northampton, who, having advocated the cause of lady Jane Grey, forfeited this
with his other estates.
In 15T0, this manor was granted by queen Elizabeth to Walter Devereux, viscount
Hereford, heir to the marchioness of Northampton, and afterwards earl of Essex. In
1607, Thomas Aylett died in possession of this estate, leaving his son Thomas his
heir ; whose descendants made a sacrifice of this and other possessions to support the
cause of king Charles the first. It belonged to Richard Luther, esq. in 1670, and
afterwards became the property of the Barrington family, of Hatfield Broadoak.
The mansion of the manor of Keeres is a mile south-eastward from the church : it Keeres.
was in possession of Thomas Aylett in 1607, who held it of Peter Palmer, esq.: in the
time of Charles the first, it was holden by John Eve ; and in the writings is named
Caros. Sir John Barrington purchased this estate, in 1661, with the sum of six hun-
dred pounds, left by John Gobert, esq, for charitable uses, to which it has been
appropriated.
A manorial estate, a mile and a half distant south-eastward from the church, which Friar's
was holden of Tiltey priory, by Thomas Eve, is named the Grange : it was included in
a grant from king Henry the eighth to Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, who sold it,
in 1538, to Robert Trappes; from whom it passed to a family surnamed Stokes; and
to Dey, whose descendant, Edward Dey, a ship-builder, sold it to Jacob
Houblon, esq. of Great Hallingbury.
The church is a small building, dedicated to the Virgin Mary: it has a wooden ciuuch.
tui'ret, with three bells.
The rectory originally belonged to the chief manor, from which being purchased,
it has passed to various proprietors.
In 1821, this parish contained two hundred and thirty-four, and in 1831, two
hundred and fifty-nine inhabitants.
WHITE RODING.
This parish extends from Aytrop Roding to the south-western extremity of the White
hundred, and is bounded on the east by Margaret and Leaden Rodings. The situation ° ' ^'
is on high ground, healthy and pleasant; and the road to Hatfield Regis passes through
the village. Distant from Dunmow eight, and from London twenty-eight miles.
A freeman, named Turchill, held lands in this parish in the time of the Saxons ; but
the whole was annexed to the royal demesnes of the Conqueror; and in Domesday
274 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BUDK II. book, the name of Roger de Otburville occurs, as holding of the khig, what had
belonged to the said Turchill. There are two manors.
Uhiie The manor of White Roding-bury was in possession of Walter de Merc in 1226,
Uuiy. " who held it by the sergeantry of keeping the king's falcons or hawks. Sir Walter de
Merc, or Merk, was his successor ; whose son William was a minor at his father's
decease. In 1268, Isabella, daughter of William de Baynayns, had this possession,
and obtained the grant of a market and a fair. In 1296, the manor and advowson of
the church were granted, by king Edward the first, to John de Merks, with remainder
to his sister. Cicely de Hastings, wife of Humphrey de Hastings, who held this manor,
and that of Cumberton, in Cambridgeshire, at the time of her decease, in 1304, by the
service of keeping, for the king's use, two falcons for heron-hawking; and a grey-
hound, trained to make a lieron rise. This estate is afterwards named, sometimes the
manor of White Roding, and sometimes of Merks: in 1317, sir Peter de Cusance
died in possession of it; and sir William, his son, held it from 1322 to 1329 : in 1346,
Thomas Longeville held it jointly with his wife Beatrix,* on his decease, married to
sir William de Queneton, to whom she is supposed to have given this estate, which,
after her decease, he held jointly with his wife Isabel; the remainder in Henry, son
of Henry Green, of Isham, and of his heirs. Sir William died in 1374, and Isabel,
his lady, in 1387, her heir being sir Henry Green, from whom the estate descended
to several collateral branches of the family, till Constance, daughter of Henry, son of
John, and grandson of sir Henry Green, conveyed it, by marriage, to John Stafford,
son of Humphrey, duke of Buckingham, and earl of Wiltshire : she died in 1475,
leaving Edward her son, who died a minor; and this estate went to Humphrey Browne,
(sergeant-at-laAv,) in right of his wife Anne, one of the daughters of sir Henry Vere,
of Addington, son of Isabella Green, sister of Henry Green, esq. of Drayton, in
Northamptonshire, father of Constance, as before stated. It remained in this family
till 1633, when it was purchased by sir Richard Everard ; and his son, sir Richard,
died in possession of it in 1648. In 1686, it was purchased by John le Neve; and in
1717, had descended to his son of the same name, who sold it to Robert Summer,
esq. merchant, of London, and to Hookman, esq.
t'olviiie. The mansion of White Roding-bury is near the church; and that of Merks is
about a mile distant from it northward. Colville, or Coverts-hall, was formerly con-
sidered as belonging to the manor of White Roding-bury, and passed along with it, till
it became the property of the munificent Mrs. Prisca Coburne, when, in 1701, this
valuable estate was left by her for the relief of the widows of poor or unfortunate sea-
men of the parish of Stepney. The house is three quarters of a mile north-west
* John de Longeville was kis son, and had Kitchen Hall, in Harlow, but does not appear to have had
this estate. Beatrix died in 1319, and John Whiteband, and Roger Greenkirtle, her cousins, were
her heirs.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 275
from the church: it was originally a large building, but part of it has been pulled c H A i'
down. ''^'
The manor-house of Maskels-bury is an ancient building, moated round., about half Maskels
a mile distant south-eastward from the church ; the name does not occur in records
till the time of Edward the third : Henry de Broke held it of the king, as of his
honour of the count of St. Paul, in 1291, as did also his son John in 1351, whose son
and heir was Thomas de Broke; after whom the next possessor was Bartholomew de
Fresteling, who sold it to John Pakeman, junior ; of whom it was purchased by sir
John Hende, citizen and cloth-worker, of London ; whose son John dying in posses-
sion of it, left his only daughter Joan his heiress, who was married to Walter Writtle,
esq. ; in whose family the line of descent failing, and Elizabeth, the widow of sir John,
having been married after his decease to Ralph Boteler, afterwards baron Sudley, he
by her gift, or otherwise, became possessed of this estate; which, on his decease, in
1473, went to one of his sisters, who being married to Haman Bellknap, esq. had by
him William, the father of sir Edward Bellknap, who died in 1521, possessed of it,
and from whose three sisters, his co-heiresses, it was conveyed, in 1544, to Anthony
Cooke, esq. the learned preceptor of king Edward the sixth; after whose decease,
in 1576, it was conveyed from his son and heir Richard, to Philip Cotton, esq.
who, dying in 1607, left sir Robert Cotton, the son of his brother Thomas, his
heir.*
Sir John Morris, of Cheping Ongar, marrying Katharine, daughter and heiress of
Gabriel Poyntz, esq. of North Okingdon, assumed the name of Poyntz, and had
Maskels-bury at the time of his decease, in 1618 : his successor was his son, sir James
Poyntz, who died in 1623; Richard, his son and heir, died unmarried in 1643; and
his sister Anne, married to sir Fulke Greville, had this estate, which was sold to sir
Robert Abdy, ancestor of sir William Abdy, bart. of Felix Hall.
Morell Roding was formerly a parish, but has become a hamlet to White Roding, Rodinq
yet the suit and service of the court-leet, by ancient custom, belongs to the hundred
of Harlow. Before the Conquest, it was holden under Wisgar by Coleman, a free
* He was born in 1570, and in his eighteenth year began to collect ancient records, charters, and other
MSS. Camden, Selden, and Speed, acknowledge their obligations to him. He was highly esteemed by
queen Elizabeth, and by James the first, who created him a baronet. He was the author of numerous
publications on political and other subjects ; but our principal obligation to him is for his valuable
library of curious MSS. which he was forty years in collecting. He died in 1631, and left this collection
to his family, though designed for public use ; it had been much enlarged by private benefactions, before
his death, as it was aftei-wards by the purchases of his heirs, and donations of others, who added to it a
great number of books, chiefly relating to the history and antiquities of Hritain. In 1700, at the request
of sir John Cotton, an act of parliament was obtained for preserving it after his decease, under the deno-
mination of the Cottonian Library, for public use, and it is now fixed in the British Museum. Statutes
relating to it arc. 12th and 13th of William III. cap. 5, and 5th Anne, cap. 30.
276
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Games
Hall.
BOOK II. tenant, and belonged to Richard Fitz-Gislebert at the time of the survey. In 1392,
Tliomas Stafford, earl of Stafford, died possessed of this estate, from whom it passed
to his brother, earl William, in 1398; to Edmund in 1402, and to Henry Stafford,
duke of Buckingham, in 1548.
Tlie manor-house is supposed to have received its name of Kemys, or Games, from
an ancient possessor of the family of Camoys. Andrew Prior held this manor of
Edward, duke of Buckingham, at the time of his decease in 1507, whose heir and
successor was his son John: in 1646, it was in the possession of John Prest, esq,
whose descendants held it till the time of king Charles the first, when, in 1638, it was
in possession of Richard Luther, from whom it passed to his son Anthony, and his
descendants.
The little church, or chapel, near Games Hall, of timber and mortar, was sometime
ago to be seen converted into a pigeon-house.
The church of White Roding, dedicated to St. Martin, is a handsome structure,
and forms a conspicuous object at a great distance: a large square tower, embattled,
with a tall spire, leaded, contains five bells.* The parsonage is a good convenient
building, and there are between fifty and sixty acres of glebe lands.
This parish, Avith the hamlet of Morell Roding, in 1821, contained four hundred
and thirty-nine, and, in 1831, four hundred and seventy-nine inhabitants.
Chapel.
Church
Leaden
Roding.
LEADEN RODING.
Leaden Roding is probably conjectured to have received its name from the cir-
cumstance of the church being the first that was covered with lead. It is a small
parish, surrounded by High Easter, and the Rodings named Margarets, White and
Eythorp; distant from Dunmow eight, and from London twenty-six miles.
* Inscription : " In a vault beneath this marble are deposited the remains of the rev. John Maryon,
A. M. rector of this church, who was born at White Roding the 18th day of April, 1692, and departed this
life the nth day of November, 1760, in the 69th year of his age. Of whom it may with great truth be
aiBrmed, that his whole life and conduct were a continual recommendation of the doctrines he taught.
The innocence and simplicity of his manners, his constant patronage and protection of the poor, and his
unfeigned piety, rendered him an example well worthy of imitation. He was eminent in the practice of
all the social virtues ; and his behaviour as a gentleman, a magistrate, and a minister of the gospel, made
him justly esteemed. Notwithstanding he was blessed with a very considerable temporal estate, and
might have attained to the highest ecclesiastical dignities, no inducement could prevail on him to change
the place of his residence, or trust the charge committed to him to the care of another; for he continued
here nearly forty years, in a diligent and faithful discharge of every pastoral duty : that the many virtues
of so worthy a relation and so sincere a friend may be transmitted to posterity, John Jones, esq. and
Margaretta Maria, his wife, have caused this monument to be erected to his memory. In the same vault
lie also the bodies of Jane, the wife of the above-mentioned John Maryon, and of Walter and John, their
sons, who both died in their youth. Also, the bodies of the rev, Joseph Maryon, sometime rector of this
church, and Margaret his wife, the parents of the said John Maryon."
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. STf
This parish, in the reign of Edward the confessor, was in the occupation of a free- chap.
woman, and was part of the thirteen knights' fees belonging to earl Warren in 1210. ^^'
There is only one manor, and the mansion is near the church, on the north-east.
In 1314, this manor was granted by John, earl Warren, to Edward Fitz-Alan, Manor.
earl of Arundel, under whom it was holden by sir Hugh Blount, at the time of his
decease in 1361. John Doreward, in 1392, held it under Thomas, duke of Gloucester,
whose descendants retained possession till, by female heirship, it passed to the family
of Waldegrave, and was in possession of William Waldegrave, esq. in 1538, con-
tinuing in possession of his descendants till it was conveyed from Thomas, son of
Thomas Waldegrave, esq. to Hugh Everard, esq. who died in 1637, and left this
estate to his son, sir Richard Everard, hart, from whom it was afterwards conveyed
to Timothy Brand, esq. of the Hide, in Ingatestone, who left it to his son Thomas.
The rev. Thomas Brand, ancestor of this family, was rector, and died here in 1654: -—
he had two sons, Thomas and John; the former of whom gave an annuity of five
pounds for teaching children to read.
The church is small, of one pace with the chancel, and both of equal breadth; a Church,
wooden frame, with a spire, contains three bells.*
This rectory was given to the priory of Castle Acre, in Surrey, by William de
Warren, the founder of that house in 1085.
In 1821, this parish contained one hundred and fifty-seven, and, in 1831, one
hundred and forty-seven inhabitants,
MARGARET RODING.
This parish extends southward from Leaden Roding, and is bounded on the east Margaret
. . . . ... Roding.
by Good Easter: its circumference is estimated to be six miles; distant from Dunmow
seven, and from London twenty-seven miles.
Ansgar and a freeman held it in the time of Edward the confessor; and, at the time
of the survey, it belonged to Geofrey de Magna ville and William de Warren, their
under-tenants being Rainalm and Martel. There are two manors.
The manor-house of Roding Marsraret is at the east-end of the church ; it is called Roding
Olives, and Garnets, and vulgarly Garnish Hall. Henry Garnett held this manor Hall.
under the De Veres, earls of Oxford, from 1329 to 1332; and it is stated in the
feodary of that illustrious house, that in 1268, Robert de Rootinge held under them
these two fees, of the fee of the bishop of Ely,f as did also John de la Lee in 1350;
and John de la Lee and Robert Dersham in 1360 and 1371.
* Mr. Symonds found the following remarkable escutcheon in the east window of the chancel :
Redemptoris nostri arma. Or, a cross, gules, at the top a cock, at the bottom three nails, a spear and
reed in saltire, argent, a spunge. — Collect, fol. 489.
t It is hence supposed to be part of what Leofwin gave to the bishop of Ely.
VOL. II. 2 o
278
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II. In 1360, William de Bohun, earl of Northampton, and William Olive, had this
estate, holden by John de Bampton in 1371 : and the reversion of this manor, in which
John de Boteler is said to have had a life-estate, was in Humphrey de Bohun, earl of
Hereford and Essex in 1372; as was also the manor of Rodiug Margaret, which
Thomas Symond had unjustly taken. This estate appears to have been retained
longest in the Leigh family; it was in possession of Thomas Leigh in 1390 and 1400;
of John in 1424; Robert in 1437; Roger in 1442. Of Thomas Leigh, esq. in 1479,
who died in 1509, as did Henry his son in 1495: Giles, son of Henry, became the
heir of his grandfather Thomas; and, at the time of his decease in 1538, left Margaret
and Agnes, his daughters, co-heiresses; married to the two brothers, John and
Christopher AUeyn, avIio had each his portion of this estate ; Christopher and his wife
Agnes both died on the same day, the 1st of February, 1554, leaving Giles their
son and heir. John, son of John AUeyn, died in 1558, possessed of this manor of
Garnets and Olives; succeeded by Giles, who died in 1608, holding the estate of sir
Francis Huberd, as of his manor of Stansted Montfitchet. Samuel, son of Giles,
succeeded, who died in 1614; and Isaac, his brother, succeeding him, had for his suc-
cessor Giles Alleyn, of Haseley, esq. who sold this estate to John Godebold, esq. of
Terling Hall.
Marks. The mansion of Marks, or Marcas-fee, is a brick building, half a mile distant from
the church northward. This manor is supposed to have been a chapelry, not dependant
on the church of this parish, but of Standon Marci.* From the name of this manor
it is supposed to have some time belonged to the Merk family. There was formerly
a chapel here, but it has been entirely destroyed : institutions to it are recorded in the
London Registry.
In 1403, king Henry the fourth, and Walter Skirlaw, bishop of Durham, settled
this manor, with appertenances, on University College, Oxford. The king's name
appears in connexion with the bishop, yet the latter was the sole benefactor: he pur-
chased Marks Hall, and had it conveyed from the king to the college, to avoid the
expense and trouble of the inquisition required in cases of mortmain, and that it might
be holden of the king.
Climcii. The church and chancel are of one pace, both tiled; and a wooden turret, with a
spire, contains four bells. The entrance on the west end is under an arch, with
indented Saxon ornaments, supported by wreathed pillars. This church is dedicated
to St. Margaret. Tithes in this parish, belonging to the abbey and convent of St.
Alban's, were compounded for, by a pension of forty-six marks and eightpence, payable,
according to Mr. Salmon, out of the manor of Marks.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and nine, and, in
1831, to two hundred and thirty-three.
* See Smith's Annals of University College, published in 1728. Garnet's Hall was what belonged to
Geofrey de RIagnaville; and Marks was holden under William de Warren, by Marcel.
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 279
CHAP.
RODING BERNERS.
IX.
This is the smallest, and the most southern of the RodinjOfs in this hundred, and was Rt)'l'°s
° _ Beiners.
holden under Geofrey de Mandeville by Hugh de Berners, at the survey, having, in
the time of the Confessor, been in possession of Uluric. This village is distant from
Ongar six, and from London tvrenty-seven miles. There is only one manor.
Berners Hall is near the church southward. The estate was in possession of Ralph Bernevs
Hall
Berners, who died in 1297, and was holden by sir John de Berners in 1372; his son,
sir James Berners, was imprisoned and beheaded, in 1388, for the alleged crime of
having given evil advice to king Richard the second; and this, with his other estates,
passing to the crown, was purchased by Thomas, archbishop of York, and other
feoffees, for the use of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, who, at the time
of his death, held it of Joan, countess of Hereford, as of the honour of Mandeville.
It was purchased of his executors by Richard Torrel, of Little Thurrock, whose son
Thomas held it at the time of his death in 1442, and it was in possession of his son John
in 1444, when he had to sustain a suit at laAV, instituted against him, on account of this
estate, by sir John Bourchier, lord Berners, and Margery his wife, daughter and
sole heiress of Richard, son of the said sir James Berners: but in 1452, a final agree-
ment was made between the parties, by which John Bourchier, with Margery his
wife, gave up all right and claim to this estate, on receiving fifty marks of silver. It
is not known how long the Torrel family retained the estate after this event, but, in
1569, Philip Mordaunt died in possession of it, and was succeeded by his son John,
who, in 1574, was followed by James, his younger brother, who dying a few months
after, was succeeded by his brother, Robert Mordaunt, esq. of Little Massingham, in
Norfolk, who died in 1604, and left this and other large estates to Lestrange Mor-
daunt, esq. the son of his brother Henry; who sold it to sir Arthur and sir Edward
Capel; after whom, the next possessor was Henry Capel, esq. succeeded by James
Thwayts, whose son Josias was his heir. It afterwards passed to George Barker,
surgeon, and others; and to Thomas Berney Bramston, esq. in whose family it has
remained to the present time.
The church is small, with a wooden turret containing one bell. It was given to Church.
the monastery of St. Leonard, of Bow, in Middlesex; and the prioress and convent
appropriating the tithes to themselves, hired a curate for a small stipend, and it has
since remained a donative or curacy in the gift of the patron. This impropriate
rectory, in 1540, was granted, by Henry the eighth, to sir Ralph Sadler, and has since
belonged to numerous proprietors.
Juliana Berners, daughter of sir James Berners, of this parish, has been celebrated Juliana
by various authors as very learned ; and, undoubtedly, she had the best education that
could be obtained in that age, as she was appointed prioress of Sopewell nunnery, near
280
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. St. Alban's, sometime before the year 1460. This lady was exceedingly beautiful,
and fond of masculine exercises, particularly hunting and hawking. On these subjects,
and on heraldry, she wrote treatises which were so popular, that they were amongst
the first printed books in the English language, in the infancy of the art. Her death
is not recorded. Her works are, " The Treatyses perteynynge to Hawkynge,
Huntynge, and Fishynge with an angle;" and also a "ryght noble treatyse of the
lygnage of cot armours, endynge with a treatise, which specyfyeth of blazing of armys,
Lond. 1496, fol." The first edition of her treatise on hawking was printed at St.
Alban's, in 1481. The book on armoury has, near its commencement, the following
curious piece of sacred heraldry: "of the offspring of the gentilman Jafeth," (she
certainly meant Shem) "came Habraham, Moyses, Aron, and the profettys; and also
the kpigs of the right lyne of Mary, of whom that gentilman Jhesus was borne,
very God and man; after his manhode kynge of the land of Jude and of Jues,
gentilman by his modre Mary, prince of cote armure, &c."*
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to ninety-three, and, in 1831, to
one hundred.
Shellow
Bowells.
Manor-
house.
SHELLOW BOWELLS.
This small parish is on the south-eastern extremity of the hundred, on the north
bounded by Roding Berners, and southward by Willingale Dou. The name in
records is written Shelewe, Schelewe, Schelowe, Scelga, Selges, Schelve. If, as is
believed, what appears in Domesday-book under Scelga, refers to this parish, it was
at that time much larger than at present, containing three large manors, holden by
Eudo Dapifer and Geofrey de Mandeville, and had, in the Confessor's reign, belonged
to Harol Uluric, his under-tenant, a freeman, and others. At that time part of it
extended to the Rodings, and much of it is supposed to have been annexed to the
contiguous manor of Torrel's Hall, in Willingale Dou. There is only one manor,
and the house is near the church westward; its earliest possessors were of a family
named De Bowel, Boel, or Bowles, from whom it has taken its distinguishing appel-
lation. Sir John Sutton succeeded, who gave it, in 1301, to Ralph Jocelyn, of
Sawbridgeworth, who had married one of his daughters ; Geofrey Jocelyn, his son, in
1338, made a gi'ant of it to Robert le Marshall, and Margery his wife, of North Weald,
during their lives; but it soon after passed to the Torrel family, originally seated at
* A not unfavourable specimen of this lady's poetry is given from the " boke of St. Alban's," by Ritson,
in his Ancient Songs. Her reasons for publishing these tracts collectively is thus given at the beginning
of that which treats on angling: "and for by cause that this present treatyse sholde not come to the
hondys of eche ydle persone vvhyche wolde desire it, yf it were enprynted allone by itself and put in a
lytyll plaunflet; therefore 1 have compylyd in a greter volume of diverse bokys concernyng to gentyll andi
noble men, to the entent that the forsayd ydle persones whyche sholde have but lytyll mesure in the sayd
dysporte of fysshynge, sholde not by this meane utterlye destroy it."
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 281
Torrel's Hall, in Little Thurrock. Richard Torrel, in 1404, died in possession of C H a p
this estate; Thomas was his son, whose descendants retained this possession till it 1—
again reverted to the Jocelyn family, of whom John Jocelyn, esq. died in possession
in 1525. From this period the accounts are not regular; but the names of Wiseman,
Foster, Ange, and March occur; and Thomas March, or Marsh, esq. sold it to
Thomas Bramston, esq. of Screens, ancestor of the present possessor.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, which had become ruinous, was re- Chmcb.
edified in 1752 by a brief, and the assistance of the neighbouring gentry; particularly
T. Bramston, esq. : it is a handsome small building of brick.
In 1821, the inhabitants of this parish amounted to one hundred and fourteen, and,
in 1831, to one hundred and forty-three.
WILLINGALE, Or WILLINGHALL,
The whole of the southern extremity of this hundred is occupied by two parishes, Willing-
named Willingale Dou, and Willingale Spain. Before the Conquest, these lands
were holden by Siward, and six freemen; and, at the time of the survey, formed only
one parish, in possession of Suene of Essex, and his under tenant Garner, by Ralph
Peverel, and his under tenant Ravenot; and by Adam, son of Durand de Malis
Operibus. The name in records is Willingehale, Wylinghale, Willenham, Wigenhale,
in Domesday Willengehala, and usually Willingale. The lands of these parishes
extend into the agricultural district of various loams : they are superior to the neigh-
bouring parishes of the Rodings ; the inhabitants are also more numerous, and the
situation is remarkably pleasant and healthy. The two churches are in one church-
yard, an unusual occurrence : yet this is the case at St. Edmund' s-bury, at Sopham,
in Cambridgeshire, and at Trimnell, in Norfolk. The distance from Dunmow is
twelve, and from London twenty-seven miles.
WILLINGALE DOU, or DOE.
This is the largest of these parishes, and contains two manors. Willing-
The manor-house named Warden's Hall, as is supposed from a corrupt pronunciation warden'!
of the family name of Wanton, is a large and handsome edifice of brick, about half a ^''''•
mile southward from the church. The estate belonged to William de Wanton, who
died in 1347. It is supposed to have previously been in possession of William de
Ou, in the reign of king Stephen; but the accounts are obscure and uncertain.
William, son of William de Wanton, died in 1393, holding this manor, for the first
time named Willingale Dou, of sir Robert Marney, as of his manor of South
Okenden. Joan his sister, and Anne his niece, were his co-heiresses. Sir Thomas
282
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
iiuoK II. Torrel is believed to have had this manor, because he presented to the living, from
1445, nearly to the end of that century; but there is no further evidence, and it is
not known when it passed from this family to those of Jocelyn and Wiseman ; yet it
is known to have descended through the families of Beadle, Samford, or Sampford, to
Wiseman, and, by marriage, was conveyed to the family of Fytche; in 1587, Thomas
Fytche, and A^nes his wife, sold it to Nicholas Brocket, of Sawbridge worth, and
Joanna his wife, with an entail to their sons. In 1634, this estate was conveyed by
John, son of Nicholas Brocket, to Robert Cole, one of the " esquires of the king's
body," to Charles the first. He died hi 1652; by his wife Mary, daughter of Geofrey
Nightingale, esq. of Newport Pond, he had Edmund, and three other sons, and three
dauo-hters, of whom Elizabeth was married to Edmund Lambert, esq. of Boyton, in
Wiltshire; whose sister Deborah became the wife of Edmund Cole, brother of the
said Elizabeth. The offspring of this marriage was Robert and Deborah, twins,
besides three elder daughters, Anne, Hester, and Mary, who died unmarried.
Deborah was married to Thomas Salter, esq. of London; and Robert succeeding his
father, on his decease in 1662, married Anne Beverley. He died in 1733, aged
eighty-one years, his wife having died in 1732, seventy-five years of age. Having no
children, he bequeathed this estate to the son of his twin-sister Deborah, sir John
Salter, knt. alderman of London, sheriff in 1735, and, in 1740, lord mayor. He re-
built Warden Hall, greatly improved the roads in the neighbourhood, and repaired
and ornamented the churches, in each of which he erected spacious galleries. He
married Anne, daughter of Humphrey Brooke, M.D. and dying in 1744, left his
estate to his widow for life; and the reversion to his only daughter Selina, married
to William Milles, esq. whose heir was his son of the same name.
Torrel's Hall manor is supposed to have been taken from the capital manor, but of
this there is no decisive evidence: the house is nearly a mile northward from the
church. Its most ancient owners, since the survey, were of the family of Torrel,
succeeded by that of Jocelyn, one of whom sold it to Richard Wiseman, esq. whose
posterity enjoyed it for several generations, till it was purchased, in 1688, by John
Brocket, esq. of the Middle Temple, whose son John, in 1718, sold it to Charles
Blount, merchant, of London, after whose death his widow held it in jointure, and
WilUam, their son, dying in 1752, the estate was purchased by John Rooke, esq.
An estate called Asfeldens, supposed a corruption of Astelins, has been usually
conveyed with the manor of Torrels; the mansion is in Roding Berners.
This parish has three distinct constables; one for the township, one for Torrel's
Hall hamlet, and one for the hamlet of Bird's Green, part of which is in Roding
Beauchamp.
The church-yard of the two Willingales is on ground which commands an exten-
sive prospect over all the Rodings. The church of Willingale Dou is dedicated to
Toiier.s
Hall.
Asfeldens.
Church
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW. 283
St. Christopher, and has a nave and chancel, with a square embattled tower, containing chap.
four bells.*
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to four hundred and thirty-four,
and, in 1831, to four hundred and sixty- six.
* Inscriptions : " Here lyeth buried Anne Sackfild, widdovve, daughter of Humphrey Torrel, of Torrel's In.sti ip-
Hall, in the county of Essex, esquire, late wife of John Sackfild, of Buckhurst, in the county of Sussex, ^^ons.
esquier, which Anne departed this world the 13th of April, 1582, in the yere of her age four score."
" Here lyeth the body of that most excellent lady Winifred Wiseman, wife to Richard Wiseman, of
Torrel's Hall, esq. and daughter to sir John Harrington, of Hatfield Broadoak, in the county of Essex,
knt. and bart. Ob. 7 Maii, 1684."
" Here lyeth the body of sir Richard Wiseman, of Torrel's Hall, knt. who died SOth June, 1654. And
the body of dame Lucy Wiseman, lws_second wife, and daughter of sir Thomas Griffin, of Braybrooke, in
the county of Northampton, knt.^who died 29th June, 1660."
"Near this place lies burifed Robert- ■Cple, patron of this church, and esquire of the body to king
Charles I. who died Jan. 13, 1652; and JNIary his wife, daughter of Jeffrey Nightingale, of Newport-pond,
in Essex, esq." There are also memorials of many of their children. Also of several of the family of
Salter, of Warden's Hall : and the following on Mrs. Dorothee Brewster, wife of Thomas Brewster, esq.
and daughter of sir Tliomas Jocelyn, knt.
" Beholde heere youth and beauty lyinge,
Nurst by Nature's hande and fed ;
And then timely laid to bed ;
From wayful griefs and woeful cryinge.
Whose life is but a vital dying.
Yet seeke her not whose name I keepe,
In the grave ; for she's ascended ;
Earth with earth alone is blended ;
And angels singe though wee do weepe,
She wakes in heaven though heere she sleepe :
Vanish thy blood, thy life shall springe.
From thy virtues ever deathlesse;
Fame hath breath, though thou be breathlesse.
My pen thus impes thy praises winge.
Which stones shall speak and time shall singe,
Ob. 27,Junii 1613, DevotoChristopheri Brooke."
" Robertus Wiseman, de Torrels in com. Essex, eques aurat. Richardi Wiseman armig. primogenitus
Alius, et hares, vir generosissimus corporis et animi dotibus ornatus, plus, candidus, quadratus, litis expers
sibi et suis constans, philodelph. Philomus. literar. et literat. patron opt. vicinis amicabilis, sociabilis,
hospitalis egenis et beneficus, omnibus aequus. Suminam existimationem et benevolentiam, ob facetum
ingenium felicem memoriam suaevam et innocuam conversationem consecutus cum corporis castitatem
quinque supra sexaginta annorura coelibatu comprobasset, et valetudine integerrima vixisset, Animani
sponso suo Jesu Christo pie et placide reddidit atq. ; hoc dorraitorio quod ipse vivens se mortuum desig-
navit, in spe resurrectionis ad gloriam requiescit desiderium sui omnibus bonis relinquens. Ob. 11, die
Maii, 164)1." Translation: "Sir Robert Wiseman, of Torrels, in the county of Essex, first-born son
and heir of Richard Wiseman, esq. a man of a very good family, well accomplished, both body and mind,
pious, sincere, just, peaceable, steady to himself and friends, a lover of his brethren and of the muses;
an excellent patron of learning and learned men, friendly, sociable and hospitable to his neighbours,
hospitable and kind to strangers, just to all, having acquired the highest esteem and good- will for his
cheerful disposition, happy memory, pleasant and innocent conversation — having shewn his preference
for a life of chastity by his celibacy of sixty-five years, and having lived in a state of perfect health,
piously and calmly resigned his soul to Jesus Christ his spouse, rests in this tomb (which, when living, he
himself had provided), iu hope of a resurrection to glory. His death is lamented by all good men. He
died on the llth day of May, 1641, aged 65."
There are also inscriptions to the memory of sir John Salter, knt. alderman and lord mayor of London,
who died in 1744, aged 60. Of Mrs. Dorothy Jocelyn, wife of 'i'homas Jocelyn, esq. who died May 17, 1602.
Of Mrs. Anne Cole, wife of Richard Cole, esq. of Warden's Hall, who died Nov. 28, 1732, aged 7b years.
284 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
WILLINGALE SPAIN.
Willing- Spain's Hall here, in Finchingfield, and in Great Yeldham, having anciently
pain. |jgjQj^g.gj| ^Q Hervey de Spain, have retained liis name as their distinguishing
appellation.
Spain's The chief manor of this parish has the mansion at a short distance from the church,
Hall
south-eastward. It belonged to Edeva in the time of Edward the confessor, and, at
the time of the survey, was holden by Hervey de Ispania, as the under-tenant of Alan
Fergent, by the name of Ulingehala, and was one of the three knights' fees which this
Alan gave to Alberic de Vere, by the title of William de Ispania ; and which was
consequently afterwards holden of the earls of Oxford. ^ ^■*%i""*
In 1285, William de Monchensy d¥^ possessed ofthisjfhajior, which he held of the
earl of Oxford; William, his son, was his heir. Tl^e^state afterwards passed through
the families of Grey, Spice, Fortescu&'j^ 'B^dbury, Leveson, to sir Robert Wiseman,
of Torrel's Hall, whose brother Richard was his successor; and his son, sir Richard
Wiseman, marrying Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of John Towse, had Richard,
on whom he settled this estate. He married Winifred, daughter of sir John Bar-
rington, of Hatfield Broadoak, but left no issue: on his being killed in 1684, at the
siege of Buda, where he went a volunteer with John Cutts, esq. afterwards lord Cutts,
his sister and heiress sold this estate to John Brocket, esq. from whom it passed to
William Brocket, esq. and his heirs.
Mynchcns Myncliens is a manor here, that formerly belonged to the monastery of Clerkenwell,
but by whom given is not known: it had previously belonged to the family of Scroop,
of Masham. Stephen le Scroop died possessed of it in 1405, whose successor was his
son Henry, the father of Thomas. It was retained by the monastery till its dissolution,
and was given, by Henry the eighth, to sir Richard lord Rich, in 1539, who, in 1562,
sold it to John Waylett, who died possessed of it in 1567. In 1578, it belonged to
Edward Tomlinson and Anthony Page : afterwards successively passing to the families
of Nicholas, Shaw of Colchester, to John Hammond of Walthamstow, and to Mr.
Lynn of Spitalfields.
Church. The church is a small edifice, dedicated to St. Andrew and All Saints, and has been
formerly named Willingale All Saints : it is in good repair, and there is an elegant
altar-piece, the gift of William Brocket, esq. A small wooden belfry contains two
bells. W^illiam de Hispania, or Spain, gave this church to the priory of St. Lawrence,
at Blackmore, for the health of the souls of his father and mother, of himself and his
wife, &c. Fulk Basset afterwards ordained a vicarage, and divided the income of the
living between the vicar and the convent, the nomination being in the bishop, and the
presentation in the priory. The vicar's income, amounting only to forty marks a year,
being found insufficient, bishop Braybrooke, in 1398, annulled the vicarage, and
HUNDRED OF DUNMOW.
285
ordained the whole of the income to go to a rector, with the reservation of a pension C H A F,
of forty shillings a year to the convent, to pray for the souls of William de Spain and '. —
his relations. At the dissolution, the right of presentation passed to the crown, and
the nomination remained in the bishop of London.
In 1821, this parish contained two hundred and three, and, in 1831, two hundred
and thirty-nine inhabitants.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN DUNMOW HUNDRED.
R. Rectory. V, Vicarage. C. Curacy. D. Donative.
+ Discharged from payment of First Fruits. C. V. Clear Value.
Parish.
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent-
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Barnston, R
Broxted, V
Canfield, Great, V. .
Canfield, Little, R. .
Chickney, R
Dunmow, Great, V.
Dunniow, Little, C.
Easter, Good, V. . . .
Easter, High, V. . . .
Easton, Great, R. . .
Easton, Little, R. . .
Lindsel,V
Mashbury, R
Pleshy, D
Roding Aythrop, R.
Roding Berners, C.
Roding High, R
Roding Leaden, R..
Roding Margaret, R.
Roding White, R. ..
Shellow Bowels, R.
Thaxted, V
Tiltey,D
Willingale Doe, R..
Willingale Spain, R.
Middlesex.
William Toke
Richard P. Wish , . .
John P. Gurney....
Thomas Toke
S. Aldrich
J. Smith
1807
1823
1823
1813
1799
1804'
1824
1816
1816
1827
1815
1801
1780
1811
1791
1817
1837
1818
1808
1806
1806
18U6
1804
£\3 0
t 7 0
tI3 0
12 0
10 0
18 13
C.V.20 0
t 8 0
14 14
18 13
10 0
t 8 0
9 14
C.V. 9 10
12 0
C.V.12 0
20 0
12 13
10 12
26 0
t 7 13
24 0
C.V.30 0
16 0
7 13
0
0
0
H
0
4
0
0
7
4
0
0
7
I
0
0
4
6
0
4
0
0
0
4
J. Toke, Esq.
R. De Beauvoir.
J. M. Wilson, Esq.
Christ's Col. Camb.
H. Cranmer, Esq.
Bishop of London.
N, R. Toke, Esq.
D. and C. St. Paul's.
D. and C. St. Paul's.
< R. Saumarez this
I turn.Ld.V.Maynard
Lord V. Maynard.
Earl of Guilford.
W. Chignal, St. Jas.
W. Tufnall, Esq.
Rev. J.Oldham.
T. G. Bramston, Esq.
Lord Roden.
Lord Chancellor.
Mrs. Harding.
Rev. H. Budd.
W. Willingdoe, R.
L. V. Maynard
L. V. Maynard
T. B. Bramston, Esq.
Bishop of London.
William Toke
Geo. Leepiningwell.
Geo. Leepiningwell,
Paul Saumarez ....
J. P. H. Chesshyre .
Richard Pain
R. Chignal, St. Jas.
T Slack
J ohn Oldham
F. G. Fortescue ....
Charles Powlett. . . .
J. C. Hare
St. John Harding . .
Henry Budd
Rector of Willingdoe
Thomas Gee
Morgan Jones
John Deedea
J. B. Scale, D.D.
1
VOL. II.
2p
286 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
CHAPTER X.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW.
Harlow On the east this half hundred is bounded by the hundreds of Ongar and Dunmow,
hundred. 3,nd extends to Uttlesford northward : the river Stort forms its western boundary,
and separates it from Hertfordshire, except at Hide Hall, and some lands near
Hockerill, on the eastern side of that river ; and, southward, this district extends to
the half hundred of Waltham. From north to south, it is twelve, and from east to
west, six miles. In 1372, Humphrey de Bohun held this half hundred of the king;
as did also Humphrey Stafford, duke of Buckingham, in 1458: on the attainder of
Edward, the succeeding duke, it returned to the crown, and was afterwards granted
to the Rich family; Richard lord Rich had possession of it at the time of his decease,
in 1566, and descending to his successors, earls of Warwick, the right honourable
Daniel earl of Nottingham, who married one of the co-heiresses of that noble family,
enjoyed it by the same title.
This half hundred is inclucled in the extensive agricultural district of " various
loams," and its soil is of different kinds, but generally, with good husbandry, highly
productive ; and much of it being appropriated to the rearing and feeding of cattle, pre-
sents some of the best meadow and pasture lands in the county. It contains the follow-
ing eleven parishes : Harlow, Latton, Netteswell, Roydon, Parndon (Great), Parndon
(Little), Matching, Sheering, Hatfield- Regis, or Broadoak, Hallingbury (Great),
Hallingbury (Little).
HARLOW.
Harlow. This town, the most considerable in the hundred which has been named from it, is
agreeably situated in a pleasant and healthy part of the country, on the high road from
London to Newmarket. It consists of one street of considerable extent, with
numerous shops, and many good houses. There are two places of worship belonging
to dissenters; one in Harlow Proper, the other in Potter's-street, on the London road.
Formerly this was a place of more considerable importance than at present, and had an
extensive woollen manufacture, and a market on Saturdays; but the trade failed, and
the market was discontinued; the market has lately, however, been restored, to the
great convenience of the inhabitants : it is now held on Wednesdays.
The fair, on the ninth of September, which is kept on Harlow Bush Common, is
one of much celebrity, and numerously and respectably attended, not only by the
inhabitants of the immediate neighbourhood, but by persons residing at a distance.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 287
III the central part of this common is " Bush Fair House," where the Essex Archery C H A P.
Society hold their annual meetings. There is an old-established fair on the twenty- '
eighth of November, which takes place in the village of Harlow, only important as a ^"^^ ^^^^
mart for the sale and purchase of cattle. The fair formerly held here on Whit-
Monday, has been discontinued.
The petty sessions for the division are held here on Mondays.
The lands of this parish, in Edward the confessor's reign, belonged to the abbey of
St. Edmundsbury, to five freemen, and to Godwin, another freeman. At the survey,
the abbey had retained its portion of these estates, and what remained had been given
to Ranulph, brother of Ilger, and to Eustace earl of Boulogne. They are Avatered by
the river Stort, which is navigable to Stortford. In circumference this parish is com-
puted to be eighteen miles. Distant from Ongar seven, and from London, twenty-
three miles. It contains six manors.
The manor-house of Harlowbury is about half a mile north-north-east of the Hailow-
church, and supposed to have been one of the abbot's resting-places, on his way to
parliament. The large chapel near the house, being too close to the church to have been
erected for the tenant of the estate, seems to confirm this supposition, Thurston, son
of Wina, gave this estate to the abbey in the time of the Confessor; and it retained
possession till the dissolution of religious houses ; after which it was granted by Henry
the eighth, in 1544, to Katharine Addington, a knight's widow, and Thomas Adding-
ton, esq., on whose death, in 1554, without offspring, his cousin Ralph, a lunatic, was
his heir, succeeded on his decease, in 1564, by John Addington, son of Christopher,
brother of William, the said Ralph's father: avIio, dying in 1587, was succeeded by
his son William, who died in 1591, and in defect of issue, the estate passed to his
brother, Thomas Addington, who, in 1617, sold it to Francis lord Guilford.* This
estate, with the fine old mansion, is in the possession of W. Barnard, esq. The
* To the unwearied perseverance of John Gladwin, tlie elder, in many lawsuits (which finally terminated
in his favour) with a former lord of this manor, the copyholders are indebted for the advantage of a fine
certain of two shillings only per acre, on all admissions to copyhold lands. A brass plate in the parish
church records the death, in 1615, of this indefatigable and successful suitor, at the advanced age of
ninety-five, and likewise commemorates the great achievement of his life, in the following inscription : —
" Here lyeth buried the body of John Gladwin, ye elder, who departed this lyfe ye 17 day of Aprill,
Anno Domini 1G15, being of ye age of 95 yeres ; who, in his lyfetyme, with longe and tedious sutes in
lawe with yc lord of ye mannor of Harlowe, did prove the custom for the copie holdes, to ye greatc bene-
fitt of posteritie for ever."
The above plate, which exhibits a rude figure of this veteran, at full length, with clasped hands, as if in
prayer, was originally consigned to the perishable casement of a wooden frame, but has recently been
transferred, at the joint expense of the cojjyholders, to a more durable mounting, being now preserved in
a marble tablet: it continues to fill the place it used to occupy in the middle aisle of the church, a
memorial of the prowess of this sturdy champion in behalf of copyhold rights.
Tlie appeal to the laws of his country by John Gladwin, was not confined to the settlement of the
288
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Brent
Hall.
BOOK II. ancient chapel has been converted into a barn; but is in a good state of preservation.
It has a fine semi-circular headed door, the shafts of which have capitals like thoseof
the Gallilee, or chapel of St. Mary, at Durham ; and there are some small windows,
with rounded, and some with pointed, heads.
The manor-house of Brent Hall, named also New Hall, is near the church : the
wood, called Brentwood, belongs to it. It originally belonged to the lordsliip of
Harlowbury; but whether the abbot had the demesne lands, as well as the lordship,
is not certainly known. In 1355, it was holden of John de Insula de Rubio Monte,
by David Fletewyke, whose son David was his successor. In 1442, it belonged to
John Bugge, esq. who held it, not of the abbot, but of the king, as of his dutchy of
Lancaster ; Stephen, his son, succeeded ; and Thomas Bugge died in 1548, holding
the estate by the same tenure.
In 1694, it was purchased by Henry Lamb, citizen and goldsmith, of London;*
and from him or his heirs was conveyed to Robert Chester, esq. a South-sea director,
on whose forfeiture, coming to the company, it was sold, and afterwards became the
property of William Batt, esq. of Nunton, near Salisbury.
The manor-house of Ketchin Hall is near Potter's-street, a mile and a half south-
ward from the church. Tlie name of this estate has led to the supposition that it has
originally formed that part of the chief manor which was appropriated to the main-
tenance of the abbof s kitchen and table by pope Boniface the ninth. It was not
holden of the abbot, after the reign of Edward the third; and, in 1317, belonged to
sir Robert de Hastings, knt, and passed to Thomas Longeville, who had possession
of it at the time of his decease, iii 1346; succeeded by his son John. In 1403, it was
purchased by John Roundall of Robert Webb, and had become the property of John
Bugge, esq. in 1442, who held it of Richard duke of York. Of this family, the suc-
cessive proprietors were, Stephen, Thomas, Edward, and Anthony; who sold it, in
1605, to George Benson, esq., and, in 1644, William Benson, esq. sold it to sir
Abraham Richardson, knt. whose widow held it after him, and paid ingress fine in
Ketchin
Hali.
foregoing question. In
see him arraved in legal
the following extract, from proceedings in chancery in the reign of Elizabeth, we
armour, in the cause of charity and the poor : —
Plaintiffs.
Edward Buggs, the
elder,
John Gladwin, the
elder, and
John Gladwin, the
younger ;
Feofees in trust for
the parish of Harlow..
* Of this gentleman it
ball lodged in his watch.
Defendants.
William Sompncr, the
elder.
William Sompner, the
younger.
Nicholas Sibley, and
Thomas Wood.
Nature of Suit.
Bill for
Charitable
uses.
Premises.
A tenement called the'
Old Pole, and lands
thereto belonging, in
Harlow, conveyed and
settled temp. Henry VIII.
by John Swerder, to
feofees in trust for the
poor of the said parish.
County.
Essex.
Proceedings in Chancery, temp. Elizabeth, B. vi. 17, 18.
is remarkable, that in a contest with a highwayman, he was fired upon, and the
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 289
1663. Mr. Lamb, at the time that he bought New Hall, or Brent Hall, purchased also f H a f.
this estate ; which afterwards belonged to Mr. Chester, and, being sold by the South- "
sea Company, became the property of William Batt, esq.
Hubert's Hall is three quarters of a mile from the church southward. It was holden Hubert's
of Harlowbury, and supposed to have been one of the three hides, occupied by five free-
men, which were added by the Conqueror to the lordship of St. Edmundsbury; but
it does not appear that they were added to the abbot's demesne. The estate has been
named from Robert Hubert, who, in the reign of Edward the third, granted to John
Evy, vicar of Harlow, all his lands and tenements in the village of Epping. In 1501,
this manor became the property of sir John Shaa, or Shaw, lord mayor of London ;
who, at the time of his decease, in 1502, held it under Edward duke of Buckingham,
as of his hundred of Harlow. Edmund, or Edward Shaw, esq. was his son and suc-
cessor, who held this estate of the abbot and convent of Bury St. Edmunds, as of their
manor of Harlow. It was afterwards, by Alice, his only daughter, conveyed, in
marriage, to William Foley, esq. of Boxted, in Suffolk, who died in 1587, holding
this estate of William Addington, esq. as of his manor of Harlowbury. His son, sir
John Addington, died in 1593, and was succeeded in this possession by William, his
brother. It afterwards was conveyed to the family of Reve, descendants of John
Reve, of Long Melford, in Suffolk,* who retained possession till it was sold by Wilt-
shire Reve, esq. to John Brown, esq. of Co vent-garden ; who left it to colonel John
Brown ; from whom it was conveyed to William Selwyn, esq.
The elegant seat of Moore Hall is a modern building, agreeably situated nearly a Moore .„
mile north-eastward from the church, in a pleasant part of the parish : it is enclosed in
a park, and surrounded by gardens and pleasure-grounds, with shady walks and beau-
tiful shrubs : the south-eastern front of the house is handsomely ornamented in the
Doric style of architecture; before it, a fine spring is made to form a sheet of water well
stored with fish; and, at some distance from the house, a very pleasant, retired walk, of
considerable extent, presents views highly interesting, over a well-cultivated and richly-
luxuriant country, including the town of Harlow, Dorrington-house, in Sheering, for-
merly the seat of governor Feake, now of Mrs. Glyn; Down-hall, the seat of C. Ibbet-
son Selwyn, esq. ; while northward are seen Sawbridgeworth, with Bishop Stortford,
at the distance of seven miles, and agreeable scenery on the borders of Hertfordshire.
The ancient record of Domesday informs us that Eustace, earl of Boulogne, and
* Walter, son of John Reve, of Long Melford, was the father of Thomas Revo, alderman of Colcliestcr,
who married Margaret, daughter of Gerard Shilbery, and by her had William and Anne. William Reve,
of MoUenden Park, in Suffolk, had by his wife Rose, George, Robert (of Hornedge) , Thomas, D.l)., Henry,
William, Francis, (of Hubert's Hall), John, Charles, Elizabeth, and Margaret. Francis Reve married
Joan, daughter of Richard Jocelyn, esq. son and heir of sir Thomas Jocclyn, by wliom he had Robert,
father of John, father of Wiltshire, whose son, of the same name, was the last of the family who hud
this estate. — Arms of Reve : A chevron, vaire en point, between three roses.
290 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
[iOOK II. his under-tenant, Bi-itman, held here half a hide and half a carucate, which had
~ belonged to a freeman in Edward the confessor's reign : but that this was the estate
•4-- of Moore Hall, is, as Mr. Morant observes, far from certain. This learned author,
however, asTie informs us, from the post mortem inquisitions of the time of Edward
the second, found that, under Robert lord Scales, who died in 1324, Matthew de
Wodeham, and John Snow, held the manor called Le Mourhale, in Harlowe, by the
service of one knight's fee. In 1458, Thomas Bugge died in possession of this estate,*
which he held under Humphrey duke of Buckingham. From the Bugge family, it
passed, by purchase, to the father of Benjamin Henshaw, esq. whose son, of the same
name, marrying Elizabeth, sister of John Turvin, esq. of Gilston, had by her his son
and heir, Benjamin Henshaw,f esq., from whose family the estate was purchased by
John Perry, esq. of Black wall, who on his death, in 1810, left it to his sons, John
Perry and Philip Perry: the former died in 1824, and on the demise of the latter, in
1830, it became the property of his brother, Thomas Perry, esq. in whose possession
it now remains. RofFey Hall, and several other farms, have been added to the
Moore Hall estate.
"^ Weld, or The manor named Weld, Sewales, Sewels, also written in records, Walda, Waldes,
■ ^""^ ^'^^ Waldons, and Wells, is supposed to be named from the Saxon peald, a wood ; and
probably the addition of se might be a contraction from south, to denote the south
wood. In the time of the Saxons, it belonged to Godwin, a freeman; and at the
survey had been granted by the Conqueror to Ralph, brother of Ilger, whose under-
tenant was named Richard. Succeeding owners are not recorded, till the reign of
.-|— Edward the fourth, when it belonged to the Colt farnily. Joane, widow of Thomas
Colt, re-married to sir William Parr, had possession of it at the time of her decease,
in 1475 ; Avhose son John was his successor : he died in 1521 ; and was succeeded by
sir George Colt, his son: on whose decease, in 1578, he had for his heir, his cousin,
{ George Colt, esq. who was the father of sir Henry Colt, knt., and he, on his death, in
1616, left the estate mortgaged to Mrs. Howland, of Streatham; who having taken
possession of it, it became the property of her daughter Elizabeth, duchess of Bed-
ford ; and was sold by the duke, to Thomas Holt ; from whom it passed to Mr. White,
\ of London, to various proprietors, and to Smith, esq.
L- * John Bugge, esq. died in London in 1442 ; Stephen, his son, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas
Marshall, by whom he had Thomas, who by his wife ,' daughter of Tillesley, had Edmund,
who married Alice, daughter of ■ Colt, esq., by whom he was the father of Anthony, who married
Anne, daughter of A\lTliam Barrett, esq. and had Edmund, Thomas, and John. Edward, brother of
Anthony, had a son named Richard, who died in 1636, and is buried in this church. His two wives were
, daughter of Robert Streignsham, gent., and Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Bowles, esq. — Arms of
Bugge : Tliree budgets staved, witliin a bordure, guttee. Crest : Within a crown, a tawny Moor's head,
couped, crined proper, and escarsioned.
f Arms of Henshaw : Argent, a chevron between three hens, gules.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 291
The church, dedicated to St. Hugh, was originally built in the cathedral form, C H A l\
V
with the tower in the centre, but having been accidentally burnt down by a fire, ___L__
which commenced on the 28th of April, 1708; it was re-editied, and the tower being Church,
destroyed, its place has been supplied by a cupola ; and at the west end a tower of
brick, Avith an open cupola, contains one bell. The re-building and ornamenting
of this church was by the direction and interest of the rev. Taylor, the vicar,
and much of the ornamental part at his own expense. Many gentlemen of the country
gave their arms on painted glass, to embellish the windows.*
Mr. Taylor also gave an organ, with a house for the organist to reside in, and
another house, the rent of which he receives.
A gallery was erected by Francis lord Guilford ; and a handsome railing, given by
Robert Chester, esq. which incloses the font.f
* The windows on the north side of the chancel contain the following arms : — Sir Charles Barrington,
with quarterings, and six coats. The right hon. lord Guilford, with quarterings, in three parts, and
eleven coats. The arms of sir Edward Turner, of Great Hallingbury ; of JohnComyns, esq. sergeant-at-law :
of William Fytch, esq. The first south window of the chancel contains, the arms of White Kennet, D.D.,
dean, and afterwards bishop of Peterborough ; and of Humphrey Gower, D. D. master of St. John's college,
Cambridge. The other south window contains the history of Solomon : and the windows of the church
contain the arms of sir John, and sir Hum|)hrey Gore, knts. ; of sir Richard Child, ofWansted, bart. ;
of William Lancaster, D. D. archdeacon of Middlesex ; and of Philip Betts, register to the archdeacon of
Colchester. There are also the arms of the Bedford family.
t This railing bears the following inscription, to be read either backwards or forwards : —
" NI*ON ANOMHMA MH MONAN OflN." That is : " Wash your sin, not your face only."
Inscriptions. — " Near this place lyeth the body of William Sumner, late tenant to John Reeve, the last Inscrip-
lord abbot."
*' Here lieth interred the body of Thomas Druncaster, principal secretary to king Henry the seventh, 1490."
*•' Here lyeth buryed the bodyc of Janne Bugge, late wyfe of Edward Bugge, the elder, gent., having yssue
by him 3 sonnes and 2 daughters; which Janne deceased the 23d day of August, in the year of our Lord
God, 1582."
Under the effigies of the persons it commemorates : " Within this aisle lieth buried the body of Alex-
ander Stafford, of High Holborn, in the county of Middlesex, esq. descended of the most noble and ancient
family of the Staffords, who departed this life the 28th Sept. 1652; and of Julian his wife, daughter of
John Stacy, of London, merchant, who died Nov. 8, 1630."
Under the figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity : "Near this place lieth interred the body of John
VVright, gent, executor of Alexander Stiifford, esq. who, amongst many other charities, gave one hundred
and sixty pounds to buy land for the use of the poor of this parish. He was buried June 1, 1650."
A Latin inscription records the interment of Peter Gunning, fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, Margaret
professor of Christ college, Oxford, and afterwards bishop of Chester and Ely, He died July, 1684, aged 71.
"John Gladwin, the elder, who died April 17, 1615, aged 95."
Pious and charitable gifts : — In 148U, John Swerder is recorded to have given the rents and profits of a Ciiarities.
tenement;, and twenty acres of land, for the repairs and ornaments of the church. And, in 1560, Thomas
Cromwell gave the rents and profits of two acres of land for the same pious purpose ; yet the greater part
of the first, or both of these bequests, appear to have been for the poor, and became the subject of a trial
at law. In 1590, John a God's-half, vicar of this parish, gave two acres of land and an orchard to the
292
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Chantries.
Obits
Chapel.
Antiqui-
ties.
This church was origmally a rectory, appendant to the manor of Harlowbury, and
in the patronage of the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, which presented to it as a rectory
till pope Boniface the ninth appropriated it to the maintenance of the abbot's table,
when he was left at liberty to have the cure supplied by one of his own monks, or by
such a secular priest as he should appoint. But, for the benefit of the parishioners,
he condescended to have a vicarage ordained and endowed ; accordingly this was done
by commissioners empowered by Robert Braybrooke, bishop of London, the 23d of
December, 1398. From that time, the presentation to the vicarage continued in the
abbot and convent till their dissolution, when it was granted to Thomas Addington :
from him it passed to lord Guilford, and has continued in the gift of that noble family
to the present time.
There were two chantries : one of which was founded at the altar of St. Petronilla,
the virgin : the other, at the altar of St. Thomas, was founded by John Stanton, the
first rector of this parish, and it is found entered in the London Registry; to pray for
the souls of himself, his father and mother, John, (formerly abbot of St. Edmund's),
and others.
John Waylet, Thomas Cramwell, and John Terling, by their respective wills,
appointed obits to be kept for them in this church, and gave lands and tenements for
that purpose.
A new Protestant episcopal chapel is about to be erected at Potter's-street in this
parish, distant three miles from the church.
The late Mr. John Barnard, junior, in a communication to the Gentleman's Maga-
zine, has described the remains of a Roman station near Harlow, hitherto unnoticed
by antiquarians. The castellum, or place of strength, appears to have been in the
neighbouring parish of Latton, on an elevated field, which was formerly almost sur-
rounded by the water of the river Stort. The works are now plainly visible, and a
poor. In 1659, John Wright gave one hundred and sixty pounds to purchase lands, the income to be for
the use of the poor. Wr. Newman gave an almshouse for two dwellers, which is in the church-yard.
Almshouses, given by Alexander Stafford, esq. and by Francis Reve, of Hubert's Hall, for four poor
widows, are in the street, not far from the church.
In 1816, a school was established here for the education (founded on the religious principles of the
established church) of the children of the laborious part of the population. The instruction given is free
of all expense to the parents, and includes reading, writing, and arithmetic, to both sexes ; and needlework
to the girls. Beyond this limit, it does not profess to go. Since its first institution, two hundred and
forty girls, and two hundred and fifty-six boys, have completed their education. And in the present year
(1S33), the numbers under instruction are, one hundred and fifteen girls, and one hundred and four boys.
The funds for the support of this school are chiefly furnished by private contributions and annual sub-
scriptions, aided by the proceeds of one charity sermon in the year. There is anotlier school in Harlow
conducted on the Lancasterian system.
The ancient benefactions of this parish have recently come under the investigation of the commissioners
of charities ; but their report has not yet been published.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW.
293
few feet below the surface are the foundations of very strong walls. It seems highly CHAP.
probable that this was one of the forts formed by the Romans to defend the Trinobantes '
from the Cateuchlani ; as the Stort here, and for some miles up its course, divides the
counties of Essex and Herts. This conjecture is rendered plausible by the appearance
of four of these stations, on the Essex side of the river, in the short space of nine
miles, viz., this at Harlow, or Latton; one at Hallingbury, called Wallbury, distant
four miles ; one at Bishop's Stortford, three miles ; and another at Stansted Mont-
fitchet, two miles farther.
Among the antiquities found here, a few years ago, was a small bronze head of
Silenus, a large brooch, and fragments of a cup of highly polished red or Samian ware,
on the outsides of which were figures of a cock and a triton. The coins have been
very numerous and interesting: among the British, is a helmeted head, with
cvnobelina; reverse, a hog and taschovanit. Another with a head on one side;
on the other, a man striking upon an anvil : one with a star, between the rays of
which are the letters, verlamio ; reverse, an ox. Among the Roman coins are
several silver pieces of Sabina, Faustina the elder, and Conslantinus, junior. One of
the British coins described by Mr. Barnard, is not in Mr. Ruding's work, nor in
Pegg's Essay on the Coins of Cunobeline. It was found near Epping ; the metal is
electrum; its weight, five dwt. ten gr. : on one side is represented a man in armour,
on horseback ; on the reverse, Tasciooricon.*
The populationf of this parish, in 1821, amounted to one thousand nine hundred and
twenty-eight, and in 1831, to two thousand one hundred and one.:|;
LATTON.
This parish extends from Harlow southward to Epping, and westward to the river Latton.
Stort : in length it is about four miles, and narrow in proportion. It contains few
inhabitants, the houses distant from each other, and in no instance forming any town
or village. Distance from London, twenty-three miles.
Turgot and Ernulf, freemen, and another freeman, held the lands of this parish
before the Conquest : and at the time of the survey, they were holden by the abbey of
St. Edmund's-bury, by Eustace, earl of Boulogne, and by Peter de Valoines, whose
under-tenant was Turgis. The possessions belonging to the abbey of St. Edmund's-
bury were made the foundation of a priory; the portion belonging to Eustace, from
* In consequence of the connexion between Cunobeline and Tascio, those coins which bear the latter
name, without the former, are usually attributed to that monarch. — Rudiiig on Coinage, vol. 1. p. 200. —
Gent. Mag. vol. cxi. part i. p. 6(5.
f The number of the labouring classes in this parish far exceeds the demand for labour; which, con-
sequently, produces much distress and high poor-rates.
X The Editor gratefully acknowledges his obligations to T. Perry, esq. of Moor Hall, for valuable and
important communications.
VOL. II. 2 {2
294 HISTORY OF ESSEX,
BOOK II. the name of his under-tenant, retains the name of Mark's Hall; and the part belonging
to Peter de Valoines, was conveyed, by a female heiress, to the family of Fitzwalter,
and by degrees became incorporated with the other estates. There are two manors.
Latton The lands of the manor of Latton Hall are believed to be what belonged to the
Hall
abbey of Bury St. Edmund's; understood to have been converted into a priory
here, independent of the great abbey; but when and by whom founded is not known.
It is supposed to have had the rents of Harlowbury till the abbot got them, jointly
with this manor, appropriated to his table, after which we hear no more of the abbot
here. The families of Tany, Colchester, Walleis, Sakeville, Bibesworth, Tyrell,
Wery, Barley, and Coteys, have at different times been possessed of it. In 1566,
Richard Westwood, and Margery his wife, conveyed this, with other estates, to
James Altham, esq. and his wife Mary. He also purchased the manor of Mark, or
Priory. Merk Hall, and the site of Latton priory. Of this ancient monastery no perfect
account is to be found: it was for canons of the order of St. Augustine, dedicated to
St. John the Baptist, and founded sometime before the year 1270. It is on the south
side of the church, and now used as a barn. It consists of a nave and a cross aisle;
the inside, of the lighter style of Gothic architecture, with pointed arches. The
materials of this edifice are flints, stones, mortar, and Roman bricks ; and what appears
to have been the site of the priory, is surrounded by a moat, beyond which, on the
south, human bones are frequently found ; from which we may conclude this to have
been the ancient burial-place. East of the church, on the outside of the moat, there
appears rising ground and a hollow place, like the remains of an intrenchment. The
interval between the rise and the moat has been named by the inhabitants, "the
monks' bowling green."
Mark The ancient manor-house of Mark, or Merk Hall, was near the church, and derived
Hall
its name from Adelolf de Merc, the under-tenant of Eustace, earl of Boulogne;
Henry de Merc died in 1267, and his son of the same name in 1275; and, in 1290,
Juliana, widow of Henry de Merk, or Merc, had it for her dowry. It afterwards
successively belonged to the families of Colchester, in the reign of Edward the second;
of Wallei, in that of Edward the third, followed by John de Ludewyk, William de
Forde, John Bishopston, from which last it was conveyed, in 1375, to William
Berland and his heirs, with the fair of Latton, and other lands and tenements in the
hundred of Harlow. Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of sir William Berland,
conveyed this estate to her husband, John Baud, esq. who held it at the time of his
decease in 1422; as did also his son, William Baud, who died in 1426; and his heir
and successor was his uncle, Thomas Baud. It afterwards belonged to sir John Shaa,
who died in 1503, leaving Edmund, his son, his successor ; and he let this manor for
ninety-nine years, to Henry Parker, lord Morley, to whom it was afterwards sold by
Thomas ShaAve, or Shaa, in 1538; and, in 1562, was purchased of lord Morley by
James Altham, esq. by which that family became possessed of nearly the whole of this
I
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 295
parish; his descendant, sir William Altham,* sold this estate to William Lushington, ^ H A F.
esq. who rebuilt the house, and sold it, with the estate, to Montague Burgoyne, esq.
and on this elegant seat more than thirty thousand pounds have been expended. The
spacious apartments of this very elegant mansion are handsomely fitted up, and the
whole is surrounded by a pleasant park-like lawn. The whole estate, including the
manors of Latton Hall, Burnt Hall, and others, with various extensive farms,
amounting in all to four hundred and seventy-seven acres, was sold by auction on the
1st of June, 1819, to Arkwright, esq. for one hundred thousand guineas, inde-
pendently of the timber, which was valued at about ten thousand pounds. The noted
Harlow Bush fair is annually held on Latton common, in this manor; this and Harlow
Bush common being united where the line of partition separates the two parishes.
Latton church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is near the hall ; on the north side Church.
of the chancel there is a chapel, dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the Virgin Mary,
built by sir Peter Ardern ;f and a chantry was founded by him, and dame Katharine
* Edward Altham, esq. was descended from an ancient family in Lancashire, of the town and manor of
Altham; he was sheriff of London in 1531. He married , daughter of Hildersham, esq.
James, son of Edward, married, first, a sister and heir of sir Thomas Blanck ; secondly, Mary, widow of
sir Andrew Judd, lord mayor of London in 1550; he died in 1583: Edward, son of sir James Altham,
of Mark Hall, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of John Barnes, esq. of Wilsden, in Middlesex ;
James, son of Edward Altham, esq. married Elizabeth, daughter of sir Francis Harrington, knt. and bart. ;
their only daughter was Joan, married to Oliver St. John, esq. Sir Edward Altham, knt. succeeded his
brother James, and married Joan, daughter of sir John Leventhorp, knt. and bart. : sir James, the eldest
son, created knight of the bath at the coronation of Charles the second, in 1661, married Alice, only
daughter of sir John Spencer, of Offley, in Hertfordshire : Leventhorp Altham, esq. succeeded his brother,
and married Joan, daughter and co-heiress of David Edwards, esq. of Oswestry, in Shropshire : James
Altham, esq. son of Leventhorp, succeeding his father in 1681, married Mary, the beautiful daughter of
John Tinker, esq. and had by her Peyton, James, Mary, married to Roger Altham, D.D. rector of this
parish, and of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, and archdeacon of Middlesex ; Jane, married to Richard Strutt,
attorney-at-law, of Bishop Stortford; Elizabeth, wife of Daniel Turner, M.D. and Dorothy. John Tinker,
esq. having entered into the service of the Venetian republic, acquired celebrity in sevei'al naval engage-
ments, and, as a reward of his valour, received a golden chain, with a medal of great value, on which were
the arms of Venice. He was afterwards master-attendant in the king's yard at Deptford. Peyton Altham,
esq. succeeded his father in 1697, and was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge ; he married Mary,
daughter of Beard, esq. ; sir William Altham succeeded his father. Arms of Altham : Paly of six,
ermine and azure; on a chief gules, a lion passant, regardant, or; armed and langued, gules. Crest:
A demi-lion rampant, in his paws the rudder of a ship.
f Within the communion rails, under an arch in the north wall, and separated from the adjoining Inscrip-
chapel by an iron railing, is a Gothic altar-tomb, erected, according to Morant, to the memory of sir t'^JQS.
Peter Ardern, chief baron of the exchecjuer in the reign of king Henry the sixth and Edward the fourth.
On the cover stone are still remaining the brass effigies of the deceased and his wife, with three shields of
arms : first, paly of six, on a chief three lozenges, the middle one charged with a chess rook : second
shield, a bend cotised, and charged with a mullet of five points, between six lions rampant : third shield,
a chevron engrailed between three chess rooks : there has been a fourth shield.
On the floor : the effigies in brass of a man in armour (at his feet a greyhound) and his lady ; beneath
296 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. his wife, to the chaplain of which Brian Ronclyffe, one of the barons of the exchequer,
in 1476, gare a messuage in Latton. There is a confessionary chair yet remaining
in this church. A square embattled tower contains four bells. Latton church was
appropriated to the priory, and a vicarage ordained, which continued in the gift of the
convent till its dissolution, and has since gone with the manor. Sir James Altham
settled the great tithes upon this vicarage, so that it may be considered a rectory.
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and seventy-eight, and, in 1831, three
hundred and nineteen inhabitants.
them, three sons and one daughter: on the dexter corner of the stone at top a shield of arms — within a
hordure engrailed a lion rampant, charged with a mullet : sinister corner at top another shield, with the
same arms, impaling paly of six, on a chief three lozenges, the middle one charged with a chess rook.
A handsome marble monument, with a man in armour, and his lady kneeling before a desk ; beneatli,
three sons and eight daughters ; at the top, these arms : paly of six, ermine and azure, on a chief gules a
lion passant guardant, or. Crest : A demi-lion rampant or, holding a rudder sable. " Here lyeth buried
the body of James Altham, esq. and lord of this towne, who dyed the xxvni of February, An. Dom. 1583,
and lefte behinde hym the lady Judd, his wiffe, who was sometyme the wife of sir Andrew Judd, of
London, knyght."
" Near this place lie the bodyes of Leventhorpe Altham, fourth son of sir Edward Altham, and Jane
his wife, who Avas daughter and co-heir to David Edwards, of Oswestry, in ye county of Salop, gent. ;
he had issue by her four sons, namely, Edwards, James, John, and Edward, and four daughters ; Jane,
Mary, Jane, and Thodocia. He dyed the "ilst August, 1681, being aged 63 : she departed this life, 15th Oct.
1691, being aged 58." James Altham, esq. died Dec. 28, 1697, aged 35, who left behind him Mary, his
widow, with four daughters ; Mary, Jane, Elizabeth, and Dorothy, and two sons, Peyton and James.
" Near this place is the body of Peyton Altham, esq, who married Mary Beard, daughter of John Beard,
governor of Bengali, by whom he had nine children, and left three sons, James, Edward, and William ;
and four daughters, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Harriet, and Frances. He died Nov. 2, 1741, aged 45." Arms:
Quarterly of eight, and an impalement : first, Altham as before described, with the crest.
'< 1640.— To the sacred memory of Edward Altham, esq. who married Elizabeth, the youngest daughter
and co-heir of John Barne, of Willsdon, in ye county of Middlesex, esq. The said Edward deceased ye
8th day of April, 1605. The said Elizabeth deceased ye 7th of Jan. 1621; they had issue, sir James
Altham, who married Elizabeth, the daughter of sir Francis Barrington, knt. and hart, by whom he had
issue Joan, since married to Oliver St. John, esq. Sir James died the 15th day of July, 1610 : sir Edward
Altham, who married Joan, daughter of sir John Leventhorp, knt. and bart. : captain Emanuel Altham,
who died at East India, An. Dom. 1635 : Mary Altham, married to Ralph Hawtry, late of Riselip, in the
county of Middlesex, esq. The said sir Edward Altham, and Joan his wife, lived happily together twenty-
two years, and had issue James, married to Alice, daughter and heir of sir John Spencer, bart. .- Edward,
John, Leveuthorp, Edward Emanuel ; Joan, married to Thomas Smith, esq. : Elizabeth ; Mary, married
to William Halton, esq. : Bridgett : the said sir Edward Altham died May 28, 1632." Five shields of
arms ; Altham impaling Barrington, Spencer, and others.
" Underneath this place lycth the body of Yevelton Peyton, esq. descended from the ancient baronets
of Islehani ; he had to wife the niece of sir John Roberts, bart. ; he left four daughters ; Elizabeth, Ann,
Hannah, and Mary. This inscription was set up by Mary Altham, of Mark Hall, to perpetuate the memory
of her worthy friend, who died March 11, 1710."
North wall of the nave. Or, a fesse engrailed between three lions' heads erased, gules. " To the
memory of Mrs. Jane Nicholls, widow of Richard Nicholls, esq. ; she was the daughter of Ralph Petley,
egq. of Sevenoaks, in Kent, and relict of Stephen Lushington, esq. of Sittingbourne, in the same county.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 297
CHAP.
NETTESWELL. X.
The parish of Netteswell is on the southern extremity of the hundred of Harlow, Nettes-
aud lies south-west from Latton : in records, the name is Netheleswelle, Nethleswelle,
Nethesvvelle, Nettleswell, Netyswell, Nicheswelle. The manor-house near the
church, and the parsonage are good houses; the others are small, and few in number:
distance from Harlow two, and from London twenty-two miles.
This parish is not mentioned in Domesday-book, an omission not easily accounted Manor.
for; but if it had been the property of a layman, and sutyect to livery and wardship,
this omission could scarcely have occurred. It was one of the lordships given by
king Harold to his great abbey of Waltham, and confirmed to it afterwards by Henry
the second and Richard the first. On the dissolution it went to the crown, and was
granted, in 1543, to Richard Higham, esq. on whose decease, in 1546, his brother — 4*^
William was his heir; who was succeeded by his son John, in 1558, and he, in 1560, «U«
sold this estate to sir Richard Weston, one of the justices of the common pleas;
succeeded, in 1572, by his son, sir Jerome, who died in 1603, leaving his son, sir
Richard Weston, knt. afterwards baron of Neyland, earl of Portland, and lord
treasurer- In 1634, sir William Marten, knt. had this estate, which belonged to sir
Henry Marten, knt. L.L.D. in 1640. Sir William Marten was buried here in 1679,
as was also his son Cuthbert in 1698. He married Anne, eldest daughter of sir
William Nutt, by whom he had William Marten, esq. who married Mary, sister of
sir Thomas Cross, bart. of Westminster, but had by her no issue, and, on his decease
in 1717, left her this estate for life;* after her death to go to the first son of his niece,
Anne Lewen, and to his male descendants, ordering expressly that Avhoever of them
came to this possession, he should take the surname of Marten. On failure of issue,
he left it to Matthew Bluck, esq. of Honsdon. This estate is in the possession of
Collins, esq.
Netteswell Street is on the road from Latton to Parndon, and contains a number Nettes-
P 1 ^ , 1 , wellStieet
oi detached nouses.
She was buried here by her own desire, in the same grave with the rev. Stephen Lushington, one of her
beloved cliildren, whose monument she erected. She died Sept. 16, 1763, aged 84. The rev. Stephen
Lushington, M.A. died 5th November, 1751, aged 42. If death ever spared the man who was admired
and loved by all, he had not died."
" Near this place are the remains of Thomas Altham, LL.D. rector of Magdalen Laver, and vicar of this
parish, and a justice of the peace for the county of Essex. Ob. 27th Oct. 1782, set. 49."
On a very handsome marble monument : *' To the memory of Frances Elizabeth, wife of lieutenant-
colonel sir Guy Campbell, bart. and eldest daughter of Montague liurgoyne, es(i. of Mark Hall, in the
county of Essex, who departed this life at Montughi, near Florence, on the iiid of May, mdcccxviii.
Her remains are deposited in the family vault in Sutton church."
* Arms of Marten : Azure, three bends dexter, argent; a chief, ermine.
298 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Burnt Mill is on the river Stort, and received this name from its having been
destroyed by fire: it has also a second time been burned down.
Chinch. The church is small, and of one pace with the chancel; a wooden turret, with a
spire, contains three bells. In one of the walls there is a portion of curious orna-
mental brick-work.* The rectory, after the suppression of the abbey, was granted,
«* with Netteswell-bury, to Highara, or Heigham, of Takeley.
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and six, and, in 1831, three hundred
and sixteen inhabitants.
ROYDON.
Roydon. This parish occupies the south-western extremity of the half hundred, and is sepa-
rated from Hertfordshire by the river Stort; on the south joined to Waltham half
hundred, into which Roydon hamlet extends. The park above the river is hilly, and
commanding extensive prospects over green meadows, has given rise to the conjecture
that the name is from the Saxon Rop, and bun, sweet hill: in records it is written
Reydone, Reyndon, Ruindune. The village is on the banks of the river: distant
from Epping and Waltham abbey seven, and from London twenty-two miles.
In Edward the confessor's reign this parish belonged to Inguar, and five others,
all freemen; and, at the survey, was holden by Ranulf, brother of Ilger; and a
berewick or hamlet which belonged to it, was holden under him by a freeman named
, Richard. There are four manors.
Roydon Roydon Hall, or Temple Rovdon Hall,f is eastward from the church, on the
Hail " .
village green; this manor passing by forfeiture to the cro^vn, was granted to Robert
Fitzwalter, by king Henry the first, in 1285; and, five years afterwards, he had a
charter for a market every Thursday, and a fair on the first and second of August.
He held of the king, of his honour of Baynard, from whence it is believed to have
descended from Ranulph to that family, and to have been forfeited by William Bay-
nard, in the reign of Henry the first. This estate was given to the knight templars
by Robert Fitzwalter, and, on the extinction of that order, in 1311, it was given to
Inscrip- * Inscriptions : A monument on the north wall of the chancel bears an inscription in Latin to the
tions. memory of William Marten, esq. who died Nov. 28, 1717, aged 84. There are also inscriptions on John
Bannister, gent, who died in January 1607, aged 80; and Abraham Kent, A.M. formerly rector of this
church, who died in 17M.
" Here lyeth Thomas Lawrence, and Alys his wyfe, which Thomas dy*;d in x^pril 1522, on whose souls
Jesu have mercy."
Charities. Charities. — A free-school was instituted here by William Marten, esq. which is endowed with forty
pounds per annum for teaching ten boys and ten girls. Thomas Lawrence, born here in 1522, gave an
annuity of five shillings to the poor.
t The manor of the rectory, or Temple Roydon, has been united to the chief manor, and goes along
with it. The fee-farm rent of this estate was sold by king Charles the first, in 1629.
■'.n
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 299
the knight's hospitalers, who enjoyed it till the general dissolution of religious houses, CHAP,
and it was granted, by queen Elizabeth, to Francis lord Norreys and others. It ^-
became the property of sir Robert Cecil, afterwards earl of Salisbury, who died in
1612; and his family retained this estate till his grandson James, earl of Salisbury,
sold it to sir Josiah Child, hart, from whom it descended to the right hon. John earl
Tilney, and now belongs to the hon. W. T. L. P. Wellesley.
The manor of Dounes, or Doune Hall, was holden of the prior of St. John of Dounes. |
Jerusalem; and, in the time of Edward the third, seems to have belonged to the family '
of Wanton; passing to Robert Pakenham, one of their descendants, and afterwards
to Harleston. It was holden of the prior by Ivo de Harleston, who died in 1403;
John was his son, whose brothers, Henry and Robert, in 1466, conveyed the estate
to sir Robert Danby and others; it was afterwards in possession of George Cplt, esq.-j
and he, on his decease in 1616, held this manor and a messuage called the New Weare, I
with the island, of the earl of Salisbury. It afterwards belonged to Edmund Field, \
esq. and to Paul Field, esq. of Stansted-bury; it is in the possession of Mr. Maw,
mathematical instrument maker, London. Lady Houblon is lady of the manor.
The ruin of Nether Hall is near the confluence of the rivers Lea and Stort. It jj^li * ' ^
was formerly the seat of the Colt family, who were from an early period settled here.
The ancient mansion, which had been converted into a farm-house, was demolished
in the year 1773; the gateway being left standing from the strength of the work,
which rendered its destruction too expensive. It is of brick, and consists of two
floors, with a half hexagon tower on each side of the entrance. Each floor is occupied
by only one room, measuring twenty-seven feet by twenty-three and a half, and
lighted by large windows; the ceiling of the upper story has fallen in: that of the
first story is sustained on wainscot arches, resting in front on three blank shields, and
a truss composed of a radiant rose ; and at the back on four trusses, the first and third
of which represent griffins; the second and fourth, a bear and ragged staff": the most
Avestern of the shields is supported by two horses; the second held by a spread eagle,
supported by a lion and unicorn; and the third rests on a lioness and a bull ducally
crowned. Near the chimney is a colt's head, in an ornament of the carving. This
story has been waniscoted to the height of about eight feet : above the wainscot,
on the plaster, are various figures in the compartments, indiff'erently painted, to
represent the most eminent personages of sacred, profane, and fabidous history. On
the summit of the gateway are some remains of two curiously twisted chimneys ; and
beneath the windows, above the entrance, is a machicolation, and a trefoil ornament,
with shields and fleurs-de-lis. These venerable remains of antiquity are in a state of
rapid decay, and have lately become much altered in appearance.
This manor was formerly holden of Waltham abbey, and is first mentioned in
records in 1401, as being conveyed by Thomas, son of John Organ, of London, to
300
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK If.
Climcli.
Nicholas CoUern and others: and Thomas Prudence, who previously had it of the
oift of the said John Organ, in 1407, released all his right to Simon Barnwell.
In the reign of Edward the fourth, this estate had become the property and place
of residence of the Colt family, and Thomas Colt, esq. was employed by that prince
in some post of honour abroad. He died in 1476, and was buried in this church.
The estate continued many generations in this family; the last recorded possessor
being George, son of sir Henry Colt, knt. in 1635.* The family of Archer, ,of
Coopersale, afterwards succeeded to this possession.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is in the village. It has a nave, north aisle,
and chancel ; and an embattled tower contains six bells.f
In 1729, this poor vicarage was augmented with two hundred pounds, the gift of
the duchess dowager of Marlborough; to which, two hundred pounds of queen Anne's
bounty Avere added.
In 1821, the population of Roydon, with the hamlet, amounted to seven hundred
and ninety-six, and, in 1831, to seven hundred and seventeen.
Inscrip-
tions.
Cliaritics.
* Thomas Colt, of Carlisle, was the father of Thomas Colt, esq. of Roydon, who, by his wife Joan,
daughter of Trusbutt, of Suffolk, had John Colt, esq. his heir, who married Joan, daughter of sir
John Elrington, of Hackney, in Middlesex; and also, secondly, he married Anne, daughter of sir John
Anle : on his death, in 1521, he was succeeded by his eldest son, sir George Colt, who married Elizabeth,
daughter of Henry Macwilliam, and, secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Stopham, of London.
By the first he is said to have had two sons, Henry and John, and two daughters by the second ; yet his
sons are supposed to have died before him, for on his decease in 1.578, his next heir was his cousin,
George Colt, esq. who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Coniugsby, esq. of North Mymmes, in Hert-
fordshire, and had five sons and six daughters. He died in 1615, in possession of numerous estates, and
was succeeded by his son, sir Henry Colt, kut. who being improvident and thriftless, sold nearly the
whole of the paternal estates, and, on his death in 1635, left only one messuage in this parish, a newly-
built house in Little Parndon, where he dwelt, and Colt Hall, in Cavendish. George was his son, and
heir to the remuant of the family possessions. Arms of Colt : Argent, a fesse azure, between three colts
courant, sable.
t Inscriptions : There were, sometime ago, inscriptions in memory of the following persons : Thomas
Colt, esq. living in the reign of king Edward the fourth, and in the inscription styled " Edwardi Regis
consul honorificus, prudens, discretus, fortis, tam consiliis quam armis." John, son of the above-named
Thomas, who died iu Oct. l.'>21. Margaret Colt, daughter of John Heath, esq, tirst married te John
Ducket, merchant, of London; then to John Swift, esq.; and lastly to Henry Colt, esq.
Francis Butler, esq. late first secondary in the office of king's remembrancer in the court of exchequer,
Westminster.
Charles Nanfan, gent, of Spanish Town, in the island of Jamaica, who died in Aug. 1713. Also, Mrs.
Elizabeth Nanfan, wife of captain John Nanfan, late in the hon. East India Company's service. She died
in Nov. 1769.
Charities and pious gifts.— An unknown benefactor left an annuity of four pounds for the repairs of
the church. The rent of a house, called Prior's-house, was left to the poor, the donor unknown.
A noble, payable yearly out of an estate in Roydon hamlet, was left to the poor by Mr. Newman.
i:
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 301
CHAP.
PARNDON.
X.
The two parishes named Parndon lie eastward from Roydon, and were not divided Pain^""-
till some time after the survey of Domesday. The name is there written Perenduna;
in other records, Parendon, Parringdon, Parenden, Perindun. In the reign of the
Confessor, tlie owners of this district were Ulf, a king's thane; Alsius Bella, a free-
man; another freeman; and the nunnery of Barking: at the time of the survey, it
belonged to Eustace, earl of Boulogne, and his under-tenant Junain; to Ranulph,
brother of Ilger, and his under-tenant Roger.
GREAT PARNDON.
The largest of these two parishes is what belonged to earl Eustace, and is of p^'^JJ^^.^
inconsiderable extent. The soil is of a superior description, and in a good state of
cultivation. There are three manors.
The manor of Great Parndon, at the time of the survey, belonged to earl Eustace;
and afterwards to the Whitsand family; three co-heiresses of which carried their
purparties of this estate, and the advowson of the church, to their husbands; and by
this means the manor was parcelled out into smaller possessions. Agnes was married to
Walter Jeround ; Lucia to de London; and Elizabeth to Talyferris, of Winton.
Walter Jeround, who married Agnes Whitsand, had this estate, which has retained Jeround.
his name : the mansion is on the north side of the church-yard : he was succeeded, in
1307, by his son John. Taleferris de Wynton, or Winchester, died in 1332, holding
a third part of the advowson of the church, and his wife's part of the manor; Richard
was his son, but there is no distinct account of his succession to the estate. Ptichard
de Nottingham presented to the living in 1325; and Richard Wynchester died in
1348, holding the third part of the manor of Great Parndon of the king, as of the
honour of Boulogne, by the third part of a knight's fee, and suit from month to month
at the court at Witham, and the hundred of Harlow. Joane, his widow, enjoyed the
estate after him, and died in 1361, leaving two daughters co-heiresses; Meliora, wife
of William Rolf, and Katharine, wife of John-at- Church; of these no further account
is found, except that Robert Chirche died in 1420, holding, apparently, his own and
the other portion of the estate which had come to him. His only daughter Joan, was
married to Richard Maister, who had possession of the estate in 1407. In 1467, it
belonged to R. Steward. In 1529, Andrew Finch and others sold the manor of
Great Parndon, and the third part of the advowson of the church, to John Hales, one
of the barons of the exchequer. It afterwards passed to the crown, and, in 1553, was
granted by Edward the sixth to the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of London, as
governors of the hospitals of Bridewell, St. Thomas, and Christ's, and it has remained
in this appropriation.
VOL. II. 2 R
302
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Katha-
rine's.
Passe
luers.
Canons.
BOOK II. The manor-house of St. Katharine's is on the south side of the church ; the estate
belonging to it is what formed the portion of Lucia de Whitsand, and was named
from her daughter Katharine de London. An unknown benefactor (supposed of the
llokesburgh family) gave it to Waltham abbey; and after the dissolution, it was
granted to Richard Higham, esq. who, in 1544, sold it to Andrew Finch, on whose
decease, in 1563, it passed to his son, John Finch, who sold it in 1580 to Thomas
Skipton ; it appears, from the records, to have belonged to Robert and Simon Adams
in 1558, to Nathaniel Tracy in 1588, and in 1645 to John Weldon.
The manor of Passemers is named from the family of Passemer, under whom it was
holden in the reign of Henry the third, by Baldwin de Whitsand. The house is a
mile eastward from the church, near a brook. The estate, a part of which has been
sold off, was some time ago possessed by a family named Naylor ; succeeded by
Sale, of Wadesmill, in Hertfordshire ; and George Brewer, esq. who conveyed
it to Mrs. Pink ; who sold it to Jonathan Nunn, esq., whose widow enjoyed it after
him, and left it to their daughter Hannah, married to Richard Glover, esq. of London.
The manor named Canons, belonged anciently to a monastery of Canons of the
Premonstratensian order, styled the canons of Perendune, or Parndon. It was
founded, or endowed, by Roger and Robert de Perendune, and Clement, son of
Reginald. In 1180, these canons were removed to Bileigh abbey, near Maldon; yet
they retained possession of this estate, which was confirmed to them by the charter of
Richard the first. On the general dissolution of monasteries, this estate passed to the
crown ; and was granted in exchange by Henry the eighth to sir Thomas Darcy,
gentleman of his privy chamber; who, in 1547, conveyed it to John Hanchet, and
Bridget his wife : their daughter Martha married Edward Tumor, esq. In 1632,
sir Edward Farmer had this manor, and resided here ; and in the last century it was
purchased by sir Josiah Child, bart. and descended to the right hon. John earl Tilney;
and the present possessor is the right hon. W. P. T. L. Wellesley.
There was formerly a magnificent mansion, in a low situation, about a mile north
from the church, to the right of the road from Harlow to Roydon; but the whole or
greatest part of it has been pulled down : it is supposed to have been built with the
materials of the monastery^ Kingsmore House is the elegant seat of Risden, esq.
The church has a nave, south aisle, and chancel; and a tower, with a small spire,
contains four bells.*
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and ninety six, and in 1831, two
hundred and ninety-six inhabitants.
* Charities. — In 1588, John Celye, Ceely, or Sealy, a native of this parish, gave one hundred pounds for
the purchase of lands, or other property, the yearly income of which shall not be less than five pounds,
to be for the assistance of the poorest people of this parish. — One shilling and eight-pence is yearly pay-
able out of lands named Rum Mead, in Harlow, to be given to the poor.
nscrip- Inscription. — " To the memory of Rowland Rampstone, late of .this parish, gentleman, who married
Church.
Charity.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 303
CHAP.
X.
LITTLE PARNDON.
This very small parish is delightfully situated near the river Stort : a freeman held p'"^^
it before the Conquest, and at the survey it formed one of the twelve lordships in this
county, belonging to Peter de Valoines: by Alfreda, sister to Eudo Dapifer, he had
his son and heir Roger, father of Peter, who married Gundred de Warren, and had
by her three daughters, co-heiresses; Lora, married to Alexander de Baliol, brother
to the king of Scotland : Christian, married to William de Mandeville, afterwards to
Peter de Maine; and Elizabeth, married to David Comin. In right of his wife,
Alexander had Benington, in Hertfordshire, to which this of Little Parndon * was
afterwards added ; and Alexander Baliol having sold the estate of Benington to John
de Bensted, in 1284, Little Parndon went along with it: the estate, after the decease
of John de Bensted, in 1342, and of his wife, Petronilla, descended to John de Bensted,
son of Ethnund; remainder to Edmund, son of John, and his heirs: John, son of John,
died in 1376: and the next recorded possessors were of the family of Colt, of Roydon;
who were succeeded by the Turnor family, in which it continued, till on the death of
Cliarles Turnor, in 1726, and of his two daughters soon afterwards, the family became
extinct. Sarah, grand-daughter of the last sir Edward Turnor, whose mother was
Sarah, sir Edward Tumor's daughter, was married to Mr. Francis Gee. Edward
Turnor, esq. of Sliillingley park, in Sussex, son of Arthur, second son of chief baron
Turnor, was heir to the family. He gave this estate to Sarah, grand-daughter of the
last sir Edward Turnor ; but after some dispute on the subject, there being another
who claimed the estate, it was sold to Edward Parsons, esq., and is at present the
property of William Smith, esq.
The church is near the river Stort, and very small : the chancel has a north aisle.f Clmi ch.
In 1821, this parish contained one hundred and three, and in 1831, ninety
inhabitants.
Mary, the eldest daughter of captain Turner, of Canons ; whose mother was Martha, daughter and heiress
of John Hanchett, esq. He died Sept. 10, 159S."
There are memorials of several of the family of Sparke, and of Robert Milward, of North Winfield,
Derbyshire, and afterwai-ds of this town: he died Oct. 1763, aged 74 ; his wife Jane died May, 1766,
aged 76.
* Chauncy's Antiquities of Hertfordshire, p. 313.
t Inscriptions.— On the floor of the chancel: " Here lyeth the body of Mrs. Sarah Turnor, ye wife of Inscrip-
Edward Turnor, of this parish, esq. by whom he had six children, whereof four survived her, two sonnes, tions.
Edward and Arthur, and two dauglitcrs, Sarah and Anne; she was tlie daugiiter and hayrc apparent of
Jerard Gore, of ye cityc of London, esq. She departed thi.s life in ye 27th year of her age, ye I9th of
February, Anno Dom. 165.." — Arms: Turnor impaling., between a fesse, three cross crosslets fitche. .
with a crescent.
" Here lyeth the body of Sarah Gore, wife of Gerard Gore, of the city of London, esq."
In the nave : " Here lyeth buried the body of William Houghton, who continued a faithful minister of
304 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
MATCHING.
Matcliing. The parish of Matchmg, extending- south-eastward to the hundred of Ongar, is
bounded on the north-west by Harlow : distant from Epping six, and from London
twenty-three miles.
Previous to the Conquest, Esgar, Elurid, Cild, Holefast, and another freeman, held
the lands of this parish : at the time of the general survey they werein the possession
of Robert Gernon, and Hugh his under-tenant, Geofrey de Magna ville, and William
de Warren. This is a pleasant and healthy part of the country, the soil being of
various loams, moderately productive.* There are four manors.
.Matching ^pj^g chief manor-house is Matching Hall, on the south side of the church; and the
lands belonging to it are what descended from Robert Gernon to the lords of Stansted
Montfichet. In 1331, Humphrey de Walden held this estate of John de Lancaster,
and left Andrew, son of Roger, his brother, his heir. The noble family of Vere
having acquired the lordship of Stansted, this manor remained in their possession
through many generations. The Walden family held it of them in 1401, and sir
Alexander Walden died in possession of it in 1408, whose cousin Alexander was his
heir; succeeded by John Walden in 1419, whose sisters, Katharine, wife of John
Barley, and Margaret, married to Henry Langley, were his co-heiresses; afterwards,
by purchase or otherwise, the whole inheritance passed to Thomas Langley, who held
it at the time of his decease in 1471, as did also his son Henry in 1488, leaving his
the word of God in this parish, thirty-eight years and five months, and departed this life, being aged
71 years and upwards, Nov. 15, Anno Dom. 1659."
North wall: " In the family vault of her son-in-law, Edward Parson, of this parish, esq. are deposited
the remains of Mrs. Bridget AVoodley, widow of William Woodley, esq. of the island of St. Christopher,
where he is interred. She departed this life the 13th day of February, 17.o6, aged 74 years, eminently
distinguished by every conjugal, social, and Christian virtue, and most justly meriting this last testimony
of filial duty and respect, from her affectionate son John Woodley, who erected this to the best of parents,
iWDCCLxvi." Arms : Sable, a chevron between three owls, argent ; impaling argent, a bend between three
wolves' heads, couped sable, langued gules.
East wall of the chancel : " Near this place lyeth the body of Ann Tumour, wife of Arthur Tumour,
esq. serjeant-at-law, and daughter of John Germy, of Gunton, in the county of Norfolk, esq., who was
mother of sir Edward Turnour, knt. lord chief baron of his majesty's court of exchequer at Westminster,
in the reign of king Charles the second."
" Near this place lieth the body of Sarah Clarke, widow, who was the wife of George Clarke, of Watford,
in the county of Northampton, esq., she was daughter of sir Edward Turnour, knt. : she departed this life
the 30tb day of October, in the year of our Lord Christ, 17-22."
''Near this place lyeth the body of sir Edward Tumour, knt who departed this life in Hillary
Term, in the .... of the said king's reign- And also here lieth the body of dame Sarah Turnour, wife of
the said sir Edward Turnour, knt. and daughter of Gerard Gore, esq. alderman of the city of London ;
she departed .... Feb. 1651 , in the . , . . "
* Average annual produce per acre, wheat 26, barley 32 bushels.
I
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 305
widow Katharine, who died in 1487 ; their daughter and heiress was married to John chap.
Marshall ; and had Elianor, wife of Henry, son of sir John Cutts, and Mary, wife of ^'
John, son and heir of Richard Cutts. Henry Cutts, esq. died in 1573, leaving- his
son, sir Henry Cutts, who held a portion of this manor at the time of his death in
1603, leaving his cousin, Richard Cutts, esq. his heir, who died in 1607. The last of
this family who had this estate was sir William Cutts, great grandfather of Richard
Cutts, esq. and father of John lord Cutts : it was afterwards purchased by one of the
family of Masham, and passed with the manor of Otes to the right lion. Samuel lord
Masham, who gave it, Avith Otes and Little Laver, to the hon. Samuel Masham, esq.
from whom it afterwards passed to Robert Palmer, esq. of London.
Waterman's manor, also named Matching-green, had a mansion at some distance vvater-
from the church northward, but it has disappeared. The origin of the name is '"^" '^
unknown; as also of a place here called Waterman' s-end. This manor belonged to
Waltham abbey, but by whom given is not known. At the dissolution it was granted
to Robert Clifford and William Wallbore ; from whom it passed, in 1547, to Geofrey
Lukyn; and in 1550, Thomas Lukyn sold it to William Lukyn; and he, in 1554,
sold it to sir William Petre, from whom it has descended with the family estates.
In the reign of the Confessor, Esgar, and at the survey, Geofrey Mandeville, had Stock
the manor of Stock Hall ; the mansion to which is a mile south-eastward from the ^^^^'
church, near Matching-green. It became successively the property of Thomas Battayl
in 1372, Margaret Boys, and a second Thomas Battayle in 1453, and of Robert
Brown, of Rookwood Hall, in Abbess Roding, in 1488 : his son William Avas his
heir; and in 1553, the estate was conveyed by sir Humphrey Brown to John Lyndsel
and others. Thomas Aylett was in possession of this estate in 1607, whose successor
was his son John. Afterwards Thomas Gittens, who married Susan, daughter and
heiress of Thomas Aylett, sold it to Thomas Bennet, of North Weald ; who settled
it on his son John Bennet, and Grace, daughter of Thomas Cook, of Nether Yeld-
ham, whom he had married; and he sold it, in 1707, to James Brain, esq. who was
high sheriff of the county in 1724. He gave it to his daughter, who Avas married to
Daniel Quare, son of Mr. Jeremiah Quare, merchant of London.
The manor of Ovesham, vulgarly Housham Hall, is only a farm, though formerly it c)vtsiiaui,
was so considerable as to constitute a hamlet to Matching; and had a chapel, the foun-
dations of which may be traced near Ovesham Hall, which is half a mile Avest of the
church. Shering brook forms the boundary of this estate, and hence the name is
supposed to be from Oppe or Opep, on the bank, or above the stream, and Ham, a
manor-house. It is Avhat belonged to Holefast, in the reign of the Confessor, and to
William de Warren, at the time of the survey; and by Alice, sister and heiress of
John, the last earl of Warren, was conveyed, by marriage, to Edmund Fitzalan, earl
of Arundel. It afterAvards belonged to the family of Scot; folloAved by that of Alleyn;
306 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. and returning" again to the Scot family, became the property of George Scot, esq.
of Chigwell.
Kinges- ^^ estate, three quarters of a mile eastward from the church, has retained the
name of its ancient possessors of the Kingeston family. It was holden by the heirs of
Hugh de Kingeston, under John and Thomas de Vere, earls of Oxford, who died in
1358 and 1370. Richard Cramp held it in the reign of king Henry the sixth, by the
service of giving, at Christmas, two little vessels, new bound with iron, containing
four bottles or Hasks full of new wine.
Stone An ancient mansion, north east from the church, is named Stone Hall.
Hall
Cliiiicli. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has a nave, north and south aisles, and
chancel, with a tower containing five bells.*
Harvey de Boreham, dean of St. Paul's, gave this church to the priory of Lees :
and in 1274, the great tithes were appropriated to that convent, by John de Chishull,
bishop of Loudon, who also ordained and endowed a vicarage here, reserving the
nomination of the vicar to himself and successors, bishops of London.
After the dissolution of monasteries, the impropriate tithes were granted to sir
Richard Rich, who settled them on his charitable foundations at Felsted, leaving the
right of presentation to the trustees, but the nomination to the bishop of London.
In 1821, this parish contained five hundred and ninety-nine, and in 1831, six hun-
dred and twenty-one inhabitants.
Inscrip- * Inscriptions. — On the south wall of the chancel, the following is nearly obliterated : " D. O. M. Nicolao
tions. Ashtono, honesta familia sato ; qui vixit annos lxxx et senos, integer cum mente et corpore prudens,
candidus plus vultus semper placide severus non male mores expressit. Ab omni senium verior quam
senectutis vitio singulari modo immunis. Constantiam nee in ipsa morte reliquit ; singulis composite
valedicens, modeste et importune concilians, inter maerentes tiliara et Nepos ; non aliter qukm iter facturus
ut ipse Rloriens, praedicabat, ad meliorem vitam decessit Kal. Feb. 1716. Pia, placida, gravis Anima
Vale." Translation : " By favour of the supreme Being, all powerful and all good, to Nicholas Ashton,
(sprung from a reputable family,) who lived eighty-six years, with soundness and integrity of mind and
body. His countenance (where sweetness mixed with gravity ever sate) was no ill interpreter of his
manners. He was very particularly free from all the vices of old men ; falsely called the vices of old age.
His constancy forsook him not at his very death. Amongst his mourning daughters and grand-children,
taking leave of every one without discomposure, and giving every one modest and reasonable counsel, no
otherwise than if he had been to take a journey, (the comparison he himself made at the time,) he
departed to a better life. Thou pious, gentle, and grave soul, farewell."
" John Ballet, gent, died, 1638, aged 65. Elizabeth Ballet, died Dec. 13, 1649. John, her eldest son,
died March, 1659. John, the father, in Dec. 1673."
" Francis Cudworth JNlasham, esq. only son of sir Francis Ma.sham, hart, died May 16, 1731, aged 45."
Charities. Pious benefactions. — The income or rent of a house on JMatcliing Green, known by the sign of the
Cock, was given to the parish for beautifying the church ; but is frequently distributed to the poor.
A house near the church-yard was built by Chymney, and designed for the entertainment of poor
people on their wedding-day.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 307
CHAP,
SHEERING, or SHERING. X.
This parish extends westward to the river Stort, and on the south is bounded by a Sheering,
nameless stream flowing from Hatfield. Sheering Street, consisting of detached
houses, on the road from Hatfield to Harlow, is distant from Epping eight, and from
London twenty-five miles.
In records the name is Sceringa, Seringe, Snaringe, Cherring. Peter de Valoines
had this parish in the time of William the Conqueror, its former owners having been
three Saxon freemen.
The mansion-house of the manor of Sheering is a mile south-westward from the Sheering
° _ , Hall.
church: it belonged to Peter de Valoines, who married Albreda, sister to Eudo
Dapifer, and had by her his son Roger, whose two sons were Peter and Robert.
Peter dying without issue male, was succeeded by Robert, who, by his wife Hawise,
left his heiress Gunnora, married to Robert Fitz waiter, to whom she conveyed this
estate, which remained in the barony of Fitzwalter till the year 1432, when it passed,
by .tlie marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of Walter lord Fitzwalter, to the family of
Ratcliffe, of whom Robert was created viscount Fitzwalter in 1525, and, in 1529,
earl of Sussex. Earl Robert, the last heir male in the direct line, sold Sheering, with
the advowson of the church, to Lionel Cranfield, earl of Middlesex, who, in 1635,
sold it to Thomas Hewit,* esq. sou and heir of sir William Hewit, knt. by Elizabeth,
daughter of Richard Wiseman, esq.
In 1723, this estate was sold, by lady Fibner, to Robert Chester, esq. one of the Dorring-
• 1 1 1 1 Vi ton house.
South-sea Company directors, on whose forfeiture it was sold by the Company to
Samuel Feake, esq. who erected the capital mansion of Dorrington House. It
occupies a delightful situation on this estate, about a mile south-west from the church,
and is the property and residence of Mrs. Glyn.
The large estate of Sheering Hall, in the possession of Mr. P. Paviott, presents an
admirable instance of good management, directed by superior judgment; the portion
of arable in particular, is made to produce crops of the greatest luxuriance.
The manor-house of Cowickbury, also called Quickbury, and Cowick-barns, is a
Cowick-
bury.
* He married Frances, daughter of sir John Hubbard, of Blickling, in Norfolk, by whom he had a
daughter, married to sir William Beversham, knt. a master in chancery : he married, secondly, iMargaret,
widow of Thomas Hillersdon, esq. of Elston, in Bedfordshire, daughter of sir William Lytton, of Kneb-
worth, in Hertfordshire, knt. and bart. : by his second lady he had five sons and eight daughters, of whom
his only surviving son was sir George viscountHewit, of Goring, in Ireland : dying without issue, in 1689,
he left his estate to his four sisters ; Elizabeth, married to sir Richard Anderson, bart. ; Margaret, married
to sir Edward Farmei , knt. of Little Parndon ; Arabella, widow of sir William Wiseman, bart. of Great
Canfield ; and Mary, widow of sir Charles Crofts Read, knt. ; of these, the lady Arabella Wiseman was
his executrix. The estate was sold, and remained sometime in possession of lady Filmer, a descendant
of sir William Beversham.— 5ee Sir Henry Chimney's Antiquities of Hertfordshire, p. 17G.
308
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Churt-li
Chapel -
field.
mile from the church north-westward; there is also another mansion-house, a quarter
of a mile farther in the same direction, which is named Co wicks. This manor is
supposed to be what in Domesday is named Cinca: in Edward the confessor's reign,
it belonged to Alwin Godtun, and, at the general survey, was in possession of WiUiam
de Warren, whose under-tenant was Richard.
In 1098, Richard Guett, brother to the countess of Warren, gave this manor to
the monastery of Bermondsey, in Southvvark, who held it as a knight's fee of the
descendants of the family of Warren, of whom are particularly mentioned in records
Edmund and John, earls of Kent; Joan, princess of Wales; Alice, wife of Thomas
Holland, earl of Kent; Thomas, earl of Arundel; and Joanna, wife of sir John Grey.
On the death of every abbot, the lord of Ovesham was to receive a hundred shillings.
After the dissolution of monasteries, in 1540, this estate was granted to Thomas
Jocelyn, esq. of New Hall, in High Roding, from whom it was conveyed, in 1556, to
Robert Hurst, and became successively the property of Roger Hurst, of his son
Thomas, who died in 1616, and of his son and heir Roger. The next recorded
possessor was David Pettyt, esq. of Wansted, fifth and youngest son of George
Pettyt, esq. of Ottford, in Kent, by Anne, daughter of David Polhill, esq.: he
married Mary, daughter of John Cookes, esq. of Bewdley, in Worcestershire, and
dying in 1745, left this estate, by will, to George lord Carpenter, who had married
his only daughter: on the decease of this nobleman, in 1749, his son, James Turvin,
esq. succeeded to this estate.
The church is a plain ancient building, of one pace with the chancel, and of the
same width: it is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
The rectory of Sheering continued in the gift of the owners of Sheering Hall
manor, till it was sold, by lady Wiseman, to a gentleman, of whom it was afterwards
purchased, with money left by archbishop Fell, to the college of Christ's church,
Oxford.
A field, named " Chapel-field," on the north side of the road to Netherton, marks
the site of the ancient free chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas, which was founded and
endowed by Christiana de Valoines, in 1278; the endowment was for two chaplains
to celebrate divine service: Thomas de Shimpling was presented as chaplain by sir
Thomas Loveyn, in 1322.*
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to four hundred and thirty-nine,
and, in 1831, to five hundred and forty-seven inhabitants.
HATFIELD REGIS, Or BROAD OAK.
Numerous houses irregularly placed, and generally at some distance from each
other, form here a considerable Village, where there was formerly a market-town of
* Benefaction: A house near the church has been given for its reparation.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 30^
some importance. It is on the north-east part of the hundred, and extends to the chap
Canfields and the Rodings. The Saxon name Hae^):elb, is descriptive of its former ^—
state, of a heathy, uncultivated field : the terms Regis and Broad Oak, distinguish this
place from Hatfield Peverell. The first of the above terms was applicable to this
lordship as having formed part of the deriiesne lands of the Conqueror; and the
extraordin^l^ tree of very ancient appearance, named Doodle-oak, has by most writers
been supposed to have been that from which this parish has been denominated : the
soil is well adapted to the growth of forest trees.*
From the great rent of eighty pounds, which this parish brought to the sheriff. Hoisted
immediately after the Conquest, it has been considered the largest in the half hundred,
and this opinion is strengthened by the appearance of the foundations of buildings,
extending above half a mile on the road towards Sheering and Harlow ; this place is
called Holsted-hill, a corruption of Old Street-hill. The return of chantries, in the
reign of Edward the sixth, makes it " a great and populous town." There has
formerly been a good market here, and there is a fair on the fifth of August, which
supplies a stock of lambs to this part of the country, chiefly from Norfolk. This
lordship formed part of the royal demesnes of Edward the confessor, of Harold, and
of William the conqueror. It contains five manors.
The paramount manor remained in the crown till the reign of Henry the third, Hatfield-
vv^ho, in 1217, made a grant of it to William de Cassingham, for his support in the
king's service; but a part of the tithes had been previously granted to the priory of
St. Botolph, in Colchester, by Henry the first.
In 1237 this manor, with that of Writtle, was granted in fee to Isabel, sister and
co-heiress of John, earl of Chester, married to Robert de Brus, earl of Anandale; she
was succeeded by her son Robert, who was one of the competitors for the crown of
Scotland, and married Isabel, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester. His 1 1
son and heir was Robert Brus, earl of Carrick in right of his lady Margaret, daugh-
ter and heiress of Neil, earl of Carrick. He died in 1304<, holding this manorf of
the king in capite, by the service of half a knight's fee, and the half hundred of
Harlow, which belonged to this manor 4 his son Robert was his successor, who,
asserting his right to the kingdom of Scotland, and being in 1306 crowned at Scone,
was, by king Edward the first, deprived of this and all his other estates in England:
* Mr. Arthur Young observes, " Sir John Barrington possesses, in Hatfield Forest, a very beautiful oak,
for wrhich a timber merchant offered one hundred guineas ; near it is the ruin of a most venerable one,
w^ich gave the name of Broad Oak to Hatfield." — Young's Agriculture 0/ Esses, vol. ii. p. 150.
t In the record said to be in Broomeshoobery.
X Robert, the father, had five sons and nine daughters ; Edward, his second son, was slain in Ireland ;
Neil, Thomas, and Alexander, having been captured by king Edward the first, were sacrificed to his cruelty
and revenge by the hands of the executioner; Neil at Berwick, in 1306; Thomas and Alexander at
Carlisle, in 1307.
VOL. II. 2 s
310 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. he married Isabel, daughter of Donald, earl of Marr; and secondly, Mary, daughter
of Aymer de Burgh, earl of Ulster. By the second he had David, king of Scots,
who died without issue: by the first he had Margery, married to Walter Steuart;
she died by a fall from her horse, when, being with child, her son, Robert Steuart,
king of Scotland, was taken from her by the Csesarean operation.
The crown retained this manor till Edward the second gave it to Humphrey de
Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex, and to his wife Elizabeth, seventh daughter of
king Edward the first, to them and their heirs ; but Richard de Waleys held the
third part of it till his decease in 1330. Humphrey de Bohun died in 1321, and was
succeeded by his son, John de Bohun, earl of Hertford and Essex, who died without
issue in 1335, and was succeeded by his brother Humphrey, whose successor, on his
decease in 1361, was Humphrey de Bohun, son of his brother William, earl of
Northampton. He married Joan, daughter of Richard, earl of Arundel, and dying
in 1372, left his daughters, Eleanor, married to Thomas of Woodstock, sixth son of
king Edward the third, and Mary, married to Henry, earl of Derby, eldest son of
John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, afterwards king Henry the fourth. Of these,
Thomas of Woodstock enjoyed this estate till his murder in 1397. He left Anne,
married to Edmund, earl of Stafford, slain in 1403, at the battle of Shrewsbury. In
1421, a partition was made of the Bohun estates between this Anne and king Henry
the fifth; the lady Anne had this, with other possessions, for her purparty; and it
descended to Humphrey Stafibrd, her son, who, on account of his alliance to the
royal family, was, in 1444, advanced to the title of duke of Buckingham, by king
Henry the sixth; and, in 1459, was slain, fighting for that king at the battle of
Northampton. His heir was his grandson Henry, the son of his son Humphrey, who
had been slain at the battle of St. Alban's; this Henry Stafibrd being accused of
treason, was beheaded in 1483, and this and his other estates were forfeited to the
crown. Edward, his son, was restored to his honours and estates, but, in 1521, fell
a sacrifice to the malice of Thomas Wolsey, and had his estates again seized by the
crown: in 1547, this of Hatfield was granted, by Edward the sixth, to sir Richard
Rich, lord Rich, and his heirs,* in which noble family it continued till the failure of
issue male, by the death of Charles lord Rich, earl of Warwick, in 1673; when the
estates being divided between the several co-heirs, this manor became the property of
sir Charles Barrington, in right of his mother Anne, daughter of Robert Rich, earl
of Warwick, which the Barrington family, his descendants, have retained to the
present time.f
* His son, Robert lord Rich, who died in 1581, held this manor, the park (then disparked) and all the pre-
mises, with the ward-staff; which shews that the service of the ward-staff came as low as Elizabeth's reign.
t The {)ari.sh of Barrington, in Cambridgeshire, is believed to have received its name from, or given it
to, this ancient family, who trace their pedigree to sir Odoncl, or Odynel de Barenton, baron of Wegon,
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 311
Barrington Hall, their ancient seat, is about a mile and a half from the church; chap,
when the family removed, part of this house was pulled down, and what remained ___!__
made to form the present residence, which was leased, with a considerable portion K^i"''"?-
of land, to the family of Nicholls, who have held this estate for at least a century; the
a descendant of Barenton, who distinguished himself in the service of Emma, queen of king Ethelred,
father of Edward the confessor, and who had the custody of Hatfield Forest. His possessions were taken
from him by the Conqueror : but his son, sir Eustace de Barenton, engaged in the service of Henry the
first, obtained from him the custody of Hatfield Forest, and also allowance peaceably to hold all his lands
here and elsewhere : Humphrey, his son, living in the reigns of Henry the first, Stephen, and Henry the
second, had the privileges enjoyed by his father confirmed. Alberic de Vere granted him the manor of
Barringtons, in Chigwell ; and he had the manor of Kelvedon, in marriage with Gresild, sister of sir
Ralph Marcy : Humphrey, his son, lived in the reigns of Henry the second, Richard the first, and John,
and was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1197; formerly an office of much greater authority and
importance than at present. He married Amicia, daughter of sir William, third son of sir Geofrey de
Mandeville, earl of Essex, who gave him his lands in Sheperide : Sir Nicholas, his son, was the first of
the family who resided at Barrington Hall. He was appointed woodward, and chief forester of Hatfield
Forest, and summoned before him the regarders, verderers, and agisters in the forest of Essex. He married,
first, Mary, daughter of sir John Bovil ; and secondly, Maud, daughter of sir Ralph Mortoft. By the first
he had no issue, but by the second had seven sons and one daughter, Margaret, married to sir James Um-
frevill. Sir Nicholas Barrington, the eldest son and heir, lived in the reigns of Henry the third and Edward
the first ; and marrying Agnes, daughter and heiress of sir William Chetwynd, had by her three sons and
four daughters : sir Nicholas, the eldest son, married Alice, daughter and heiress of sir Richard Belhouse,
and had by her Nicholas, Thomas, Roger, and sir Philip ; Nicholas, the eldest son, married Emma, daughter
and co-heiress of sir Robert Baard, and had by her four sons and one daughter. Sir John, the eldest son,
marrying Margaret, daughter and heiress of sir John Blomville, had John and Edward : John, the eldest
son, was living in the reigns of Henry the fourth and fifth, and was the first who assumed the name of
Barrington instead of Barenton : he married Alice, one of the daughters of Thomas Battle, younger son
of sir John Battle, of Ongar Park, by whom he had Thomas, Humphrey, and Elizabeth, married to John
Sulyard, esq. Thomas Barrington, esq. was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1451. He died in 1472,
on the 5th of April, and Anne, his wife, died on the following day ; she was the daughter and co-heiress
of sir John Holbeach. Humphrey, the second son of John Barrington, was the next heir. He married
Margaret, daughter of Bretton, and on his death left by her his son Humphrey. Nicholas, son of
Humphrey, died in 1505 : by his first wife Anne, daughter of Thomas Darcy, esq. of ToUeshunt Darcy,
he had Richard and Nicholas ; by Elizabeth, his second wife, he had no issue. Richard, the eldest son,
dying soon after his father, was succeeded by his brother Nicholas : he was created a knight-banneret in
1512, and died in 1515, leaving, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of sir John Brocket, of Brocket Hall, in
Hertfordshire, his son John, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Bonham, esq. of Bradwell,
near Coggeshall, by Catharine his wife, sister to John lord Marney, and died in 1537, leaving by her
Thomas, his only son, who, in 1562, was high sheriff for Essex and Hertfordshire, and, in 1571, received
the honour of knighthood : was a second time high sheriff for Essex in 15S0, and representative for Essex
in the parliament that met on the 14th of Elizabeth. He married, first, Alice, daughter of sir Henry
Parker, and had by her Elizabeth, married to Edward Harris, esq. of Southminster. His second wife was
Winifred, daughter and co-heiress of Henry Pole, lord Montacute, relict of sir Thomas Hastings : the said
Henry being the son of Richard Pole, knight of the garter, by Margaret Plantagenet, sister and heiress
of Edward, earl of Warwick, and daughter of George, duke of Clareuce, younger brother of king Edward
312 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. present occupier being the widow of Mr. Thomas NichoUs. There are two portraits
in one of the bed-rooms, which are believed to represent some of the Barringtons.
The new seat, also called Barrington Hall, or New Barrington Hall, erected by sir
John Barrington, is north of the site of the priory, and is a large noble brick building.
Priory. The ancient priory was a large timber building, near the east end of the church,
the fourth: in consequence, the family quarter the royal arms. (The seventh and eighth Henries, con-
scious of the just claims of this rival house of Plantagenet, pursued the unfortunate relatives of it with
singular injustice and unrelenting cruelty, till the name became extinct. The last male was this Edward,
earl of Warwick, a child of most unhappy fortune, nursed in a prison from his cradle, and unjustly put
to death by Henry the seventh ; and the last of the name, his sister, the lady Margaret, fell a victim to
the savao-e ferocity of Henry the eighth ; and, struggling against her fate, was forcibly dragged to the block
by the hands of a ruffian entangled in her hoary locks, made venerable by a life of nearly eighty years !}
By his second wife, sir Thomas Barrington had Francis, Henry, a gentleman pensioner, who died without
issue, and Katharine, married to William, son and heir to sir Ralph Bourchier, knt. of Beningborough,
in Yorkshire. Francis, the eldest son, succeeded to the family estate, which was greatly enlarged. He
was in the parliament of the forty-third of Elizabeth; in all those of James the first, except the second;
and in the three first of Charles the first. In 1603, he was honoured with knighthood, and, in 1611, at
the first institution of the dignity of baronetage, was the twentieth in the order of creation. His lady
was Joan, daughter of sir Henry Cromwell, knt. of Hinchingbrook, in Huntingdonshire, by whom he had
sir Thomas Robert, who married Dorothy, daughter of sir Thomas Eden, knt. of Suffolk, widow of
Barrett, whose posterity were at Lacheleys, in Steeple Bumsted ; Francis, of London, who married
a daughter of Richard Dowset, and left a son named Francis ; John, a captain, who died in Germany :
the daughters of sir Francis w'ere Elizabeth, married to sir James Altham, knt. and afterwards to sir
William Masham, bart. Mary, married to sir Gilbert Gerard, of Harrow on the Hill ; Winifred, wife of
sir William Mewes, or Meux, knt. ; Ruth, of sir Geo. Lamplugh, knt. of Cumberland ; and Joan, of sir
Richard Everard, bart. of Much Waltham. Sir Thomas Barrington, knt, and bart. married, first, Frances,
daughter and co-heiress of John Gobert, esq. of Coventry : and, secondly, Judith, daughter of sir Rowland
Lytton, knt. of Knebworth, in Hertfordshire; she died in 1657, without issue; but by his first lady he
had John, Oliver, and Gobert ; and Lucy, married first to William Cheyney, e.sq. and secondly to sir Toby
Tvrell, bart. both of Buckinghamshire. Sir Thomas was member of parliament for Essex in the fifteenth
of Charles the first, one of the burgesses for Colchester in 1640, and died in 1644. Sir John Barrington,
knt. and bart. married Dorothy, daughter of sir William Lytton, of Knebworth, knt. and had by her
Thomas, Francis, John, William, and a second Francis. Thomas Barrington, esq. eldest .son of sir John,
married lady Anne, daughter of Robert, and at length co-heiress of Charles, earl of Warwick : he died in
1681, in his father's life-time, leaving John, Charles, Rich, Mary, and Anne : sir John, the elder son, in
1682, succeeded his grandfather in honour and estate, but died unmarried in 1691. Sir Charles, his next
brother and heir, luarried, first, Bridget,onlydaughter and heiress of sir John Munson, bart. of Broxbourn,
in Hertfordshire ; and secondly, Anna Maria, daughter of William lord Fitzwilliam, of Milton, in
Northamptonshire, but had no issue by either. Sir Charles becoming very popular, was seven times
elected member of parliament for the county ; and, in the reign of queen Anne, was deputy-lieutenant
and vice-admiral of Essex. He died in 1715, and was buried with his ancestors in the family vault, in St.
Catharine's chapel, in the chancel of this church. Sir John Barrington, bart. son of John Barrington,
of Dunmow, his father's younger brother, succeeded to his estate in the Isle of Wight. This in Essex he
gave to his sister Anne, wife of Charles Shales, esq. for life ; and on her decease she was succeeded by
Riche Barrington Shales, esq. and, on his death, his younger brother was his heir.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 313
founded in 1135, by Alberic de Vere, second of the name,* and father of Alberic, the chap.
first earl of Oxford: it was for black monks, and dedicated to St. Mary and St. ^'
Melanius Redonensis, a British or Armorican saint, to whom an abbey at Rennes, in
Bretagne, was dedicated, and probably this was a cell to that house ; but Alberic, the
third earl, or his son Robert, who was buried in it, is supposed to have increased the
revenues, and made it an independent priory. The patronage remained in the family
of Vere till the dissolution; after which the site and revenues of it were granted, by
king Henry the eighth, and queen Mary, to Thomas Noke, who died in 1559, and
whose son, Robert Noke, sold them, in 1564, to Thomas Harrington, esq. on which
the family removed here, where they resided a considerable time; till being in a state
requiring some repairs, sir Charles Barrington consulted a workman about taking it
down, but gave him no orders: however, in sir Charles's absence, the man demolished
the building, without any order to do so, which Avas the cause of considerable incon-
venience and loss to the family, who removed to a small house belonging to sir
Richard Everard, in Great Waltham. Charles Shales, esq. the next owner of the
estate, repaired a house nearly opposite to the site of the priory ; and his son, John
Barrington Shales, esq. erected an elegant mansion here, and enclosed it in a park.
The ancient name of this capital mansion is synonymous with Broomhill; it is about Broome-
a mile eastward from the church, near High Roding ; it is enclosed by a moat. This ^^'*'^''"''y^-
estate was formerly a hamlet to the parish, and included in the capital manor. It
belonged to Robert de Bruce in 1303, who made it the place of his residence; and a
grant has been preserved, made by him to the convent of Tremhall, of a shoulder of
every deer that should be killed in his park of Hatfield : it is written in Norman
French, and dated from Broomshoo. In 1460, Henry Buckingham, duke of Stafford,
held this estate as belonging to the capital manor, by knight's service; and following
the fate of that unfortunate family, it passed to the crown. In 1544, it was granted
by Henry the eighth to Thomas Jocelyn and Dorothy his wife, and the heirs of the
said Thomas, to hold by the twentieth part of a knight's fee. A grant was afterwards
made of it to sir Richard Rich; but this was ineffectual, or made void ; for the estate
has continued in the family to the present time.
The manor of Ballingtons has the mansion about a mile north-west from the Ballina;-
church: it has been also named Rye; and Rise, or Rises Marses, usually went along Rise!
with it, and lies nearer the forest gate ; these, together, have been called a manor, yet
are holden of the capital manor, and subject to a fine on alienation. Ralph de Marci
held lands here at the time of the survey, of the fee of Hamo ; and the name of Marses
is believed to be derived from him : they are understood to be what was more anciently
named Belindune and Siriceslea, and so entered in Domesday. In the reign of
* There is an inscription in the chancel of Hatfield church, which erroneously attributes the founding
of this priory to the third earl of Oxford.
314 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Edward the confessor, Belindune belonged to Aluric, a freeman; and Siriceslea to
~ Harold, as part of the manor of Hatfield. Under the Conqueror, Siriceslea was
holden by Peter de Valoines, and his under-tenant Ralph Fatatus ; and Belindune
was holden by Hamo Dapifer, and Ralph his under-tenant. In 1602, Richard
Francke, esq. was sheriff of Essex, and held Rise, Marces, and Eves, and the manor
of Bollingtons, Avith appertenances : he had also in this parish, Robert-a-Braintrees,
Ongars, Thomas-by-the-Wood, &c. He married Dorothy, daughter and co-heiress
of John Leventhorp, esq. of Albury, in Hertfordshire, and on his death, in 1627, was
succeeded by his son, sir Leventhorp Francke, knt., who married , daughter of
sir Thomas Cottele, knt. a German, by whom he had six daughters. He sold this
estate to Benjamin Woodrof, D.D., who married a daughter of sir John Stonehouse,
knt., of Aberdeen Hall, in Debdeu, and on his decease left two daughters, his co-
heiresses, who sold the estate to Geofrey Stane, esq. who much improved the house,
with gardens and outhouses; it was built after the model of Pishobury and Hamels,
in Hertfordshire, designed by Inigo Jones. By Mary his wife, Mr. Stane's only
daughter was Sarah, married to Richard Chamberlain, esq. in 1721, sheriff of Essex,
on whose son Mr. Stane settled the estate. He, in 1745, married the daughter and
heiress of Thomas Smith, esq. of West Kennet, in Wiltshire, niece and heiress of
Robert Plumer, esq. of Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire.
The Lea. The Lea, in Domesday, is named Bineslea, and holden by Peter de Valoines ;
having in the Confessor's reign belonged to Ulwin. In 1479, Thomas Urswick died
in possession of it : Katharine, wife of Henry Langley ; Anne, wife of John Dore-
ward, and Elizabeth, Joan, and Mary, were his daughters and co-heiresses. It after-
wards belonged to Mr. Davenport, who left it to his grandson, Mr. Charles Hoy;
who sold it to Geofrey Stane, esq. and it was settled, as Rise was, upon his grandson,
Stane Chamberlayne, esq.
Down Down Hall is three miles south-west from the church : the small stream that runs
through the town of Hatfield also passes here ; the beautiful ornamented grounds of
this elegant seat rise from its borders, and the surrounding country in every direction
offers prospects highly interesting. In the Norman French of ancient deeds this
place is called " La Donne," and, in Domesday, Belcamp : in the Confessor's reign,
it had belonged to Ulwin, and at the survey was in the possession of Alberic de Vere,
whose successor made it part of the endowment of Hatfield priory: after the dissolu-
tion of that house, this manor was, in 1540, granted to William Berners, Walter
Farre, and William Glascock; and it was soon afterwards purchased by William
Glascock, of Great Dunmow, who died in 1579, leaving Richard, his son, his suc-
cessor ; who married Elizabeth, daughter of William Brown, of Bobbingworth, and
had by her Richard, Robert (of Ireland), and seven daughters; Richard, the eldest
son, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Bowles, of Wellington, in Hertfordshire,
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 315
and dying, in 1624, left Elizabeth, his only daughter, his heiress, who was married to CHAP.
John Ballet, esq., descended from the Ballets, of UfFord, in Suffolk : they had eight '
sons and two daughters; and she dying in 1649, and he in 1673, both lie buried in
the church of Matching. Richard, their son, who came to this inheritance, left it to
his nephew, John Ballet, esq. who married a daughter of the rev. Richard Marriott,
vicar of Great Canfield, by whom he had three sons and three daughters ; of whom
John, the eldest son, sold this estate to the right lion. Robert Harley, earl of Oxford ;
and it was chosen as a quiet retirement, by the poet Prior.* After having filled many
public employments with ability, this celebrated genius found himself, at the age of
fifty-three, in danger of poverty; but his friends procured a subscription for his
poems, which amounted to four thousand guineas ; and lord Harley, son of the earl
of Oxford, to whom he had invariably adhered, added an equal sum for the purchase
of this place, which the poet was to enjoy during life, and Harley after his decease.
" He had now" (says Dr. Johnson) " what wits and philosophers have often wished, the
power of passing the day in contemplative tranquillity." But it seems that busy men
seldom live long in a state of quiet. It is not unlikely that his health declined. He -
complained of deafiiess; "for (says he) 1 took little care of my ears, while I was not
sure that my head was my own;" alluding to the terrors of an impeachment, which at
one time he had to fear. He died in 1721, at Wimpole, in Cambridgeshire, the seat
of the earl of Oxford, After his death, the noble proprietor much improved the
grounds, cut vistas through an adjoining wood, and sometimes made it the place of
his residence. The present mansion, a handsome edifice, was rebuilt some time ago.
In the eye of the lover of classic ground, however, it will yet retain a value for having
been the residence of Prior, whose name stands conspicuous in the annals of British
poetry.
Down Hall was afterwards purchased by William Selwyn, esq., and is now the
seat of Charles Ibbetson Selwyn, esq.
The manor of Matching Barnes is three miles distant from the church southward, Matching
on the borders of the parish of Matching, into which it seems to have formerly
extended : this has been inferred from a terrier, and from an ancient writing copied
by Mr. Newcourt, which entitles the vicar of Matching to all the tithes of hay and
corn on the eastern side of the highway from Stortford to Ongar, and to four cheeses
yearly from the land of Matching Barnes, which lies in Matching. This estate is
* He wrote a ballad on the subject of his journey vvith his friend, John Morley, of Halstead, the cele-
brated land-jobber, to take a view of his new place of residence ; it is named Down Hall, and appears in
his works : —
" I sing of exploits that have lately been done
By two British heroes called Matthew and John,
And how they rid friendly from fine London town
Fair Essex to see, and a place they call Down;
Where are gardens so stately, and arbours so thick,
A portal of stone and a fabric of brick."
316
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Lancas
ters.
Biank-
trees.
Forest
and
chace.
BOOK II. called Machekes, in the charter of king Henry the second, to the priory of St. Valery,
and was with its other possessions, granted away from the church, on the dissolution
of that foreig-n house. In the reign of Edward the confessor, Godred, a freeman,
held this estate ; and after the church was dispossessed of it, the next recorded owner
was Nicholas Barrington, esq. in 1488 : he died in 1505, and was succeeded by his son,
sir Nicholas, who holding it, with Brent-hall, of Edward duke of Buckingham, died
in 1515; this with the rest of the estate descended to the Barrington family.
A family named Lancaster, in the time of Henry the sixth, had possession of an
estate here, which has retained their name; it is a mile and a quarter distant from the
church southward, and is included in the Barrington estate.
Branktrees is an estate about three quarters of a mile southward from the church,
and was also named from a famdy, of whom a female heiress conveyed it to the Joce-
lyns, and becoming afterwards the property of Mr. Lowe, he left it for charitable
uses. Other estates in this parish, are Hatfield Forest, Chace, and Park. Bennington
Green, Bushey-end, Broad Gates, Waters, Perse- Williams, Skringills, Fryers.
The forest and chace, anciently part of the king's demesnes, were at an early period
in the custody of the family of Barrington : in 1265, Humphrey de Barenton held
half a virgate in Hatfield, by the service of keeping the king's park and wood in that
town ; and sir Nicholas de Barrington, his son, held the ofiices of woodward and chief
forester in Hatfield forest : sir John, his grandson, had these ofiices confirmed by
letters patent of Edward the third, in 1355, referring to the charters of Stephen, and
Henry the third.
This district is sometimes named Takeley, and sometimes Hatfield-forest, and the
ancient customs for the government of the lords and tenantry are the following: "the
lord of the manor of Hatfield hath nine copses of wood, besides outlands that lie open :
the lord of Hallingbury has as many, about thirty acres in a copse. When they fell
any, they must inclose it for nine years to preserve the wood ; and it must lie open
nine years more, before they fell it. The poor are to have the hedges at the nine
years' end. The lord of Hatfield's tenants, belonging to the ancient demesnes, liave
the right of commoning for all sorts of cattle all the year. The lord of Hallingbury
has a right of common for deer only, but not for any of his tenants for their cattle.
The lord of Hatfield is paramount lord, and all waifs and strays are brought to his
court and pound ; but the lord of Hallingbury is lord of the soil, and the tenants of
the other lord cannot dig clay without his leave : the contents of the whole is about
2000 acres.*
ciim ch. The church, in the most conspicuous part of the parish, is a very handsome and lofty
* In 1576, Robert lord Rich granted to sir Thomas Barrington, knt. and his heirs, all woods and ti-ees
in Bush-end quarter, and Takeley quarter, except the land and soil, with liberty to enclose them. — Sir
Edward Cook's Reports. Pasch.viu. Jacobi, p. 779.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 317
building, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It has a nave, south aisle, and chancel; the t;H ai»
chancel having north and south aisles, and a vestry on each side : the whole building
is leaded, and in a stone steeple are six bells. Having lands left for that purpose, it is
kept in good repair ; and the wainscoting is particularly excellent.
The writings belonging to the Barrington family are deposited in the vestry on the
north, which is understood to have formed part of the chapel of the priory. In the
other vestry there is a library, placed there in 1708, by sir Charles Barrington, by the
advice of the rev. George Stirling, A.M.;* and there being no parsonage-house, a
small garden and a house were given by sir Charles to Mr. Stirling, who expended
one hundred and fifty pounds in improvements, having carefully treasured up that sum
out of his livings of Matching and Hatfield : he had been at no expense for diet,
always eating at sir Charles's table. But he neglected to get a proper settlement of it,
and upon the death of the donor, no conveyance was to be found.
The tithes of the capital manor of this parish were given, by king Henry the first,
to the priory of St. Botolph, in Colchester ; what remained, including the tithes of
Priors Hall, Down Hall, &c. being given by Alberic de Vere to his foundation here.
In process of time, all the tithes of this parish were, however, claimed by the priory of
Hatfield, and after some dispute, a final agreement was concluded, which gave all the
tithes of the royal lordship, and other places in this parish, to the prior and convent of
Hatfield Regis, and their successors ; they paying to the prior and convent of St.
Botolph, and their successors, the sum of three pounds, in lieu of their portion of the
tithes. From this period the prior and convent, having the great tithes, supplied the
cure by their own members, till a vicarage was ordained, sometime previous to the
year 1370, from which period they remained patrons till their dissolution. In 1534,
this vicarage was improved in its endowment by a composition of Robert Noke, the
vicar, and Richard the prior; by which it was ordered that the vicar, besides his
offerings and accustomed fees, should have all sorts of small tithes. In 1546, after the
suppression of monasteries, Henry the eighth granted this rectory and church, with
appertenances, to the master, fellows, and scholars of Trinity college, Cambridge, of
his foundation, having previously, in 1536, granted to the vicar fifty-three shillings
and four pence for his pension, with some other emoluments: hence the gift has
remained in the impropriators, and on account of the smallness of the living, dispro-
portioned to the extent of the parish and importance of the cure, it is stated to have
remained unpresented to, from the year 1619, for nearly a hundred years; all which
time it went by way of sequestration, the clear yearly value being only six pounds,
besides surplus fees. In 1679, Dr. Clarke, dean of Winchester, intended an augmen-
* This gcntleinan, who had lona; possessed the vicaraj^e by way of sequestration, in 1717, took out the
broad seal, on being informed that another person was applying for it ; by this means gaining a security
against the hungry pretender. — liforant.
VOL. II. 2 T
318
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Monu-
mental
inscrip-
tions.
tation of thirty pounds yearly to this and several other poor vicarages, but fell so far
short of his intentions, that Mr. Stirling did not think fit to hold the vicarage otherwise
than by sequestration : aftervrards, Dr. Montague, master of Trinity college, and the
fellows, upon granting a new lease of the rectory, made an addition to the vicarage of
twenty-four pounds yearly.
Walter Percival and Robert Hanbury founded and endowed a chantry in this
church for a priest to pray for their souls. The lands belonging to it were con-
siderable, and, in 1548, were granted to various persons, by king Edward the sixth.
In 1568 a tenement here, called "the Guild-house," was granted by queen Elizabeth
to Edward Grimston and William le Grys; and also another tenement, called " the
old Guildhall," with Sunday's croft, two shops, and Dod's meadow.*
In 1821, this parish contained one thousand six hundred and ninety-three, and in
1831, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five inhabitants.
* Tiie monument of Robert de V'ere, third earl of Oxford, with his effigies (as described in Cough's
Sepulchral Monuments, p. 39,) is still in its place, but considerably injured by chance or negligence :
the left leg and foot are broken, and the angels at the head and feet reduced to a shapeless mass. The
only inscription which remains is on the ledge of the slab at the head, and is as follows : — " ) st + STR."
In the north aisle of the nave, on a tablet of wood, is painted the following memorial : — " Robert de
V'ere, the third earl of Oxford, and great chamberlain of England, about the beginning of the reign of king
Henry the third, founded a priory of black monks in Hatfield Regis, als Broadoke, valued at ye suppression
at one hundred and fifty-seven pounds three shillings and two pence halfpenny per annum. He was first
entombed in a chapel of his own foundation, and at the dissolution removed into the quire of the parish
church. He lieth cross-legged, with this inscription : — ' Sire Robert de Vere le premier count de Oxen-
ford le tirtz git ici Dieux de I'alme si lui plest face merci qi p-.-.Talme priera XL....de pardon avera.
Pater noster,' &c. — Thus Englished -. ' Sir Robert de Vere, the first of that name and third earl of Oxford,
lyeth here. God have mercy upon his soul — if he pleaseth whoever shall pray for his soul shall obtain
forty days' pardon.' He dyed in the year of our Lord God 1221 ; which priory Aubrey de Vere, ye third of
that Christian name, earl of Oxford, enfeoffed with ye tythes of this town, and to the instrument of his
donation he affixed by a harp-string, as a labell to ye bottom of ye parchment, a short black-hafted knife
like unto an old half-penny whittle instead of a seal.
" Tliese are the words of his grant : ' Per istum cultlum Albericus de Vere terius ffeoffavit prioratum et
conventum de Hatfield Regis, alias Broadoake, cum omnibus decimis in predicta villa habend', &c. A festo
assumptionis Beatac INlariae V^irginis in j)uram et perpetuam eleeinosynam,' &c."
In the north aisle of the chancel, on a handsome mural monument, adorned with cherubs and festoons of
flowers : — " H. S. E. Johannes Barrington, baronettus, filius et haeres Thomae Harrington, arm. ex
Anna filia et cohoerede Roberti comitis de Warwick. Eximiie spei juvenis prteclarse et perantiquae hujus
familiffi conjugio olim honorata; cum pronepote et cohaerede Georgii duels Clarentias (regis Edri4ti fratris)
decus et ornamentum. Qui post aliquot annos in academia Cantabrigiensi feliciter peractos ad exteras
regiones vidcndas uberioris culturae causA rcccssit, sed pro dolor ! absoluta jam peregrinatione et ad suos
denuo reversus variolis illico correptus mortem obiit, notis omnibus et cognotis jure merito lugendus.
Natus 16 Oct. 1670. In Angliam rediit 20 Oct. 1691. Fatis cessit 26 Nov. 1691. Hoc monumentum
memoriae charissimi fratris sacrum sorores ejus dilectissimae Maria et Anna pro animi affectu et propriis
impensis erigi curarunt."— In English : " Here lies sir John Barrington, baronet, son and heir of Tliouias
Barrington, esq. by Ann, daughter and co-heiress of Robert earl of Warwick : he was a very hopeful
youth, and the honour and ornament of this noble and very ancient family, wl)ich was once honoured
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 319
CHAP,
X.
HALLINGBURY.
Two delightful parishes, on the north-western extremity of this half-hundred, and Hallini?-
on the borders of Hertfordshire, have been named Great and Little Hallingbury : in
records, Halingebra, Hallingbery, and Hallingbmyburgh ; in Domesday, Hallingebiri;
by a marriage with tlie great grand-daughter and co-heiress of George duke of Clarence, brother of king
Edward the fourth. After some years profitably spent in the university of Cambridge, he commenced his
travels into foreign countries, for further imjjrovement ; but, alas i his travels being completed, and being
again returned to his friends, he was immediately seized with the small pox and died, deservedly lamented
by all his acquaintances and relations. He was born on the 16th of October, 1670 ; he returned to England
on the 20th of October, 1691: he died on the 26th of November, 1691. His beloved sisters, Mary and
Ann, caused this monument to be erected, at their own expense, to the memory of a brother truly dear to
them." — Arms of Harrington : Argent, three chevronels, gules, in chief a file of three lambeaux, or, a label
of three points, azure. Crest: On a torse argent and gules, a man coupe below the shoulders ; garment,
paly argent and or ; crined sable ; a band ; escarsioned gules. A round cap on his head, sable, bordered
argent. They quartered the arms of Clarence ; i.e. England and France quarterly, a file of three lambeaux.
Pale ; parti per pale, or and azure, a saltier engrailed, counterchanged. They also quartered the arms of
Neville, Beauchamp, Warwick, Montacute, Mandeville, &c.
" In a vault underneath are deposited the remains of Stanes Chamberlayne, of Ryes, in this parish, esq.
and Thermuthes his wife, eldest daughter and co-heir of Thomas Smith, of West Kennet, in the county of
Wilts, esq. He died 26th day of June, 1782, aged 62. She, 11th July 1789, aged 68." " Non extin-
guetur." — Arms quarterly one and four gules, an inescutcheon argent between eight mullets, or, two and
three argent, a bend cotised sable ; over all an escutcheon of pretence. Or, a unicorn's head erased,
gules on a chief, sable, three lozenges of the field. Crest out of a ducal coronet, or (broken).
" Sacred to the memory of Mary, the beloved wife of Stanes Chamberlayne, esci. of Ryes, in this parish,
only daughter and heiress of the late William Brocket, esq. of Spain's Hall, in the county of Essex. She
died May 22, 1819, aged 61 years." — Arms quarterly one and four gules, an inescutcheon, argent, between
eight mullets or, two gules, three bendlets or, three, or, a unicorn's head erased, gules on a chief, sable,
three lozenges of the field ; over all an escutcheon of pretence Or, a cross fleury, sable.
A pyramidal monument. "Sacred to the memory of William Selwin, of Down Hall, in this parish,
esquire; also his wife, four sons, and one daughter, all interred in a vault in this church. He was for-
merly a merchant in London, to which profession he did immortal honour by his unceasing vigilance and
unerring probity. He departed this life 28th June, 1768, aged 82. Jane, widow of John Caygill, esq. of
Shay, near Halifax, in the county of York, his only surviving daughter, erected this monument." — Arms :
Argent, a bend cotised, sable, charged with three annulets, or, within a bordure engrailed gules, impaling,
sable, three leopards' faces argent.
" Sacred to the memory of lady Ibbetson, late of Down Hall in this county, and relict of sir James
Ibbetson, hart, of Denton-park, in the county of York : she departed this life on the 2lst day of August,
1816, in the 72d year of her age. Her son, Charles Selwin, of Down Hall, erected this monument."
In the church-yard. — " Mr. Thomas Nicholls, died June 24, 1820, aged 51. (This Thomas Nicholls, and
his father, Zachariah Nicholls, were of Old Harrington Hall, and lessees under the Barringtons. The
family still reside there.) Zachariah Nicholls, died 10th .... 1816, aged 24'. William Nicholls died June
21, 1814, aged 21."
On a wooden tablet against the north wall of the church : "The charities belonging to the church and
320
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Great
Halling-
bury.
probably in Saxon times forming one possession and undivided. They were both
taken out of the forest of Essex, to which they were reckoned to belong in 1227.*
The largest of the Hallingburies has been called Great Hallingbury, and also
Hallingbury Morley, from the noble family of that name, a considerable time the chief
lords here. It is distant from Bishop Stortford two, and from London twenty-nine
miles. There are two manors ; of which the mansion of Great Hallingbury is near
the church : two freemen had possession of the lands of this manor in the reign of
Edward the confessor, and it belonged to Roger Otburville after the Conquest; Avhose
descendant, in 1200, was William de Languallei; who, dying in 1210, was succeeded
by his son of the same name, who died in 1217, and left Hawise, his only daughter,
under the wardship of Hubert de Burgh, earl of Kent, and chief justice of England :
and he married her to John de Burgh, his son, to whom she conveyed this manor, and
Lexden : she died in 1249, and her son John de Burgh had livery of her estates in
1274 ; which he held of the king in capite of the barony of Lannvaley. He died in
1280, and left his daughters, Devorguil, second wife of Robert Fitzwalter ; Hawise,
married to Robert Gresley ; and Christian, a nun at Chicksand. Devorguil died in
the beginning of the reign of Edward the second, and, by the courtesy of England,
her husband enjoyed her estates ; and obtained licence for Christian, one of his three
daughters, that Hallingbury should be in her purparty : but she became a nun in the
priory of Halwell, near London, on which the inheritance is supposed to have gone
to her sisters ; one of whom was married to John le Mareshall, who had this estate in
1315. William, their son, was the father of John le Mareshall, of Hengham, in Nor-
folk; and of a daughter named Hawise, who, on the death of her brother, in 1316,
without issue, succeeded to his estates, which she conveyed to her husband, Robert de
poor of Hatfield Regis, alias Hatfield Broadoak, according to a decree in the high court of chancery by my
lord-keeper North, the thirty- fifth year of king Charles the second, 1684."
Value per annum at improved rents, 1776 : —
CHURCH.
Almonds, or Bridge-foot farm, lying near
Barrington-hall £46 0 0
Long-croft, once a parcel of Almonds. . . 1 10 0
Two closes and a grove near Stubber's
Bush, called Church Lands 3 10 0
POOR.
Brand's land, near Taverner's-green. .. . 8 0 0
Galley lands in White Roothing parish . . 5 0 0
John Gobert, esq. his gift 4 0 0
Town-grove, near Lea-green 2 15 0
Dod's-mead, near Hatfield-heath 1 10 0
Sunday-croft, near Needham-green 2 0 0
Trinity-mead, near Mr. Man's house . . 1 0 0
Eve's-acres, near Crabb's-green 0 8 0
Five almshouses : one by the school-house, of five rooms ; and another by sir John Barrington's alms-
house, of four rooms ; a third by the town house, called Town Shops, of four rooms ; a fourth at Mush-
brook-street, of six rooms ; a fifth in Broad-street, of four rooms.
* Perambulatio Forestae.
*^i ^^m 3
X.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 321
Morle, or Morley, son of William Morley, of Morley, in Norfolk. He sat in par- CHAP,
liament in 1299, and from 1304 to 1306; as did also his son Robert, from 1317 to
1357; and this latter was also, in right of his wife, hereditary marshal of Ireland;
constituted admiral in 1339, and 1355; and constable of the Tower of London; a man
of celebrity as a warrior. On his decease, in 1359, or 1360, he had this manor and
the advowson of the church.* The estate continued in possession of this family and
* His son and successor, sir William Morley, was member of parliament from 1361 to 1378, and died
in 1379, leaving by his wife, the lady Cecily, daughter of Thomas lord Bardolf, sir Thomas de Morley,
his heir, who held this manor as parcel of the barony of Rye, which came into this family by Alivia,
daughter of Hubert de Rye, married to John le Mareshall, whose surname was derived from his having
obtained a grant of the marshalship of Ireland in 1207. Sir Thomas was an admiral and engaged in the
wars with France; and was member of parliament from 1381 to the time of his death in 1416. He
married Anne, daughter of Edward lord Despenser, widow of Hugh de Hastings ; and had by her Robert,
his eldest son and heir, who died before him, leaving, by his wife Isabel, daughter of lord Molines, his
son Thomas, who succeeded his grandfather. He was much engaged in the French wars ; and member of
parliament from 1426 to 1434; and marrying Isabel, daughter of Michael de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, had
Robert, his son, who was member of parliament in 1142, and died in 1443, leaving, by his wife Elizabeth,
daughter of lord Roos, his only daughter, Alianor, married to William Lovel, esq. younger son of William
lord Lovel, of Tichmersh, who took the title of lord Morley, and in her right enjoyed, this manor of
Hallingbury Morley, for the first time so named : he had also the advowson of the church. He died in
1475; and Henry, his son, was his successor, who married Elizabeth, daughter of John de la Pole, earl
of Lincoln and duke of Suffolk, but had no issue; so that on his being slain in battle at Dixmuyde, in
Flanders, in 1469, his estates descended to his sister Alice, married to sir William Parker, of London, the
time of whose death is unknown : his lady had for her second husband, sir Edward Howard, second son
of Thomas duke of Norfolk, knight of the garter and admiral of England, slain at Brest in 1513 : the lady
Alice enjoying the estate till her decease in 1518, was succeeded by her only son, Henry Parker, lord
Morley, by that title member of parliament in 1529; he was one of the lords whose signatures were
affixed to the threatening letter addressed to pope Clement the seventh. He was an author of some cele-
brity, wrote several tragedies and comedies, and translated into English, " The Tryumphes of Fraunces
Petrarcke," and also wrote several pamphlets. He married Alice, daughter of sir John St. John, of
Bletsho, by whom he had John, who died before him, without issue ; Henry, Francis, Katharine, Jane,
(married to John Boleyn, viscount Uochford,) and Margaret, married to sir John Shelton : he died in
1556. Sir Henry, his son, created knight of the bath at the coronation of queen Anne Boleyn, having
died in 1550, had married first, Grace, daughter of John Newport, esq. of Hertfordshire ; and, secondly,
Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of sir Henry Calthorp, widow of sir William Woodhouse, By the first he
had sir Henry, Thomas, Charles ; Alice, (married to sir Thomas Barrington, knt. and bart.) and Mary,
married to sir Thomas Leventhorp, knt. By his second wife he had several sons and daughters, from one
of whom descended the family of Parker, ,of Arwarton, in Suffolk. Sir Henry Parker, lord Morley, suc-
ceeding his grandfather, married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of sir Edward Stanley, earl of Derby,
and by her had Edward, Thomas, and Alice, married to sir Henry Brunckard. He died in 1577, and was
succeeded by sir Edward Parker, lord Morley, his eldest son, who married Elizabetli, only daughter and
heiress of William Stanley, lord Rlontegle, fifth sou of Thomas, earl of Derby, and had by her William,
Henry, Charles, and Mary, (married to Thomas Abbington, esq.), Elizabeth, wife of sir Alexander Barlow,
and Frances, married to Christopher Danby, esq. : by his second lady, Gertrude, daughter of sir Robert
Denys, sir Edward had no children : he died in 1618, and was succeeded by his son William, bearing the
322 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. their descendants, the lords Morley, till it passed from Thomas, lord Morley and
Montegle, who died in 1697, to sir Edward Turnor, speaker of the house of commons.
He died in 1676, leaving sir Edward, his son, knighted hy king- Charles the second,
and memher of parliament for Oxford from 1700 to 1714: he married Isabella,
daughter of William earl marshal of Scotland, by whom he had Charles, and two
daughters; he died in 1721. In 1727, this manor, with those of Wallbury and
Monkbury, were vested in trustees for the payment of his debts ; and this was soon
afterwards purchased by Jacob Houblon,* esq.
Hailing- Hallingbury Place, the seat of John Archer Houblon, esq. is an elegant and stately
J Place. mansion, on an eminence, within an extensive park, in a most pleasant part of the
I county; and in all directions fertile and well-wooded lands appear, interspersed with
picturesque scenery. It is half a mile south-east from the church.
title of lord Montegle, in right of his mother, having had, in his father's life-time, a summons to the par-
liament to meet in 1605, by the style of sir William Parker de Montegle, knt. eldest son of Edward baron
INlorley; and it was to him that the letter was addressed which led to the discovery of the powder-plot.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of sir Thomas Tresham, knt., by whom he had Henry, William, Charles,
Frances (a nun at Douay), Katharine, (married to John Savage, son and heir of Thomas viscount Savage,
afterwards earl Rivers), and Elizabeth, married to Edward Cranfield. Sir William died in 1622, and was
succeeded by his eldest son, sir Henry Parker, lord Parker, of Rye, and Montegle ; he had been made
knight of the bath at the creation of Charles prince of Wales in 1616. Frances, eldest daughter of John
Egerton, earl of Bridgwater, was his first lady, by whom no issue is recorded : his second was Philipi)a,
youngest daughter and co-heiress of sir Thomas Carrel, knt. of Shipley, in Surrey, by whom he had his
son and heir, who on his decease in 1655, succeeded, as Thomas lord Morley and Montegle; being the
last of that noble family who had possession of this estate, which afterwards became the property of sir
Edward Turner, speaker of the house of comrnons. Thomas lord Morley died in St. James's, Clerkenwell,
in 1697, and was buried here. — Arms of lord Morley: Argent, a lion passant, gules, between two bars,
sable, thereon three bezants : in chief, as many bucks' heads caboshed, of the third.
* James Houblon, of London, merchant, in 1620, married Mary Ducane, and had by her ten sons and
three daughters ; of whom sir James Houblon, knt. was alderman of London, and member of parliament
for that city in 1698; he married Sarah Wynne, of London ; and of his children, Elizabeth was married
to John Harvey, esq. of Norfolk. Sir John Houblon, knt. and alderman of London, was the first governor
of the Bank of England ; lord mayor, and one of the commissioners of the admiralty, at the same time.
He married Mary Jurion, of London : of liis children, Sarah was married to Richard Mytton, esq. of
Halston, in Shropshire; Jacob, rector of Moreton, in this county, married Elizabeth, daughter and
heiress of Thomas Whincopp, D.D., and had by her Anne, married to Lilly Butler, D.D., rector of St.
Anne's, Aldersgate ; Elizabeth, married to Thomas Wragge, clerk; and Hannah who died unmarried.
The rev. Jacob Houblon, rector of Bobbingworth, died unmarried : Charles, the eldest son, married Mary,
daughter of Daniel Bates, of Abingdon, in Berkshire, by whom he had Jacob Houblon, esq. of Halling-
bury; who married Mary, daughter of sir John Hind Cotton, bart. of Cambridgeshire, by whom he had
Jacob, of Hallingbury, who married Susanna Archer, daughter of John Archer, esq. of Coopersale, by lady
Mary, his wife, sister of earl Fitzwilliam. Jacob Houblon, the father, had also John, a barrister-at-law,
and LsEtitia. The descendants of Jacob Houblon and Mary Archer were John Archer Houblon, esq. of
Hallingbury Place, member of parliament for Essex; Maria, and Letitia. John Archer Houblon married
the daughter of Bramston, of Skreens, and had eleven children; John Houblon, esq. is their
eldest son.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 323
The manor of Wallbury has received its name from a Roman vallum, or fortress, chap.
which terminated in a precipice above the Stort. Before the Conquest, two freemen ^'
were in possession of this estate, which at that time consisted of two manors, of which Wallbury
one was double the value of the other ; it therefore probably extended northward to the
parish of Stortford, and southward to the present forest, taking in Wall-wood, which
still preserves its name. There could not have otherwise been, at the Conquest, wood
for feeding- fifteen hundred hogs; and in queen Elizabeth's time, when it was con-
verted into grazing and tillage, of the first, two hundred and sixty, and of the latter
six hundred acres.
In 1210, Walter de Hannil had lands here given to him by Richard the first, which
he held by the service of being the king's falconer; and Roger de Ross, the king's
tailor in the reign of Henry the third, held this estate, called a carucate of land, by
the service of paying into the exchequer yearly, on the 30th of September, a silver
needle. William de Valence, earl of Pembroke, in 1284 ; his son, Adomar de Valence,
in 1323, and his widow, Mary de St. Paul, in 1376, held it by the same tenure. In
1428, it belonged to Richard Rede; succeeded by his son John, who died in 1436;
whose successor was his cousin, Robert Rede, son of Philip, brother of Richard, the
said John's father. The Redes are presumed to have held it, during a legal contest
between Reginald, lord Grey, of Ruthyn, and Edward Hastings, which in its result
gave this manor to lord Grey, from whose successor Edmund Grey, lord Hastings
and de Ruthyn, it was conveyed to William Whetenhale ; from whom it descended
to George Whetenhale, esq. of East Peckham, in Kent; who on his decease, in 1573,
left it to his son Thomas ; who sold it in 1576 to Thomas Meade, esq. justice of the
common pleas, and it passed, with the other manor, to Edward lord Morley, sir
Edward Tumor, and to Jacob Houblon, esq.
An estate and manor, south from the church, partly in this parish and partly in '^'""ks-
Little Hallingbury, was given by Eudo Dapifer to the monks of St. John's abbey, in
Colchester, and has on that account been named Monksbury. After the dissolution
of monasteries, it was granted by Henry the eighth to Henry Parker, lord Morley,
from whom it passed, with the other capital estates in this parish.
Tile-kiln-green, Hugh's-green, Worsley-green, and Wood-row, are hamlets in this Hamlets,
parish ; and near Woodside-green there is a fair yearly, on Whitsun- Tuesday.
The church is a small handsome building, of one pace, with the chancel ; and an
embattled tower contains five bells.*
" At Wallbury, anciently Wallia, in this parish, there is an irregular oval camp on 4'\^''i"'-
* Inscriptions.— Above a large tomb-stone, on the north wall, six brass plates bear Latin inscriptions fnscrip-
on the family of iAIorley : those are, Elizabeth de la Pole, daughter of the duke of Suffolk, wife of Henry ^'ons.
Level, lord Morley ; she died in 1480. Sir William Parker, lord Morley, who died in 1520. Alice, mother
of sir Henry Parker, lord iMorley, who died in '1528. Sir Henry Parker, lord Morley, who died in 155(>.
324 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. a steep hill, inclosing about thirty acres, with a bold double bank, and on the north
some additional Avorks on the brow of the hill. A road enters on the east side, but
does not appear to have been continued to the west, where the river Stort, at the
distance of two or three meadows, defends it. Here is, however, a gap in the inner
vallum, and the ditch is filled up on this side, but the other bank is very steep : another
road crosses it from north to south. Just within the west bank stands a farm-house
of the same name ; the south part of which, particularly the cellar, is built of rough
work, strongly cemented together, with some pointed arches. The area was a rabbit
warren, till ploughed up about sixty years ago, but is now divided into several fields."
The area contains thirty acres, according to Dr. Salmon, who imagined it to be the
Alauna of Ravennas; not reflecting (observes Mr. Gough) that the writer was
describing the south-west coast of Britain, and that all his stations answer to places
in Devon and Dorset.*
Relative to this district. Dr. Salmon has observed, that as there are some few
places retaining the Roman names, or rather British names latinised, it may be
conjectured that the Alauna Silva, of the anonymous writer of Ravenna, was here.
The Silva, he thinks, corresponds with the forest of Essex, and the neighbourhood of
London, as it is placed by this chorographer, with only Omire and Tederis between.
Mr. Baxter's interpretation of Alauna, supercilium Amnis, in his Glossary, agrees well
with the situation of Wallbury camp, which terminates with a precipice above the
Stort. There are about thirty acres here, double ditched, the entrenchments very little
defaced; and the precipice on the north has some additional work on the brow of
the hill.f Whether this be Alauna or not, it stands on the road from London to
St. Edmundsbury, in Edward the confessor's time, as is shown under Greensted ; and
a road is presumed to have passed by Hallingbury-street to Stane-street on the north
side of the forest of Hatfield. The Perambulation of Edward the first describes this
street, leading from Stortford to Colchester, at which time the street was used chiefly
from Stortford; and lying between Hatfield-forest and Stansted, gives its name to
the latter place. There are in the neighbourhood some remains of names, such as
the Saxons gave to what was Roman.
A lane leading from Wallbury to Hallingbury-street, in the direct way to Stane-
street, is called Port-lane, and the adjacent lands Port-lane-fields. In Beggar's-hall-
coppice, on the forest, in the way to Stane-street, there is a small spot of ground called
Alice, wife of sir Henry Parker, lord Morley ; she died in 1506. Agnes Parker, grandmother of sir Henry
Parker, lord Morley, 1440.
Charities. Charities. — The interest of twenty pounds is distributed yearly among the labourers ; by whom given is
not known : also, a rent-charge of fourteen shillings yearly, out of an estate near Tile-kiln-green.
* Cough's Camden, vol. ii. p. 63.
t In a suit, the prior of Bcrmondsey plaintiff, and John dc Bergo impedient, seventh Edward the first,
the name is written Alynbyr.
HALF HUNDRED OF HARLOW. 32^
Porting'-hills, and Portingbury-hills: and near this there are traces of a large circular CHAP,
entrenchment. In the convention between the abbey of Colchester and the rector of '
this parish in 1296, before Richard de Gravesend,* we have the Saxon name for a
Roman way, which is yet called Halllng-bury-street: the rector was to receive the
tithes, una cum terris et tenemantis quas Egedius de le Strate tenuit de dictis Abbate
et conventu in villa de Hallinburge.f
This parish, in 1821, contained six hundred and seventy-eight, and, in 1831, six
hundred and ninety-five inhabitants.
LITTLE HALLINGBURY.
This parish lies southward from Great Hallingbury, and has been called Hailing- J^i"Jp
bury Nevill, and Hallingbury Bourchier: it is twenty-eight miles from London. bury.
In the time of the Confessor, these lands belonged to a freeman named Godric, to
Godid, a free woman, and to Esgar; and to Suene of Essex, and Geofrey de Magna-
vllle, at the survey. There are two manors.
The chief manor-house is a mile distant from the church, south-eastward. Henry Little
de Essex, the descendant of Suene, and hereditary standard-bearer of England, bury Hall.
forfeiting his estates by his cowardice, in 1611, this was given, by Henry the second,
to Henry de Cornhill, who had a park at Hallingbyrl; and his daughter and heiress
Joan, conveyed it to her husband, Hugh de Nevill, who died in 1222, and was suc-
ceeded by JoUan; John, who died in 1245; Hugh, and John de Nevill; which last
had leave, in 1277, to take into his park here the wood of Corringhall: he died in
1282: there is no evidence that sir Hugh Nevill, who died in 1335, had this estate;
but it was settled on sir John Nevill, of Essex, and Alesia his wife, in 1357, for their
joint lives; remainder to William de Bohun, earl of Northampton. Sir John died
in 1358, and his widow in 1394 ; the earl of Northampton having previously died in
1360; and his son, Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton,
died in 1372, leaving, by his lady Joan, daughter of Richard Fitzallan, earl of Arundel,
his co-heiresses, Eleanor, married to Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester;
and Mary, to Henry de Bolingbroke, afterwards king Henry the fourth.ij:
* Newcourt's Repertorium, p. 295, vol. ii.
t Salmon's History of Essex. It has been observed, that more pains have been taken by antiquaries to
trace out Roman ways and stations in Essex, than in any other county in England, but that they seldom
agree in their accounts; hence it seems proper in some instances to give the reasonings of authors who
adopt opposite opinions.
X Anne, one of the daughters, and ultimately sole heiress of Eleanor and Thomas of Woodstock, was
married successively to Thomas, and to his brother Edmund, both earls of Stafford, and afterwards to
William Bourchier, earl of Eu : in 1421, she being at that time the widow of Edmund, earl of Stafford,
a partition was made of the Bohun estates, between her and king Henry the fifth, on which this manor
fell to her share, and descended to her son, Henry Bourchier, who died in 1483, Henry, his son, in 1540,
VOL. II. 2 V
326
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11.
Churcli.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is a plain small building, the nave and
chancel of one pace ; it has a square tower, with a shingled spire.*
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to four hundred and seventy, and,
in 1831, to four hundred and eighty-three.
and to his only daughter and heiress Anne, in 1541, married to sir William Parr, marquis of Kendal,
afterwards earl of Essex and marquis of Northampton. Her heir was sir Walter Devereus, viscount
Hereford, great grandson of John Devereux, lord Ferrers and Chartley, advanced to the title of earl of
Essex in 1572, and constituted earl marshal of Ireland : he died at Dublin in 1576 : Robert Devereux,
his son and heir, the unfortunate earl of Essex, previous to his decapitation in 1602, had alienated this
estate, which became the property of Thomas Sutton, esq. who settled it upon the charter-house in
London. His first intention was to build his hospital here, in a field south of the manor-house, near the
road from Ongar to Stane-street, for which he obtained an act of parliament in the ninth of James the first.
* Pious gifts. — Some person unknown left an annuity of thirty shillings for the decoration of the
church ; and almshouses for three dwellers near the church originally for the entertainment of poor
persons on their marriage.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE HALF HUNDF.ED OF HARLOW,
R. Rectory.
V. Vicarage. C. Chapelry.
+ Discharged from payment of First Fruits.
Parish,
Hallingbury,Grt. R,
Hallintrbuiy, Lit. R.
Harlow, V
Hatfield Bd. Oak, V.
Latton, V
Matching, V
Netteswell, C
Parndon, Great, R. .
Parndon, Little, R. .
Roydon, V
Sheering, R
Archdeaconry.
Middlesex.
Incumbent.
A. A. Cotton ..
J. Stuart
Ch.Mill'jr
John Carr. . . .
Jos. Arkwright
C.S.Miller. ..
Thomas Field . ,
John Jolinson. .
Nash Kemble . .
J.P.Wright. ..
Edward Brown
Insti-
tution.
181-2
1812
1832
ISl-i
1820
1825
1821
1784
1812
1831
1824
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
.^^22
0
0
15
0
0
],;
7
11
t 7
11
0
7
0
0
12
10
54
13
6
8
16
10
7i
t 6
0
0
tl2
0
0
13
13
4
J. A. Houblon. esq.
Gov. of Charter-hou
Marquis of Bute.
Trinity Col. Camb.
Arkwright, esq.
r Trustees of Felsted-
\ school, on nomina-
^ tionof Bp.ofLond
Charles Phelips, esq
^Hon. W. T. L. P
( Wellesley.
William Smith, esq.
5 Hon. W. T. L. P.
I Wellesley.
Christ Church, Oxon.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 327
CHAPTER XI.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR.
From tlie lunidred of Dunmow, and part of Harlow, Ongar hundred extends
southward to Becontree and Havering Bower; and from the half hundred of Waltham
and Harlow on the west, to ChafFord, Barnstaple, and Chelmsford: its greatest length
from north to south is fourteen miles, and its breadth seven from east to west. This
hundred is convenient and pleasant in its situation, and plentifully supplied with
water by the river Rodon, which passes through the midst of it. The heavier lands
are intermixed with a loamy soil on gravel, which is excellent; and around the towns
of Ongar there is abundance of rich grass-land.
This hundred, originally at the king's disposal, was granted, by Henry the second,
to Richard de Lucy, who had also the honour and castle of Ongar. It was given in
marriage with Maud, sister of Herbert de Lucy, to John de Ripariis, or Rivers;
this lady died in 1243, and her grandson, John de Rivers, held it of the king as of
his crown, at the time of his decease in 1294. John de Rivers, in 1336, enfeoffed
John de Havering and his heirs in this hundred; and, in 1339, granted it, with all
its rights and liberties, to sir John de Sutton, of Theydon Mount and Wivenhoe:
and he, in 1348, enfeoifed Ralph, lord Stafford, and his heirs, "in this hundred of
Aungre, with letes, views of frankpledge, and sheriff's turns belonging to it," which
was holden of the king in capite, in free socage, without any payment : he died in
1372, holding this possession, which descended to his posterity, earls of Stafford and
dukes of Buckingham, till 1521, Avhen, on the attainder of Edward, it reverted to the
crown. King Henry the eighth granted it to Richard lord Rich, who died in 1566,
and it was retained by his posterity, till, on the partition of the family estates, it Avas
allotted to sir Henry St. John, who sold it to Philip Traherne, esq. of whom it was
purchased by sir Eliab Harvey, from whom it passed to his descendants, of Chigwell.
This hundred contains the following twenty-six parishes: Cheping Ongar, High
Ongar, Norton Mandeville, Fifield, Roding Beauchamp, Roding Abbess, Laver
High, Laver Magdalen, Laver Little, Moreton, Shelley, Bobbingworth, North Weald,
Greensted, Stanford Rivers, Theydon Mount, Theydon Gernon, Theydon Bois,
Loughton, Chigwell, Lambourn, Stapleford Tany, Stapleford Abbots, Navestock,
CHAF.
XI.
Huiulied
of On^iir.
328 HISTORY OF ESSEX,
BOOK II. Kelvedon Hatch, and Stondon. The parishes of Chigwell, Loughton, and Lambourn,
are within tlie forest; those of Theydon Bois and Navestock, partly in and partly out
of the forest; the rest are all out of the forest.*
CHEPING ONGAR.
Cheping This ancient market-town has retained its Saxon appellation of Ereapinj, significant
' ' of its being the place where things are to be purchased or bought. In records the
name is Angre, Angria, Aungre, Ongre; in Domesday, Angra: from its ancient
castle it has also been named Ongar de Castrum.
* Some lands in this hundred, and in that of Harlow, were holden by the service of finding two men
to watch with the wardstaff ; of keeping the wardstaff ; and of paying ward silver, and doing white service
at the wardstaff. The design of this ceremony is understood to have been to represent the king's person,
and to keep the king's peace. The following account of it is from a manuscript written in the time of
John Stoner, of Loughton, who had a grant of the hundred for his life, in the thirty-fourth year of Henry
the eighth ; the services and rents are stated to have been such as were executed, done, paid, used, observed,
and kept, not only in the time of Edward the third, and Robert Bruce, sometime king of Scots, but also
in the time of his noble progenitors, kings of England long before, when the Saxons inhabited this realm,
as manifestly may appear by ancient records thereof made by Humphrey de Bohun, then earl of Hereford
and Essex, and constable of England, lord of the said hundred, dated at Pleshey, the tenth day of July,
in the eleventh year of the reign of the same king Edward ; as also by divers other ancient and sundry
notable records, the same remaining written in the Saxon tongue.
" The order of the gathering and yearly making of the wardstaff of the king, Sfc.
*' First, the bailiffe of the said libtie, or hundr, shall gather and yearly make the said wardstaffe of some
willow bough growing in Abbasse Rothing-wood, the Sunday next before Hock-Munday, which shall
contain in length iii qrters of a yard, and viii inches round in compasse or thereabout. And hee shall
convey the same ymmediately unto the mannor place of Ruckwood Hall, in Abbasse Roding afores'd,
where the lord of the said manor for the tyme being shall reverently the same receive into his house, and
shall rowle itt upp in a faire tine lynnen cloth, or towell, and so lay it upon some pillowe or cushion on
a table or cubberd standing in the chiefe or highest place in the hall of the said manor place, there to
remaine untill the said bailiffe shall have relieved and refreshed himself. And when the said bailiffe shall
see convenient tyme to dep'te, he shall convey the same staffe by sunne shineing unto Wardhatch-Lane
besides Long-Barnes in Roothing aforesaid, when and where the said lord of Ruckwood-Hall and all and
everie other tennant and tennants, land-owners, which by reason of their tenure doe hould their lands
likewise by service royall, to watch and warde the said staff there upon convenient summons and warning
to be given unto them yearly by the said lord of Ruckwood-Hall for the time being, with their full ordi-
narie number of able men well harnished with sufficient weapons shall attend. Where uppon the lord
of Ruckwood-Hall shall then and there yearly at his p'per costs and charges, have readie prepared a great
rope, called a barr, with a bell hanging on the end of the same, which he shall cause to be extended
overthwart the said lane, as the custom hath beene, to stay and arrest such people as would pass by.
Att the end of which said barr, not farr from the said bell, shall be laid downe reverently the said staffe
upon a pillowe, or cushion, on the grounde ; which done, forthwith the said bailiffe shall severally call
the names of all the aforesaid tennants, land-owners, who shall present their said ordinarie number of
men accordingly. Then shall the said bailiffe in the king our soveraigne lord's name straightlie charge
and comand them and everie of them to watch and keep the ward in due silence, soe that the king be
harmless and the countrie scapeless, untill the sunne arrising, when good houre shall be for the said lord
HUNDRED OF ONGAR.
329
The town is situated on rising ground, with pleasant prospects, and consists chiefly chap.
of one street, in which there are numerous good houses ; it is on the river Rodon, ^-'
over which there is a bridge of three arches. The market was formerly on Tuesdays,
but is now on Saturdays; it has been lately much improved, and the market-house
of Ruckwood-Hall to repaire unto the said staffe, who in the presence of the whole watch, shall take the
same staffe into his hand, and shall make uppon the upper rind of the same with a knife a score or notch,
as a marke or token, declaring their loyall service done for that year in this behalf. And soe shall deliver
the said staffe unto the bailiffe, sending it unto the lord, or land-owner, of the mannor of Fiffeild, or
unto the tenant resiant, saying this notable narracon of the wardstaffe hereafter written in the Saxon
tongue ; whicli done, they may hale up the said barr, and depart at their pleasure.
" The tale of the wardstaffe : —
" Iche ayed the staffe by leue.
Yane stoffe Iche toke by leue
By leue Iche will tellen
How the staffe have I got
Yotlie staffe to me com
As he houton for to don
Faire and well iche him underfingt
As iche houton for to don
All iche ther on challenged
That theareon was for to challenge
Nameliche this and this
And all that thear was for to challenge
Payer iche him upp dede
As iche houton for to don
All iche warnyd to the ward to cum
That thereto houton for to cum
By sunne shining
We our roope theder brouton
A roope celtan as we houton for to don
And there waren and wakedon
And the ward soe kept
That the king was harmless
And the country scapeless
And a morn when itt day was
And the sun arisen was
Faier honour waren to us toke
Als us houton for to don
Fayre on the staffe wee scorden
As we houton for to don
Fayre we him senden
Hether we howen for to sende
And zif thear is any man
That this witt siggen can
Iche am here ready for to don
Ayens himself iche one
Yother mind him on
Yender midtyyn feren
Als we ther waren.
Sir by leave take thi.s staffe
This is the tale of the wardstaffe.
" The Munday following, called Hock-Munday, the said staffe shall be presented yearly unto the lord
and owner of the manor of Fiffeild for the time being, or his resident, who shall ymmediately unfold the
clothes it is wrapped in, that it may appear by the score made thereon how the aforesaid lord of Ruck-
wood-Hall and other tenants, which by reason of their tenures of their lands, owe suite and service to
watch the said staffe at Abbass-Roding aforesaid have done their watch and service royall accordingly the
night before. Then shall he clothe it again, lay it in order, and use it in every degree as the lord of
Ruckworth-Hall hath done. This is called Abbas-Rothing watch; and is kept at the cross, with a hand,
at the Three Wants, in Fiffeild.
" Stondon watch : Tuesday following the staffe is carried to the lord of the manor of Nash Hall, in High
Ongar, and the watch is kept at Horrelsford, als. Hallsford. Navestock watch : Wednesday following
the same is yearly presented to the lord of the manor of Loft-Hall, in Navestock : the watch is kept in
Three-Wants-Lane. Stapleford-Abbots watch : Thursday following the staffe is presented to the lord of
liattels-Hall : the watch to be kept at Passingford-bridge. Lamborne watch : Friday following the said
staffe shall be yearly presented to the lord of the manor of Lamborne-Hall : the watch to be kept at the
Cross, in the middle of the town of Abridge. Chigwell watch : Sunday following the staffe shall be pre-
330 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. repaired ; it has an annual fair on the thirtieth of September. Distant from Romford
twelve, and from London twenty-one miles.
Previous to the Conquest, this lordship belonged to Ailid, and to a freeman; at
the survey it was holden in demesne by Eustace, earl of Boulogne; the part that had
belonged to the freeman having been given to Ralph Baynard. From the earl this
estate descended to his third son, also named Eustace, and earl of Boulogne, whose
daughter Maud conveyed it, in marriage, to Stephen, earl of Blois, afterwards king
of England; and his son William, earl of Mortain and Surrey, gave it to Richard de
Lucy,* lord of Disce, in Norfolk, who had with it Greensted, Stanford Rivers,
Rodings, and Christhall, to hold by the service of three knights' fees. This nobleman
had the lordship made an honour, on which several knights' fees were dependant ;
Ca.stlc. and he built a castle here, on the top of a very high artificial hill, surrounded by a
deep and broad moat, which, with other considerable works, formed the old fortifica-
tion, large remains of which are yet to be seen. Mr, Gough supposes the castle to
have been formed out of more ancient and extensive works, either of Roman or
Saxon origin : its distinguishing name of Cheping is undoubted evidence of its im-
portance under the Saxons, and the foundations of Roman buildings have been dug
up in the church-yard. The moat which surrounded the keep is generally filled with
water, and the sides of the mount planted with trees and shrubs, through which a steep
winding walk leads to the summit, where the chief part of the building stood : these
becoming ruinous, were pulled down by William Morice, in the reign of queen Eliza-
beth; and on the site he erected a brick building three stories high. In 1744, Edward
Alexander, esq. was the proprietor of the estate ; and pulling down this erection, had
a handsome summer-house built in its stead, rising to a considerable height, with an
elegant apartment and a dome : this has also become a ruin. From this eminence, an
open country, widely extended, presents interesting views in every direction; the
churches and villages of High Ongar Stondon, and Norton Mandeville, are seen on
the east; Good, and High Easter, and part of the Rodings, with Fifield and its church,
constitute an interesting prospect northward ; Bobbingworth, Moreton, Greensted,
sented to the land-owners of Loughborrovv : the watch kept at the Cross, against the church. Theydon
Gernon watch : Monday following the staffe to be presented to the lord of the manor of Gaynes Park
Hall : the watch kept at Webbis-Cioss, in Theydon Gernon. Moreton watch : Tuesday following the
said staffe shall be presented to the lord of the manor of Blake-Hall : watch kept in the midst of the
town of Moreton. Maudlin-Laver watch: Wednesday following the stafte shall be presented yearly to
the lord of the manor of High Laver : watch at Poole-Lane-end in Maudlin Laver." The ceremony in each
parish the same as in Abbasse-Rothing, where the ceremony began, and at the extremity of the hundred,
proceeding to Chigwell, the other extreme, and returning to High Laver, in the neighbourhood of Ruck-
wood-Hall. To conclude, this wardstaffc was to be carried through the towns and hundreds of Essex,
to a place called Atte Wode, and to be there thrown into the sea.
* Being governor of Falaise, in Normandy, he -distinguished himself by his brave defence of that place
against the attacks of Geofrey, earl of Anjou.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 331
with tlie handsome seat of Forest-hall, are seen on the Avest; and, on the south, ^ ha p.
Kelvedon and its church, with Navestock, and numerous gentlemen's seats, present
beautiful scenes.
Richard de Lucy was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1156; in 1162, justice
of England, and lord-lieutenant of the kingdom during the absence of king Henry the
first in Normandy, in 1166. He founded the priory of Lesnes in Kent, where he
entered himself as a canon regular, and where he died and was buried, in 1 179, in the
chapter-house. By his wife Rohaise, he had Geofrey and Herbert; also Maud,
married to Walter Fitz-Robert, progenitor of the noble family of Fitz- Walter, to
whom she conveyed the lordship of Disce; and Rohaise, married to Fulbert de Dover,
lord of Chilham, in Kent. Geofrey, the elder, and also Herbert, the younger son
of Richard de Lucy, dying without surviving offspring, Rohaise, their sister, upon
paying a fine to the king in 1207, had livery of the whole barony, to which she had an
hereditary right. In 1242, this manor was in possession of Maud de Lucy, but sup-
posed not to have been the daughter of Robert de Lucy; this lady having been given
in marriao-e by king John, to Richard de Rivers in 1213, from whose descendant
John de Rivers, it passed, with the hundred, to sir John de Sutton, from whom it was
conveyed to Ralph lord Stafford.*
In 1541, king Henry the eighth granted this manor to George Harper, who, in
1543, sold it to William Morice, esq. son of John Morice, of Roydon;f in whose
family it continued till by female heirs it was conveyed to sir Fulk Greville: and
* His son Hugh held this among other estates, at the time of his decease in 1386 ; as did his son Thomas,
earl of Stafford, in 1392, and also William and Edmund, brothers of Thomas, who died in 1398 and 1403:
and Humphrey, son of Edmund, created duke of Buckingham in 1444, had this manor; and being slain
at the battle of Northampton in 1460; and Humphrey, his eldest son, having lost his life at the battle of
St. Alban's in 1455, he was succeeded by his grandson Henry, earl of Stafford, who was beheaded in 1483,
foT attempting to dethrone king Richard the third, when his estates became forfeited to the crown.
t William Morice, by his wife Anne, daughter of Isaack, of Kent, had James Morice, his successor,
who died in 1553 holding this manor, the mansion of Bansons, and other possessions, by knight's service ;
his eldest son and heir was also named James ; he was of the Middle Temple : recorder, and member of
parliament for the borough of Colchester, in the 27th, 28th, 31st, and 35th of queen Elizabeth: besides
the family estates, he had Parson's-acre, and the manor ofSuttons, in this county: on his decease in
1696, he left by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of George Medley, besides other children, his son and heir
John Morice, esq. who married Katharine, daughter and sole heiress of sir Gabriel Pointz, who brought
him a considerable estate. Sir John, the eldest son, took the surname of Pointz, and dying in 1618, was
succeeded by his son sir James, who died in 1623; and Richard, his son, dying without issue, the estate
descended to his two sisters, Anne, married to sir Fulk Greville ; and Elizabeth, to William Duucomb,
esq. of Battesden, in Bedfordshire.— Arms of Morice : Argent, a fesse between three martlets, gules. On
a chief, sable, three foxes' heads erased, argent.— Arms of Morice, alias Pointz : Azure, three men's heads,
couped at the shoulders, each having a snake twisted round the neck vert : on a fesse, or, a cock between
two pheons, gules. Crest : On a torse or and azure, a cock gules, comb and legs or, having in his bill a
snake wound about his neck.
332
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. William Duncomb, esq. of Battesden, in Bedfordshire, who sold it to sir Thomas'
Whitmore; whose son, sir William, sold it to Thomas Goldsburgh, of Ongar; of the
family of that name, of Dorsetshire, and of Goldsburgh, in Yorkshire: by his wife,
Elizabeth Alexander, he had Thomas; Elizabeth (married to Richard Turner, esq. by
whom she had Dorothy), and Elizabeth, wife of sir John Bull, a Turkey-merchant,
and sheriflf of London in 1718. Thomas Goldsburgh, esq. the son, married, first,
Elizabeth, daughter of Jernegan Chaplin, esq. of Finchingtield, by whom he had
Thomas : his second wife was Susan Havers.
Edward, son of Nicholas Alexander, of Harden- Ash, in High Ongar, was the next
purchaser of this estate; he was a proctor in Doctors' Commons, and died in 1751:
having married Levina, daughter of sir Levinus Bennet, of Babraham, in Cambridge-
shire, he had by her Bennet Alexander, esq. who, in conformity to the will of his aunt,
Mrs. Judith Bennet, assumed the surname of Bennet ; and marrying Mary, daughter
of Mr. Benjamin Ash, of Ongar, had by her a son, named Richard Henry Alexander,
who married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Peter Burrel, esq. Bennet Alexander, on
his decease, in 1745, left also Levina, his daughter, married to John Luther, esq. M.P.,
of Kelvedon Hatch.
The mansion of the estate called the Castle-farm, is a good old brick house near the
castle. The manor of Cheping Ongar belongs to lady Louisa Harvey.
The church, dedicated to St. Martin, is a small neat structure, and has many Roman
bricks worked into its walls; the original windows are singularly small, more
resembling the loop-holes of a castle than the windows of a church.*
The living is a rectory appendant to the manor, and being of small value, the neigh-
bouring church of Greensted was united to it, in the reign of king Edward the sixth;
but this union did not long continue; and the living of Ongar, in 1721, was, by the
exertions of the rev. Houblon, rector of Bobbingworth, augmented by two
hundred pounds of queen Anne's bounty, one hundred pounds of Mr. Edward Colston's
benefaction, and one hundred and nine pounds two shillings contributed by himself.
This parish, in 1821, contained seven hundred and sixty-eight, and in 1831, seven
hundred and ninety-eight inhabitants.
* Cough's Camden, toI. ii. p. 51.
t Monumental inscriptions. — A mural monument in the south aisle bears a Latin inscription, of which
the following is a translation : " Underneath this place lieth Nicholas Alexander, gentleman, of Marden-
Ash ; a good, honest, and pious man ; a dutiful son and true friend of the church of England : he had one
wife, Johannah ; a pious, cha.ste, and prudent woman, daughter of Stephen Smyth, esq. of Smyth's Hall,
in the parisli of Blackmorc, in the county of Essex, with whom he lived fifty years and upwards, in faithful
wedlock and conjugal affection. His surviving children were William, Edward, Thomas, Henry, Anne,
Margaret, and Johannah. He died on the 29th of July, 1714, in the eighty-third year of his age."
There is an. inscription to the memory of Joseph King, the donor of a valuable charity to this parish,
who died in 1679.
A black marble within the communion rails bears the following : " Hie jacet Jana D. Oliveri Cromwellii,
Church.
Monu-
mental
inscrip-
tions.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 333
CHAP.
HIGH ONGAR. XI.
This is of greater extent than the other parish of Ongar, yet it has sometimes been High
named Little; it has also been named Old, and High Ongar; the village is not large, ^^^^'
but the greatest length of the parish, from Weald-bridge to Norton-heath, is eight
miles. Distance from Epping eight, and from London twenty-five miles.
In the time of Edward the confessor, a part of this parish belonged to Leuric; and
at the survey, to John, son of Waleram, whose under-tenant was Roger de Ramis :
the other part was called Passefeld, and both before and after the Conquest belonged
to Waltham abbey. That which belonged to Leuric, has since been divided into
six manors.
This chief manor, at the time of the survey, comprehended the greater part of the Manor of
parish ; the quantity being three virgates, and at that time rated as one manor, seems ongai .
to indicate that it consisted chiefly of woodland. After Waleram, the next possessor
was William de Moncell, or Monceux, in the reign of Henry the second ; he held it
by the sergeancy of being marshal of the barony of Gilbert de Thany; and is sup-
posed to have had this estate in marriage with a daughter or descendant of John de
Waleram. William de Monceux is said to have obtained from Henry the third, in
1220, the grant of a fair, to be holden annually, on the 7th and 8th of September.
Finchingbrochiensis, e sedibus Huntingtoniensis, eques Balneensis, filia, uxor Tobiae Pallavicini Armigeri,
ex illustri Nominis illiiis in agro Cantabrigiensi familia oriundi, ad quadragesimum setatis annum et
fernie tertium pertingens,quod mortale fuit in ilia officio vitaq. functa in hoc pulvere deposuit xxiii Martii,
Annoq. Christi 1637." — In English: " Here lies Jane, daughter of the lord Oliver Cromwell, ofFinching-
brook, in Huntingdonshire, knight of the Bath. She was wife of Tobias Pallavicine, esq. of the illustrious
family of that name in Cambridgeshire. Having arrived at nearly the forty-third year of her age, and
having finished ber duty as well as life, she deposited her mortal part in this dust, on the 23d of March,
and in the year of Christ 1637."
Near this is the following: " Here lies the body of that truly noble and religious gentleman, Horatio
Pallavicine, esq. who died May 6, 1648, aged thirty-six."
There are also epitaphs on the following persons : " Jane, the beloved wife of Godfrey Jones, school-
master and rector of Ongar, who died the 5th of January, 1717, aged thirty-one. Also, of the said God-
frey, who died the 14th of August, 1733, aged forty-eight. — Thomas Velley, M.A., late rector of this parish,
who died Nov. 28, 1750, aged forty-seven. Also, two of his children, and his mother, late wife of Thomas
Velley, esq. of Marden-Ash."
Charity. — Joseph King, born in this parish, gave five houses in Ongar, to be managed by feoffees, and out Charity,
of the rents ten pounds yearly, to be paid to a schoolmaster for teaching six poor boys till fit to be put out
apprentices ; one to be put out yearly, and five pounds given with him : if in the year none be fit to go
out, then eight pounds to be given the year following with a boy properly qualified : and should at any
time one of the scholars be found qualified for the university, five pounds to be given with him for four
years, and no apprentice to be put out during that time. Forty shillings to be given yearly for teaching
girls to read: twenty shillings to purchase bibles for poor families, and for books of devotion : ten
.shillings yearly for a dinner on Tuesday in V\Tiitsun-week ; and four shillings to the clerk for keeping the
inscription clean.
VOL. II. 2 X
334 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The manor of Astelyns is also named Gapps, from a hamlet of that name; part of it
^5j^,, extends into Bobbingworth and North-weald. The ancient mansion was surrounded
by a moat, within a park of more than a hundred acres; the Lodge is in Bobbing-
worth. The unfortunate Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk, was for a time concealed
here, when charged with high treason, for acceding to the proposal of marrying Mary
queen of Scots.
In 1475, Walter Writtel held this manor, which descended to his son William, and
whose widow, Katharine Hawte, re-married to John Green, enjoyed it till her decease,
in 1493. John Writtel died possessed of it in 1507: as did also William AyliflP, esq.
in 1517. It was afterwards purchased by Dr. Baldwin Hamey, of the college of phy-
sicians, in London, who, in 1672, settled it on that institution. The estate contains
three hundred and thirty-seven acres.
Forest Forest Hall, formerly named Folyats, is a handsome brick mansion, about three
Hall
quarters of a mile from the church, northward. Formerly this estate belonged to the
dean and chapter of St. Paul's, till it came into the possession of Henry the eighth,
who, in 1544, granted it to William Riggs, and Leonard Brown, who in the same
year conveyed it to sir Richard Rich, and he, in 1562, sold it to Richard Stane, and
his son of the same name : the father died in 1600, holding this estate of the queen,
by knight's service. His son and heir, Richard Stane, LL.D. died in 1614, and was
succeeded by his son John; and by Richard Stane, esq. who erected the elegant
family mansion: he died in 1714, leaving by his wife, daughter of Dr. John Gawden,
bishop of Worcester, his son and heir, William Stane, esq. who married Alice,
daughter of sir Thomas Abdy, hart, of Felix Hall, by whom he had William Stane,
esq. It now belongs to the rev. John Bramston Stane.
Chevers. The mansion of the manor of Chevers is on the side of a hill, a mile eastward from
the church. In 1484, this estate was holden of Jasper, duke of Bedford, by John
Stalbroke; succeeded by his son Matthew: William Pawne was in possession of it in
1524, and dying in 1570, left his son William; on whose decease without issue, in
1578, it became the inheritance of Bridget, wife of William Chatterton, daughter of
Roger Bassingborn, by Anne his wife, sister to the first William Pawne. John
Austin, on his decease in 1633, had this estate, and was succeeded by his son James;
and afterwards Philip Holeman had this estate, succeeded by William Stane, esq. to
whose descendants it now belongs.
Ncwaiks. The manor of Newarks is partly in this parish, and partly in that of Norton, in
which the manor-house stands ; it belongs to the Stane family.
Ashe Hall. Ashe Hall is a quarter of a mile east of the church, by a brook. John, son and heir
of sir William Frenles, held this manor of Hugh, earl of Stafford; and on his death,
in 1378, was succeeded by his brother, William de Frenles. No records have been
preserved of the successive owners of this estate, till the reign of king James the first,
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 335
when it belong'ed to sir Tliomas Miklmay, knt. of Springfield Barnes, who held it by C H A f.
the name of Nashall, with other possessions in the Ongars, in Norton Mandeville, and —
Shelley. On his decease, in 1612, he was succeeded by his grandson, Thomas Mildmay,
esq. It afterwards belonged to Mr. Thomas Wallenger, and to Peter Champion, esq.
of Croydon.
The manor of Wetherspane belonged to Alexander Holraan in 1614; and was holden Wethers-
nnder him by Dr. Stane: it afterwards belonged to Mr. William Baker, and to his
son, Bramston Baker : it belongs now to the rev. John Bramston Stane.
The manor of Ongar Park is not in this parish, yet belongs to it ; it is separated Ongar
from it by Greensted and Bobbingworth. After Monceiix, the next recorded pos-
sessor was Andrew de Walden, who died in 1352 ; his son Thomas, by his wife Joan,
was his successor; on whose decease, in 1420, it went to Thomas Bataile, son of his
sister Alice, and Alianore, his wife, daughter of Thomas Ondeby, and their heirs : in
1439, on his decease, his heir was his son John, whose son of the same name succeeded
in 1473: Richard Bataile, supposed his son, died in 1540, and his heirs were his
two sisters, Constance (wife of William Feme), Margery Butler; and Richard
Kighley, a third sister's son. The next recorded possessor was Humphrey Shelton,
esq. who died in 1605, and was succeeded by his son W^illiam: it afterwards belonged
to William MinshuU, esq. who sold it to sir Thomas Webster, of Copped Hall; who
sold it to Aaron Frank, esq. This estate at present belongs to Capel Cure, esq.
The manor of Passelow, or Passfield, was one of the seventeen lordships given by Passelow,
earl Harold to Waltham abbey; and after its dissolution, was granted, in 1541, to
George Harper, who the same year conveyed it to sir Richard Rich, from whom it
descended to his posterity, earls of Warwick; and on the partition of their estates,
became the property of the earl of Manchester; of whom it was purchased by sir
Josiah Child, and descended to the right hon. John earl Tilney; and now belongs to
the hon. W. T. L. P. Wellesley.
The church is entered by a very handsome Norman semicircular arch, under a Church,
wooden south porch, above which the date (1640) is inscribed; it is dedicated to the
Virgin Mary, and of one spacious pace, as is also the chancel; on the lofty arched
roof, clouds, stars, and the rising sun were represented by paintings of a superior
description; and there is a very elegant altar-piece: a woodea spire rises above a
square tower, also of wood, and containing five bells.*
In 1821, this parish contained one thousand one hundred and twenty-six, and in
1831, one thousand two hundred and five inhabitants.
* Monumental inscriptions. — A mural marble monument bears the following inscription: " Near this Monu-
place lies the body of Richard Stane, esq. who departed this life January the 15th, 1714, aged eighty-four mental
years. Upon the restoration of king Charles the second, he was made justice of the peace, and captain of '?*''^'P"
the horse. He mairied Anne, daughter of the right reverend John Gauden, lord bishop of Worcester, by
whom he had issue, William and Uachel, twins. The above William Stane, married Alice, youngest
336
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11.
Norton
Mande-
viUe.
Newaiks,
Norton.
Clnirch.
NORTON MANDEVILLE.
This parish is supposed to have been named Norton, as lying northward from
Ongar; and to distinguish it from Cold Norton, in Dengy hundred, it has been named
Noi'ton Mandeville. It contains only a small number of houses, and the inhabitants
are almost exclusively engaged in agricultural pursuits. Distance from Eppiug eight,
and from London twenty-five miles.
Before the Conquest, a part of this estate was in possession of Gotil; the other
portion belonged to a female proprietor named Godid; and, at the survey, the whole
belonged to Hamo Dapifer, whose under-tenant was Wimund: hence the two manors
of this parish.
In 1190, John de Dammartin held this estate under Ralph de Diceto, the dean,
and the canons of St. Paul's ; and after her husband's decease, his widow Galiena had
for her second husband Ralph Mandeville; and she gave some lands here to her son,
Robert Mandeville. In 1480, this manor belonged to Thomas Danvers, esq. and was
in the same year purchased by Merton College, Oxford.
Newarks manor extends into the parish of High Ongar, and the house is eastward
from the church about a mile. There is no record to inform us of the proprietors of
this estate till the time of Henry the eighth, who, in 1542, granted it to John Williams
and Anthony Stringer, who the same year conveyed it to sir Richard Rich; and it
was in possession of John Waylett at the time of his decease in 1576, who held it of
the queen by knight's service: he was succeeded by his son of the same name, who
dying in 1612, left it to his son, John Waylett. It afterwards became the property
of the Stane family, of Forest Hall, and belongs to the rev . J. B. Stane.
The church is a plain building, with a small wooden spire: it is dedicated to All
Charities.
daughter of sir Thoma.s Abdy, bart. of Easterford Kelvedon, in Es.sex; by whom he had issue four sons
and two daughters. He departed this life March 11, 1727, aged sixty-live years."
On a marble slab on the ground : " In memory of Francis Spendlove, who died in infancy, April 4, 1766."
The following inscription is on a black marble, in the chancel : " When a general confusion, ushered in
by a pretended Reformation, had buried the Protestant religion, and the liberty of the subject, under the
ruins of church and state, he left a sad and serious warning to all posterity, how they opposed the king
and the bishops again ; then was tiiis house of bondage happily exchanged for an heavenly Canaan, by
Richard Carter, October 26, 1659."
Charities. — John Wyberd, citizen and haberdasher, of London, gave fifty shillings yearly, to buy bread
for the poor of this parish for ever, payable out of the King's Head inn, at Kerton, in Lincolnshire. —
Mrs. Alice Thompson's benediction to eight poor widows, five shillings each yearly, to buy them waist-
coats.—Mr. Waller, out of a farm called Farrows, gave ten shillings yearly.— In 1611, the rev. Dr. Tabor,
rector of this parish, founded and endowed an almshouse of six tenements, with the sum of ten pounds
per annum for ever; payable out of a farm called Westwick, in the parish of Bi-adwell, in this county. —
In 1722, William Peacock, gave twenty shillings yearly to the poor, out of the rents of a cottage called
King's Ridden. This gift is distributed every Christmas-day by the churchwardens.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 337
Saints.* The rectory and great tithes were given to the nunnery of St. Leonards, c H a p.
at Bromley, in Middlesex, by Galiena de Dammartin, and confirmed by her son and ^*'
her second husband; and Robert de Burgate, and Galiena his wife, gave all the tithes
out of his wood called Alewode, &c. to the same appropriation. This rectory, in 1540,
was granted to sir Ralph Sadler, who conveyed it to William Pawne, esq. from whom
it descended to his son William, and passed, as the manor of Chevers did, to Bridget
Chatterton. In 1595, it belonged to Thomas EUyot, who left it to his son of the
same name, and it afterwards belonged to Mr. Nicholas. This curacy was augmented
in 1743.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to one hundred and forty-one, and
to one hundred and fourteen in 1831.
FIFIELD.
This parish extends northward from Norton Mandeville and Shelley to Beauchamp Fifield.
Roding, and from part of the hundred of Chelmsford on the east to Moreton and
Bobbingworth westward. The name in records is Fyfhide, Fishide, Fyshide, and
in Domesday Fif hide, supposed from the Saxon Fip, five, and hyde, a certain quantity
of land. The circumference of the parish is estimated to be nearly eight miles: distant
from Chelmsford ten, and from London twenty-five miles.
Brictmar, Alwin, Leuric, and Alestan, were the proprietors of the lands of this
parish in the time of Edward the confessor; and they belonged to Eustace, earl of
Boulogne, and John, son of Waleram, after the Conquest. The earl of Boulogne was
lord paramount, but Waleram had the largest demesnes. There were three manors.
Pharin de Boulogne, and afterwards William de Fessues, or Fesnes, held Ffhid of Fifield
the honour of Boulogne, in the reign of Henry the second : Fifid is also at the same
time mentioned, as among the fees of Oger de Curcon; and it was soon afterwards
the property of the family surnamed De Tany, of Stapleford; successively passing to
Hasculf de Tani, and his wife Maud; to Rainald; to his brother Grailand, or Gruel
de Tani, Avho dying in 1179, was succeeded by Hasculf, and Gilbert de Tani, who
died in 1220, leaving William de Faubourgh, Maud, wife of Adam de Legh, and
Nicholas de Beauchamp his next heirs. The whole of this estate belonged to Nicholas
de Beauchamp in 1331, and to John, son of John Hotham, of Bondeby,f at the time
of his death in 1351; he was succeeded by his sisters and co-heiresses, Catharine and
Alice. One of these are supposed to have conveyed this manor in marriage to Henry
* From an examination of documents of the date of 1181, Mr. Nevvcourt was led to the belief that
Norton was originally a chapel of ease to High Ongar. — Newceurt, vol. ii. p. 439; from the Register of the
Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's,
t Jlondelay occurs in Froissart's account of the treachery of king Richard the second to his uncle, the
duke of Gloucester, which is supposed to have been intended for the name of this ancient seat. — Froissart,
1. iv. c. 33, 36.
338 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. lord Scrope, of Masham, for he died possessed of it at the time of his decease in 1392:
his successors were his son, sir Stephen Scrope, whose widow Margery had this estate
in jointure .till her death in 1422, when (their eldest son Henry having- forfeited his
life in 1415, for his treachery to king Henry the fifth,) their second son, sir John
Scrope, treasurer of the exchequer, succeeded to this and other estates; and dying in
1455, and Elizabeth, his lady, dying in 1466, their successor was their son, Thomas
lord Scropp, who, on his death in 1475, left Thomas Ills heir and successor; Henry,
Ralph, Geofrey, Alice, Mary, and Elizabeth, This last Thomas lord Scrope married
Elizabeth, daughter of John Neville, marquis Montacute, and died in 1493, leaving
Alice, his only daughter, afterwards married to Henry lord Scrope, of Bolton. The
widow was re-married to sir Henry Went%vorth, and held Fifield manor till her
decease in 1515, when the last lord Scrope having left only a daughter, and his three
brothers dying without issue, his co-heiresses were his three sisters; Alice, married
to Thomas Strangways, esq,; Mary, to sir Christopher Danby; and Elizabeth, to sir
Ralph Fitz-Randolph.
In 1531, sir James Strangways had a portion of this estate; Marmaduke Wyvill,
esq. having another share of it, in right of his wife Agnes, sister and co-heiress of
John, son and heir of sir Ralph Fitz-Randolph. Christopher Wyvill was their son
and heir, and, in, 1536, he, with Agnes his wife, and Christopher their son, sold their
purparty of this manor to sir Richard Rich, whose descendants, earls of Warwick,
purchased the rest of the estate, which, on the death of Charles the last earl, came
to the female descendants, and was purchased of the earl of Manchester by sir Josiah
Child; and is the property of the hon. W. T. L. P. Wellesley.*
Herons. The manor-house of Herons is a mile south from the church; the estate was taken
from the capital manor of Fifield Hall, and given to Lee's Priory, but by whom and
at what time is not known. It was granted to sir Richard Rich in 1536, and after-
wards became the property of the Brand family, of Picker ells, in this parish: to whom
also belonged the large farm of John- Ash.
Lampetts. In the time of king Henry the fourth, Thomas Lampett was the possessor of this
manor, which has been named from him. In 1473, Walter Writtel, of Bobbing-
worth, held it of Thomas Scroop, of Masham, which, in 1473, he, by his will,
ordered to be given fur the maintenance of an obit in Bobbingworth church; but
this devisement seenis not to have taken place, for his son and heir, John Writtel,
esq. who died in 1507, held the estate as his father had done.f In 1750, John
Collins, esq. died in possession of this estate, having made the manor-house, which is
* Mr. Home, the present occupier of Filield Hall estate, with the assistance of the neighbouring gentry,
lately erected a commodious, substantial, and elegant bridge over the Rodon at Fifield ; from plans and
specifications by Mr. George Bridges, an eminent builder in London.
t Catharine Hawte, also named Grene, who died in 1493, seems to have had Walter Writtel for her
second husband : she held this manor, and all the lands and tenements which had been Thomas Lampetfs,
with lands in " Fy.hyde- and in Moreton, of the lord Scrope.-/;.?. ninth of Henry yil. Nov. 10.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 339
above half a mile Avest north-west from the church, the place of his residence: by C H A F'.
XI
Mary his wife, sister of Mr. Thomas Binkes, of Ongar, he left Mary, his only
daughter, who conveyed this estate in marriage to the rev. Wragg, rector of
North Cadbury, in Somersetshire.
Widney, or Whitney Green, is about half a mile eastward from the church: a Whitney
capital mansion here was formei'ly the residence of George Pochin, esq. sheriff of the
county in 1700. He was succeeded by his son John, who died in 1723.* Afterwards
it belonged to Major, who left two sons, William and Joseph : it also became
the seat of the Bar wick family.
Fitield church is one of the few remaining specimens of rural churches with the Cliurch.
steeple in the centre, cathedral wise. It is dedicated to St. Nicholas, and has a nave,
and two aisles covered, with arches supported by columns.f The original tower which
* Arms of Pochin : Or, a chevron gules, between three horse-shoes, sable ; at the top a crescent.
Crest : A harpy, with a man's face, and wings expanded.
t Inscriptions : in the chancel, on a flat stone. "' Johannes Brand, ar. obiit 23, Aug. 1717. Thomas Inscrip-
Brand, esquire, who died 7th October, 1718." Uons.
" Here lieth the body of John Collins, of Lauibpits, in this parish, esquire, who departed this life
September 17tli, 1750, in the 74th year of his age; he was a good and affectionate husband, father, and
friend, and as he lived in the practice of every Christian virtue, so he met death with great composure of
mind, from a stedfast hope of a joyful resurrection and the life everlasting. On the right-hand side lieth
his wife, Mrs. Mary Collins, and their son John Collins, who died June 23d, 1731, in the I9th year of
his age."
" Here lies the body of Mrs. Mary Collins, the wife of John Collins the younger, of this parish, gent,
who lived virtuously and died much lamented, ye 9th of October, mdccxiv, in ye xxxth year of her age."
" Here lieth the body of John Collins the elder, who departed this life the 19th of August, 1729, in ye
82d year of his age. Also, the body of iSIary, his wife, who departed this life the 28th day of February,
1732, in ye 81st year of her age."
On a hatchment against the wall are these arms : Vert, a griffin segreant, or, impaling, gules a saltier,
argent ; on a chief of the second three lions' heads erased, of the field. Crest : On a wreath a griffin's
head erased, or.
" Here lies ye late virtuous and lamented Mrs. Ann Beverley, who was born ye iSth August, 1680, and
died September 27th, 1702, which Ann was ye eldest daughter of James, ye eldest son of Thomas
Beverley, late of Gaynes Park, in the county of Huntington, esquire, and Ann his wife, ye daughter of
Thomas Duncombe, of Broughton, in ye county of Bucks, esquire. The above-named Thomas Beverley
and his wife Elizabeth lie interred on the left hand of this stone." Arms: In a lozenge a fesse
dancettee .... between three leopard's faces
" George Pochin, late of this parish, esq. who died June 16th, 1704, aged 70 ; his wife, who died in 1706,
aged 60 ; and his son John, who died in I7'2b, aged 50.
In the church-yard, on a tomb inclosed within iron rails : " Within this monument is entombed the
body of Edward Barwick, esq. of Widney Green, who died Hth of May, 1776, in the 79th year of his age."
On a gothic tomb within iron rails : " Beneath this tomb are deposited the remains of William
Barwick, late of Widney Green, esq. who departed this life the I2th July, 1811, aged 80 years." Arms :
three bears' heads erased .... muzzled ....
Charities. — John Collins, esq. of Lampetts, gave one shilling's worth of bread upon every Lord's day Charities.
840 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. arose between the nave and chancel, and contained five bells, fell down, and in its place
a wooden substitute has been erected where the bells are deposited, and which is
entered by a staircase of flints and Roman bricks, very strongly cemented together;
on one of the bells is inscribed, " Sancta Catharina ora pro nobis." In the south wall
of the chancel there are three arches rising above each other, supported by two
columns of grey mai'ble; and the eastern window is decorated with ancient carvings
in stone.
In 1094, the tithes of this parish* were given to the monastery of Bermondsey,
(with his lord's consent), by Roger de Tani, one of the knights of John Fitz-Waleran:
this appropriation was confirmed in 1107 by Maud, wife of Asculph, and her son
Graacild de Tany, who at the same time gave them this church, which grant was con-
firmed by the kings, Henry the first and second. Yet it was taken from them before
they had secured the appropriation of the tithes to themselves, and the rectory has
remained appendant to Fifield Hall manor.
Fifield, in 1821, contained five hundred and eighty-three, and, in 1831, five hundred
and seventy- two inhabitants.f
for ever; and in order to secure the same, Mrs. Mary Collins, his daughter, left in trust a piece of arable
land, formerly called Lamplands, now Osborn's Field, in Moreton : in the first place, by and out of the
rents of this piece of ground, one shilling's worth of bread weekly to be distributed among the poor of
this parish, as by the will is directed; and in the next place, the remainder of the said rents to be given
to the said poor people, on Christmas-day, or within one week after for ever, 14th October, 1751. —
Anthony Walker, D.D. rector of this parish from the year 1(36-2 to 1692, by his last will and testament con-
secrated to the honour of God for ever, first, his lands called Old Frith, in the parish of High Ongar, con-
taining about fifty-six acres, the rents arising to be thus disposed of: — To a schoolmaster eight pounds per
annum, to teach the poor children of this parish, with one from High Ongar, and one from the Willingales,
to read, write, and cast accompts, and to say their catechism. One pound per annum to buy books, paper,
&c. for the poorest sort of children. One pound per annum to buy good English bibles, or other good
books, for the use of the poor of this parish ; to High Ongar for the same use, ten shillings per annum ;
and the same sum to Willingale, for the same purpose : one shilling to be given in bread every Lord's day,
and on Christmas, to twelve poor men or women, who shall be actually at church, to oblige them to
attend God's worship. Secondly, he gave two tenements in Fifield Street, called Bruetts, with their
gardens, the larger for the residence of the schoolmaster, and the other for that of the church clerk, and
ordered that the rest of the pasture adjoining should be applied in keeping the houses in repair. The
aforesaid Dr. Walker gave a silver chalice, cup, and patine, to be used at the administration of the
sacrament of our Lord's most holy supper.
* Decimas de Fyfh'ide.—Monasl. vol. i. p. 610. In the foundation charter it is Decimam de Fyfidre. —
lb. p. 642.
t In the year 1749, a great number of Celts were found in this parish, together with a large quantity of
metal for casting them ; and in a field called Stockling, between Fifield and Ongar, a coflin of hewn stone,
with others of tiles, many skeletons, and various fragments of urns were discovered in 17G7. — Cough's
Camden, vol. li. p. 51. — Sepulch. monuments, vol. i. Introduction, p. xxiv.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 341
RODING BEAUCHAMP.
C H A F
XI.
Of the eight parishes named Roding, two are in Ongar hundred; and this, to which RodinK
the distinguishing appellation of Beauchamp has been given, extends northward from *^,^^"'
Fifield to Abbot's Roding; and from Berners Roding, on the east, to High Laver:
the lands are on the eastern extremity of the "crop and fallow" district.* Distant
from Ongar five, and from London twenty-two miles.
In the reign of Edward the confessor, this parish belonged to Lewin, and Eccius,
and at the survey was in possession of Alan, earl of Bretagne, under whom it was
holden by Alberic de Vere; and, in 1262, it was holden by William Beauchamp, of
Bedford. There are two manors.
The manor-house of Long Barnes is a mile northward from the church, in a low Long
situation: in 1328, Henry Biddock held this estate under the Vere family, who were
lords here till the attainder of Robert de Vere, duke of Ireland in 1387. Richard
Weald died in possession of it in 1391 : his heiress was his daughter Elizabeth, married
to Lewes Mewes, esq. who presented to this church from 1430 to 1447, as did his son
Thomas, in 1463. In 1476, sir Geofrey Gate died, holding this manor of Richard
duke of Gloucester, and left his son William his heir, at that time fourteen years of
age, and his widow Agnes, who enjoyed this manor till her death in 1481, having been
re-married to William Bramlac. It afterwards passed to Richard Gate, who died in
1485; Geofrey, his son, in 1526, whose son, sir John Gate, being connected with
the party which supported the claims of lady Jane Gray, was executed on that account,
and forfeited this and his other estates, which were granted by king Philip and queen
Mary, to Richard Weston, and Margaret his wife, Avho, in 1572, were succeeded by
their son, sir Jerome Weston, who died in 1603, leaving sir Richard Weston his son,
his heir, from whom, in 1605, this estate Avas recovered, by writ of entry, by Richard
Courtman and others. In 1655, it belonged to Edward Stokes; succeeded by lord
North, and by Heneage, esq. of Hatton Garden, and to Mrs. Elizabeth Heneage.
Afterwards it became the property of William Harvey, esq.
The mansion of the manor of Frays is not far from Long Barnes : the estate was a Frays,
considerable time the property of the Gate and Weston families. Afterwards it
belonged to Mr. John Miller, who sold it to Mr. Pochin, of London, and it descended
to his family of Ickleton, in Cambridgeshire.
Bird's Green is a hamlet partly in this parish, and partly in Willingale Dou.
The church is of one pace with the chancel, and dedicated to St. Botolph: from the Chmch.
high ground which it occupies, the surrounding country, rich in agricultural produc-
tions, with woodland scenery of vast extent and endlessly varied, presents, in every
direction, interesting prospects.
* Average annual produce — wheat 24, barley 32 bushels per acre.
VOL. II. 2 Y
liOOKII.
342 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
In 1821, this parish contained two hundred and eleven, and in 1831, two hundred
and thirty-eight inhabitants.
RODING-ABBESS.
Kodins This parish occupies the northern extremity of the hundred, and the paramount
Abbess. manor and the church having- belonged to the abbess of Barking was the occasion of
its name. The soil is described by agricultural writers as peculiarly heavy and
tenacious; but, by the persevering application of an appropriate husbandry, is made to
produce good crops.* From Chelmsford this place is distant eleven, and from
London twenty-seven miles.
A subordinate manor in this parish belonged to Leuild before the Conquest, and to
Geofrey de Mandeville and his under-tenant Geofrey Martel, at the time of the
survey. There are noAV three manors.
Abboss After the dissolution of monasteries, the manor of Abbess Hall was sold, in 1544, to
Hall
Robert Chartsey and others; and in 1545 became the property of Robert Meredith;
by whom it was conveyed, the day after purchase, to Robert Long, who, in 1549,
conveyed this, with other extensive possessions, to William Glascock, gent, who died
in 1579, leaving Richard, his son, his heir. In 1592, Tipper and Dawe, the noted
hunters after concealed lands, procured a grant of these among others; but it is sup-
posed they could not retain possession, for, in 1599, this manor was granted to Richard
Glascock, by queen Elizabeth ; and he sold it a few days after to Gamaliel Capel, esq.
of Rookwood-hall, on whose decease, in 1613, he was succeeded by his son, sir
Gamaliel Capel, knt. Avho died in 1652, succeeded by his son and grandson, both
named Gamaliel, the latter of whom died in 1720, having conveyed this, with other
estates, to John Howland, esq. of Streatham; from whom it descended to his daughter
Elizabeth, and to her son John, duke of Bedford, who, in 1739, sold it to Stephen
Skinner, esq. of Walthamstow, whose eldest daughter, Emma, was married to William
Harvey, esq. of Chigwell. It is now the property of T. Bramston, esq. who possesses
it in right of his wife, daughter of the late sir Elial) Harvey. The mansion of Abbess
Hall is near the church,
llook- The mansion of this manor is half a mile west from the chtirch ;f the estate is what
belonged to Geofrey de Mandeville at the survey, who had taken it from the abbey of
Barking; but the holder of it was only a tenant to Geofrey's ancestor, and it could
only be disposed of to the abbey. Tliere is no record of the subsequent owners till
1250, when it belonged to John Fitz-Richard, followed by Richard Fitz- William,
succeeded by Richard, son of William de Roynges, in 1268: the lords paramount
being the earls of Oxford. It belongs now to C. I. Selwyn, esq.
* Average annual produce per acre — wheat 24, barley 32 bushels.
t The arms of Rokewood arc in the north window of the church : Argent, six chess-rooks, three,
two, one, sable ; bordered, or. — Symond's Collect, vol. iii. fol. 99.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 343
In 1427, this manor had become the property of Anne Browne, of the family of that C H A f.
name, of Weald Hall, in South Weald; her successors were Thomas Browne, in
1466 ; John Browne, who died in 1468, followed by descendants of the same family,
till Weston Browne, the son of George Browne, esq. marrying Mary, daughter of
Edward Capel, esq. of Rayne Hall, dying in 1580, left Anthony, who died in 1589,
without issue; Catharine, married to sir Nicholas Waldegrave; and Jane, married,
first, to Edward Wyatt, of Ilkham, and afterwards to Gamaliel Capel, esq. :* and the
estate was divided between these two co-heiresses and their husbands. The time
of the decease of sir Nicholas Waldegrave is not recorded ; but sir Gamaliel Capel
and his posterity for many generations resided here, till Gamaliel Capel, esq. who
died in 1720,f mortgaged or sold this estate to John Howland, esq. of Streatham.
It now belongs to Charles Ibbetson Selwyn, esq. of Down Hall, and is occupied as
a farm.
Berwick Berners is a hamlet in this parish ; the mansion is a mile north-eastward Berwick
'■ ^ Beiners.
from the church. For this hamlet a constable is chosen, who attends at Dunmow, on
which account it is reckoned to be in Dunmow hundred. In 1297, Ralph Berners
died in possession of it, and was succeeded by his son Edmund. Sir James de Berners
held this estate in the reign of Richard the second, and after his attainder for being
one of that king's evil counsellors, it was, in 1389, restored by the same king to his
widow, Anne Bei'uers : sir John Bourchier, lord Berners, died in 1475 ; and is said
to have sold this estate to sir William Capel; on whose decease, in 1515, it descended
to sir Giles, his son; succeeded by his son, sir Henry, in 1556, and to others of the
family of Rayne Hall, till it was conveyed to Robert Abdy, bart., who sold it to
Thomas Brand, esq. of Fifield : it now belongs to lord Dacre.
The church, dedicated to St. Edmund, is of one pace with the chancel, and a wooden Chuic}i.
* His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Giles Paulet, esq. by whom he had no issue.
t Sir Gamaliel Capel, the fifth son of Henry Capel, esq. of Rayne Hall, by Katharine, his second wife,
daughter of Thomas Manners, earl of Rutland, by his wife Jane, daughter and co-heiress of Weston Browne,
esq. had Gamaliel, Thomas, Anthony, Henry, Theodosius, Francis, Mary (wife of Arundel), Anne,
(married to Robert Wiseman, esq. of Canfield), and Mildred, married to sir William Luckyn, bart. of Little
Waltham. Sir Gamaliel, the father, died in 1613, and his lady in 1618. Sir Gamaliel Capel, knt. the
eldest son and heir, married Dorothy Bennet ; by whom he had Gamaliel, Francis, Arthur, Thomas, Robert,
Dorothy, Mildred, Anne, Elizabeth, and Lucy : he died in 16.32, his lady having died in 1648. Gamaliel,
their eldest son, married Sarah Marshall, of Surrey, and had by her Gamaliel, Charles, Sarah, Dorothy,
and Mildred, married in 1685, to John Wale, esq. of Little Bardfield : their father died in 1683, and his
widow in 1698. Gamaliel Capel, esq. their eldest son, married, first, Anne, daughter of sir James Bunch,
alderman of London ; by whom he had Anne, wife of William Mason, of London, brewer : his second
wife was Elizabeth, daughter of John Booth, of London. — Arms of Capel : Gules, a lion rampant, between
three cross crosslets fitch^, or: a martlet for diflerence. Crest: on a torse or and gules, a demi-lion,
holding in its paws a cross crosslet fitch^, or.
344.
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11.
John
Thuiloe.
Insc'iip-
tif)ns.
belfry, with a small spire, contains three bells.* This rectory is understood to have
been in the gift of the abbey of Barking- till its dissolution. In 1550, it was holden by
sir Ralph Fane; by John Gate, esq. in 1552; by William Glascock, in 1579; by his
son Richard, and by the Capel family.
John Thurloe, an English statesman under Oliver Cromwell, was of this parish, of
which his father was rector. He was born in 1G16, educated for the bar, and, in
1648, made receiver of the cursitory fines. When Oliver Cromwell assumed the
* Inscriptions. —On the east wall of the chancel, above the figures of a man and woman in devotional
attitudes : —
•' Loe, honoures embleme, virtues darling, learn-
inges favourite,
Noble by birth, by life a sainte, by death a blissful
wight ;
" Here lieth sir Gamaliel Capel, knt, sonne of Mr. Henry Capel, esq., and the ladye Katharin, daughter
of the earl of Rutland. He married Jane, one of the daughters and heiis of Mr. Weston Browne ; by whom
he had six sonnes, viz., Gamaliel, knt., Thomas, Anthony, Henry, Theodosius, and Francis, and three
(laughters, Mary, Anne, and Mildred. Ob. A.D. 1627, ict. suae oO."
Beneath the figure of lady Luckyn, with appropriate ornaments, and angels placing a crown upon her
liead, is the following: "To the pretious memory of that excellent lady, Mildred, lady Luckyn, the wife
of William Luckyn, of Little Waltham, in Essex, baronet, youngest daughter of sir Gamaliel Capel, of
Rookwood Hall, in Essex, knt. and dame Jane his wife, who received the crown of glory in the yeare of
grace 1633, Aug. 23, and of her age 32, being the happy mother of eight children; viz., Capel, Elizabeth,
Henry, Mildred, Mildred, William, William, Jane; whereof Henry, Mildred, and Mildred the elder, left
earth before her. The other five she left to the blessing of her God and the tender care of her husband.
His name importeth Godes rewarde, then for his last
farewell,
Let this suffice ; he lived and dyd a true Gama-
liel."
" We bragge no virtues, and we begge no teares,
O reader, if thou hast but eyes and eares.
It is enough : but tell me, why
Thou cam'st to gaze ? is it to pry
Into our cost ? or borrow
A copie of our sorrowe ?
Or dost thou come
To learn to dye.
Not knowing whome
To practice by .'
If this be thy desire,
Remove thee one step nigher,
Here lies a precedent : a rarer
Earth never showed, nor heaven a fayrer.
She was but roome denies to tell thee what,
Summe all perfections uppe ; and slie was that."
A brass plate in the middle of the church, bears the following: " On the deathe of Edward Humber-
stone, gent. late of Cockerells, in this parishe, who deceased the first of November, in the 80th year of his
age, A.D. 1622 : Thomas Humherstone, his kinsman, hath consecrated this memorial.
" Here lyes the corpes of one of gentle blood.
Right honest, plaine, free hearted, loving, kinde,
Who scarse knew ill, but by the use of good.
Full of almes deedes, of hospitable mynde,
His yeares were reverend ; and he lefte his life
In peace of conscience, and in love of man.
Few days before him dy'd his aged wife :
Both like in good merit my equall pen ;
Which gives but right, out of the right they gave ;
And though their earthly part with eartli be blended,
Yet shall their memories survive the grave ;
Nor are they tliere, but unto heaven ascended.
Thus are they changed, not lost ; each to its byrth ;
Immortal parts to heaven, and earth to earth."
Charitv.
Charity.— Nicholas Burton, rector of this parish, gave forty shillings a year to the clerk of the church,
out of a house, in a part of which he resided at the time of this benefaction.
HUNDRED OF ON GAR. 345
protectorship, he became secretary of state ; in 1655, he had the care and charge both chap
of foreign and inland postage ; and was afterwards sworn a member of the privy ^^'
council. He was continued in t'ne same offices under Richard Cromwell, and until
measures were taken for the Restoration; when he made an offer of his services to
that end, which, however, was not accepted. In 1660, he was committed to the cus-
tody of the serjeant-at-arms on a cliarge of high treason; but, being soon released, he
retired to Great Milton, in Oxfordshire : and though afterwards often solicited by
Charles the second to engage in the administration of public business, he declined the
offers. He died in 1668. In private life he was a man of an amiable character, and
in the height of his power exercised all possible moderation towards persons of every
party. The most indisputable evidence of his'abilities is his vast collection of State
Papers, containing authentic memorials of the English affairs, from 1638 to the restora-
tion of king Charles the second, published in 1742, in seven volumes folio, with his
Life by Birch.
The population of this parish, with Berwick hamlet, in 1821, amounted to two hun-
dred and thirty-six, of which Berwick hamlet was ninety-seven ; but the boundaries
of the hamlet cannot be ascertained ; although in 1811 and 1821, the population was
returned distinctly.
HIGH LAVER.
The name of Laver has been given to three contiguous parishes, distinguished from High
each other by the appellations of High, Magdalen, and Little. In records the name ^^^"^^
is written Lagafare, Laghefare, Lanfare, Lauver.
Of these parishes, that which lies farthest northward, is called High Laver ; also
sometimes in records styled Great Laver, and King's Laver. Before the Conquest,
it belonged to Luvin, Alwin, a freeman, and Brictmar ; and at the survey, to Eustace,
earl of Boulogne. Distant from Chelmsford fourteen, and from London twenty-two
miles. There are two manors.
The mansion of the chief manor is near the church : this estate descended from Manor of
Maud, grand-daughter of earl Eustace, and queen of king Stephen, and remained in LavJ,.,
possession of the crown till it was given by Henry the second to William Fitz-Aucher,
whose son Richard, and his successor of the same name, held it in 1210 and 1211.
The abbess of St. Sulpicius claimed the services and homage of the tenants of this
manor, as assigned to her by Richard, son of Henry Fitz-Aucher; but her claim being-
contested, was not finally settled till 1237, when Richard, son of Henry Fitz-Aucher,
agreed that himself and his ancestors should pay the abbess Amicia and her successors
ten pounds per annum. Joan, a succeeding abbess, granting this rent to Waltham
abbey, it hence happened that the Auchers held under the abbot of Waltham : it was
so holden by sir Henry Fitz-Aucher, who died in 1303, and by his son, sir Aucher
Fitz-Aucher, in 1331 to 1334. The noble family of Ferrers, of Groby, for a time
346 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. had possession of it; and in 1438 to 1452, it belonged to Richard Priour, esq.: Walter
Writell, esq. of Bobbingworth, held it at the time of his decease, in 1475 ; and it was
successively in possession of his son and grandson, and ultimately became the inherit-
ance of his daughter Alienor, who was married to James Walsingham, esq., whose
son and heir, sir Thomas Walsingham, died in possession of it in 1583, succeeded by
his son Thomas; after whom the next possessor was Arthur Stanlake, esq. After-
wards the estate was divided between two co-heiresses ; of whom Mary, daughter of
Richard Matthews, conveyed her portion to her husband, Samuel Bearcroft, and they
left it to their son, Matthew Bearcroft. Abraham Foster, esq. of Eltham, in Kent,
married the other co-heiress ; and on his death left two daughters ; one of these was
married, in 1728, to Lewis Scawen, esq. son of Thomas Scawen, lent. ; the other
became the wife of Mr. Richard Merry. The estate afterwards belonged to lord
Masham.
otes. The manor of Otes is traditionally understood to have been named from John Otes,
who held this and other estates under lord Scales, in the time of Edward the second :
the ancient mansion has been completely destroyed. In 1487, sir John Sulyard,
one of the justices of the king's bench, died holding a moiety of this estate of
Edward duke of Buckingham. Edward was his eldest son and heir; whose sister
Elizabeth was married to Garneys, esq. Sir William, the son of Edward
Sulyard, died in 1539, and was succeeded by Robert Garneys, esq. his cousin; but it
came again into the Sulyard family, Eustace Sulyard dying in possession of it in 1546;
his heir was his son, sir Edward Sulyard, knt. who died in 1610; the estate having
been previously purchased by sir William Masham. The other portion of this manor
had been partly holden from the year 1499, by George Pikenham and his descendants,
and those of John Limsey, who died in 1546, leaving his son Edward his heir. In
the reign of James the first, it was purchased by sir William Masham,* and remained
in this family till the death of the last lord Masham, in 1776. It now belongs to
Starkins, esq. of Bishop Stortford.
Miiihani * 'I'lC family of Masham was anciently seated in the north of England, and took their surname from
t'nitiily. the village of Masham, near Richmond, in Yorkshire, where they were seated in the reign of Henry the
sixth: sir John Masham settled in Suffolk, and was buried at Thornham in 1450; John, his heir, was the
father of Thomas Masham, esq. of Badwell Ash, in that county, ancestor of the Mashams, of Suffolk,
whose son John had two sons ; John, and William, an alderman, and one of the sheriffs of London in
138.3. His son, William Masham, esq. was seated at Otes, and by his wife , daughter of Calton,
left William Masham, esq. created a baronet in 1G21 ; member of parliament for Maldon in 1623 to 1625 ;
for Colchester in 1640, and for the county in the long parliament : he married Elizabeth, daughter of sir
F'rancis Barrington, of Hatfield Broadoak, widow of sir James Altham, of Mark Hall, in Latton ; William
was his eldest son and heir, who marrying Elizabeth, daughter of sir John Trevor, knt., died in his
father's life-time, leaving William and Francis; sir William died unmarried, on vvliich the honour and
estate came to sir Francis, who was member of parliament for the county in 1690, 1695, and in all the
parliaments from 1700 to 1708: he married, first, Mary, daughter of sir William Scot, of Rouen, in Nor-
mandy, bart. and had by her eight sons, all of whom he survived, except the youngest, Samuel, created
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 347
The church, dedicated to All Saints, is of one pace with the chancel ; above the chap.
steeple it has a lofty wooden spire.*
Church.
tions.
The learned and celebrated philosopher, John Locke, passed a great part of the last
ten years of his life at Otes, the seat of sir Francis Masham. This place proved
agreeable to him, and beneficial on account of his declining health : the air restored
him almost to a miracle, in a few hours, at any time, after his return from London,
quite exhausted and unable to support himself, and he found in lady Masham a friend
and companion exactly to his heart's wish ; disposed to a life of contemplation and
study : she was inured from her infancy to deep speculations in theology, metaphysics,
and moral philosophy. In this family Mr. Locke lived with as much ease and freedom
lord Masham. — Francis, the fourth son, left a son named Francis, who, on his grandfather's death, suc-
ceeded to the baronetship, and died unmarried. Sir Francis, the father, had also a daughter, highly
accomplished, named Hester : his second wife was Damaris, daughter of Dr. Cudworth, master of Christ's
college, Cambridge ; by whom he had Francis Cudworth Masham, esq., who was accomptant-general to
the high court of chancery. She died 20th April, 1708, and is buried at Bath : sir Francis died in 1723,
and was succeeded in his estates by his son Samuel, lord Masham, who, under George prince of Denmark,
was placed in offices of high responsibility and honour ; and under queen Anne had the command of a
regiment of horse, and was advanced to be brigadier-general : in 1711, he was cofferer of the household,
and created baron Masham, of Otes. He married Abigail, daughter of Francis Hill, esq. Turkey merchant,
and, dying in 17-58, was succeeded by his son., the right hon. Samuel lord Masham, who had married
Harriet, daughter of Thomas Winnington, esq.
* Inscriptions. — Epitaph on Mr. Locke : " Siste, viator, hie juxta situs est Johannes Locke. Si qualis Inscrip-
fuerit rogas, mediocritate sua contentum se vixisse respondet ; litteris innutritus eousque tantum profuit
ut veritati unice literet. Hoc ex scriptis illius disces, quae quod de eo reliquum est majori fide tibi exhi-
bebunt quam epitaphii suspecta elogia. Virtutes, si quas habuit, minores sane quam quas sibi laudi, tibi
in exemplum proponeret, vitia una sepeliantur. Morum exemplum si queeras, in Evangelio habes ;
vitiorura utinam nusquam ; mortalftatis certe (quod profit) hie et ubique. Natum An. Dni. 1632, Aug. 29,
mortuum An. Dom. 1704, Oct. 28. Memorat hsec tabula brevi et ipsa interitura." — Translation : " Stop,
traveller. Near this place lieth John Locke. If you ask what kind of man he was, he answers, that he
lived content with his own small fortune. Bred a scholar, he mad^his learning subservient only to the
cause of truth. This thou wilt learn from '"his writings, which will show thee every thing else concerning
him, with greater truth, than the suspected praises of an epitaph. His virtues, indeed, if he had any, were
too little for him to propose as matter of praise to himself, or as an example to thee. Let his vices be
buried together. As to an example of manners, if you seek that, you have it in the Gospel; of vices, I
wish you may have'one nowhere ; of mortality, certainly (and may it profit thee) thou hast one here, and
everywhere. — This stone, which will itself peiish in a short time, records that he was born Aug. 29, in the
year of our Lord 1632 ; that he died Oct. 28, in the year of our Lord 1704."
A plain marble, on the north wall of the chancel, bears the following : " Damaris Cudworth, relict of
Ralph Cudworth, D.D. and master of Christ's college, in Cambridge : exemplarie for her pietie and virtue;
for studie of the Scripture, charitie to the poore, and good will to all, lies buried here. She was born
October 23, 1623, and died Nov. 15, 1695."
On the south wall of the chancel : " Near this place lies the body of Mr. Samuel Low, who, after he had
faithfully discharged his ministerial office forty- seven years in this parish, departed this life, Dec. 7, 1709,
aged 79. He was to himself frugal, to his friends bountiful, exactly just, strictly pious, and extremely
charitable. Poor widows and children he was a father to, living; and, having no issue, made them his
heirs at his death, leaving to the Society of Clergymen's Sons, in money eight hundred pounds, and in
land above eighty pounds per annum, besides other great legacies to charitable uses ; and is gone to receive
348 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liuoK II. as if the whole house had been his own ; and he had the additional satisfaction of seeing
this lady, in the education of her only son, pursue the plan he himself had laid down;
the success of which was such as seemed to sanction his judgment of that method: in
short, it was from the advantage of this situation that he derived so much strength as
to be able to continue exerting his great talents to the last. In 1700, he became so
infirm that he could no longer bear the air of London, and resigned his seat at the
board of trade ; after which he continued constantly at Otes, employing the last years
of his life in the study of the Holy Scriptures, and where he died in 1701, aged seventy-
three. He wrote his own epitaph, and lies buried under a black marble gravestone
in this church-yard.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to four hundred and sixty-four, and
in 1831, to four hundred and ninety-five.
MAGDALEN LAVER.
Magdalen The church of this parish, being dedicated to Mary Magdalen, accounts for its name:
^^^^' it lies between High Laver and Bobbingworth, in a very healthy and pleasant part of
the country, on the south-western extremity of the district, by agricultural writers
named " crop and fallow;" yet the soil, though heavy, is found in a moderate degree
productive, with good management.* Distant from Epping six, and from London
twenty-two miles.
Before the Conquest, a Saxon named Sexi had the lands of this parish, which, at
the survey, had become the property of Ralph de Todeni, and his under-tenant was
Roger. There is only one manor.f
his reward. This monument was erected by his executors." Arms : Argent, on a bend cotised, azure,
three wolves' heads, erased of the field, impaling gules, a saltier or, bearing a saltier, vert. Crest : On a
wreath, a demi-griffin erased, azure.
A broken brass plate in the chancel bears an imperfect inscription in ancient characters, to inform us
that it was to the memory of "Robert Ramsey, and his wife Joane." Under the effigy of a man and
woman, on a brass plate, in old English characters, with four sons and one daughter : —
" Here lieth in grave undre this marbyl harde,
Of John Copto, esquier, the dought and heyre by right,
.Myrabyll, late wyfe of Edward Sulyard,
Coosyn and heire of Thomas Flemmyng, knyght,
Whois vtue, worth, and womanly delite,
Remayne shall in Esex in pptuall memorie,
.Sith deth hathe her rafte owte of the psent
light."
On a black marble on the ground : " Sir Francis Ma.sham, bart. ob. 2 March, 1722, set. 77;" and on
another, " Here lies the hon. M. Elizabeth Masham, second daughter of the right hon. Samuel lord
Masham, and Abigail his wi/e, who died Oct. 21', 1724, aged 15."
On four tombs in the church-yard, inscriptions to the memory of " the right hon. Samuel lord Masham,
baron of Otes, who died Oct. 16, 1758, aged 79. Abigail, lady Masham, wife of the right hon. Samuel lord
Masham ; she died Dec. (i, 1734."
" The hon. major-general Hill, brother of the right hon. the lady Masham, who died June 22, 1735.—
Alice Hill, sister to the right hon. Abigail, lady Masham; she died Sept. 15, 1762, aged 77."
Average annual produce of busliels per acre — wheat 24, barley 30.
t This parish is placed in the hundred of Harlow, in Domesday book.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 349
The mansion of Magdalen Laver manor is near the church: after Todeni, the CHAP,
earhest recorded possessors of this estate were Robert de Burnaville and John de ^^'
Angerville, John de Monpyncon and Arabella his wife, in the reign of Henry the Manor.
third. The two first of these were enfeoffed in this possession by Joan de Marcy,
their grandmother : in 1320, it belonged to Humphrey de Waldene, who died in
1331, holding this estate of sir Hugh de Audele; his heir was Andrew, son of his
brother Roger, who, dying without issue in 1352, was succeeded by Thomas Bataile,
son of his sister Alice, who died in 1439, holding this estate of the honour of Clare;
and sir Thomas Cook was the next recorded possessor, who died in 1478. After
remaining some time in this family, it passed to those of Ayloffe and Barrington; it
belonged, in 1619, to William Aylet, yeoman; and he or his son of the same name
marrying Anne, daughter of Sumner, had his son John Aylet, who married
Alianor, daughter of Isaac Bernard, John Aylet, his son, was of White Roding-, in
1664, and married Mary, daughter of Ralph Pettus, of Brices, in Kelvedon Hatch.*
In 1662, John Throckmorton, and in 1667, George Throckmorton, presented to this
church, and are consequently believed to have held this estate, which was purchased
of one of the family, by William Cole, esq. treasurer of St. Thomas's hospital, and
sheriff of Essex in 1716, who, on his decease in 1730, gave it to his nephew, William
Cole ; on whose decease, in the same year, he was succeeded by his brother, Henry
Cole: it afterwards belonged to John Cozens, esq.
An estate named Rolls, in 1539, belonged to sir William Sulyard, of High Laver,
and afterwards to lord Masham.
The church is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen ; the nave separated from the chancel Church.
by a handsome wooden screen of ancient appearance ; it has a wooden belfry leaded.f
* According to an account kept in the family, this gentleman was lord of Magdalen Laver, and like his
father-in-law, Pettus, was a great sufferer for king Charles the first; in whose service he expended
seven hundred pounds a year, raised a troop of horse at his own charge, and was in numerous engage-
ments during the war. The king, to shew his grateful sense of his services, ordered an augmentation of
his arms, when at Oxford in 1646, having no other reward to bestow upon him. — His coat was, Gules,
three annulets, a chief argent. The addition was, on a canton, or, the rose of England, proper. Crest :
an arm, gules, holding a sword, hiltcd, or, blade argent. Motto : " Not in vain." He was one of the com-
manders at Colchester during the siege, and sentenced to be shot, but escaped in the disguise of a female
dress. However, he was retaken, and purchased his life of the parliament for four hundred and sixty
pounds. He had afterwards a commission from Charles the second, to surprise Chepstow castle, and
take the government of it. But he was betrayed and made a prisoner till the Restoration. It is believed
he then took up his residence at White Roding, where he had a view of his lost estate.
t Inscriptions. — A monument in the chancel bears a Latin inscription, of which the following is a Inscrip-
translation : " Sacred to the memory of George Kindleton, B.D. rector of this church, an intrepid defender tions.
of the orthodox faith, and of the church of England. He, having strongly opposed the Scottish con-
federacy, and the English treason, was driven from this flock and church, where he had abode seventeen
years : and was afterwards banished from his beloved church sixteen years. Until, through the pity of
VOL. II. 2 z
350 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Humphrey de Waleden, in 1330, obtained a licence to give the manor and advowson
for the endowment of a chantry in this church; but the proposed foundation never
took place.
Amiqui- In 1757, as some workmen were ploughing in a field in this parish, called Red Mill
Shot, belonging to Mr. John Cozens, they discovered a stone coffin, two feet and a
half deep, six feet and a half long, and the lid and sides four inches thick. The lid
was not fastened, and when taken off, the skull and other bones of the person inclosed,
appeared entire: in the same field, human bones have been ploughed up, and a tradi-
tion prevails, that the church formerly stood in this situation, which is near the centre
of the parish ; but there is no record to strengthen this supposition, neither have any
foundations of buildings ever been found here.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and thirty-six, and
in 1831, to two hundred and six.
LITTLE LAVER.
Fjittle This is the smallest of the Lavers, and previous to the Conquest, and at the
survey, was included in one of the other two parishes so named ; it extends from
High Laver eastward, and to the extremity of the hundred of Ongar on the north.
Distant from Ongar eight, and from London twenty-three miles. There are two
manors.
Little The manor of Little Laver has the mansion near the church, and the earliest
\jci\GV
Hall. account is of the year 1200, when the estate was conveyed from Eustace de Langefare
to Ralph de Rouecester, son of Thomas Rochester, lord of Nucelles, in Bei'kway, in
Hertfordshire. The oflfspring of Ralph were William, Peter, and Alice, who succes-
sively came to this inheritance ; William, in the reign of Henry the third, succeeded by
Peter, and by Alice, who conveyed it to her husband Robert de Scales, a descendant
of Hardwin de Scales, Avho came in at the Conquest. Robert died in 1324, leaving
his son of the same name : it Avas afterwards holden under lord Scales by the Bourchier
family, till Anne, daughter and sole heiress of Henry Bourchier, the last earl of Essex
of this family, conveyed it to her husband, William lord Parre, who disposed of it
to sir Richard Rich, in 1542; who sold it to John Collyn, or Collin, of Roding
this clamorous nation, on the miraculoiis restoration of king Charles the second, he returned to it ;
from whence, after four years, he removed to the most blest abodes and heavenly joys, having lived sixty-
one years. His most affectionate and affected wife, Emma, caused this marble to be erected to his memory,
on the 3d of January, in the Christian aera, 1667."
There are also inscriptions on "William Cole, of JMagdalen Laver, esq., who died February 24, 1729,
aged 22; to whom this monument was erected by his much-beloved and affectionate widow, Mary Cole,
daughter of John Hillar, of Loudon. Henry Cole, esq., who died Sept. 24-, 1760, aged 45 years."
" In memory of William Cole, late of Magdalen Laver, esq., who was high sheriff of Essex in 1716, and
several years treasurer of St. Thomas's Hospital, Southwark. He died Feb. 1, 1729, aged 60."
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 351
Beauchamp.* Afterwards this manor was purchased of one of the Collin family, by C H a p.
Matthew Bluch, who sold it to lord Masham. !_
Enville.
The manor of Enville, or Enfield, is believed to have been taken from the para-
mount manor, in the reign of Edward the second. William de Enfield, and his wife
Joan, were joint proprietors of this estate in 1361, and were succeeded by their
son John, who held it in 1377: it soon afterwards came to Ralph Tyle, in right of
Alice his wife; and their son, John Tyle, died here in 1399, whose heir was Thomas
Enfield, uncle of his mother Alice. The Collins family, of Beauchamp Roding, had
this estate for several generations, of whom it was purchased by Mr. John Austry,
who settled it on Mr. John Evans, his grandson. Afterwards it became the property
of John Jones, esq., and it now belongs to John Maryon Wilson, esq.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is small, with a belfry and wooden spire Church.
rising from the central part of the building.
This parish, in 1821, contained one hundred and seven, and in 1831, one hundred
and twelve inhabitants.
MORETON.
This parish extends southward from Little Laver, and occupies ground considerably Moreton.
elevated, in many instances affording agreeable prospects. The soil, of various descrip-
tions, is generally very good ; it is parted from the Lavers and Bobbingworth by a
brook, which falls into the Rodon at Cheping Ongar; a good bridge of brick-work
was built over this brook, in 1762, by voluntary subscription. Distant from Epping
six, and from London twenty-two miles.
Moreton is a neat little village on the rise of a hill, and consisting of one street,
usually named Moreton End. A proprietor named Sexi, and a freeman, held it in
Edward the confessor's reign, and at the survey it belonged to William Scobies ; in
1230, William de Averanches, or Abrincis, died in possession of it, leaving by his wife
Maud, (daughter and co-heiress of Hawise, Avife of John de Bovill), William, who
died before the year 1235, Avithout issue, and Maud, married to Hamo de Creveceur,
lord of Ledes, in Kent, descended from Hugo Dapifer. By her he had William,
who died before him, leaving a son named Robert, who had no offspring; he had also
four daughters; Agnes, married to John de Sandwich; Isold, Avife of Nicholas de
Lenham ; Eleanor, married to Bartholomy de Kyriell ; and Isabel, married to Henry
* John Collin or Collyn, son of William, of Roding Beauchamp, had a son named John, and the male
line continued in the same name for many generations ; John Collyn, the third in succession, was living
in 1589, whose son John had John, Mary, and Etherdreda. Thomas Collyn married Dorothy, daughter of
Edward Elrington, esq. of Theydon-Bois ; and had by her Thomas, living in lOG-i. — Arms of Collyn : Vert,
a griffin segrcant, or ; on the shoulder a crescent, of the second Crest : A griffin's head erased, or ; a
collar ermine.
352 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. tie Gaunt. Hamo de Creveceur, husband of Maud, died in 1262, and his grandson
Robert in 1296 ; on which the estate was parcelled out between these four daughters
or their heirs; and Isabel dying in 1283, her portion was divided between the others;
from this partition there arose two manors: the original tenure of this estate was by
the sergeancy of finding one man with a horse of ten shillings price, and four horse-
shoes, a leather sack, and one iron fastening, at his own charge, for forty days, when-
ever the king should go into Wales; and after the partition, this sergeancy was per-
formed between the owners of both mansions.
Nether There are now no remains of the ancient manor-house of Nether Hall, which was
Hall.
near the south-east corner of the cliurch-yard ; it has also been named Bourchiers
Hall. This moiety of the estate was conveyed to the family of Bourchier, by marriage,
and was successively in the possession of Robert Bourchier, who died in 1349; of
Bartholomy lord Bourchier, his son, and his wife Idonea ; and their only daughter
conveyed it to her two husbands, sir Hugh Stafford, and sir Lewis Robessart: but
having no issue by either, it descended to Henry Bourchier, earl of Eu and Essex;
and on his decease, in 1483, to his grandson, Henry Bourchiei*, earl of Essex, who,
by accidentally falling from his horse, was killed in 1540, leaving his daughter Anne
his heiress, who was married to William lord Parr, earl of Essex; who, in 1542, sold
this estate to Richard lord Rich ; after whose decease it continued in his familj^, till it
was purchased by Robert Bourne, esq, of Blake Hall, in Bobbingworth, whose
daughter Alice was married to John lord Digby, who died in 1665; and the lady
Alice afterwards dying without issue, Mr. Bourne settled the reversion of this estate,
which afterwards belonged to Ambrose Page, a director of the South-sea-company;
and being sold by the company, it was purchased, in 1T24, by William Cole, esq. and
passed to his nephews, William and Henry; and to Henry Cozens, esq. It now belongs
to the occupier, Mr. W. Hill Alger,
ijppe 1 'p'j-jg nianoi'-house of Upper Hall is in the fields north-eastward from Nether Hall ;
it was also named Over Hall, and Lady Hall, supposed from Juliana, daughter and
heiress of John de Sandwich, by Agnes, eldest daughter of Hamo de Creveceur. She
was married to John de Segrave, styled Le Uncle, because he was uncle to lord
Segrave. He held this moiety at the time of his death in 1343, and was succeeded by
his son John, who died in 1349; the next possessor being his cousin, Stephen de
Segrave. This estate is supposed to have been conveyed to Elizabeth, only daughter of
John lord Segrave, by his wife the lady Margaret, only daughter and heiress of Thomas
de Brotherton, earl of Norfolk, to her husband, Thomas de Mowbray, duke of Nor-
folk, who died possessed of it in 1400, and which belonged to his son Thomas, beheaded
in 1404; on this occasion, in the inquisition, it is first called Lady Hall: it passed
from the Mowbrays to the Howards, and was alienated in 1538 l)y Thomas duke of
Norfolk : Richard lord Rich next succeeded to this possession, followed by his son
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 353
Robert, earl of Warwick, of whose heirs it was purchased bj^ Dr. Josias Woodward, chap.
XI
minister of Poplar; and at the decease of his widow and son, it became the property '
of Lewen Choldmondley, and of his son, Lewen Choldmondley, esq. Afterwards it
belonged to Hookham, esq. The present owner of this estate is John Hookham
Freer, esq. of Roydon, Norfolk.
Henhouse farm is the property of Mr. Joseph White, and in the occupation of
his son.
The rectory house is a neat and commodious building-, of considerable antiquity ; IMoieton
but was much altered and enlarged by the late rector, Mr. Wilson.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is a small, neat building; the tower being Chinch.
of brick, covered with cement or plaster, with a shingled spire.* William Scobies gave
this church to the monastery of St. Stephen, at Caen, in Normandy, with the land and
tithe belonging to it. King Henry the first confirmed this grant, and a vicarage was
ordained, to which the prior of Pantfield usually presented; and that priory being a
cell to the convent of Caen, and the prior of Pantfield procurator for them, and
receiver of their rents, it was seized by Edward the third, as a priory alien, and after-
wards granted by parliament to Henry the fifth ; and Henry the sixth endowing his
college of Eton, settled on it a pension of " eighteen marks from the vicarage of
Moreton ;" for it continued a vicai'age till 1532, when it was presented to as a rectory
by Henry the eighth, who granted the church and advowson, first to Thomas, arch-
bishop of Canterbury, and afterwards to Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, who had
licence, in 1538, to sell it to lord Rich ; in whose family it continued till it was pur-
chased by St. John's college, in Cambridge.
The rev. Samuel Hoard was rector of this church from 1626 to 1628, and had the Mi-.Hoaid.
courage (says Mr. Morant), at a time when it was accounted a greater crime than
treason to boggle at the doctrine of absolute predestination, Avith all its blasphemous
consequences, to publish " God's love to mankind manifested, by disproving his abso-
* Charities. — In 1699, Mr. Jonathan Carver left, by will, a rent-charge of fire pounds out of an estate at Charities.
Moreton End, to be distributed to the poor, in money or clothes, on Christmas Day. In 1727, Mrs.
Judith Elford gave a velvet communion-cloth, pulpit-cloth, and cushion, and new rails around the com-
munion table, and the ten commandments over it ; wainscoted the chancel, new paved the church, and
built a new gallery. An unknown benefactor gave a farm at the west end of North-lane, for the perpetual
reparation of the church. — Mrs. Ann Brecknock, of Aldgate, London, in 1804, left two hundred pounds
consols ; the interest of which is to be distributed annually, at the discretion of the rector and church-
wardens.— The rev. W. Wilson left three hundred pounds, likewise; the interest of two hundred pounds
to the parish clerk; and the interest of one hundred pounds to the beadle for ever. — There is an endowed
school in the village, erected partly at the expense of the late rector, the rev. William Wilson, B.D., and
by a subscription of the neighbouring gentlemen ; it is endowed with the redeemed land-tax, twenty-
three pounds four shillings ; the executors have since added four hundred pounds. The house is a neat
building, with a centre, containing convenient apartments for the master and mistress ; and there aie two
wings ; one for boys, the other for girls.
354 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II lute decree for their daranatiou." It was esteemed one of the best books upon that
subject; printed in 1635 in 4to., and in 1673 in 8vo., without the author's name ; see
Wood's Athen. vol. ii. col. 221, ed. 1721. He also wrote, " The Soul's Misery and
Recovery, by Samuel Hoard, parson of Morton, Essex," 8vo. 1636; and other works.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to four hundred and eight, and in
1831, to four hundred and thirty-one.*
SHELLEY.
Slieiiey. -ji^g etymology of Shelley, is probably Seen (the sheen of old English authors)
pleasant, and Ireaj, a pasture. The agreeable meads which skirt the small brook
running through the parish, Avill sufficiently account for their appellation : this name
in records is written Shelfele, Shellegh, and in Domesday, Senlei : it is a small parish,
extending from Moreton to the Ongai's.f Distant from Ongar two, and from London
twenty-three miles. There is only one manor.
Shelley Shelley Hall is near the west end of the church, and is now a handsome residence, of
moderate size, most probably having formed part of the ancient manor-house, but
retaining very little appearance of antiquity: there is, however, in the hall, a chimney-
piece in the fashion of Elizabeth's or James the first's time, and over the door of the
back kitchen, the date 1587. Leudai was the name of the Saxon proprietor of this
parish before the Conquest, and at the survey it belonged to Geofrey de Magnaville,
whose under-tenant was Rainald; succeeded by Johannah, wife of Walleram de
Munceus, on whose decease, in 1278, sir William de Cloyle, and Aveline, wife of
Roger de Lees, descended from her two sisters, were her heirs. Aveline brought it
into the Lees or Leighs family; in which it continued till the reign of Henry the eighth,
when it was conveyed by Margaret and Agnes Leighs to their husbands, John and
Christopher Allen, two brothers ::f of whom it was purchased by sir Richard Rich,
who dying in 1566, was succeeded by his son, Robert lord Rich, who, on his death in
1580, left it to his son, Robert lord Rich; and he sold this estate to John Green;
* The rev. Ed. R. Earle, of Moreton, has supplied the Editor with correct and important information,
for which his most grateful acknowledgment'is due.
•f It contains six hundred and one acres, one rood, twenty-five perches. Of this, thirty-seven acres are
included in the glebe and church-yard : thirteen acres, one rood, twenty-five perches in a pasture, known
anciently as Shelley Pond, now as Shelley Common, and belongs to seven copyholds of the manor, in equal
proportions : and thirteen acres, one rood, twenty-four perches, are in roads and waste : the remainder in
private estates. The soil of this parish contains a large proportion of a light-coloured marly clay, and has
.some good arable land. Average annual produce per acre — wheat 24, barley 36 bushels.
% John de Leighs died in possession of this estate in 1301, as did Thomas de Leigh in 1404, succeeded
in 1422 by Thomas, his son, who died in 1439 ; whose son of the same name dying in 1509, left his grand-
son, Giles Leighs, esq. his heir; whose two daughters were his heiresses, on his death in 1538. Arms
of Leigh : On a chevron, three bezants.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 355
who by his wife Katharine, daughter of John Wrig-ht, had thirteen children, and lived c H A p.
to see their issue and descendants increased to a hundred and eleven; he dying in 1595, '
aged eighty-nine years ; his wife in 1596, aged seventy-one. Their sixth son, Robert,
held this estate in fee-tail; and died in 1624, four days after the death of his wife
Frideswid, with whom he had lived fifty-two years, and had by her twelve sons. John
Green, their eldest son, married Agnes, daughter of William Hunt, by whom he had
two sons and four daughters : Robert, the eldest son, had John Green, his son and
heir, who married Sarah, daughter of Edward Hadesley, of Great Cantield; and had
by her John, living in 1664. His son, Hadesley Green, gent, died in 1699, leaving a
son, who died under age; and two daughters, his co-heiresses.* Sarah, one of these,
was married, first, to Bernard Cotterel, of London, silkman; afterwards to John
Baker, of Blackmore, gent., by whom he had John, father of Bernard Baker. The
other daughter was Mary, married to the rev. Andrew Trebeck, rector of St. George's,
Hanover-square ; who had by her James, rector of this parish, and vicar of Chiswick,
in Middlesex : and a daughter, married to the right rev. Thomas Newton, lord bishop
of Bristol. Of the rev. James Trebeck, this estate was purchased by Richards,
yeoman; on whose decease, his successor was his nephew, Edward Kimpton, clerk,
vicar of Rogate, in Sussex; whose son, Harvey Kimpton, esq. succeeded to this
estate on his father's decease ; and it was purchased of his representatives by James
Tomlinson, esq. the present possessor, formerly a solicitor in London.
After Shelley Hall, the largest estate in the parish is possessed by John Bramston New
Stane, clerk, of Forest Hall, in High Ongar, a younger son of Thomas Berney Bram-
ston, esq. of Skreens, in Roxwell. It consists of New Barns farm, of which Mr.
Bramston Stane became possessed as devisee, under the will of Mrs. Alice Westbrook,
formerly Stane, of Forest Hall; it also includes Boarded Barns farm, which he acquired K<J'"ded
by purchase from the representatives of Mr. Daniel Miller, yeoman.
Shelley Bridge farm is the property of Thomas White, esq. of Weathersfield. b "d''^'^^
Mold's farm was the property, during the latter part of the eighteenth century, of fHrm.
Mr. James Gibson, yeoman, who left it to his nephew, Mr. Samuel Playle, yeoman, faun.
now deceased : it has been sold to James Tomlinson, of Shelley Hall, and to Capel
Cure, of Blake Hall, in Bobbingworth, esquires.
Brundish Hall was a mansion-house of considerable extent and antiquity, on the l|"iiulisli
^ ■^ Hall.
confines of the parish, towards Moreton. The noble moat, around most of the pre-
mises, yet remains, as does a small part of the old house, now converted into a farm-
house. By agreement betvi^een the parishes of Shelley and Moreton, it was deter-
mined that the whole of this farm-house should be considered as in the latter parish.
Anciently, the two parishes divided at the entrance end of the great hall. The farm is
* Arras of Greene; Arsrent, a cross eniriailed — ^/"»'""'-
356 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. now the property of Mr. John Chaplin, of Shank's Mill, miller, who purchased it of
~ Mr. Eve, yeoman.*
.Shelley Shelley House is a handsome dwelling, upon a moderate scale, now the residence
and property of William Crew, esq. who succeeded to it in right of his wife, a relative
of Evans, esq. deceased, long an inhabitant of Shelley.
Parsonage The parsonage-house is an ancient building, timber-framed, of lath and plaster, upon
which considerable sums have been expended by the present incumbent; the situation
is very retired, and with its pleasant garden forms an agreeable residence ; in the last
century it was chosen as a quiet retreat by the learned Dr. Thomas Newton, bishop
of Bristol, the well-known writer upon the Prophecies.f
Church. The church was a small ancient building, dedicated to St. Peter, consisting of a
nave and chancel of stone, with a wooden turret. Toward the close of the last cen-
tury, it became dilapidated, and in 1800, was deemed unsafe. No divine service,
accordingly, was performed in the parish until 1811, when a small and neat, but plain
brick church was erected, chiefly by subscription, on the old foundations.^ The living
is a rectory, of which the advowson has been usually appended to the manor. No
doubt some early lord founded and endowed the church. The advowson was pur-
* In 1349, Nicholas Brundishe died holding lands here, and in the neighbouring parishes, and left his
son John his heir. Sir Richard Rich, on his decease in 1.566, had this possession, which passed to his
descendants, earls of Warwick ; and afterwards belonged to John Lingard, esq. common serjeant of the
city of London ; on whose death, in 1729, it became the inheritance of his three daughters, co-heiresses.
f The Trebeck family, his relations by marriage, then occupying this old parsonage. This eminent
prelate died in 1782 ; after which his miscellaneous works were published, with memoirs of his life,
written by himself.
Inscrip- + Inscriptions. — In the old church there were several monuments on the Green family; of these, part
tions. of the originals, or copies, have been preserved. In the chancel, against the east wall, a small monument
in stone, with the effigies of a man, his wife, and their two sons, and four daughters, has the following
inscription : " Here lyeth buried the body of Mrs. Agnis Greene, the daughter of Mr. William Hvnt, and
wife of Mr. John Greene, gent., who had by him two sonns and four daughters; she departed this life
26th Sept. 1626.
" With me might perish what men virtue call.
If virtue were not seed caelestiall."
On the floor of the chancel, partly hidden by the communion rails, is a brass plate, bearing arms, three
bucks trippant (the usual coat of Green), probably of a member of the family of Greene, and an imperfect
inscription, " To the memory of , who departed this life, December 8th, 1699, in his 36th year."
On a brass plate, in ancient characters: "Here lyeth the bodye of John Greene, being of the age of
eighty-nine, and had issue of his body by Katherun his wyffe, daughter of John Wright, children xiiitene,
and the issue of their too bodyes weare one hundred and eleaven in their lyves time, which John deceased
the xviiith of November, 1595, and tlie sayd Katherun deceased the i day of January, being of the age
of seventy-one yeares."
" Fridswid Greene, wife of Robert Greene, with whom she lived fifty-two years ; by whom she had issue
twelve sons. She died Aug. lb, 1624, aged sixty-seven."
Charities. Benefactors.— In 1817, Harvey Kimpton, esq. late of Shelley Hall, left by will one hundred pounds to the
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 357
chased by James Tomlinson, esq. when he acquired Shelley Hall. The present ^ ^ '^ ^■
incumbent was instituted in 1812. '.
William Bullock, esq. the liberal benefactor of this parish, resided, during the latter William
part of his life at Shelley House, and was a person of rare excellence : he had been for esq.
thirty-seven years clerk of the peace for the county, and was formerly a solicitor in
London : after his settlement at Shelley, he was in the habit of distributing coals
and food to all the poor inhabitants of the parish every Christmas. This distribution
he desired to have continued after his death, although verbally he expressed a wish to
the then rector that this matter should be hereafter determined, as he and his succes-
sors might see fit. Mr. Bullock was the son of Dr. Bullock, prebendary of Westmin-
ster, whose father was owner of Faulkbourn Hall.
In 1821, this parish contained one hundred and seventy-nine, and in 1831, one
hundred and sixty-three inhabitants.*
BOBBINGWORTH.
This parish extends from North Weald to Shelley eastward : being at a distance Bobbjng-
from the great roads, and thinly inhabited, it is chiefly confined to the business of
agriculture; its surface is uneven, and in many parts presents very luxuriant and
pleasing, though not extensive prospects. In records the name is written Bobbing-
ford, in Domesday, Bubbingeorda, vulgarly Bovinger. The village surrounds a
pleasant green, and is distant from Epping five, and from London twenty-two miles.
Two freemen held this parish in the time of the Confessor, and at the survey it
belonged to Ralph, brother of Ilger. It contains two manors.
Bobbingworth Hall is a short distance south-westward from the church : after Bobbing-
Ralph, the next name that occurs in records as owner of this estate is Henry Spigur- Hall,
nell, who died in 1328, supposed the son or grandson of Edmund Spigurnell, who had
the manor of Stondon in 1295: sir Thomas, the son of Henry Spigurnell, was lord
of Dagew, or Deux Hall, in Lambourn, and in 1339, granted to Robert de Hackney,
and his wife Katharine, this manor, and all his tenements in High AungTe : in 1423,
it was purchased by sir John Asheles ; and afterwards sold by William Asheles, of
Thaxted, to John de Vere, earl of Oxford, sir Reginald West, Nicholas Thorley,
Richard Wentworth, and Richard Arden ; and these, in 1446, conveyed the premises
poor of this parish ; the proceeds of such sum to be distributed at the discretion of the overseers for tlie
time being. xAfter the legacy duty was paid, this sum purchased one hundred and ten pounds, five shillings,
and two-pence three per cent, stock, yielding an annual income of three pounds six shillings.
in 1822, William Bullock, esq. being then within a few days of his death, gave by a deed of gift three
hundred and thirty-six pounds, six shillings, and eight pence three per cent, stock, to the poor uf this
parish : the proceeds of such sum being ten pounds per annum, which was to be distributed to the poor
inhabitants, at the discretion of the rector.
* The Editor gratefully acknowledges the kindness of the rev. H. Soames, in favouring him with a com-
plete and correct account of this parish.
VOL. II. 3 A
358 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. to sir Thomas Tyrell, sir Peter Arden, and others, which, in 1446, were purchased by
Walter Writell, esq.* sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire, in 1469 and 1471; who
dying- in 1475, was buried in this church, with his wife Katharine. In 1507, John,
son and heir of .John Writell, died in possession of this estate; and in 1510, a parti-
tion was made of it between James and Eleanor Walsingham, and Edward and Griseld
Waldegrave, the females being co-heiresses of Writell; in 1575, another partition
took place, between James Walsingham and his wife, and John Rochester and his
wife, whereby the presentation to the living became alternate. The part belonging
to Rochester was the Hall, which, in 1586, was purchased by John Pool: whose son
and heir John, died in 1633, and was succeeded by his brother Richard, whose-,
descendants lived in the Hall till 1708. Walsingham's part, which consisted only of
land, was purchased of sir Thomas and sir Andrew Walsingham, by Robert Boiu-ne,
of Blake Hall, and the two moieties were afterwards purchased by the Houblon
family; and now belong to John Archer Houblon, esq.
Blake Blake Hall is half a mile south-east from the church. This manor was originally
holden of the honour of Clare, formerly by Robert de Hastings, of the honour of
Marescall, then by John de Londres. In 1420, it belonged to sir Robert Brent,
whose heiress Avas his sister Joan, wife of John Trethoke. It afterwards belonged to
Thompson; and to sir William Capel in 1516, who held it of Katharine, queen
of England, as of her honour of Clare. Afterwards it passed successively to sir Richard
Rich, to John Waylet, who sold it to John Glascock in 1592; of whom it was pur-
chased, in 1598, by Robert Bourne, gent, son of William Bourne, who had lands and
tenements in this parish, and, dying in 1581, was buried in this church. f In 1709,
two co-heiresses of the family of Bourne sold this estate to John Clark, esq. who
* He was of a very ancient family, descended from Ralph Fitz-Ralph, esq., to whom Margaret, countes«
of Galloway, gave the manor of Writell, in this county, from which he took his surname ; his son, Pierce
dc Writell, hy Mabel, daughter and heiress of sir Stephen Boys, had Walter Writell ; who marrying Katha-
rine, daughter of Alexander Walden, had Hugh ; and he by his wife Margaret, daughter of sir John Nor-
ford, had Ralph, who married Anne, daughter of Thomas Bretton ; Ralph Writell was their son and heir,
and by his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Robert Ramsey, esq. left Ralph Writell, esq. of Bobbing-
worth, who married Katharine, daughter of Thomas Boston, and had by her John, father of John, who died
in 1485, without issue : John, the father, had also three daughters ; Griseld, married, first, to John Rochester,
afterwards to Edward Waldegrave; Lora, wife of John Waldegrave ; and Eleanor, of James Walsingham. —
Arms of Writell : Sable, on a bend, argent, a bendlet wavy of the first : in chief, a cross crosslet fitch^.
t Robert, his second son, lord of this manor, married Katharine, daughter of Henry Medley, esq. of
Tiltey abbey, who died in 1G4.5, leaving five sons and six daughters ; of these, Mary was m;nried to William
Chapman, of London, merchant ; Margaretta became the wife of William or Nicholas Cowper, of the
same place ; and l^lizabeth was married to Richard Glascock, of Down Hall, in Hatfield Broadoak. Robert,
the father, died in 1639 : and Robert, the second son, married Rose, daugliter of Humphrey Walcot, esq.
of Shropshire, and, dying in 1665, left his only daughter Katharine, his heiress, who was married to lord
Digby, but died without issue, leaving Dorothy Thompson and Anne Fowler, daughters of his sister Mar-
garet Cov»'pcr, his co-heiresses. — Arms of Bourne : Argent, a chevron double cotised, gules, between three
lions rampant, sable. Crest : a lion sejant sable, holding up his right foot, maned, or.
HUNDRED OF ON GAR. 359
married Elizabeth, daughter of sir Richard Haddock, knt., and had by her Richard C H a p.
Clark, esq. who married Anne, sister of Thomas Fitche, esq. of Danbury. '
The mansion of Blake Hall is now the seat of Capel Cure, esq.
An estate named Bobbingford, and also Monks, extends into this parish, High and Hobbing-
Castle Ongar, Stanford Rivers, and Shelley: in 1496, it belonged to Joan Biddlesdon. *^" '
In 1639, Thomas, Richard, and John Pool, for themselves and others, lords of
Bobbingworth Hall, paid a composition to the king's commissioners for disforesting
four hundred and eighty-one acres of land in this parish.
The church, which is at some distance from the village, is, in the central part, com- Church,
paratively of modern appearance, and of brick; the chancel is more ancient; and the
east window is a good specimen of the decorated style of architecture ; the steeple and
steeple end of the building is of wood. It is dedicated to St. Germain.*
The rectory has a glebe of several acres.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to two hundred and seventy-seven,
and in 1831, to precisely the same number.
NORTH WEALD.
The Saxon and old English word, pealb, wald, wold, or wolt, means wood; and the North-
appellative North, is given to this parish as being near the northern extremity of the
hundred; and to distinguish it from the parish of South Weald, in the hundred of
Chafford. This parish has also been named Nether Weld; and the name of Basset,
applied to it, was derived from ancient proprietors: it is not mentioned in Domesday,
unless it be what is there named Astoca, and placed between Greensted and Kelvedon
* Monumental antiquities. -^Within the communion rails are the following inscriptions, on the family Inscrip-
of Bourne, on brass, in old English characters : " In mortem, Guilielmi Bourni, generosi Tetrastichon.
Hie tegitur Bournus, dum vixit charus amicis nunc div6m socius cselicoKimque comes, mors pretiosa deo
sanctorum niaesta malorum, transitu? ad vitam que sine morte manet. Obiit 18 die Maii, An. Dmi. 1581."
— " Tetrastich on the death of William Bourn, esq. — Here is buried Bourn, who was, while alive, beloved
by his friends, now associated with the saints and a partaker in heaven. Death, when of the saints, grateful
to God, when of the wicked, grievous, is the passage to a life which is immortal. He died the 18th of
May, A.D. 1581."
" In hopes of a joyful resurrection, lies interred the body of Robert Bourne, esq. who married Katha-
rine, ye daughter of Henry Medeley, esq., by whom he had issue five sonnes and six daughters ; who,
after he had attained ye age of seventy-eight years, with alacritie of spirit, surrendered his soule into ye
hands of his Redeemer, the 10th of May, 1639."
" Here lyeth interred the body of Katharine Bourne, the wife of Robert Bourne, esq. and daughter of
Henry Medley, esq., and after she had attayned to the age of eighty years, surrendered her soule into the
hands of her Redeemer, the 26th of April, IG-IS."
" Here lyeth interred yc body of Rose Bourne, the wife of Robert Bourne, esq., the daughter of Humfrey
Walcot, of Walcot, in Shropshire, esq., and after she had attayned to the age of fifty years, surrendered
her soule into the hands of her Redeemer, the 6th March, 1653."
" Here lyeth ye body of Robert Bourne, esq. who married Rose Walcot, daughter of Humfrey Walcot,
360 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Hatch. The soil of this agricultural parish is heavy, but rich and productive;* it has
a considerable portion of common-ground. Distant from Epping three, and from
London twenty miles. There are three manors.
Manor. jj^ j-j^g ^^,^g of Henry the second, the manor of North Weald belonged to Henry de
Essex, who gave it to his youngest son Hugh ; whose son Baldwin granted it to Philip
Basset, and the lady Ella, his second wife. After his death, in 1271, Alivia, his daughter
and heiress by his first wife, held this manor : she was married, first, to Roger Bigot,
and afterwards to Hugh le Despenser ; and Hugh le Despenser, her son, held this estate
of John de Bensted in 1324. But Roger Bigot giving up his estates to the crown, Ed-
ward the second granted this, among the rest, to Edmund Plantagenet, his brother, earl
of Kent, to hold by the yearly gift of a sparrow-hawk ; and the earl, endeavouring to
release the said king his brother from imprisonment, was himself beheaded in 1330;
and this estate was given to Bartholomew de Burghersh for life. Afterwards the
sentence of the earl being reversed, his son, John Plantagenet, earl of Kent, enjoyed
this estate, as parcel of his earldom, till 1352, when, dying without issue, it descended
to his sister Joan, " the Fair Maid of Kent," married, first, to William Montacute, earl
of Salisbury, next to Thomas Holland, earl of Kent, and, lastly, to Edward the Black
Prince. On her death, in 1385, it descended to her son, Thomas Holland, earl of
Kent, and his widow held it at the time of her decease in 1416; as did also Lucy de
Visconti, widow of Edmund Holland, earl of Kent, in 1424 : his sister conveyed it by
marriage to her husband, Thomas Montacute, earl of Salisbury, who died in 1428,
ivhen it passed to lady Alice, the daughter of his wife, who was married to Richard
Neville, earl of Salisbury; Richard, her son, earl of Salisbury and Warwick, was slain
in the battle of Barnet Field, in 1471 ; and his eldest daughter and co-heiress, Isabel,
wife of Geoi'ge Plantagenet, duke of Clarence, had this possession at the time of her
decease, in 1476; it then became the inheritance of Margaret Plantagenet, their daugh-
ter, widow of sir Richard Pole, and on the tragical death of this unfortunate lady, it
passed to the crown. In 1543, it was granted to Richard Higham; who, in 1544,
esq., and had issue by her Alice, who was married to ye honorable John lord Digby; which Robert
departed this life ye 24th of Feb. Anno Domini, 1665."
On the chancel floor: " Here lyeth ye body of Dorothy Cowper, ye wife of Nicholas Cowper, gent,,
and daughter of Thomas Ellis, gent, who departed this life ye 22d of March, Anno Domini, 1660."
" Here also lyeth the body of Nicholas Cowper, gent, who departed this life, Feb. 4th, 1674."
" Here lyeth the body of John Cowper, gent, son of Nicholas Cowper, and Dorothy his wife, who
departed July 7th, 1701."
*' Dorothea et Anna, defuncti sorores et asse cohseredes maestissime possuere."
Against the wall : " Mrs. Mary King, died 23d February, 1820, aged eighty-five. A lady of sincere piety,
exemplary life, and true Christian benevolence."
" To the memory of William Brown, gent, who died 18th May, 1591. Also, of William Chapman, who
died Sept, 14, 1687."
* Average annual produce per acre j— wheat 26, barley 36 bushels.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 361
sold it to sir Richard Rich, and he, in 1554, conveyed it to his second son, sir Hugh CHAP.
Rich, from whom it descended to Robert lord Rich in 1580, and to his son, Robert,
earl of Warwick, who died in 1619. It passed from this noble family to that of
Cheke, of Pirgo : Letitia, widow of Thomas Cheke, esq. had it at the time of her
decease, in 1722; Anne, lady Tipping, died possessed of it in 1728; and it became
the inheritance of her youngest daughter Katharine, married to the right hon. Thomas
lord Archer. The mansion is half a mile west from the church; it had formerly a
free chapel in the disposal of the lord, and a park, where inclosures have yet retained
the name of Park Fields.
The manor of Marshals has been named from Roger Bigot, earl marshal, first Marshals.
husband of Alivia Basset. The mansion was inclosed in a moat, but has been de-
stroyed. Sir William Fitz- William, knt. who died in 1534, had this estate, and his
son William was his heir: a family named Larder succeeded, of whom Walter Larder,
and his wife and children, were buried here. This estate was also in possession of the
Searle family, previous to its becoming the property of John Archer, esq. of Coopersale.
The manor named Cawnes, in 1480, belonged to Thomas Danvers, esq. and was Cawnes,
in the same year purchased, with the manor of Norton Mandeville, by Merton
College; four hundred pounds of the purchase-money being the gift of Thomas Kemp,
bishop of London.
In records, a manor named Paris is stated to have extended into this parish, but P^"s.
the chief part of it lies in Harlow, Latton, and Theydon Gernon: it belonged to
John Writell, esq., and, as well as the manor of Hubert's Hall, in Harlow, was in
possession of the Shaa family. Alice, daughter of Edward Shaa, conveyed it in
marriage to her husband, William Paley, esq. who, at the time of his death, in 1587,
held it of George Colt, esq. Sir John Paley, his son, died possessed of it in 1593,
leaving William Paley, esq. his son and heir. It was afterwards purchased of this
family by Mr. Fuller, clothier, of Coggeshall, from whom it descended to his posterity.
An estate named Wheelers, half a mile south-west from the church, formerly be- Wheelers.
longed to the rev. Simon Lynch,* vicar of this parish; and his daughter sold it to
Mr. John Searle.f
Haslingwood and Thornwood are two considerable hamlets in this parish.
* This gentleman was born at Staple, in Kent, in 1562; instituted to this living in 1592, and enjoyed
it till 1656, nearly sixty-four years. He died at the age of ninety-four, having lived sixty-one years with
his wife, Elizabeth Seane, by whom he had ten children, and yet by good management he provided well
for them all. Bishop Aylmer, his kinsman, gave him this living, at that time not worth fifty pounds a
year, and pleasantly said to him, " Cousin, play with this a while, till a better come." The bishop after-
wards offered him South Weald, three times better than this : to whom Mr. Lynch answered, with a
pun, that he preferred the weal of his parishioners to any other weal whatsoever. — Fuller's JForthies in
Essex, p. 537.
t Arms of Searle : Per pale, sable and argent. Crest : A flaming castle.
362
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a small ancient building, with a nave,
Church, south aisle and chancel; at the upper end of the south aisle there is a small chapel,
and a strong tower of brick contains five bells.*
This church, by the name of Walde, with the patronage, and all its appertenances,
Monu-
mental
inscrip-
tions.
* Monumental inscriptions : On a flat cover- stone of a tomb, elevated by several courses of brick-
work, are some well-executed brasses, in good preservation : on the dexter side, the effigy of a gentleman
habited in a cloak reaching to the knees, with breeches, stockings, and high-heeled shoes with roses.
On the sinister side, his lady, attired in a hat with small conical crown, a ruff, and richly ornamented
apron ; in the centre a shield of arms, quarterly one and six : Ermine three piles, on each as many
roundels — the arms of Larder.... Two.... a chevron ermine between three pine apples — Pine....
Three, a bend engrailed, between three leopards faces, jessant de lis — Copleston Four, ermine, on
a cross, five roundels.... Five.... two bars.... between nine martlets, three, three, two, and one....
impaling.... on a chevron.... between three wolves' heads erased. .. . as many crescents ermine ; on
a canton a pheon— Nicholls. Beneath the principal figures the following inscription, and the effigie*! of
three sons, one of them as defunct, and two daughters.
" Here under lieth the bodie of Walter Larder Marie his lovinge wife, three sones, viz. Walter
Samvel post mortem natvs and two daughters, vi Ann he died the 2.Jth day Avgvst, Anno Dni
16.... "
It is highly probable, from the quarterings of the arms upon this monument, that the Walter Larder here
interred, was descended from the Larders of Upton Pine, in Devonshire. In sir William Pole's Collections
for a History of that County, is the following notice of Pine and Larder : " Braunford Pine, otherwise
Upton Pine, the longe contynewed dwellinge of the family of Pyne : Herbert de Pino held this lande in
Kinge Henry i. tyme, untoe whom lineally succeeded Simon, Herbert, Simon, sir Herbert, sir Herbert,
John, William, Edmund, and Nicholas, which had issue Constance, wife of William Larder, father of
Edmond, father of Tristram, father of Lewes, the father of Humfry, which had issue. . . . wife of Antony
Copleston, who dwelleth in this place."— p. 237, ed. 1791. The Larders of Upton Pine removed from
that part about the beginning of the seventeenth century. — f^ide Lysons's Mag. Brit. Devonshire, {Ixvii.
In the registers of North Weald Basset are the following entries of the families of Larder and Nicholls.
" Baptisms : 1579, Constance, daughter of Mr. Larder, Dec. 10 ; 1584, Ann, daughter of Andrew Larder,
Oct. 6; 1586, Joan, daughter of Andrew Larder, Aug. 30 ; 1602, Gualter, son of Mr. Gualter Larder,
.\ug. 22; 1603, Martha, daughter of Mr. Gualter Larder, Oct. 16; 1604, George, son of Gualter Larder;
1605, Ann, daughter of Gualter Larder; 1607, Samuel, son of Gualter Larder.
" Marriages: loOS, Mr. Gualter Larder M"^' Marye Nicolls, December 17th.
" Burials: 1592, Andrew Larder, April •24th; 1606, Mr. Gualter Larder, August 27; 1616, George
Nicolls, gent. Nov. 13; 1621, Martha Nicolls, widow, Julie 12 "
In the church-yard : " Georgius Hellier, clericusi hie expectat resurrectionem, obiit 14, die Septembris,
Ann. Dom. 1729, a;tatis suae 82. Anna, his wife, obiit 17, dii Nov. 1734, atatis 70. Ann Dore, their
daughter, obiit 21, die Aprilis 1735, aetat 30."
" M. S. Lucas Dore, in re forensi procure bonis qui natus apud Hinbon parvam, in com. Wilts, Nov.
1688, uxorem duxit Annam supradictam, Jan. 19, 1723, com. Essex, coronator electu, Ap. 6, 1727.
Apud Ongar in eodem, com.Variolis abreptus, obiit June 29, 1739. Georgius unicus filius et Haeres, P. H."
Arms: A chevron between three mullets pierced, .... impaling,... fretty.... on a chief..., three
roundels.
The registers of this parish commence in 15.^7. The following names occur among the earliest entries.
Spranger; the registers of this family are very numerous: Cakebread, Gladwin, Glascock, Thorogood,
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 363
lands, tithes, and obventions, was giv^en, by Cicely de Essex, to the priory of CHAP.
Clerkenwell, in London : this grant was confirmed by her sons, Henry and Hugh de "
Essex; and by Richard Nigel, bishop of London in 1194. The great tithes were
afterwards appropriated to the priory, and a vicarage ordained, with right of presen-
tation in the bishop of London and his successors, who presented without interruption
till 1483, when disputes arising between the bishop and the nunnery, an award was
made in 1515, by archbishop Warham and chief justice Fineux. that the presentation
should be alternate between the bishop of London and the owner of the impropriate
tithes. The manor of North Weald had formerly a free chapel, in the disposal of
the lord.
In 1821, the number of inhabitants in this parish amounted to eight hundred and
twenty-seven, and, in 1831, to eight hundred and eighty-seven.
GREENSTED.
This is a small parish lying between Bobbingworth and Ongar, and to distin- Greensted
guish it from the other parish of the same name near Colchester, is usually called
Greensted near Ongar, from which town it is distant one, and from London twenty
miles.
In Edward the confessor's reign, this manor was in the possession of Gotild, and i^lanor of
Greensted
at the time of the survey belonged to Hamo Dapifer ; and Serlo held under him forty
acres, supposed what three freemen held as a hide, in Saxon times; also Ralph,
believed to be De Marci, held half a hide and five acres.
On the death of Hamo Dapifer without issue, his lands descended to his brother,
Robert Fitz-Hamo, to whom king William the second gave the honour of Gloucester;
he died in 1107, and Maud, or Mabel, his eldest daughter, was married to Robert,
natural son of king Henry the first, created earl of Gloucester, to whom she conveyed
her uncle Harao's large inheritance. He died in 1147. It is not certainly known
Searle, Osborne, Nicolls, Luther, aud Larder. Among the registers of Spranger— " 1674, John Spranger,
of Chigwell, buried here."
Charities. — One of the Searle family bequeathed thirty-six bushels of grain, or the value in money, to
be distributed to the poor on Ash Wednesday yearly. — Simon Thorovvgood, citizen and fishmonger of
London, in 1635, left by will fifty pounds, towards building a grammar school-house in this parish, and
gave in trustees an annuity of ten pounds, payable out of his lands called Hart's Grove, in Barking, for
in.structing the children of this and the confining towns next thereunto. Through some bad management,
this donation lay dormant above forty years, till 1678, when, by a commission of charitable uses, it was
recovered and settled as it now stands. A school is kept, and tlie endowment well paid.— Mrs. Burrell,
widow, of this parish, left, by will, four hundred pounds, in the navy five per cent, bank annuities, to
remain there for ever, which was transferred to the minister and churclnvardens of North Weald Basset,
for the use and benefit of four aged widows, to receive the dividends lialf yearly, always remembering
that a widow of the name of Hurrell is to have the preference. To be chosen by the vicar and church-
svardens, Francis Stanley, vicar ; Daniel liinckes, and William Kirkby, churchwardens, in 1814.
364 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. whether king Stephen took this estate from him, on account of his adherence to his
competitor, the empress Maud: however, William, Stephen's son, gave Greensted,
together with Cheping Ongar, to Richard de Lucy, from whose family it passed to
that of Rivers : after whom it was conveyed to William de la Hay, and to the noble
family of Stafford, under whom it was holden by the Bourchier family; and on the
premature death of Henry, earl of Essex, in 1540, this, with his other great estates,
became the inheritance of his daughter and heiress Anne, married to William lord
Parr. Sir Richard Rich, in 1548, 1561, and at the time of his death in 1566, held
this manor, which belonged to William Bourne, esq. of Bobbingworth, in 1593, and
to the Young family in 1661: from whom it passed to Mr. Gulton, who sold it to
Mr. Alexander Cleve, citizen of London. After whom the next possessor was David
Rebotier, esq. succeeded by his son, Charles Rebotier, esq.
Greensted Hall is a large handsome mansion, at a short distance from the church
eastward, pleasantly situated, with an agreeable view toward Cheping Ongar : it now
belongs to the rev. Craven Orde.
Parsonage The parsonage-house is a handsome building, with a good prospect over the
country; it is near the road from Cheping Ongar to Greensted church.
Chill ch. This singular church has attained celebrity from the general supposition that it is
one of the most ancient in Great Britain; the nave is formed of the half trunks of
oaks, about a foot and a half in diameter, split, and roughly hewn at each end, to let
them into a sill at the bottom, and into a plank at the top, where they are fastened
with wooden pegs. This is the whole of the original fabric which yet remains entire,
though much corroded and worn by long exposure to the weather. It is twenty-nine
feet nine inches long, fourteen feet wide, and five feet six inches high, on the sides
which supported the primitive roof. On the south side there are sixteen trunks, and
two door posts; on the north twenty-one, and two vacancies filled up with plaster.
The west-end is built against by a boarded tower, and the east by a chancel of
brick; on the south side tliere is a wooden porch, and both sides are strengthened
by brick buttresses; the roof is of later date, and tiled, but rises to a point in the
centre, as originally formed. The brick building has a blunt-pointed doorway, with
mouldings curiously worked in the bi'ick.
In the account of this church, communicated to the society of antiquaries by Smart
LetheuiUier, esq. and annexed to a view of it, published many years ago, it is said,
the inhabitants have a tradition that the corpse of a king once rested in it. This
tradition, Mr. LetheuiUier imagined to have been founded on particulars recorded
by some of our old writers, and instances the following : in a manuscript preserved
in the Lambeth library, entitled " Vita et Passio Sancti Edmundi," are passages to
this effect: " In the year 1010, and the thirtieth of king Ethelred, St. Edmund, by
reason of the invasion of Turkil, the Danish chief, was taken, by bishop Alwin, to
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 365
London; but in the third year following- carried back to St. Edmundsbury: a certain c H a f.
person at Stapleford hospitably received his body on its return." Another manuscript, ^'■
cited in the Monasticon, and entitled " Registrum coenobii sancti Edmundi," has this
sentence : " Idem apud Aungre hospitabatur ubi in ejus memoria lignea capella permanet
usque hodie;" i. e. " His body was likewise entertained at Aungre, where a wooden
chapel, erected to his memory, remains to this day." In the application of these
extracts, Mr. Letheuillier observes, that the parish of Aungre, or Ongar, adjoins to
that of Greensted, where this church is situated; and that the ancient road from
London into Suffolk lay through Old Ford, Abridge, Stapleford, Greensted, Dun-
mow, and Clare, we learn, not only from tradition, but likewise from several remains
of it, Avhich are still visible. It seems not improbable, therefore, that this rough and
unpolished fabric was first erected as a sort of shrine for the reception of the corpse
of St. Edmund, which, in its return from London to Bury, as Lydgate says, in his
manuscript life of king Edmund, was carried in a chest: and as we are told, in the
register above-mentioned, that it remained afterwards in memory of that removal,
so it might, in process of time, with proper additions made to it, be converted into a
parish church; for we find by Newcourt, that Simon Peverell succeeded John Lodet,
as rector of Greensted Juxta Ongar, in 1328. He says likewise, that Richard de
Lucy very probably divided the parishes of Greensted and Aungre, and built the
church at Aungre, in the reign of Henry the second.*
A glebe belongs to this parish of twenty-eight acres.
This parish, in 1821, contained one hundred and thirty-one, and, in 1831, one
hundred and thirty-four inhabitants.
* In 1548, this church was united to that of Cheping Ongar, by act of parliament, for the alleged
reasons that " the profits of the church of Cheping Ongar were not sufficient to find a priest, being not
above six pounds in the king's books, and because the charges of the repairs, ornaments, and other
accustomed duties to that church, and the church of Grinsted, (which was of the same value or little
more, and stood but a quarter of a mile distant from it, and commodious for the access of the parishioners
of Ongar,] were much greater than could be raised or borne among such poor parishioners ; it was there-
fore enacted, that the church of Cheping Ongar should be dissolved, and the church of Grinsted made
the parish church, as well for the parishioners of Ongar as those of Grinsted ; and the advowson of Ongar
was therefore invested in the patron of Grinsted, viz. the lord Rich, his heirs and assigns." But this
union was dissolved by another act, passed in 1554, in the preamble of which it is said, that one William
Moris, esq. then patron of the church of Cheping Ongar, and member of parliament, did, by sinister
labour and procurement, get the act for the consolidation.
Monumental inscriptions. On the north wall of the chancel : " Here lieth Jone, sister to sir Thomas Monu-
Smith, of Mont, knt. second wife of Alane Wood, of Snodland, in Kent, gent, who living vertvovslie .'"^*i*^
inscrip-
sixty-six years, died godly the xxth of Avgvst, 1585. tions.
" Feare thov God, and doe
As thov wovldest be done unto."
Arms : Sable on a fesse dauncettee, between three lions rampant regardant, argent, each supporting an
altar, or, flaming pp. nine billets of the field. — Smijth,
Against the south wall : " Prope jacet Richardus Hewyt, A.M. hujus ecclcsiae quondam rector, in villa
VOL. II. 3 B
366
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Stanford
River.".
Stanford
Hall.
STANFORD RIVERS.
This parish is intersected by the road from London to Ong-ar, and was named from
a ford through the Rodon, either naturally stony or paved with stones, and made
shallow to save the expense of a bridg-e, as was sometimes done by the Romans; and
the addition of Rivers is from a family of that name, and distinguishes it from Stam-
ford le Hope. Distant from Cheping Ongar three, and from London nineteen miles.
Before the Conquest, this parish was in the possession of Alwin, afterwards of
Ingelric, of a freeman, and of the father of Aluric: at the survey it belonged to
Eustace, earl of Boulogne; and, at that time, a part of it was called Little Stanford.
Maud, grand-daughter to earl Eustace, conveyed it to her husband Stephen, earl of
Blois, afterwards king of England, whose son William, earl of Mortain and Surrey,
gave this lordship, with those of Cheping Ongar, Greensted, &c. to Richard de Lucy,
who, by his wife Rohaise, had Geofrey, Herbert, Maud, and Rohaise. The offspring
of Geofrey was Richard, who died without issue; and Herbert, the second son, had
this estate, who also dpng without issue, the inheritance descended to the sisters.
Maud de Lucy held it of the king, in his escheatrv of the honour of Boulogne ; and,
in 1213, she was given in marriage, by king John, to Richard de Rivers, by whom
she had two sons; Richard, who died before her, and Baldwin. Richard, son of
Richard, born in 1238, became possessed of this estate on the death of his grand-
mother Maud, and was succeeded by John de Rivers, who died in 1293, John, his
son, and John, his grandson.
Stanford Hall is near the church; in 1372, Ralph, earl of Stafford, died in pos-
session of it, whose son and successor was sir Hugh Stafford; who, jointly with his
wife Elizabeth, in 1415, demised this manor to John T>Tell and others. Sir Hugh
died in 1421, in possession of only a small portion of this estate: but Elizabeth, his
widow, re-married to sir Lewis Robessart, had the whole of it till her decease in
1433; and it appears from the inquisitions, that it was afterwards sub-divided into
those of Traceys, Botellers, Piggesland, and Brigges, so named from under-tenants,
to whom parcels of the manor were demised. The paramount manor was given, by
king Edward the fourth, to John Stafford, younger son of Humphrey, created earl
of Wiltshire in 1469, and whose widow Constance enjoyed it till her death in 1475,
eccles apud Lancastrienses natns ; ubi natus etiam fuit celeberimus ille Theologiae doctor Johannes
Hewyt, qui ob. fidem Carlo 2^°. exulanti nefari^ perduellium sententia securi percussus est Rickardus
patruo tarn illustri nepos non indignus, obiit 26 April, An, dom. 1724."
Mary Smith, wife of Craven Ord, and daughter of John Redman, esquires, both of Greensted Hall;
she died March 1st, 1804, aged thirty-nine, leaving seven children.
In the church-yard : " Philippa, the beloved daughter of Alexander and Anne Cleeve, who departed
this life November 22, 1729, aged fifteen." Arms : In a lozenge. ... on a fesse.. .. between three.. ..
heads erased. ... as many mullets. , , ,
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 367
and Edward, their son and heir, died in 1499, without issue. Henry and Edward chap.
Stafford, dukes of Buckingham, had this estate, which, on their several attainders and ^^'
executions, passed to the crown, and was granted, by Henry the eighth, in 1524,
to WilHam Carey, esq. and Mary his wife. It belonged afterward to William lord
Petre, who gave it to his second son, William Petre, esq. born at West Horndon,
in 1602.*
The mansion of Bellhouse is half a mile south-west from the church. In records BelUiouse
the name is frequently written Gelhouse. Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Philip
Malpas, citizen and clothier of London, and widow of sir Thomas Cooke, at the time
of her decease in 1484, held this manor of the earl of Wiltshire. Philip was her son
and heir; and John Cooke died possessed of it, and of a tenement here called Morells:
John was his brother and heir. In 1524, it belonged to Robert Troblefield, and
afterwards became the property of the Petre family.
The two reputed manors of Berwicks and Cannes, or Cadness, were partly in this i^ervvick
parish, and partly in Ongar, Matching, Bobbingworth, and Stapleford, and in pos- Cannes,
session of John Skrene, who died in 1451, and left his son John his heir. They
were afterwards holden of the duke of Buckingham by Richard Harper, who died in
1517; George was his son and heir: they have since been incorporated with other
estates.
The mansion of the manor of Littlebury and Rochenhoe is three quarters of a mile Littlebmy
and Ro-
eastward from the church, but most of the lands lie in High Ongar. In 1528, chenhoe.
Richard Salinge held this manor of Katharine, queen of England, as of her manor of
Anstye, parcel of the honour of Clare ; Augustine was his son. It afterwards belonged
to John Atwood, esq. who married Dorothy, daughter of William Walter, esq. of
Wimbledon, in Surrey, whose son and heir was John Atwood, esq. of Bromfield
and Gray's Inn, who, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Patrick Young,
esq. had John, William, Elizabeth, and Sarah: the estate was sold by John Atwood
to Mrs. Sarah Bull, in 1694, from whom it passed to her descendants, and to
Graves.
There was formerly a park here, holden of the king, as of the honour of Boulogne, !';uk.
* He had his education at Exeter College, in Oxford, and at Wadham, founded by his great aunt.
Afterwards he went to the inns of court, and having completed his studies, travelled into foreign coun-
tries ; he translated Ribadeneira's Lives of Saints, from the Spanish, and continued the work to the year
IG69; and marrying Lucy, daughter of sir Richard Fermer, knt. had two sons and a daughter, and died
in 1677. William, the eldest son, married Anne, daughter of Mr. Caldwell, of Cantes Hall, in Essex, by
whom he had two sons and two daughters. William Petre, esq. the eldest son, married, first, Anne,
daughter of Robert Poultrel, esq. of Derbyshire, who died in child-bed. He afterwards married Penelope,
daughter of John Walphe, esq. barrister-at-law, by whom he had eight children. William Petre, esq.
the eldest son and heir, married a sister of the right honourable James, earl of Derwentwatcr, and had
by her William and Mary, who died before him. He departed this life in 1745.
368 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK n. by Humphrey de Walden, in 1331, and by his nephew and heir, Andrew de Walden,
in 1335.
Church, The church is a plain old building, with a wooden spire, dedicated to St. Marg-aret.*
This rectory was originally in the gift of the crown, but, in 1558, it was annexed
to the dutchy of Lancaster, by queen Mary.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to seven hundred and ninety-two,
and, in 1831, to nine hundred and five.
THEYDON.
They don. The Saxon Dejnbun, Theyn's hill, is probably conjectured to have been originally
applied to an extensive lordship, afterwards divided into three parishes: a division
which has taken place since the Domesday survey, being there entered under the name
of Taindena and Teindana; in other records written Teydene, Theydon, Thedon.
The owners, in the Confessor's reign, had been Godric, Ulmar, and Hacun.
Inscrjp- * Inscriptions : In ancient characters, on a brass plate : " Before this tabernaculle lyeth buryed
Thomas Greene, some time bayle of this towne, Margaret, and Margaret hys wyves, which Thomas dyed
the 8th day of July, mdxxxv. The which Thomas hath wylled a prest to syng in this church for the
space of XX yeares, for liym, his w)'ves, his children, and all mens soules. And more over he hath wj-lled
an obyte to be kept the 8th day of July, for the terme of xx yeares, for the soules aforesaid, and at every
tyme of the said obyte bestowed xxs. of good lawful money of England."
On a brass plate : " Katharine Mulcaster, wife of Richard Mulcaster, by ancient parentage and linnial
discentan esquier born ; who by the famous queen Elizabeth's prerogative gift, was parson of this churche,
with whom she lived in marriage fifty yeares, and died the 6th day of August, 1609. A grave woman, a
loving wife, a careful nurse, a godlie creature, a saint in heaven in the presence of her God and Saviour,
whom she ever dailie and dearelie served."
Memorials of the following persons are in the chancel : " Lucy Petre, daughter of William Petre, esq. ;
she died Oct. 9, 1637. William Petre, esq. son of William lord Petre, who died Jan. 15, 1677, aged 75.
His wife Lucy, daughter of sir Richard Fermer, in Somerton, in Oxfordshire, knt. William Petre, of this
parish, esq. who died in 1686 ; and his wife, who died in 16SS."
" William Beckworth, and major John Beckworth."
On a brass plate : " Pray for the soules of Robert Karrow and Alys his wyf, which Robert decessed
the xvi day of Avg\st, 1506 ; on whose soulyes Jesu have mercy. Amen."
On the south wall of the church : " Here before lieth Anne Napper, late the wyfe of William Napper,
gent, and daughter to William Shelston, esq. who died the Sth day of April, 1584.
tions.
And never hence remove,
Her husband in his tyme of lyfTe
This monument did leave his wvffe."
" In token of whose verteous lyfe,
And constant sacred love.
And that her memory shoulde remayne
Charities. Charities. — An annuity of forty shillings, payable out of lands and tenements in St. Rotolph's, Aldgate,
London, was left to twelve of the poorest inhabitants of this parish, by William Green, citizen and
merchant-tailor of London. — And, in 1600, William Petite, of Greensted, left ten shillings yearly for the
benefit of poor folks' marriages here and at Greensted, payable out of lands called Knights.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 369
THEYDON MOUNT.
CHAP.
XI.
The division of Theydon occupying the highest ground, has been named Theydon Theydon
Mount, and extends southward to Stanford Rivers. Distant from Epping three, and
from London twenty miles.
Godric held this portion of Theydon before the Conquest ; and it was one of the
fifty-five lordships given to Suene of Essex ; whose castle and chief residence being at
Rayleigh, this estate was holden of that honour. Henry de Essex, constable to Henry
the second, and hereditary standard-bearer, succeeded Suene, and for cowardice was,
in 1163, deprived of all his estates; he left two sons, sir Henry and sir Hugh. In
1210 and 1211, Henry de Theydene had this estate, which he held as three knights'
fees of the honour of Rayleigh: it soon afterwards was given to lord Robert de Brus,
in exchange for other lands he had yielded to Robert de Wallerand; under whom John
de Lexington held this manor ; who, in 1250, had licence to make a park here, and, in
1253, to hunt in the forest of Essex. He was chief justice of all the forests north of
the Trent, and governor of several castles in the north ; also commissioner of the great
seal : he died in 1257. Henry de Lexington, bishop of Lincoln, was his brother and
heir ; who dying in 1258, was succeeded by his nephews and heirs, William de Sutton
and Richard de Markham. This manor lying contiguous to Stapleford Tany, Richard
de Tany, the younger, obtained a pretended and fraudulent grant of it, and under that
pretence seized tenements in this parish belonging to Robert de Sutton ; but upon a
trial before the king, in 1265, the fraud was discovered, and the Sutton family restored
to their estate, which they retained till 1331, when it was granted, with the advowson
of the church, by John le Sutton, lord of Dudley, to Henry de Malyns, for twelve
years. Edward de Malyns, a nobleman, presented to this living in 1335 ; as did sir
Reginald Malyns in 1361, who died in 1384, holding, jointly with his wife Florence,
this manor. Edmund was his son, and the family presented to this living till 1432.
In 1486, Thomas Hampden was in possession of this manor, for the first time named
Hill Hall : John was his son and heir ; and his grandson, sir John Hampden, died pos-
sessed of this estate in 1553: his next heirs were Edward Ferrers, and Anne, wife of
William Paulet.
Sir John Hampden married Philippa, daughter of John Wilford, of London, by
whom he left no issue ; and after his decease, she became the second wife of sir Thomas
Smijth ; and was jointured in this manor and estate, of which sir Thomas purchased
the reversion ; but he had no issue by her, nor by his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of
William Karkek, or Karkyke, of London.* On his death, in 1577, he was succeeded
* Roger, a natural son of Edward the Black Prince, from the place of his birth named de Clarendon, is Smijth
the recorded ancestor of the family of Smijth; of whom the first on record was John Smijth, styled family,
cousin-german of king Edward the sixth ; and in that king's reign was sent ambassador into Spain. In
3T0 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. in his honours and possessions by his nephew and heir, sir William Smijth, whose
descendants have retained this possession to the present time.
Hill Hall. The family seat of Hill Hall is situated on the most pleasant part of the high
g-rounds of Theydon, and in every direction commands beautiful prospects of wide
extent. The house is a noble quadrangular erection, with massive walls ; the front
handsomely ornamented with three-quarter pillars ; and a neat cornice extends around
1550, he purchased of the king a chantry in the church of Long Ashton, in Somersetshire, with other
lands and hereditaments ; and also a guild or fraternity in Walden, then lately dissolved, with lands and
possessions there, and in London, which were the same year restored to the town through the interest of
sir Thomas, John's eldest son ; who was high sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in the 30th of Henry the
eighth. He married Agnes, daughter and co-heiress of the ancient family of Charnock, in Lancashire;
by whom he had Agnes, Margery, Alice, Jane, Thomas, John, and George. George, the third son,
was the father of sir William Smijth, knt. a colonel in Ireland, and married Bridget, daughter of Thomas
Fleetwood, esq. of the Vache, in Buckinghamshire, by whom he had his successor, sir William ; Thomas,
who died without issue, and a second Thomas ; also Anne, who died young; Elizabeth, wife of sir William
Spring, bart. of Pakenham, in Suffolk ; Bridget, wife of sir Robert Joscelyn, knt. of Hyde Hall, in Hert-
fordshire, ancestor of the present earl Roden ; and Frances, wife of sir Matthew Brand, knt. of Moulsey, in
Surrey : sir William dying in 1626, was succeeded by his eldest son, sir William Smijth, who married, first,
Helegenwagh, daughter of the right hon. Edward viscount Conway, lord baron of Ragley, and secretary of
state to king James and Charles the first ; by her he had his son Edward, who at the early age of fifteen
years, served as a volunteer under prince Rupert, in the civil wars, in which he gained great reputation :
he died at the age of twenty-two. There were also two daughters, who died young. Sir William married,
•secondly, Anne, daughter of Croft, esq. of Herefordshire, by whom he had no issue ; and dying in
iG31 was succeeded by his uncle, sir Thomas Smijth, third son of sir William Smijth, created a baronet in
1661. Sir Thomas married, first, Johannah, daughter of sir Edward Altham, knt. of Mark Hall, by whom
he had eleven sons and two daughters. Thomas died young ; sir Edward was his successor ; James
married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Parkhurst, knt. of Penford, in Surrey ; Charles, of London, a
divine ; William, a merchant, of London ; John, of Langley Lawn, who married Anne, daughter of
Lynch, of Ipswich; by whom he had his daughter Anne, wife of Thomas Miller, esq. ; Henry; Leven-
thorpe, who died young; Altham, a barrister of Gray's-inn ; George, and . Sir Thomas married,
secondly, Beatrice, daughter of the right hon Francis viscount Valentia, and relict of sir John Lloyd, knt.
by whom he had no issue : he died in 1G68. The succeeding second baronet, sir Edward Smijth, married
Jane, daughter of Peter Vandeput. esq., by whom he had four sons and two daughters : he died in 1713,
and was succeeded by his only surviving offspring and son, sir Edward Smijth, the third baronet, who
married, first, Anne, daughter of the right hon. sir Charles Hedges, of Compton Basset, in Wiltshire, knt.
LL.D. judge of the high court of admiralty, one of the secretaries of state to William the third and queen
Anne; by whom he had Anne, sir Edward, his successor, sir Charles, successor to his brother, Thomas,
Peter, and the rev. sir William, successor to his brother sir Chailes. Sir Edward married, secondly, Eli-
zabeth, daughter of John Wood, of London ; by whom he had no issue. He died in 1744 ; and sir Edward
Smijth, the fourth baronet, his eldest son, succeeded : he was born at the court of St. James's in 1710,
and married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Thomas Johnson, esq. of Milton Bryant, in Bedfordshire,
by whom having no issue, on his decease, in 1760, he was succeeded by his brother, sir Charles Smijth,
the fifth baronet, and high sheriff for Essex in 1761 ; he married Elizabeth, daughter of John Burges, esq.,
and dying in 1773. left no offspring; he was succeeded by his brother, sir William Smijth, of Hill Hall, and
Horeham Hall, the sixth baronet, who was rector of Theydon Mount and Stapleford Tany, and married
Abigail, daughter of Andrew Wood, esq. of Shrewsbury, ultimately sole heiress to her brother Richard,
<;: III'
oects of
ill massive walls; t\xe '
iieat cornice extends at
jier^etshire,
ia Waiden, tlieu. iaicly di.
year restored to the town >.
iff of Essex and Hertfordshire in tbe aOtfa <
f the ancient family -T '"i -Tinrk, in L
.IS, John, and Gcor;; ■\ the thir
; in irelar'
izabeth, wire of sir V»
.. knt. of Hyde Hall, in
\ Brand, knt. of Mop 1^
• homarrie''
, , and seer,
he had his son Edvvard, who at the early age of
■' wars, in which he ^-ained great rcpuv
.ters,who died young. SirWilliara i.i.
whom he had no is-
; Henry ;
ad . Sir TTior
. and relict of sir J oh a -
inet, sir Edward Sniijth,
ompton Basset, in W
.ve to William tb.' tlv
uccessor to hi? .
.n at the conrr
f;s<]. of Milton I'
ded by his broi
tM CO
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 371
the whole building. The interior is finished in a style of appropriate elegance, exhi- chap.
biting correct specimens of the four orders of architecture ; and in the great hall some ^^'
remains of ancient armour and arms, with portraits and armorial bearings of the family.
The approach from the north, through the park, is by a fine avenue of trees. This
stately fabric is on the site of the ancient manor-house, and was begun in 144.8, by sir
Thomas Smijth, who did not live to finish it, but left provision in his will for that pur-
poee; and considerable alterations have been made by several of his successors.
The church is a handsome small building, dedicated to St. Michael: having been Church.
burnt down by lightning, it was rebuilt by the first sir William Smijth, and contains
numerous monuments of the family.*
and had by her sir William, his successor, and Charles, a captain in the West Essex militia, who, dying in
1792, left, by his wife Philadelphia, daughter of sir George Vandeput, two daughters. The rev. Richard
Smijth, rector of Theydon Mount and Stapleford Tany, Avas the third son of sir William Smijth, who had
also four daughters, Mary, Anne, Emma (who died young), and Elizabeth, married to George Hanfield,
esq. a captain in the army, to whom she bore William George, Abigail Elizabeth, John Edward, Tliomas
Hedges, Shirreff, and Katharine Elizabeth, married to William George Monckton (now lord viscount
Gahvay), eldest son of the late viscount Galway, of Serlby Hall, in Nottinghamshire, by whom he has
George Edward Arundel, born in 1805; Charles Gustavus, born in 1806, and Augustus William, born In
1808 : sir William died in 1777, and was succeeded by his eldest son, sir William Smijth, of Hill Hall and
Horeham Hall, the seventh baronet, born at Shrewsbury in 1746, colonel of the West Essex militia, and
one of the verderers of the forest of Waltham. Sir William married Anne, only daughter and co-heiress
of John Windham, esq. of Wachen, in Yorkshire, and of Woodmanstone, in Surrey, who assumed the
name of Bowyer : lady Smijth is also heiress to the late William Windham, esq. of Earlsham, in Norfolk,
her father's elder brother; and of Joseph Windham, esq. her only brother, who died in 1810: by his
lady, sir William had William, a captain in the first regiment of guards, who died in 1803 ; Thomas, born
in 1781 ; John, a captain in the navy, born in 1782; Edward, vicar of Camberwell, born in 1785; and
Joseph, a lieutenant in the prince of Wales's light dragoons, born in 1792 ; the daughters are, Charlotte,
born in 1790 ; and Caroline, born in 1796. On the death of sir William, in 1823, he was succeeded by
his brother, sir Thomas Smijth, of Hill Hall and Horeham Hall, the eighth baronet, who died in 1833,
and was succeeded by his next brother, sir John Smijth, present and ninth baronet.
* Inscriptions i The effigy of sir Thomas Smijth is placed under an arched canopy, with various emble- Inscrip-
niatical devices, and the following : " Thomas Smijthus, eques auratus hujus manerii dns. cum regis
Edvardi sexti ; turn Elizabethaa reginae consiliarius ; ac primi nominis secretarius, eurundemque, prin-
cipum ad maximos reges legatus, nobilis ordinis garterii concellarius, Ardas Australisque Claneboy in
Hibernia Colonellus, juris civilis supremo titulo etiam cum adolescens insignitus, orator, mathematicus,
philosophus excellentissimus, linguarum Latinae, Grecse, Hebraicse, Gallicae, etiam Italica; calentissimus.
Proboram et ingeniosorum hominum fautor eximus plurimius commodans, nemini nocens, ab injuriis
ulciscendis alienissimus. Deniq. sapientia, pietate, integritate insignis, et in omni vita seu aeger seu valens
intrepidufi mori, cum aetatis suae 65, annum complevisset in oedibus suis Montaulensibus 12**. die Augusti,
Anno salutis 1577, pie et suaviter in domino odormivit. Under the effigy : Gloria vitac contracts; celebrem
facit in terrae vicesibus sepultum. Innocuus vixi ; si me post funera laedas CGRle.sti domino factor
(sceleste) lues."
Translation: " Sir Thomas Smijth, knight, lord of this manor, privy counsellor and principal secretary
of state, both to king Edward the sixth and to queen Elizabeth, and their ambassador to the greatest
kings ; chancellor of the most noble order of the garter ; colonel of Arda and southern Claneboy in
tions.
372 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Sir Thomas Smijth was born at Walden, in 1512 ; and sent, at the age of fourteen,
gjj. ^j^^^ to Queen's College, Cambridge, where he distinguished himself so much, that he was,
Smijth. along with sir John Cheke, chosen to be khig Henry the eighth's scholar ; and in 1531,
attained a fellowship in his college. In 1533, he was appointed to read the public Greek
lecture; and the pronunciation of the Greek language at that time being universally
acknowledged to be exceedingly defective, sir Thomas had the honour of introducing
an improved mode, which has continued in use to the present time. In 1539, he went
abroad, to pursue his studies in foreign universities, and on his return was made regius
Ireland • honoured even when a youth with the highest title of the civil law ; a most excellent orator,
mathematician, and philosopher; very skilful in the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and Italian languages,
a friend of the honest and ingenious man, singularly good, serviceable to many, injurious to none, averse
to reveno-e ; in short, remarkable for his wisdom, piety and integrity, and in every part of life, whether sick
or well, prepared for death. When he had completed the sixty-fifth year of his age, piously and sweetly
slept in the lord, at his seat of IMont Hall, on the I2th day of August, in the year of his salvation 1577.
gejigath the effigy : The glory of a short life makes a man famous when buried in the bowels of the
earth. In life I have been unblamed, but if after my death thou injurest my fame (wretch) the Almighty
will punish thee for so doing. Dame Philippa, his wife, died the 20th day of June, 1578, and lieth with
him here buried. Inscribed on the canopy : What yearth, or sea, or skies contayne, what creatures in
them be, my rainde did seeke to know; the heavens continually. Over the monument, under the family
arms, is a Latin motto, of which the following is the English : " Though the poisonous serpent stifle
the fire, it will yet shine where it has power to burst forth."
On an elegant monument, with effigies : " To the pious memory of her loved and loving husband, sir
William Smijth, of Hill Hall, in the county of Essex, knt. who, till he was thirty years old, followed the
wars in Ireland with such approbation, that he was chosen one of the colonels of the army. But his
uncle, sir Thomas Smijth, chancellor of Great Britain, and principal secretary of state to two princes,
King Edward the sixth and the late queen Elizabeth, of famous memorie, dying, he returned to a full and
fair inheritance, and so bent himself to the aifairs of the country, that he grew alike famous in the arts
of peace as of warre. All offices that sorted with a man of his quality he right worshipfuUy performed,
and died one of the deputy-lieutenants of the shire, a place of no small trust and credit. Bridget, his
unfortunate widow, (who during the space of thirty-seven years bore him three sons and four daughters),
daughter of Thomas Fleetwood, of the Vache, in the county of Buckingham, esq. and sometime master
of the Mint, to allay her languor and longing after so dear a companion of her life, and rather to express
her affection than his merit, this monument erected, destining the same to herself, their children, and
posterity. He lived years seventy-six, and died Dec. 12, 1626."
There are likewise monuments .to the memory of sir William Smijth, knt. who died on the 5th of
Jlarch, 1631. Sir Thomas Smijth, son of sir William, with his two wives; the lady Joannes, who died
in 1658, and the lady Beatrice, who died in 1668. Sir Edward Smijth, bart. who died on the 24th of
June, 1713, aged seventy-six. Also his wife, dame Jane, who died Jan. 28, 1720, aged sixty seven. Sir
Edward Smijth, bart. died 16th of August, 1748, aged fifty-seven.
" In memory of sir Edward Smijth, bart. of Hill Hall, who died 4th of March, 1760, and of his lady, who
died 22d June, 1770, aged fifty-four. Sir Charles Smijth, bart. who died 24th of April, 1773, aged sixty-one.
Sir William Smijth, obt. 2o Jan. 1777, aged fifty-seven. William Smijth, esq. son of sir William and
lady Smijth, of Hill Hall, died March 16th, 1803, aged twenty-three years. Sir William Smijth, bart.
died 17th of May, 1823, aged seventy-seven, captain in the 4.0th regiment of foot in 1780 ; and captain
of the West Essex militia. His lady died Dec. 20, 1815, aged sixty."
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 373
professor of the civil law at Cambridge : soon after which, he was employed in public <^ H a p.
affairs; in 1548, received the honour of knighthood ; was made minister of state, and -
several times sent ambassador to France. Sir Thomas, living in retirement at his
seat of Hill Hall, was providentially preserved through the dangerous reign of queen
Mary, and when many of those around him were most cruelly burned for the profession
of that religion which he held, he escaped, and was saved even in the midst of fire.
From this circumstance he is believed to have adopted as a new crest to his coat of
arms, " A salamander living in flames." The old crest may be seen on the monument
of his sister, in Greensted church.*
But what is most extraordinary is, that he acted his part so dexterously, that even
his enemy the pope sheltered him under his bull for many transgressions of his own
laws; for, in the year 1555, William Smithwick, esq. of the diocese of Bath, had
obtained a very large indulgence from Rome, It was, that he, and any five of his
* The patent granted by garter king at arms to John Smith, gentleman, (father of sir Thomas) for
his coat of arms : —
"To al and singular persons, there presente lettin, hearing or seeing, Christ. Barker, esq. alias Garter,
principal king of amies of Englishmen, sendeth due and humble recommendations and greeting. Equity
willeth and reason ordeigneth that men vertuose and of noble courage be by their merits and good
renoume rewarded, and had in perpetual memory for their good name, and to be in all places of honour
and wurship among other noble persons accepted and reputed, by shewing of certain ensignes of vertue,
honour and gentylnes : to the entent that by tlieir ensample others shuld the more perseverantly enforce
themselves to use their tyme in honourable wirkes, and virtuose dedes, to purchase and get the renoume
of auncient noblesse, not onely for themselves, but also for ther lynge and posteritie of theym descended,
according to ther demerits and valiaunt actions, to be taken furth and reputed among al nobylls and
gentylls. And albeyt John Smijthe, of Walden, in the countie of Essex, is descended of honest lignage,
and all his auncestors and predecessours hath long continued in nobylite, and beryng armes lawful and
convenyent; yet nevertheless he beyng uncertayne thereof, and not willyng to do any (thing) prejudicial
to no manner of person, hath requyred and instantlie deiyred me the foresaid Garter, to ratifie and
confirme unto him, and also to register in my Recorde the true armes and blazon of his seyd auncestours.
And therefore I, the foreseyd Garter, by vertue, power and authorite of myne office, as principal king of
amies, granted, annexed, and attributed by the king our soveraign lord, have appointed and confirmed
unto the seyd John Smijthe these armes and crest, with thappurtenances hereafter following, viz. sables,
a fece dauncye, betwixt three lyonceux gardant, argent, langes goules, pawing with their lyft pawes upon
an aulter of gold, flaming and bourning thereon. Upon the fece, nine bellets of his felde. Upon his
crest, an eagle rysing sables, holding in his right cley a pen argent, issuing therout flames of fyer, set
upon a wreath argent and azure, mantelles goules, lined argent and azure, botoned gold: to have and
to hold to the same John Smijthe, and to his posteryte, with other due difference therin to be revested
to his honour for ever. In wytnes hereof I the foreseyd Garter, principal king of armes as aboveseyd,
hath signed these presents with mine own hand; and thereunto hath set the seal of my office; and also
the seal of mine armes. Yeven at London the twelfth day of March, in the yere of our Lord God 1543,
and in the thirty-fifth yere of the reign of our sovereign lord king Henry the eighth, by the grace of God
king of England, Erance and Ireland, defendour of the faith, and in erthe of the church of England and
Ireland supreme head. — Cb. alius Gartier. Ex original Pat, penes D. Ed, Smith,"
VOL. II. 3 c
374 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. friends, whom he should nominate (excepting Regulars, &c.), should enjoy many ex-
traordinary indulgences, upon his petition to the pope, who then was Paul the fourth.
Smithwick's selecting sir Thomas for one of the five, no doubt, was a good screen for
him in those evil days of persecution: but his safety was also in a great measure owing
to the deference that the stern and cruel bishop Gardiner had for his exemplary virtue
and his learning: he was struck with admiration of the man, pretending a great love
to him ; and would swear that he, of all the heretics, deserved only to live, and to be
preferred for his deep wisdom and judgment, and the heroic sentiments of his mind.
This is elegantly expressed in the poem of the " Muses' Tears," written on occasion of
his fimeral. He died at his favourite retirement of Hill Hall, on the 12th of August,
1577, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. He was never afraid of death, and died with
a pious composure and resignation. Sir Thomas was of a fair, sanguine complexion :
his beard, which was large, at the age of thirty-three, Avas of a yellow, or sandy colour.
He had a calm, ingenuous countenance, as appears by his portrait in Hill Hall, painted
by Holbein. His abilities and attainments were very great, as a philosopher, physi-
cian, chemist, mathematician, linguist, historian, and architect ; and he wrote many
valuable and learned works.
" Sir Thomas Smith was," says his biographer, " the best scholar of his time ; a
most admirable philosopher, orator, linguist, and moralist ; and from thence it came to
pass that he was also a very wise statesman, and a person withal of most unalterable
integrity and justice ; and a constant embracer of the Reformed religion, in which he
made a holy and good end. And, therefore, the English soil, which he so adorned,
would be ungrateful, if she should let the memory of such a man pass away and lie in
obscurity. As he was all this to the public, so he was an ornament and honour to his
house and family, and to the county of Essex, where he was born and educated ;
where he retired, as often as public business permitted him, and where he quietly
resiofiied his last breath to God.
" His learning, wealth, and honour made him looked upon and admired in the
eyes of the world ; but he had higher and better qualifications than these, that added
a lustre and glory to his character ; for his learning was accompanied with religion,
and his honour became more illustrious by the excellent accomplishments of his mind.
His spirit was brave and great, being a man of a resolute and active mind ; faithful
and diligent in official situations, and, in his dealings with other men, honourable and
generously forbearing : he never sued any man, nor ever was sued. He never raised
any rents of his tenants, but contented himself with the old ones ; nor heightened any
fines, nor ever put out any tenant, nor ever sued any of them. In fine, he possessed
a spirit of universal charity and good will, and wished well to all mankind, and a
peaceable state to the world, as much as he wished it to himself. And that for this
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 375
end, among others, that every man might philosophise freely, and, with the greatest chap.
liberty, study to promote truth and useful knowledge."* '
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and forty-five, and
in 1831, to two hundred and forty-nine.
THEYDON GERNON.
This parish extends from Theydon Mount north-westward to Epping : it has been Thejdon
named Coopersale, from a capital mansion, delightfully situated on the brow of a hill,
its name believed to have been originally Cooper's Hall. The surrounding country
is distinguished by the fertility of its soil, richly cultivated and embellished with
ornamental plantations, surrounding numerous gentlemen's seats and capital houses.
The village is small, consisting of straggling houses: distant from Epping one, and
from London fifteen miles.
This portion of the lordship of Theydon belonged to Ulmar, in the reign of the
Confessor; and at the survey had been given to Eudo Dapifer, whose immediate
successors in this estate are not known: Paulinus de Theydon, and Henry de
Theydon, had this possession in the time of Henry the third; and Paulinus had a fair
and a market here. In 1247, Ralph, son of Ralph, and grandson of Matthew (or
Anthony) Gernon, died possessed of this lordship, leaving sir William his heir and
successor : he was of the council to king Henry the third, and marshal of his house-
hold.f
Previous to the year 1345, the general name of Teydene, or Theydon, had been Manor of
° .,,.. .. J Theydon
applied to the lordship ; but after that period, this portion was written in records Gernon.
Theydon Gernon, and some parts of it called Hemerhales, or Hemnales, and Park
Hall, or Gains Park.
* Sir Thomas was a great projector, and the colonising of Ireland was perhaps the most promising of
his speculations : he sent his son Thomas along with a colony, and he was for a time successful, but at
last intercepted and slain by a wild Irishman. This attempt cost ten thousand pounds, and, after the
death of the projector, was suffered to fall into decay and ruin. There was published on this occasion,
"The offer and order given forth by sir Thomas Smijth, knt. and Thomas Smijth, his sonne, unto such
as be willing to accompanye the sayde Thomas Smijth, the sonne, in his voyage for inhabiting some parts
of the north of Ireland ; the payment to begin four years hence, 1576, signed by sir Thomas Smijth's
own hand; God save the queen." Among his numerous publications were his " Voyage and Entertain-
ment in Russia;" " The Commonvi^ealth of England;" " The whole Art of Gunnery;" "A valuable and
learned Work on the Authority, Form, and Manner of holding Parliaments, &c."—Strijpe's Life of Sir
Thomas, published in 1698.
t Robert Gernon, one of the Norman chiefs of the Conqueror, had William, who assumed the surname
of Montfitchet, and Robert, who retaining the original family name, had Matthew, or according to some
of the records, Anthony, living in the reign of king Stephen ; by his wife, Hodicnia de Saucavilla, he
had Ralph, who, by a sister of William Brievver, had sir Ralph Gernon, a judge itinerant, who, by his
wife, daughter of Basset, had sir William, whose son and heir was Ralph Gernon, from whose son
this lordship derived its sub-name. Arms of Gernon : Three piles wavy, gules.
Hall.
376 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Adam de Welles,* who died in 1345, held this estate of Thomas Gernon, by the
service of seven shillings per annum; and also other lands and tenements: John was
his son, whose son of the same name succeeded to this estate in 1360, and died in
1421; and his son Eudo having died before him, his grandson, Leo de Welles, was
his successor. He was slain at Towton-field, fighting for king Henry the sixth, and
this and his other estates were forfeited to the crown.f By his first wife, Joan,
daughter and heiress of sir Robert Waterton, he left Richard, Alianor, wife of
Thomas lord Hoo and Hastings; Margaret, married to sir Thomas Dimock; Cecily,
married to Robert lord Willoughby; and Katharine, to sir Thomas de la Launde.
This estate became afterwards divided.
Garnish The ancient manor-house of Theydon Gernon, about half a mile north-westward
from the church, was named Garnish Hall, probably a vulgar pronunciation of Gernon
Hall; it is now a farm-house. The estate was in possession of Francis Hampden,
esq. in 1507 to 1535, who held it in right of his wife Elizabeth: he was undoubtedly
of the family of that name, of Theydon Mount, and was supposed to have left only
daughters, co-heiresses; of whom Margery, wife of Edward Bushopp, is understood
to have been one; the other being Ellen, wife of John Braunche, whose son, John
Braunche, had possession of this estate at the time of his death in 1588. His heirs
were Anne Stonly, one of his sisters; William Udall, son of Mary, another of his
sisters; and Grace Dorrell, Martha Gelbrand, Joanna Bales, and Mary Berg, daugh-
ters of Ellen Rowley, another of his sisters. Anne, by her first husband, Robert
Dun,:}: had Daniel, William, M.D., and Samuel. Sir Daniel Dun,§ knt. the eldest
son, had this estate at the time of his death in 1617: by Joanna, his wife, daughter of
William Aubrey, esq. he had five sons and eleven daughters. John, the eldest son,
dying unmarried, Csesar Dun, esq. the second son, inherited this and other family
estates: dying in 1634, he left by his wife Mary, daughter of Joseph Haines, esq.
Daniel, his son, who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Thornton, esq. of North-
ampton, and had by her Elizabeth, his only daughter and heiress, married to Ralph
Sheldon, esq. of Dickford, in Warwickshire. In 1660, this estate was purchased by
sir Robert Abdy, knt. and bart. of Albins, in Stapleford Abbots.
* Adam de Welles, and his successors, were barons of the realm, and summoned to parliament. —
See Ditgf/ale's Summons.
f Being thus found on the field, a traitor in arms, Edward seized his property, which was given to sir
John Crosby, the woolstapler, a zealous Yorkist, who, with a numerous retinue, vCscorted the king into
London. It is understood to have been the son of sir John, who erected the steeple of Theydon Gernon
church.
X By her second husband, Stonly, she had Dorothy, married to William Dawtrey, of Sussex, and Anne,
wife of William Higham.
§ In his epitaph, his name is erroneously inscribed sir Charles, but in the post mortem inciuisition he
is called Daniel. Arms of Dun : Azure, a wolf rampant argent, charged on the shoulder with an ermine spot.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 377
The name of this estate was derived from a park formed by the inclosm-e of a wood CHAP,
in this parish, for which inclosure a licence was granted, by king Henry the third, to
Ralph Gernon: the hall Avas two miles north-eastward from the church. This estate P^rkHaii.
was given, by king Edward the fourth, to his daughter Cicely, of York, who was
married to John lord Welles, son of Leo de Welles, by Margaret, duchess of
Somerset, his second lady; the offspring of this marriage was Elizabeth, who died
without children, and Anne Welles, buried in the Augustine Fryers. The lady
Cicely, after the death of lord Welles, was married to Kyme, of Lincolnshire,
and had this estate at the time of her decease : she was buried at Quarera, in the
Isle of Wight.*
Sir William Fitzwilliam,f alderman of London in 1506, held this estate at the
time of his death in 1534, and it afterwards passed from his descendants to several
proprietors, and to the earls of Anglesey. It is now the seat of William Coxhead
Marsh, esq.
The beautiful seat of Coopersale lies northward from the church, and the house is Cooper-
a stately edifice, on elevated ground, surrounded by lawns and ornamental plantations:
it belonged at an early period to the Archer family, who derive themselves from
Simon de Bois, one of Henry the fifth's warriors, who was with that prince at the
battle of Agincourt, and for his services had a pension of five marks per annum for
life. This Simon, at a shooting match at Havering Bower, performed so well, that
the king ordered his name to be changed to Archer. The estate continued in this
family during many generations,:}: till by Elianor, a female heiress, it was conveyed
to her husband, sir Walter Wrottesley, bart. of Wrottesley, in Shropshire, and left
by him to a daughter, named Elianor, on whom Mr. Archer, her uncle, settled the
* History of the Royal Family from the Conquest, 8vo. 1713, page 199.
t He was a merchant-tailor, and having previously been servant to Cardinal Wolsey, after his fall
gave him kind entertainment, at his seat at Milton, in Northamptonshire; on which account he was sent
for by king Henry the eighth, and asked how he durst entertain so great an enemy to the state ? His
answer was, " That he had not contemptuously or wilfully done it, but only because he had been his
master, and partly the means of his great fortunes ;" the king was .so pleased with this answer, that,
observing he had himself too few such servants, he knighted him. Sir William gave five hundred pounds
to mend the highways between Coopersale and Chigwell ; also one hundred pounds for poor maids'
marriages ; forgave all his debtors ; and performed several other charitable and commendable actions. —
Stowe's Survey, ed. 1720, book i. p. 262. Arms of Fitzwilliam : Mascles, eight, argent and gules. The
other family of Fitzwilliam bears : Lozengy, argent and gules. — Movant.
X The successors of Simon were, John, father of John ; and Richard. The latter had two sons, of
whom the younger was Henry Archer, esq. of this place, who died in 1615, leaving, by xAnno his wife,
daughter of Simon Crouch, alderman of London, his son and heir, John Archer, born in 1598. He
applied himself to the study of the law, rose to the degree of serjeant in 16(i0, and, in 1663, was one of
the judges of the common pleas : he married Eleanor, daughter of sir John Curzon, of Kcdleston, and
had John and Eleanor. Arms of Archer : Ermine, on a cross sable, a crescent argent. Crest : On a
wreath a wivern argent.
378
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Inscrip-
tions.
BOOK II. estate. She was married to William Eyres, esq. who had by her several children,
all of whom died young: for his second wife he had Susan, daughter of sir John
Newton, bart. of Barrows-court, in Gloucestershire, and had by her his son and heir,
John Archer, esq. who succeeded to this estate. He married Mary, sister of the
right hon. earl Fitzwilliam. It is now the residence of Mrs. Houblon Newton,
representative of the Archer family. The mansion has been successively improved
and modernised, but the ancient painted ceilings, of superior workmanship, have been
carefully preserved.
'— — . The elegant mansion of Coopersale Hall has been modernised, and is in the
occupation of William Barclay, esq.
Theydon Bower, the pleasant and singular mansion belonging to Richard Taylor,
esq. is near the extremity of the parish toward Epping; it is embosomed in an arbour
of tall trees, and quite obscured from the view, yet being on elevated ground it
commands from the chief front agreeable prospects, considerably diversified.
Church. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is on high ground, with a view over the open
country northward: it consists of a nave, north aisle and chancel, over which there
is a gallery. A strong square tower contains five bells.*
* An inscription, in very ancient raised letters, on the outside of the south wall of the tower, on a slab
of free stone, appears to have attracted the attention of antiquarians, and has been several times copied :
it is much defaced, but is believed to have been originally as follows : " Pray for the soul of syr John
Crosbe, knyght, late alderman and grosar of London, and for the souls of dame Anne and Annes (query,
Agnes) his wyfis, of whos gudys was gevyn .... toward the makyng of thys stepyll, on whose souLs
Jesu have mercy, Amen. Anno Dni 1520;" (in the Bibliotheca Topographica the date is 1420. On the
dexter side the arms of Crosby : A chevron ermine between three rams ; on the sinister shield the arms
of the Grocer's Company : A chevron between nine cloves.
Sir John Crosby's will is dated March (5, 1471, and approved in the prerogative court of Canterbury,
Feb. 6, 1475. — Vide an account of him in Stowe, Strype, and Cough's Sepulchral Monuments.
On the north wall of the chancel is a monument of grey stone, with a deep cornice or canopy, sup-
ported by twisted columns ; at the back of the recess are badly executed tropes of a man in armour, and
his lady kneeling, with their two sons and three daughters ; but the arms and inscriptions are removed.
On the south side of the chancel, directly opposite, is another monument of similar construction, on
which no brasses remain.
Against the east wall : " Johannes Archer, miles justiciarius coraunium plautorum domino regi Carolo
secondo, qui utsumma juris scientia ita singularii vitse integritate claruit ; et octavo die februarii anno
salutis, millesimo sex centissimo octogessimo-primo et aetat suae octogessimo-quarto Deo placide animam
reddidit. Ahi lector et mortis tuae memor esto."
On a marble slab on the floor: " Sir John Archer, knt. one of his majesties judges of the court of
Common Pleas, who departed this life on the 8th day of February, in the year of our Lord 1681, in the
eighty-fourth year of his age." Arms : Ermine, a cross engrailed ; impaling on a bend, three birds collared.
" To the memory of that worthy and truly religious lady, dame Fitzwilliam, widow, here interred,
was Anne, the third daughter of sir William Sidney, of Penshurst, in the county of Kent, knight ; she was
married to sir William Fitzwilliam, of Milton, in the county of Northampton, knight, who was twice
lord dejmty, and five times lord justice of the realm of Ireland, and had issue by him two sonnes, viz.
William and John, and three daughters, viz. Mary, married to sir Richard Deyer, of Houghton, in the
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 379
This parish, in 1821, contained seven hundred and nine, and, in 1831, eight hun- CHAP
dred and forty-one inhabitants.
county of Huntingdon, knight ; Philip, married to sir Thomas Conesbie, of Hampton Court, in the county of
Hereford, knight ; and Margaret, married to sir John Beron, of Newstead, in the county of Nottingham.
She died at her house in London, in the parish of St, Botolph, Aldersgate, ye 11th daye of June, ano 1602,
and was buried here ye 1st daye of July. She has appointed by her will an hospital to be erected in this
parish for the perpetual maintenance of fower poor widowes and their successors, and has given to every
of them twelve pense a weeke. Give glory to God, and let others by her religious example be stirred up
to the like care and provision for the poore."
North wall of the chancel. Under a small arch, over which is written morire mvndo vivas deo, is a
brass plate, with an engraved figure of a female, before whom is a stand and a book : above the effigy a
shield of arms, and a label inscribed " In God is my trust;" and, at the bottom, the following, in black
letter : " Here under lyeth buryed the body of Ellyne Branche, late ^v}'fre of John Branche, citizen and
merchaunt of London, one of the davvters and hayre of Fravnces Haden, esqvyre, who depted thys psente
lyfFe with a wyllinge minde, comitynge her body and sovle to ye eternall God, throvgh Jhus Christ our
lord, ye 14th Aprill, Ano. 1567." Arms : quarterly one and two, a saltier between four eagles displayed
two and three ; three piles wavy a chief.
" To the memory of lady Mary Archer, daughter of John earl Fitzwilliam, and wife of John Archer,
esq. late of Coopersale, in this parish, and of Welford, in the county of Bucks, who, by his will, ordered
this monument to be erected, in memory of a faithful wife and tender mother, by whom he had issue two
daughters. She died Sept. 10, 1776, aged fifty." The said John Archer was son of William Eyre, esq.
of Home and Hylow, in the county of Derby, by Susannah, daughter of sir John Newton, bart. of Barrs
court, in the county of Gloucester, and Thorpe, in the county of Lincoln, who took the name of Archer,
and the estates of Coopersale and Welford, by the bequest of John Archer, esq. formerly of this parish.
John Archer Houblon, esq. of Hallingbury-place, in this county, grandson of the said John and lady
Mary Archer, and only son of the late Jacob Houblon, esq. and of Susannah, their eldest daughter, has
erected this monument, in compliance with the will, and in gratitude to the memory of his grandfather's
benefactor.
" Donee expergiscetur h somne, sub hoc marmore hie requiescit quie quid fuit mortale rev. Viri Dni
Jacobi Meggs, S.S. theologia prof: et hujus ecclesise rect. qui summa mentis alacritate sub. spe magn&
fid^q resurgendi Christiana novissimum apud adventum Christi servatoris in judicium, obiit Jan. 22, 1672,
aetat. 64. Orate veniat regnum tuum." With a shield of arms.
On the south wall : " To the memory of Denton Nicholas, M.D. of the parish of St. Paul's Covent
Garden, grandson of sir Edward Nicholas, of West Horseley, Surrey (who was principal secretary of state to
king Charles the first and second ;) and Jane Nicholas, his wife : by George Nicholas, esq. their youngest
son, and Ann Nicholas, his wife, the only child of Dr. William Denton, and Catharine Denton, his wife;
he departed this life May 5, 1714, aged forty-nine years, having attained great knowledge in his own
profession, and singular skill in most sorts of polite learning." The arms on this monument are effaced.
*' To the memory of sir Charles Dun, knt. and dame Joan his wife, who their lives honourably led, in
their several seasons Christianly finished. He, worthily borne and learnedly brought up, attained to such
perfection of degree and knowledge in the civil laws, that he was honoured by queen Elizabeth with the
state of ambassador and office of master of requests, which honour was enlarged by king James, with the
order of knighthood, and increase of honourable employments ; so that being master of requests, dean
of the arches, and judge of the admiralty ; long living in great honour, in court and country, he so dyed,
the 26th of September, 1617, aged seventy-two. She, the daughter of William Aubrey, doctor of laws,
master of requests, and vicar-general, with a turtle-like constancy continuing her honourable life twenty-
three years after his decease, finished her course 26 Dec. 1640, aged seventy-two." They had issue five
sonnes and eleven daughters : John, the eldest son, dying unmarried, Caesar, the next, succeeded (both
XI.
380 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
THEYDON BOIS.
Theydon Of the three parishes named Theydon, this with the distinguishing appellation of
Bois.
interred here) who marrying Mary, daughter of Joseph Haynes, esq. had issue by her four sonnes and
two daughters. Daniel, their eldest sonne, now chief of this family, in an obsequious respect to his
deserving parents, caused to be erected this monument. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then
shall we appear with him in glory. There are three shields of arms.
A handsome marble monument, consisting of a sarcophagus, on each side of which is a boy, repre-
senting Life, and Time bearing the appropriate emblems of a reversed torch and an hour-glass ; over the
sarcophagus is an angel supporting a medallion, on which are the portraits of the deceased and his lady,
and beneath, the following inscription : " Near this ])lace are deposited the remains of William Eyre
Archer, esq. a man of strict honour and integrity, descended originally from a very ancient family of
Highlow, in the couuty of Derby, and late of Welford Berks, of which county he was sometime one of
the representatives in parliament, and also of Coopersale, in Essex, at which place he departed this life
June 30 17.'39, aged fiftv-nine. Near likewise lies interred the body of Susannah Archer, his wife, only
daughter of sir John Newton, bart. of Barr's-court, in the county of Gloucester j a woman of exemplary
piety and diffusive charity, instructive and amiable in her deportment through all the paths of a religious
or social tendency. She died Jan. 28th, 1761, aged sixty-eight." The said William and Susannah Archer
left four surviving children, viz. John, married March 2Ist, 1752, to the lady Mary, third daughter of
the right hon. John earl Fitzwilliam, of Milton, in the county of Northampton : Michael, who took upon
himself, by act of parliament, the surname of Newton: Susannah, married July 12th, 1751, to the right
hon. Edward earl of Oxford and Mortimer: and Katharine. The remains of William, another son, who
died in his infancy, were brought from London and deposited by the side of his mother, at the time of
her interment. At the top of the monument a shield of arms.
" To the memory of the rev. Strotherd Abdy, A.M. archdeacon of Essex, and twenty-one years rector of
this parish; he was the second son of sir William Abdy, bart. late of Cobham, in the county of Surrey,
by dame Mary his wife, the only daughter of Philip Strotherd, esq. of Terling, in this county. He died
without issue, on the 5th of April, 1773, in tiie forty-fifth year of his age, having first married Theodosia,
the only daughter of sir Robert Abdy, bart. of Albins ; afterwards, Harriet, one of the daughters of Pey-
ton Altham, esq. of .Markhall, who survived him." Arms : Abdy, impaling Altham.
On the floor of the chancel, there lately was the effigy in brass of a priest, habited in a richly-orna-
mented cope, without any traces of inscriptions ; but, from the arms on the dexter corner of the stone, —
six lions rampant, on a canton a star of six points pierced ;— it is evident, that it was placed there to the
memory of William Kyrkeby, who was rector of St. John the Baptist, London, in 1433, Copford in Essex,
1440, and, at the time of his decease, 1458, possessed the rectories of North Fambridge and Theydon Ger-
non. This monument lias been removed from the floor, and placed against the wall of the chancel, at the
expense of the pre.-^ent rector, the rev. C. B. Abdy. The brass has been transferred with great care, and
great taste is exhibited in re-setting it. Beneath the figure, Mr. Abdy has placed the following inscription
in black letter :
" GULIELMI KYRKEBY, HUJUSCE PAROCIU.'E CIRCETER, A.D. 1438, PECTORIS EFFIGIES."
On a flat stone, near the above, are the brasses of a female, with her six sons and three daughters ; of
wliich the contour of the principal figure is very good. This monument, from the cavities still visible in
tlie stone, appears to have also contained the effigy of a man, an inscription, and a shield of arms.
An illegible inscription, on the floor of the chancel, has apparently been for Elizabeth, wife of sir
William Waldegrave, of Smallrige, by whom she was the mother of one son and five daughters; she died
on the 27th of November, 1556.
.\n inscription to the memory of Richard Butler, of the Middle Temple, London, gentleman, who de-
HUNDRED OF ON GAR. 381
Bols, or woofly» is the least extensive, and the most southerly in its situation, and is C H A I*,
partly in the forest; Haeun and Ulwin, and seven freemen, had possession of the '
parted this life the 5th day of June, Anno Doni. 1688, aged twenty-nine years : there is a shield of arms.
Also, with arms : " Sub hoc marmore sunt depositee reliquae Dominre, IVlargareta Meggs et uxoris Jacobi
Meggs, S. T. P. et hujus Ecclesise Rectoris. Obiit 23d Sept. Anno Christi, 1665, et aetatis suae 56. Resur-
gum. Blemorite sacrum summse spei Juvenum Henrici et Thoniae Meggs filiorum Domini Jacobi Meggs,
Sacra Theologiae Professoris et hujus Ecclesiae Rectoris, Anno 1670."
*' To the memory of the rev. John Nicholas, late rector of this parish, who died the 31st of January, 1 721 .
He was the grandson of sir Edward Nicholas, secretary of state to Charles the first and second; aged
forty-eight. He was of an affable and cheerful temper, which made all his other virtues sit easy upon
him; his life was strict and exemplary, worthy to be imitated, but difficult to copy after; his death was
an affliction to every one but himself." Arms : On a cross a crown, with quarterings. Crest : a lion
passant senile of estoils.
Mrs. Jane Wormlayton, late wife of Mr. John Wormlayton, of this parish ; she was one of the daughters
of Mr. Richard Chase, citizen and grocer, of London ; obiit 27th May, Anno 1725, aged forty-seven. Also
two of their children; Jane, who died May 5, 1705, aged four months; Anne, August 2, 1712, aged
five years.
North aisle. — Mural monument to the memory of Lestock Wilson, esq. of the Grove, who departed this
life June 6, 1821, aged sixty-nine years; and of Bonne, his wife, who departed this life Nov. 30, 1818,
aged sixty -nine years.
In the church-yard: " Richard Rogers, Woodford Bridge, died 17th Nov. 1735, aged sixty-one; his an-
cestors having belonged to this parish nearly four hundred years ; also Richard Rogers, of Woodford Bridge,
died April 27, 1791, aged sixty-six." He bequeathed the interest of one hundred pounds, three per cent,
consols, to be applied from time to time in repairing and keeping up the tombs of himself and ancestors
in this church-yard for ever. Besides these, there are numerous inscriptions belonging to this family,
and also for the family of Bishop.
William Black, of the Grove, near Epping, died 24th February, 1810, aged eighty-two; his wife, Mrs.
Elizabeth Black, died Dec. 13, 1793, aged fifty-two; she was the daughter of William Thorley, of Kings-
ton-upon-Hull. Catharine, their daughter, died Feb. 5, 1791, aged sixteen. William Black, grand-
son of William Black of the Grove, and son of the rev. R. Black, rector of Hutton, in this county, died
Aug. 4, 1816, aged sixteen. John Black, eldest son of William Black, died June 7, 1820, aged sixty-two.
Thomas Cain, esq. of Theydon Place, died July 23, 1811, aged seventy. Sir Thomas Coxhead, knt. late
of Epping, died Nov. 24, 1811, aged seventy-seven: his arms are on the monument.
Samuel Miller, of Garnish Hall, died in 1803, aged fifty-one; Mary, his wife, died in 1819; and Fanny,
their daughter, died in 1822, aged thirty.
John Dickens, esq. died in July 1800, aged seventy-eight.
Of the family of Palmer, Andrew, of this parish, died in 1754; Andrew, son of John Palmer, June
Jane Palmer, 1765, aged nineteen; John Palmer, Nov. 1, 1766, aged sixty-one; James Palmer, late of
Chigwell Row, 1802, aged seventy.
" George Savill, died in 1808, aged seventy-three, forty-six years clerk of this parish:
" Long have I toiled upon this ground.
And here a resting-place I've found."
" Ann, wife of Richard Cook, of Little Park Hall, ob. 1823, aged forty-five :
" A good wife; a sincere friend;
A cancer she had, which brought her to her end."
Henry Archer, esq. of Theydon Gernon, gave to the poor thereof two pounds, and to the poor of Low Benefac-
Layton one pound, yearly, to be distributed every Whitsunday.— John Baker, of Epping, about the tenth tions.
VOL. II. 3d
382
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Manor ot"
They don
Bois.
Biirh
Hall,
Church.
lands of this parish in the reign of the Confessor ; which at the general survey be-
longed to Peter de Valoines.* Distant from London, fourteen miles.
The manor of Theydon Bois, in the time of Henry the third, belonged to John de
Tany, son of Peter de Tany, who, sometime in that reign, gave it to Waltham Ab-
bey,! "^vhich retained possession of it till the dissolution; after which, in 1551, it was
granted, by Henry the sixth, to sir Thomas Wroth, of Loughton, who died in 1573;
sir Robert Wroth was his son and successor, in this and other very extensive posses-
sions, which, on his decease in 1605, descended to sir Robert his son, who, dying in
1614, left his son and heir, James, an infant; who, on his death in 1616, was suc-
ceeded by James Wroth, his father's brother; and he soon afterwards sold the estate
to Edward Elrington, esq.:}: who had previously possessed the other manor in this
parish, called Birch Hall.
The mansion-house of Birch Hall is on a hill, near the road from Waltham Abbey
to Abridge, and had been the residence of the Elrington family, from the time of
their having been in possession of the great tithes of this parish: in the year 1656, the
representatives of this family sold all their estates here to John Smart,§ merchant, of
London; whose descendant, Benjamin Smart, esq., sold it to Robert Meggott, esq.,
who died in 1721, leaving John, and a daughter, one of whom sold this estate to
Smart Letheuillier, esq., of Aldersbrooke, whose heirs, after his decease, sold it to
John Hopkins, esq. of Hornchurch ; the owner at that time of Theydon Green.
The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a small ancient building, with a wooden tur-
ret and spire : it was given to the priory of St. Bartholomew, in West Smithfield, by
William de Bosco, with a charter confirming this grant, by king Henry the third, in
1253. The priory twice presented to it as a rectory, and afterwards had the Avhole
of the tithes appropriated to themselves, consequently making the living a curacy.
of Henry the eighth, left Stonehurst farm to repair the highway from Harlow to London, and for certain
acts of piety and ciiarity yearly; and a wood, called Redyns, both in Theydon Gernon, to the churches of
Epping and Theydon Gernon ; and the will has been equitably construed to be best answered, when the
profits were chietiy employed to the uses of the poor, and the churches, in such things as the parish rates
would not extend to, and not to the lessening of those rates. — John Reynolds of Ipswich, gent, left to the
poor of Theydon Gernon and Epping, for ever, the rents of lands called Thraps, in Theydon Mount. —
Thurston Willstanley, of Theydon Gernon, left to the poor thereof for ever, the rents of a tenement called
Bulls, in Duck-lane, in the parish of iVorthweald Bassett. — John Hylard, of London, alderman, gave to
the poor of Theydon Gernon fifty ])OQnds, with which were purchased two houses, one in the street, and
the other on the common, for the use of the poor.
* In 1166, Osbert de Thaiden held a knight's fee here, under Robert de Valoines, as did also William
de Bosco.
t It is said to have been given by Anthony Bek, bishop of Durham, but probably he only confirmed this
donation.
X He was chief butler to king Edward the sixth, queen Mary, and queen Elizabeth.
§ Anns of Smart: Argent, a chevron between three pheons sable.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 383
After the dissolution in 1543, the tithes were granted, by Henry the eighth, to Ed- CHAP,
ward Elrington, esq. The living has been augmented by queen Anne's bounty.* '
The population, of this parish, in 1821, amounted to four hundred and forty-six,
and, in 1831, to six hundred and seventy-six.
LOUGHTON.
This extensive parish is wholly within the forest of Epping, and is bounded east- Longhton
ward by Lambourne, on the south by Chigwell, and by the Theydons on the north.
The name in records is Lockton, Loketon, Lucton, Luketone ; in Domesday-book, it
is entered under Beeontree hundred, and named Lochintun.
It is one of the seventeen lordships given by earl Harold to his monastery of Wal-
tham, and remained in possession of that house till its dissolution, when it passed to
the crown; and, in 1558, queen Mary granted "the lordship and manor of Lucton"
to the dutehy of Lancaster.
The village extends nearly two miles on the Epping road, and is distinguished by
its numerous genteel houses, and beautiful and picturesque scenery. Debden Green
and Bucket Green are surrounded by first-rate houses; and the prospects from Gol-
den-hill House, the residence of Robert Barker, esq. are exceedingly rich and exten-
sive, including nearly the whole of the city of London; from which the village is
distant twelve, and from Epping four miles.
* On the south wall of the chancel is a handsome marble monument, with the following inscription : Inscrip-
" In hoc sacrario depositnm est quidquid mortale fuit de Johanne Marraaduke Grafton Dare, armigero,
nnper de domo Cranbrooke in hoc coniitatu, qui banc incertam vitam pro aeterna felicitate permutavit die
22*0 Novenibris, anno salutis 1810, setatis 49™", ^tate jam fiorente, miles sese regique patriaeque penitus
addixit: maturioribus autem annis omnia munera civilis vitae feliciter peregit, magisterio officio potitus,
ob aequitatem animique acumen sese clarum reddidit. Omnibus mariti patris filii fratrisque officiis suramo
cnm amore et pietate perfunctus est. In amicos denique maxime ingenuus, studioque semper incensus.
Ut inscriberetur ha!C tabella in testimonium illius virtutum suique plorabilis infortunii curavit Elizabetha
Grafton Dare ejus vidua, Henrici Eaton, armigeri, nuper de villa Rainham filia, ex uxore Elizabetha unica,
prole Georgii Mildmay, armigeri, de consanguine© genere veteris prosapiae diu commorantis apud Marks."
— " In this sanctuary is deposited all that was mortal of John Marmaduke Grafton Dare, esq. late of
Cranbrooke House, in this county, who exchanged this uncertain life for everlasting happiness on the 22d
day of November, in the year of grace 18 !0, aged forty-nine years. In the flower of his age he proved
himself a faithful servant to his king and his country. In his riper years, he performed prosperously all
the duties of a civil life. As a magistrate he was celebrated for his rectitude and acuteness of mind. He
fulfilled all the duties of a husband, father, son, and brother, with the greatest love and affection. To
his friends he was most liberal and always attentive. Elizabeth Grafton Dare, his widow, daughter of
Henry Eaton, esq. late of Rainham, by his only wife Elizabeth, the daughter of George Mildmay, esq.,
who belonged to a branch of the ancient family that long resided at Marks, caused this tablet to be in-
scribed as a testimony of his virtues, and of her lamentable misfortune in his loss."
Against the south wall : " Sacred to the memory of Samuel Wild, esq. late of this parish, and of Glou-
cester-place, Portman-square, who departed this life the 7th of December, 1817, aged sixty-five. An
affectionate husband and sincere friend."
tions.
384 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The manor-house of Loughton Hall is near the church. It is a large irregular
, y„^ljj,„j huilding, pleasantly situated : in 1551, it was granted, by Edward the sixth, to sir
Half. Thomas Darcy; liut, in 1569, had again passed to the crown; and the Wroth family,
of Theydon Bois, became possessed of it by the marriage of Susan, daughter of
Francis Stonard of this place,* in which family it remained till the year 1718, when
sir Henry Wroth, dying without issue,f left this estate, after his wife's decease, to
the right hon. William Henry, earl of Rochford; who, in 1745, sold it to William
Whitaker, esq. of Lime-street, London, alderman of that ward in 1746, and one of
the sheriffs of the city in 1750; on his death, he settled this estate and manor on
Anne, his second wife, and, on her decease, on his youngest daughter Anne. He had
also a daughter by his fii'st wife, to whom he left a large fortune. In 1688, the prin-
cess of Denmark, afterwards queen Anne, retired to Loughton Hall, when she fore-
saw the misfortunes coming upon her ill-advised father. William Whitaker Mait-
land, esq. is the present owner of this estate, and lord of the manor.
Clniich. The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, was rebuilt in a handsome style, a few
years ago, and is very agreeably situated, but is at an inconvenient distance from the
village.:}: There is a chapel for dissenters of the Baptist persuasion, and a national
school.
This parish, in 1821, contained nine hundred and seventy-nine, and, in 1831, one
thousand two hundred and sixty-nine inhabitants.
* The Stonards were a considerable time possessors of this estate. John Stonard was buried here in
1541, with his two wives, Joan and Katharine. George Stonard presented to the rectory in 1554, jointly
with Edward Stacy, and was buried here in 1558, as was also his wife. Francis Stonard, one of their
sons, died in 1604.
t The Wroth family derive themselves from John Wroth, mayor of London in 1361 ; Robert Wroth,
his son, by , daughter of sir Thomas Lewkenor, had Thomas, who, by his wife Margaret Newdigate,
had Robert Wroth, of Durance, in Enfield : he, by his wife Jane, daughter of Thomas Hawte, had Tho-
mas ; Dorothy, married to Edward Lewkenor ; and John. Thomas Wroth, by his wife Mary, daughter of
sir Robert Rich, had, besides three other sons, sir Robert Wroth, who, by his wife Susan, daughter and
heiress of Francis Stonard, of Loughton, had Thomas, who died without issue; Robert; John, of Du-
rance; and Henry, of Woodbury, in Hertfordshire; at the time of his decease, in 1607, he held a mes-
suage with appertenances in this parish, named Buckhurst, of the king, as of his manor of East Green-
wich : he was succeeded by his son, sir Robert, who held this estate of the duchy of Lancaster. By his
wife Mary, daughter of Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, he left his son, James, who, dying underage in
1616, was succeeded by his father's brother, John Wroth, esq. of Durance, who married Maud, daughter
of Richard Lcwellin, widow of Gregory Leonard, and by her had John, who, by his wife Elizabeth, fourth
daughter of William, lord Maynard, left John Wroth, esq. oue of the verderers of Waltham Forest. He
married Elizabeth, daughter of sir Henry Wroth, bart. of Durance, a woman of martial spirit, who at-
tended him in king William's campaigns. He died in 1718, leaving no offspring. Arms of Wroth : Argen*^,
on a bend, sable, three lions, or leopard's heads erased, of the first, crowned, or.
Inscrip- t On a brass plate in the church, bearing tlie elilgies of a man and his twelve children: " Here lyeth
tions. buried the body of William Nodes, gent, who died Feb. 2, I jy4, the thirty-seventh yere of the reign of our
HUNDRED OF O N G A R. 383
CHAP.
CHI&WELL. XI.
This parish occupies the southern extremity of the hundred, and is distinguished by Cliigwcii.
its beautiful rural prospects and woodland scenery', with elegant country-houses be-
longing to rich London citizens, and splendid gentlemen's seats. The lands of this
extensive district are of various descriptions, in a high state of cultivation, and exceed-
ingly productive. According to a survey in 1611, the contents of this parish amounted
to two thousand five hundred and twenty-seven acres, and its share of Epping and
Hainault forest, both included in what was anciently named Waltham forest, was
fifteen hundred acres, or more. In records, the name is written Cingwell, in Saxon,
Cinjwelle, King's Well, supposed from the well in Chigwell-row, formerly cele-
brated for its medical properties, being mildly cathartic. In some ancient writings
the name is written Cinghewella, Cinguehella, Chiwellia, Chickwell, Gykewell.
It is included in the forest of Epping.
The village has a respectable appearance, with many good houses. There is a fair
here on the thirtieth of September, chiefly for the hiring of servants. Distant from
Epping six, and from London eleven miles.
Chigwell Row is a mile distant fro]n Chigwell, and forms a beautiful and interesting
village. There are numerous genteel residences; and a handsome new chapel has
lately been erected for the use of the Wesleyan methodists.
There are three manors in this parish. The manor-house of Chigwell Hall is near Chigwell
the church; it belonged to earl Harold, in the time of Edward the confessor, and at the
survey formed part of the possessions of Ralph de Limesei, baron of Ulyerlei, in War-
wickshire, where he had his chief seat. Ralph, his grandson, was his successor ; whose
son Alan, was the father of Gerard de Limesei, who was the father of John, Alan, Ge-
rard, Amabillia, which three last died without issue, and Basilia; John, by Alice de Hare-
court, had his son Hugh, who, dying without issue in 1213, Alianor and Basilia, his two
aunts, became his co-heiresses. Alianor was married to David de Lindsey,and Basilia to
Hugh de Odingsells. Alan de Limesei, the father, gave this estate to Richard de Luci,
and the grant was confirmed by his son, Gerard de Limesei, for which the said Richard
gave him three marks of silver; and Geofrey de Lucy, the son, gave him a gold ring
soveraign ladie queen Elizabeth. He had a wyfe, Elizabeth Woolsey, by whom he had i.«.sue six sonnes
and six daughters."
On a bi-ass plate, with the effigies: " Of your charitie pray for the soules of John Stonnard, and Joan
and Katherin hys wyfes, the whyche deceased the xix daye of Juyne, in the yere of God, 1615. On whos
soules, and all Christen soules, Jhu have mercy. George Stonard, esq. and Mary his wyfc. Wliich George
deccssed Nov. 24, 1558."
On a brass plate in the chancel : " Robert Rampston, of Chynford, in the county of Essex, gent, de- Charity,
ceased ; as he was careful in his lyfe-time to releave the poore, soe att his ende, by his testament, he gave
twenty-two pounds yerely ; whereof to the poore of this parish he hath given twenty shillings for ever, to
be paid in the month of December. He deceased .\ug. 3, 1585."
386
HISTORY OF ESSEX,
BOOK II. when he became his liege. Afterwards, Richard de Luci granted Chig-well to Ralph
Briton, to hold in fee. The estate afterwards was conveyed to William de Golding-
ham, Adiose descendants held it of the lords Fitz waiter; John de Goldingham, under
Robert Fitzwalter in 1328; and sir Alexander Goldingham, under Walter Fitz-
walter in 1386. It belonged to John Mannock, who died in 1476; and, in 1534,
Georo-e, his son, with his son William, and his wife Audry, conveyed this with other
estates to sir Thomas Audeley, lord chancellor, for Brian Tuke, treasurer of the
kino's chamber, and others, for the king's use ; and, in 1550, it was granted by Ed-
ward the sixth, with West Hatch, to sir Thomas Wroth, who died possessed of it in
1573; as did also his son, sir Robert, in 1605; and it continued in this family till
1669, when it was sold to sir William Hicks, of Rockholts; whose son, sir Harry
Hicks, in 1720, built a plain brick house here, called the Bowling Green, nearly op-
posite to West Hatch, in which he died. His eldest son, sir Robert, being blind, he
left his estates to Michael, his second son; who, dying in 1764, left them, by will, to
his said elder brother, and his two sisters; and, after their decease, to the youngest
son of Howe Hickes, esq. of Whitcomb, in Gloucestershire. Sir Harry sold Chig-
well Hull and farm to William Davy, esq. treasurer of St. Luke's Hospital; but the
Hickes' family retained the manor, and their share in the forest was at least thirteen
hundred acres.
West Hatch belonged also to the family of Hickes; it was a nominal manor: the
house is about three-quarters of a mile south-south-west from the church. This
house was the residence of sir William Nutt, and belonged afterwards to James
Crockatt, esq. of Luxboroughs: this estate and Buckhurst belonged to Walter Wri-
tell in 1475.
The mansion of Barringtons or Rolls, is a handsome modern building, agreeably
situated on elevated ground, which commands extensive prospects : it is enclosed in
a park. In the time of Edward the confessor. Doth was the name of the proprietor of
this estate; which at the survey belonged to Robert Gernon, Avhose under-tenant was
Anschetill. How and at what time it was conveyed to the De Vere family is not
known; but in the time of Stephen, or of Henry the second, it was granted, by Al-
beric de Vere, to sir Humphrey, son of sir Eustace de Barrington; and it remained
in that family till the latter part of the sixteenth century.* In 1573, William Tiffin
was in possession of this manor, which afterwards passed to the family of Wiseman,
AVest
Hatch.
Barring-
tons, or
Rolls.
* It appears, from the Feodary of the De Veres, earls of Oxford, that
of Barrington, held this manor under them : — George Barrington, in
Barrington, in the reign of Edward the first : Geofrey, in 1429; John,
garet, wife of Thomas Barrington, who died in 1479, held this manor
phrey Barrington was their son and heir, and sir Nicholas Barrington,
Castle Hedingham, in 1512, held it at the time of his decease in 1515;
held the estate at the time of his death in 1537 ; Thomas was his son
two Georges, of William and Geoffrey, in the Feodary referred to, are
the following persons of the name
1263; William, in 12-0; George
in 1447 ; Thomas, in 1466. Mar-
jointly with her husband; Hum-
who did homage for this manor at
John Barrington was his son, and
and successor. The names of the
not found in the pedigree of the
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 387
of Great Waltham: Thomas Wiseman, esq. died in possession of it in 1584, leaving chap.
Elizabeth, wife of Richard Jennings, and Dorothy Wiseman, his co-heiresses: the ^'"
reversion of the estate passed to John Wiseman, esq. of Stisted, who died in 1616,
and his son Thomas sold it to John Hawkins; and he or his son sold it to Eliab
Harvey, in whose descendants it has continued to the present time. It was at one
time divided between the families of Harvey and Comyns; but the former purchased
the portion belonging to the family of Comyns, which is now extinct.
Wolverston, or Woolston, has the manor-house about a mile and a half north from vvoiver-
the church, and seems to liave been anciently a distinct parish, or at least a very con-
siderable hamlet, united to Chigwell since the Conquest: a church or chapel formerly
belonged to it. In records the name is Ulfelmstun, Wolfamston, Wolfhamestone,
Walston, or Woolston, Walthampton, Woolverhampton, Woolvermeston. It
Harrington family, from whence it is inferred, that Chigwell was holden by a younger branch, and re-
turned to the elder.
* Thomas Harvey, of Folkstone, in Kent, had, by his wife, Joan Halke, William Harvey, M.D. of Harvey
Hempstead; Thomas, the father of John Harvey, of Antwerp ; John, member of parliament for Hythe in family-
1640; Daniel, the father of Daniel Harvey, of Combe Nevil, in Surrey, ambassador to the Porte; Eliab,
of Bread-street, London ; and Matthew and Michael, twins. Matthew Harvey purchased the manor and
advowson of Langford, in tliis county ; and died without issue, as did also Thomas and John. The six
youngest of these seven brothers were bound apprentice in London, and ultimately becoming consider-,
able merchants, got large fortunes, of which they made their father treasurer ; and he, being as skilful in
purchasing lands as they were in getting money, lived to see every one of them of far greater estate than
himself. Eliab Harvey, the fifth son, was settled at Chigwell, and died in 1061, aged seventy-two, and
was buried at Hempsted, as were also his daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth ; and Mary, his widow, who
died in 1673, aged sixty-seven : his eldest daughter, Mary, was married to sir William Whitmore, bart. of
Alley, in Shropshire, and died in 1710. Sir Eliab Harvey, knt. eldest son and heir of the second Eliab,
married , daughter of sir William Whitmore, bart. and had Eliab, who died in 1681 ; William ; Mat-
thew, who died in 1692; and Elizabeth, wife of Edward Harvey, esq. of Combe, she died in 1695. Sir
Eliab was member of parliament for the county in 1678, and burgess for Maldon in 1695, dying in 169S,
aged sixty-four ; he was buried at Hempsted. William, his eldest surviving son, was member of parlia-
ment for the county in 1722 ; he married Dorothy, only daughter and heiress of sir Robert Dycer, bart.
of Uphall, in Braughing, in Hertfordshire; by whom he had William; Eliab, who died young; Dorothy,
wife of sir Philip Monoux, bart. of Wootton, in Bedfordshire ; Mary, wife of sir Edmund Anderson, bart.
of Broughton, in Lincolnshire; and Agnes, married to Pulter Forrester, esq. of Hertfordshire. On the
death of his father in 1731, he was succeeded by his eldest son, William Harvey, who married Mary,
daughter and co-heiress of Ralph Williamson, esq. of Berwick, in Northumberland, by whom he had AVil-
liam ; Eliab, of the king's council, and member of parliament for Dunwich ; Edward, major and adjutant-
general, also member of parliament for Gatton ; William Harvey, the father, had also two daughters. He
died in 1742, and was succeeded by William, his eldest son, member of parliament for Essex in 1747,
1754, and 1761. In 1750, he married Emma, daughter of William Skynner, esq. of Walthamstow, by
whom, on his death in 1763, he left William, his eldest son and heir, a minor, two other sons, and three
daughters. The monument of the celebrated Eliab Harvey is preserved in the cemetery at Hempsted;
where memorials of the later representatives of this family have also been placed. Anns of Harvey: Or,
on a chief indented sable, three crescents argent.
388 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK li. belong-ed to earl Harold, in the time of the Confessor; and at the survey it formed
part of the royal demesnes, and was farmed by the sheriff. It Avas granted, by Henry
the second, to a family surnamed De Sandford, to be holden by the grand sergeancy
of finding- a damsel to wait in the queen's chamber on the day of her coronation.
Alice, daughter and heiress of Gilbert de Sandford, being in ward to Fulk Basset,
bishop of London, for which wardship the bishop had given the king one thousand
marks; he, in 124-8, sold the wardship and marriage of the said Alice to Hugh de
Vere, the fourth earl of Oxford, whether she lived or died; and he gave her to his
eldest son, Robert de Vere, fifth earl, who in her right added to his other titles that
of baron Sandford: by this lady he had Robert, his successor, and Joan, wife of
William, eldest son of John Plantagenet, earl of Warren and Surrey; upon whose
marriage, in 1284, this and other estates were settled upon them: the husband died
in December the following year, leaving his lady with child of his only son John;
and her father, the earl, enjoyed this manor till his decease in 1295, at which time it
was holden of William de Plomer, the reversion being in the heirs of earl Warren;
and, in 1347, John, earl Warren, dying without lawful issue, this and his other
estates passed to his sister Alice, married to Edmund Fitz- Alan, earl of Arundel, who
was beheaded in 1326, but his son Richard was restored in blood, and enjoyed this
estate till his death in 1375. Richard, his son, was executed in 1397, leaving a son
Thomas, who being restored to his father's honours and estates, held this manor by
knight's service. Dying in 1414, without issue, he was succeeded by his three sisters,
Elizabeth, wife of sir Gerard Ufflet, (previously having been married to Thomas
Moubray, duke of Norfolk, and two other husbands): Joanna, wife of William
Beauchamp, lord Bergavenny; and Margaret, wife of sir Rowland Lenthall. He
had also another sister, who had previously died; the wife of John Charleton,
lord Powis. Portions of this estate were successively in Norman Babington, in
1433, in right of his wife Margaret, descended from one of the sisters of the earl,
who died in 1451, whose heiresses were Elizabeth, wife of William Hungate, and
Beatrix, wife of Robert Constable. In 1461, John Mowbray, earl of Norfolk, died
possessed of a moiety of this manor, whose son John, earl of Warren and Surrey,
died in 1497, from whom, being conveyed to John Howard, duke of Norfolk, who
was slain at Bosworth-field, and attainted, in 1485 this estate passed to the crown,
and was granted, by Henry the seventh, in the beginning of his reign, to William
Scott, esq. of Stapleford Tany, a lineal descendant of sir William Scott,* lord chief
Scott * William Scott, the grantee of this estate, was the son of sir John Scott, of East Tilbury, and married
family. ISlargcry, daughter and heiress of Thomas Swinborne, esq. of Yorkshire, by whom he had John, William,
Edward, John the younger, George, Hugh, Joan, and Elizabeth : dying in 1491, he was buried in Staple-
ford Tany church, where his wife Margery, who died in 1505, was also buried. Their eldest son, John
Scott, sen. his heir and successor, married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Drake, of Berkshire, by whom
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 389
justice of England, and justice of the forests in the reign of Edward the third; chap.
sergeant-at-law in 1335: justice of the Common Pleas in 1338; justice of the King's ' '
Bench in 1340; chief justice of that court in 1341; and chief justice of the Common
Pleas in 1342. In 1343, he was again advanced to the King's Bench, and died in
1346: his descendants enjoyed this estate for many generations.
Wolverton, or Woolston Hall, is a handsome modern mansion, the seat of Robert
Bodle, esq.
The Grange, being one of the manors belonging to Til^ey Abbey, was, on the ^}^^or of
dissolution, granted to Thomas Addington, who, in 1544, sold it, without a licence,
to James Altham, esq. for which he was obliged to procure a pardon. It was again
sold, without a licence, to Anthony Browne, esq. and the king's pardon was again to
be obtained. Mr. Browne made it part of the endowment of his free-school at
Brentwood. The Grange was formerly a hamlet, but is noAv only a farm on Grange
HUl.
There was formerly a handsome seat, a mile distant from the church, by the river f'"''* ,
•' _ •' boiougli.
Rodon. The house has been pulled down. The manor to which it belonged was
the property of sir Robert Wrothe, who died in 1605; and some of the heirs of sir
Robert, his son, sold it to Robert Knight, esq. cashier of the South-sea-company;
and he erected the capital mansion. On the estate being seized and sold by the
South-sea-company, it was purchased by sir Joseph Eyles, who died in 1740; on
he had George, of this place; Thomas, of Stapleford Tany, who married Mary, daughter of sir "^rhomas
Urswick, by whom he had Walter, and John ; George Scott, esq. died without issue in 1553, and was
succeeded by his cousin and next heir, Walter, who, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Belknap,
had Roger, Edward, John, Richard, Walter ; Eleanor, wife of JNIitchel; and Mary. Walter, the
father, died in 1550, and was succeeded by his son, Roger Scott, who married Elizabeth, daughter of John
Leeds, of Sleyning, in Sussex, by whom he had George, Richard, William, and Richard the younger: he
died in 1586, and his successor, George Scott, died in 1588, leaving, by his wife Dorothy, daughter of
John Franck, of Hatfield Broadoak, and of Dutton-hill, in Great Easton, Elizabeth, and Mary, his co-
heiresses ; he had the manor of Stapleford Tany, Howesham Hall, and Little Leighs, which his eldest
daughter, Elizabeth, conveyed to her husband, sir Edward Alleyn, of Hatfield priory. But Wolverston
Hall had been given by the father to William, the third son, who married Prudence, daughter and co-
heiress of Edmund Alabaster, esq. of Brett's Hall, in Tendring; his son, George Scott, esq. of Lincoln's
Inn, in 1641, married Joan, daughter of William Towse, esq. sergeant-at-law, re-married to George Brett,
and had by her George, who, marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Meyne, esq. of Bramhanger, in
Bedfordshire, had William, George, Lstitia, and Hester. He died in 1683, and his wife in 1705. William,
the eldest son and heir, married Katharine, daughter of Thomas Luther, esq. of Stapleford Tany : slie
died in 1710, and he in 1725. They had George, Anne, married to the rev. Dr. William Derham, and
Elizabeth. Thomas Scott, esq. the son and heir, married Mary, daughter of Mr. Hare, of Southwark,
who died in 1720 ; himself dying in 1732, leaving his only son and heir, George Scott, esq. educated at
St. John's College, Oxford, where he took the degree of LL.D. ; he married Jane, daughter of the right
rev. Dr. Edmund Gibson, bishop of London. Arms of Scott : Per pale indented, argent and .sable, a
saltier counterchanged. Crest : An arm erect and couped at the elbow, habited gules, cuff ermine, the
hand proper. — Morant.
VOL. II. 3 E
390 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. whose decease it again became the property of Robert Knight, esq. who dying in
1744, was succeeded by his son Robert, in 1746 created baron Luxborough of
Shannon, and, in 1763, earl of Catherlough, in Ireland. In 1747, his lordship con-
tracted with Thomas Braddyll, esq. for the sale of this estate: but governor Braddyll
dying before Henry Knight, only son and heir of the lord Luxborough (in Avhom
was the remainder in tail male), attained his age of twenty-one years in 1749, when
it was purchased by James Crokatt, esq. who married a daughter of Peter Darnel
Muihnan, esq. It afterwai'ds became the seat of sir Edward Walpole.
Potteles. There has been a royal house and lodge here, apparently as ancient as any thing
in the forest. In 1512, Henry the eighth granted the keeping of his palace in the
parish of Chigwell, within his forest of Waltham, called " Potteles," alias Langford's-
place, with the lodge annexed, to sir John Risley.* On sir John's death, the king
gave it to William Compton, and his heirs; and, in 1596, queen Elizabeth granted
the reversion and remainder of this estate to Thomas Spencer and others.
Penning- A large brick house, iu the village of Chigwell, Avas the family mansion of the
ami ) pgj^jjjj-jg^Qj^g^ previous to the year 1620. John Pennington died here in 1702, and
Sarah, his wife, daughter of sir Robert Abdy, of Albins, died in 1690. John Bram-
ston, esq. of Skreens, married Mary, one of the daughters, and became in her right
possessed of this house and estate; on whose death, in 1718, he left three daughters,
of whom Mary, the second, was married, in 1730, to the hon. Edward Byng, fifth
and youngest son of lord viscount Torrington; and, after her decease, the farms
belonging to this house were sold to Sackville Bale, esq. of Loughton; and the
house, with about fifteen acres of land, were sold to Edward Timewell, esq. of the
Victualling-office, on whose death they were purchased by John Raymond, esq.
The ancient mansion belonging to archbishop Harsnet was repaired and modernised
by Mr. William Park Fisher, jeweller, in Tavistock-street, Covent-gavden, London.
A tenement and lands in this parish, called Appletons, were held of John Mannock,
esq. ; in 1486, by John Cooke, of the family of that name, of Geddy Hall.
The abbey of Stratford had a tenement and appertenances called Buckhursts, or
Monken Hall, the lands of which have been incorporated with other estates.
Church. i^iie church, dedicated to St. Mary, consists of a nave, north aisle, and chancel:
there are two galleries in the aisle, and one in the nave, which was built in 1722, by
private contribution, for the use of the charity girls of this parish, as appears by an
inscription, in which Thos. Scott, esq. Mr. Edward Fisher, Robert Clark, D.D. Mrs.
Mary Harvey, and George Scott, esq. are recorded to have been the treasurers of
the contribution. The east end of the aisle is called the little chancel, being the
burial-place of the ancient family of Scott. A wooden belfry of chesnut contains five
* It had passed into the possession of king Edward the fourth on account of the minority of Edward,
.son and heir of George duke of Clarence, in Henry the seventh's time convicted of treason.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR.
391
good bells; there is a handsome sph-e, and on the north side of the chancel a neat t: H a p.
vestry.* •^'-
There is here both a rectory, which is a sinecure, and a vicarage, to which the
rector presents. From the year 1329 to 1406, the rectory was in lay patrons, of the
* The two free-schools at Chigwell were founded in 1629, by the munificent prelate, Samuel Harsnet Fiee-
archbishop of York, when, as the foundation deed witnesseth, his grace erected two fair and large school- '''^hools.
houses in the parish of Chigwell, to the intent and purpose '* that the children and youth of that and
other adjoining parishes siiould be in one of the said schools taught to read, write, cypher, and cast
accompts, and to learn their accidence, and, in the other school-house, to be instructed in the Latin
and Greek tongues :" also, that handsome and convenient houses should be provided for the masters
with suitable gardens to each.
The impropriate rectory and parsonage of Tottington, in Norfolk, with the advowson of its vicarage
were vested in twenty-one feoffees for the endowment of this institution, " and to be employed to no
other use or purpose." The grammar schoolmaster to be paid twenty pounds, and the English master
twenty-five pounds yearly. The residue of the endowment, " after the distribution of four shillings'
worth of good wholesome wheaten bread," every Sunday (except two) at the conclusion of divine service
to the poor of the parish, and of twenty shillings to the clerk for ringing the church bell every morning
at six o'clock, is to be safely laid up and kept as a stock, to be employed by the feoffees in " the needful
reparations" of the school-houses and dwellings, and other necessary expenses.
Among the numerous ordinances for the good management of these schools, made by the pious founder
are the following : " The being, life, and continuation of all foundations on earth are the laws and
statutes of that foundation ; and the life of the statutes and ordinances is the due and strict observation
of them, which cannot be done but by living men. I therefore charge the governors of my schools as
they shall answer to God, before his holy angels, for their own children, the loss of their time in their
golden youth, the corruption of their manners, the cheating of their learning, and the ruin of that
foundation which I have laid for their public good and the good of their posterity, that they look duly
carefully, and conscionably to the due keeping and observing of the statutes and ordinances following •
which doing, the blessing and peace of God rest upon them and their issue.
" The first ordinance that I am to make, is to lay a bond and obligation upon myself, humbly upon my
knees, during my life, to praise and magnify the goodness of God, who from a poor vicar of this parish,
hath called me to so high a dignity in his church, and to enable me to offer this mite of my thankfulness
to him for all the blessings that in mercy he hath bestowed upon me.
" Item, — I ordain, that both the schools respectively, be for ever ruled and governed by twelve governors
who shall, from time to time, elect and constitute the schoolmasters respectively, and remove and expel
them as there shall be cause, see the ordinances of the schools duly kept and observed, receive the annual
rents, pay the schoolmasters, and do all other matters and things that shall or may concern the welfare
or prosperity of the said schools for ever ; of which twelve, I nominate and appoint the vicar of Chigwell,
and the parson of Loughton, for the time being, to be always two ; and when it shall please God to call
any of these twelve out of this mortal life, the surviving governors, within six days, shall meet at the
grammar schoolmaster's house, and shall nominate and elect from the substantial parishioners of Chig-
well, one or more governors, to make up the number of twelve, and not above.
" Item, — I ordain, that within ten days after every vacancy of either of the schoolmasters' places, that
the governors of the more part of them do meet at the Latin schoolmaster's house, and there do clioose
a new schoolmaster ; and if after ten days next ensuing the vacancy they do 'not agree, that then the
election do devolve absolutely unto the lord bishop of London, for the time being.
" Item,— I constitute and appoint, that the Latin schoolmaster be a graduate of one of the Universities,
not under seven-and-twenty years of age, a man skilful in the Greek and Latin tongues, a good poet, of
392 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. families of Goldingham, Bourchier, and Doreward. In 1439, John Doreward gave
the advowson of this parish church and rectory to the priory of St. Botolph's, in
Colchester; and they procured a licence to appropriate it to themselves and their
successors; by virtue of which they presented twice to the vicarage. But in 1451
a sound religion, neither papist nor puritan, of a grave behaviour, of a sober and honest conversation,
no tippler nor haunter of ale-houses, no. puffer of tobacco ; and, above all, that he be apt to teach and
strict in his government ; and all election or elections otherwise made I declare them to be void ipso
facto ; and that as soon as the schoolmaster do enter into holy orders, either deacon or priest, his place
to become void ipso facto, as if he were dead.
" Item, — I ordain that the second schoolmaster, touching his years and conversation, be in all points
endowed and qualified as the Latin schoolmaster is ; that he write fair secretary and roman hands ; that
he be skilful in cyphering and casting of accounts, and teach his scholars the same faculty.
" Item, — I ordain, that the Latin schoolmaster, every Sunday afternoon, do call the scholars of both
schools before him, and do catechise them in the principles of our christian religion, according to the
order of the book of common prayer.
" Item, — I constitute and ordain, that the schoolmasters do not exceed in their corrections above the
number of three stripes with the rod at any one time ; that they strike not any scholar upon the head or
the cheek with their fist, or the palms of their hands, or with any other thing, upon pain of loss of forty
shillings for every such stripe or stroke, to be defaulked by the governors out of their yearly wages : that
they do not curse or revile their scholars : that for speaking English ia the Latin school, the scholar be
corrected by the ferula, and for swearing by the rod : that monitors be appointed to note and present
their rudeness, irreverent, or indecent demeanour in the streets, the church, or their public sports.
" Item, — I ordain, that the scholars of both the schools do every morning, upon their knees, before they
begin their lectures, offer up their sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving to God in such prayers and psalms
as shall be appointed by me ; that is to say, that their masters, both at one time in the morning, do repeat
orderly the Lord's prayer, and after that the Te Deum Laudamus, &c.
" Item, — I publish to all men the true intentions of my heart, that I more affectionately desire that the
poor scholars of my schools be nurtured and disciplined in good manners than instructed in good arts ;
and therefore I charge my schoolmasters respectively, as they will answer it to God and good men, that
they bring up their scholars in the fear of God, and reverence toward all men : that they teach them
obedience to their parents, observance to their betters, gentleness and ingenuity in all their carriages ;
and, above all, that they chastise them severely for three \'ices, lying, swearing, and filthy speaking, that
men seeing the buds of virtue in their youth may be stirred up to bless them, and to praise God for their
pious education.
" Item, — I constitute and ordain, that the Latin schoolmaster do teach gratis twelve scholars, born
within the parish of Chigwell ; two born in Loughton, two in Woodford, and two within the parish of
Lamborne; and that the English schoolmaster do teach gratis, to read, write, cypher, and cast accounts,
and to learn their accidence, all that shall be sent unto him, of the parish of Chigwell, two born within
the parish of Loughton, two within the parish of Woodford, and two within the parish of Lamborne.
" Item, — I do nominate, and with my hearty prayers beseech the lord bishop of London for the time
being, to be for ever the visitor of my schools ; unto whom I will and appoint the governors abovesaid
to repair in all cases of difficulty and difference amongst them : and I ordain that his, the said lord bishop's
sentence, judgment, or doom, to be a final and conclusive determination of all differences whatsoever."
The present master of the grammar school has a salary of twenty pounds per annum ; the number of
scholars is thirty, three or four of them are upon the foundation. The schoolmaster of the English school
has a salary of fifty pounds per annum. Twenty boys of the parish of Chigwell, two of Loughton, and
two of Lambourne, are taught gratuitously. The celebrated William Penn was educated at this school.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 393
and 1466, the rectors regained their right ; soon after which, Thomas Kemp, bishop CHAP,
of London, founded a chantry in St. Paul's church, and endowed it with the advowson '
of Chigwell, and with lands here and at Great Clacton, uniting it to the office of
confessor in that cathedral. Afterwards, in 1474, he appropriated to the priest of
that chantry and confessor the prebend of St. Pancras ; and from that time, whoever
had that prebend, was also penitentiary; and as such hath ever since been rector of
Chigwell, invested with its profits, without institution or induction, and patron of the
vicarage.
In 1821, there were one thousand six hundred and ninety-six, and, in 1831, one
thousand eight hundred and fifteen inhabitants in this parish.
Besides the archbishop's schools, there is another charitable foundation here for the education and clothing
of ten girls, under the care of the treasurer ; it is principally supported by an annual charity sermon.
Archbishop Harsnet gave an annuity of six pounds thirteen shillings and four pence for the relief and Charities
maintenance of poor people living in the almshouse ; and fourteen pounds a year for maintaining a foot-
path five miles from Abridge towards London. Twenty-four two-penny loaves are distributed to twenty-
four such poor persons of this parish as shall be present at the celebrating of divine service, it being the
gift of archbishop Harsnet. Six shillings and eight pence quarterly is left payable to three poor widows
in the almshouse.
An inscription, in old English characters, on a brass plate, records that " Robert Ramston, gent, of
Chingford, deceased, as he was careful in his life-time to relieve the poor, so at his end he gave twenty-
four pounds yearly to the poor of two parishes, whereof to the poor of the parish of Chigwell he hath
given forty shillings, to be paid in the month of November." He died in 1585.
On a mural marble monument in the chancel, under the effigies of a man and woman and two children, Inscrip-
is a Latin inscription, of which the following is a translation : " Thomas Colshill, esquire, and Mary his
wife, daughter of Guidon Crayford, esquire, were married fifty years. During the same time he served
king Edward, and the queens Mary and Elizabeth, as surveyor of the great customs of the city of London,
and in that county was one of the justices of the peace twenty-four years. The integrity of their lives
and their christian deaths promise their souls to rest in heaven, as their bones do in this tomb." He
died March 30, the seventy-seventh year of his age, the thirty-seventh year of queen Elizabeth. She died
June 3, the seventy-fourth year of her age, the forty-first year of queen Elizabeth.
A large brass plate, with a finely executed whole-length figure of archbishop Harsnet, and around the
effigy a Latin inscription, written by himself, of which the following is a translation : " Here lieth Samuel
Harsnet, formerly vicar of this church, and afterwards, first, the unworthy bishop of Chichester, then
the more unworthy bishop of Norwich, and, lastly, the very unworthy archbishop of York, who died on
the 25th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1631." Originally this monument was on the floor of the
aisle, but removed to insure its preservation.
In the chancel, of the Scott family : " To the memory of Mrs. Katharine Scott, daughter of Thomas
Luther, of Suttons, in the parish of Stapleford Tany, esq. and wife of William Scott, of Wolfston Hall, in
this parish, esq. who died October 16, 1710, aged fifty-eight." Also, of William Scott, esq. who died
June 27, 1725, aged seventy-two. Likewise, of George Scott, esq. eldest son to the above William and
Katharine, who died February 19, 1726, aged fifty-three. And of Thomas Scott, esq. of Woolstone Hall,
who died January 19th, 1732, aged fifty-two. There are other inscriptions to the memory of individuals
of the Scott and other families.
tions.
394 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
LAMBOURNE.
Lam- This parish is bounded on the north by Theydon Bois and Theydon Gernon, from
which it is separated by the river llodon; on the south, by the liberty of Havering;
on the east, by Stapleford Abbots; and on the west by Chigwell. It is wholly in
the forest, and agreeably diversified with hill and dale, from various situations pre-
senting distant interesting prospects. The name in Saxon Lambujan, written Lam-
born and Lamburn, is supposed in part to be derived from the river which in its
course from Ongar passing here was anciently named Angriciburne, or the Ongar
stream.
The village of Lambourne is small, and the houses distant from each other, but
the handsome and improving village of Abridge has been considered as forming a
continuation of it, and is the most populous part of the parish, having very con-
siderably increased during the last ten years; it is named from the bridge which at
its precincts crosses the river. There are here many respectable dwelling houses,
the residences of tradespeople and others ; it has also several good inns. A new
episcopal chapel has lately been commenced building here, and a meeting-house
belonging to the Arminian or Wesleyan methodists bears on the inscription the
date of 1833.
Near the road from London to Cheping Ongar, which passes through this place,
a handsome messuage was erected by James Mitchell, esq. and was afterwards the
property and residence of Robert Sutton, esq. of whom it was purchased, with the
adjoining estate, by William Joseph Lockwood, esq. in 1810: the mansion has been
since pulled down. The distance from Ongar is seven, and from London fourteen
miles.
In 1050, during the reign of Edward the confessor, the lands of this parish belonged
to Leffi, a Saxon; and, at the time of the Domesday survey, had become the property
of Eustace, earl of Boulogne, whose under-tenant was named Lavid. The next
succeeding possessor on record was Pharin, or Pharam de Boulogne, great grandson
of Eustace, succeeded by his daughter and heiress, who was married to Ingebram de
Fiennes, slain at the siege of Acre, in the time of Ptichard the first: from this ancestry
are descended the viscounts Saye and Sele. There were formerly seven manors in
this parish, and Waltham abbey had also some land here, but it is very doubtful if it
was a manor; for in the charter of the manor of Lambeth, near London, which
belonged to king Harold, the founder of the abbey, it is spelt Lambehythe; and that
is the reason, some have supposed, there has been a manor in this parish belonging to
Waltham abbey,
^f^a' Galfrod, son of Eustace, earl of Boulogne, succeeding to this estate, left it to his
bourne. SOU William, from whom it passed to his younger son, Pharamus de Boulogne.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 395
Eustace, the elder, having a daughter named Matikla, king Henry the first married C H A P
her with an immense fortune to Stephen, earl of Blois, afterwards his successor to 1—
the throne of England : Sibylla de Tyngrie, daughter and sole heiress to Pharamus,
was married to Ingebram de Fiennes, of a family who, from the Conquest to the time
of king John, were the hereditary constables of Dover Castle, and their son, William
de Fiennes, exchanged this manor and that office in the year 1218, with king John,
for the manor of Wendover, in the county of Buckingham. His successor here was
Robert de Lamburn, who gave the rectory to Waltham abbey. This Robert paid
scutage for his estates in Essex, two marks, from the first to the thirteenth of king
John, towards the scutage for Normandy. William de Lamburn, probably Robert's
grandson, was sherifi'of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1284 and 1285, in the reign of
Edward the first; he lived at a manor of the same name, in the parish of Canewden,
in the hundred of Rochford. At the time of his decease in 1300, he held this manor
of the inheritance of Philip de Burnel, then under age, and the king's ward, by the
service of two knights' fees: James, his son and heir, was living in 1334, and, under
him, Robert Williams, of Havering (who was outlawed for felony) held three roods
of meadow in the parish of Lambourne. The other lands which this Robert Williams
held in this parish shew the owners of the several other lordships here, though it is
not possible now to ascertain to what manors they severally belonged. 'Phomas de
Lamburn, probably the son of James, died in 1360, and William, his son, in 1362.
This last dying under age, he was succeeded by his sister Joan, wife of sir William
Cheue, of the Isle of Sheppey, in the county of Kent. Under him Richard Fifhide,
and Alice his wife, held, in 1374, some lands in this parish called Laghames, no doubt
part of this manor's demesne; and, in the reign of king Henry the fourth, it was in
the possession of Thomas Lampet; but from that time to 1485, there is no information
whatever to be gathered respecting this estate. John Curson, who died in that year,
held it of Jasper Tudor de Hatfield, duke of Bedford, in right of Anne his duchess.
This duke was the second son of Owen Tudor, by Katharine, queen dowager of
Henry the fifth, and was created earl of Pembroke by his half brother, king Henry
the sixth, in the eighteenth year of his reign; he lost both title and estates in 1453,
when Edward the fourth had possession of the crown; but was restored to them
when Henry the sixth remounted his throne. However, on the king's deposition he
raised an army in Wales against Edward the fourth ; but, losing the day at the battle
of Tewkesbury, the earl dismissed his troops and retired to Pembroke castle, whither
Edward sent a messenger, one Vaughan, to kill him: as it happened, the earl had
notice of his intention, and, consequently, avoided the message by giving it to the
messenger. From the castle he fied to France, and was ordered, by the duke of
Bretaigne, to confine himself to the town of Vanues. In 1485, he was created duke
of Bedford, by Henry the seventh, (having received the order of the garter, in 1453,
396 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. from Henry the sixth,) and, in 1486, he was appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland.
He died in 1495, leaving no issue but a natural daughter, Ellen, wife of William
Gardner, citizen of London.
The manor came next into the Barfoot family, and continued in their possession
until the commencement of the eighteenth century. Robert Barfoot, who died in
1546, held the manor of Lambourne, with its appertenances, as of the hundred of
Ongar, by suit at that hundred and the service of the wardstaff, namely : — " To carry
a load of straw, with a cart and six horses, to Abridge, and two men armed with
rapiers* to watch the said wardstaff." The straw might be for the wardsmen to lie
on: he was also to repair so much of the paling of the park at Havering as bordered
on the parish, when need shall be, according to old custom, in lieu of all services.
There was then a palace of the sovereigns of England at Havering. He died in 1546,
and was buried in this church, as likewise was Katharine his wife. Thomas, his son
and heir, succeeded him; who is supposed to have built part of the present house, as
there appears in one of the rooms the letters T. B. and the date 1571. John Bar-
foot, esq. (perhaps the son of Thomas) by Mary his wife, daughter and co-heiress of
Thomas Goodman, of Leatherhead, in Surrey, esq. had one daughter, Anne, and
several sons; the youngest of whom, John, a woollen-draper in London, married
Mary, daughter of John Eldred, esq. of Little Birch, and by her had John, his only son,
of Lincoln's Inn, who, by Mary his wife, daughter of John Eldred, esq. of Stanway,
had John, Mary, and Anne, wife of the rev. Thomas Bernard, vicar of Earls Colne.
John Barefoot, esq. died in 1725.
This manor of Lambourne was next in the possession of John Fortescue Aland,
esq. son of Edmund Fortescue and Sarah his wife, daughter of Henry Aland, esq. of
Waterford. He was educated at Oxford, and being intended for the law, was entered
at the Inner Temple, of which he was chosen reader in 1716; was appointed solicitor-
general to the prince of Wales in 1714; in 1716, solicitor-general to the king; in
1717, constituted one of the barons of the Exchequer; and, in 1718, one of the jus-
tices of the King's Bench; but at the accession of king George the second, his com-
mission was superseded. Howevei', in 1728, he was appointed one of the justices of
the Common Pleas, being then a knight; but resigned this place in 1746, on account
of his age and infirmities, having sat in the superior courts at Westminster the long-
period of thirty years. On this occasion, in testimony of his services, he was created
baron Fortescue, of Credan, in the county of Waterford, in Ireland; a dignity his
lordship enjoyed but a few months, departing this life the same year, aged seventy-six.
He deservedly had the name of one perfectly read in Norman and Saxon literature;
and had been created doctor of laws by diploma from the university of Oxford, a copy
of which he published in his " Reports," a work held in very good esteem. He also
* Rapier, a short sword.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 397
published " Sir John Fortescue's difference between an absolute and limited Mo- chap.
narchy," written in the time of king Henry the sixth, with remarks by the editor. "
The same preface was printed with each of the above works, and is an excellent trea-
tise in commendation of the laws and constitution of England. By his first wife,
Grace, daughter of lord chief justice Pratt (grandfather of the present marquis Cam-
den), his lordship had two sons, one a counsellor and the other a sea officer; and a
daughter, all of whom died unmarried. By his second wife, Elizabeth Dormer,
daughter of Robert Dormer, esq. one of the justices of the Common Pleas, he had
his son and heir. Dormer Fortescue Aland, second lord Fortescue, on whose death,
in 1780, aged fifty-nine, the title became extinct.
The first lord Fortescue erected a mansion on this estate, a short distance from Knolls.
Lambourne Hall, towards Stapleford Abbots, called Knolls Hill, but Avhich has
since been almost wholly pulled down, and is now only a farm-house. It was situated
on a rising ground, commanding a beautiful and extensive prospect. Of the devisee
of lord Fortescue this manor was purchased, in 1782, by the rev. Edward Lock-
wood, rector of St. Peter's, in Northampton, and formerly a fellow of All Souls Col-
lege, Oxford; master of arts in 1744; in 1770, he married Elizabeth, the daughter
and heiress of Joseph Percival, esq. of Stapleton, in Gloucestershire ; and dying in
1802, left this estate to his second son, Edward Lockwood Percival, esq. who, in
1790, married Louisa Bridget Sutton, the second surviving daughter of lord George
Manners Sutton, third and youngest son of John Manners, third duke of Rutland,
knight of the garter. Their son, Edward Lockwood Percival, esq. is the present
possessor and lord of this manor.* On the mansion-house becoming the property of
lord Fortescue, it first became inhabited by tenants, from which time to the present
it has been let on lease. The house has been much reduced from its ancient extent,
as may be known from thick foundations having been discovered in the garden and
elsewhere, and it is said that skulls have been found in the present building; but how
far that is true, or what cause can be assigned for so extraordinary a fact, is entirely
conjecture. One of the rooms in the house has the appearance of being built in the
sixteenth century, from the ornaments of wood, and the date of 1571; there are also
several proverbs and moral sentences on panels near the ceiling, and well-executed
portraits of the family of Fortescue have been preserved: this estate is partly in this
parish, and partly in Stapleford Abbots.
Shepes Hall, of Norwich, is the next manor in this parish, of which the oldest ^^^P^*
mention occurs in records: its appellation of Norwich, is from having belonged to
that bishopric ; and the earliest recorded proprietor was the famous Henry Spencer,
Avho, in 1383, held it of the prior of St. John of Jerusalem, and of sir John Sutton,
* Anns of Percival : Sable, a horse passant, argent, spanceled in both legs on the near side, gules.
Crest: a nag's head couped, argent.
VOL. II. 3 F
398 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. jjy i\^Q service of six shillings per annum, and of king Richard the second, in capite,
as of the manor of Havering (then a royal palace), by the service of making sixty
perches of the park-pale with his own timber; and of the earl of Oxford, by one suit
of court, from three weeks to three weeks ; and to Thomas Baill, sixpence per annum.
This martial ecclesiastic, bred to arms in Italy, in the service of pope Adrian (Nicholas
Breakspear, by birth an Englishman), in his wars against the duke of Milan, as a
reward obtained from his holiness, in 1370, this bishopric, being consecrated by the
pope in person. He had already been prebendary of Salisbury. In 1381, during Wat
Tyler's rebellion, he put himself at the head of a small body of loyal subjects, and
attacking the rebels, by dint of valour, aided by stratagem, made a terrible slaughter,
beheading some, killing others, and capturing their leader Littster, a dyer of Norwich,
whom he sent to London, and who was condemned and executed.
About 1385, there was a schism in the church, two popes disputing the right of
opening the gates of heaven, viz. Urban and Clement. The former commanding the
strongest party, perceived the inefficiency of spiritual weapons, and adopted in pre-
ference the employment of temporal arms. In furtherance of this design, he published
a crusade against Clement and his adherents, of which he declared Henry Spencer to
be general. On this occasion, the bishop, without the authority, or against the will
of the king of England, got together a fleet, and transported his army into the
Netherlands. The king and parliament resenting this conduct, seized his tempo-
ralities, and kept them two years; but they were restored by the parliament in 1385*
This boisterous hero of ecclesiastical authority quarrelled with the monks of Nor-
wich, whom he oppressed and trampled upon for fifteen years; and ultimately compelled
them to purchase their peace at the price of four hundred marks. Such was his hatred
against Lollardism, and whatever he deemed innovation, that he enjoined sir Thomas
Erpingham, as a penance for his favouring Wicklifi^, to build the gate at the entrance
of the college precinct at Norwich, which is yet distinguished by that knight's name.
The bishop died in 1406, and was interred before the high altar, on the north side of
the tomb of the founder, in Norwich cathedral. This prelate was the first who im-
paled his private arms with those of his see ; a custom since brought into general use.
The bishops of Norwich continued possessed of this manor and lands till 1536, when
they were transferred into the haiids of lord Audeley, lord high chancellor to king
Henry the eighth, who obtained a licence, in 1538, to alienate them to William Hale;
and the latter had licence, in 1555, in the reign of queen Mary, to dispose of the same
to William Porter and others; from which period, till the commencement of the
eighteenth century, its history and its successive proprietors are involved in obscurity.
We next hear of it as the residence and property of William Walker, and of Robert
Walker, who died in 1724; then of Thomas Walker, esq. surveyor-general to king
George the second, and elected member of parliament for Westlooe in 1733, and for
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 399
Plympton, in the parliament summoned to meet at Westminster, in 1T34; also after- CHAF.
wards for Helston, in the one hold en in 1741 ; upon whose decease, on the 22d of '
October, 1748, it was bequeathed to his nephew, Stephen Skynner, esq.; upon the
division of whose estate, in 1772, it was allotted to the late sir John and lady Aubrey,
who was his grand-daughter; from whom it was purchased by William Waylet, esq.,
and from him passed, in 1785, by sale, to the late admiral sir Edward Hughes, knight
of the bath, and was inhabited by David Ball, esq. who was the worthy admiral's
son-in-law. He died in 1798, when it devolved to his only son and heir, Edward
Hughes Ball, esq. its late proprietor, who sold it, in 1826, to the rev. Edward
Dowdeswell, D.D. rector of Stanford Rivers, and by him was conveyed, by deed of
gift, to Miss Lockwood Percival.
The house belonging to this manor is called Bishops Hall, no doubt from its having
continued so long attached to the see of Norwich. It is situated three quarters of a
mile south-west from the church, adjoining the road from Abridge to Hainault Fo-
rest, or Chigwell Row, and at which you survey an extensive district of country, its
situation being on the summit of a hill, commanding a prospect towards Epping
Forest on the north ; and extending to the Thames, and counties of Kent, Surrey,
and Middlesex, on the south-west.
Patch Park, formerly called Hunts, took its derivation from John Hunt and his Hunts,
partners, who held half a fee in Lambourne, under John and Thomas de Vere, earls
of Oxford, in the years 1358 and 1370; it was sometime the property of John and
Thomas Luther, of Suttons, in Stapleford Tany ; then of Rebecca, his daughter, wife
of Florien Goebel, esq.; afterwards of Gerrard Goebel; and, after his death, in 1786,
purchased by the late Charles Smith, esq. ; and now in the possession of his grandson,
sir Charles Smith, bart. a minor.
The manor and estate of Abridge, Affebruge, or AfFebridge, were given to the knights Abridge.
hospitallers, by Peter de Voisnes and William de Bois. In 1358, Johnde Affebregge
held one messuage and sixty acres of arable in Affebregge of the earl of Hertford.
The manor of Arneways was named from Adam Arneway, who, jointly with the Arneways
bishop of Norwich, and Joan Pellican, held half a fee here under the earls of Oxford, nokls.
about the reign of king Henry the sixth. But the earls had a parcel of it in demesne,
within their manor of Stapleford Abbots. Sir William Fitzwilliam, in the twenty-
sixth of Henry the eighth, held a messuage and lands in Arneways, and his son and
heir, William Fitzwilliam, esq. succeeded him on his decease in 1536. Richard Mor-
gan and Thomas Carpenter held this manor in 1552; and it belonged to Robert
Tavei'ner, esq. who, on his decease in 1556, was succeeded by his son Thomas, who
died in 1610, leaving a son, also named Thomas. Arneways belonged, in the reign
of king Charles the second, to Robert Draper, esq. who, dying in 1635, was suc-
ceeded by his son Robert. This estate of Arneways, now called Arnolds, was.
400 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. toward the commencement of the reign of George the third, the property of Mr.
John Todd, of Walthamsto w ; one moiety of it he gave to Mr. William Church, who
married his daughter: and their daughter and heir being married to Mr. Peter Searle,
brought it to him. Mr. Searle sold it to Thomas Scott, of Woolston Hall, esq. and
it afterwards belonged to his son, George Scott, esq.; it is now the property of Miss
Sewell. The mansion-house of Arnolds is a large old timber building, one mile and
a half north-east from the church, adjacent to the road leading to Passingford Bridge
and Stapleford Abbots.
St. John's Lambourne Abridge (alias St. John's) is mentioned as another manor in this parish.
In 1637, it was the property of Francis Peacocke, esq. (of the family already alluded
to as holding the manors of Lambourne and Affebridge,) from whom it was transferred
to that of Scott, of Chigwell; William Scott, esq. gave it in marriage with his daughter
Anne, to the rev. Dr. Derham, of Upminster. It is at present only a small farm.
Dews The name of this manor is otherwise written, in records, Dagew Hall, Dawes Hall,
Dewx Hall, or Deux Hall. The first mention we find of it was in 1505, the twenty-first
of Henry the seventh; and in the fourteenth century it had belonged either to Thomas
Russell, John de Lancaster, or Richard de Wylleby. However, Reginald Bysmere,
who died in 1505, held this manor of Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham,* as of
his hundred of Ongar, by fealty and rent of two shillings per annum, called ward
silver, and doing the said duke white service at the ward-staff in Ongar hundred.
William, the son and heir of Reginald, succeeded his father.
On the duke of Buckingham's condemnation, this manor reverting to the crown, is
believed to have been granted, by king Henry, to sir William Sulyard, who appears
to have held it at the time of his death in 1539 ; from which period, till the year 1621,
no authentic account of the possessors of it are to be found; but, from an epitaph in
the parish church of Epping, for Thomas Palmer, esq. son of Henry Palmer, of Dews
Hall, in Lambourne, who died in 1621, it appears to have belonged to that family;
one of the Palmers sold it to Catlyn Thorowgood, esq. chief factor to the South-sea-
company at Vera Cruz and Porto Bello. He served the office of sheriff of the county
of Essex in 1729; and, on his decease in 1732, it devolved to his son, Pate Thorow-
good, esq. who sold it to Richard Lockwood,f esq. an eminent Turkey merchant,
* This duke of Buckingham, descended from a daughter of the duke of Gloucester, youngest son of
king Edward the third, was reported to have made use of expressions, from which might be inferred the
existence of a dormant claim to the throne of England, on the failure of issue in Henry the eighth ; and
was in consequence tried, condemned, and, in 1521, beheaded. With this nobleman, the hereditary office
of high constable of England, an appointment of the highest dignity and honour, expired, and has not
been revived, unless on an emergency, which called for its accidental resumption.
Lock- f Richard Lockwood was rector of Dingley in 1530, and of Tiffield, in Northamptonshire, where he
^ '*.. died in 1535, leaving Richard, his son, who died in 1598, wlio was resident at Dingley, in the same county.
Richard and John were his only surviving children. John Lockwood was instituted to the vicarage of
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 401
chosen member of parliament for Hindon in 1713; for the city of London in 1722; CHAP,
and for the city of Worcester in 1734. He married Matilda, daughter of Georg-e ^^'
Vernon, esq. of Sudbury, in Derbyshire, and dying in 1756. left five sons, the eldest
of whom, Richard, succeeded him. He was senior verderer of Waltham Forest, in
this county, and senior governor of Christ's Hospital, in London; on his death in
1794, leaving no issue by his wife Anna Catherina, the daughter of Henry Vernon,
esq. of Sudbury, and only sister of George Venables, the first lord Vernon* (his first
cousin) whom he married, March the 18th, 1749. This property descended to his
third brother, the rev. Edward Lockwood, of Lambourne Hall, and, on his demise
in ] 802, devolved to his grandson, William Joseph Lockwood, esq. to whom it at
present belongs.
The mansion-house was a brick building of some antiquity, to which Richard Lock
wood, esq. in 1735, made considerable additions, and with great taste. The new
Towcester, November 8th, 1634-, and being attached to the royal cause, was ejected by the parliament;
he was present on the king's side at the battle of Naseby, and wounded in that engagement. Kichard
his elder brother, resided at Newington, in Surrey, and was buried in St. Mary Magdalen church in
Bermondsey, November 17th, 1632: he married Mary, daughter of James Reading, esq. of Newington,
and had issue Richard, Frances, Amy, and Mary. Richard was of Gayton, in Northamptonshire of which
county he was sheriif in 1695, and in that capacity presented the addresses to king William at Althorp,
then the seat of his minister, the earl of Sunderland : he was buried at Gayton, February 3, 1697. He
married Susannah, sole heiress of Edward Cutts, of this parish, esq. and had issue Cutts and Richard;
Anne, Susannah, Mary, Priscilla, and Elizabeth. Cutts died unmarried, January 3d, 1709: Richard was
member of parliament for Hindon in 1713; London, 1722; Worcester, 1734 : he married, February 28th,
1712, Matilda, daughter of George Vernon, esq. of Sudbury, in Derbyshire, and died August 31st, 17o6,
leaving five sons, Richard, John, Edward, Thomas, and William, and two daughters, Matilda and Catherine.
Richard married, March 16th, 1749, Anna Catherina, only sister of George Venables, the first lord
Vernon, but died without issue, March 25th, 1797. Edward, A.M. his third brother, but successor in
this estate, was rector of Hanwell, in Oxfordshire, and St. Peter's, in the town of Northampton : he was
thrice married; first, August 29th, 1752, to Lucy, daughter of the rev. William Dowdeswell ; secondly,
February 23d, 1770, to Elizabeth, sole heiress of Joseph Percival, esq. of Stapleton, in Gloucestershire ;
thirdly, November 3, 1772, to Judith, widow of sir John Rous, bart. of Henham Hall, member of parliament
for Suffolk : by his first wife he had six children, William Joseph, Edward, of Lambourne Hall, and John
Cutts; Anne, Matilda Catherine, and Frances Dorothy: he died January 22, 1802. William Joseph, his
eldest son, died in his life-time, having married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Jekyll, esq. and leaving an
only child, William Joseph Lockwood, the present proprietor, who is married to Rachael, daugjiter of
sir Mark Wood, bart. late member of parliament for Gatton, and has issue William Mark, born in Pall
Mall, London, March 11th, 1817; George, born at the same place, June 16th, 1818; Rachael Frances,
born at Dews Hall, December 26th, 1819, and who died there on the 18th of January, 1820. Mr. Lock-
wood was elected a verderer of the forest of Waltham, December, 1811. Arms of Lockwood : Argent, a
fesse between three martlets sable ; quartering : Cutts of Arkesden, Essex, viz. argent, on a bend engrailed
sable, three plates. Crest : On the stump of a tree erased proper, a martlet sable.
* The first lord Vernon was the father of the late and present lords of that title, as also of the most
rev. Edward Venables Vernon, D.C.L. the present archbishop of York ; the countess of Harcourt, hon.
Mrs. Anson, &c. &c.
402 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
r.ooK II. part forms the grand front, and is judiciously joined to the old house, commanding an
extensive prospect towards Epping- Place on the north; Hill Hall, and Stapleford
Tany, on the east; High Beech, and the parishes of Chigwell and Loughton, on
the west. It is a little way south from the church.
Priors. Priors manor is a mile and half east from Abridge, and by the name appears to
have belonged to a religious house, but this no document of undisputed authority has
deteraiined. The earliest account of it we find is, that it constituted a portion of the
estate of Henry, earl of Sussex, by whom it was disposed of, in 1553, to Richard
Taverner, who died in 1556, in possession of this estate, which he held by knight's
service. Thomas was his son, whose son Robert sold it, in 1625, to Robert Draper,
esq. : he died its proprietor in 1635, when it descended to William Draper, by whom
it was sold, in 1641, to Robert Bromfield, whose grandson John gave it, by will, to
his sister Elizabeth, wife of Nicholas Staphiirst, M.D. of Billericay, in this county.
Their son, Nicholas Staphurst, the heir of his mother Elizabeth, sold this estate, in
1713, to Dr. Thomas Tooke, then rector of this parish; who, leaving no issue, by
his will devised the estate, together with Manuden Hall, in Clavering hundred, to
his brother, the rev. John Tooke, after the decease of his wife Anne, who enjoyed his
property here and at Manuden in jointure. John Tooke, who was of Christ's
College, Cambridge, B.A. 1700, M.A. 1704, and rector of Chicknall, in Essex, suc-
ceeded likewise to two-fourths of his brother's property at Gledshew, in Hertfordshire.
He married Susannah, daughter of the rev. Robert Taylor, of Little Hallingbury,
by whom he had several children, and died in 1764; Thomas, his eldest son, died at
the early age of seven years, in 1713, at Stortford school, in the church of which a
monument is erected to his memory. Two other sons, John and Robert, were des-
tined for the church. John Tooke was of Emanuel College, Cambridge, B.A. 1727,
M.A. 1731, B.D. 1738. Robert Tooke was of the same college, B.A. 1734, M.A.
1738; he succeeded to this property on his father's death, and dying in 1776, left it
to his sister, Mrs. Calvert, whose daughters sold it to the late Charles Smijth, esq.
Churcli. This church was given, by Robert de Lamburn, to the canons of Waltham Holy
Cross, and confirmed to them by William de St. Maria, bishop of London, in 1218,
and seems to have been appropriated to them, and a vicarage ordained; but so ordered,
that the perpetual vicar who should supply the cure should pay forty shillings yearly
pension to the said canons, 'for the use of the poor of this hospital, built within the
courts of their monastery, and then the vicars to have all the remaining profits, and to
sustain all the burthens of this church. How far this ordination and endowment took
effect, we are at a loss to know. However, this church again became a rectory, and
continued so in their gift till the dissolution of monasteries. Then it came successively
into the hands of sir Anthony Cook, Nicholas Bacon, and Katherine Barefoot, who
had the gift of one turn from the convent and abbey; Thomas Taverner, Robert
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 403
Draper, Robert Bromfield, Nicholas Stapliurst, of Billericay, of whom Dr. Thomas chap.
Tooke purchased the advowson in 1712, and, by his will, bequeathed it to Bennet or
Corpus Christi College, at Cambridge, of which he had been a fellow.
The church, dedicated to St. Mary and All Saints, is of one pace with the chancel,
neat and tiled; in length, its extent is above seventy feet; the roof in the interior
twenty-six feet in height ; and at the west end is a leaded spire, in which are three
bells. The breadth of the church at the east end is eighteen feet, and at the west
twenty-one, at which is the principal entrance; over the door of which is this inscrip-
tion : —
" AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM. A. D. MDCCXXVI."
At this extremity, two galleries in the interior of the edifice have been erected, the
upper of which, on the panels, bears the letters W. I. L. and E. L. P., A.D. 1820;
and on the architrave of the under gallery, over the nave, " This gallery was built
at the charge of Mr. William Walker, citizen and ironmonger, of London, A.D. 1704."
The north door is indented, with pillars similar to those of the church of Margaret
Roding; and in the chancel are three windows of stained glass, the fourth containing
five pieces of curious and valuable old painting, viz. in the upper compartment, one
representing the smooth ways of sin, and the rugged and thorny paths of virtue, as
also the adoration of the Magi; in the middle is the Crucifixion; and, in the two
lower, the Nativity of our Lord; and Jesus walking on the Sea, with St. Peter sinking
in his approach towards him; an inscription in German under each: they probably
belonged to the chapel of some foreign convent, and were brought from Basle, in
Switzerland, in 1817. The pavement of the chancel is about nine inches more elevated
than that of the body of the church.
At the east end, near the altar, is a tablet to the memory of Dr. Thomas Wynnyfie,
bishop of Lincoln, dean of St. Paul's, and rector of this parish. His enjoyment of
his episcopal dignity, to which he was elected in 1641, was short, living to see the
demolition of his palace at Lincoln, and his country residence at Buckden, with all
the revenues of his see taken from him, and its temporalities put in sequestration by
the prevailing powers ; after which he retired to this parish, Avhere he had purchased
an estate and the advoAvson of the rectory, and at his death was buried within the rails
of the communion table, with the following inscription on his monument of black
marble, on which are his arms impaled with those of his see.
" Effare, marmor silens, quid et qucni luges funus, non privatum sed publicum, Anglicanac ecclcsiae (nisi Insciip-
Deus antevertat) pcnc cadaver Thomam VVynnitt'um, sacraj theologize doctorcm, i)ricconem initissinium, 'f*'i='-
in docendo nervosum, in redarguendo cordatum, in corripiendo AnPOZfinOAHnTON ; in cxhortando
flexanimum, principi sue acceptum, clarum, et domesticum; proceribus adamatuui, cleri delicias, civibus
et plebeii.s venerandum ; quo nee palatium regiuni, nee episcopalis sedes, nee magna civitas, nee rus
privatum, nee ha;c aitas, quicquam vidit sanctius. Hunc in tanti penurii et paucitate bonorum, pessimo
404 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. a2vo subductum, lugeo. In vultu comitas, ingenuitas in verbis, in fainiliari consuetudine humanitas et
qujEdam quasi venus habitabat. Vixit coelebs, et tamen patri, fratri, sororibus, nepotibus, neptibusque,
indulgentissinuis pater. Natales vindicat Sherbonia in agro Dorcestrensi, educationem Exoniense in
Oxoniensi academic collegium provectioris : setatis curriculum hujus ecclesiae necnon et Willingamiae de
Doe in hoc ipso comitatu rectorem, tunc Glocestrensis ecclesiae, dein Paulinae apud Londinensi decanatus.
Senectutem in niagno temporum deliquio Lincolniensis episcopatus. Sepulchrum haec Lamburnia, ubi
ad patrem collectus quiets obdormescit. Expectans beatissimam resurrectionem, obiit Sept. 19, An. Dom.
1654, jetat. lxxviii. Anima hsec in ccelos receptanon laudationem quassit, sed imitationem."
" Tell silent marble, of what and whom thou formest the funereal memorial ? The church itself — well
nigh (if God prevent not) interred with the ashes of Thomas Wynniff, doctor of divinity : a most per-
suasive preacher ; sound in doctrine ; without any sternness of countenance uttering his rebukes ; most
convincing in exhortation: in favour with his prince, honoured by him, and familiar with him : courted
by the great, the boast of the clergy, reverenced both by the citizens and the lower orders : than whom,
neither the palace of royalty, nor the episcopal bench, nor the great city, nor rural privacy, nor this age
of ours, hath ever looked on one more reverend. That such a man should be reduced by this supremely
evil age to such extreme penury and poverty, I grievously lament. From his attractive countenance, the
polish of his style, the allurements of his social intercourse, he might have been taken for a charmer of
the other sex, in the family circle. He lived, however, a bachelor ; though to his owm father, brother,
sisters, nephews and nieces, the most indulgent of parents. Sherbourne, in the county of Dorchester,
claims his birth; Exeter College, in the University of Oxford, his education: the chariot of riper age
brought him to the rectory of this church, and that of Willingale Doe, in the same county; next, to the
deanery of Gloucester ; and afterwards, that of St. Paul's, at London. The great uproar of those times
found him, on the verge of his old age, bishop of Lincoln. His tomb is here at Lambourne, where,
gathered to his fathers, he sleeps in peace, waiting for the most blessed of resurrections. He died on
the nineteenth day of the month of September, in the year of our Lord sixteen hundred and fifty-four, in
the seventy -eighth year of his age. The soul from hence received into heaven, seeks not adulation, but
imitation."
The father of the bishop was also buried in the same vault, with this inscription : " Here lyeth the
bodie of John Wynniffe, of Sherborne, in the countie of Dorsett, gent, father to Thomas Wynniffe, dean
of St. Paul's, in London, and rector of this church. He dyed on the 27th of September, A. D. 1630, of
his age, ninety-two."
Within the communion rails : H. S. E. " Thomas Took, S.T. P. hujus ecclesiae per xiv annos rectorem,
Storfordise, quae est episcoporum xxx amplius gymnasiarcha; uxorem duxit lectissimam foeminam Annam
Ric" Lydal, M.D. Gardianii, non ita pridem Mertonensis, e filiabus unam, quacum bienneo fere plus vicenis
postquam amantissime vixerat desideratissimus : tandem obiit xxiv die Mali, An. Dom. mdccxxi.
aetat, liv."
On Dr. Thomas Tooke, written by Dr. Moss, dean of Ely : " Qui pedem hue infers aeternitatis con-
templator, imprudens ne calces erudites cineres : astas ad tumulum Thomse Tooke, S. T. P. vir is lin-
guarum, artium, rerum, peritissimus ; sed praeter caetera egregi^ natus atque aptus fuit ad puerilem
aetatem plectendam et formandam fraenis calcaribusve indoli cujusque accommodatis ; ingeniorum saga-
cissimus inspector et judex, idenique lenissimus dux et moderator; in docendo tam patiens adeo non
iracundus, ut personam irati pro re natA induerit : ne disciplinae habenas nimis laxas haberet, morum
tamen cum vigilantissimus custos, tum rigidus ubi opus esset castigator et corrector; hoc quippe ma-
gistro praecipufe cavendum duxit ne discipuli sui e scholS. ac tyrocinio egressi bonas literas vitiis turpiter
inquinatas, quasi pestem ecclesiae et rei-publicee importarent. Quod ad privatas laudes prised fuit pietate
et fide, pectoris omnino aperti, candidi, honesto incocti humanitate conditi, referti benevolently, eaque
in amicos effusissiniA, officiosissimA. Vidua maercns. faciend. curavit."
In English : " O thou contemplator of eternity, that approachest this place, do not inconsiderately
HUNDRED OF ON GAR. 405
tread on learned ashes ; thou standest at the tomb of Thomas Tooke, D.D. A man of the greatest skill C H A F.
in languages, arts, and things ; but, above all, he was singularly fitted by nature to manage and form the -^'•
minds of youth, with reins or spurs suited to every disposition. He was a most sagacious inspector and
judge of genius, and also a most mild guide and master, He was so patient in teaching, so free from
passion, that he appeared angry as occasion required, without really being so. Lest the reins of discipline
should be too loose, he was, however, as well a most vigilant guardian of morals, as a rigid corrector when
needful ; — for he thought it the chief duty of a master to be careful lest his scholar, when released from
his tuition, should bring into the church and state good learning shamefully contaminated with vices,
and be thereby a plague to them. In his private character he was strictly pious and just, with a heart
perfectly open, candid, virtuous, humane, benevolent, and obliging."
Near the communion rails is buried the body of the rev. Michael Tyson, F.R.S., B.A. 1764, M.A. 1767,
B.D. 1775, only child of the rev. Michael Tyson, dean of Stamford, by his first wife, the sister of Noah
Curtis, of Walsthorp, in Lincolnshire, born in the parish of All Saints, Stamford, November 19th, 1740,
a celebrated antiquary and rector of this parish ; but there is neither stone nor inscription to record his
death and burial, Mr. Gough, in his Camden's Britannia, observes, " At the foot of the bishop's tomb
was laid, May 6th, 1780, a friend to whose pencil and taste these sheets would have been much indebted,
had he not been cut off in the early enjoyment of all his wishes."
In the centre window of the chancel, and over the communion table, is a beautiful figure of Faith, with
a cross in her hand, after the design by sir Joshua Reynolds, knt. for the window of " New College Chapel,
Oxford;" and on a marble tablet is this inscription: "Underneath the chancel of this church re-
poseth all that was mortal of Judith, dowager lady Rous, the daughter and heiress of John Bedingfield, esq.
of Beeston, in Norfolk, and wife of the rev. F.dward Lockwood, of Dews Hall, in this parish and county.
In 1749 she married, first, sir John Rous, bart. of Henham Hall, Suffolk, who deceased October 31st, 1771,
and by him was the mother of John, the present lord Rous; second, of Frances, the late wife of sir
Henry Peyton, bart. ; and third, of Louisa Judith, wife of John Birch, esq. By her second husband, to
whom she was married November 3d, 1772, she left no issue, and died in Portman- square, London, Sep-
tember the 10th, 1794, aged sixty-four years. Near unto her are likewise deposited the remains of the
rev. Edward Lockwood, A.M. third son of Richard Lockwood and of Matilda Vernon, rector of Hanwell,
in Oxfordshire, and of St. Peter's, in the town of Northampton, who died January the 22d, 1802, in the
eighty- second year of his age. His second son, Edward Lockwood Percival, esq. having sustained, with
the resignation and fortitude which became him as a Christian and as a man, the protracted sufferings of
a severe and painful illness, departed this life on July 6th, 1804. June 15th, 1790, he married Louisa
Bridget, the second daughter of the late lord George Manners Sutton, of Kelham, in the county of Not-
tingham, youngest son of John, the third duke of Rutland, and by her, who died February 5th, 1800, left
four surviving children, viz, Edward, George Harvey, Louisa Elizabeth, and Frances Lucy. Whereof,
George Harvey, born February 1st, 1793, captain in his Majesty's Coldstream regiment of foot guards, fol-
lowed his excellent parents, on November the 11th, 1815, and was interred with his father and grandfather
in the vault of his family in the chancel. He was not more respected in the public duties of his profession,
than respectable and beloved in the endearing intercourse of domestic life. Those who knew him best
will bear the readiest testimony to the merits of his character, and will join with his sorrowing relations
in deploring their early and untimely loss."
On a mural monument of white marble : H. S. E. " Cum conjuge charissimS, Johannes Tooke, .A.M.
theologus eruditus, concionator gravis, pastor vigilans, quam sedulus et fidus fuerit proeceptor, quam in
discernendis ingeniis sagax, quam in erudiendis et excolendis fa;lix, testatur cum hoc comitatu utraque
academia scholam Stortfordiensem fraternA primiim oper^ adjustus delude solus ad tantam cclebritatem
ex humili statu evexit ut scholarum ilia maxima illustrium gloriam aemularetur, et recti cultus ex illo
fonte derivati lateque fusi ssculo se profecerint uxorem duxit Susannam Roberti Taylor, gen« filiam ex
■qu^ filios suscepit tres Thomam, Johannem, et Robertum, filiam unicam Susannam. Thomas septcnnis
VOL. II. 3 G
406 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. luortuus Slortfordiae sepultus est, hie cum parentibus requiescit Johannes, S. T. B. vir si quia aliui*
simplex, apertus, candidus, comis, facilis, facetus, ita vero facetiis deditus, ut seria et sacra non negli-
eeret, delectare et delectari piomptns, amicos sociorum caetus indole ductus celebrarit libenter tamen et
utiliter potuit esse solus. Erat enim eo usque consortii convivalis appetens, ut esset siraul librorum
literarumque studiosus omnibus humaniter amicis amicissime.
H. S. E. " In this tomb lies, with his beloved wife, John Tooke, A.M. a learned theologian, an im-
pressive preacher, a vigilant pastor. How attentive and faithful a preceptor he was, how skilful in dis-
covering the natural bent of the minds of his pupils, and how fortunate in teaching and cultivating them,
not only this countv, but either University will bear witness. The school at Stortford having first settled,
with attentive assiduity, he afterwards raised from a low condition to so great celebrity, that it emulated
the glory of the most illustrious schools ; and true learning, derived from this foundation, and spread
widely abroad, gave a character to the age. He married Susanna, the daughter of Robert Taylor, gent,
bv whom he had three sons, Thomas, John, Robert, and one daughter, Susanna. Thomas died at the age
of seven, and was buried at Stortford. Here with his parents rests John Tooke, S. T. B. a man of plain
integrity; candid, polite, and condescending: in conversation facetious, but, when required, never for-
getful of seriousness and propriety : prompt both to please and to be pleased ; though fond of the society
of his friends, yet at proper times he could be alone. For he was just so far a lover of convivial sociality,
as to be at once studious of books and literature, with politeness to eveiT one, and afFection to his friends."
Underneath is the following : " Fratre diu convictori amantissimo amantissim^ utebatur, ea denique
fuit illi hilaritas morumque suavitas quae consuetudinem ejus reddidit exoptatissimum quapropter et
dilectus vixit et desideratus decessit hoc pietatis et amoris sui monumentum poni curavit Robertus,
Jiliorum natu minimus suas etiam mortales exuvias huic sepulchro olim mandaturus. Pater obiit Nov. 6,
An. Dom. 1745, aet. sixty-seven. Mater ob. Mar. 17, 1749, aitat. seventy-two. Frater ob. Nov. 18, 1764,
JEtat. fifty-seven."
Translation : '•' With his loving brother, who was long his companion, he lived most affectionately.
Such in fine was his hilarity and sweetness of manners, as to render his company most desirable, where-
fore he was, whilst ali%e, beloved, when dead, regretted. This monument of his affection and love was
erected by Robert, his youngest son, whose mortal remains are hereafter also to be deposited in the same
tomb."
On the floor, with numerous effigies of children, the offspring of the deceased : " Of your charyte pray
for the soules of Robert Barefoot, cytezyn and mercer of London, and Katheryne hys wyff; whyche Robert
decessy'd the xxii day of June, 1546, on whose soules ye Lord Jhu have mercy."
In the chancel, upon a pyramid of white and veined marble : " Near this place lye the remains of Mrs.
Matilda Lockwood. daughter of George Vernon, esq. of SudbuiT, in Derbyshire, by Catherine, daughter
of sir Thomas Vernon, km. and wife of Richard Lockwood, esq. of Dews Hall, in this parish, with whom
she lived, in all conjugal affection, thirty-one years, and had a numerous offspring, of which five sons
and two daughters are now living. To her husband she endeared herself by every act of kindness and
condescension ; to her children by an attentive impartial care of them, with a prudent, not indulgent,
tenderness. To her relations she was respectful. With her friends remarkably cheerful, open, and
sincere ; to all mankind affable ; to her inferiors very obliging : and by all who knew her, whether near
or at a distance, she was esteemed one of the most amiable and best of women ; for she had all the
advantages of a natural charming temper, accomplished behaviour, and good understanding, that could
adorn this life ; and all the inward blessings of Christian virtue and piety which might entitle her to a
better. She died November the 25th, in the year of our Lord 1743, and the fifty-fourth of her age, to
whose memory her loving and mournful husband put up this marble as the last tribute of his esteem."
Beneath which is the following : " Be it sacred, likewise, to the memory of Richard Lockwood, esq.
second son of Richard Lockwood, esq. of Gayton, in Northamptonshire, by Susannah, daughter and sole
heiress of Edward Cutts, esq." Early in life he went to Turkey to improve his fortune ; but his elder
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 407
brother dying, to whose estate he was heir, he returned to England, and, being of an active disposition, c H A F.
not only carried on an extensive traffic for some years, but, being chosen into several parliaments, gave XI.
a constant attendance, serving his country and constituents with an untainted integrity and unshaken
firmness. In the decline of life, thinking himself incapable of doing his country any further service, he
retired from the fatigues of business to his seat at Dews Hall, and passed the last scene of his life in a
cheerful enjoyment of his family and friends, and a truly religious service of his God. Thus prepared,
he arrived at that period of life which, at best, is but labour and sorrow, and, by a gradual decay, expired
on the 31st day of August, 175fi, in the seventy-eighth year of his age."
On the other side of the north window of the chancel, and on the same wall, is a monument of white
marble ; in the upper part of which is a representation of Hope, with an anchor attached to her left hand,
and her right reclining upon an urn, in alto relievo ; executed by the late Joseph Wilton, esq. sculptor
to his late majesty, king George the third, and the Royal Academy. (The rev, Michael Tyson, F. R. S.
rector of Lambourne, in a letter to Richard Gough, esq. vide NichoVs Literary Anecdotes, 8vo. vol. viii.
page 637, of November 15th, 1778, writes : " One of the most elegant modern monuments I ever saw was
last week put up in my church for a Lock wood — a figure of Hope leaning on an antique urn, in alto
relievo, by Wilton. Mark— I had ten guineas for allowing it a place.") On the urn is a shield. Lock-
wood impaling Conyers, and this inscription on the base : " Near this place are interred the remains of
John Lockwood, esq. second son of Richard Lockwood, of Dews Hall, in this county. He married
Matilda, second daughter of Edward Conyers, esquire, of Copt Hall, in Essex, by whom he had a daughter,
Matilda, born April 8th, 1763, now living. This memorial was erected by his afflicted widow, in the
year of our Lord 1778."
" In the same vault are since deposited the remains of the above-mentioned Matilda Lockwood, widow;
who, surviving her husband upwards of sixteen years, died June 3d, 1793, in the sixty-seventh year of
her age."
Opposite to this last is a monument of a pyramidal form, on the summit of which is a shield, Lock-
wood impaling Vernon, and this inscription : — " Sacred to the memory of Anna Catherina, wife of Richard
Lockwood, esq. of Dews Hall, in this parish. She died on May 31st, 1757, aged forty-seven years. In the
same vault are interred the remains of the aforesaid Richard Lockwood, esq. who died on March 25th,
1797, aged eighty-four years."
In the large window on the right, adjoining the chancel, on a marble tablet : — " To the affectionately
beloved and truly honoured memory of Matilda Lockwood Maydwell, who, in the bloom of youth, resigned
herself to her God, on the 22d of March, A.D. ISOO. And to her infant daughter, aged three weeks and
two days, the much-afflicted husband and father erects this small token of his sincere regard. ' The Lord
gave — the Lord hath taken away, but blessed be the name of the Lord.' "
Against the south wall of the nave, on a beautiful block of alabaster, surmounted with a classically
decorated lamp of the same materials, is the following inscription : " Sacred to the memory of Matilda
Catherine Lockwood, daughter of the late rev. Edward Lockwood, of Dews Hall, in this parish, who died
on the 2Cth day of March, 1832, atat. seventy-four. ' Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.'
This tablet was erected as a testimony of affection by her nephew and niece, Edward and Frances Lock-
wood Percival." An urn in front bears the arms of Lockwood impaling Maydwell and Lockwood.
Between the pulpit and chancel : " Here lyes interred ye body of Robert Blomfeild, gout, who dyed on
ye 31 St of August, in the yeare of our Lord 1602. And also of his three grandsons ; of whom John was
interred January ye 23d, 1612; Thomas was buried Apr. ye 7th, 1644 : and also Mr. John Blomfeild was
buried Dec. ye 15th, 1687. These three last were the sonnes of Mr. John Blomfeild, gent."
On the southern wall, on an urn of white marble: " In memory of Mrs. Mary Mitchell, wiio dei)arte(l
this life, August 13th, 1788, aged fifty-two years."
In a vault in the church-yard, near the eastern extremity of the church, under a square tomb, encircled
by iron rails, have been deposited the bodies of admiral sir Edward Hughes, knight of the bath, and lady
408 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK H. Rutli Hughes, his wife; and of her sons by her first husband, viz. Captain Henry Ball, R.N. and David
Ball, esq. of Bi.shops Hall. Sir Edward died on the 17th of Jan. 1794, aged seventy- seven. The lady Ruth
Hughes died Sept. 30, 1800, aged sixty-nine; David Ball, esq. died the 17th of August, 1798, aged thirty-
eight; captain Henry Ball, died August the 6th, 1792, aged thirty-eight. The interest of one hundred
pounds, three per cent, bank annuities, is left for ever to the heir of this family, for keeping in good re-
pair " this vault tomb, and drains, of the late sir Edward Hughes, knight of the bath."
On a tomb, near the west end of the church, under the expanded branches of a venerable oak : " Here
lyeth the remains of Mr. John Taylor, (late of Lambourne Hall, in this parish,) who died on March 28th,
1806, aged thirty-seven years."
Sir Edvv. gjj. Edyvard Hug-hes, knight of the bath, admiral of the blue squadron of his Ma-
jesty's fleet, served in the navy for upwards of half a century. He was made a lieute-
nant for his services at the capture of Porto Bello, Nov. 22, A.D. 1739, by admiral
Vernon, under whom he served; as, subsequently, under admiral Boscawen, at the
taking- of Louisbourg, July 26th, A.D. 1758; and with sir Charles Saunders at the
capture of Quebec, Sept. 18th, 1759. As an admiral, lie was commander-in-chief in
the East Indies during the American war, and supported the honour of his country in
several actions with an active enemy, commanded by admiral SufFrein, to whom he
was always inferior in the number of ships, particularly in the actions of the 17th Fe-
bruary, and ofi" Trincomalee, April 12th, and those of the 6th of July and the 3d of
September, 1782. In private life, the goodness of his heart prompted him to acts of
benevolence,* which, though not ostentatious in themselves, will remain recorded in
the memories of many. He departed this life at his seat, Luxborough House, in
Chigwell, full of years and honour.
STAPLEFORD ABBOTS.
Staple- Two parishes, bearing the Saxon name of Sraplepojib, are separated from each
bots. " other by the river Rodon; this name is applied to a ford over a river, made conve-
* The greater part of the road leading from Lambourne End to the Vicarage Lane, Chigwell, and over
Chigwell Row, was commenced and perfected at his sole expense.
Charita- Thomas Barefoot, of Lambourne Hall, gent, by his last will, in 1590, gave six shillings and eight pence,
ble bene- to be paid yearly at Michaelmas to the poor of Lambourne, out of the profits of a piece of land, called Syms
Croft, in this parish ; (now paid by E. L. Percival, esq. the present lord of the manor.) — Mr. John Brom-
field, who died on the 1 5th of December, 1687, bequeathed the sum of ten shillings per annum, out of the
farm called Priors, payable on the first of January, for the use of the parish of Lambourne; (now paid by
sir John Smijth, hart, the present owner of this estate.) — Richard Lockwood, esq. in 1736, presented a
silver flaggon for the communion service. — There has also been devised, for the repairs, decoration, and
ornament of the church of this parish, a house called the Church House, at Lambourne End, aud two
fields of mowing land, in the whole consisting of four acres, and of the value of eighteen pounds per an-
num.—Also two pieces of land in the Common Mead of Theydon Bois, of the annual value of two pounds
and upwards. — N.B. The lents of the said house and two parcels of land have always been received by the
churchwarden, and accounted for by him. — There are at Abridge some cottages or tenements for the use
of the poor of this parish, disposed of according to the orders of the vestry.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR.
409
nient for foot-passengers, with piles or stepples, and was what might probably have CHAP,
been found here useful and necessary. Stapleford Abbots has received its distin- ^-•
guishing appellation from having belonged to the abbot and convent of St. Edmund's-
bury, in Suffolk, to which it had been given by the lord of this manor : and this gift is
traditionally recorded to have been conferred in consequence of an occurrence which
took place in 1010, when the body of St. Edmund the martyr^ having been removed
from BederichesAvorth (afterwards St. Edmund's-bury) to London, because the Danes
infested that part of the country, was, three years afterwards, brought back again, and
resting here on its way, the lord of this manor received it into his house. He is said
to have been at that time confined to his bed by a languishing sickness, but, as a re-
ward for this pious act, was miraculously restored to perfect health, and as a token of
gratitude, gave this estate to the abbey.
The labouring part of the population live in pleasant cottages, generally at a consi-
derable distance from each other, and there is everywhere an appearance of health
and cheerfulness. Distant from Romford six, and from London fourteen miles. There
are three manors.
The mansion of the capital manor of Stapleford Hall, or Stapleford Regis, is a Staple-
short distance south from the church : having belonged to St. Edmund's-bury before ^^
the Conquest, it had retained possession of it at the survey; and they had the privi-
lege, as at Harlow, of being exempt from the regarders of the forest. This estate,
in 1540, on the dissolution of monasteries, was granted to John Maynard; who had
with it the advowson of the church, and Haman's Grove. Again passing to the crown,
it was on that account named Stapleford-Regis; Grace, lady Carteret and countess of
Granville, held it by grant or lease till her death, in 1774; from whom it descended
to her son, the earl of Granville: now in the possession of George Ffitch, esq. son of
William Fiitch, who also had this estate.
The manor-house of Batayles, or Batail's Hall, is a quarter of a mile from the Batayle.
church, westward; the estate was in possession of five freemen in the time of the
Saxons, and at the survey belonged to Robert Gernon, surnamed Montfichet; in 1165
it appears to have been holden under him by Richard Battaile, whose son, William
de Bataile, gave and confirmed all the tithes of his lordship of Stapleford, to the
priory of the Holy Trinity, in London; except an acre of wheat, and an acre of oats,
which anciently were divided between the churches of Stapleford and Lamboui-n.
Also, he gave them the tithes of his assart lands in those parishes to pray for the
health of his soul, &c. And he made this grant, by laying a gold ring on the altar of
the said church of the Holy Trinity: he calls it his gift, yet owns it Avas granted by
Harvey Bataille, his great grandfather. This deed had a seal of green wax, with the
figure of a large bird; its Avings expanded.
Simon de Bataile, the next recorded possessor, was succeeded by his son, sir
410 HISTORY OF ESSEX,
BOOK II. Richard de Bataile, who married Katherine, daughter and heiress of sir Andrew le
Blund, lord of Tendring-, by whom he had two daughters, his co-heiresses; Mar-
gery was married to sir WilHam de Sutton, who, in her right, held these estates, in
1302, of Giles de Plaiz, a descendant of William de Montfichet; and it continued in
the Sutton family till it was conveyed by Margery, daughter and heiress of the last
sir John de Sutton, to her husband, John Walton, esq., by whom she had John Wal-
ton, esq. the father of Richard and Joan; Richard de Walton, esq. held this manor of
sir John Howard, and dying in 1408, was succeeded by his sister Joan, married to sir
John Howard, jun. eldest son of the above-mentioned sir John, by Margaret, heiress
of the Plaiz family; he died in 1424, leaving Elizabeth, his only daughter and heiress,
afterwards married to John de Vere, the twelfth earl of Oxford: who being beheaded
for his loyalty to king Henry the sixth, in 1461, this and his other estates were for-
feited; but restored to his grandson John, the thirteenth earl of Oxford, who died
possessed of it, in 1572, as did John, the fourteenth earl, in 1526, both holding it of
the abbot of St. Osyth. The family of Smith is traditionally reported to have
possessed this estate; in 1557, Thomas Smith presented to the living; and Philip
Smith, esq. according to Holraan, held his first court here, in 1583. In 1590,
Ann Waller died, holding, as is supposed, this estate, described as two parts of the
manor of Batteshall; but having no heirs, it passed to the crown. In 1612, it
had become the property of Richard Wiseman, esq. and afterwards was in the
possession of Carew Hervey Mildmay, esq. of Marks ; and is now the property of
lady Mildmay.
Albins. The manor of Albins is partly in this parish, and partly in Navestock; the mansion
is in Stapleford, and is an ancient building, supposed to have been erected from a
design of Inigo Jones: it was completely repaired in the last century by Sir John
Abdy, who has very judiciously preserved the original style of architecture. It is
inclosed in a park.
The estate of Albins was made part of the endowment of a chantry founded in
Wivenhoe church, in 1413, by Robert Newport, John Tyrell, Ralph Chamberleyn,
and others. On the dissolution of monasteries, it was holden on lease of the crown,
in 1545, by William Luter; and afterwards was ordered to be let to John Smithe:
but in 1548, it was granted, by Edward the sixth, with other estates belonging to the
chantries in Wivenhoe, to Walter Cely; whose son George conveyed it, in 1569, to
George Wiseman, and Mary his wife; when it became the property of WilHam Ffitche,
esq. who died in 1578 ; afterwards it belonged to sir John Wood, knt. clerk of the
signet, who, on his decease in 1610, left it to his daughters, lady Magdalen, wife of sir
Thomas Edmonds; Ann Wood; and Thomas Clarke, esq. his grandson by his
daughter Mary. Lady Magdalen dying in 1614, her husband is supposed to have
enjoyed this estate till his decease in 1639: he was employed in several important
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 411
embassies and negotiations, by queen Elizabeth and king James the first, and consti- chap.
tuted treasurer of the household.* By his lady, he had sir Henry Edmonds, knight ^^'
of the bath, who died without issue in 1635; Isabel, married to Henry, lord Delawar;
Mary, married to Robert Mildmay, grandfather of Benjamin, earl Fitzwalter; and
Louisa. Albins was purchased of these co-heiresses, by Anthony Abdy, esq. whose
descendants have retained possession of it to the present time.f
* See his life in Biographia Britannica.
t The family of Abdy were seated at Abdy House, in the hamlet of that name, in the parish of Waith, Abdy
near Barnesley, in Yorkshire, in 1432, the eleventh of Henry the sixth: how long previous to that time " ^'
they had been there, is not known. Richard Abdy married Mrs. Joan Musgrave, by whom he had Robert
Abdy, esq. of Abdy ; who marrying Mrs. Eleanor Metcalf, had Robert, who by his wife, Joan Norrcys, was
the father of Thomas Abdy, esq. of Abdy ; who married Cicely, daughter of William Tijas, of Yorkshire,
by whom he had Roger Abdy, merchant, of London, who married Mary, daughter of Richard White, esq.
of Hutton Hall, in Essex, and died in 159-5, leaving Edmund and Anthony; Edmund Abdy marrying Ju-
dith, daughter of sir Christopher Yelverton, judge of the Common Pleas, had his only son, sir Christo-
pher Abdy, who married the youngest daughter of sir Herbert Croft, of Suffolk. Anthony Abdy, esq. the
younger son of Roger Abdy, was alderman of London, and one of its sheriffs in 1630: he purchased the
estate of Albins, in Essex, and died in 1640, leaving by Abigail, daughter of sir Thomas Campbell, knight
and alderman of London, besides other children, first, Thomas ; second, sir Robert of Albins, in Essex,
created a baronet in 1660, which title became extinct in 1759; third, sir John Abdy, of Moor, in Salcot
Verley, in Essex, created a baronet in 16G0, which title has become extinct. Alice, one of the daughters
of Anthony Abdy, was married to sir John Bramston, knight of the bath, and Thomas Abdy, esq. the eldest
son, of Felix Hall, in Essex, was created a baronet in 1641. Sir Thomas married, first, Mary, daughter of
Lucas Corsellis, merchant, of London, by whom he had James, who died an infant; Rachel, wife of Philip
Gurdon, esq. of Assingdon Hall, in Suffolk; and Abigail, wife of sir Mark Guion, knight: secondly, sir
Thomas married Anne, daughter of sir Thomas Soame, knight, alderman of London, by whom he had sir
Anthony, his successor; Thomas, who died in 1697; William, who died in 1682 ; Sarah, who died an in-
fant; Anna, who died in 16S2, unmarried; Mary, wife of Wentworth Garneys, esq. of Boyland Hall, in
Norfolk; Joanna, who died in 1710; Alice, wife of William Stane, esq. of Forest Hall, in Essex; and
Judith, who died an infant. Sir Thomas died in 1685, and was buried in Kelvedon church. Sir Anthony
Abdy, the second baronet, married Mary, only daughter and heiress of Richard Milward, D.D. rector of
Great Braxted, and canon of Windsor, (by Mary, daughter of sir Anthony Thomas, of Cobham, in Surrey,
by Mary, daughter of sir William AylofF, of Great Braxted,) by whom he had Thomas, who died an infant ;
sir Anthony Thomas, his successor; sir William; Charles, Richard, Mary, Anne, Joanna, Elizabeth, Ra-
chel, and Margaret. Sir Anthony died in 1704, and was buried near his father, in Kelvedon church. Sir
Anthony Thomas Abdy, the third baronet, married, first, Mary, daughter and co-heiress of Hope Gilford,
esq. of Colchester, by whom he had no issue: he married, secondly, Charlotte, daughter of sir Thomas
Barnardiston, hart, of Kenton or Kedington, in Sufl"ulk, by whom he had Charlotte, wife of John Wil-
liams, esq. second son of sir John Williams, knight, of Tendering Hall, who rebuilt Felix Hall in an ele-
gant manner, and, having procured an Act of Parliament for that purpose, in 1761, sold it to Daniel Mat-
thews, esq. His second daughter was Elizabeth, married to Thomas Reeves, esq. of Dorsetshire. Sir
Anthony Thomas married, thirdly, Anne, daughter of Thomas Williams, esq. of Tendering Hall, in Suffolk,
by whom he had no issue : he died in 173,3, and was succeeded by his next brother, sir William Abdy, the
fourth baronet, who seated himself at Cobham, in Surrey, and married the daughter and sole heiress of
Philip Stotherd, esq. of Terling, in Essex, by whom he had Anthony Thomas, his successor; the rev.
Stotherd, who married, first, Theodosia, youngest daughter of sir Robert Abdy, bart. of Albins ; se-
412 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
nOOK II. Knowle, or Knowle's Hill, is a mile distant south-westward from the church.
j~^ Part of the stately mansion belonging to this estate is now a farm-house. It is
charmingly situated in a very unequal, hilly, and beautiful district. The celebrated
Henry Spencer, bishop of Norwich, had formerly a seat here, and the remains of a
moat in an adjacent wood, bears the name of the " Bishop's moat;" which is tradition-
ally reported to have been paved with marble : most of the lands of this estate are in
Lambourne. In the reign of queen Elizabeth, it belonged to the family of Stonard,
of Louo-hton, and many of them are buried in this church : Francis Stonard, who
married Lucy, daughter of sir Clement Higham, chief baron of the exchequer, held
this and other estates here, and was succeeded by his son Clement, who died in 1612,*
leavino-, by his wife Mabel, daughter of Roger Herlakenden, Francis Stonard, or
Stoner, his heir, who married Anne, or Jane, daughter of Edward Bacon, esq. of
Codenham, in Suffolk: their daughter and heiress Amy, married to George Waldron,f
esq. conveyed to him this estate: he died in 1690, and his wife in 1712, aged eighty-
six: her epitaph styles her the last surviving child of Francis Stonard, esq. of Knowle's
Hill: their only son George, a student in Christ's College, Cambridge, died in 1681,
aged seventeen ;% sir John Fortescue, lord of the capital manor in Lambourne, pur-
condly, he married Harriet, youngest daughter of Peyton Altham, esq. of Mark Hall, near Harlow, in
Essex, and died in 1773, without issue; the third son was sir William; sir William, the fourth baronet,
had also a daughter, wife of Dr. Rutherford, regius professor of divinity in Cambridge, and archdeacon
of Essex, who died in 1771, leaving a son, Thomas, who, on the death of his uncle, sir Anthony Thomas,
in 1775, succeeded to his estate, and took his name. He married Mary, daughter of James Hayes, esq. a
bencher of the Middle Temple and a Welch judge, by whom he had nine children : first, John Rutherford
Abdy, esq. of Albins, in Essex, who married Caroline Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of James Hatch, of
Claybury, in Essex, esq. ; second, Anthony Thomas ; third, Charlotte Ann, ob. s. p. ; fourth, rev. Charles
Boyd Abdy, rector of Theydon Gernon, in the county of Essex ; fifth, Margaret, ob. ; sixth, James Nicho-
las Abdy ; seventh, Edward Strutt Abdy; eighth, Mary; and, ninth, Caroline. He died in 1798, and
was succeeded by his son, John Rutherford Abdy, who married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of James
Hatch, esq. Sir William died in 1750. Sir Anthony Thomas, the fifth baronet, was one of the king's
council, and twice member of parliament for the borough of Knaresborough, in Yorkshire ; he married
Katharine, daughter and co-heiress of Hamilton, esq. of Chancery-lane, London, and dying, in 1775,
without issue, was succeeded by his brother, sir William Abdy, the sixth baronet, who pursued the naval
profession, and rose to the rank of captain. He married Mary, daughter of Gordon, esq. of Moor
Place, in Hertfordshire, by whom he had sir William Abdy, his successor; Katharine Mary; Charlotte
Anne; and Harriet. Sir William died July 21st, 1803. Sir William, the seventh and present baronet,
married, June the 3d, 1806, Anne, eldest daughter of Richard, marquis Wellesley, K.P. and K.C. ; creation
July 7, 1611. Arms of Abdy: Or, two chevronels between three trefoils, sable. Crest : An eagle's head
erased proper.
* He also held in this parish and Lambourne, a messuage and lands called Wrights, or Dallons ;
Shepherds Croft, Little Sawyers, and Little Stanes, Great and Little Perry fields, and Busliie Croft; Black
Croft, Sedwyne, the Mote and Mote Grove, Barne Fields, and Wheelers Ridden.
t The arms of Waldron on this monument are : Three bulls' heads, caboshed.
X The arms of Stonard, on a monument in this church, are : Azure, two bars dancettee or, on a chief
argent a crescent gules.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 413
chased this seat, and making extensive improvements, came and resided here: well CHAF.
executed portraits of the family are yet to be seen in one of the rooms of the house. "
The present owner of this estate is Edward Lockwood Percival, esq. of Lamhourne.*
The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is of one pace and equal breadth with the Church.
chancel; a neat gallery has been erected at the west end, and the whole building is
in good repair.
A chapel on the north of the chancel is the burial place of the Abdy family.
The monastery of St. Edmundsbury retained this rectory till the dissolution, when
it was granted, with the manor, to John Maynard, supposed for a term of years, for
it was, in 1560, again vested in the crown, which has retained possession to the pre-
sent time. It has thirty acres of glebe lands.
The parsonage house was rebuilt by the rev. William Gould, the incumbent
in leOT.f
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to four hundred and fifty-eight,
and, in 1831, to live hundred and seven.
* An endowed charity-school, near the house, bears this inscription : " Glory to God : Knolls Hill free- Knolls
school, for teaching poor children to read and write, erected and endowed at the sole expense of sir school.
John Fortescue, of Knoll Hill, in this parish, knt., formerly solicitor-general to king George the first,
sometime baron of the Exchequer; afterwards a judge of the King's Bench, and one of his majesty's
judges of the Common Pleas; doctor of laws, and fellow of the Royal Society in the year of our Lord
Christ, \1Z^, in the reign of the same most excellent prince." Forty children are taught on the free
system.
t An elegant marble monument in the chancel bears the following : " Sacred to the memory of sir Inscrip-
John Abdy, bart. late of Albyns, in this parish, descended from a race of virtuous ancestors; of whom
was Anthony Abdy, esq. alderman of London. He was succeeded by his second son, sir Robert Abdy,
bart. who married Katharine, daughter of sir John Gayer, knt. by whom he had issue twelve children.
Sir John Abdy, bart. his eldest son, married .lane, only daughter of George Nicholas, esq. younger son of
that truly loyal and faithful servant of the crown, sir Edward Nicholas, principal secretary of state in the
reigns of king Charles the first and second. The singular merit of this lady deserves to be particularly
mentioned, who, left a widow in the twenty-fifth year of her age, was not more distinguished for her
piety and charity, than for her rejecting every offer of a second marriage, from a real maternal affection
to her children. She, with her husband, lies buried in the vault belonging to this family : where are
deposited also the remains of sir Robert Abdy, bart. their only son ; and their eldest daughter, Anne,
who in imitation of her much valued parents, spent her life in the practice of every Christian duty. Jane,
their youngest daughter, is now living. Sir Robert Abdy, bart. married Theodosia, only daughter and
heiress of George Bramston, doctor of laws, by whom he had issue Jane, John, Robert, and Theodosia.
Jane and Robert died young -. Theodosia married the rev. Stotherd Abdy, iM.A. rector of Theydon Gernon,
in this county, and died Feb. 20, 17.58, and was here interred. Sir John Abdy, bart. the eldest son, died
on April 1, 1759. He inherited the good qualities of his excellent father, whose unshaken integrity, deep
knowledge in antiquity, and great humanity, gained him universal love and esteem. The said sir John
Abdy and his father were successively the representatives of this county in five parliaments, where they
distinguished themselves by the most disinterested attachment, and steady adherence to the true interest
of their country. Sir John Abdy, bart. settled the inheritance of his estate on the posterity of his
ancestor, the above-mentioned Anthony Abdy, esq. but bequeathed it for life to his aunt Jane, tiie betore-
VOL. II. 3 H
414 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
STAPLEFORD TANY.
Staple- The family of Tany had considerable possessions in this county, besides the capital
" ''^"J- manor of this parish, where many of them resided, and have left their name, which
has been retained as its distinguishing appellation. This small parish is thinly inha-
bited, the only business attended to being that of husbandry: it extends from Theydon
Mount to the river Rodon, and is intersected by the road from Ongar to London,
from which city it is distant fifteen miles.
Before the Conquest, the lands of this parish belonged to Godric; and, at the
survey, were in the possession of Suene, of Essex, whose under-tenant was Siric.
And Robert (supposed Gernon) who had an estate in the other Stapleford, held one
hide here, given to him by the Conqueror. On account of its belonging to Suene,
who was lord of Raleigh, it was afterwards holden of that honour.
Staple- "pjjg mansion of the capital manor is southward from the church, and not far distant:
Hall. ■ this estate was one of the eight knights' fees held by Richard Fitz- William, in the
time of Henry the second and Richard the first; William Fitz- Richard, his son, held
two carucates here in 1260. His daughter and heiress, Mai'gery, was married to sir
Richard de Tany, to whom she conveyed this estate, which he held at the time of his
death in 1270, or 1271. He was grandson of sir Peter de Tany, sherifi" of Essex and
Hertfordshire in 1236, 1237, 1238, and 1239, and son of John de Tany, who gave
the manor of Theydon Bois to Waltham Abbey, to the conveyance of which this sir
Richard was a witness. He was sheriff of the two counties in 1260, in which he
was made keeper of the peace in 1263, and governor of Hadleigh Castle in 1268 ;
and he obtained a licence to empark his wood in Stapleford, within the forest: he
was succeeded by his son Richard, who died in 1296, and left his son Roger, or
Robert de Tany, or Thany, whose son Laurence succeeded on his father's death in
1301; he was married, but had no issue,* and his sister Margaret became his heiress,
■ on his death in 1317. She was the wife of John de Drokensford, who, in her right,
presented to this living in 1321, and had free warren in all her lands in Essex: he had
also West Horndon. Thomas de Drokensford, their son, died in 1361, leaving Anne,
his only daughter and heiress, afterwards married to Thomas, son and heir of sir
Thomas Mandeville, of Black Notley, avIio presented to this living, as sir Thomas
Mandeville, in 1370, and 1373; his son sir Thomas, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter
named Jane, widow of the rev. Edward Cranke, M.A. rector of Hatford, in Berks, who, out of true affec-
tion and esteem, caused this monument to be erected."
On the ground is the following : " Here lies the body of John Fortescue, esq. barrister-at-law, eldest
.son of sir John Fortescue, of Nolls Hill, in this parish, knt. one of the judges of the court of Common
Pleas, who died at Tours, in France, and was brought over hither out of a Popish country for a decent
Protestant burial. He died at Tours aforesaid, on the 9th Dec. new style, aged thirty-one, 1743."
* His wife's name was Margaret, married, after his death, to sir Thomas de Weston.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 415
of sir Wanton, had Thomas, Joan, and Alice. Thomas died before his father, chap,
in 1499, under age, unmarried; and was succeeded in this and other estates by his ■^''
sisters, co-heiresses. Joan was married to John Barry, by whom she had John, who
died without issue, and Joan, who was married to a Lombard, named Frankanel, who
had by her Raphael and Daniel. After his father's death, Raphael would have entered
on the manor of Stapleford, but Clement Spice, great grandson of Alice Mandeville,
filed a bill in chancery against him ; in consequence of which, the said Alice had this
estate. Her first husband was Helmingius, or Elmyn Leget, or Legat, sheriff of
Hertfordshire and Essex in 1401 and 1408; by whom she had her son Thomas, who
was eighteen years of age at the time of her decease, which is all that is known re-
lating to him. Her second husband was Richard Spice, by whom, on her death in
1420, she left her son, Roger Spice, who succeeded to this inheritance, and presented
to the church from 1431 to 1452; he died in 1459, and was buried in Black Notley
church. His son and heir, Clement Spice, in 1485, sold this manor, with the
advowson of the church, to William Scott, esq. who died in 1491; and with Margery
his wife, who died in 1505, is buried in this church: he was succeeded in this estate
by John Scott, esq. sen.; Thomas, his second son; Walter, who died in 1550;
Roger, his son, who died in 1586; George, eldest son of Roger, died in 1588, at the
age of twenty-nine, leaving Elizabeth and Mary very young, his co-heiresses. Eliza-
beth, the eldest daughter, conveyed this estate to her husband, sir Edward Alleyn,
bart. of Hatfield Priory, sheriff" of Essex in 1629; their offspring were Edmund,
George, Robert, John, and Dorothea, who died unmarried; Martha, married to the
rev. Joshua Blower ; and Mary, the wife of Robert Clive, esq. Sir Edward died in
1638, Edmund, his eldest son, having died before him, in 1633, leaving, by Mary his
wife, daughter of Nicholas Miller, esq. of Wrotham, in Kent, an infant named
Edmund; and Elizabeth, married, first, to John Robinson, esq. of Denston Hall, in
Suffolk, and secondly, to sir William Jones, knt. attorney-general to king Charles
the second. Sir Edmund Alleyn succeeded his grandfather in title and estate, and
married Frances, only daughter and heiress of Thomas Gent, esq. of Moynes, in
Steeple Bumpsted, and had by her Edmund, Frances, and Arabella, of whom the last
was born in 1655, and, on the death of her brother, sir Edmund, in 1656, and his
lady in 1657, without surviving offspring, became sole heiress to the very considerable
family estates. She was married, first, to Francis Thompson, esq. of Hambleton, in
Yoi'kshire, and had by him William Thompson, esq.: her second husband was the
hon. lord George Howard, eldest son of Henry, duke of Norfolk, by Jane Bickerton,
his second wife. She died in 1746, having previously, in 1716, sold this estate to sir
Edward Smijth, bart. of Hill Hall, whose descendants have retained possession of it
to the present time.
The manor of Suttons is in the southern part of the parish, near Passingford-bridge, Suttons.
416 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. a mile south-east from the church. It is supposed to have been taken from the capital
manor, and is not mentioned in records till 1474, when it was said to be holden of
Clement Spice, by Constance,* widow of sir John Stafford, late earl of Wiltshire-
Edward, earl of Wiltshire, was her son and heir. Afterwards, this estate belonged
to the Luther family: John Luther, who died in 1567, is styled of Stapleford Tawney;
there appears no evidence of his possessing this manor, yet it belonged to his son
Richard, who was of this parish, and continued in possession of his descendants during
many generations,f till it was conveyed by Rebecca, daughter of John Luther, esq.
to her husband, Florian Geebel, esq. of Waltharastow; who, on his death, left by her
John Geebel, esq. and Rebecca Geebel, wife of Mr. John Voguel, sugar refiner, of
London.
Church. The church, dedicated to tbe Virgin Mary, has a nave and chancel, the chancel
having a south aisle; the belfry, and a spire, are of wood. The rectory is a good
building, and there is a valuable glebe of one hundred and sixteen acres.
In 1821, there were two hundred and eighty-three, and, in 1831, two hundred and
ninety-seven inhabitants.
NAVESTOCK.
Navcstock From the boundaries of this parish northward it extends to South Weald, and from
the hundred of Chelmsford on the east to Stapleford Tany westward; its computed
circumference is twenty-five miles. The soil is of various kinds, generally on the hills
light and gravelly; the valleys and low lands are wet and heavy, the reverse of what is
generally observable in Essex. The houses are not numerous, the chief employment
of the inhabitants being the business of husbandry. The name in records is variously
written Nasestoca, Nassestoka, Nessetochus, and Nasingstoke, or Nastoke. It is
distant from Romford seven, and from London sixteen miles.
An estate in this parish was given to the cathedral of St. Paul's, in London, by king
* She was daughter and heiress of sir Henry Greene, of Drayton, in Northamptonshire, and wife of sir
Jolin Stafford, younger son of Humphrey Stafford, duke of Buckingham, created earl of Wiltshire in 1469;
he died in 1474. Their son Edward, earl of Wiltshire, dying without issue, Constance's inheritance
became the inheritance of her aunt Isabel, sister and heiress of sir Henry Greene, wife of Richard Vere,
of Addington, in Northamptonshire.— MzVm' Catal. of Honour, p. 984.
t John, son of Richard Luther, of Suttons, succeeded his father, and married Jane, daughter of
Winterflood, by whom he had Thomas Luther, who, by his wife Katharine, third daughter of Robert
Bourne, of Blake Hall, in Bobbingworth, had Thomas Luther, his successor on his death in 1648. He
married Ann, daughter and heiress of Luke Jackson, of London, by whom he had five sons and six
daughters. He died in 1694, and was succeeded by his eldest son, John Luther, esq. who married Jane
Luther, of Miles, and had by her six or seven sons, and three daughters, of whom only one son and one
daughter attained the age of maturity. Thomas Luther, esq. being unmarried, and dying before his
mother, settled the estate of Suttons upon her during her life, and, after her decease, on his sister
Rebecca.
I
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 417
Edgar; yet the authenticity of this donation has been questioned by Mr. Newcourt, chap.
on the assumed inconsistency of the date, with the time of Odo, archbishop of Canter-
bury, whose signature appears on the deed ; but, as Mr. Morant has observed, the
archbishop, according to the best authors, did not die till 958, the year after that
king's accession to the throne; it is, therefore, neither impossible nor improbable,
that he should have been one of the witnesses to the king's grant; and the fact of the
lands in question having belonged to the cathedral before the Conquest has not been,
disputed: they had been taken away from it, but were restored by the Conqueror on
the day of his coronation; with the exemption from payment of all taxes, except for
military expeditions, and for building and repairing castles and bridges; a privilege
they had before enjoyed. Those who had holden and detained this possession from
the church were two freemen, Houard and Hulci: another part of the parish was
holden by Turstin Ruffus; also seven freemen held two hides, and one priest held
half a hide. At the time of the general survey, all these belonged to the canons of
St. Paul's; and this, with other manors of the cathedral, had the grant from king
Edward the second, that the purveyors should not take corn within their precincts
for the king's household. At the reformation, king Henry the eighth having alienated
this property from the church in 1544, in lieu of an equivalent hitherto undiscovered,
it remained for nine years in the tenure of the crown; at length queen Mary the first,
in the year 1553, granted not only the manor of Navestock, but also the rectory and
advowson of the vicarage, to sir Edward Waldegrave, knt.; and in his descendants,
the earls of Waldegrave, it has continued to the present time, during a period of two
hundred and eighty years.
Boys Hall is a subordinate manor, of which the mansion is a mile distant from the Boys Hall.
church eastward; the name first occurs in records in the time of Henry the seventh,
when it was holden of the dean and canons of St. Paul's, London, by Andrew Prior,
who died in 1507, succeeded by his son John: in 1546, it belonged to John Prest,
esq. whose daughter Frances was his heiress, and, in conjunction with her husband,
by indenture, conveyed this estate to William Tusser and Charles Belfield ; and they,
in 1565, conveyed it to John Green, esq.* in whose descendants it continued till it
* He was descended from the ancient family of Greens, of Greens Norton, in Northamptonshire.
Thomas, his son and heir, had, among other children, John and Robert. John Green, esq. the eldest
son, was one of the judges of the sheriff's court in London thirty- seven years, and created a serjeant-at-
law in 1640; he died in 1653, having had, by his wife Anne, daughter of James Blanchard, John, James,
and four daughters. John Green, esq. educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, was of Lincoln's Inn ;
chosen recorder of London in 1659, and died in November the same year: by his wife Mary, daughter
of Philip Jermin, esq. justice of the King's Bench, he had his son, John Green, esq. who was serjeant-at-
law in 1700, and died in 1725. John Green, esq. his son and heir, was educated at St. John's College,
Cambridge, as his great great grandfather, and otiiers of his ancestors had been : he was also of Lincoln's
Inn, and died in 1752, leaving his estate to his kinsman, Maurice Green, doctor of music.
418
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Lost Hall.
Slades.
Church.
Walde-
grave
family.
was sold, in 1752, by Maurice Green, esq. doctor of music; after whose decease it
was purchased by James, the second earl of Waldegrave.
Lost Hall was formerly a manor, and belonged to John Sedley, at the time of his
death in 1581: in 1654, it was purchased of sir William Sedley, bart. of Northfleet,
in Kent, by John Green, esq. from whom it passed to earl Waldegrave.
Slades Avas a reputed manor, the property of Henry Torrel, esq. who died in 1525;
whose son died in 1544, holding this estate of king Henry the eighth, who at that
time possessed this lordship. The Howland family, of Stone Hall, in Little Canfield,
were the next proprietors, till it was purchased by the noble family of Waldegrave.
The church, dedicated to St. Thomas, consists of a nave and south aisle; the north
door is of ancient Saxon workmanship: there is a small belfry, and a spire, both
of wood.*
* Sir Edward Waldegrave (descended from a family originally resident at, and giving name to the pari.sh
of Waldegrave, in Northamptonshire, afterwards established themselves at Borley, in Essex, of which
manor and estate they remain to this day the proprietors) was a principal officer in the household of
princess Mary, subsequently queen of England, and therefore was deemed a proper person, with sir Ro-
bert Rochester, his uncle, and sir Francis Englefield, to be employed by king Edward the sixth and his
council, in forbidding mass in the house of the said lady, which at that time was Copt Hall, near Epping ;
and these gentlemen, for their failure herein, incurred the king's displeasure to such a degree, that he
committed them, in the first instance, to the Fleet Prison, and thence removed them to the Tower of
London ; but upon the king's death, on July 6th, 1553, they rose to the highest favour with queen Mary,
more especially sir Edward Waldegrave, whom she admitted into her privy council, constituting him
master of the great wardrobe, with a grant of the manor of Navestock, of Chewton, in Somersetshire, and
of Hever Cobham, in Kent. On the day following her coronation, he was made a knight of the carpet ;
in April 1554, was appointed one of the commissioners for the trial of sir Nicholas Throckmorton, who
was charged as an accomplice in Wyatt's rebellion. He represented Somersetshire with sir John Syden-
ham, knt. in 1554; and in the parliament which assembled at Westminster, on January 20th, 1557, and
continued its sittings until the demise of the queen, was elected one of the members of the county of
Essex; in which last year he was appointed, by the same sovereign, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster,
and also to the office of lieutenant of Waltham, or Epping Forest. In 1558, he received a commission,
in conjunction with other privy counsellors, to dispose of the church lands then vested in the crown.
These were his rewards of fidelity to a queen, to whom he had long devoted himself both in prosperity
and in adversity ; but upon the accession of Elizabeth, he was divested of all his employments, and com-
mitted, as before, a prisoner to the Tower, where he remained up to the time of his death, on the 1st of
September, 1561, aged forty-four years. The reverse of policy and religion pursued by the two sisters,
obtained for him accumulated favours from the one, and the heaviest penalties from the other. His
remains were interred within Borley church, as were also those of his wife Frances, daughter of sir
Edward Neville, knt. of Aldington Park, in Kent, third son of George baron Abergavenny, 1476, with
their third daughter, Magdalene, married to sir John Southcote, knt. of Witham, in the county of Essex.
His descendant, sir Henry, the heir apparent of sir Charles, by Helen, daughter of sir Francis Englefield,
of Englefield, bart. was born in 1659, and, in 1085, was created, by James the second, baron Waldegrave
of Chewton; in 1686, comptroller of the household; and, in 1687, lord lieutenant of Somerset. Being
of the same religion, and marrying the natural daughter of that ill-fated monarch, by Arabella Churchill,
sister of John, the celebrated duke of Marlborough, he became the zealous partizan of all the violent and
arbitrary measures of his father-in-law's inauspicious reign, insomuch that, when the revolution of 1688
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 419
Trinity Colleg-e, Oxford, is in possession of the great tithes, and makes the vicar chap
lessee, who pays a small quit-rent to the college, and a fine certain of sixty pounds. L_
The dean and chapter of St. Paul's induct the vicar whom Trinity College presents.
The remains of an ancient fortification are apparent on Navestock Common, and ^'^^^'"P-
^ *^ ' nient.
took place, it became advisable to withdraw to Paris, where he died the year following, 1689. yide Ellis's
Correspotidence, vol. i. p. 338. Navestock Hall was erected by his eldest son and successor, James, the
first earl of Waldegrave ; and, after being for many years the constant residence of his posterity,
was pulled down by the present earl, and the materials sold by public auction, iu the month of
March, 1811.
A mural monument of considerable height, upon the north side of the chancel, has the following in- Inscrip-
scription, written by her late royal highness Maria, duchess of Gloucester, and countess dowager of Wal- t'O'is.
degrave : " Underneath this monument are the remains of the two first earls of Waldegrave, father and son,
both of the name of James, both servants of that excellent prince king George the second, both by him
created knights of the most noble order of the garter. James, the father, was employed in foreign embassies
to the courts of Vienna and Versailles, by king George the first and by king George the second. He did
the court and country honour and service, and was respected wherever his negociations made him known.
In his private capacity, the affability and benevolence of his disposition, and the goodness of his under-
standing, made him beloved and esteemed throughout his life. The antiquity of his illustrious and noble
family is equal to that of most that may be named in any country or time, and needs not to be here recited.
He died of the dropsy and jaundice, on the 11th of April, 1741, aged fifty-seven. His eldest son, James,
before mentioned (and also interred within this vault,) died of the small-pox, on the 8th of April, 1763,
aged forty-eight. These were his years in number, what they were in wisdom hardly belongs to time ;
the universal respect paid to him while he lived, and the universal lamentation at his death, are ample
testimonies of a character not easily to be paralleled. He was for many years the chosen friend and
favourite of a king, who was a judge of men, yet never that king's minister, though a man of business,
knowledge, and learning, beyond most of his contemporaries. But ambition visited him not, and con-
tentment filled his hours. Appealed to for his arbitration by various contending parties in the state,
upon the highest differences, his judgment always tempered their dissensions, while his own principles,
which were the freedom of the people, and the maintenance of the laws, remained steadfast and unshaken,
and his influence unimpaired, though exercised through a long series of struggles that served as foils to
his disinterested virtue. The constancy and firmness of his mind were proof against every trial but the
distress of mankind, and therein he was as a rock with many springs, and his generosity was as the waters
that flow from it, nourishing the plains beneath. He was wise in the first degree of wisdom, master of
a powerful and delicate wit, had as ready conception and as quick parts as any man that ever lived, yet
never lost his wisdom in his wit, nor his coolness by provocation ; he smiled at things that drive other
men to anger. He was a stranger to resentment, not to injuries ; those feared him most that loved him,
but he was revered by all ; for he was as true a friend as ever bore that name, and as generous an enemy
as ever bad man tried. He was in all things undisturbed, modest, placid, and humane; to him, broad
day-light and the commerce of the world were as easy as the night and solitude ; to him, the return of
night and solitude must have ever been a season of the best reflection; to him, this now deep night
must, through the merits of his Redeemer Jesus Christ, be everlasting peace and joy. O Death ! thy sting
is to the living ! 0 grave ! thy victory is over the unburied, the wife, the child, the friend that is left boliind.
Thus saith the widow of this incomparable man, his once most happy wife ; now the faithful remem-
brancer of all his virtues, Maria, countess dowager Waldegrave, who inscribes this tablet to his beloved
memory." The noble earl, whose character is delineated in the warm panegyrical language of the above
epitaph, was governor of our late revered sovereign, George the third, wheu prince of Wales, and author
420 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. near it there is an embankment of a considerable height, with a deep ditch on each
side of it.
The number of inhabitants in this parish, in 1821, were eight hundred and forty,
and, in 1831, eight hundred and fifty-two.
of " Historical Memoirs, from 1754 to 1757;" a work of very considerable interest and merit, and first
published in 1821.
On the same side of the chancel, but nearer to the altar, is another mural tablet, on which is the
following: " D. O. M. Hie requiescit illustrissima domina Henrietta Waldegrave, Henrici baronis de
Waldegrave uxor dilecta, filia regis Jacobi secundi ; et nobilissimae dominae Arabellas Churchill ; soror
principis potentissimi duels de Berwick ; haud natalium splendore magis quam omnibus virtutibus, aninil
corporisque dotibus ornata. Obiit die 3tlo April, Anno Domini 1730, aetat sixty-three. Felici memoriae
sacrum posuit Jacobus comes, vice comes, et baro de Waldegrave, filius charissimus." On the summit
is an urn, and at the base the arms of Waldegrave, in a lozenge, impaled with the royal arms of king
James the second.
Nearly opposite to the first of these is a beautiful monument, executed by Bacon, and erected in Sept.
1812. It represents a mother weeping over the canteen of her son, shipwrecked on the shore, with his
name attached to it ; at the top, a boy placed on a rock, and gradually unfurling the British standard,
and underneath : " In memory of the honourable Edward Waldegrave, third son of George, fourth earl
of Waldegrave, lieutenant of the seventh light dragoons; born August 28, 1787, died January 22, 1S09.
He greatly distinguished himself in the British army in Spain, in the campaign in which sir John Moore
commanded and lost his life. He was selected by the general of his division, (lord Paget, the present marquis
of Anglesea,) for a service demanding talent, intrepidity, and address, which he completely accomplished.
This noble youth had scarcely begun to display those virtues and abilities which engaged the attachment
of all his comrades in arms, when, being shipwrecked otf Falmouth, in returning from Corunna, he was
called, we humbly hope, to exchange earthly honour for a crown of immortality, through Jesus Christ
our Lord."
On the other side of the southern window : " This monument is erected, by captain John Sheffield, in
testimony of his great affection and gratitude, to the memory of Henry Sheffield, of London, merchant, his
dutiful and affectionate son, who departed this life the 6th day of August, 1718, at Canton, in China, and
lyes there interred, being chief supra-cargo of the ship Carnarvon, in the service of the honourable the
East India Company, aged forty-one years, being grandson to John Sliefficld, who lyes interred near this
place."
" Near this place lyeth Mary, (mother of the above-named Henry Sheffield,) setat. eighty-four. Obiit
decimo sexto die Novembris, anno domini 1724."
On the northern side of the chancel is the cemetery of the Waldegrave family; and besides the noble
members of it already recited, the following have been interred within its walls, but no tablet has hitherto
been placed in this church to their memories : " John, the third earl of Waldegrave, general in the army,
colonel of the Coldstream regiment of foot guards, governor of Plymouth, and lord lieutenant of Essex;
buried October 29th, 1784. And Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of earl Gower, and sister of Granville,
first marquis of Stafford, knight of the garter, May the 5th, in the same year. Also two of their daughters,
ladies Amelia and Frances ; both died in June, 1768. Lady Charlotte Waldegrave, second and posthumous
daughter of George, the fourth earl, and lady Elizabeth Laura, his wife, eldest daughter of James, the
second earl, knight of the garter, and her royal highness the duchess of Gloucester, here interred,
on January 23, 1790. Maria, daughter of admiral the honourable William Waldegrave, (now lord
Radstock,) buried December 4th, 1791. William Arthur, an infant son of John James, the sixth and
present earl, on May Gtii, 1821. Elizabeth, countess dowager of Cardigan, eldest daughter of John,
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 421
KELVEDON HATCH.
CHAP.
Xf.
This is the second parish of this name in Essex, disting-uished from Kelvedon, in Kelvedon
Witham hundred, by the term Hatch, applied to a rural gate of a peculiar construction.
From Brentwood this parish is distant five, and from London nineteen miles.
Ailric, Algar, a freeman, and Leueua, had the lands of this parish before the Con-
quest; and after that event they were in the divided possession of St. Peter's, West-
minster; Odo, bishop of Bayeux, whose under-tenant was the nephew of Herbert;
and Hamo Dapifer, whose under-tenant was Ralph. Afterwards, these lands were
divided into two manors. Ailric gave his part to St. Peter's, of Westminster; his
grant was confirmed by Edward the confessor, and the abbot and monks retained pos-
session till after the year 1532, and it is believed to have been all or the greater part of
it included in the manor of Germains, or Jermins, to which the rectory was appendant. Gennains.
Kelvedon Hall is near the west end of the church, and the owners may be traced
out by the presentations:* it now belongs to the rev. Edward Linsey.
In 1521, Richard Bolles, escj. died, holding this manor of the abbot of St. Peter's,
Westminster: his son John died in 1532, who left Richard, his son and heir. It was
holden of Richard Hawe, by Henry Chadirton, by the rent of sixpence, in 1444,
the third earl of Waldegrave, and the widow of James, the fifth earl of Cardigan, buried July the
1st, 1823."
On a plate on the ground: "Richard Makyns, sworne ordinary groome in the chaundrie to king
Edward the Vlth, died April 5, 1603."
On the north wall : " Sacred to the memory of Elizabeth, the second wife of James, the fifth earl of
Cardigan, daughter of John, the third earl of Waldegrave, lady of the bedchamber to her majesty queen
Charlotte, who died June 23d, 1823, aged sixty-five years. Her nearest relatives, grateful for her kind-
ness, have erected this monument as a testimony of their attachment and respect." — Arms of Bradenell :
Upon a lozenge, argent, a chevron gules between three morions azure, impaling Waldegrave, per pale,
argent and gules.
Near the east window of the south aisle : " To the memory of William lord Radstock, second son of
John, the third earl of Waldegrave. He was created a baron of Ireland for his services at the defeat of
the Spanish fleet, February 14, 1797, and died August 20, 1825, aged seventy-two years. His life was
devoted to his God and to his country. Also, of his third son, hon. Augustus Waldegrave, who was
accidentally killed near Mexico, October 26, 1825, aged twenty-two, whilst attached to the British mis-
sion there. Upon the summit is a medallion of the above-mentioned noble peer, and at the base a repre-
sentation of the medal presented to the officers who served in lord St. Vincent's victory. Arms of
Waldegrave : Per pale argent and gules. Crest : On a ducal coronet, or, a plume of five ostrich featiiers,
the first two argent, the third per pale argent and gules, and the last two gules. Supporters : Two talbots
sable, ears gold, each gorged with a mural coronet argent. Motto: Ccelum, non animum. " Vou may
change your climate, but not your mind."
* In 1372, the advowson was in sir Roger de Kirkcton and others. From 1383 to 1457, John de Hagh,
Thomas de Hagh, Richard Haw, and John Haw, esquires, presented. Next followed the Bollis, Bolles,
or Bowie family, from 1464 to 1511. John Wright, gent, presented in 1547, succeeded by his descendants
of many generations.
VOL. II. 3 I
422 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. whose son and heir was Henry Chadirton: succeeded, in 1524, by Henry Torrel,
esq. of Navestock; whose son Humphrey, his successor, died in 1544, holding this
parish. From whence it appears that the Wright family became possessed of the
capital manor of this parish between the years 1524 and 1544.*
Miles. The part which belonged to Leueuia the Saxon, and to Hamo Dapifer, forms the
manor of Miles, the mansion-house of which is about a mile northward from the church.
This manor is not mentioned in records till the reign of Henry the seventh, when it
belonged to Andrew Prior, who died in 1507, and was succeeded by his son John.
John Prest was the next possessor, who died in 1546, leaving Frances, his only
daughter; his widow, Alice, was married to Robert Blackwall, esq. and dying in 1561,
left by him Frances Blackwall, her only child and heiress. Richard and Anthony
Luther, esqs. were the next owners of this estate, who remained joint possessors of
it nearly forty years; "so truly loving brothers," as is expressed in their epitaph, that
no account whatever was kept between them. They died in 1627.f It is now in
possession of Fane, esq.
Biyces. An ancient house in this parish Avas named Bryces, from Thomas Bryce, citizen
* Jolin Wright, esq. with Olive his wife, were buried in Kelvedon church, in 1551. John, his son, died
in 1563. By his wife Joan, he had his heir John, who held this manor of Robert lord Rich : he had also
the manor of White Notley, and, on his death iu 1608, left John Wright, his son, his heir, who married
Anne, one of the daughters of sir Edward Sulyard, of Flemyngs, in Runwell ; and had by her three sons
and four daughters. He died in 1661 ; their eldest son was John Wright, esq. who married Frances,
eldest daughter of sir Philip Waldegrave, esq. of Borley ; he died in 1661, leaving John, Philip, and
Frances. John Wright, the eldest son, married Philippa, daughter of William Fitz-Williams, esq. of
Glixby, in Lincolnshire, and had I)y her five sons and four daughters. She died in 1687, and he in 1691.
John Wright, esq. the eldest son and heir, married Eugenia, daughter of Charles Trinder, esq. and had by
her his son and heir, John, who died in 1 751, leaving, by his wife Smith, or Carrington, John Wright,
esq. Arms of Wright : Azure, two bars argent, in chief, a leopard's face, or.
Luther f The first time we find this family mentioned in Essex, is in the latter part of the reign of Henry the
taiiiily. eighth, when William Luter (the name being so written at that time) had a lease from the crown for the
manor of Albins, in Stapleford Abbots. John Luter, who died in 1566, held numerous estates, as did
also his son, Jrthn Luter, who died in 1611 : Richard, his brother and heir, is the first recorded possessor
of Albins, who dying in 1639, was succeeded by his son and heir, Anthony, who married, first, Jane,
eldest daughter of Gilbert Armstrong, esq. who died in 1640; secondly, he married Bridget, daughter of
John Sadler, esq. of Wiltshire, and she died in 1649; thirdly, he married Anne , who died in 1680; by
» the two last he had no children, but had by the first five sons and five daughters. The father died in 1665,
in the seventy-seventh year of his age. His eldest son and heir, Thomas Luther, had Richard, who, by
Mary, daughter of Edward Meade, of Berden, had Richard, who married Rebecca, daughter of Edward
Ridge, alderman of London. His son and heir, Edward Luther, esq. was sherifl" of Essex in 1701, and
married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Dautrey, esq. of Doddinghurst-place, by whom he had Richard
Luther, esq. who, on the death of his uncle, William Dautrey, esq. without offspring, had a great accession
of property. His wife was Charlotte, daughter of Hugh Chamberlain, M.D. by whom he had his son and
heir, John Luther, esq. member of parliament for the county; upon whose marriage with miss Lavinia
Bcnnet, his father gave him his family estate. Mr. Luther, the father, much improved and enlarged the
house. Arms of Luther : Argent, two bars sable : in chief, three buckles sable. — Morant.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR. 423
and mercer of London, by whom it was erected in 1498. He sold it, in 1515, to sir CHAP.
XI
John Allen, alderman of London; from Avhom it Avas conveyed, in 1528, to John '
Catchmaid; from whom passing- to Edward Northey, attorney-at-law, he, in 1548,
conveyed it to Richard Pettus, of an ancient family in Norfolk; and his daughter or
grand-daughter, Elizabeth, was married to sir Francis Jones, alderman of London, and
in 1620, lord mayor. Mary Jones, his daughter, was married to Ralph Pettus, son of
William, brother of sir John Pettus, hart, to whom she conveyed a fortune of six
thousand pounds, accounted a great sum at that time. During the civil wars, Ralph
being of the royal party, was seqviestered for eight hundred pounds, and had to mort-
gage this estate, which he could never afterwards redeem. It became the property of
the Glascock family; and now belongs to William Dalby, esq.
In 1356, John Pegbrigg had a park here, as appears from the forest rolls of that
period.
The church is a good brick building, tiled, dedicated to St. Nicholas; it has a nave, Church.
chancel, and south aisle.*
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and thirty-six, and, in 1831, three
hundred and sixty-one inhabitants.
STONDON.
The situation of this parish, on a stony or gravelly hill, is significantly expressed Stondon,
by its name; and the addition of Marci, is from the family of Mark or Marks, its don Marci
ancient possessors. It is not mentioned in Domesday, being at that time included in
some neighbouring parish. Distant from Ongar two, and from London twenty-four
miles.
The manor-house is a short distance from the church, northward. After the Stondon
Hall
Marks, the most ancient owners of this estate, were the Spigurnels: it was holden of
* Under the arch of the south aisle of the chancel there is an epitaph in old French, for Richard de Inscrip-
VVelleby, in very ancient characters : and in the east window of the same aisle, was the name of Milo de *'""='•
Mounteney, in Saxon letters. — Si/monds's Collect, vol. iii. fol. 103. There is also an inscription in Nor-
man French, on sir Roger de Kirketon.
There are also in this church numerous monuments and inscriptions on the Wright family, who during
many generations possessed the capital manor, and were patrons of the church ; among these are, ^
John Wright, esq. who died Dec. 2, 1751, in the sixty-sixth year of his age: of Frances, eldest daughter
of Philip Waldegrave, esq. and wife of Wright, esq. She died May 21, 1656. John Wright, cscj. died
the 13th of the same year, aged forty-six. Anne, wife of John Wright, and daughter of sir Edward Sul-
liard, knt. died Nov. 28, 1617.
On a brass plate, with the arms : " Fratres in unum — Here lie Richard and Anthonie Luther, esqs. so
truely loving brothers, that they lived near fortie yeares joynte hovvsekeepers together at Miles, without
anie accompt betwixt them." Anthony Luther, esq. son and heir of Richard Luther, of Miles, died in
1665, aged sixty-seven : also, Jane his wife.
William and Elizabeth Purchas, of Dodds ; he died Oct. 1731 ; she in Feb. J 727.
424 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Ralph le Merk, by Edmund Spig-urnel, who died in 1295, and was followed by his
son John, Avho died in 1308, leaving Edmund, his son; on whose decease, in 1314,
he left this estate to his son, John Spigurnel.* Joan, an heiress of this family, pre-
sented to the living in her own right, from 1369 to 1385, and being married to Wil-
liam Gobion, esq., to whom she conveyed the estate, John and William Gobion are
found to have presented from 1391 to 1410. The next proprietor was sir John
Hende, distinguished by his extensive possessions: he had two sons, both named
John, to the younger of whom he gave, by will, this with other estates, in 1418. Sir
John died in that year, and his widow was re-married to sir Ralph Boteler, after-
wards lord Sudeley, who, in her right, presented to this living in 1433, during her
son John's minority; and the son coming of age, presented from 1445 to 1461. He
died in 1464, leaving no offspring; and his elder brother, who had died in 1461, left
Joan, his only daughter, who became heir to the whole estate; previous to the decease
of her grandmother, in 1462, she was married to Walter Writell, esq. of Bobbing-
worth, who died in 1475, leaving William, who died young; and John, who, on his
death in 1485, left John, his only son, an infant, who, before he arrived at maturity,
was married to Etheldreda, the daughter of his guardian, sir John Shaa, and died
under age, in 1507, leaving Julian, his only daughter, who died soon after her father.
Afterwards the estate became the property of the Belknap family: and, in 1538,
William Shelley presented to the living, and is therefore presumed to have had this
estate. In 1604, it was granted, by king James the first, to John Carill; and a branch
of the Rich familyf afterwards had this possession; which a succession of its represen-
tatives retained till Nathaniel Rich, who married Mary, daughter of Matthew Riidd, of
Little Badow, in 1806, having for many years been receiver-general of the land-tax of
the county, sold this estate, in conformity with an act of parliament "for enabling the
lord high treasurer to compound with him;" on which occasion it was purchased by
Richard How, esq. who married Grace, daughter of Edward Linsell, esq. and had by
her, Richard, who died without offspring; and John, sheriff for the county in 1730:
* Arms of Spigurnel : Quarterly, gules and or ; in the second and third quarters a fesse of the
first. — Morant.
Rich fa- "^ They were descended from Richard Rich, sheriff of London in 1441, who had two sons, John, and
mily. Thomas, grandfather of Richard, lord Rich. John Rich, the eldest son, died before his father, in 14-58;
he left John, his .son and heir, citizen and mercer of London, whose son Thomas, by Margaret his wife,
daughter and a co-heiress of sir Edward Shaa, had Richard Rich, of South Weald. He married Rachael,
daughter of Thomas Newborough, esq. of Berkeley, in Gloucestershire, and left Edward, of Horndon, and
sir Robert, a master in cliancery. P^dward Rich, esq. the eldest $on and heir, died in 1599, leaving, by
Joan, daughter and heiress of Edward Sanders, esq., Robert Rich, esq. of Stondon, who married Elizabeth,
daughter of sir Thomas Button, knight, and had by her Nathaniel, his son and heir, -called colonel Rich.
He married, first, Elizabeth, daughter of sir Edmund Hamden, of Buckinghamshire, knt.; secondly, Anne,
daughter of Charles, earl of Ancram : by the last he had no offspring, but by the first he had Nathaniel
and Robert.
HUNDRED OF ONGAR.
425
who, on his decease in 1748, by will, left this estate to William Taylor, esq., of Great chap
Hadham. xi.
The capital mansion of Stondon Place, formerly the seat of William Taylor How, Stondon
esq. is half a mile distant from the church south-eastward; it is now the very pleasant ^^^^^'
residence of captain Kesterman.
Lands named Plumtons in Domesday, were held by Ralph Peverell, Gilbert Bacun, Plimpton
and Sabina his wife, in 1286, of Dionysia de Montchensy, as of her barony of Anesty, ^^^''^'
by the name of Plimpton Hope.
Two farms in this parish belong- to Christ's and Emmanuel Colleg-e, Cambridge.
The Baron's Oak is a farm bordering on the liberty of Havering.
St. Peter and St. Paul are the patron saints of this church; it has three bells, and Church.
a wooden spire.
The rectory formerly received tithes of Mark's manor, in Margaret Roding,
where there was a chapel named " Capellae de Roothing Marci," originally (as is be-
lieved) belonging to the family of Marks.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and thirty, and, in
1831, to two hundred and ninety.
On the south side of the chancel, a very ancient tomb bears the following, in old English characters. Inscrip-
,Tr, 11. , tions.
Whose body here, as death hath changed
Lies covered with this stone :
" Who lists to se and knowe him selfe
May loke upon this glase,
And vew the beaten pathe of dethe
Which he shall one day passe ;
Which way I Rainford Kellingworth
With patient mind have gone.
When dust to dust is brought again,
The erth she hath her owne,
This shall the lot of all men be
Before the trumpe be blowne.
- "April 17, 1575."
On the opposite northern side of the chancel, an old tombstone bears several brass plates, with por-
traits, and the following inscription :
" 1570.
" John Sarre, citizen of London,
An ironmonger free ;
Also a merchant venturer,
In grave here lieth he.
Here in Stondon was he borne,
Whose soule God toke to rest,
Fiefth of Julie, in the year
Of Christ above exprest.
Of earnest zeal among the rest,
In life he had regarde
To this parishe, his native soyle.
And gave a large reward
To it and other mo
That neare about it be,
And eke in London where he dwelt.
Full lyberall gifts gave lie."
Mrs. Alice Thompson left an annuity of forty shillings, to i)urchase waistcoats for eight poor widows, — Charities.
Mr. Giles, or Stiles, citizen of London, gave lands in this parish, (at the time, valued at £3 : 10s. per
annum,) for the use of the poor. — A house and land formerly rented at £2 : lOs. was given for a fund to
buy bell -ropes.
426
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN ONGAR HUNDRED.
R. Rectory. V. Vicarage. Pec. P
C. Curacy. C- V. Clear Value.
ecnliar.
Parisli.
ArcliilLacoiny.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Bobbingworth, R. . .
Chigwell, V
Fifield, R
Grecnsted, R
Kelvedon Hatch, R. .
Lauibourne, R
Laver, High, R
Laver, Little, R
Laver Magdalen, R. .
Loughton, R
Moreton, R.
Navcstock, V
North Weald Bas.V.
NortonMandeville.C.
Ongar, Cheping, R.
Ongar, High, R
Roding Abbess, R. ..
Roding Beauchamp.R
Shelley, R
Stanford Rivers, R. .
Staplcford Abbots, R.
Stapleford Tany, R.
Stondon, R
Theydon Bois, P. C.
Theydon Gernon, R.
Theydon Mount, R..
Essex
Thomas Smith
Chawell
Robert Gibson
Andrew Hatt, D.D. .
A. Serle
Robert Sutcliffe . . .
P. Budworth
Henry Palmer
J.W. Burford, D.D.
Anthony Hamilton .
H. Pepys
James Ford
Heniy Cockereli. . .
J. Chamberlayne . . .
— Fisher
H.J. Earle
Thomas Dyer
J. T. Barrett, D.D..
H enry Soames
E.C.Dowdeswell.D.D.
James Hamilton . . .
Richard Smijth ....
John Oldham
Thomas Layton ....
C.B. Abdy
R. Stapleford Tany .
1812
1810
1825
1798
1815
1809
1824
1794
1805
1822
1831
1827
1816
1832
1823
1828
1822
1812
1802
1829
1801
1803
1812
1801
^13
18
25
6
12
14
14
15
16
18
20
13
13
C.V. 6
: 6
39
14
16
9
26
16
15
13
c.v..-^o
17
13
6
0
7
13
0
0
1
10
2
3
0
3
6
0
0
10
10
13
15
13
15
8
6
0
0
6
8
3
6
4
0
0
8
5
1
9
0
9
8
0
0
5
0
4
0
4
0
2
8
0
0
8
Thomas Smith, esq.
rPreb. of St. Pancras,
< in St. Paul's Ca-
f- thedral.
The King.
Bishop of London.
A. Serle, esq.
Cor. Ch. Col. Camb.
Trus. R. Budworth.
Robert Palmer, esq.
5Rev. J.W. Burford,
i D.D.
W.M.Whittaker.esq.
St. John's Col. Camb.
Trin. Col. Oxon.
Bishop of London.
Capel Cure, esq.
R. H. A. Bennet, esq.
Ex.oftheRev.E.Earle
Rev. 'i'liomas Dyer.
Rev.J.T.Barrett,D.D.
J. Tomlinson, esq.
Ch. of the D. of Lane.
Lord Chancellor.
Sir J. Smijth, bart.
Rev. J. Oldham.
R. W. H. Dave, esq.
J. R. Abdy, esq.
W.StaplefordTany R
Pecul
Essex ....
'
CHAPTER XIL
HAVERING LIBERTY.
Havering. This district, anciently forming part of the demesnes of the Saxon kings, from its
northern extremity, where it meets the hundred of Ongar, extends to the river
Thames on the south; and is separated from ChafFord on the east by a rivulet, whose
source is in Navcstock and South Weald, pursuing its course by Raynham to the
Thames at Wennington. It is in length from north to south nine, and from east to
west four miles and a half, in its greatest width; but, at the Thames, not more than
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. 427
three quarters of a mile. It anciently formed a part of Becontree hmidred, as chap.
appears from the survey of Domesday; but there being a royal palace here, this
district was erected into a liberty, independent of that hundred, and of the civil and
ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the county, having in itself a tribunal for life and death;
the origin of this arrangement has been generally supposed to have been from the kings
of England having had a hunting house here, which was frequently the place of their
residence ; and having ordered that officers should take cognizance of crimes within
the verge of their court, and that offenders should receive sentence under their more
immediate inspection : probably at that time this was an usual privilege belonging to
royal palaces.
The name of this liberty is supposed from the Saxon Hoepepinj, the Goat's Ing.
But the more general belief is, that its origin has been from a ring given to Edward
the confessor by a pilgrim, according to an ancient romantic legend, the substance of
which is, " that St. John the Evangelist, disguised as an old beggar, asking alms of
king Edward, received from him a ring, as the only possession he had at that time to
bestow; and which, some years afterwards, was returned to him by two English
pilgrims, with an intimation that he should die within six months ; and this message
and ring were delivered to him here at his Bower, which, on that account, was named
Have-Ring.*"
This liberty, on the death of king Edward, became the royal possession of his
* This occurrence is iu the legend stated to have taken place at the consecration of the church of
Clavering, in this county, which was dedicated to Christ and St. John the Evangelist, when king Edward
the confessor riding that way, alighted, out of devotion, to be present at the ceremony. During the
procession, a fair old man came to the king and begged alms of him, in the name of God and St. John
the Evangelist. The king having nothing else to give, as his almoner was not at hand, took the ring from
his finger, and gave it to the poor man. Some years after, two English pilgrims having lost their way as
they were travelling to the Holy Land, saw a company clothed in white, with two lights carried before
them ; and behind them a fair ancient man. The ])ilgrims joining them, the old man inquired who they
were, and whence they came. After hearing their story, he brought them to a fine city, and into a room
furnished with all kinds of dainties ; with which having well refreshed themselves, and rested there all
night, the old man set them again in the right way : and at parting told them he was John the Eviingelist ;
adding, as the legend goes on, " Say ye uutoe Edwarde your king, that I grete hym well by the token that
he gaaf to me this ryng with hys own handes, at the hallowyng of my chirche; which rynge ye shall
deliver hym agayn, and say ye to him, that he dyspose his goodes, for wythin six monethes he shall be in
the joye of heven wyth me, where he shall have his rewarde for his chastite and for his good lyvinge.''
.At their return home, the two pilgrims waited upon the king, who was then at his Bower, and delivered
to him their message, and the ring. The whole story is represented in sculptured figures, on the screen
which separates the chapel from the altar in Westminster Abbey, where the Confessor lies buried. The
statues of the king and the pilgrims are also over the courts of the King's Bench and Common Pleas iu
Westminster Hall; and over the gate going into Dean's Yard. His picture was also on the glass of the
east window of the south aisle of Romford chapel, with two pilgrims, and under it, " Johannes per pere-
grinos misit regi Edwardo." There is a good j)icture of this king on the glass of the window of the
chancel of that chapel, which was renewed in 1707. The ring, said to liave been given to St. John, was
XII.
428 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK ii. successor, Harold, and of king William after the conquest; inider whom some parcels
of it were holden by Robert, son of Coi'butio, Hugh de Montfort, and John, son of
Waleram: these had in Saxon times been holden by live freemen and one sochman;
and to this portion of the liberty there belonged twenty acres in Lochetund, or
Loughton. Afterwards Havering was divided into numerous manors.
Havering Havering Bower was a favourite retreat of some of our Saxon kings, particularly —
of that saintly monarch, Edward the confessor, who found this woody and solitary
place perfectly congenial to his retired habits and devotional spirit. The legend says,
it abounded so with warbling nightingales, that they disturbing him in his prayers,
he earnestly petitioned their absence; and the credulous have been led to believe the
report that they have never since been heartl to sing within the park, though abun-
dantly numerous in the neighbourhood; shady walks and a beautiful grove of trees
have given the name of Bower to this place; and some remains are yet to be seen of
the ancient palace said to have been built or improved by the Confessor, and after-
wards inhabited by several kings. It is delightfully situated, with a tine extensive
prospect over a great part of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, and Surrey;
also a view of the Thames, on which the ships are seen in constant motion, with the
cathedral of St. Paul's perceptible in the distance. The park contained one thousand
acres.
Besides this palace, there was another at Pirgo, which belonged to the queens of
England, where they frequently resided, particularly during their widowhood, it
being usually part of the queen's jointure. It was enjoyed by Eleanor, queen of
Edward the first, and from the record it appears that there was a park here, as well
as at the Bower. Anne, queen of Richard the second, held it in dower. In the year
1166, William Hurel held lands in Havering by the serjeancy of keeping the park,
as did also John de Ruyme, in 1210. But in general the keeping of the park went
along with the forestership of Essex, as appears from the records in the Tower.
Richard Montfitchet held both, through nearly the whole of the reign of Henry the
y.,,^ third : of him, Thomas de Clare, second son of Richard, earl of Gloucester, purchased
it; from whom it afterwards passed to the De Veres, earls of Oxford. But Thomas
de Clare was deprived of it for a trespass, or misdemeanor, of one of his park-keepers;
when the custody of it was given to Henry Fitzaucher, who held it, in 1223, in the
deposited among the relics of his abbey at Westminster, and there was granted to this sacred relic an
indulgence for six years, and three hundred and sixty days.
In one of the windows of the ancient church of Ludlow, in Shropshire, there are splendid remains of
stained glass, portraying this story of the ring presented to the Confessor, who, it is stated, ** was warned
of his deth, &c. by certain pilgrinies coniming from Hierusalem, &c. These pilgrims being men of Ludlow."
The authorities quoted are — Ailred Rievalliensis, col. 397, 398. Legenda ^urea, printed by William Cax-
ton, fol. 308. Dart's Hist, of I Westminster Abbey, vol. i. p. 51. JFeever, p. (547. Camden's Remains, j). 483.
Wright's Hist, of Ludlow, 1826, p. 148.
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. 429
reign of Henry tlie third. In 130T, Gilbert, son and heir of Thomas de Clare, c H A i'.
petitioned the parliament that he might obtain the custody of the said manor and park; ' "
but he was unsuccessful, for it was not in the possession of the Clare family till a con-
siderable time afterwards. In 1317 it was granted, by Edward the second, to Wil-
liam Gerard; by Edward the third, to Henry Aumency, in 1330; and, in 1376, to
Ralph Tyle, to whom it was confirmed by Richard the second; after whose decease,
in 1396, it was given to John Loweke, or Lowise. It passed afterwards to numerous
successive possessors : to Thomas Skargil in 1437, in the time of Henry the sixth,
who also gave him, the following year, the office of riding forester in Waltham forest,
jointly with William Bolton. The king also at the same time granted the office of
keeping the south gate of the park to John Kemp, for life : the same was, in 1452, —
granted to Ralph Boyse for life, with the custody of the park and house of Havering,
by patent and authority of parliament. In 1475, Edward the fourth granted, to sir
Thomas Montgomery, tiie custody and stewardship of the whole forest of Essex,
without emoluments thereto belonging, who retained them till 1484, when they were
given to Robert Brakenbury, by Richard the third; the same king having previously
given the custody of Havering park to his secretary, John Kendal. The Vere family,
who claimed from Thomas de Clare, were attainted, and two of them beheaded, for
their adherence to the house of Lancaster, and were deprived of this inheritance;
but John de Vere, earl of Oxford, was restored, by act of parliament, to his honours
and estates, and to the office of grand forester of Essex, in 1485. King Charles the
second leased out a part of Havering park to the duke of Grafton, whose duchess,
after his decease, marrying sir Thomas Hanmer, he sold the lease to Richard Holdich,
a South-sea director; and on the failure of the company in 1721, this part of their
possessions was sold to Richard Ladbroke, esq. brother of sir Robert Ladbroke,
alderman of London: it extended into the parish of Stapleford Abbots. The other
part of the park was leased out by the said king to Robert Bertie, earl of Lindsey, and
descending to his son, created duke of Ancaster, was enjoyed by his widow, the duchess.
The manor afterwards belonged to sir John Smith Burges, bart. and to his widoAv,
the lady Poulet.
The manor-house of Havering Bower is on the north-west end of the ward, and
not far from the chapel; the principal front is opposite to Sevenoaks, in Kent, which
is distinctly seen at the distance of forty miles. Gentlemen's houses are here thickly
strewed in every direction; the fields generally rich grass lands, covered with a ver-
dure refreshing to the eye.
Havering Grange is now in the possession of James Anderson, esq. and the park
belongs to James Ellis, esq.
The ancient royal chapel of Havering is near the site of the palace; it is dedicated Chapel,
to St. John the Evangelist, The living, a perpetual curacy in the peculiar juris-
VOL. II. 3 K
430 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. diction of the court for the liberty, is endowed with four hundred pounds private
benefaction, and six hundred pounds royal bounty.*
In 1821, the population of Havering Bower amounted to three hundred and fifty-
two, and, in 1831, to three hundred and thirty-two.
Pirgo. The Saxon name of the manor of Pirgo is supposed to have been Pypije hou;
written in records Pirgore and Purgore. The house was built at an early period,
yet not so early as that of the Bower: it was in being in 1226, and in the custody of
Phillippe Forrester, but nothing is known of it previous to that time. It seems to
have been originally the house for the queen consort, and her jointure. Joan, widow
of king Henry the fourth, died here in 1437.f In 1559, it was granted, by queen
Elizabeth, to sir John Grey, with the grange or house of husbandry, called Piggs,
and the park of Pirgoe, with its rights and appertenances ; and it remained in pos-
session of his descendants, till Henry Grey, baron of Groby,J previous to his decease
in 1614, sold it to sir John Cheke, knt. grandson of the learned sir John Cheke,§
* The whole of the family of Cheke, and all of the Archer family, buried in Pirgo chapel, were removed
and buried here, by order of lord Archer, in his will. There are also .some monumental inscriptions,
among which are, one to the memory of John Baynes, esq. serjeant-at-law, who died 26th Feb. 1736, aged
sixty: and of Matthew Kenrick, of Harold's Park, who died March 21, in the year 1712, aged fifty-eight.
He left five pounds to the poor.
A free-school was erected on Havering Green, with an endowment by dame Anne Tipping, daughter
and heiress of colonel Thomas Cheke, of Pirgo, governor of the Tower of London in the reign of Charles
the second. But the house has become ruinous, and the trust has not been renewed.
f i^towe's Annals, p. 376.
Grey + Sir John Grey was the second son of Thomas Grey, marquis of Dorset, and grandson of sir John
ami \. gj.^^, ^^^ Elizabeth Widvil, afterwards queen of king Edward the fourth; and his eldest brother, Henry
Grey, duke of Suffolk, was father of the lady Jane Grey, proclaimed queen of England : sir John Grey
died in 1564, possessed of this estate, with the whole of the park, and several parcels of the demesnes
belonging to the capital messuage : he lies buried in the chapel of Pirgo, with his wife Mary, daughter of
Anthony Brown, viscount Montacute. Their olFspring were Thomas, John, Edward, Henry, Frances,
Elizabeth, Anne, and Margaret. Henry Grey, esq. the youngest son, was created baron Grey of Groby in
1603, and by the lady Anne, daughter of William lord Windsor, had John, Ambrose, and two daughters.
See Sir IFilHum Dtigdale's Baronage. Arms of Grey : Barry of six, argent and azure, three torteaux in
chief: and a label of three points, ermine.
Cheke § The family of Cheke was originally of Motston, in the Isle of Wight : Richard Cheke, of that place,
in tlie time of king Richard the second, married one of the daughters of lord Montacute; his successors
were, Edward, John, a second John, and Robert : which last, by his wife Branchet, had David,
Peter, William, and Thomas. David's posterity long flourished at Motston : Peter was settled at Cam-
bridge, and by Agnes liis wife, daughter of Dufford, or De Ufford, had John, Anne married to
George AUington ; Alice, the wife of Blithe, M.D. ; Elizabeth, married to Sperling; Mary, who
became the wife of the celebrated Williain Cecil, lord Burleigh; and Magdalen, married to Laurence
Eresby ; and afterwards to John Purefoy. John Cheke, the son, one of the most learned men of the age
in which he lived, was Greek professor at Cambridge, knight of the garter, and preceptor to king Edward
the sixth in 1551 ; chamberlain of the exchequer, secretary of state, &c. and died in 1557. His wife was
Mary, daughter and heiress of Richard Hill, Serjeant of the king's wine-cellar, by whom he had Henry,
John, and Edward : the two last died without issue. Henry Cheke, esq. married Frances, daughter of sir
Humjihrey Radcliffe, of Elvestow, in Bedfordshire, sister of Edward Radcliffe, baron Fitzwalter, and earl
family.
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. 431
whose descendants held this possession till on the decease of Edward Cheke, esq. ^ H '\ i'.
in 1707, without surviving offspring, his sister Anne, relict or sir Thomas Tipping,
bart. of Wheatfield, in Oxfordshire, became his heiress ; who, on her decease in 1728,
leaving two daughters, this estate, on a partition, became the portion of the youngest
daughter, Katharine, married to Thomas Archer, esq. of Umberslade, in the county — -
of Warwick; who, in 1747, was created baron Archer of Umberslade. His lady,
Katharine, died at Pirgo in 1754. Sir Simon Archer, knt. was distinguished for his
singular accomplishments, and for his extensive acquaintance with British history and
antiquities. The small chapel here was originally designed for the foresters, officers,
and neighbours.* The original mansion was pulled down in 1770, and a new building
erected. The present owner of this estate is Michael Field, esq.
The manor of Dagenhams lies south-east from Pirgo, bordering on South Weald: ?!^^^^'
the name is supposed from an owner who wrote himself De Dagenham, and there
being a parish in this neighbourhood named Dagenham, the possessive termination
added here seems to confirm this supposition. Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland,
who died in 1454, held the manors of Dagenhams and Cockerels, and was succeeded
by his son and heir Henry; and sir William Husee, who died in 1495, held the manor
of Potter's Fee, Dagenhams, and Cockerels, of Elizabeth, queen of Henry the seventh,
as of her manor of Havering; John was his son and heir. In 1517, Peter Christmas
held these possessions of Katharine, queen of England ; and on his decease in that year,
his heir and successor was William Turk. Thomas Legatt, of the Legatts of
of Sussex, who died without issue in 1643; whereupon sir Thomas Cheke, knt. son of the said Frances,
his mother, had a claim to the barony of Fitzwalter, and was the purchaser of this estate. He married,
first, a daughter of Peter Osborn, esq. hut by her had no issue : his second wife was Essex, daughter of
Robert, earl of Warwick, by whom he had Robert, Thomas, Charles, Francis : Frances, wife of sir
Lancelot Lake, knt. ; Essex married, first, to sir Robert Bevill, knight of the bath ; afterwards to Edward,
earl of Manchester; ^nne, whose first marriage was to Richard Rogers, esq. and who afterwards was the
wife of Robert, earl of Warwick ; Isabel, married to sir Francis Gerard, bart. ; and Elizabeth, married to
sir Richard Franklin, bart. Sii Thomas Cheke, the father, died in 1569. Robert, the eldest son, preferred
his claim to the barony of Fitzwalter in 1060, against Henry Mildmay, esq.; but dying without issue, was
succeeded in this estate by his next brother, colonel Thomas Cheke, lieutenant of the Tower in the reigns
of Charles the second and James the second, and died in 1688. He married lady Dorothy Sidney, daughter
of Philip, earl of Leicester, by whom he had no issue ; but afterwards marrying Laetitia, daughter and
ultimately heiress of Edward Russell, second son of Francis, earl of Bedford, and sister to Edward, earl
of Orford, he had by her Edward, Essex, and Anne : Edward Cheke, esq. the son and heir, married Anne,
daughter of sir William Ellys, of Nocton, in Lincolnshire, bart. and had by her several children, who all
dying young, the estate, on his death in 1707, descended to his surviving sister Anne, lelict of sir Thomas
Tipping — Dugdale's Antiquit. of Warwickshire, p. 781. CoUins's Peerage, vol, \. ]). 496. Arms of Clieke :
Argent, three crescents gules.
• Sir John Grey, with his lady Mary, daughter of Anthony Browne, viscount Montacute, arc buried here.
And on the floor : " Sire Water de Bounstede Chanoyn."
" Of your charite pray for the soule of Anne Lovekyn, sumetime wyfe of George Lovekyn, dark of the
stables to our sovereign lorde kyng Henry the eighth ; which Anne deceased xiii day of June, 1513."
432 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Stapleford Tany, was the next owner of these two manors, and also of several other
possessions in the neighbonrhood: he died in 1555, leaving his son Thomas his heir.
The next recorded possessor was John Wright, whose family was of Kelvedon Hatch;
his descendant, sir Henrv Wright, died unmarried in 1681,* leaving his sister Anne,
a rich heiress, married, first, to Edmund, son and heir of sir Robert Pye, of Berk-
shire, by whom she had several sons and five daughters: she gave this estate to
Edward Carteret, esq. uncle to Earl Granville, and one of the post-masters-general,
who had married the lady Bridget Sudbury, widow, first, of sir John Sudbury; then
of Thomas Clutterbuck, esq. who died in 1739, having had, by this lady, several
chlldron, none of whom survived him except Bridget, maid of honour to queen Caro-
line, and Anne Isabella, wife of admiral Cavendish. These co-heiresses, in 1743, sold
this estate to Henry Muilman, esq.
Sir Henry Wright built a house here, and he, or some of his descendants, inclosed
a park : Mr. Carteret improved the house, and erected a chapel.
Tiiis beautiful seat was purchased, in 1772, by sir Richard Neave, bart. who pulled
down the ancient house, and erected the present elegant mansion, on a new site : it
now belongs to his son, sir Thomas Neave, bart.-j-
* John Wiight, of Kelvedon Hatch, had three sons: Robert, from whom descended the Wrights of
Brook-street ; .lohn, the ancestor of the Wi iglits of South Weald ; and a second John, of Wright's-bridge,
near Hornchiuch. but within the parish of South Weald, and of Gray's Inn, who died in 1644. By his
wife Mary, daughter of John Mole, and Elizabeth, sister of sir Thomas Cheke, he had Laurence Wright,
M.D. who died in 1657, leaving his son and heir Henry, created a baronet in 1660; who died in 1663;
he married Anne, daughter of John lord Crew, of Stene, by whom he had sir Henry Wright.
Neave t This family is undoubtedly of Norman original; its founder is understood to have come over with
family. William the conqueror; and his descendants settled themselves at Tivetshall, in Norfolk: they had also
other considerable possessions in that county, and in Suffolk ; and the manor formerly named Le Neve's,
in Norfolk, was one of their estates. The parish of Nevendon, in Essex, has been supposed to have been
named from a possessor of this family, but this presumption is not supported by evidence. The manor
of Merks, in White Roding, in Essex, was purchased by John le Neve, who held his first court there the
8th of June, 1688, and it was sold by his son John in 1717. Sometime previous to 1267, Stephen le Neve,
son of Gilbert de Estwcll, gave lands to the prior of Norwich, and his son, Adam le Neve, was living in
the reign of Edward the first, and Jordan in that of Edward the second ; from whose son, Jeffery le Neve,
descended Robert le Neve, resident at Tivetshall, in Norfolk, in 1400; who was father of John le Neve,
living in 1420; whose son, Robert le Neve, of Tivetshall, died in I486; he was the father of Jeffer\-,
ancestor of sir William le Neve. knt. whose eldest brother's son, Robert le Neve, or Neave, esq. of Ring-
land, in Norfolk, lived till the last year of the reign of queen Mary, from whom he obtained a grant of
the rectory of East Tuddenham ; he married Alice, daughter of Thomas Ae Lamere, esq. of Ringland, by
whom he had John, of North Tuddenham ; Thomas, Richard, whose sons were Thomas, B.D. rector of
North Tuddenham and Swauston Moiley; Nathaniel, firmian of Ringsland, from whom descended Peter
and Oliver le Neve, esqs ; Francis, and John, who died without issue. Robert the father's will was
dated 1558; his successor was his second son, Thomas le Neve, or Neave, settled in Suffolk, who had
four sons, among whom were Thomas, and John Neave, his successor, who had also four sons ; Edward,
Roger, Richard, and Jeffery. His successor was his eldest son, Edward Neave, who married and had
John, Richard, and Edward ; and also Anne. By his will, proved in 1017, it appears that he gave all his
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. 433
The manor called Cockerels I'oins south-westward to the park of Dasi"enhams, and ^ ^ -^ ''•
is now only a farm: it belonged to John de Wand, who died in 1251. "William
Senefeld, son of Emma, his eldest sister, and Julian, wife of Robert Cockerel, ^^'^^^'^'*
another sister of the said John, were his next heirs. In 1454 it passed, Avith Dagen-
hams, to the earl of Northumberland; from whom it was conveyed to Husee and
Legatt, and the Wrights; and passing, as Dagenhams did, to the daughters of Edward
Carteret, esq. it was sold to Henry Muilman, esq.
The mansion of Gooshays is on the right of the road from Brentwood to Romford, Gooshays
and the lands join to Dagenhams and Cockerels: this estate was holden by John de
Dover, in 1334, of Philippa, queen of England; his successor was his son, Philip de
Dover, who died the following year, leaving his son Richard his heir. In 1445, John
Chaderton was possessed of this manor, succeeded by Alured Cornburgh in 1486,
on whose decease his heirs were Agnes Chambers, one of his sisters, and John Craf-
ford, son of his other sister Alice. In 1555, the estate was in the possession of
ready uioney to his eldest son John, with his lands ; and to his other sons all his remaining personals,
to be equally divided between them. John Neave, the eldest son, married Martha, daughter of
Beaumont, by whom he had his successor, Richard Neave, esq. of London, born in 1666, who married
Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Bradford, of the family of Dr. Samuel Bradford, bishop of Rochester, by
whom, who died before him, he had James and Edward. James Neave, esq. of London, born in 1700,
married Susannah, daughter of Thomas Truman, esq. receiver-general for the county of Nottingham, by
Avhom, who died in 1763, he had Richard, James, who married H. Harvey, and died in 1796, leaving only
female issue; and Susannah, who was married to W.Wells, esq. of Bickley-place, in Kent, and had issue.
The eldest son, Richard Neave, of London and Dagenham Park, in Essex, esq. fellow of the Royal
Society of Antiquarians, occupied the highly honourable offices of governor of the Bank of England ;
auditor of the public accounts, to which he was appointed in 1780; was chairman of the West India
merchants, the London Dock company, and the Ramsgate Harbour trust: he was also a director of the
Hudson's Bay company ; and, as expressive of the high esteem in which his valuable and zealous services
were held by his contemporaries, he obtained his title in 1795, as justly his due. Sir Richard, in 1761,
married Frances, fourth surviving daughter of John Bristow, esq. by whom he had Thomas Neave, esq.
of Hampstead, born in 1761, who, in 1791, married Frances Caroline, daughter of the very rev. William
Digby, LLD. and dean of Durham, son of Edward lord Digby, and brother of Henry, earl Digby, by whom
he has had Frances. Caroline, Richard Digby, Henry, Lyttelton, Sheffield, Charlotte Maria, and William
Augustus. 2. John Neave, esq. born in 1763, who has successively occupied the honourable situations of
judge of Tiihout, in Bengal, and chief at Benares, in the province of Oude : in 1790, he married Katha-
rine, daughter of colonel Smith, by whom he had three sons, all of whom were named John, and died
infants, i a the East Indies; and Robert, born in England ; he had also Anna Frances, Caroline iMary,
Eliza, and Katharine, of whom the latter died young in the East Indies. 3. Richard Neave, esq. of Lin-
coln's-inn, barrister-at-law, who, in 1807, married the only daughter of the late George Peters, esq.:
and 4. Henry Frazer, who died young. The daughters were, Frances Louisa, wife of Beeston Long,
esq. of London ; Katharine Mary, wife of Henry Howard, esq. of Corby-castle, in Cumberland.
Caroline, who died young; Harriet, wife of the rev. George Trevelyan (third son of sir John Trevelyan,
bart. of Nettle-combe, in Somersetshire) ; and Caroline Hannah, living unmarried in 1804. Sir Richard
was succeeded by his son, sir Thomas Neave, F R. and A. S. Richard Digby, bis son, is married, and
has issue.
434 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Thomas Legatt; and Thomas Moreton, at the time of his death in 1591, held this
and other estates of the queen : George was his son and heir. Afterwards it passed
successively to Richard Humble, alderman of London,* in 1616; Richard Ward, in
1659: Edward lord Dudley and Ward, who built the house here, since demolished;
and who sold the estate to Mead, whose son, sir Nathaniel Mead, knt. ser-
jeant-at-law, was his successor. Afterwards it became the possession of William
Sheldon, esq.
Up Ha- The name of Up-Havering occurs as early as 1202, when William Up-Havering
GoWons*' was living, and is believed to have derived his surname from this place; the other
name of Gobions was probably from an owner, being a name of frequent occurrence
in this and other counties. In 1479, Thomas Urswick held this estate of Elizabeth,
queen of Edward the fourth; and Katharine, wife of Henry Langley; Anne, wife of
John Doreward ; Elizabeth, Jeane, and Mary Urswick were his daughters and co-
heiresses. Sir William Roche,f at the time of his death in 1549, held this and other
manors of the king, and was succeeded by his son, John Roche ; followed by Thomas
Legatt and by sir Richard Minsliew, in 1636. Colonel Matthews:}: was the next
possessor of this estate, whose son, Philip Matthews, esq. of Great Gobions, in
Collier-row-ward, was created a baronet in 1662. He married Anne, daughter of
sir Thomas Wolstonholme, bart. of Forty-hill, in Enfield, by whom he had a son and
two daughters: he died in 1685, and his lady in 1735, aged eighty-nine, having
remained a widow fifty years. Their son, sir John Matthews, bart. being a colonel
in the foot-guards, was slain at the battle of Oudenard, and left no issue. Of the
two daughters, Dorothy died unmarried; and Elizabeth was the wife of Thomas
Dawson, D.D. fellow of St. John's College, in Cambridge, by whom he had Anne,
Diana, Elizabeth, and Margaret. The estate was sold, by sir Philip Matthews, or
* He married, first, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Pierson, of Nasing, by whom he had
Peter ; John, who died without issue ; Elizabeth, wife of Richard Ward, citizen and goldsmith of London ;
and three others, who died without issue. By his second wife , daughter of Kichingman, no
children are mentioned, and Peter, his son and heir, dying without issue, this estate came to the said
Elizabeth, wife of Richard Ward. Sir Humble Ward, knt. was a wealthy goldsmith in London, and
jeweller to Henrietta Maria, queen of king Charles the first, and for his kind assistance to that king in
his troubles, was honoured with knighthood by him in 1643, and advanced to the dignity of baron, by
the title of lord Ward of Birmingham, in 1644 : he died in 1670, having had, by Frances his wife, niece
and heiress of Edward lord Dudley, Edward and William, and three daugjiters.
t He was son of John Roche, of Wixley, in Yorkshire, and lord mayor of London in 1540 : Julian, his
wife, died in 1226 : his son, sir John, married Elizabeth, daughter of sir William Forman, alderman.—
Stowe's Survey, ed. 1720, b. 131, p. 5.
I Mr. Symonds, his contemporary, says of him, that being a forward lad, waiting for employment at
court, he got to be under-clerk to sir Thomas Mewtys, clerk of the privy council, and married the heiress
of a citizen, worth four thousand pounds. He was an officer to the parliament, and died in the winter
of 1658. — Symonds's Collect, p. 63.
N
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. 435
some of the family, to Mr. William Curwen, and was purchased of him by sir Philip CHAP.
Hall, knt. and sheriff of this comity in 1727. He died in 1746, and was succeeded "
by his son, Philip Hall, esq.
It is a subject of dispute whether the name Reden be from the Saxon Reb, a reed, Redene,
and ben, a valley, or from an ancient family mentioned in an old deed, who were court.
surnamed Reding. The house is nearly opposite to Gooshays, on the side of the
road from Brentwood to Romford. In 1379, this estate was conveyed, by sir Richard
de Havering, to sir John de Newenton, and Emma his wife; and Joan Swinderton,
sister and heiress of Thomas Newenton, died in 1445, possessed of the manor of
Redene, alias Reden-court. Sir Thomas Cooke, of Geddy Hall, had this estate at the
time of his decease in 1478; and it descended to his posterity; to John Cooke, esq. in
1515; and to sir Anthony, who died in 1604. It Avas afterwards purchased by John
Hopkins, esq. who, dying immensely rich in 1732, Avas succeeded by his nephew,
John Hopkins, esq.
ROMFORD.
The town of Romford* is on the high road from London to Bury, Colchester, Ips- Romford.
wich, Harwich, Norwich, and Yarmouth, and, consequently, a great thoroughfare. It
consists chiefly of one Avide and long street, well paved, and lighted Avith gas; the houses
are generally well built and convenient. The market, Avhich was granted in 1247,
by Henry the third, is held on Wednesdays, and abundantly supplied Avith agricul-
tural productions and cattle; a market on Mondays is for hogs, and on Tuesdays for
calves. There is an annual fair on Midsummer-day for horses and cattle; and a sta-
tute-fair, for hiring servants, on the market-days next before and after the 29th of
September. The market-place and tolls have been recently purchased of the crown
by Hugh Mackintosh, esq. This toAvn, Avhich Avith Hornchurch and Havering-atte-
BoAver, constitutes the liberty of Havering, Avas formerly considered one of the Avards
of Hornchurch; but by act of parliament for the regulation of the poor, in 1786, it is
recognised, as far as relates to civil jurisdiction, as a separate parish, and comprises
the wards of Collier Row, Harold's Wood, Noke Hill, and the toAvn: as regards
ecclesiastical affairs, it remains partly dependant on Hornchurch. The first charter
was granted by Edward the confessor, Avhich has received several confirmations and
additions: the government is vested in the high steward, the deputy stCAvard, and one
justice, elected by the inhabitants of the liberty, and authorised to act Avith magisterial
authority. They are a corporation, and have a patent authorising them, at their OAvn
* An ancient ford across a stream which flows through the west side of the town, is generally sup-
posed to have been the origin of this name, which Mr. Lysons derives from the Saxon words yom, broad,
and fojib, ford; and Mr. Letheuillier supposes it a contraction from " Roman ford." Dr. Stukeley also
expresses himself in favour of the opinion of its Roman origin, and on the authority of Ricliard of Ciren*
cester calls it the Durolitum of Antoninus. — Lyson's Environs, vol. iv. p. 183, 184.
436 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. quarter-sessions, which are holden on the Friday after the county sessions, to try for
all manner of offences, hi^h treason not excepted, upon payment of a trifling fee; but
no commission of this kind has been applied for of late years: they also hear and de-
termine, every three weeks, all actions for debt, trespasses, ejectments, and replevins,
in a court of ancient demesne.
The tenants of the liberty, in which this parish is included, claim exemption from
toll everywhere throughout the realm, both for goods and cattle sold, and provisions
purchased; from payment toward the county expenses, and also a personal exemption
from being impanneled on inquests and juries, except within their own liberty; with
various other privileges. The county magistrates have no jurisdiction within this
liberty. The court-house is in the market-place, and beneath it is a small gaol for
the liberty.*
The dissenters of the independent denomination have a place of worship here, and
an endowment of twenty pounds per annum, with a house for the minister.
Cliapel. The chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and St- Edward the confessor, is a spa-
cious building, with a nave, chancel, north aisle, and a tower at the west end. There
is a whole-length painting of Edward the confessor on glass, in the east window of the
chancel, which, according to the inscription, was "renewed in 1707."f
* The soil in thisneighbourliood i.« of two general descriptions : a strong, heaiT soil on clay, which re-
quires careful draining ; and a drier loam and gravel, with blue pebbles, which is suitable for turnips.
Inscrip- f On the north side of the aisle is the monument of sir Anthony Cooke, of Gidea Hall, with the effigies
tions. j^f himself and his lady, in kneeling attitudes, and various shields of arms, displaying the intermarriages
and alliances of the family. There are several inscriptions in Latin on this monument, supposed to have
been by his daughters, who were the most learned females of the age : and near it is a tablet, with a long
and somewhat verbose epitaph, " On the death of the right worshipful sir Anthony Cooke, knt. who died
11th June, 1576."
There are also the following memorial inscriptions : On sir George Hervey, knt. lieutenant of the
Tower of London, who died Aug. 10, and was buried 4th Sept. 1605; Roger, the third son of sir George
Hervey, died a commander in the wars of Ireland, 19th Nov. 1605, aged thirty-four; lady Anne Carew,
daughter of sir Nicholas Hervey, knt. married to George Carew, son of sir Edmond Carew, baron of Ca-
rew ; this lady died 27th Aug. 160.5, aged seventy-six. Also Richard, son and heir of sir Anthony Cooke,
knt ; William Cooke, his second son, who married Frances, daughter of lord John Grey, brother to the
duke of Suffolk ; Mildred Cooke, wife of sir William Rurghley, knight of thi- order of the garter; Anna,
wife of sir Nicholas Bacon, knt. and keeper of the seals ; Elizabeth Cooke, wife of John de Russel, son and
heir of Francis, earl of Ik'dford; and Catharine Cooke, married to Henry Killigrevv, esq.
The valuable and important charities belonging to this parish are too numerous for insertion.
Free- In 1728, a free-school was erected for children of both sexes, with an endowment amounting to above
school. thirteen hundred pounds, and additional support from voluntary contributions ; it contains sixty boys and
thirty girls. In 1483, an alms-house was founded, by Roger Reed, for the support of five poor men, whose
widows are allowed twenty pounds a year for life, with clothes and coals. The present value of the en-
dowment is two hundred and eighty pounds per annum : the alms-house was rebuilt in 178i.
The work-house is a commodious building, erected in 1787, at an expense of four thousand pounds,
under the provisions of an act of parliament, whereby the management of the poor is vested in thirty
guardians, exclusive of the two churchwardens.
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. 437
In the early ages, Hornchurch was the only place for public worship in the liberty
to which the inhabitants resorted, and where they were buried : but in the reign of
Edward the second, some time after the year 1323, a chapel was erected here, pro-
bably on account of the increase of the inhabitants, consequent on the conversion of a
large portion of the forest to agricultural cultivation; and Romford had become so
considerable in 1247, as to obtain the privilege of a market. The old chapel stood a
quarter of a mile nearer to Hornchurch than the present erection; the place where
it stood yet retains the name of Old Church; and when it was removed, the inhabitants
are believed to have also come with it to this place, for the convenience of the road.
This new chapel was twenty-eight feet longer, and fourteen feet broader, than the
old one, and erected by composition between the College and the inhabitants, con-
firmed by the bishop of London. This instrument, recited by Mr. Newcourt, contains
a licence from the College for the people of Romford to have a cemetery and sepulture,
having previously (as they alleged in their petition to the pope) been obliged to carry
their dead to Hornchurch, from which they were distant five miles. In this they
were not authorised by the College or bishop, but by pope Alexander V., whose bull
was obtained for that purpose in 1407. In the composition, the warden and fellows
of New College reserved to themselves and successors for ever, all tithes real and
personal, offerings, obventions, fruits and profits belonging to the mother church of
Hornchurch : with the proviso, that if the inhabitants subtracted any part of the dues,
they should be deprived of their right of sepulture here till they made amends : also
the warden and fellows reserved to themselves the power of putting in and removing
the chaplain.
Avery Cornberrow, esq. of the royal guards, in the time of Henry the sixth and
Edward the fourth, founded a chantry here, for one priest to pray for his soul, and
the souls of his friends, in their chapel: to preach twice yearly at South Okendon,
Hornchurch, Dagenham, Barking, South Weald, and Romford; and to keep one
obit of twenty shillings for the said souls. Another chantry was founded by several
persons to find a priest called our Lady Priest, to say divine service in the chapel.
In the certificate it is said, " The said towne ys a very great towne, conteyning twenty
myles in compass, and having in yt by estimacion about the number of nine hundred
of houseling people."
John Ongir, the younger, gave to this chapel, in case his daughter died without
issue, an estate in this town, out of which five marks went to the brotherhood of
Our Lady, to pray for him, his brothers and sisters; also twenty shillings to "pore
pepyll, and to foule ways."*
* This estate had belonged to Robert Darcy, and to John Marshall, before it came to Ongir. John
Thoroughgood left it, by will, to William Jcrmin, who, in 1716, sold it to Thomas Scawen, esq. by whom,
it was conveyed to Onesiphorus Liege.
VOL. II. 3 L
C H A P.
XI!.
438
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Manor of
Romford.
BOOK 11. William Page, in 1422, left Parkfield for an obit: and George Downham, in 1478,
founded an obit for three hundred years, and longer if the laws would.
In 1821, this parish contained three thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven,
and, in 1831, four thousand two hundred and ninety-four inhabitants.
The name of Romford appears for the first time in the red book of the exchequer,
where it is stated, that in 1166, Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk, held the wood of
Romford by serjeancy and payment of five shillings yearly. In 1277, Adam de
Cretino-e held lands in the parish of Romford, in Havering; and Henry de Win-
chester, who died in 1299, held under him the manor of Romford, by the service of
one penny per annum, and the fourth part of a knight's fee: he married Maud, a
Jewess, himself a proselyte to that faith; but was, with his wife, afterwards converted
to Christianity, and had a son named Thomas. Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk, also
held this estate under De Creting, in 1307. The next possessor was Thomas de
Brotherton, the fifth son of king Edward the first: he was earl of Norfolk and lord
marshal; sir Walter de Manny* married his daughter and heiress, widow of John
lord Segrave, and at the time of his decease, in 1372, held this manor in her right.
Their daughter and heiress was Anne, wife of John Hastings, earl of Pembroke.
After this time, the manor of Romford was distinguished by the name of Mannj^^s,
or De Manny's, corruptly Mawneys, or Mancies. Sir Walter's daughter Anne,
countess of Pembroke, did not succeed to this inheritance, which went to Elizabeth,
daughter of John lord Segrave, married to John de Mowbray; their son and heir was
Thomas de Mowbray, duke of Norfolk, who died in 1400; he held under Adam
Karlyl, and left sir Thomas Mowbray, his son and heir, who, in 1405, was beheaded
for being of the party who in parliament opposed Henry the fourth's continued
demands for money: his mother Elizabeth, re-married to sir Robert Goushill, and
on his death to sir Gerard Ufilet, with them enjoyed this estate, and held it as her
dower till her decease in 1424; and John Mowbray, the fourth duke of Norfolk of
this family, dying without issue in 1477, this estate, among others, passed to the heirs
of Isabel, one of the two daughters of Thomas Mowbray, the first earl of this family:
and the heirs of Isabel in this was James lord Berkley, whose successor was his son
W^illiam, marquis of Berkley and earl marshal, who died in 1491: his heir was his
brother Maurice; but William is said to have alienated this estate, in 1487, to John
bishop of Lincoln. George Dacre, esq. had this manor in 1555, from whom it was
conveyed, in 1573, to John Leonard, or Lennard, esq. who held it in capite, by
knights' service; and on his death in 1591, left Sampson Lennard, esq. his son and
heir, from whom the estate was conveyed to Francis Eure, and others. It belonged
to Francis Fuller, esq. in 1627, succeeded by Francis Osbaston, his cousin and next
heir ; and by marriage of an heiress of the Osbaston family, it was conveyed to John
* He was of the diocese of Cambray, one of king Edward the third's warriors, and founder of the
charter-house.
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. 439
Milner, esq. and to Richard Newman, esq. of West Ham. It is now in the possession ^ H a p.
of William Miles, esq. '
East-house is in Collier-row-lane. The estate seems to have been taken out of ^^^*-
hoiise.
the manor of Romford. The manor of East-house, in 1332, was in the possession of
Roger William, of Havering-, who was outlawed. The next recorded owner was
sir Thomas Cooke, the owner also of Gidea Hall, in the time of Edward the fourth.
These two manors were originally united, and East-house belonged to Carew Hervey
Mildmay, esq. of Marks.
Bedfords is first mentioned in 1748, as belonging to sir Thomas Cooke,* and was Bedfords.
held of the manor of Havering by fealty and rent: it belonged, in 1659, to Mrs. Mat-
thews, as did also Gobions. It was purchased by J. Heaton, esq. sometime previous
to the year 1772.
At the time of the survey, this manor belonged to the abbey of St. Peter, at West- Gidea, or
minster, and it is not known how or Avhen they were dispossessed of it. In the reign Hall,
of Edward the fourth, it belonged to sir Thomas Cooke, son of Robert Cooke, of
Lavenham, in Suffolk. He was of the drapers' company: in 1453, sheriff of London,
and, in 1462, lord mayor; in 1465, was one of the forty-two knights of the bath,
made by king Edward the fourth, on the coronation of his queen. He commenced
the building of a house or castlef here, which Avas not finished till the time of his
great grandson Anthony;:}: for living in those troublesome and dangerous times of
the contentions of the houses of York and Lancaster, he was a great sufferer, and
impoverished by fines and confiscations. It is stated in the records, that a person
named Hawkins, having requested of him the loan of a sum of money, he refused, on
being informed that it was for the use of Margaret, queen of Henry the sixth.
Hawkins being committed to the Tower in 1467, and put to the rack, mentioned
this circumstance in his confession, on which sir Thomas was committed to the Tower,
and, by the malice of sir John Fogge, indicted for high treason, and, in consequence,
his house was plundered, all the furniture taken away, and his deer, rabbits, fish,
&c. &c. destroyed, for which he could get no recompence. By the persevering
integrity of chief justice sir John Markham, he was acquitted of treason, yet was
* He held by the sergeancy of giving one red rose to the queen, on the twenty-fourth of June.
t Carta Edvv. IV. Licenta Tho. Cook, mil. pro parco et castello faciend.
I On the stone front of the building was inscribed, under the window, s.'vv ®tu, on the left-hand side
Aeth Jehovah, and some other Hebrew words, with a sentence in Hebrew; under which was the year
1568 : and, beneath the Greek sentence, the following distich : " ^dibus his fronteni proavus Thomas
dedit olim ; addidit Antoni caeterae sera manns." Also: " Sedes quisque suas, domini sed uKrnia pauci
aedificant ; levior cura minora decet." Underneath the following, with a repetition of tlie year, as above,
which renders it probable they were added on sir Anthony's entertaining the queen liere at that time :
"Quod mihi dura, tuo ductu, fortuna rccessit. Te, reglna, domus, rura, nemusque canent." — From a
Letter by Mr. Stripe.
440 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK ir. committed, first to the Compter, and afterwards to the King's Bench prison; from
~ which he could not be released without paying eight thousand pounds to the king,
and eight hundred pounds to the queen. The chief justice was also displaced. Sir
Thomas died in 1478, holding Bedfords, Gidea Hall, and Reden Court of the queen,
with various estates elsewhere : his descendants retained this estate for several gene-
rations, till Edward, son of Anthony Cooke, esq. died, leaving two daughters, Anne and
Vere, co-heiresses;* the latter was married to sir Charles Gawdy, of Crowshall, in
Suffolk; and Anne, who was married to sir Edward Sydenham, had this estate for her
purparty. They had five sons and five daughters, of whom Anne, the eldest, was
married to sir Thomas Wiseman, of Rivenhall, knt. Charles Sydenham, esq. the
eldest son and heir, had, besides other children, Mary, and Margaret, whose husband,
Thomas Velley, esq. of High Ongar, sold Gidea Hall to Mr. Richard Elmes, who
possessed this estate in 1659, which seems to have belonged to John Bird, esq. who
was sheriff of Essex in 1668, and lived at Gidea Hall. John Hathersale was the next
owner, who sold it to sir John Eyles, bart.f from whom it passed to his descendants,
Cooke * Sir Thomas Cooke married the daughter and heiress of Philip Malpas, of London, by -nhom he had
family. Philip, William of Chigwell, and Thomas. Philip Cooke, esq. born in 1454, married Elizabeth, daughter
of sir Henry, and sister and co-heiress of Edward Belknap, by whom he had John, and Beatrix, wife of
William Copley. John, the son and heir, was of Gidea Hall, and died in 1515, leaving by his wife,
daughter and co-heiress of William Sanders, of Sandbury, in Surrey, Anthony, and Katharine, wife of
Richard Ogle. Sir Anthony, his son and heir, born in 1504, was a man of great learning, and preceptor
to king Edward the sixth. He passed the time of queen Mary's persecuting reign in exile in Germany;
returned to England on the accession of Elizabeth, and finished the building of Gidea Hall, which
was begun by his great grandfather : he died in 1576, aged seventy, and is buried under a stately monu-
ment in Romford church. He married Anne, daughter of sir William Fitzwilliam, of Milton, in North-
amptonshire, and Gains Park, in Theydon Gernon, and had by her Richard, William, Edward; Margaret,
married to sir- Rowlet ; Mildred, second wife of the celebrated statesman sir William Cecil, lord
Burleigh ; Anne, married to sir Nicholas Bacon, lord keeper ; Elizabeth, wife of sir Thomas Hobbey,
and afterwards of John lord Russell, son and heir of Francis, earl of Bedford ; and Katharine, wife of sir
Henry Killegrew, mother of Henry Nevill. William, the second son, married Frances, daughter of sir
John Grey, brother of the duke of Suffolk. Richard Cooke, esq. the eldest son, succeeded his father, and
died three years after him, in 1579; he married Anne, daughter of John Caulton, and left by her his son
and heir, Anthony ; and Philippa, wife of Hercules INlewtas, of West Ham. Sir Anthony Cooke, knt.
married Havvise, daughter of sir William Waldegrave, knt. by whom he had Edward, and Francis : he
died in 1604, and was succeeded by his eldest son, sir Edward, who married Martha, daughter of sir
William Daniel, knt. justice of the Common Pleas, by whom he left two daughters, his co-heiresses.
Arms of Cooke : Argent, a chevron componc, argent and azure, between three cinquefoils, azure. Crest :
A horse's head, or.
Eyles t John Eyles, esq. of the ancient family of this name in Wiltshire, was lord mayor of London in 168S,
family. .^^^^ received the honour of knighthood from king James the second : he had three daughters, of whom
Sarah was married to Joseph Haskin Styles, esq. of London. Francis Eyles, esq. was brother to sir John :
he was many years a director of the East-India company, alderman of Bridge-ward, and created a baronet
in 1714. He died in 1716. His wife Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. Ayley, of London, survived him till 1735;
by her he had six sons and four daughters. Joseph, the fourth son, was honoured with knighthood by
I
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. Ml
with whom it continued till sir Francis Haskyn Styles, nephew of Benjamin Haskyn chap
Styles, esq. sold it, in 1745, to Richard Benyon,* esq. formerly governor of Fort St. -^"-
George. It now belongs to Alexander Black, esq.
In the reign of queen Elizabeth, in the year 1561, Marcellinus Halys, esq. died Stewards.
holding the manor of Stewards, and Avas succeeded by his son, George Halys. The
next possessors of this estate were the family of Quarles, of UfFord, in Northampton-
shire, descended from George Quarles, one of the auditors in the reigns of Henry the
seventh and Henry the eighth: his son, Francis Quarles, esq. of Ufford, by his first
wife Cecilia, daughter of Crunkhorn, of the same county, had five sons and
one daughter; and by Bridget, his second wife, daughter of Brampton, of
Suffolk, had seven sons and three daughters. James Quarles, esq. the third son by
the second wife, and the first of the family that settled here, was clerk of the green
cloth, and purveyor of the navy, in the time of queen Elizabeth. He died in 1599,
possessed of this and many other estates. By Joanna, his wife, daughter and heiress
of Edward Dalton, of Moor Place, near Hadham, in Hertfordshire, he had Robert,
James, Francis, Arthur, and three daughters. Francis, the third son, was a poet of
some celebrity in his time, and author of numerous works.f The eldest son, sir
Robert Quarles, knt. married, first, Hester, daughter of Edward Lewkenor, of
Higham Hall, in Suffolk: his second wife was Brewster, widow of sir Thomas
Sackford ; and thirdly, he married Mary, daughter of Parrys, of London, which
last surviving her husband, paid quit-rent for the estate in 1659. This estate has
since been divided into several farms.
The ancient seat of Marks is supposed to have been named from a former owner. Marks.
The records are silent respecting this estate till 1479, when Thomas Urswick, esq.
the owner also of Gobions, died in possession of it; his five daughters were his co-
heiresses. The next recorded owner was sir George Hervey, lieutenant of the
Tower of London, descended from a branch of the ancient family of Hervey, of
king George the first ; and sir John Eyles, bart. eldest son of sir Francis, was the purchaser of this estate ;
he was alderman of London, and, in 1727, lord mayor ; sub-governor of the South-sea company, member
of parliament, and joint post-master-general. He married Mary, daughter of Joseph Haskin Styles, esq.
by Sarah, daughter of his uncle sir John Eyles, knt. and had by her Francis, his only son, who being
made his uncle's heir, took the surname of Haskyn Styles. Sir John had also one daughtei-. Arms of
Eyles : Argent, a fesse engrailed sable : on a chief three fleur-de-luces of the second.
* Arms of Benyon : Vaire, on a chief, argent, three mullets gules, pierced of the second.
t He vvas born at Stewards in 1.592, and educated at Christ's College, Cambridge ; afterwards he was
of Lincoln's-inn ; was made cup-bearer to Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia ; and secretary to the learned
archbishop Usher; and dying in 1644, was buried in St. Vedast church, Foster-lane, London. Besides his
" Emblems," which have gone through numerous editions, he wrote " The History of Jonah ;" '* Hadassa,
or the History of Esther, with Meditations Divine and Moral;" "Job Militant;" " Argalus and Par-
thenia;" " Barnabas and Boanerges, or Wine and Oil for afflicted souls," and many otlier works. John,
his son, born in Essex in 1624, was also a poet, and author of nearly as many works as his father.
442
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Ickworth, earls of Suffolk. Sir Nicholas Hervey, second son of William Hervey, of
that place, was of the privy chamber to king Henry the eighth. He married two
wives, of whom the second was Bridget, daughter and sole heiress of sir John Wilt-
shire, and having been lady of the bed-chamber to queen Anne Boleyn, and relict of
sir Richard Wingfield, knight of the garter, and chancellor of the dutchy of Lancaster:
besides other daughters, he had by her Anne, married to George Carew, third son
of sir Edmund Carew, baron of Carew. Sir George Hervey, knt. the fourth son,
was lieutenant of the Tower of London, in which office he died in 1605. Of his
numerous sons and daughters, by his wife Frances, daughter and co-heiress of sir
Leonard Beckwith, Margaret, the first of them, was married to William Mildmay,
eldest son of sir Thomas Mildmay, of Springfield Barns, and had by him Thomas,
Carew, Henry, and Frances. Sir Gawin Hervey, the fifth and only surviving son
of sir George, succeeded his father, and having no issue, adopted for his heir his sister
Margaret's second son, Carew Mildmay, esq. who, on sir Gawin's decease, in 1627,
came and resided at Marks. By his wife, Gerard, he had Francis, who married
a daughter of Robert Honeywood, esq. of Kent, and had by her his son and heir,
Carew; and Judith, married to John Searl, D.D. rector of Willingale Dou; and to
Arthur Heron, rector of Moreton. Carew Hervey, or Mildmay, esq. was sheriff' of
Essex in 1713, and having married Anne, daughter of Richard Lennard Barrett, esq.
he had by her Carew and Francis. He died in 1743, and was succeeded by his eldest
son, Carew, who married , daughter of Estwood, of Sherborn, in Dorset-
shire.
This manor of Marks, extending to the border of Becontree hundred, is above a
mile west from Romford.
The manor of Elmes lies south-east from Romford, on the border of the hundred
of Chafford. It was in the possession of sir William Roche, at the time of his decease
in 1549, but there is no record informs us when he came to this possession, nor can
it be discovered when or to whom it was disposed of by his son and heir John.
Robert Harvey, who died in 1608, held the site of the mansion or capital messuage
of Elmes, and left also a son named John, his successor; and, in 1627, Robert
Naunton, esf^. was lord of this manor, which soon after seems to have had several
parcels of the lands taken from it, and purchased by different persons : and what
remained of it became the property of sir Thomas Webster, bart. of Copped Hall,
and of Battle Abbey, in Sussex; and of his younger son, Godfrey Webster, esq. who
married Elizabeth, daughter of Gilbert Cooper, esq. of Lockear, in Derbyshire.
The old house is yet standing, and there is an elegant modern mansion, with a park,
the seat of Richard Newman, esq.
This manorial estate is about two miles east from Romford. Marcellinus Halys,
esq., the owner of Stewards, had also this possession, which descended to his son and
Elmes,
vulgarly
Nelmes.
Lees
Gardens.
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. 443
heir Thomas ; and afterwards belonged to Thomas How, who died in 1604. It is chap.
said to have next become the property of lord St. John ; and of Fisher, who died
in 1720: George Lewis, a painter, had a moiety of it for life; the other moiety being
in possession of John Hopkins, or Probyn, esq. counsellor-at-law, nephew of sir Ed-
ward Probyn, chief baron of the exchequer; who, in 1746, sold it to Mr. Dawson, of
the ordnance office. The present possessor is Hilton Jenkins, esq.
Maylerds is near Hornchurch, about two miles distant from Romford southward : Maylerds.
a manor named Wybridges has been joined to it. This estate appears to have for-
merly belonged to sir Anthony Browne, or his widow, and to John Browne ; after-
wards to Robert Charnock and William Fawkener. The manor of Wybridges was
again separated, and in the possession of sir William AylofFe, knt. and bart., who died
in 1627 : and in 1659, Mr. Edward Thorowgood paid quit-rent for this estate.
In 1659, James Rushout, esq. paid quit-rent for Maylerds; he was of Norcot, in
Worcestershire, and created a baronet in 1661. Sir James married a sister of Thomas
Vernon, esq. of Twickenham park, in Middlesex, and at his death, in 1698, left two
children, James and Elizabeth, minors; and sir James dying unmarried, in 1711, his
sister Elizabeth became his heiress: she was married to Paulet St. John, esq. of Dog-
mersfield, in Hampshire, member of parliament for Winchester ; and, dying without
issue, this estate was sold to John Bamber, M.D., on whose death this and his other
estates descended to Bamber Gascoigne, esq.
The manor of Bretons is two miles and a half from Romford, south of Maylerds, Bretons.
and bordering on Dagenham ; the ancient family, surnamed Le Breton, or De Breton,
had estates in this county, at Bocksted, in 1260 and 1310 ; and this manor, by the name
Bretonneslond, was passed by re-lease from William Nortoft to William Buckingham
in 1361; in the time of Edward the fourth to the family of Scargill,* or Scargwell,
one of whom was appointed keeper of Havering park ; and in the reign of Henry the
seventh it was purchased by William AylofFe, esq.f and was retained by his posterity
* In the kitchen window of Bretons was the arms— Gules, a chevron, or, between three crescents
ermine. Above, " Scargwell," and beneath, " Onus. Manerii de Bretons :" and in the church there was
an epitaph for Thomas Scargill, esq. who died in }4f75.~Simonds's Col. vol. iii. fol. 223, and fFeever's
Funeral Monum.
t The ancient Saxon family of Ayloffe was seated at Aloph, in Bocton, or Boughton parish, hundred Ayloffe
of Eythorne, near the Wye, in Kent ; of which town they were possessors in the time of Henry the third, f^""^)'-
The name of Aloph was given to this town from having anciently been under the jurisdiction of Adulphus,
ancestor of Thomas Aloffe, a person of great celebrity, and portreeve of London in the reign of Edward
the confessor: of this ancestry was John Ayloffe, seated at Hornchurch, in Essex, who was succeeded
by his son Thomas, who, dying in 1482, left by his wife Agnes, daughter of William Birch, esq. his son
William, and Agnes his daughter, married to sir John Bruges, lord mayor of London in 1523 ; who had
by him Anthony Bruges, from whom are descended the dukes of Chandos ; and Winifred, married to sir
Richard Sackville, of Buckhurst, ancestor of the dukes of Dorset. William succeeded his father in his
estates ; and purchased this manor of Brytensse, or Bretons, within the lordship of Haveriug-atte-Bower ;
444
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Suttons.
Sutton
Gate.
BOOK II. till the time of king Charles the first, when, in 1659, it was sold, with an estate named
Daniels, to John Winniffe, esq. It afterwards belonged to John Austin, esq. alder-
man of London ; succeeded by William Blackburn, esq., and by John Hopkins, esq.
owner of Reden Court; who rebuilt the manor-house and came and resided here.
The present possessor is Samuel Benton, esq.
Suttons is an estate joining to Bretons, and situated three miles south-east from
Romford : it forms part of the estate belonging to New College, Oxford, which they
had with the rest of the lands of Hornchurch Hospital. The name is supposed to
denote its southern situation with respect to Hornchurch Hall,* which also formed
part of the said estate, but is not mentioned as a separate manor till 1549. The col-
lege becoming possessed of this manor, with the rest of their estates in this parish, have
enjoyed it to the present time ; they let it out on lease.
Sutton Gate is a seat which formerly belonged to the Prujean family; who had also
large estates in Hornchurch. Sir Francis Prujean, knt. M.D. many years president
and the manor of Great Braxted, with divers lands there ; by his wife Etheldreda, daughter of sir John
Shaa, he left William, Thomas, and Agnes, or Elizabeth, wife of William Gaynsford, esq. of Crowhurst,
in Surrey. Thomas, the second son, was of Little Chishall, and died in 1554, leaving only one son, Wil-
liam, father of William Ayloffe, esq. serjeant-at-law, whose successor was his eldest brother, William
Ayloffe, esq. who left William, his eldest son, his successor: he was one of the judges of the king's bench
in 1579, and died in 1585. His wife was Jane, daughter of sir Eustace Sulyard ; and he was succeeded by
his second son, sir Thomas Ayloffe, knt. who, by his first wife, Mary Guicciardine, had Guicciardine Ayloffe,
secretary of the duchy of Lancaster, who died unmarried ; and Camilla, married to Edward Wentworth,
esq. of Bocking. William Ayloffe, eldest son of the last-mentioned William, born in 1563, succeeded ta
the family estate, and with his brother Thomas received the honour of knighthood from king James the
first, in 1603 ; and in 1612 was created a baronet, and died in 1627 : of his numerous offspring, Jane was
married to Edward Keightly, esq. of Greys, in Essex ; and the second son, sir Benjamin, succeeded to the
title and estate : he was distinguished for his loyalty to king Charles the first ; for which he was, by order
of the parliament, imprisoned in the Tower, his estate sequestered, and afterwards, with many others,
sent to Yarmouth, to be transported to the plantations in the West Indies ; but that order being repealed,
he returned to Braxted, and compounded for his estate by paying one thousand two hundred and forty-
two pounds ; on which account he was obliged to sell the manor of Bretons ; he had, however, the satis-
faction of living to see the Restoration, and was member of parliament on the return of Charles the
second : he died in 1662. His first wife was Margaret, daughter of Thomas Fanshaw, esq. and sister of
sir Henry Fanshaw, fatlicr of Thomas viscount Fanshaw, of Ware-park, in the county of Hertford ; by
this lady he had a numerous offspring; of these, William, the eldest son, joined his father in the service
of Charles the first, and was colonel of a regiment at the siege of Colchester. He died in 1675, without
surviving issue ; on which his next brother, sir Benjamin Ayloffe, succeeded to the title and estate. He
was an eminent merchant in London, and marrying Martha, daughter of sir John Tyrell, hart, of Heron
Hall, had his son John, who died unmarried, and Margaret and Martha. On the death of sir Benjamin,
in 1772, he was succeeded by his nephew, sir John Ayloffe, rector of Stanford Rivers, only son of Henry,
his third brother: sir John died unmarried in 1730, and was buried at Braxted. His successor was sir
Joseph Ayloffe, the only son of Joseph, son of sir William Ayloflfe, by the lady Alice, his third wife. —
Arms of Ayloffe : Sable, a lion rampant, or, betweeu three crosses potence, or. Crest : a lion rampant.
* Southton — Souton — Sutton.
LIBERTY OF HAVERING. 445
of the college of physicians, died in 1666, and is buried in this church with his two chap.
wives, Margaret, of the ancient family of Legatt, of Dagenhams ; and Gorges ; '
also his only son, Thomas Prujean, M.D.* Charles Clarke, esq. is the present lessee
of this estate.
The river that separates the hundred of Chafford from the liberty of Havering Dovers.
forms its southern boundary, as it does also of the manor of Dovers ; which is about
four miles from Romford, joining the marshes. This estate is also named Newen-
hall. In the reign of king Henry the third, Alice, wife of Richard de Dover, held
this estate; as did also John de Dover, who died in 1298. John de Dover was his
son; who was succeeded by his son, Philip de Dover, who died the following year:
Richard was his son and heir, and he had also the manor of Gooshays. In 1454,
Richard Walderne died holding this estate, which he left to his four daughters, co-
heiresses; Elizabeth, Joanna, Alianor, and Margaret. Alured Cornburgh, who
had possessions in Gooshays, had a tliird part of this estate in 1487 ; Agnes Chambers,
his sister, and John Crafford, son of lady Alice, another of Alured's sisters, were his
heirs. The manor was afterwards parcelled out ; of which a third part was in the
possession of John Redys, and Margaret his wife. The estate was again united in the
possession of Thomas Collet, esq. ; and Peter Collet, esq. at the time of his decease, in
1607, held this manor of Dovers, alias Newhall, by rent, twenty shillings in the sum-
monce of the pipe, and yearly alms to the brotherhood of the Cornutines. Hester,
wife of sir Anthony Aucher, and Sarah, wife of sir Peter Layman, were his daughters
and heiresses. In 1627, Elizabeth Fountain was lady of this manor; and it some
time afterwards belonged jointly to Robert Nash, LL.D. chancellor of Norwich, and
to the rev. Thomas Dunford ; and on the decease of Dr. Nash it wholly came to the
rev. Thomas Dunford. The present possessor is Henry Lawrence, esq.
The account of the several manors ending with Dovers, completes the extensive
district anciently forming only one parish, named Hornchurch, divided into the seven Hom-
. . , church.
wards of Havering Atte Bower, North End,' Noke Hill, Collier Row, Harold's
Wood, Romford Town, and South End. Other places of note are Havering-park,
Havering-plain, Wright's-bridge, Brick-hill, Mayland, Great Pondman's, Brakes,
Marshalls, Hare-street, so named as a contraction of Harold' s-street ; North End and
South End, in Hornchurch, Langton, and Hacton.f — The district, in modern times
forming the parish of Hornchurch, extends from the great London road between
Romford and Brentwood on the north, to the Thames on the south, containing six
thousand five hundred acres of land. The village is distant from Romford two, and
from London fourteen miles, and from the river Thames four miles and a half.J
* Arms of Prujean : Gules, on a bend cotised three roses, argent. Crest : a griffin's head erased, sable,
t Hacton-house belonged to John Sherwood ; afterwards to VVilliara Smith, secretary to the South-sea
Company, and to serjeant Baynes.
X The main street of Hornchurch was named Pell-street, in the time of Henry the second, from the
VOL. II. 3 M
446
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Church.
BOOK II. Hare Hall, near the hamlet of Hare-street, a mile distant from Romford, is an ele-
HareHaii. gant mansion of Portland stone, erected for John Arnold Wallenger, esq. by Mr.
Payne, in 1769, on the site of a former building- : it consists of a centre, with two
wings connected by colonnades ; the interior is fitted up in a handsome manner ; the
larger of the two drawing rooms is thirty-six feet by twenty, and extends the whole
length of the house, commanding pleasant views of considerable extent. Mr. Payne
has attained celebrity in the construction of staircases, and here, as at Wardour castle,
this part of the structure displays taste and elegance. Hare Hall is now the seat of
J. Western, esq.
This agreeable neighbourhood, rich in cultivation, contains numerous genteel man-
sions, the residences of families of distinction ; and here is the small but handsome
cottage, erected by Humphrey Repton, esq., who attained celebrity as a landscape
p-ardener, and published several esteemed works on that subject.
The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a lofty and spacious building of stone, mth
a tall spire rising to the height of one hundred and seventy feet, which forms a con-
spicuous object at a great distance.* The beautiful Avindow in the east end was
restored by the late incumbent, the rev. J. Walker, LL.B. in 1826. Against the east
wall of this church there is a carved figure of a bullock's head, with gilded horns.f
This manor and church were given to the great hospital of St. Bernard de Monte
numerous pelt-mongers, or skinners ; and Romford market was once famous for various articles made of
leather at this place. Another street in Hornchurch was called Pollard-street. An iron foundery has
been established here, and there is an extensive manufacture of bricks.
* In the high chancel there are epitaphs for each of the following persons : " John Thoroughgood, esq.
who died 9 June, 1688." " Peerce Tenante, esq. servant to our late sovereign king Edward VI., and of
queen Mary ; and also gentleman-usher in ordinary the space of thirty-two years to our sovereign lady
queen Elizabeth : he died Nov. 1560, aged 70." "Anne and Susannah, daughtei's of William Blackborne,
esq." " Omphry Drywood, who died in 1395." " Thomas Drywood, who died in 1591." " Thomas
Withcringes, esq. chief postmaster of Great Britain and foreign parts, who died in 1651." "Francis
Ram, esq. and Helen his wife. He died in 1617, aged 80: she in 1615, aged 58." " Charles Pratt, esq.
who died in 1623, aged 60." " The right hon. Thomas Clutterbuck, treasurer of the navy in the reign of
George I. He died in Nov. 1742, aged 46." — In the south chancel : " Lady Margaret Prujean, descended
from the Legatt family of Hornchurch." " Thomas Prujean, M.D. fellow of the college of physicians in
London, son of lady Margaret." " Sir Francis Prujean, knt. M.D. fellow of the said college." " Sir John
Sudbury, bart. of Ingatestone, who died 27 March, 1691, aged 31." — In the north chancel : " Richard
Blackstone, otherwise Blason, gentleman, who died in 1638, aged 62." — In the south aisle ; " Humphrey
Rye, citizen, and writer of the court letters, and attorney of the common pleas. He died 22 Oct. 1625,
aged 52." — Against the south wall of the church is an inscription for " Mrs» Aylett, the principal bene-
factor to this parish : she died 11 Sept. 1731, aged 68."
Benefactions. — Mrs. Alice Aylett, grand-daughter of captain John Aylett, who was at the siege of Col-
chester with his father, left ten pounds a year for the master of a charity-school, to teach ten boys to read,
write, and cast accounts : the Bull, at Hornchurch, is charged with the money.
Annuities given to the poor. — By Mrs. Scale, twenty shillings. — Mr. Ballard, six pounds. — Mr. Arm-
strong, five pounds to the poor, and one pound to the minister. — Mr. King, two pounds. — Samuel Ballard,
who died 12 June, 1691, left his marsh lands to tlie maintaining his tomb, and the remainder to the poor.
t This is supposed to have been the coat or crest belonging to the religious house in Savoy, to
Inscrip-
tions.
Benefac
tions.
- 3 g
LIBERTY OF HAVERING.
447
Jovis,* in the diocese of Sedun, or Syon, in Savoy, by king- Henry the seventh; who chap.
seems also to have founded the hospital, or cell here, subordinate to that foreign house, ^^^'
and dedicated it to St. Nicholas and St. Bernard ; and the gift was confirmed to them by Hospital.
his son, king Richard the first; and Henry the third again confirmed to them their
possessions, naming them " Magister et fratres de Monasterio Cornuto," — " Master
and brothers of the Horned Monastery ;" and forbidding them to make any further
acquisitions here without his special licence. Till the time of Henry the second, the
church was called the church of Havering ; and the name of Cornutum Monasterium,
or Cornuta Ecclesia, does not occur, and must therefore have been first applied in that
interval. Peter, earl of Savoy, having built the house, from him named the Savoy, in
the Strand, in 1245, gave it to the brethren of this hospital; and it was purchased of
them by Eleanor, niece of the said Peter, and wife of king Henry the third ; and she
gave it to her son Edmund, earl of Lancaster.
This possession, the manors of Hornchurch Hall, and Suttons, with view of frank-
pledge and gallows, in Havering, and a house in Fenchurch-street, London, seem to
have constituted the whole of their possessions ; the master and brothers were re-
moveable at the will of the provost of the monastery in Savoy ; and they had no college,
or common seal, and could neither plead, nor be impleaded. The revenues of this cell
being seized with the other priories alien, were, with leave of the pope, and Richard
the second, purchased by William of Wickham, for the endowment of New College,
in Oxford, which it has retained, with the tithes of the parish. They are also ordina-
ries of the place ; and the vicar, as he is styled, holds the church of them, by lease, or
life, without taking institution from the bishop of the diocese, and without paying pro-
curations, synodals, first-fruits, or tenths.
The population of Hornchurch, in 1821, amounted to one thousand, nine hundred,
and thirty-eight, and, in 1831, to two thousand, one hundred, and eighty-six.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE LIBERTY OF HAVERING.
Parish.
Archdeaconry.
Incumhent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Havering, B. C
Hornchurch, V
Romford, C
Essex
Pecul
Essex
Henry Ward
George Stacey
J. E. Rathbone
1784
1828
Not in Charge
Not in Charge
Not in Charge
m- * * *
New Coll. Oxford.
New Coll. Oxford.
which this was a cell. The arms of Altorf, in Switzerland, is a bull's head caboshed. — A'^, Salmon,
p. 243.
* Stow says, " Then have ye on the south side of Fennechurch-street, over against the wall or pump,
amongst other large and fair builded houses, one that sometime belonged to the prior of Monte Jovis, or
Monastero Cornute (a cell to Monte Jovis beyond the seas), in Essex; it was the prior's inn when he
repaired to London." — Survey of London, book ii. p. 79.
BOOK II.
448
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
CHAPTER XHL
Walthani
Holy
Cross.
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM.
From the river Lea on the west, this half hundred extends to Ongar and part of
Becontree eastward, about six miles; and from its southern extremity, to Harlow
hundred on the north, ten miles. It anciently belonged to the abbey of Waltham,
and passed with the site of that edifice to the families of Denney, Hay, Wake, and
Jones: it contains four parishes; Waltham Holy Cross, Epping, Nasing, and Ching-
ford, and is included in the forest.
WALTHAM HOLY CROSS.
This ancient town gives its name to the half-hundred, and also to that part of the
forest of Essex in which it is included: it is large and irregularly built, in a low
situation, near the river Lea, which here forms a number of small islands, bordered
by fruitful meadows: these streams are traditionally said to flow in the channels
originally made by king Alfred, when he altered the course of the river, and left the
Danish fleet on shore; they are now partly occupied by government, for the use of
the gunpowder mills and other works, which have been erected here; and which, in
detached branches, extend for a distance of neai'ly four miles towards Epping. The
surrounding country is peculiarly beautiful, with numerous elegant mansions. In
the town there are also many good houses; and besides the church, there are two
places for public worship belonging to societies of Baptists, and one for Wesleyan
methodists. The market is on Tuesday, with fairs on the 14th of May, and on the
25th and 26th of September ; there is also a statute fair. Distance from Epping five,
and from London twelve miles.
The first occurrence of the name in records is in the time of Canute the Great,
when it was in the possession of Tovy, or Tovius, standard-bearer to that monarch;
he was a man of great wealth and authority, and, attracted by the game that abounded
in the forest, built a number of houses here, and peopled them with sixty-six inhabi-
tants: he also founded a church for two priests, to whose keeping he committed a
miraculous cross, said to have been discovered in a vision to a carpenter at Montacute,
in the western country, and in an unkno\vn and mysterious manner brought to this
place, where, through its pretended divine or holy influence, numerous miracles were
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 449
reported to have been performed. From this relic the place took the adjunct to its chap.
name of Holy Cross.* Athelston, the son of Tovius, after his father's decease, by a ^'"'
course of prodigality and extravagance, became dispossessed of the greater part of his
inheritance; and this lordship being conveyed to the crown, was given by Edward
the confessor to earl Harold. The gift, however, was made conditionally, as appears
from the grant remaining in the Tower, in which it is ordered that Harold should
build a monastery in the place where " was a little convent, subject to the canons, and Founda-
their rulers;" "and should furnish it with all necessaries, relics, dresses, and orna- SJI'e^bbe
ments," " in memoriam mei, et conjugis mei Eadithe." The convent here mentioned
was the original foundation of Tovius, which he had himself augmented by increasing
both the number of priests and value of the endowments. These conditions were
performed by Harold in 1062, and it is stated that each of the canons had one manor
appropriated for his support, and that the dean had six, making in all seventeen. It
appears from the charter of confirmation, granted by Edward the confessor that
Harold endowed his new foundation with the manors then called Passefeld, Welda,
or Walde, Upminster, Wahlfara or \^^allifare, Tippedene, Alwartune, Wudeforde,
Larabehyth, Nasingam, Brikendune, Melnho, Abrichsey, Wormelei, Nethleswelle,
or Neteswell, Hicche, Lukintone, and Westwaltham.f
Although some have given credit to a tradition mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis
and other writers, that Harold escaped from the battle of Hastings, and lived some
time after in religious seclusion at Chester, yet the generally received story is that he
fell in the battle, and that his body was interred at Waltham, where, during a long
period, a tomb was shewn as his sepulchral monument, which had, we are told, an
effigy, with the inscription, " Hie jacet Harold infelix." Fuller has given a circum-
stantial account of the opening of this monument towards the end of the reign of
Elizabeth, when a skeleton was found, supposed to be that of the Anglo-Saxon king,
inclosed in a stone coffin.^ It is said that William, after his accession, showed no
favour to the convent at Waltham, but that he forcibly took away from the church
of the Holy Cross much of its plate and other moveables of value.§ It appears also
from the Domesday-book, that the canons of Waltham did not then hold all the
lands which had been given to them by Harold, Melnho, or Melehou, and Alrichsey
* De miraculis Crucis de Monteacuto per fabrum invent! tempore Canuti et de ejus dcductione ad
Waltham. — MS. in Hill. Cott. Julius D. vi. 2.
t Farmer's Hist, of Waltham, p. 13. Robert of Gloucester describes Harold's foundation of Waltham :
" So that yt was thoru hyre wyth gret honour ybore [I In the holy rode chyrche, that he let hyui sulf rere.
To the hous of Waltham, and ybrost anerthe there, || An hous of relygyon, of canons ywys."
X Fuller's Worthies, p. 320.—" The last account wc have of it (Harold's monument) is, that it was at
Waltham mill, and seen there by Dr. Uuedal, of Enfield."— il/oru///.
§ Vita et miracula Haroldi quondam regis Anglia;, ap. MSS. Harl.
founda
tiou
450 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. then belonging to the bishop of Durham: but the canons may have sold these lands
or exchanged them for others. Matilda, the first wife of Henry the first, gave to the
clerks of Waltham the mill at that place ; and Adelais, or Adeliza, of Lorraine, his
second wife, bestowed on them all the tithes of Waltham, both those of her demesne
lands and those of her tenants. Various other endowments were given to the house
at Waltham at different times, until 1177, when the foundation of dean and eleven
canons was dissolved by Henry the second, on account, as the charter of their suc-
cessors states, of their lewdness and debauchery.* On the eve of Pentecost, the king
visited Waltham, and Walter, bishop of Rochester (on the part of the archbishop of
Second Canterbury), Gilbert, bishop of London, John, bishop of Norwich, and Hugh, bishop
of Durham, assembled by precept from the king and mandate of the pope, when
sixteen regular canons, of the order of St. Augustine, namely, six of Cirencester, six
of Oseney, and four of Chich, were inducted into the church, and Walter de Gaunt,
a canon of Oseney, was made the first abbot of the new foundation. The church was
dedicated first to the Holy Cross, and afterwards to St. Lawrence, and was declared
by the pope's bull exempt from all episcopal jurisdiction. In 1191, the use of the
pontificals, the mitre, crozier, ring, &c. were granted to the abbot.f By his charter,
the king confirmed to the Augustine canons all the possessions which had been held
by their predecessors, and also granted them, in addition, the manors of Siwardston
and Epping. Richard the first twice renewed the charter, and added to the former
grants the whole manor of Waltham, with the great wood, and Harold's Park, and
liberty to inclose it for the use of the canons. He also gave them all the wastes,
three hundred acres of assart land, the market of Waltham, and the parish of
Nesinges, with all its wastes, and a hundred and sixty acres of assarts there. In lieu
of all services they were to pay yearly at Michaelmas, into his treasury, the sum of
sixty pounds.^ Other valuable grants were made during this reign. Henry the
third often took up his residence at Waltham Abbey, and in gratitude for the hos-
pitality of his entertainers, he granted them the right to hold a fair annually for seven
days, with various privileges and rich gifts. From Matthew Paris we learn, that in
* Cum in ea canonici derique minus religiose et seqiialiter vixissent, ita quod infamia conversationis
illorum scandalizasset, visum fuit — opus esse pietatis, illis amotis, quos infamia; nota maculaverat, viros
sanctae conversationis substituere, et opinione laudabiles.
t The charter given by Henry the second thus defines the ancient liberties of Waltham church :—
" Semper fuit regalis capella ex primitiva sui fundatione nuUi archiepiscopo vel episcopo, sed tantuni
ecclesiae Romana; et regiae disposition! subjecta." It is still exempt from the archdeacon's visitation.
X In the reign of Richard the second, the abbot of Waltham altered the course of the river Lea. The
following licence was granted by the lord chancellor for that purpose. " Vice comiti Essex, salnteni.
Sciatis quod dedimus liccntiam abbati de Waltham avertendi cursum aquae de la Lui iu \^illa de Waltham
sicut voluerit, sine dampno alicujus, et ad commodum navigii : et ideo tibi precipimus quod hoc ei facerc
permittas sine impedimento. Teste meipso apud Westmonasterium nono die Septembris."
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 451
1242, the church of Waltham was again solemnly dedicated in the presence of the chap.
king and many of his nobles. This, it is supposed, was on occasion of some additional ^"^'
buildings being then annexed to the original fabric, of which our Lady's chapel, on
the south side, now fitted up as a school-room, may have formed a part.
During this reign, when Simon de Seham was abbot, in 1245, a dispute arose Disputes
between the townsmen and the abbot of Waltham about the common land. The men the monks
of Waltham came into the marsh, which the abbot and his convent had hitherto en- ^^^^ ^^^^^
joyed, and killed four mares, worth forty shillings sterling at least, and drove away all
the rest. The abbot thought it politic to let this pass over without notice on his part
for the present ; and the next year the same men of Waltham went to the abbot, on
the Tuesday before Easter, in the name of the whole town, and demanded of him that
he should remove his mares and colts out of the marsh. This the abbot refused to do,
adding, that if his bailiffs had placed his cattle otherwise than they ought, they might
do well to have it amended, and yet so as to defer the matter till the Tuesday after
Easter, on which day Richard, duke of Cornwall, brother to the king, came to Wal-
tham, and both the men and women of the town went to the gate of the abbey to
receive the abbot's final answer. He, however, again put them oif, with the informa-
tion that he was preparing for a journey into Lincolnshire, to meet the justices
itinerant ; and promised that he would settle the affair on his return. The townsmen,
however, were not satisfied with this, but went into the pasture, and in driving out
the abbot's mares and colts, drowned three worth twenty shillings, spoiled ten more
to the value of ten marks, and beat the keepers who resisted them even to the shedding
of blood. Fearing that they should be prosecuted on the return of the abbot, they
desired a "love day," and offered to pay damages for the injury committed; but instead
of doing so they went to London, and accused the abbot to the king of having wrong-
fully taken away their common land, and of bringing up new customs ; adding that he
would " eat them up to the bone." The abbot now excommunicated the men of
Waltham ; and they impleaded him at common law, for appropriating their common
land to himself. After a long suit in the king's bench, the townsmen lost their cause,
and were glad to confess that they had done wrong. They were amerced twenty
marks, which the abbot remitted ; and, on their submission, he assoyled them from
the excommunication. The same abbot was soon after engaged in a law-suit with
Peter, duke of Savoy, the king's uncle, who was lord of the manor of Cheshunt, con-
cerning some meadow land between two branches of the river Lea; one asserting that
the eastern stream, the other that the western stream was the main current of the river
dividing the counties * of Essex and Hertfoi'dshire. Abbot Simon and duke Peter at
* " Here marke that Cheston men and Hartfordshire men say that the kinge's streame at Waultham partith
Herthfordshir and Estsax. But Estsax men by forest cliarter claime shire grounde of Estsax to SmauUey
bridge." — Leland. Itin. vol. vi. p. 42. Ed. Hearne.
452 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. length came to an agreement; but the dispute about the land was often revived, and
was undecided when the convent was resigned to Henry the eighth.*
On the surrender of the abbey to the king's commissioners, in 1593, the gross amount
of the revenues, according to Speed, was one thousand and seventy-nine pounds, twelve
shillings, and a penny annually ; and Dugdale states the clear income at nine hundred
pounds, four shillings, and three pence. It was one of those convents whose superiors
were mitred parliamentary barons, and in respect to precedency its abbots held the
twentieth place among them in parliament.f
After the dissolution, the site of the abbey and nearly the whole of its extensive
possessions, were granted on a lease of thirty-one years, to sir Anthony Denny, gentle-
man of the privy chamber to king Henry the eighth; who dying in 1549, his widow
purchased the reversion in fee from king Edward the sixth. Sir Edward Denny,
grandson to sir Anthony, created earl of Norwich by king Charles the first, was the
next possessor : from him it passed, by the marriage of his daughter Honora, to the
celebrated James Hay, earl of Carlisle ; and afterwards was conveyed to the family of
sir WiUiam Wake, bart. of Clevedon, in Somersetshire.
Abbey- Xlie abbey-house was a large building, of which the front was modernised by
Charles Wake Jones, esq., and the whole of it was pulled down in 1770. An arched
gateway over a bridge, near the abbey-miUs, and a dark vaulted passage of two divi-
sions, extending from the house to the convent garden, are all that remain of this
ancient structure.^
* Farmer's History of Walthani, p. 71, &c. who relates the following story of this last-mentioned
monarch : — Having disguised himself in the dress of one of his guards, he contrived to visit, about dinner-
time, the abbey of Waltham, where he was immediately invited to the abbot's table. A sirloin of beef
being set before him, he played so good a part that the abbot exclaimed, " Well fare thy heart, and here's
a cup of sack to the health of thy master ; T would give a hundred pounds, could I feed so heartily on beef
as thou dost ; but my poor queasy stomach can hardly digest the bi'east of a chicken." The king pledged
him in return, and, having dined heartily and thanked the abbot for his good cheer, he departed. A few
days after, the abbot was sent for to London and lodged in the Tower, where he was kept a close prisoner,
and, for some time, fed upon bread and water. At length a sirloin of beef was set before him, on which
he fed as heartily as one of his own ploughmen. In the midst of his meal, the king burst into the room
from a private closet, and demanded his hundred pounds, which the abbot gave with no small pleasure;
and on being released returned to his monastery with a heart and pocket much lighter than when he left
it a few days before.
t A complete list of the deans and abbots of Waltham is given in an excellent account of the abbey in
the "Graphic Illustrator," by E. W. Brayley, a meritorious publication, which unfortunately only reached
a few numbers. Lists are also to be found in Newcourt's Repertoriura, and Brown Willis's History of
Mitred Abbeys.
X In the convent garden, which is now tenanted by a market-gardener, there is an aged tulip-tree, said
to be the largest in England. This tree is yet observed to bear a great abundance of flowers ; and
near the abbey-mill, which is still occupied for grinding corn, there is a wide space of ground, sur-
rounded by small dwellings, called the Bramblings, but formerly named Rome-land, as is conjectured, on
account of its rents having been appropriated to the holy see. On this spot king Henry the eighth is said
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 453
There are four hamlets, which are also manors. They are all within the forest. CHAP.
The hamlet of Sewardstone is south from Waltham, near the river : it is said to ^*^*'
have formerly been a parish, and some remains of an old building have been spoken of Seward-
as the ruins of the church. On the death of James, earl of Carlisle, this estate and
Woodredon, or Roydon, were sold, as devised in his will of 1660; the first of these Woodroy-
was purchased by William Pocock, in 1674, and it afterwards belonged to James Roydon.
Southeby, esq. from whom it descended to his posterity. Roydon, in 1742, belonged
to John Gibson, esq. This hamlet is eastward from the church, on an eminence,
which forms the boundary of the extensive prospect from Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire.
Upshire and Hallifield continued in possession of the crown, after the dissolution of Upshire
the abbey, till 1571, when they were granted, Avith other possessions, to Richard Hill Hallifield
and William James. Hallifield Hall afterwards belonged to the Collard family, of
Albanes, in Bernston.*
Harold's park is part of the lands belonging to the earl of that name, and part of Harolds
what he gave to the abbey ; it is about three miles north-east from the church ; the
house is in this parish, but most of the lands are in Nasing.
Warley park formerly was in the possession of Richard Morgan, esq. and is now Warley
the elegant seat of William Banbury, esq. ; it is near Copped Hall, and the grounds ^^ ''
extend to the parish of Epping.
In various parts of this parish, particularly near the town and the London road,
numerous gentlemen's houses occupy agreeable situations ; and at High Beach and
Sewardstone Green, on the borders of the forest, numerous genteel mansions and ele-
gant seats, add to or share the unrivalled beauty of the surrounding scenery.
to have had a small pleasure-house, which he frequently occupied on his visits to Waltham. The statute
fair is yet held on this ground.
* At a forest court, held October 4, 1670, before Aubrey, earl of Oxford, chief-justice in Eyre of the forests
on this side the Trent, and steward of the forest of Essex, the claim of the lord of the manor of Waltham
upon this forest, with other liberties, immunities, privileges, &c. was very ample and extensive, compre-
hending whatever seemed to have been granted to the abbey ; and to this document all persons concerned
may at any time refer.
The inhabitants of ancient messuages and tenements in Sewardstone hamlet, as well free as customary,
claimed common of pasture in all the wastes there, the whole year, for neat beasts, and horse beasts ;
pannage for their hogs, except in the forbidden or fence month (that is, fifteen days before old Midsummer-
day and fifteen days after), and common of estovers, or liberty of cutting wood on the wastes, sufficient
for their firiug, from All-Saints to St. George's ; to be drawn away each time on a sledge, only with two
horses. The customary tenants of Upshire hamlet claimed, in the waste of the forest, common of pasture
all the year, for all their commonable cattle, except in the forbidden month ; and common of estovers by
prescription, in the woods called Otehawes, Kedding-hills, Woodriddens, Harth-hills, Longrunning,
Burned-hearth, Leading-quean, Highbeach-green, and Amesbury.
The lord of the manor of Hallifield claimed to hold a capital messuage and one hundred acres in the
hamlet of Hallifield and Upshire ; and to have free liberty to cut trees and wood growing upon his own
grounds, for repairs, and hedge-bote and fire-bote.
VOL. II. 3 N
454 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. The original abbey church of Waltham, dedicated to the Holy Cross and St.
Church Nicholas, was built in the usual cathedral form, and consisted of a nave, transept,
choir, ante-chapel, &c. It was a very considerable structure, and covered a large
extent of ground, of which some idea may be formed when we find that the situation
of Harold's tomb was about forty yards from the termination of the present building,
in what is supposed to have been at that time the east end of the choir, or of some
chapel beyond it. The intersection of the transept is yet visible. The ancient tower
rose above this, and contained " five great tunable bells," which, on the suppression,
were purchased of the king's commissioners. Part of the tower having been some
time in a very decayed state, fell down soon after the surrender of the abbey, probably
on pulling down the choir, which, with the east chancel and transept, were entirely
destroyed,* leaving only the west end of the building, which constitutes the present
parochial church.
This venerable relic of antiquity is rather large than handsome, and very dark
within; yet it contains many curious and interesting specimens of ornamented columns,
semi-circular arches, and other characteristics of Norman architecture. The length
of the building is one hundred and six feet; and in breadth, including side aisles, it is
fifty-three feet; the tower is fifteen feet square; six arches on each side separate the
nave from the aisles; five of them are semi-circular, and decorated with rude zig-zag
and spiral ornaments ;f the sixth of tliese, at the west end, in either series, is pointed,
indicating a later construction. Massive columns support these arches, above which
there are tAvo double rows of smaller arches, with corresponding ornaments. The
upper rows of these enlighten the roof, and at the bottom of the lower tier there is
the narrow passage called triforia, generally found in conventual and cathedral
churches. The roof is of timber, of modern construction, but little ornamented; and
modern galleries have been erected over the side aisles. Four of the pillars, two
opposite each other on each side of the nave, are ornamented with wavy and spiral
indentations, similar to those of the nave and choir in Durham cathedral. The square
tower at the west end was erected in 1558; it rises to the height of eighty-six feet, J
* Anno 1556, iiuijiimis, for coles to undermine a piece of the steeple, which stood after the first fall,
two shillings. — Churchwardens' accounts.
t The spiral grooves, (deeply cut) proceeding from the base to the capital, on two of these columns,
and indented zig-zags, surrounding two others in successive rows, are exactly similar to the great columns
of the nave in Durham cathedral, the re-building of which was commenced in the Norman style in 1096,
and which is one of the most interesting fabrics in the kingdom.
X The fund to defray the expense of building it was acquired from various sources ; as the sale of stone,
lead, and timber from the monastic buildings ; but chiefly by the sale of the goods of a brotherhood
belonging to this church, consisting of three priests, three choristers, and two sextons, which was not
dissolved till the time of Edward the sixth. Fuller says, the bells purchased from the old steeple were
for some years hung in a temporary timber frame, erected at the south-east end of the church-yard, where
ihere then stood two large yew trees ; and they remained there till the present structure was completed ;
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 455
and contains six bells.* From the south side of the church a chapel projects, formerly C H A P.
' Our Lady's," now a school-room, under which there is a beautiful arched crypt; _
" the fairest," says Fuller, " that ever I saw." This was once a place of worship,
having- its priest and altar, and a reading-desk, covered with silver. It is yet a matter
of doubt whether this was the chapel stated to have been here, dedicated to St.
George. What remains of a third chapel is appropriated to the reception of broken
tomb-stones and rubbish, at the south-east corner of the church.
The entrance under the tower is evidently of later workmanship than the tower
itself; and though we may believe this door-way to have belonged to the original
church, yet it seems probable, from the sculptured foliage of the capitals here, and the
high-pointed form of this and of the two contiguous arches of the side aisles, originally
semi-circular, that both have been altered in the later part of the reign of Henry the
third. The south aisle is but little altered, and the windows retain nearly their
original forms: that on the north has been more modernised. Toward the east end,
the arms of Philip and Mary are displayed on a handsome screen of wood; and near
it there formerly was a painting of the founder Harold, on glass, which was destroyed
by the puritanical zeal of the fanatics, in the beginning of the reign of Charles the
first. The font is apparently very ancient.f
but that, notwithstanding gifts of timber, &c. the funds fell so short, that they were obliged to be sold
to raise more money; so that Waltham, which formerly had "steeple-less bells, now had a bell-less
steeple." — History of IValtham Abbey.
* These were hung in the tower, in the early part of the present century.
t The living of this church is a perpetual curacy, and a donative in the gift of the trustees, under the
will of the earl of Norwich, who gave a messuage (for the habitation) and a rent charge of one hundred
pounds a year, payable out of the manor of Claveringbury. The duties in fees in respect of the soil and
building of this church, and of the church-yard, are payable to the churchwardens in trust for the parish.
The estates vested in trustees for repairing and maintaining the church, consist of meadow and arable
lands, and two dwelling-houses, the present annual receipts being ninety-one pounds, fourteen shillings.
From tables of benefactions, Sfc. in the church, from 1579 to 1826.
The tomb of Harold, at the east end of the church, was of plain but rich grey marble, on which was Inscrip-
" a sort of cross fleury, much descanted on by art," says Fuller ; and his epitaph, according to the same tions.
author, was this pathetic sentence, " Harold infelix :" but Weever gives half a dozen lines of barbarous
Latin, which are probably genuine, as they have been preserved in a very ancient MS. belonging to the
abbey.— ^«r/. J\IS. 3776.
In the time of Elizabeth, sir Edward Denny's gardener discovered a large stone coffin, supposed to
contain the royal corpse ; and a second coffin was afterwards discovered, supposed one of the brothers ;
the contents of both being exposed to the air, crumbled into dust.
Besides king Harold and his two brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine, many persons of eminence were buried
here in the early ages : Hugh Nevil, protho-forester of England, who died " full of years" in 1222, was,
according to Matthew Paris, buried here, " under a noble engraven marble sepulchre :" also, his son,
John Nevil, who succeeded to his offices and estates. Robert Passelow, archdeacon of Levves, a despised
and discarded minion of Henry the third, who died at his house at Waltham, in 1252. A defaced gray
slab, near the altar rails, indented on wliich is a mitred figure, with two or three plates of queen Eliza-
beth's time, are the oldest memorials that now remain.
There is a mural monument near the east end of the south aisle for sir Edward Denny, knt. " sonn of
456 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. This town gave birth to Roger de Waltham, a canon of St. Paul's, and a writer
Natives of some note in the thirteenth century; and to John de Waltham, keeper of the privy
dentrat ^^^^ ^" ^^^ ^^^^" ^^ Richard the second. Robert Fuller, the last abbot, to whom the
Waltham. temporalities were restored in 1526, surrendered this convent in 1541, and was
afterwards elected prior of St. Bartholomew, in Smithfield : from his history, written
ye right honourable sir Anthony Denny, counsellor of estate, and executor to king Henry VIII., and of
Joan Chanipernon, his wife," and his lady, who was the daughter of Pierce Edgecombe, esq. of Mount
Edgecombe, and " svmtime maide of honor to qveene Elizabeth," and who, " ovt of meane fortvnes, but
no meane affection, prodvced this monvnient." Sir Edward was one of the council of Munster, in Ireland,
and governor of Kerry and Desmond. He died on the I"2th of February, 1599, aged 52 years, and is repre-
sented in plate armour, lying on his side ; his right hand resting on his sword. His lady has a ruff and
close boddice : and, kneeling in front, are their ten children, six boys and four girls. *' This worthy
knight, cvt off like a pleasavnt frvit before perfect ripeness," was *• religiovs, wise, just, right valiant,
most active, learnings frinde, prides foe, kindly lovinge, and mvtch beloved ; and that he was honored
with ye dignities of knighthood by dve deserte, in ye field." Over the tomb are the family arms, (with
quarterings.) Gules, a saltire argent, between twelve crosses patt^e or.
On the same monument : —
Learn, curious reader, ere thou pass.
That once sir Edward Denny was
A courtier of the chamber,
A soldier of the fielde.
Whose tongue could never flatter.
Whose heart could never yield."
Edward Denny, first and only earl of Norwich, was also buried in this church, in Dec. 1630. Also,
the lady Elizabeth Greville, daughter of lord John Grey, of Groby.
On a large altar-tomb in the north aisle, bearing in front a ship under sail, sculptured in alabaster,
with shields of arms and other ornaments, is a Latin epitaph, of which the following is a translation : —
" Under this marble lie buried the remains of Robert Smith, formerly captain of a merchant-ship, who
visited the different climes of the world, whence he brought back both fame and riches. He was a man
of honest life, free from crimes ; in all his adventures, amidst the seas and among enemies, he never was
deficient in fortitude, and in money affairs he ever preserved probity. At length, weary of public life,
though always prosperous, he retired to his villa near this church, to enjoy solitude, where afar from
business, spending his time in agricultural pursuits, he enjoyed an honourable relaxation. He was born
at Banbury, in Oxfordshire, in the month of February, 1637, of an ancient and formerly opulent family ;
which afterwards being reduced to poverty, he, while alive, affectionately supported, and, on his death,
honourably provided for. In the month of March, 1697, having completed his sixtieth year, while pre-
paring to attend, as was usual with him, divine service, he was struck with apoplexy, and passed quickly
from sound health to a happy immortality. He had but one wife, Mary Duffield, of Medmenham, in
Buckinghamshire, by whom he had no offspring, but she was to him in all other respects an excellent wife.
She also is a woman of an ancient family, which she adorns daily with new virtues ; while her husband
lived, she performed all the duties of a good wife, and, when he died, she wisely determined, as fits a
widow, to lead a life of mourning, and hung up to the eternal memory of her husband this votive tablet."
In the same aisle a white marble tablet, with the figure of an angel weeping over an urn, bears an
inscription to the memory of Thomas Leverton, esq., " a benefactor to this, his native parish, the donor
of its organ, and the founder of its charity-schools." He was " many years architect and surveyor to his
Majesty's land revenue, and in other public offices ;" but, dying on the 23d of September, 1824, aged
eighty-one years, his remains were interred in the nave. Arms : Gules, three estoiles with eight points, a
canton ermine. Crest : a pelican or.
The charities of this parish are too numerous for insertion — of those of older date. Green's almshouses
were rebuilt in 1818, in a very handsome style; the expenses defrayed by money left for that purpose by
Mrs. Robert Mason.
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 457
in four hundred and sixty pages, folio, the fair manuscript of which was in the pos- chap.
session of the earl of Carlisle, Fuller, his namesake (made curate of Waltham by that
nobleman in 1648), professes to have derived all the materials of his account of
" Waltham Abbey," given in his " Church History of Britain," which was published
in 1656.
The population of this parish, in 1821, was as follows: the town, 2097; hamlet of
Holyfield, 293: of Sewardstone, 853; Upshire, 739: in 1831, the town was 2202;
Holyfield, 332; Sewardstone, 825; Upshire, 745; in all, 4104.
EPPING.
This large parish, extending north-east from Waltham Abbey, is above thirty miles Epping.
in circumference; it lies on the borders of the forest, and is divided into Epping Upland,
where the church is situated, and the Town-side, where the town is built; consisting
of one long and wide street, on a ridge of hills of considerable extent, north and
south; it is of later origin than the church, and seems to have become more consi-
derable after the turning of the road, which used to pass from Harlow to London,
by the corner of Wintry Wood, across the forest to Abridge. In 1518, John Baker,
mercer, of Epping, in his will charged his estate of Stonards, in Theydon Gernon,
with payment of a sura of money for repairing the road between Harlow and London
by Epping Street, for the purpose, as is supposed, which was ultimately effected, of
inducing travellers to pass this way; and the high road to Newmarket passes through
the town.
There are some good houses of modern erection; and, besides the Episcopal chapel,
which is an elegant building, there are places for public worship, belonging to the
Lidependents, and to the society of Friends. In the summer months this place is
resorted to on account of its healthy and pleasant situation, and it is also well suited
for schools, of which there are several, among which may be mentioned in particular
a boarding-school for boys, sons of the members of the society of Friends, opened in
this town about thirty years ago, by Mr. Isaac Payne, and during that period of time
the number of scholars has been between sixty and seventy, without any variation
worth mentioning; latterly, however, many children belonging to other religious
sects have been admitted; a fact which may be regarded as a prpof of the growing
liberality of the age.
This town, though situated upon a ridge, is well supplied with water from land
springs; but though several attempts have been made here, as well as in the neigh-
bouring parishes, to procure a purer and more certain supply of this prime necessary
of life, from what is termed the main spring, yet it is believed that they have in no
instance succeeded. A well was sunk, a few years since, on Mr. Payne's premises,
to the depth of two hundred feet; boring was then commenced, and continued two
458 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
DOOK II. hundred and twenty feet farther, but without reaching- the main spring. The blue
clay beg-an to yield to a lighter and more sandy substance, but it being- found imprac-
ticable to keep out the water from the land springs, the undertaking was given over as
hopeless, and the well covered in. At the end of five months it was found that the
water had risen to within ten feet of the surface, and it has so continued. This water
is limpid and soft. The well extends eighty feet below the bed of the Thames, and
rises three hundred and forty above its level. The weekly market is on Friday, and
a large fair for cattle is held on Tuesday, in Whitsun-week, and another on the 13th
of November, which is well attended by graziers from the adjoining districts. Distant
from London sixteen miles.*
The lands of this parish are, in the record of Domesday, included in the hundred
of Harlow, except what belonged to the canons of Waltham, which are entered in
that half hundred. Afterwards, the whole were divided into eight manors.
Eppin? Epping-bury manor-house is about a mile distant from the church northward, in a
low situation, near the road; this estate forms part of what belonged to the convent
of Waltham, according to the statement in Domesday, on its first institution, and
therefore must have been given by earl Harold. When Henry the second converted
that house into an abbey for regulars, he granted and gave them " Eppinges, with all
its appertenances; and the land at Eppinges, which Bruning the priest held of the
canons ;f the tithes of the king's lordship in the same town, and the church, with all
its appertenances, and the land of Helyoth." This, notwithstanding the words * granted
* The soil in tlie neighbourhood of Epping is a wet strong loam, with little or no turnip land; and a
large proportion of the lands here, and in other parts of the half hundred, are covered with very rich grass.
The forest of Epping is an extensive tract of good woodland, deriving its present name from the town :
formerly called Waltham Forest, and, in more remote ages, the forest of Essex ; which, in the reign of
James the second, extended almost over the whole of the county. This forest is under the jurisdiction
of a lord warden and four verderers ; the former of these titles is hereditary in the family of sir James
Tilney Long, bart. The verderers are elected by the freeholders of the county, and retain their offices
for life. The forest rights are as various as the diiferent manors that surround it. In this forest, though
within twelve miles of London, wild stags are yet found, and a stag is annually turned out on Easter
Monday, under an establishment patronised by the principal merchants of the city ; the kennel for the
hounds, and the house belonging to the hunt, were some time ago rebuilt. The Easter hunt at Epping
commenced in 1226, when king Henry the third confirmed to the citizens of London free warren, or
liberty to hunt in a circuit round their city, in the forests of Stanway, (Staines) Hainault, &c. The lord
mayor and aldermen formerly attended on these occasions. At the Forest-court, held in 1670, William
lord Grey brought in a very large claim for his manor of Epping, of liberties, privileges, immunities,
exemptions, courts baron and leet, view of frank-pledge, profits and emoluments, as extensive as any
manor doth or can possibly enjoy, &c. ; also, to have a weekly market here on Friday (as first granted
by king Henry the third, in 1253) with two fairs, &c. The lord North and Grey obtained a grant for two
markets weekly, one on Tuesday, the other on Friday : the first is disused.
f It has been supposed by some writers, that this manor is what in the Confessor's charter is named
Tippedene : but this may be best ascertained by reference to the land-meetes in the charter itself. First,
♦I
I
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 459
and gave,' is only to be considered a confirmation charter of tlieir former possessions, t: H A p.
which they consequently retained till their dissolution; and it afterwards remained
in the possession of the crown till queen Mary, in 1558, gave this manor to the dutchy
of Lancaster; and it was, in 1572, granted, by queen Elizabeth, to Thomas Henneage
and Anne his wife, in fee tail, to hold of the dutchy of Lancaster. Sir Thomas
Henneage was captain of the guards, treasurer of the chamber, vice-chamberlain of
the household, chancellor of the dutchy of Lancaster, and privy counsellor to queen
Elizabeth;* he died in 1595, holding this manor of Epping with appertenances ; by
his wife Anne, daughter of sir Nicholas Pointz, by Joan, daughter of Thomas lord
Berkley, he had his only daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, who was married to sir
Moyle Finch, of Eastwell, in Kent, son of sir Thomas Finch, alias Herbert, lineally
descended from Henry Fitz-Herbert, chamberlain to king Henry the first; and who
had the name of Moyle from his mother, daughter and co-heiress of sir Thomas
Moyle.f In 1635, their descendant, Thomas, earl of Winchelsea, sold this manor to
William lord Grey, whose descendants retained possession of it till Ralph lord Grey,
of Werke, who died at Epping without issue, in 1706, left this estate to his cousin,
William lord North and Grey, whose widow, and his heir Francis, lord North,
sold the manor and estate, together with Copped Hall, to Edward Conyers, esq. of
Walthamstow.
This manor was originally divided into Epping-bury, and Epping-presbyter ; the
latter holds a court-leet here under a maple-tree, in the road betAveen Epping-bury
and the church; they both belong to the same lord, who is paramount of all the rest.
The ancient mansion of Copt, or Copped Hall,:}: was a little more southerly than Copped
the present building, which is nearly two miles from the church. The former was
Avithin the parish of Waltham, the latter is in that of Epping, as was determined by a
legal investigation at the summer assizes in 1761. This estate was given by Richard
the first to Richard Fitz-Aucher, who fixed his residence here, and built a stately
Tippaburne, or brook ; tlience to the bounds of the valley, with its back inclosure ; so to the water, and
along that till you come again to Tippeburne. Monastic, vol. ii. p. 12. N. Salmon, p. 31.
* He was of the ancient family of Henneage, of the county of Lincoln, where they flourished from the
time of Henry the third : Robert Henneage, his father, was auditor of the dutchy of Lancaster, and sur-
veyor of the queen's woods beyond the Trent; and died in 1556. — Col. Peerage, ed. 1756, vol. il. p. 307.
f Sir Moyle Finch, created a baronet in 1611, died in 1614: of his seven sons and four daughters,
there survived him sir Thomas, John, sir Henneage, father of Henneage, created lord Finch and earl of
Nottingham, ancestor of the earls of Winchelsea and Nottingham. Of the daughters, Katharine was
married to sir John Wentworth, of Goslield Hall, in Essex. The lady Elizabeth, their mother, was
created viscountess of Maidstone in 1623, and countess of Winchelsea in 1628, with limitation to her
heirs male. On her death in 1633, her second son and heir was Thomas, earl of Winchelsea.
X Supposed so named from the Saxon Coppe, the top of a hill. — Morant. Not so named from Cobbinir,
a rivulet near it, or from two turrets of the old house, coped, or covered with \qaiX.— Fuller' s Hist, of
fValtham Abbey, p. 8, 9. It was a place of pleasure and privacy for the abbots of Waltham.
460 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. house, and enclosed a park. He held it in fee, and hereditarily of the abbey of
Waltham,* and of the king by serjeancy; his successor was his son, sir Richard, suc-
ceeded by his second son, sir Henry, Avho, in 1295, had licence to add fifteen acres to
his park of Copped, within the bounds of the forest. He held the manor called
Copped Hall, and the manor of Shingle Hall, of the abbot, by homage; and on his death,
in 1304, was succeeded by his son, sir Aucher Fitz-Aucher,-a knight banneret,f who
married Joanna, youngest daughter of sir Walter Faukenberg. J In 1350, hi the reign
of EdAvard the third, sir John de Shardlowe had this estate, and procured a licence for
himself and Joan his wife, and his brother Thomas, to exchange the manors of Copped-
Hall and Shingle Hall with the abbot of Waltham, for the manors of Boreham, in
Essex, and Campes and Orsethe, in Cambridgeshire ; and in 1374 the abbot had leave
to enclose one hundred and twenty acres of his demesnes to enlarge his estates of
Harold's Park and Copped Hall.
The abbey retained possession of this estate till the time of Henry the eighth, when
it was purchased for the king by Thomas CroniAvell ; or, according to others,§ Thomas
Fuller, the last abbot, disposed of this noble estate to the king, in the hope to have
preserved the rest of his revenues. The abbey had, in exchange for it, Caen-fields
and Caen-wood, Pancras, Kentish-town, and the manor of Dame Ellens, in Little
Warley ; and this exchange was authorised by act of pai'liament. Queen Mary an-
nexed this manor to the duchy of Lancaster ; and, in 1564, it was granted, by queen
Elizabeth, to sir Thomas Henneage, whose family, after his decease, sold it to Lionel
Cranfield, earl of Middlesex, and, in 1622, lord high treasurer. He died in 1645,
leaving James, his son and heir, who, in 1651, died without issue, as did also his
brother Lionel, the next heir, in 1674, leaving this estate to his nephew, Charles
Sackville, lord Buckhurst, eldest son and heir of Richard Sackville, earl of Dorset,
by Frances his wife, only daughter and at length sole heiress to the said Lionel Cran-
field, first earl of Middlesex : and in consequence he was created earl of Middlesex in
1675, and on the death of his father, in 1677, became earl of Dorset. In 1700, he
sold this seat and estate to Thomas Webster, of Nelmes, in Havering liberty, who, in
, 1703, was created a baronet, and was member of parliament for Colchester for 1705,
1707, 1708, 1713, and 1722; he was also sheriff for the county in 1704, and one of
the verderers of Waltham forest in 1718. He sold this estate to Edward Conyers, esq.
of Walthamstow; and it has descended to his posterity, of whom H. J. Conyers, esq.
is the present possessor. ||
* Fuller's History of Waltham, p. 8.
t Arms of Fitz-Aucher : Ermine, on a chief azure, three lionels rampant, or.
X Monasticon, vol. ii. p. 149.
§ Fuller's History of Waltham, p. 1 1, 12.
Conyers y Edward Conyers, esq. of Walthamstow, was descended from the ancient family of Conyers, or Coniers,
famuv, ... , . i- r. , 1. J
seated in Yorkshire, and in the bishopric of Durliam : his more immediate ancestors being of Boltby, and
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 461
The stately and elegant mansion of Copped Hall, nearly in the centre of a large park, c H a f.
is a conspicuous object on grounds of considerable elevation, presenting grand and very
extensive views, and enriched by a succession of groves and plantations, rising from
the lower grounds, and forming varied and boldly irregular scenery. The house is a
large and nearly square building of white bricks, much admired for the closeness and
neatness of their jointings, and the symmetry of their forms, having been cast on pur-
pose in moulds of iron ; and since its erection this edifice has received very important
improvements under the direction of James Wyatt, esq.
The park, with some other lands included in the estate, forms an enclosure of four
thousand acres, of which above four hundred were some time ago an unprofitable
waste, covered with hornbeam, pollards, and brushwood, and infested with lawless
bands of wood and deer stealers, whose forefathers, haunting the close coverts of Epping
forest, had subsisted by plunder for centuries. By the praiseworthy exertions of John
Baglail Hall, near Scarborough. Tristram Conyers, esq. the first that settled in Essex, was of Waltham-
stow, and had possessions at St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, London ; and, in Yorkshire, the manors of Scar-
borough and Clayton, in Skipsey ; with other estates at Holbeck, Moulton-fleet, and Quadload, in Lincoln-
shire : on his decease, in 1019, his heir was his brother, William Conyers, esq. at that time seventy-six years
of age: he died without issue; and their brother, Robert Conyers, merchant, of London, succeeded: he
married Blanch, sister and heiress of Dunstan Ducke, esq. of Putney, in Surrey; and had by her William,
his heir ; who was also heir to his two uncles; he was serjeant-at-law. By his first wife, Mary, daughter
of sir Francis Harvey, of Northamptonshire, justice of the king's bench, the only survivors of a numerous
family were Elizabeth, Tristram, Mary, and William, By his second wife, Dorothy, daughter of sir Wil-
liam Beecher, knight, of Bedfordshire, he had five sons and five daughters ; but on his decease his only
surviving offspring by her, were Oliver, Dorothy, Judith, and Margaret. He died in 1659, aged seventy-
three, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Tristram Conyers, esq. who was also serjeant-at-law. He
married Winifred, daughter of sir Gilbert Gerrard, bart. of Harrow on the Hill, a beautiful and accom-
plished lady, by whom he had five sons and six daughters. Of the sons, sir Gerard Conyers, knt. was
alderman of London, and died in 1737 : he married Anne, daughter of sir Christopher Lethieullier. Mary,
one of their daughters, was married to sir Strange Joscelyn, bart. of Hide-hall. John Conyers, esq. the
eldest son and heir, was of Queen's college, Oxford, and of the Middle Temple : he was king's counsel
and. member of parliament for East Grinsted in 1695, 1698, 1700, 1705, and several other times before
his decease, in 1722. He married Mary, daughter and heiress of George Lee, esq. of Stoke Milborough,
in Shropshire, and had sixteen children; of whom there survived only Edward, Cecilia (married to Henry
Brabant, esq.), Elizabeth (wife of Herbert Perrot, esq. son of sir John Pakington, bart. of Worcester-
shire), and Dorothy, married to sir Charles Mordaunt, of Little Massingham, bart. Edward Conyers, esq.
the son and heir, was of Corpus Christi College, in Oxford, and of the Middle Temple. In 1722 and 1734,
he was member of parliament for East Grinstead; and, dying in 1742, left by his wife Matilda, youngest
daughter of William lord Lempster, John Conyers, esq. his son and heir, of Copped Hall ; who, by his first
wife, Hannah, daughter of Richard Warner, esq of Norfolk, had no issue; but by his second wife, the
lady Henrietta Fermor, third daughter of Thomas, earl of Pomfret, he had John Conyers, esq. of Copped
Hall, the rev. Edward Conyers, A.M. vicar of Epping and Walthamstow, George, an officer in the navy,
Juliana, Matilda, and eight other children. The eldest son, John, married a daughter of Matthews,
esq. and had by her Henry John Conyers, esq. and a daughter. Arms of Conyers : Azure, a maunch, or,
over all, a bendlet gobony, ermine and gules.
VOL. II. 3 o
462 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Conyers, esq. a former owner of the estate, a number of these outcasts were reformed,
' and prevailed on to live in small cottages built on purpose for them, at a distance from
each other, with a portion of garden ground to each. He also provided them with
labour, and agreed to supply them with fire-wood. By this judicious plan, the idle
have been inured to habits of industry, and a large tract of waste land rendered sub-
servient to public utility. An important improvement was also eflPected in the cultiva-
tion of a piece of ground called the Warren, which consists of one hundred and one
acres, and was, about seventy years ago, offered to a speculating farmer, on a lease of
forty years, at two shillings and sixpence per acre. He, however, refused those terms,
supposing the land absolutely unproductive. The ground was then ploughed, and
sown with seeds of almost every kind of tree, thrown in indiscriminately, and left to the
operations of Nature. The young plants sprang up, and, without further attention,
have thriven with so much vigour, as to form one of the finest and most valuable
woods in this part of the country. Particularly one tree, a cedar of Lebanon, is de-
serving notice on account of its rapid growth : it was sown in 1747. The girth of
the bole, some time ago, measured upwards of twelve feet, and the extent of the
branches on each side exceeded twelve yards.
HaU^^^ Shingle Hall, near or on Epping Green, three-quarters of a mile north-east from
the church, was holden, with Copped Hall, of the abbot of Waltham, by Henry
Fitz-Aucher, in 1304; and in 1350, having become the possession of the Shai'dlowe
family, was exchanged with the abbot and convent of Waltham for other estates, by
sir John de Shardlowe. It continued in the abbey, and was farmed under them by
John Denton, at the time of the dissolution. In 1552, it was granted by Edward the
sixth to Henry lord Morley, from whom it was conveyed, in 1562, to John Benton;
on whose death, in 1570, his successor was his son Andrew, succeeded by his son, also
named Andrew. The estate was afterwards sold by Ralph Benton to Mr. Richard
Day, who, previous to his death, in 1741, left it, by will, to his grandson, sir Richard
Day Jenour, bart., on whose death, in 1744, it came to his mother, Joan, daughter of
the said Mr. Day.
Chambers The manor-house of Chambers, half a mile west from the church, is pleasantly
situated on high ground. The name is variously written Del Chambre, Atte Chambre,
and Chambre; and is supposed to have been an ancient lodge, or chamber in the
forest. It was holden in fee-tail by Edmund del Chambre, of Epping, in 1410, of
the abbot and convent of Waltham, as at that time lords paramount of this parish: the
son and heir of Edmund was John del Chambre. In 1422, Thomas Atte Chambre,
brother of Edmund, released all his right to lands here to Thomas Tyrell, Thomas
Lyes, clerk, and others; as did also John Chambre, esq. in 1430, to John Randolt,
clerk. From this family it passed to the family of Skreen, of Roxwell. John Skreen,
who died in 1452, held this manor of the king, by the service of a fourth of a knight's fee,
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 463
and in 1474, sir John Skreen, his son, died in possession of it. Richard Harper, sen. CHAP,
esq. who died in 1518, held this manor of the abbot of Waltham, by fealty and rent of "^'''
one red rose; his heir was his grandson Geoi-ge. In 1536, it was holden of the
king as of his abbey of Waltham, by the same services as formerly, by John Halmer,
succeeded by his son Thomas, followed by Henry Halmer, who, in 1557, passed it by
fine to Richard Whorewood. It afterwards was sold to Blackwell : and from
William Blackwell passed, in 1568, to John: succeeded by a second John, and by
Edward Blackwell; after whom it belonged to Edward Searle; succeeded by his son
John;* whose heir was his son Andrew; who dying about six weeks after marriage,
his widow was married to his kinsman, Andrew Searle, who had the estate, Andrew,
called captain Searle, had one son, and a daughter, wife of Oliver Martin. Andrew
Searle, the son, had Andrew, John, and Richard. Andrew Searle, esq. who suc-
ceeded his father, was of the Middle Temple, and barrister-at-law ; he married Anne,
youngest daughter of Henry Beadel, an eminent scrivener in London, who was acci-
dentally drowned in 1762.
The manor-house of Giles is half a mile south from Chambers. The estate, in 1566, ^'^^^•
passed by fine from Thomas Hales, gent, to Anthony Brown, one of the justices of
the common pleas ; and in 1603 had become the property of Richard Rainsford, esq.
whose heir was Robert, his son. In 1621, it had become the property of Thomas
Palmer, esq. third son of Henry Palmer, of Dewshall, in Lambourn. He was of St.
John's College, Cambridge, and a barrister of Lincoln's-inn, and died here in 1621,
without issue. The Searle family had afterwards possession of this estate.
A manor named Campions formerly belonged to the Searle family ; and, sometime Campions
before the year 1635, was in the possession of Thomas Wynch ; and in 1748, William
Hester, esq. of the court of common pleas, died possessed of it ; from whom it de-
scended to his heirs.
The small manor of Madeleys consists of two farms, holden of the manor of JMadeleys,
Epping; the house is a short distance westward from Shingle Hall. The most ancient
possessors of this estate were of the family of Welles, lords of the neighbouring
manors of Theydon Gernon and Boys. In 1345, Adam de Welles died, holding this
tenement called Madles of the earl of Oxford, by the service of keeping one sparrow-
hawk, at the will and at the charge of the said earl. John de Welles, his son, held
this manor in 1361 ; whose successor in this possession was sir John de Welles, his
son, who died in 1421, holding this manor of the earl of Stafford. His son Udo died
before him, but left a son named Leo, who was his grandfather's heir ; and at the time
of his death, in 1461, held Madles and Hemnales, as parcel of Gaynes Park, in They-
* He was one of those who were obliged to compound for their estates during the troublesome times of
the struggle between the parliament and the friends of the family of Stuart.
464 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. don Gernon.* Richard was his son and heir. Cicely, wife of John viscount Wells,
and daughter of king Edward the fourth, who died in 1507, held this, with the two other
manors, of the duke of Buckingham, of his castle of Ongar, by the service of the ward-
staff.f By the same service, sir William Fitzwilliams, of Milton, in Northampton,
shire, who died in 1534, held this manor, Gaynes Park, and Hemnalls, of the duke
of Buckingham, as of his castle of Ongar. William, his son and heir, passed it
by fine, in 1553, with other lands in Little Parndon, to John Green; who, at the
time of his death in 1624, held this manor of Robert, earl of Warwick, by the
service of the wardstaif. John, his son, was his heir. This estate afterwards passed,
by marriage, to Rawlins; of whom it was purchased by Mr. Blake, merchant,
of London.
Rye, or A manor in Domesday, placed in the hundred of Harlow, which belonged in the time
of the Saxons to Ansgar, and at the survey to Alan, earl of Bretagne, is supposed to
be what is called the manor or hamlet of Rise-hill, or Rye-hill, bordering on Little
Parndon, the inhabitants of which do their suit and service to the leet of the hundred
of Harlow; they elect their own constable and surveyor. This hamlet consists of a
few straggling houses, little farms, or cottages. A part of this estate has been some-
times called the manor, at other times the messuage of Hayles, or Hales; Nicholas
Wychingham had it, as appears by his will, proved in 1434; his successor was his
grandson Robert. In 1496, Joan Biddlesdon, a widow, died holding this estate,
whose heir was her son Thomas; and, in 1570, it belonged to John Smith, gent, of
Epping, who died in 1570; his heir was his son Nicholas. In 1593, it belonged to
sir William Rowe ; afterwards to Mr. Searle, of whom it was purchased by Isaac
Foster, alderman of London, who dying without issue, gave it to his brother's son,
Abraham Foster, esq. of Eltham, in Kent: he, on his decease, left, by Anne his wife,
two daughters, the one married to Lewis Scawen, esq. the other to Mr. Richard
Merry, merchant, of London.
Church. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is an ancient building, pleasantly situated on
ground considerably elevated, and surrounded by beautiful rural scenery; the sum of
two hundred and sixty pounds, arising from the gift of Mr. John Baker, was expended
in repairing and beautifying this building. The nave is of disproportionate length,
and paved with stone from the isle of Purbeck; the chancel, without the rails, of
Portland stone, and within of white marble: and the wainscoting of the whole
edifice is of Norway oak, eight feet high. The communion-table was at some distance
from the east wall of the chancel, a singularity attributed to the orders of Jeremy'
* The manor of Park Hall, or Gaynes Park, and the manors of Hemnales and Madles, constituted the
whole of Park Hall. — Inquis. ]st Edward IV.
+ For a further account of the noble family of Welles, see Dugdale's Baronetage, vol. ii. p. 10.
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM.
465
Dyke, the vicar, in opposition to the authoritative injunctions issued by the pai'ty in C H A P.
power, to which, it is said, he did not feel inclined to submit.* '
After the dissolution of the abbey to which this church belonged, the rectory, with
appertenances, was granted to Thomas Cormwell, who, in 1548, sold it to Francis
Monox; but, in 1572, it had returned to the crown. The first institution to it, as a
vicarage, Avas in 1545,-]- and the advowson of it remained in the crown, till it was
granted, in 1572, to sir Thomas Henneage, and passed from him to the families of
Finch, Grey, and Conyers.J
The free chapel of Epping, dedicated to saint John the Baptist, is near the entrance Chapel.
of the town from the London road; it was granted, by the abbot and monks of
Waltham, to John Peryent, who presented a chaplain, instituted to it, 14th February,
1540, as a free chapel, without cure of souls.§ In 1550 it was granted, by Edward
* An opinion expressed by Mr. John Lloyd, a succeeding incumbent, and by Mr. Holman.
•f- New'court, vol. ii. p. 14.
\ On the south side of the chancel, on a flat stone, is a handsome brass, to the memory of Thomas
Palmer, esq.; beneath the effigies of the deceased, who is habited in the robes of his profession, is the
following inscription and arms : " Here lieth interred ye body of Thomas Palmer, esquire, in his youtli
a student and schoUer in that famovs nurserye of learning, Set. John's Colledge, in Cambridge, and after-
wards a professor of that illustrious and flovrishing scyence of ye common law, and an vtter barrester of
the right worshipful society of Lincoln's -inn (the third son of Henry Palmer, of Dews Hall, in the parish
of Lambourne, in this county, esq. deceased) ; without issue he changed this life for immortalitie, at his
then dwelling-house, called Gillies, in this parish, ye 28 of May, 1621, leaving Joan, his beloved wife,
his sole executrix, ye davghter and heir of John Hogben, of the city of Canterburye, marchant, who,
at her proper coste, in token of the true love and affection to her dear husband departed, hath caused this
monument to be erected." (There is a pedigree of this family in the Harl. MS. No. 1083, f. 20 ; and the
family of Hogben still remain in Kent, in the vicinity of Canterbury.) Beneath is a Latin inscription, of
which the following is a translation :
Inscrip-
tions.
Thy life is to thee death, my death is to me
life.
Learn to die while thou art alive, that when death
comes thou mayest attain to life.
Thus neither will life be burdensome to thee,
nor death bitter."
" Life is the gate of death, death the gate of life.
Thou shouldest not think him dead who lives
in heaven.
Thou art dust — I dying, am lifeless dust,
Thy lot is much worse than mine.
The impure world possesses thee, me the starry
heaven holds ;
The arms on this monument are — three escallops. Crest : a dragon's head issuing out of flames.
Motto : " Secum fert omnia virtus." " Virtue carries all things with it." The original and significant
arms of this family are — argent, a chevron between three palmers' scrips, sable, the tassels and buckles,
or ; which is beautifully illustrated by the inscription on the monument of Thomas Palmer, who married
the daughter of Fitz-Simon, and is buried in the chancel of Snodland church, in Kent.
" Palmers all our faders were,
I a Palmer lived here,
And travel'd still, till worn wid age,
I ended this world's pilgrimage.
§ Newcourt, vol ii. p. 248.
On the blest ascension day,
In the cheerful month of May,
A thousand with four hundred seaven,
I took my journey hence to heaven."
466 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. the sixth, to John Cokks, esq. with reserve to the iuhahitants of free ingress and
regress, for the hearing of divine service, as they had been accustomed in former
times: in 1552, it was conveyed to Henry Aucher, esq. with the same reserve of free
use to the inhabitants, they being on that account engaged to keep it in repair; and,
in 1573, this chapel was vested in trustees for public use, which trust has been since
occasionally renewed to the present time: in 1622, a new aisle was added, and another
in 1662; and, about sixty years ago, it was spoken of as "a brick chapel, in a miserable
condition."* It appears to have been afterwards repaired; but the old chapel not
being large enough for the increased population, has been pulled down, and a new
one, in a plain Gothic style, was erected in 1833.-|-
The sole management of Epping free-chapel remained in the trustees, exempt from
the jurisdiction of the bishop, till a few years since, when the then minister. Dr.
Barrow, obtained the consent of the trustees to have it licensed; and since that time
the trustees nominate a minister, subject to the approval of the bishop.:};
Antiqui- On the south-east side of Copped Hall Park, there are traces of an ancient camp,
^**^^' described (as it appeared at that time) in a letter from Mr. Letheuillier to Mr. Gough,
* Anonymous Hist, of Essex, 8vo. vol. iv. p. 176.
t Before the reformation, several persons had left lands and tenements to find a priest to sing rijass
in this chapel ; and in the certificate it is said, that this was a great parish, " having in yt to the numbre
of three hundred houseling people."
Inscrip- t Against the south wall of Epping chapel, a plain handsome monument was erected, with the following
tions. memorial, in gilt letters -. '* Near this place are deposited the remains of Mr. John Walkley, attorney-at-
law, who died on the 20th day of November, 1791, aged sixty-three years : he lived respected and beloved
for the integrity and beneficence of his character; and his memory will ever be venerated by tlie inha-
bitants of the town of Epping, for his liberal and permanent provision towards the maintenance of divine
service, within this free chapel. The sum bequeathed by this worthy man is two thousand pounds, in
the new South-sea annuities, and is vested in the hands of John Conyers, esq. lord of the manor of
Eppingbury ; the rev. Edward Conyers, clerk, vicar of the parish of Epping ; Mr. Thomas Surridge, of
Epping town, cooper, and Mr. James Windus, of Epping town aforesaid, gentleman, as trustees, for the
purposes mentioned in a codicil to the will of the deceased, which are as follows : — to the officiating chap-
lain for the time being, per annum, thirty pounds ; to the clerk, eight pounds ; to a skilful singing-master,
eight pounds ; to the sexton, who is also bell-ringer, five pounds ; to the female attendant and pew-keeper,
one pound; to the clerk and warden of the trustees, four pounds; for the auditing of the accounts, and
to provide an annual dinner for the officers and such of the trustees as choose to attend, four pounds.
In the same vault which contains the remains of Mr. Walkley, are also deposited those of his widow,
Mrs. Elizabeth Walkley, who died on the 'iSth of February, 181,3, aged sixty-one years, whose entire con-
currence in the pious and benevolent purposes of her late husband is manifested by bequeathing to trus-
tees the sum of one hundred pounds, three per cent, consolidated annuities, the interest thereof to be
distributed in bread or coals, as they may think best, on the sixth day of January yearly, for ever, unto
and amongst twelve poor widows, resident in that part of Ep|)ing called Epping Town-side. The will is
dated June 13, 1812.
Bene- In 1828, Mr. Edward Dean, of Carpenter's-buildings, London, descended from the Deans of Hills Green,
faction>. in Cheshire, left, by will, the sum of five hundred pounds, in the consolidated three per cent, annuities ;
the interest to be paid to the minister of the free episcopal chapel of Epping for the time being, except
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 467
from which the following account is extracted: — " This entrenchment is now entirely CHAP,
overgrown with old oaks and hornbeams. It was formerly in the very heart of the ^^"'
forest, and no road near it, till the present turnpike-road from London to Epping- was
made, almost in the memory of man, which now runs within a hundred yards of it;
but the intrenchment cannot be perceived from thence, by reason of the wood which
covers it. It is of an irregular figure, rather longest from east to west, and on a
gentle declivity to the south-east. It contains nearly twelve acres, and is surrounded
by a ditch, and a high bank much worn down by time, though, where there are angles,
they are very bold and high. There are no regular openings, like gateways or
entrances, only two places where the bank has been cut through, and the ditch tilled
up very lately, in order to make a straight road from Debden Green to Epping market.
The boundary between the parishes of Waltham and Epping runs exactly through
the middle of this entrenchment, whether carried so casually by the first setters-out
of these boundaries, or on purpose, as it was then a remarkaljle spot of ground, I
leave to better judgments to conjecture. As I can find no reason to attribute this
entrenchment either to the Romans, Saxons, or Danes, I cannot help concluding it
to have been a British Oppidum; and perhaps it had some relation to other remains
of that people which are discoverable in our forest. It is distant from Fifefield, where
the celts and forge were lately discovered, about ten miles; and about eight from
Navestock Common, where we visited the ' Tempi um Alatum.'"
In 1821, the population of this parish was two thousand one hundred and forty-six,
and, in 1831, two thousand three hundred and thirteen.
NASING.
This parish occupies the north-west corner of the half hundred, part of it being on Nasing.
the side of a hill, and its general situation pleasant and healthy. From east to west
it is four miles, and nearly the same from north to south; and is separated from Hert-
fordshire by the river Lea. Its respectable little village is distant from Epping four,
and from London seventeen miles.
Nasing is one of the estates given by Harold to his college of Waltham,* which Nasing-
so much as shall from time to time be found necessary for the keeping in repair the " tombstones by him
erected, in the parish church-yard of Epping, to perpetuate the memory of his dear children, Edward and
iMary Dean."
Jeremy Dyke, vicar of this parish in the time of king Charles the first, was distinguished as the author
of numerous publications on subjects of general interest and importance ; some of these bear the fol-
lowing titles: "A good Conscience; or a treatise, shewing the nature, means, markes, benefit, and
wecessitle thereof, by Jeremy Dyke, minister of God's word, at Epping, in Essex, &c. 1(332." "Of the
Hight Receiving and Rooting in Christ, &c. 1640," "A Treatise on the Lord's Supper, 1645." " The
Mischiefe and iVliserie of Scandals taken and given, 1G31." Some account is given of Mr. Dyke in Dyer's
Hist, of Cambridge, vol. ii. p. 428.
* Monastic. Anglic.
468 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II. was found possessed of it at the survey: there appears also to have been another estate
" here, in the time of Edward the Confessor, which belonged to three freemen, and, at
the survey, to Ralph, brother of Ilg-er. King Henry the second confirmed to the
abbey of Waltham two scrutlands,* of Nasinges, with the church, and all its apper-
tenances, as did also Richard the first, with all its wastes, and with one hundred and
sixty acres of essarts in this place. Afterwards he appropriated this church, with that
of Alrichsed, in Bedfordshire, to the chamber of the canons regular at Waltham, for
the clothing of those who were in the old house there; enjoining that they should
keep those churches in their own hands for the said use, and not grant them to any
one, either by way of pension or farm. He also gave them the tithes of Langrich.f
They had also other possessions here, which they held till their dissolution ; and, in
1547, king Edward the sixth granted the manor or farm, and demesnes of Nasingbury,
with Queen's Mead, and the rectory and tithes, to sir Ralph Sadlier ; from whom they
were the same year conveyed to sir Anthony Denny; and from him and his suc-
cessors they descended to Charles Wake Jones, esq. Nasingbury. The manor-house
is a mile west from the church : this estate belongs to sir William Wake.
Harold's The house belonging to Harold's Park is in Waltham parish, but most of the lands
Park
are in Nasing: this estate belonged also to Waltham Abbey. It was given, by king
Edward the sixth, in 1547, to John Dudley, earl of Warwick; and, in 1600, was
granted, by queen Elizabeth, to sir Edward Denny. It afterwards became the
property of Mr. Chauncy, of whom it was purchased by sir James Bateman. It is
now occupied as a farm. The abbot of Waltham had a park here, inclosed by licence
from Henry the third, in 1225. It is understood to have been at Fairmead, and was
in the possession of the crown in the time of Edward the sixth.
The estates and hamlets of Nasing Lodge, Long Green, and Broadley Common,
are in this parish; and Roydon hamlet is supposed to be the lands anciently belonging
to Ralph, brother of Ilger.
The parsonage-house is a good old building, near the church, moated round.
Church. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a spacious structure, consisting of a chancel
of one pace, and a nave, with a north aisle; at the west end there is a square tower
embattled, with five bells. The body and aisle are divided by four pointed arches
rising on circular clustered columns ; and behind the first column, which is apparently
hollow, is a small door, leading by narrow winding stairs to an aperture in front of
the chancel, sufficiently large to exhibit a person nearly at full length to the congre-
gation; whether this was originally intended as a place of penance is not certainly
known, but it is evident that at no very remote period it has been used for purposes
* Scruthind, or Scrudland, is land allotted to the clothing of the inhabitants of a house belonging to a
charitable institution ; it is from the Saxon j-ejiub, apparel or garment,
t Monast. Anglic, vol. ii. p. 11, 17.
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 469
of general thanksgiving, for on a wooden tablet beneath the aperture is inscribed the chap.
116th Psalm: " I will pay my vows unto the Lord, in the sight of all his people, &:c." •^"''
This church, Avith its appertenances, was granted to Waltham abbey, by Henry the
second; consequently, the rectory was appropriated to that house, and a vicarage
ordained, of which they continued patrons till the dissolution. Li 1547, king Edward
the sixth granted the rectory and great tithes to sir Ralph Sadlier; from whom they
passed to the Denny family, and their successors; but the advowson of the vicarage
remained in the crown.
This vicarage was augmented by the benefactions of the rev. Stephen Hales and
Mrs. Palmer, jointly with queen Anne's bounty.
In 1821, the parish contained seven hundred and forty-four, and, in 1831, seven
hundred and fifty-seven inhabitants.
CHINGFORD.
The parish of Chingford, forming the south-western angle of Waltham half Inm- Ching-
dred, is seven miles in circumference ; separated, on its western border, from Edmon-
ton, in Middlesex, by the river Lea. The lands in many places rise high, with varied
and extensive prospects into Kent and Hertfordshire. The name, in records written
Chilgelford, Cingeford, Cinghefort, Echingelsford, Schingelford, Shingelford, Shym-
gylford, is apparently from a ford over the river, and the Saxon Cinj, i.e. King's-ford
the neighbouring meadows were also named King's-meads, and the Lea, the King's-
stream.
This village is on the border of the forest, and affords a pleasing and quiet retire-
ment from the busy scenes of the metropolis ; it is distinguished by its beautiful rural
scenery, and numerous capital houses. Distant from London nine miles. There are
three manors.*
The chief manor was pfiven by king- Edward the confessor to the cathedral church of Chingtord
. . St- Paul'!,.
St. Paul's; and Chingford Hall, the manor-house, is near the river, a mile south-
west from the church ; it has a court-leet and court-baron. At the Reformation, king
Henry the eighth took this manor from the dean and chapter of St. Paul's ; and in
1551, it was granted, by EdAvard the sixth, to sir Thomas Darcy; but queen Mary
took it from him in 1553, and made a grant of it to Susan Tongue and her heirs : the
widow Tongue Avas lady of the queen's bedchamber, daughter of Richard White, of
Hutton, and widow of Thomas Tongue, Clarencieux king-at-arms. Harriotts and
Stubwood, in this parish, were included in the grant. In 1557, a licence was obtained
to convey the premises to certain persons, in trust; and in 15G5, they became the pro-
perty of Humphrey White, who, in 1507, conveyed this manor with appertenances
* Chingford parish contains five hundred and ninety acres of arable, and one thousand three hundred
and twenty acres of grass land, and about one hundred and ninety of wood.
VOL. II. 3 P
470 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. ^Q John Leigh, or Lee,* Avhose descendants were settled here considerably more than
a century; till Edward, son of Edward Leigh, esq. who died in 1691, sold this estate
to Robert Snell, esq. of Hertfordshire. The present lord of the manor is William
Snell, esq. of Shenley, in Hertfordshire, brother of John Snell, who possessed it in 1795.f
Cliingford The second capital manor in this i)arish, having- for a series of years belong-ed to the
Comitis. '^ 1 /^ • •
noble family of Bourchier, earls or Essex, was on that account named Comitis, or
Earls. The mansion is on Friday Hill, a mile from the church, on the left-hand side
of the road to Woodford. At the time of the survey, this manor belong-ed to Robert
Gernon, ancestor of the family of Montfichet ; and consequently was holden of their
barony of Stansted Montfichet, by the service of one knight's fee : under them it was
holden, in 1188, by Fulbert de Dover, second of the name, and lord of Chilham, in
Kent: by his wife Roese, daughter of Geofrey, son of Richard de Lucy, justice of
England, he had Robert, who died in 1203: Richard de Dover, his son, also married
a wife named Roese, and they held jointly this manor of Cliingford, in the reign of
Henry the third. Richard, their son and heir, by Joan his wife, who enjoyed this
estate during her life, left Roese, his only daughter, who was married to Richard,
natural son of king John, who had by her two daughters, co-heiresses, of whom
Isabel, the younger, conveyed this estate to her husband, David de Strathbogie, earl
of Athol.:]: Their son John, earl of Athol, had this inheritance; but during the cruel
ambitious wars of king Edward the first against Scotland, happening- to fall a sacrifice
to that prince, for his adherence to Robert de Bruse, or Bruce, he had the favour,
(says Mr. Morant) on account of his being descended from the blood royal, to be
hanged on a gibbet fifty feet high. His head was fixed on London bridge, and his
body burned. Afterwards his forfeited estate was given by king Edward to Ralph de
Monthermer, earl of Gloucester, who had married his daughter, Joan de Acre, at
that time widow of Gilbert de Clare. In the succeeding reign of Edward the second,
David, son of the earl of Athol, compounded with Monthermer for his patrimonial
estate ; and his son David presented to the living in 1325. This was, however, only
a part of the manor ; the other portion having been conveyed to Bartholomew de
* He was of the ancient family of Leigh, of Baggesley, county of Chester. Sir Robert Leigh, probably
the son of John, died in 1607, possessed of this manor and of Woodeheron, and Reddens, or Rayles, and
Docke Marshes : his son and heir, sir Robert Leigh, knt. died in 1622, leaving by his wife Mary, daughter
of Henry Josceiine, of Torrels-hall, in Willingale, three sons and four daughters, of whom Robert was his
heir and successor : on whose death, in 1673, his son, Edward Leigh, esq. succeeded, and had by Agnes,
his third wife, Robert, Edward, and Mary. He died in 1691, and was buried, with many of his family, in
this church. — Arms of Leigh : Argent, a fesse sable, between two pellets in chief, and a martlet of the
second ; in base a crest : on a torse, a bear muzzled and chained.
t Mr. Snell has about three hundred acres of forest land (adjoining to the parish of Waltham abbey),
called Hawkswood, about half of which is woodland, the remainder waste. Chingford Hall and Friday-
hill-house are now occupied as farm-houses.
t Sandford's Genealogical Hist. Dugd. Baron, vol. i. p. 461, 462.
HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM. 471
Badlesmere ; but after this nobleman had been beheaded, hi 1321, for opposmg the C H A i'
unlawful proceedings of queen Isabel, his widow, and his son Giles de Badlesmere -^^^^^
recovered this and the rest of his estates, through the favour of king Edward the
third ;* and, dying in 1338, left his four sisters his co-heiresses: Margery had this manor
for her purparty, and was married to William lord Roos, of Hamlake, who, jointly with
her, held this estate : he died in 1343, and the lady Margery in 1363. Thomas lord Roos
was their son and successor, but the time of his death is unknown ; his widow, Beatrix,
died in 1415, holding this manor, which her eldest son, John lord Roos, also held of
the heirs of John Montfichet; and, dying in 1421, was succeeded by his brother
Thomas, who, at the time of his decease in 1430, left Thomas, his son, his successor,
who at that time was three years of age : he had the misfortune to be attainted in
1461, for his adherence to king Henry the sixth; in consequence of which, king Edward
the fourth gave this estate to his kinsman, Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex; on whose
decease, in 1483, he was succeeded by his grandson, Henry, who was heir to his estate
and dignity, and who died in 1540.
In the time of king Hern*y the eighth, this estate was restored to the family of Roos;
for Edmund lord Roos, son of Thomas, in 1490, presented to the rectory; and his
sister and co-heiress. Alienor, was married to sir Robert Manners, who, dying in 1508,
left his son, George Manners, lord Roos; succeeded, on his death, in 1513, by his
son Thomas, created earl of Rutland in 1525: in 1537, he exchanged this estate, with
king Henry the eighth, for lands which had belonged to Coggeshall abbey.
The estate was afterwards holden of the crown till it was granted, in 1553, to
Susan Tongue; whose nephew, Humphrey White, conveyed it, in 1564, to William
Jefferson and others ; and it afterwards passed to John Branch, whose three sisters, or
their issue, were his co-heiresses; of whom Mary, married to William Udall, or
Wedalle, had this estate; and their son, Henry Udall, in 1591, sold it to Launcelot
Bathurst, and his son Ralph. Ralph, the latter, held it at the time of his death, in
1608, and his heir was his next brother, Ralph Bathurst, of whom the estate was pur-
chased by Thomas Boothby, esq.f
* Besides the manor of Chingford, and the bailiwick and stewardship of Essex, holden of the king as
of his crown, he had numerous other extensive possessions in this county.
t His successor was his son Robert, whose son and heir, created a baronet in 1660, was sir Thomas
Boothby. He, dying without issue male, left this estate to his next surviving brother, Robert Boothby,
esq., whose only son and heir, Thomas, succeeded ; on whose decease he was succeeded by Robert
Boothby, esq. — Arms of Boothby : Argent, on a canton sable, a lion's paw erased, or.
In 1670, Dame Elizabeth Boothby claimed within the forest, the manor of Chingford Comitis, with all
liberties, emoluments, commons, wastes, fisheries, court-leet, and court-bai'on, and other immunities and
privileges thereto belonging; free-warren at Danhurst-hill and Dovehoiise-field; separate fishery in the
river Lea, running through Chingford marshes, by charter. Also, for herself and tenants, common of
pasture in the wastes and commonable places in the forest ; and liberty to cut down pollard trees upon
the demesnes of her manor; likewise hedge-bote ; and to appoint a sworn wood-ward for her woods of
Larks and Danhurst-hill.
472
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Govveis
and
Bucke-
rells.
Chingford
Hatch.
Scotts
Mahews.
Church.
Inscrip-
tions.
Originally, there were only two manors in this parish ; but part of the manor of
Chingford Comitis, or Gernon, having been held of Giles de Plaiz, who died in 1303,
as two knight's fees, by Alexander Bayloll, this part was afterwards reckoned another
manor, and named Gowers and Buckerells: it was also called Pimp's manor, and
there is a field which has retained the name of Pimp's Hall : it lies due north
from Friday Hill. This estate, in 1544, styled late parcel of the lands of George
Monox, was granted, by king Henry the eighth, to Geofrey Lukyn and his heirs;
and the said Geofrey in that year sold it to Roland Rampston; his son, Robert
Rampston, yeoman of the chamber to king Edward the sixth, queen Mary, and queen
Elizabeth, died in 1585, leaving this and other possessions to his heir, Roland Ramp-
ston, son of his brother John; and he sold this estate, by the name of Gowers and
Buckerels, alias Pimp's manor, to John Hare, esq. and Lucy his wife, and Nicholas,
their son. It Avas sold, in 1598, by Nicholas Hare, to Nicholas Barnsley and his wife,
and William Barnsley: in 1630, it belonged to George Nodes, and, soon after,
became the property of Thomas Gundry, esq. first secretary in the treasurer's remem-
brancer's office in the exchequer; from whom it descended to his son, grandson, and
great grandson, all named Thomas: the last of them was of Deulish, near Dorchester,
who, in 1730, sold this manor to Mr. Israel Hammond, who was succeeded by James
Hammond, esq. ; it now belongs to William Dent, esq.
Chingford Hatch, a capital messuage at the bottom of the road below Friday Hill,
was the possession of John Branche, mentioned under the last manor.
The lordship and manor of Borohouse is mentioned as lying partly in this and partly
in the parishes of Tottenham and Edmonton. It was granted, by queen Elizabeth, to
William Doddington, in 1559, and is supposed to be the fiirm called Burwoods.
Scotts Mahews, alias Brindwoods, is an estate in this parish, holden of the rector,
remarkable on account of the ceremonial which takes place on every alienation, in
which the owner, his wife, and man and maid servant, attend singly on horseback, and
at the parsonage the owner does his homage, and pays his relief, as follows: he blows
three blasts with his horn; carries a hawk on his fist, and his servant has a greyhound
in a slip; both for the use of the rector that day. He receives a chicken for his hawk,
a peck of oats for his horse, and a loaf of bread for his greyhound. They all dine,
after which the master blows three blasts, and they all depart.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is a small building of flint and
stone; it has a nave, south aisle and chancel, with a low tower; and the whole edifice
is covered with ivy.*
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to eight hundred and thirty-seven,
and, in 1831, to nine hundred and sixty-three.
* There are some old monuments of the Leigh, and also of the Roothby family : and a handsome
monument for John Hcathcote, esq. erected in 1795 ; and for Esther, wife of William Cooke, esq. in 1803 ;
and a tombstone bears an inscription, sacred to the memory of John Hamilton Moore, hydrographer.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE.
473
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE HALF HUNDRED OF WALTHAM.
R. Rectorj. V. Vicarage.
t Discharged from payment of First Fruits.
P. C. Perpetual Curacy.
D. Donative.
Parisli.
Ai-clideaconry.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Chingford, R
Epping, V
Hppint;, C
Nasing, V
Walthiiin Holy cross D
Essex
Pecul
Peciil
Essex
Pecul
Rob. B. Fleathcote..
H. L. Ncave
C. W. Pitt
Ch. Dyson
1824
1828
^14 5 5
17 13 4
Not in Charge
fU 5 5
Not in Charge
J. Heathcote, esq.
H. J. Conyers, esq.
Trustees.
Lord Chancellor.
Trustees.
\V. M. Whalley
CHAPTER XIV.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE.
C H .\ P.
XIV.
Becontree is Oil the south-western extremity of the county, where it joins Middle- Becontrce
sex, in the vicinity of the metropolis: it is bounded southward by the Thames; west-
ward by the river Lea; and on the north and east extends to Waltham, Ongar, and
the liberty of Havering-. The name in Domesday, Beuentreu, is believed to have
arisen from a beacon situated near the site of the windmill at Woodford. This district
includes about five hundred acres of marsh land, which, though separated from Kent
by the Thames, yet belong to that county, a circumstance probably owing to the
river having changed its course: formerly there was a chapel and houses on this
ground, as appears from foundations yet visible.
This hundred, with the privilege of baronial authority, anciently belonged to the
nunnery of Barking, and after the dissolution of monasteries, passed to the croAvn,
where it remained till it Avas purchased, by sir Thomas Fanshaw, to hold in as ample
a manner as any abbess of Barking had held it: by that family it was afterwards
sold to sir William Humphreys, knt. and bart. whose grand-daughter Ellen, and her
husband, Charles Gore, esq. of Tring, sold it, with a capital estate, to Smart
Lethieulller, esq.
There are in Becontree the following parishes: Leyton, Walthamstow, Wansted,
eminent for his knowledge in nautical science, who departed this life October 31, 1807, aged seventy-two
years.
This parish receives three pounds yearly from Robert Rainpston's charity : an annuity of five pounds Bene-
four shillings was left by Thomas Boothby, esq. ; and the income of an acre and a half of land, by an un- '^'^ "'"'•
known benefactor, both to be distributed iu bread. In the village there is a day and a Sunday school,
supported by subscriptions.
BOOK H.
474 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
and Woodford, within the forest: and Barking, Dagenham, East Ham, West Ham,
Little Ilford, and the hamlet of Great Ilford, partly in and partly out of the forest.
The town of Barking is named in records Berking, Berchingas, Barkyng, Berein-
gum,* Berkingum, Berchigense monasterium,f Bercingis, Bertingis,^ Berekingum,§
&c. derived, as has been supposed, from the Saxon Beojice, a birch tree, and inj, a
meadow: but the more general opinion is, that this name is a corruption of Bujijh-in^,
the fortress in the meadow, some considerable entrenchments being yet visible in the
fields adjoining a fivrm called Uphall, about a quarter of a mile north from the town. ||
This town is conveniently situated where the river Rodon meets a creek or inlet
of the Thames; and its inhabitants, actively engaged in the fishing business, employ
a considerable number of vessels which communicate with Billingsgate and other parts
of the metropolis;1[ they also convey vegetables, particularly potatoes, to the London
markets. These are supplied in great abundance from the surrounding country, which
is richly cultivated and highly productive.**
The Rodon was made navigable in the year 1730, and employed for the conveyance
of coals, lime, and other articles, to the neighbouring district.
Tlie town-hall is over the market-house, an ancient wooden building, erected in
the time of queen Elizabeth ; to which is attached a small prison. There is a fair on
* Bedae Hist. Eccl. 1. iv. ch. 6.
+ Decern Scriptores, col. 412, 440.
: Gul. Pictav. p. 208, and Oideiic. Vital, p, 506, apud Duchesne Hist. Noimann. Scriptores.
§ W. xMalniesb. ed. 1596, f. 134.
II The form of this entrenchment " is not regular," but tending to a square ; the circumference mea-
sures seventeen hundred and ninety-two yards : the inclosed area contains forty-eight acres, one rood,
and thirty-four perches. On the north, east, and south sides, it is single trenched; on the west side,
which runs parallel with the river Roding, and at a short distance from it, is a double trench and bank :
on the south side is a deep morass, but on the north and east sides the ground is dry and level, the trench,
from frequent jjloughing, is almost filled up. At the north-west corner there was an outlet to a very fine
spring of water, which was guarded by an inner work, and a high keep, or mould of earth.— Frow* n
History of Barking, written by Mr. Lethieullier, quoted by Lyxons.—" Mr. Lethieullier thinks that this
entrenchment was too large for a camp ; his opinion, therefore, is, that it was the site of a Roman town ;
but he confesses that no traces of buildings have been found on the spot, and accounts for it on the
supposition that the materials were used for building Barking Abbey, and for repairing it after it was burnt
by the Danes. As a confirmation of this opinion he relates, that upon viewing the ruins of the abbey
church, in 1750, he found the foundation of one of the great pillars, composed in ])art of Roman bricks;
a coin of Magnentius was found also among the Ymn?,."—Ly sons' s Environs, vol. iv. p. 58.
^ There is a toll-free quay for the accommodation of the craft ; and the fishery gives subsistence to
above nine hundred men and boys, on board vessels of from forty to sixty tons burthen, constructed with
wells for the purpose of preserving the fish alive, which consist chiefly of turbot, soles, and cod, taken on
the Scottish and Dutch coasts.
** From a recent survey, it appears that this parish contains ten thousand two hundred and twenty-nine
acres of enclosed land; about six hundred acres of this is cropped with potatoes, and one hundred and
fifty with cabbages, &c. : the portion of Hainault foiest within the parish is only one hundred and thirty-
nine acres.
M
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 475
the 22d of October, and a weekly market is authorised to be holden on Saturday, the C H A P.
tolls of which, with the market-place, were granted to Samuel and John Jones, from "
whom they were conveyed to Thomas Fanshaw, esq.; and, in 1679, sir Thomas
Fanshaw gave the profits of the market and the fair to the poor of the parish; but
the market is now nearly, or altogether, discontinued. The town is within the
jurisdiction of the county magistrates, and a court-leet is held, at which the constables
and officers of the town are appointed; and a court is held under the lord of the manor
every third Saturday, to try causes of trespass, and to recover debts under forty shil-
lings. The lord being paramount, claims the deodands of this hundred.
Of the ancient abbey, from which this place first rose to importance, though for- Barking
merly a rich and flourishing establishment, scarcely a vestige now remains: the fol-
lowing historical account of it is narrated by Lysons, from the manuscript of Mr.
Lethieullier : —
" Barking Abbey, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is said to have been the first convent
for Avomen established in this kingdom, founded about the year 670, in the reign of
Sebbi and Sighere, kings of the east Saxons, by St. Erkenwald, bishop of London, in
compliance with the earnest desire of his sister Ethelburgh, who was appointed the first
abbess. The founder was nearly allied to the Saxon monarchs, being great grandson
of Uffa, the first king', and second son of Annas, the seventh king of the East Angles:
he was also the first bishop who sat in the see of London after the building of St.
Paul's church by king Ethelbert. The monastic writers speak in very high terms of
his piety and zeal in the discharge of his episcopal functions, and tell us, that when he
was grown weak through age and infirmities, he was carried about in a litter from
place to place throughout his diocese, constantly teaching and instructing the people
till his death, which happened about the year 685, whilst he was on a visit to his sister
Ethelburgh, at Barking. Great disputes arose (as we are informed by the monkish
annalists) between the nuns of Barking, the convent of Chertsey, and the citizens of
London, about the interment of his body, each claiming an exclusive right to the
bones of the venerable prelate. Nor was this dispute terminated without the inter-
vention of a miracle, which declared in favour of the Londoners, who having obtained
the body, bore it otF in triumph: on the road they were stopped at Ilford and Sti'atford
by the floods: upon this occasion the historians record another miracle, by which a
safe and easy passage was procured for the corpse of the holy man and his attendants.
The bishop was canonised, and frequent miracles were said to be wrought at his tomb.
So highly was his memory revered, that in the reign of Stephen, a magnificent shrine
was erected against the east wall of St. Paul's cathedral, into which his bones were
translated with great solemnity; and vast sums were expended, from time to time, in
adorning it with gold, silver, and precious stones.
" The time of the death of Ethelburgh, the abbess, is uncertain ; but she was buried Hilckiitha
476 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. at Barking, and received the honour of canonisation. Her successor was Hildelitha,
who had been sent for by the founder out of France, to instruct his sister Ethelburgh
in the duties of her new station ; she also obtained a place among the Romish saints.
After her, several abbesses of the royal blood succeeded ; Oswyth, daughter of Edi-
frith, king of Northumberland ; Ethelburgh, wife to Ina, king of the West Saxons,
who was canonised ; and Cuthburgh, sister of king Ina, who had been a nun at Bark-
ing in the time of St. Hildelitha: she died about the middle of the eighth century.
Nothing more is known of this monastery till tha year 870, when it was burnt to the
ground by the Danes, and the nuns either slain or dispersed. It lay desolate about
one hundred years, being within the territories which were ceded by Alfred to Gor-
mund, the Danish chief. About the middle of the tenth century it was rebuilt by king
Wulfhilda Edgar, as an atonement for his having violated the chastity of Wulfhilda, a beautiful
nun at Wilton, whom he appointed abbess : he restored the monastery to its former
splendour, and endowed it with large revenues. After Wulfhilda had presided over
the convent many years, some dissensions arose between her and the priests of Bark-
ing, who referred their cause to Elfrida, the widow of Edgar, and mother of Ethelred,
whom they requested to eject Wulfhilda, and assume the government herself; a pro-
posal to which she readily assented. Wulfhilda retired to a religious house which she
had founded at Horton, in Devonshire; and the queen putting herself at the head of
this monastery continued to preside over it, as the historians inform us, twenty years;
at the end of which term, a violent sickness seizing her at Barking, she repented of
the injury she had done to Wulfhilda, and re-instated her in her former situation.
Wulfhilda, seven years afterwards, died at London, whither she had retired to avoid
the Danish army, then invading England, and was enrolled among the Romish saints,
being the fifth abbess who had received the honour of canonisation. At the time of
^'^^' the Norman conquest, Alfgiva, a Saxon lady, who had been appointed by Edward the
confessor, was abbess.
" The historians, Carte and Brady, relate, that William the Conqueror, soon after
his arrival in England, retired to Barking Abbey, and there continued till the fortress
he had begun in London was completed : hither, they say, whilst preparations were
making for his coronation, repaired to him, Edwin, earl of Mercia, Morcar, earl of
Northumberland, and many others of the nobility and great men of the land, who
swore fealty to him, and were reinstated in their |)ossessions. Others (among whom
are Simon Dunelmensis, and Roger Hovedon) affirm, that Berkhampstead was the
place of the king's abode; but there are strong circumstances in favour of the former
opinion. Berkhampstead castle was not built till after the manor was given to earl
Morton by the Conqueror ; yet, admitting that a mansion might have previously stood
there, fit for a royal residence, the proximity of Barking to London certainly rendered
that place a more convenient station for the new monarch.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 477
" After the death of Alfgiva, Maud, queen of Henry the first, assumed the government chap.
of the convent; and it is not improbable this connexion with Barking induced her the '
more readily to build the bridge at Bow. Maud, wife of king Stephen, followed the ^"^^n
example of her aunt, on the death of Agnes, the abbess, in 1 136 ; but she soon resigned
the charge to Adeliza, sister of Paris Fitz-John, a baron of considerable note, who was Adeliza.
slain in a battle near Cardigan. During her government, Stephen, with his queen,
and the whole court, were entertained for several days at the abbey. Her successor
was Mary, sister to Thomas a Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, whose appointment Mary
is said to have been intended, by Henry the second, as an atonement for the injustice ^ becket.
he had done her family, who were banished the kingdom as a punishment for the pre-
late's insolence.
" From the time of Mary a Becket, but few remarkable occurrences are connected Inunda-
with the history of this abbey. The most material, as it affected the interest of its *'°"'
inmates, was a great inundation, which happened about the year 1376, and broke down
the banks of the Thames at Dagenham. It is first mentioned in a record of "the
ensuing year, when the convent petitioned that they might be excused from contri-
buting an aid to the king, at the time of a threatened invasion, on account of the ex-
penses they had incurred in endeavouring to repair their damages. The plea was
allowed ; and the same reasons were generally pleaded with success, as an exemption
from contributions of a like nature. In 1380, and 1382, the abbess and convent stated
that their income was then diminished four hundred marks per annum, by inundations,
and that they had scarcely sufficient left to maintain them. In 1409, they stated, that
they expended two thousand poimds to no purpose, in endeavouring to repair their
banks. The next year it was set forth, that the revenues of the convent were sunk so
low, that none of the ladies had more than fourteen shillings per annum, for clothes
and necessaries. In consequence of these several petitions, they obtained frequent
exemptions from taxes, and other burthens; writs to impress labourers to work at
their banks, and licence to appropriate certain churches to the use of the convent.
Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, retired to Barking abbey, after the murder of her Duchess
husband in 1397, and died there in 1399 ; having, as some say, professed herself a nun. ees^ter.
During the time of the queen dowager, Catharine de la Pole, Edmund and Jasper
Tudor, her sons by Owen Tudor, were sent to be educated at this abbey, a certain
salary being allowed to the abbess for their maintenance.
" The nuns of Barking were of the Benedictine order. The abbess was appointed
by the king till about the year 1200, when, by the interference of the pope, the elec-
tion was vested in the convent, and confirmed by the royal authority. The abbess of
Barking was one of the four who were baronesses* in right of their station ; for being
possessed of thirteen knights' fees and a half, she held her lands of the king by a barony,
* The otlier three were, Wilton, Shaftesbury, and St. Mary, Winchester.
VOL. II. 3 2
tion
478 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. jjn(j^ though her sex prevented her from having a seat in parliament, or attending the
king in the wars, yet she always furnished her quota of men, and had precedency over
the abbesses. In her convent she always lived in great state; her household consisted
of chaplains, an esquire, gentlemen, gentlewomen, yeomen, grooms, a clerk, a yeoman-
cook, a groom-cook, a pudding-wife, &c.*"
Dissolu- Barking abbey was surrendered to Henry the eighth in November, 1539, when an
annual pension of two hundred marks was granted to Dorothy Barley, the last abbess,
and various smaller pensions to the nuns, who were then thirty in number. The site
of the conventual buildings, with the demesne lands of the abbey, were granted, by
Edward the sixth, to Edward Fynes, lord Clinton, who the next day conveyed them
to sir Richard Sackville. Since that period they have passed through various families
to the widow of the late Joseph Keeling, esq. The manor of Barking, which probably
formed part of the original endowment of the abbey, continued in the crown from the
dissolution till the year 1628, when Charles the second sold it to sir Thomas Fanshaw,
for 'the sum of two thousand pounds, reserving a fee-farm rent of one hundred and
sixty pounds, since payable to the earl of Sandwich. The manor became the property
of Edward Hulse, esq. in right of Mary, his wife, niece to the late Smart Lethieullier,
esq. who obtained it by purchase in the year 1754.
The abbey church, and conventual buildings, occupied an extensive plot of ground,
though hardly any remains are now standing. The site of the former may be seen
just without the north wall of the present church-yard. Mr. Lethieullier, by employ-
ing persons to dig among the ruins, procured a ground planf of this edifice, from
which it appears to have been constructed on the general plan of cathedral churches.
The whole length, from east to west, was one hundred and seventy feet ; the length
of the choir, sixty feet ; the length of the transept, one hundred and fifty feet ; the
breadth of the nave and side aisle, forty-four feet ; the breadth of the transept, twenty-
* " Among the Cottonian manuscripts in tlie Biitish Museum, is one entitled ' The Charge longynge to
the office of Cellaress of Barking,' in wliich is fully stated the sums she was to collect, with the nature and
quantity of the provisions she was to lay in, and the manner and proportion in which they were to be dis-
tributed. Among other things, she was to ' bake with elys on Schere-Thursday,' (the Thursday after
Lady-day;) to provide a ' pece of whete, and three gallons of milk for frimete on St. Alburgh's (Ethel-
burgh's) day; three gallons of gude ale for besons ; marybones to make white wortys ; cripsis and crum-
kakes at Shroftyde ; conies for the convent at !>hroftydc ; twelve stubbecles, and nine schaft eles, to bake
on Schere-Thursday; one potel tyre for the abbess the same day, and two gallons of red wjne for the con-
vent ; half a goose for each of the nuns on the feast of the Assumption, and the same on St. Alburgh's day ;
for every lady a lyverey of sowse at Martinmas, a whole hog's sowse (consisting of the face, feet, and groin)
to serve three ladies. She was to pay to every lady in the convent nine pence a year for ruschew-silver ;
(money to buy butter ;) two pence for her cripsis and crum-kakes at Shroftyde ; three halfpence a week
for cy-silver (egg-money) from Michaelmas to AUhallows day ; from that day till Easter seven farthings a
week ; and from Easter to Michaelmas three-halfpence.' The whole has been printed in Dugdale's
Monasticon." — Lysons' Environs, vol. iv. p. 69
t Since engraved for Lysons' Environs, vol. iv.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 479
eight feet; the diameter of the base of the columns that support the roof, was eight chap.
feet and a half. Among the ruins an ancient fibula, and a gold ring, have been found ;
both of which (the former from its legends, the latter from the Salutation of the Virgin
Mary, engraven on it) seem to have belonged to some of the inmates of the convent.*
At the entrance of Barking church-yard is an ancient square embattled gateway,
with octagonal turrets, also embattled, rising from the ground on each side. The
entrance arch is pointed ; above it is a niche, with a canopy and pinnacles. The apart-
ment over the entrance is, in an old record, named, " the chapel of the Holy Rood
lofte atte-gate, edified to the honour of Almighty God, and of the Holy Rood."
Against the wall in this chapel is a representation of the Holy Rood, or Crucifixion,
in alto-relievo. This structure is generally called Fire-bell Gate, from its anciently
containing a bell, which Mr. Lysons imagines to have been used as a curfew-bell.
The parish is seven miles in length, from north to south ; and four from east to
west: it is divided into the four wards of Barking, Great Ilford, Chadwell, and
Ripple. This district is supposed to have formed part of the demesne lands of the
Saxon kings, previous to the founding of the nunnery, to which the whole of these
lands were appropriated,! as appears from Domesday, except twenty-four acres, which
Goscelin Loremar, lord of Little Ilford, had stolen ; with two hides and three caru-
cates, holden by three soldiers, or knights.
The capital manor of Barking remained in the erown, till the reign of king James Manor of
the first ; when it was sold to Thomas Fanshaw,:^ esq. with the manors of Jenkins and '" '"°"
* " In the Harleian collection, at the British Museum, is an ancient survey of the manor of Barking,
without date, and imperfect ; in which the services due from the inferior tenants to the abbess and con-
vent are stated. One of these, named Robert Gerard, was, among other services, to gather a full mea-
sure of nuts, called apybot, four of which should make a bushel; to go a long journey on foot, once a
year to Colchester, Chelmsford, Ely, or the like distances, on the business of the convent, carrying a pack ;
and other shorter journeys, such as Brentwood, &c. maintaining himself upon the road. He was to pay
a fine for the marriage of his daughter, if she married beyond the limits of the manor, otherwise to make
his peace with the abbess as well as he could ; and if his daughter should have a bastard child, he was to
make the best terms that he could for the fine called Kyldwyte : it appears also, that he could not sell his
ox, fed by himself, without the abbess's permission. Some of the tenants were obliged to watch and
guard thieves in the abbess's prison."
t Stevens's History of Abbeys, vol. i. p. 528.
X The Fanshaw family were originally of Fanshaw-park, in Derbyshire, and their more immediate Fanshaw
ancestors of Ware-park, in Hertfordshire : three of them were successively remembrancers of the exche- '>">>'•>•
quer. In 1560, the manor of Dengey, in Essex, was granted, by queen Elizabeth, to Thomas Fanshaw,
esq. who was succeeded by the right hon. Thomas, by Charles viscount Fanshaw, Simon Fanshaw, esq. &c.
Thomas Fanshaw, esq. also purchased the capital manor of Barking, with Jenkins and Malmayncs, of king
James the first; which, with estates in Dagenham, were, in 1567, in the possession of Henry Fanshaw,
and Dorothy his wife ; and of Anne lady Fanshaw, whose son was sir Tliomas Fanshaw, knt. who died
holding the same possessions, in 163'2 ; he had also other estates here and elsewhere ; liis son, Thomas,
was created K.B. at the coronation of king Charles the first, and dignified with the titles of baron Fanshaw
and viscount Dromore, in 1G61 ; whose eldest son and successor, sir Thomas, left two daughters his co-
480 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Malmaynes.* The manor-house of Jenkins stood a mile and a half north-east from
Jenkins, the church : it was holden of the abbess, in 1496, by sir Hugh Brice and Elizabeth his
wife ; and in the beginning of the reign of queen Elizabeth, belonged to sir William
Hewett, lord mayor of London, whose daughter, Anne, conveyed it to her husband,
Edward Osborne, ancestor of the dukes of Leeds. In 1567, it belonged to Martin
Bowes, esq. from whom it passed to Henry Fanshaw, esq. and Dorothy his wife, who
were the same year ordered to deliver it to John Bullock and Edmund Morrans, to
form a trust, as it is supposed ; for the estate remained, with the capital manor, in pos-
session of the Fanshaw family and their descendants, till it was purchased by sir
William Humphreys, knt. and bart., lord mayor of London in 1715, who died in 1735;
and was succeeded by his son, sir Orlando Humphreys, who, by Ellen his wife, only
child of colonel Robert Lancashire, had three sons, who all died before him, and two
dauo-hters, co-heiresses. Mary, the eldest, had three husbands, of whom the third was
Thomas Gore, esq. member of parliament for Bedfordshire, uncle to Charles Gore,
esq. of Hertfordshire, who had married Ellen Wintour Humphreys, the younger sis-
ter. In 1748, this estate was purchased by Smart Lethieullier, esq. of Aldersbrook :
there also went with it the farm called Malmaynes.
heiresses, of whom Susannah, the eldest, was married to the hon. Baptist Noel, of Luffenham, in Rutland-
shire, member of parliament for that county in 1685. A collateral branch of this family arose from the
marriage of John, son of William Kanshaw, esq. of Ware-park, to Alice, eldest daughter of sir Thomas
Fanshaw, of Jenkins, in Barking, by whom he had John, auditor of the duchy of Lancaster, who died in
1697 : by his wife Mary, daughter of John Coke, of Melborn, in Derbyshire, he had three sons and one
daughter: his son, Thomas Fanshaw, esq. was father of Thomas, who, in the year 1745, married Anne,
daughter of sir Crisp Gascoigne. — Arms of Fanshaw : Or, a chevron between three fleur-de-lis, sable.
* Barking Hall. Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas, a literary lady, in her Life written by herself, about a century
ago, speaks of Barking Hall as belonging to her great grandfather, Richard Shute, esq. member of parliament
for the city of London. Slie describes it as an antique building, situated at the end of a long avenue of elms,
and of a castellated form, but erroneously supposes it one of the baron's castles. She relates that Mr.
Shute made at this seat one of the prettiest and most commodious bowling greens that had ever been seen ;
and king Charles the first, who was partial to that amusement, having paid Mr. Shute a visit, was so well
pleased with his entertainment that he would frequently lay aside his state, and resort thither with only
two or three gentlemen as his attendants. They generally played high (says our authoress) and punctually
paid their losings ; and though Mr. Shute often won, yet the king would at one time set higher than usual,
and having lost several games left off: " And it please your majesty," said Mr. Shute, " one thousand
pound rubbers more, perhaps luck may return." " No, Shute," replied the king, laying his hand gently
on his shoulder, " thou hast won the day, and much good may it do thee, but I must remember I have a
wife and children." Mrs. Thomas adds, Mr. Shute was in such favour with the king, that he was made
deputy-lieutenant of the ordnance, master of St. Cross's hospital, and had other places, of the value altogether
of four thou.sand pounds per annum. He was one of the members who were sent to wait on the king at
Nottingham, when, failing to persuade his majesty to return, and determined not to bear arms against him,
he retired with his family to Hamburgh, where he died. Mrs. Thomas infoims us that his delightful .seal
at Barking, which had been honoured with the royal presence, became, in a few years afterwards, through
the mismanagement of his heir, a ploughed field.
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HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 481
The mansion of Loxford manor is a mile north from the church ; and that of ^ H a v.
XIV
Wangay is on the southern side of Chad well Heath. In 1562, the estate was sold by
Thomas Powle to Thomas Pouncet; Avhose son, William Pouncet, dying in 1591, left l""'^^"'*^
his son Henry his heir, who died in 1627, having previously sold it to Francis Fuller, ^^"^angay-
clerk of the estreats in the exchequer ; who, on his death in 1636, left Francis Osbal-
deston, son of his sister Barbara, his heir; on whose death, without issue, in 1648, his
widow, Alice, was married to Robert Bertie, fifth son of Robert, earl of Lindsey : she
died in 1677, and he in 1701, when the estate passed to Henry, brother of Francis
Osbaldeston, the first husband ; his son, Francis Osbaldeston, leaving, on his decease,
only two daughters : they sold Loxford and Wangay to John Lethieullier, esq. who
settled them both on his son. Smart Lethieullier, esq.
The manor-house of P'ulkys was in the town of Barking, but has been pulled down: Fulkys.
and the estate Avas united to that of Jenkins : it formerly belonged to sir Thomas
Audeley, to William Severn, and to the Fanshaw family.
The manor of Porters belonged to sir Thomas Lucas, to Thomas Fanshaw, esq. in Porters.
1635, and afterwards became the property of Walter Vane Fletcher, esq., and of Mr.
Newman; of whose representatives it was purchased by the present proprietor, James
Scratton, esq.
The manor of Westbury belonged to sir William Denham, who died in 1548; and Westbury.
the next possessor was Edward Breame, esq., succeeded by his brother Arthur; who
sold this estate to Thomas Fanshaw, esq., from whose family it passed to Blackburne
Poulton, attorney-at-law, on whose decease, in 1749, it was com'^eyed to his nephew,
Poulton AUeyne; from whom it descended to Joseph Keeling, esq. The house was at
the east end of the town of Barking.
The mansion of Eastbury is a large ancient building of brick,* with octangular Eastbmy.
towers and ornamented chimneys; it is a mile distant from Westbury, eastward, on the
road to Dagenham, and overlooking the marshes. It belonged to sir William Den-
ham ; and in 1557, to John Keele, who that year sold it to Clement Sisley. It after-
wards became the property of three sisters, of the name of Weldon, and of the Sterry
family : it is now in the occupation of Mr. William Scott.
Gayseham's Hall is three miles north from the church. It was holden of the Gayse-
nunnery, in the time of king Edward the third, by Thomas de Sandwich, pro- h'^H.
veditor to the prince of Wales : it passed afterwards to sir William Denham, and to
the Breame family ; of whom it was purchased by Vincent Randal, whose son Edward
held it at the time of his decease, in 1579, and left his son and heir, Vincent. After-
* There is a prevalent tradition, that this was the place where the conspirators concerned in the gun-
powder treason held their secret meetings, and where, from the top of the great tower, they had hoped to
enjoy the savage pleasure of witnessing the result of their machinations in the blowing up of the British
parliament.
482 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. wards it belonged to Hugh Hare ; of whom it is supposed to have been purchased by
Gabriel Wight, esq. who died in 1621; he was of Little Ilford, and his son was
Henry Wight, esq. William Hibbet, esq. is now possessed of a moiety of Gayse-
ham's Hall, in right of his wife, as heiress of the Wights, and is entitled to the re-
version of the other in fee.
Ui)liali. The house belonging to the manor of Uphall is a mile north from the church, near
Loxford, on the east side of the Rodon. Of the successive proprietors of this estate,
after Morgan Phillips, the fii'st on record are, Wesselin Webblynge, who died in 1611;
his kinsman, Nicholas Webblynge ; William Billingsley, whose widow Elizabeth sold
it to Mr. Edward Seabrooke, from whom it passed to his descendants. Richard
Benyon, esq. the present possessor of Uphall, succeeded his brother Edward ; he is
grandson of governor Benyon.
Stone Stone Hall is near Red-bridge, on the river Rodon ; after having been successively
the property of sir John Rainsford, sir W^illiam Denham, of the Breame family, and
of John Bales in 1578, it was conveyed to Robert Devereux, earl of Essex; and
his mother, the lady Lettice, with her husband sir Christopher Blount, sold it to sir
George Carew, in 1589 ; and, in 1598, it was conveyed back again by Henry, earl
of Northumberland, to the said sir Christopher, lord Mountjoy; who sold it, in the
same year, to John Crook; and, in 1636, it became the property of sir Henry Mild-
may, and passed, with the manor of Wansted, to earl Tilney.
Ciayjlall. This manor is supposed to have been named from the soil, or from the family of
De la Clay, who had possessions in Essex in the time of Edward the third. There
was formerly a capital mansion, with a chapel, but both have been taken down, and a
farm house erected, where they were pleasantly situated on the site of a hill, four
miles north of the church, and a mile from Woodford bridge. This estate was holden
under the abbess of Barking, by the Colt family, from 1475 to 1615 : it next belonged
to sir Christopher Hatton, who had a chapel consecrated here in 1616. He was
succeeded by sir Thomas Cambel, knt. son of Robert Cambel, of Foulsham, in
Norfolk; sheriff of London in 1600, and, in 1609, lord mayor : the estate remained
in possession of his descendants till Anne, the only daughter of sir Harry Cambel,
conveyed it to her husband, Thomas Price, of Westbury, in Buckinghamshire, whose
son, Cambel Price, was the next owner of this estate ; succeeded by Peter Eaton,esq.
of Woodford.*
Claybuiy. Claybury is a capital mansion, with lands, a mile from Clay Hall, and near Wood-
ford bridge: in 1553, it belonged to sir Ralph Warren ; i 1729,became the pro-
perty of Page, esq., and was afterwards the estate and seat of John Goodere, esq.
It belonged afterwards to the Harvey family, and, by marriage, was conveyed to
/ 'A lease of Clay Hall, which had been taken by Mr. Dowsou, was purdnsed by the late James Hatch,
I esq. of Claybury, and is now vested in his representatives.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 483
Montague Burgoyne, esq. who sold it to James Hatch, esq. in 1789, who greatly ^^ ^ ''•
improved the grounds and enlarged the estate. ^
Claybury Hall is a handsome modern building, with a projecting portico in front,
situated on high ground, near Woodford bridge, where the surrounding country
presents admirable prospects of rich meadow lands and forest scenery: the park
abounds with fine timber. The present owner of this elegant seat is J. R. H.
Abdy, esq.
The mansion and estate of Aldborough Hatch is situated south east from Clay -^li'-
HaU, and north north-east from the church. It belonged to Bartholomew Barons, of Hatch.
London, who died in 1548; his son Thomas was his successor, and died in 1626; the
succeeding proprietor being John Lockey, who, at the time of his death in 1713, had
mortgaged this estate to James Coiebrook, esq., and he and one of Mr. Lockey's
legatees joined in conveying a moiety of it to Richard Guise, esq. who died in 1752;
and colonel Jory, who had the other moiety, dying in 1725, it was conveyed by his
niece, Frances Fouch, to her husband, Martin Bladen, one of the lords of trade. He
died in 1746, as did his widow in 1747; and she left the estate to her cousin, Anne
Hodges, who was married, first, to Warner Perkins, attorney-at-law, and, in 1737,
to John Lambert Middleton, brother of sir WUliam Middleton, bart. of Belsay castle,
in Northumberland.
The moiety of Aldborough Hatch estate which belonged to the family of Guise is
now vested in the rev. Mr. Stevens: the house which was occupied by Mr. Brome is
in the tenure of James Grellier, esq. Sir Charles Miles Lambert Monk, bart. (son
of sir William Middleton) has five sixths of the other moiety; the remaining portion
belongs to sir George Cooke, bart. of Wheatley, near Doncaster. The greater part
of Aldborough House has been taken down, but is yet a good, handsome building,
at present the seat of William Pearce, esq.*
Great Geries, near Aldborough Hatch, was sold by Critophel Van Denburgh, Great
esq. (who had taken down the greater part of the old mansion) to Mr. Carstairs. The
house is now in the occupation of William Harrison, esq. Little Geries is the pro-
perty of Mr. Charles Johnson; Fulwell Hatch belongs to his brother, Mr. George
Johnson. f
Newbury Grange is on the north side of the London-road : it belonged to Thomas
* The original erection was by Mr. Bladen, in 1730, at the expense of fourteen thousand pounds.
t In Hainault forest, in this neighbourhood, there was a few years ago a remarkable oak, named Fairlop
Oak, whose age was so great, that, as Mr. Gil])in has observed, in his remarks on Forest Scenery, " The
tradition of the country traced it half way up the Christian aera." The stem was rough and fluted, aud
measured about thirty-six feet in girth ; the branches overspreading an area of three hundred feet in
circumference. In the month of June, 1805, this celebrated tree having been accidentally set on fire, the
trunk was considerably injured, and some of the jjrincipal branches wlioUy destroyed. There is a print
of it as it appeared after that occurrence, given in the Gentleman's Magazine for July, 1806; and a part
of it has been converted into the beautiful carved pulpit of St. Pancras' New Church, in London.
484 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Stych, esq. who died in 1656, and to sir Richard Stych, hart, who died in 1725,
without issue male : it next belonged to sir Thomas Webster, and to his son.
Dunshall is on the same side of the road, near the King's Waterings, in Watery-lane,
not far from Chadwell Street, and Chadwell Heath ; it formerly belonged to John
Hyde, esq. of Sundridge.
Great Great Ilford is a hamlet and chapelry, and one of the wards of Barking parish. It
is on the banks of the Rodon, where the road from London to Chelmsford crosses
that river, twenty-two miles from Chelmsford, and seven from London. The village
forms a respectable street, with many good houses. A handsome new church has
been erected here, which was opened in 1831; and there is also a chapel of ease, and
two chapels for dissenters ; and there is an hospital here, which was founded toward
the close of the reign of king Henry the second, or the commencement of that of
Richard the first, by Adeliza, abbess of Barking: it consisted of a secular master, a
leperous master, and thirteen brethren, lepers; tAvo chaplains, and one clerk. In
1346, Ralph Stratford, bishop of London, drew up a set of statutes for this institution,
ordaining, among other things, that every leper, on his admission, should take an oath
of chastity and of obedience to the abbess and convent of Barking. After the sup-
pression, queen Elizabeth granted the site and possessions to Thomas Fanshaw, esq. his
heirs and assigns, conditionally that they should appoint a master, and keep the chapel
in repair, together Avith apartments for six paupers, each of whom should receive an
annual pension of two pounds five shillings. The hospital estate thus charged, de-
scended to Thomas Fanshaw, viscount Dromore, who, in 1668, granted a lease for
one thousand years to Thomas Allen, gent, from whom it passed through various
families; and, in 1739, was purchased by sir Crisp Gascoigne, from whom it has
passed to his descendants. The hospital occupies three sides of a small quadrangle;
the apartments of the pensioners are on the east and west sides, and the chapel
between them on the south : the latter has undergone various alterations and repairs,
but appears from its general style to have been erected as early as the fifteenth cen-
tury; its length is about one hundred feet, its breadth little more than twenty.
Withfield. This manor belonged to lord chancellor Audeley, who sold it, in 1541, to Robert
Cowper, and it afterwards passed through various proprietors, of the families of Grey,
Stansfield Cooke, Randal, Tadcastle, andAston, to sir Nicholas Coote, in 1617, and
to lady Coote, in 1636: afterwards it was purchased by John Brewster, who died in
1677, and whose son and heir, Augustine, died in 1708, leaving his two sisters his
co-heiresses, who sold this estate to John Bamber, M.D. who left it for life to Walter
Jones, who had married his daughter; the reversion to Bamber Gascoigne, esq.; after-
Avards it belonged to Charles Raymond, esq. of Valentines.*
* Withfield, or Wyfield House, lately belonged to Robert Raikes, esq. and is now, by purchase from
him, the property of John Marmaduke Grafton Dare, esq. This is supposed to have originally been the
manor-house, but is now perfectly distinct from it.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 485
The mansion of the manor of Cranbrooke is half a mile from Ilford, on the north C H A P.
side of the road to London. It was holden of the manor of Barking, and belonged "^^^^
to sir Henry Palavieini, who died in 1615, whose brother Tobias was his heir: sir Cian-
Charles Montague, knt. died possessed of it in 1625, leaving three daughters, his
co-heiresses. Sir James Northfolke, serjeant-at-arms to the House of Commons,
was the next owner; succeeded by sir William Boreham, knt. whose lady had it for
life; and whose nephew, Henry Davis, and Henry Gibbs, his sister's husband, were,
after her death, to enjoy this estate for a term of years, according to a decree in
chancery; it passed afterwards to John Ward, to Raymond, esq. to Andrew
MofFatt, esq. and to his grandson, Andrew Moffatt Mills, esq. Afterwards^ it
became the property of W. M. Raikes, esq. of whom it was purchased by J. M. G.
Dare, esq.
The capital mansion of Valentines, about four miles from the church, was originally Y^'^"^"
built by James Chadwick, esq. son-in-law to archbishop Tillotson; it afterwards
became the property of Robert Surman, esq. who enlarged and much improved the
house and grounds.* This seat afterward belonged to sir Charles Raymond, bart.
whose co-heiresses sold it to Cameron; and, on the death of his son, Donald
Cameron, esq. in 1797, it was the same year sold to Robert Wilkes, esq. of whom it
was purchased in 1808, by the present owner, Charles Welstead, esq.f
Bifrons was formerly a handsome residence, with a park, belonging to Bamber Bifrons.
Gascoigne, esq. a quarter of a mile from the church, on ground rising a considerable
height, commanding a view of the Thames from Greenwich to Purfleet, with the
Kentish hills and shore. It is now in the possession of Mr. Thomas Stayner: the
park and marsh belonging to this estate are occupied by lord Somerville, for his
Merino sheep.
Highlands is a seat near Valentines, formerly belonging to sir Charles Raymond, Highlands
whose heirs sold it to earl Tilney; here a handsome mausoleum, intended by sir
Charles for the burial-place of his family, forms a conspicuous object at a great distance.
The parochial church, dedicated to St. Margaret, is a large handsome building of Chmcli.
stone, with a nave, chancel, a south aisle, and two north aisles, running parallel to
each other the whole length of the building, which is one hundred and fifteen feet ;
* In the house there were some valuable pictures, particularly the original of Southwark Fair, by
Hogarth ; and some fine carvings by Gibbons, but these have been taken away and dispersed. The gardens
were originally laid out with elegance and taste, and a vine in the hot-house, of the black Hamburgh kind,
planted in April 1758, has been known to produce upwards of four hundred weight of fruit per annum ;
the stem is above twenty inches in girth, and the branches extend above two hundred feet. The profits
on the grapes have in some years been supposed to amount to three hundred pounds.
t In a field behind Valentines, a stone coffin, containing a human skeleton, was found in the year 1724,
and in the same field was discovered, in \7M\ an urn of coarse earth, filled with burnt bones. — Gilpin's
Forest Scenery, p. 150. Lysons' Environs, vol. iv. p. 87, from Mr. Lethieullier's MSS.
VOL. II. 3 R
486
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. the breadth sixty-five, and the height twenty-six feet. A strong stone tower rises to
the height of seventy-five feet, and contains eight bells.*
This church being appropriated and belonging to the nunnery, two vicarages
were ordained, with separate endowments, one named " St. Margaret's of Berking
on the south;" the other dedicated to and named from the same saint on the north:
these were consolidated and united sometime after the year 1395, and continued in
the gift of the convent till the dissolution.
In 1549, the rectory and church, with the advowson of the vicarage, were granted
to Robert Thomas, and others, to hold of the honour of Hampton Court: in 1556,
th# vicarage was in the patronage of Thomas Baron, or Barnes, of whom it was
purchased by sir William Petre, William Cook, esq. and William Napper, gent,
executors of the will of W^illiam Pouncett, of this parish, and settled by them in 1557,
on the warden and fellows of All Soul's College, Oxford.
There were chantries in this church, at the altar of the resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ; at the altar of king Edward; and at the altar of St. Ethelburga.
St. Anne's chapel, in this parish, was granted, with Cockerell's Grove, to Richard
Robson, in 1572.
Chantries
St. Anne's
Chapel.
Inscrip-
tions.
Charities.
* Near the steps of a small chapel, at the east end of the north aisle, a marhle slab bears some remains
of an inscription, supposed by Mr. Lethieullier to have been to the memory of Mauritius, who was made
bishop of London in 1087. Mr. Lysons admits it to be of that age, but imagines it to have commemorated
the interment of some otlier person, who was buried during the bishop's lifetime. The remains of the
inscription are as follows : " **** auricii epi*** lundonensis alfgive abbe be**."
There is a monument to fhe memory of William Pouncett, esq. justice of the peace, who died the 8th
of March, 1553.
On the south wall of the chancel a monument is erected to the memory of " that right worthy knight,"
sir Charles Montague, brother of the first earl of Manchester, who died in 1625, aged sixty-one: his
figure is represented sitting in a tent, with his head reclined upon a desk, on which are his helmet and
gauntlets : the entrance is guarded by sentinels, and a page is in attendance with his horse.
Among numerous others, there are inscriptions for John Fanshaw, esq. who died December 19th, 1699,
aged thirty -eight. The hon. Robert Bertie, who died in 1701, aged eighty-four ; he was a great benefactor
to this parish. Hon. Elizabeth Bertie, wife of Robert, died January 1, 1712. Captain John Bennet, sen.
who died 8th of May, 1706, aged seventy, and Mary his wife, who died 2d of January, 1711, aged seventy-
four; and their only son, captain John Bennet, who died Jan. 3, 1716, aged forty-six : he left one hun-
dred pounds to tlie poor here, and three hundred pounds to the poor of his native town of Pool, with
several other benefactions. Sir Orlando Humphreys, of Jenkins, in this parish, bart. died 14th June,
1737, aged fifty-nine years ; his monument is of excellent workmanship, with a bu.st. Captain Jo.shua
Banaster, born in this parish, distinguished for his bravery in king William and queen Anne's wars :
he commanded his majesty's yacht the Charlotte, thirteen years, and died March 28, )738, aged sixty-
three years. He was always a generous benefactor to the poor, and gave fifty pounds to them in his life-
time, and fifty pounds at his death.
A free-school was founded here in 1649, by sir James Cambell, knt. of Woodford; and there is also a
national school for teaching and clothing poor children : also an infant school ; and two endowed alms-
houses, one of six, the other four tenements ; with other charities, too numerous for insertion.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 487
In 1821, the population of Barking- parish amounted to six thousand three hundred CHAP,
and seventy-four, viz. the town ward, two thousand five hundred and eighty; Chad-
well, four hundred and sixty-one; Ilford, two thousand nine hundred and seventy-two;
Ripple, three hundred and sixty-one : in 1831, the population had increased to eio-ht
thousand and thirty-six, viz. the town, three thousand four hundred and four; Chad-
well, seven hundred and thirty-three; Ilford, three thousand five hundred and twelve;
Ripple, three hundred and eighty-seven.
DAGENHAM.
From Barking- on the west this parish extends eastward to the liberty of Haverinpf, Dagen-
h ii in
and is bounded on the south by the river Thames: it is eighteen miles in circumference.
The village is two miles and a half from Romford, on the high road from Barking to
Raynham: distant from London thirteen miles.
Dagenham is not mentioned in Domesday, being included in the lordship of Barking.
There are four manors.
This manor, in the time of king Edward the third, was holden of the abbess of ^^S^^-
Barking, by Edmund de Northtoft, whose daughters, Emma and Florence, were his iManor.
co-heiresses; and, after the dissolution of monasteries, it passed to the crown, and was
granted to sir Richard Alibon, knt. judge of the King's Bench, who sold it to Thomas,
eldest son of sir Henry Audeley, on whose death, in 1697, it was conveyed to his sister
Katharine's son, Henry Barker, esq.
John de Cockermouth gave this estate to the abbess of Barkino- in 1330, which, Cocker-
'^ . *5 5 » mouth.
after the dissolution, was retained by the crown till it was granted, by queen Elizabeth,
in 1565, to sir Anthony Brown, chief justice of the Common Pleas, who, dying in
1567, left Wistan Brown, esq. his brother John's grandson, his heir; who, in 1574,
conveyed it to John Bullock, esq. from whom it passed successively to Thomas Fan-
shaw, in 1574; to Thomas Nutbrown, in 1589, and the same year to William Megges;
in 1601, to John Swinnerton: in 1685, it had become the property of sir Thomas
Darcy, bart. of Great Bracksted, who sold it, in 1690, to William Clark; who, by
will, left it to his wife Anne for life; to be afterwards conveyed to William Watkins
and Thomas Johnson. The manor-house is a mile south south-west from the church.
The mansion of Parselowes is a mile and a half north-west from the church, the Paisc-
lowes.
name does not occur in the records till 1568, when it was conveyed by Martin Bowes,
to Rowland Hay ward, alderman of London, and Thomas Wilbraham; and it after-
wards belonged to William Fanshaw, esq. who died in 1635; and from whom this
estate passed to his descendants.
The mansion of this manor is about half a mile north from Parselowes, and derives ^'aleiu-e.
its name from the family of Valence, earls of Pembroke. It was holden of the abbess
of Barking by Agnes de Valence, who died in 1309; her heir was Adomar de Valence,
488
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. earl of Pembroke; and the next recorded possessor was sir Nicholas Coote, of With-
field, in Barking. In 1676, Thomas Bonham, esq. died holding this estate, which was
purchased by Henry Mertins, esq. who died in 1725, and was succeeded by his son,
John Henry Mertins, esq.
Church. The church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is a handsome structure, which
was thoroughly repaired in 1 806 ; it consists of a nave, chancel, and south aisle, with
a stone tower.
The church, and the manor of Dagenham, originally belonged to the abbey of
Barking, and passing to the crown on the dissolution, were granted to sir Anthony
Brown, who died in 1567, and have since passed to various proprietors.*
In 1821, there were one thousand eight himdred and sixty-four, and, in 1831, two
thousand one hundred and eighteen inhabitants.f
Inscrip-
tions.
Dagen-
ham
breach.
* Among the monumental inscriptions in this church are the following : On an elegant monument of
grey and white marble, is one for sir Richard Alibon, knt. advanced by king James the second to the dignity
of a judge, though he was a catholic ; being the only individual of that communion who had been advanced
to so high a dignity during the preceding one hundred and fifty years : he was of distinguished learning
and ability, and died Aug. 22, 1688, aged fifty-three. — For Thomas Bonham, esq. lord of Valence, a good
scholar, and not a bad poet. He died May 3, 1676. — For Jacob Uphill, who died June 10th, 1662, aged
thirty-six : his son Jacob, standard-bearer to William and Mary, to queen Anne, and to George the first :
he died Feb. 26th, 1717, aged fifty-nine, and left, after the decease of his sister, ninety pounds per annum
to the poor of Dagenham parish. Susanna, the sister of the said Jacob, died January 20, 1725, aged
sixty-five. — For John White, gent, who died Feb. 2, 1673. He left to seven poor widows one dozen of
bread weekly for ever. — For Mr. Thomas Waters, who died March 6, 1756, aged seventy-three. He left
one hundred pounds, the interest of it to be appropriated for ever to placing out poor children to school.
Other benefactions are, forty shillings yearly to the poor, by William Armstead : twenty pounds to the
charity-school, by James Symmonds, vicar here : and fifty pounds to the poor, by Henry Mertins, in 1725.
There is a well-endowed free-school here, founded by Mr. William Ford, in 1828, for thirty boys and
twenty girls.
t In the banks of the Thames, at Dagenham, a very destructive breach was formed, by the violence of
the wind and tide, in the winter of the year 1707. It was occasioned by the blowing-up of a small sluice,
that had been made for the drainage of the land-waters, and being at first neglected, an opening was
formed, in some places twenty feet deep, and one hundred yards wide. Through this channel the rush of
waters was so great, that upwards of one thousand acres of rich land, in the levels of Dagenham and
Havering, were overflowed, and nearly one hundred and twenty acres washed into the Thames ; where a
sand-bank was formed about a mile in length, and reaching nearly half-way across the river. Various
attempts were made by the landholders to repair the breach, but after several years' ineffectual labour,
the design was relinquished as impracticable. The danger, however, resulting to the navigation of the
river, occasioned an ajjplicution to parliament, and an act was obtained to continue the work, a small tax
being at the same time laid on every vessel coming into the port of London, for the purpose of defraying
the expense. The business was then undertaken by one Boswell, on a contract for sixteen thousand
five hundred pounds, but, after the trial of various schemes, he was found unable to complete the un-
dertaking, and a new agreement was entered into with captain Perry, who had been employed by the czar
Peter, in building the city of Veronitz upon the river Don. This gentleman commenced his work in
April, niS, at which period the breach had been worn into several large branches, like the natural arms
of a river, by the force of the reflux water from the marshes on every turn of the tide. The longest of
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 489
CH AF.
EAST HAM. XIV.
This parish lies east from West Ham, and anciently formed part of the endowment East Ham.
of Westminster abbey, to which it was confirmed by Edward the confessor, under
the name of two hides in Hamme: and it appears, that these two parishes were not
at that time divided, but went by one common name; holden by the abbey in two
parcels, at the time of the survey. At what time the house was deprived of this
possession is not known; but in the reig-n of king Henry the third, this lordship and
also West Ham belonged to the family of Montfichet; which, on the death of Richard
de Montfichet, the last heir male, in 1258, became the portion of Margery, one of
his three co-heiresses, married to Hugh de Bolbec, whose successors here were
Walter de Bolbec, Walter, Hugh, and a second Hugh, who left four daughters, his
co-heiresses: Philippa, married to Roger de Lancaster; Margaret, whose first hus-
band was Nicholas Corbett; and who was married, secondly, to Ralph, son of William
de Grimsthorp; Alice, married to Roger or Walter de Huntercombe; and Maud,
whose husband was Hugh de la Vail : the partition of the estate among these neces-
sarily caused its dismemberment.
John, son and heir of Roger de Lancaster, in 1307, gave lands here, with the Manor of
advowson of the church, to the abbot and convent of Stratford; and afterwards, in
1319, he and Annora his wife, granted to the same house the reversion of this manor,
after their decease; which, at the dissolution passing to the crown, was granted, by
king Henry the eighth, to Richard Breame, esq. who died in 1546, leaving his son
these branches extended upwards of a mile and a half, and was in some places between four hundred and
five hundred feet broad, and from twenty to forty feet deep. By extraordinary exertions, by driving dove-
tail piles in a particular manner, and by various other expedients, captain Perry at length succeeded in
stopping the breach, but not before the works had been three times nearly destroyed and washed away,
by the strength and rapidity of the tides. The expense of this important undertaking amounted to forty
thousand, four hundred and seventy-two pounds, eighteen shillings, and eight pence three farthings, only
twenty-five thousand pounds of which was allowed by the original contract ; but the sum of fifteen thou-
sand pounds was afterwards voted by parliament to captain Perry, who was thus ungenerously left to
defray a part of the charges, and without any remuneration for upwards of five years' anxiety and care.
Within the embankment is yet a pool of between forty and fifty acres, where the earth had been carried off
by the tide: and near it is a small circular thatch building, called Dagenham Breach House, kept by the
subscriptions of gentlemen, who form parties to fish in tlie pool at the proper season. While the works
were carrying on, a very extensive stratum of Moorlogg, or rotten wood, of various kinds, was found,
about four feet beneath the surface of the marshes. This stratum was about ten feet in depth, and
appeared to consist of whole trees and brushwood, with but very little intermixture of earth. Among the
trees were many of yew and willow; the former were mostly undecayed. Some oak or horn-beam was
also found, together with large quantities of hazel nuts. Several stags' horns were met with, lying about
the iMoorlogg. — From the account published by captain Perry, in 1721 , and Philosophical Transactions, No. 335.
Captain Perry, the undertaker of this great vvork, had been several years employed by Peter the great,
czar of Muscovy, in his works at Veronitz, a city on the river Don. He died 1 1th February, 1733.
490 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Edward an Infant, whose heir, on his decease in 1558, was his brother Arthur;
whose son and successor was Giles Brearae. The manor afterwards belonged to
the Allington family, of whom it was purchased by lady Kerape, relict of sir Nicholas,
and was inherited by the son of her former hus])and, sir Thomas Draper, bart. of
Sunningliill, in Berkshire ; on whose death, in 1703, his daughter Mary conveyed it
to her husband, John Barber, esq. whose son John sold it, with several other estates
in this parish, to John Henniker, esq. of West Ham. East Ham Hall, the manor-
house, is near the church. This manor now belongs to lord Henniker, whose family
seat in Essex is Stratford House.
Kast Ham The manor-house of East Ham Burnels is near the London road. Its name is
derived from Robert Burnel, bishop of Bath and Wells, who had this estate in 1286,
and whose great nephew, Edward lord Burnel, died possessed of it in 1316. His
sister Maud was his sole heiress, who was married^ first, to John Lovel ; and, secondly,
to John de Handlo: by both of these she had several children, but, as is supposed,
none of them survived their parents, for, on their decease, their successor was sir
Nicholas Handlo, the brother of John, who took the surname of Burnel. His son,
sir Hugh Burnel, was his successor, whose heirs were his cousins, Joice, wife of
Thomas Erdyngton, jun. ; Katharine Burnel; and Margery, wife of Edmund Hunger-
ford. Sir Edmund Hungerford died in 1484, in possession of the manors of East
Ham Burnels, West Ham Burnels, Hell House, and Stansted Montfichet, which he
held of Francis lord Lovel; and was succeeded by his son, Thomas Hungerford:
they belonged to sir John Hungerford in 1506, succeeded by John Hungerford, esq.
in 1559, having been intermediately holden by W^illiam Lacon, or Laxon, who died
in 1556, whose heiress was Johanna, widow of Thomas Wanton. The next owner
was sir John Hungerford, who died in 1581; Anthony was his son and heir: a moiety
and purparty of this estate was holden by Roger Beckwith, who died in 1586, whose
co-heiresses were his two sisters, one of whom was married to sir George Harvey,
knt.; and the other to Henry Slingsby, esq. Sir G. Harvey died in 1605, and the lady
Frances, his widow, in 1627, holding this estate till her decease; and her eldest
daughter, Margaret, was married to William Mildmay, esq. son and heir of sir Thomas
Mildmay, knt. of Barnes, by Elizabeth, sixth daughter of sir Nicholas Coote, knt. of
Dagenham: their son, sir Thomas, and the lady Coote, were the co-heirs of the said
Margaret; and the estate continued in the family of Mildmay, of Marks, till it was
sold, by Carew Mildmay, esq. to Henry Edwards, esq. who conveyed it to John
Gore, esq. and a moiety of it was afterwards purchased by sir Robert Smyth, bart.
whose grandson, sir Robert Smyth, left, by will, his estates here and elsewhere, to
the unborn son of his great nephew, sir Trafford Smyth, who died unmarried, and
was succeeded by his nephew, sir Robert Smyth. The other moiety of this estate
was at that time the property of Stephen Comyns, esq. The manor was sold by sir
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 49!
Robert to William Bentham, esq. in 1798, and by him conveyed in the following year C H A p.
to William Holland, esq. from whom, in 1807, it was conveyed to Edward Holland,
esq. and from the latter, in 1810, it passed to Henry Hinde Pelly, esq. the present
proprietor, who is possessed also of the other moiety, which was purchased of Robert
Comyn, esq. by Mr. Bentham, in the year 1798, since which time they have continued
to be united.
Greenstreet is a hamlet in this parish, a mile north-west fi'om the church, where Green-
there is a fine old mansion, formerly the occasional residence of king Henry the eighth
and his queen, Anne Boleyn:* it belonged to sir Thomas Holcroft, from whom it
was conveyed to sir Thomas Garrard, bart. ; from whom it descended to sir Jacob
Garrard Downing, bart. and was afterwards the property of Barnes; from whom
it was conveyed to William Morley, esq. the present owner.
The church of East Ham, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, is supposed from its Chmcli.
form to be of considerable antiquity. Like the churches of the primitive Christians,
most of which were originally Pagan temples, or Basilicae, it consists of a sanctuary, .
an ante-temple, and a temple; or, as they are now called, a nave and two chancels.
The upper chancel, or sanctuary, is semi-circular at the east end, and has narrow
pointed windows: on the south side is a piscina, with a double drain, divided by a
column, forming two plain pointed arches, between which is a bracket for a lamp.
On the south wall of the lower chancel are several Saxon arches, w^ith zig-zag orna-
ments, which appear to have extended to the nave.f
In 1821, the number of inhabitants in this parish was one thousand four hundred
and twenty-four, and, in 1831, one thousand five hundred and forty-three.
* In Lysons's Environs, an erroneous statement has been admitted, that " there is a tradition that queen
Anne Boleyn was confined in the Tower at Gieenstreet, but an inspection will at once shew that it has
been erected since that time." This supposed modern appearance of the Tower is accounted for by the
circumstance of Mr. Morley having repaired it forty years ago. previous to which the top was entirely
demolished. It is believed to have been originally erected about three hundred years ago, an opinion
which singularly coincides with an anecdote related by Mr. Morley, the substance of which is that Anne
Boleyne was betrothed to a young nobleman who died. About ten mouths after his death, the king
demanded her hand ; she, as was the custom, requested to complete the twelvemonth of mourning for her
lover, to which Henry agreed, and for her amusement built the tower in question, from which she had a
fine view of the Thames from Greenwich to below Gravesend. The room in the third story of the tower
was formerly hung with leather, richly decorated with gold, which Mr. Morley's predecessor avariciously,
almost wickedly, burnt, to collect the gold, which was sold for thirty pounds. The lead from the rt)of
was also sold, which Mr. Morley has now covered with copper. '• It is said in one of the Histories of
England, that Anne Boleyn was taken from Greenstreet to Greenwich, and from tluMuc to the Tower."
There is also a letter in the hand- writing of Henry, preserved either at Oxford, Cambridge, or the British
Museum, dated from Greenstreet. Mr. Morley states, " I have lived upon this estate fifty yeais, and my
predecessor, Mr. Barnes, more than fifty." — Gentleman's Magazine, vol. 9t, part i. p. '219.
t Lysons's Environs, vol. iv. p. 148.
There is a handsome monument behind the communion table, to the memory of Edmund Nevill, lord inscrip-
Latimer, and (reputed) seventh earl of Westmoreland of that family ; the clfigies represent the earl and t'ons.
492 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK U.
WEST HAM.
West Ham This large parish extends from East Ham westward to the river Lea, in the vicinity
of London; and southward to the Thames: it is computed to be twenty miles in
circumference, and is divided into the four wards of Church Street; Stratford Lang-
thorne, extending along the high road to Bow Bridge; Plaistow, about a mile east
from the church ; and Upton, a mile north-east from the church ; each of these wards
has a churchwarden and overseer.
The village is large and pleasantly situated, four miles from Whitechapel : it had
formerly a market, the charter for which was procured in the year 1253, by Richard
de Montfichet; and the resumption of this privilege would be highly advantageous
to the parish and neighbourhood.*
The lands of this parish, in the time of the Confessor, belonged to Alestan and
Leured, two freemen; and, at the survey, to Robert Gernon and Ralph Peverel, and
were divided into seven manors.
Manor of The manors of West Ham, East-west Ham, Wood Grange, and Plaiz, are included
We^tHam . , • , , , / .
m the part which belonged to Robert Gernon, whose posterity took the name of
Montfichet. This lordship was given to the abbey of Stratford, and at the dissolution
passing to the crown, it formed part of the dowry of Katharine of Portugal, queen
of king Charles the second, and was on that account called the Queen's manor:
previous to her death, in 1705, the king had granted a ninety-nine years lease of it
to the hon. George Booth, at a reserved rent, which was afterwards remitted or
released; and he, in 1733, granted a portion of the demesnes, and a farm called
^^'^ood Grange, to John Grigsby and Abraham Crop, in trust for sir John Blount.
his lady, Jane, countess of Westmoreland. There is a poetical inscription of considerable length on the
earl, as also on his daughter, the " right vertvovs, faire, and noble ladie Katharine." And of Jane his wife.
Several other distinguished personages have been interred in the church and church-yard, and among
them the renowned antiquary, Dr. Stukeley, who, as appears by the register, was buried in March, 1765.
The spot for his burial-place was chosen by himself, during a visit to the rev. Mr. Sims, a former vicar
of this parish : according to his own request, the turf was laid smoothly over his grave without any
monument. — A monument has been put up on the east wall of the nave for Inyr Burgess, esq. thirty years
paymaster to the East India company ; it also commemorates his son-in-law, who died in 1803. — Also
buried here, December 8, 1804, sir John Dick, bart. of Roehampton, aged eighty-four: knight of the
imperial Itussian order of St. Anne, of the first class. The Scotch baronetcy of Dick of Braid became
extinct by his death. Dorothy, lady foley, was buried here, Jan. 19th, 1804, aged eighty-four.
Giles Breeme, esq. who died in 1621, has a monument on the north side of the chancel; he left the
greater part of his estate for building an almshouse, and endowing it with forty pounds a year ; and in
other charities.
* This parish contains four thousand five hundred acres, of which one thousand nine hundred and
seventy is arable, two thousand five hundred and thirty meadow-land, or maish, about five hundred
cropped with potatoes, and two hundred with turnips : soil gravelly, except the marshes, and some loamy
land in the neighbourhood of the forest.
i
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 493
He also granted a lease of the fines of Stratford ward, Avith power to hold a court c H a f
.... Xl\'
baron, for their collection: this right was afterwards conveyed to earl Tilney, but he '
reserved to himself and successors in the lease, the other quit-rents and royalties.
The other parts of this manor passed from G. Booth to Mrs. Azaria Penny, to
Smart, esq., and to Brown, who sold his interest in them to John Henniker, esq.*
The lease of the manor of West Ham having expired in 1804, was purchased of
the crown in fee, in 1805, by James Humphries, esq. and George Johnstone, escj. M.P.,
who are the present proprietors. Lands in this manor descend according to the
custom of gavelkind.
Hugh de Playz, who married Philippa, third sister and co-heiress of the last Richard Playz.
de Montfichet, had this estate, which has retained his name; and the name of Plaistow
is believed to have the same derivation : the manor-house is a mile east-north-east
from the church. In 1553, king Edward the sixth granted this manor, with East-
west Ham, to sir Roger Cholmley, whose co-heirs, Elizabeth, wife of Christopher
Kenne, esq. and John Russell, esq. enjoyed it after him. A moiety and purparty of it
belonged to Roger Beckwith, who died in 1586, leaving his sister Frances, wife of
George Harvey, and Henry Slingsby, his co-heirs. It afterwards passed from the
Harveys, or Mildmays, of Marks, together with East Ham Burnels and West Ham
Burnels, to the Smyth family, of Upton ; from whom they Avere conveyed to Henry
Hinde Pelly, esq.
After the Burnel family, this manor passed to Handlo, Lovel, Hungerford, Beck- ^^^^st Ham
with, Harvey, and to the Mildmay family, of Marks, and was sold by Carew Mildraay,
esq., with Playz and East Ham Burnels, to Henry Edwards, esq., by whom they
were sold to John Gore, esq. who conveyed them to John Blount, hart, a South-sea
director, and being seized by the company, were sold to sir Robert Smyth, hart, of
Upton, in this parish, who thereby became possessed of the manors of East Ham Bur-
nels, West Ham Burnels, East-west Ham, and Playz ; from whom they descended
to his heirs and successors, except a moiety of them, which became the property of
Stephen Comyns, esq. and they were afterwards purchased by Henry Hinde Pelly, esq.
Bretts is not mentioned in records till the time of Edward the fourth, Avhen John Bictts.
Ferrers, esq. in 1478, died in possession of the manor of " Brettys in Easthamme."
The next possessor was Edward earl of Warwick, heir of George Plantagenet, duke
of Clarence : but the said Edward being afterwards executed for treason, in 1499, all
his estates were forfeited to the crown: in 1519, this estate was settled on queen
Katharine of Arragon, by king Henry the eighth: in 1576, it was granted by queen
Elizabeth to Peter and Edward Gray; and the same year it was conveyed to sir
* Sir John Henniker, bart. who, in 1800, was created lord Henniker, of the kingdom of Ireh\nd, had a
seat in this parish, at Stratford-grove, where he died, April 18, 1803. It is now the property and occa-
sional residence of his son, the present lord Henniker.
VOL. II. 3 S
494 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
'^^^^^^ "• Thomas Henneage; from whom it passed, in 1583, to Rog-er Townshend, esq., and
was sold by him to Edward de Vere, earl of Oxford, who died possessed of it in 1604,
and it was sold by his widow in 1609; after which it became the property of Henry
Woollaston, esq., wliose heir was his son Henry. It afterwards belonged to Francis
Beauchamp, esq. of Cornwall.
Chab- This reputed manor is understood to have been taken from several other manors:
ham!>, or '■
Cobhams. in 141T, sir Adam Fraunceys died, holding- it of Hugh Burnel, and of the abbot of
Stratford ; and his co-heiresses were his daughters, Agnes (wife of sir William Porter),
and Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Charleton ; the third part of the estate being retained
by his widow, on her decease, in 1444, came to the said Agnes, who died in 1461 :
her heir was her sister Elizabeth's son, sir Thomas Charleton, who had also other con-
siderable possessions in this county. He died in 1465, leaving his son and heir, sir
Richard Charleton, a minor, who was afterwards attainted of high treason, for being
of the party of king Richard the third, and his forfeited estates granted, in 1487, by
king Henry the seventh, to sir John Rysley; who, dying without issue, in 1512, they
again passed to the crown; and, in 1513, were granted to William, afterwards sir
William Compton, knt., who, dying in 1528, left his son, Peter Compton, only seven
years old. In 1589, the notorious Tipper and Dawe procured a grant of this and
other lands; but in 1596, this manor was granted, by queen Elizabeth, to Thomas
Spencer and Robert Atkinson, who, in the following year, conveyed it to Richard
Wiseman, who died in 1618, leaving his son, sir Robert, his heir. Afterwards it
belonged to Mr. Hyat and to Mrs. Jane Hyat. The house is on the left-hand side of
the road from Stratford to Low Leyton, a mile north-west from the church. This
manor now belongs to lord Henniker.
Stratford. The populous hamlet of Stratford Langthorn is the last village of Essex on the
great London road, and situated on the borders of the river Lea, where it is crossed
by the celebrated Bow Bridge, said to have been the first arched-bowed bridge in this
part of the country: it consists of three arches, and bears evident marks of antiquity,
yet has been so often repaired in the course of many centuries, that it seems impos-
sible to ascertain how much of the original structure noAv remains. Stowe, Leland,
and other writers, are agreed in attributing the first erection of it to Matilda, or Maud,
the queen of king Henry the first.* On the river in this neighbourhood and in Strat-
• Stowe relates the following particulars of its foundation : "This Matilda, when she saw the forde to
be dangerous for them that travelled by the old foord over the river of Lue (for she herself had been well
washed in the water), caused two stone bridges to be builded, of the which, one was situated over Lue,
at the head of the town of Stratford, now called Bow, because the bridge was arched like a bow; a rare
piece of work ; for before that time the like had never been seen in England. The other over the little
brooke, commonly called Chavelse bridge. She made the king's highway of gravel between the two
bridges; and gave certain manors to the abbess of Berking; and a mill, commonly called Wiggon, or
Wiggen mill, for the repayring of the bridges and highwaie ; but afterwards Gilbert de Montfichet founded
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 495
ford, are numerous flour-mills and manufacturing establishments, print-works, distil- chap
leries, chemical works, &c., many of which are on a very large scale. About sixty ^'^'
years ago, a new cut was made across the meadows and low grounds, by which a
saving is made of several miles in the course of the navigation to Ware, in Hertford-
shire. The town itself is greatly improved of late years, and a handsome new church
has been erected, conveniently situated where the roads to Romford and Woodford
form two sides of a triangular inclosure. It is in the style of architecture of the thir-
teenth century, having a lofty nave, with north and south aisles, and a steeple at the
angle ; the windows are narrow and pointed. The interior is light and graceful, the
timbers of the middle roof exposed, the tiebeams resting on grotesque corbels of
stone : at the west end is a gallery and organ-loft, beneath which there is a handsome
stone font in a recess. As a work of art, this building is thought to be equal to any
erected under the church commissioners.
The abbey of Stratford Langthorn Avas founded in the year 1135, by William de Stratford
Montfichet, for monks of the Cistercian order, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary and
All Saints.* Its founder endowed it with his manor of West Ham, and it had also other
extensive possessions, which, on the dissolution, became the property of the crown ;
the abbey of Stratford in the marishes, the abbot whereof, by giving a piece of money, purchased to him-
self the manors and mill aforesaid, and covenanted to repair the bridges and way, till at length he laid the
charge upon one Hugh Pratt, who lived near the bridges and causeway, allowing him certain loaves of
bread daily; and by the alms of passengers, he kept them in due repair; as did his son William after him,
who, by the assistance of Robert Passelow, the chief justice in the time of Henry the third, obtained these
tolls : — of every cart carrying corn, wood, coal, &c, one penny ; of every one carrying tasel, two pence ;
and of one carrying a dead Jew, eight pence ; and put up a bar on Lockebreggs : but Philip Basset and the
abbot of Waltham having broke the bar rather than pay the toll, the bridges and gateway remained unre-
paired. In the mean time, Eleanor, queen of king Henry the third, caused them to be mended at her own
charge, by William, the keeper of her chapel ; and William de Carleton kept them afterwards in repair,
till a new agreement between the abbess and abbot took place for that fm-poiie."—Stowe's yimials, ed. 1631,
page 139.
The tenants of the abbey lands appear to have been unwilling to fulfil this agreement ; for, in 1691, a
cause was tried by an Essex jury at the bar of the King's Bench ; the King versus Buckeridge and others,
for not repairing a highway, rations tenurce, by reason of their holding, or tenure, between Stratford and
Bow. The evidence for the king was, that Maud, the queen of Henry the first, built this bridge, &c. (to
the tenure before mentioned) ; that at the dissolution, the Stratford abbey lands, being vested in the
crown, were granted to sir Peter Mewtis, who held them charged with the repairing of this highway ; and
from him, by several mesne assignments, they came to the defendants ; who (the facts being piovcd) were
ordered to abide by the tenure. — Morant, vol. i. p. 20.
* " This house," says Leland, " first sett among the low marshes, was after, with sore fiudes, dcfacyd,
and removid to a cell or graunge, longynge to it, caulyd Burgestede, in Estsex, a juilc or more from
Billerica. These monks remainid at Burgestede untill entrete was made that they might have some help
otherwyse. Then one of the Richards, kings of England, toke the ground and abbaye of Stratford into
his protection, and re-edifienge it, browght the foresayde monks agayne to Stratford, where among the
marsches they reinhabytyd." — Itinerary, vol. vii. p. 9.
496 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. but having been since divided, have passed through various famiUes. The abbot was
summoned to parliament in 1307 ; and in 1335, John de Bohun, earl of Hereford and
Essex, high constable of England, was buried in the abbey. After the dissolution, its
possessions were granted, by Henry the eighth, to sir Peter Mewtis, or Meautis, who
had been ambassador to the court of France- In 1633, Henry Meautis, esq. a de-
scendant of sir Peter, conveyed the site of the abbey, with the abbey mills, and two
hundred and forty acres of land, to sir John Nulls.
Margaret, the unfortunate countess of Salisbury, whom the remorseless Henry the
eighth caused to be beheaded in her old age, without the slightest evidence of her
criminality, appears to have resided within the precincts of the abbey at the time of its
dissolution. The foundations of the house were dug up and removed some time ago,
on which occasion a small onyx seal was found, with the impress of a griffin set in
silver, on which is the following legend : " Nuncio vobis gaudium et salutem ;" sup-
posed to be the priory seal of one of the abbots. The site of the precincts was moated,
and contained about sixteen acres : the abbey stood about three furlongs south-west
from the present church ; and till lately there was a gateway, and other remains,
which have been pulled down ; so that of this ancient building there does not remain
one stone upon another. On the forest side of the town of Stratford, are the hamlets
of Maryland Point and the Sand Pits ; one facing the road to Epping, the other that
to Chelmsford.
Church. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a spacious edifice, with a nave, chancel, side
aisles, and a square tower, seventy-four feet in height.*
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to nine thousand, seven hundred
and fifty-three; and, in 1831, to eleven thousand, five hundred and eighty.
LEYTON.
Leyton. The Saxon name of this parish is Ly jan, also written Lyjean, which, with the word
tun, is descriptive of it, as the town by the river Lea, or Ley; in records the name
is written Leituna, Leintuna, Lochetun, Layghton, Layton, Leighton, and Leyton.f
That part which is on low ground near the meadows is called Low Leyton, and the
upper part on the road to Epping is named Leytonstone, as is supposed from there
* There are some fine old monuments in the church ; many of which are for persons of celebrity : the
charities are very numerous and of great amount. There is a charity school for ten boys, instituted in
1723, the endowment of which has been enlarged to admit forty boys, and twenty girls, who are now
clothed and apprenticed. Also a school for forty girls, established by Mrs. Bonnel, in 1761, who left three
thousand pounds for that purpose.
t Mr. .Morant supposes this name may be from the British Lhuch, a lake ; the low grounds from this
place to the Thames having anciently formed an extensive reservoir of water, till it was partly drained by
king Alfred, in the year 696.— Saxon Chron. and other Historians; and Stukeley's Account of Rich, of
Cirencester, p. 45, 82.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 497
having been a Roman milliary stone formerly placed there. Leyton parish is com- chap
puted to be fourteen miles in circumference.* xiv.
The village, from its situation on low ground, named Low Leyton, consists
chiefly of respectable and capital houses, embosomed in trees. Besides the church
there is a chapelf of ease (at Leytonstone) and two places of worship belonging to
dissenters. Distance from Shoreditch church five miles, and the same from White-
chapel.
Harold, Tosti, Suene Suart, Ulric, Alsi, one freeman, and four sochmen, held the
lands of this parish in the time of Edward the confessor; and, at the survey, they
belonged to Robert, son of Corbutio; the abbot of Westminster; Peter de Valoines;
Hugh de Montfort; and Robert Gernon. In the most ancient records there are
stated to have been, as at present, three manors.
The chief manor belonged to the abbey of Stratford, but it is not known who gave Manor of
them this possession: they had also other benefactions in this parish. After the ^''^^*^°"
dissolution, in 1545, it was granted, by Henry the eighth, to Thomas lord Wriothesly,
lord chancellor of England, who sold it to Ralph Warren, lord mayor of London;
and he dying in 1553, left Richard his son and heir, on whose death in 1597, he Avas
succeeded by his sister the lady Joanna's son and heir, Oliver Cromwell, esq. of
Hinchingbrooke. The estate afterwards passed successively to Edward Rider; to
his son of the same name in 1608, and to sir William Rider, knt. and lord mayor of
London, who, in 1610, built the upper chancel of the church: he died in 1611, and
left his two daughters his co-heiresses.:}: Afterwards this manor became divided, and
was holden in portions by several owners, till, in 1703, the greater part of the estate
was purchased by David Gansel, esq. who continued lord of the manor and patron of
the vicarage till his death in 1753; and was succeeded by his son William, afterwards
general Gansel, whose heirs sold it to John Pardoe, esq. who also purchased a portion
of the estate, which had become the property of the corporation of Lincoln in 1783:
in 1794, the manor-house was disposed of, and a new one erected.§ The present
owner is John Pardoe, esq. grandson of the last purchaser of the estate. ||
* The parish contains seventeen hundred acres, of which one hundred and fifty is marsh, two hundred
and fifty waste, in the forest, twenty-five occupied by nurserymen and market gardeners, about two hun-
dred cropped with potatoes. Soil gravelly, abounding with fine springs.
t Leytonstone chapel, after having been closed a great many years, was opened in 1754.
X Arms of Kider : Azure, three crescents, or.
§ The house, with a paddock and a portion of land, was purchased by sir John Strange, master of tiie
rolls, who improved it with additional buildings, and made it a delightful seat : after his death it was
bought by Thomas Hladen, esq. whose heirs sold it to Nathaniel lirassey, esq. of whom it was purchased
by Thomas Lane, in 1796,
II The portion of this parish which at the survey belonged to Peter de Valoines, was given by liis great
grand-daughter, Gunnora, to the nunnery of Haliwell, in Middlesex, and, after the dissolution, passing
to several proprietors, has been incorporated with other estates ; as has also other lands which belonged
to the priory of the Holy Trinity, in London.
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The manor of Marks belonged orig-inally to the priory of St. Helen's in London,
Marks! ^"^ became the property of the Withipole family in the time of Henry the eighth,
Avho retained possession till sir Edmund Withipole and his wife Frances sold it, in
1601, to sir James Altham, one of the barons of the exchequer in 1607, who died in
1617, and was succeeded by his son, sir James Altham, knt. from whose descendants
it passed to the Gansel family: it now belongs to Mr. Pardoe. The mansion is a
farm-house.
Riukliolt. The Saxon name of this manor is hpoc holt, i. e. rook-wood. The mansion was
a mile from the chiu'ch. Bumsted and Fraunceys are the most ancient owners on
record. It belonged to William, son of Robert de Bumsted Steeple, in 1284; and
it was conveyed from Philip, son of Robert Bumsted, to Adam Fraunceys, in 1360,
and was retained by his descendants till sir Adam Fraunceys, who held the estate of
earl W^arren, dying in 1417, left his two daughters his co-heiresses:* of whom
Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Charlton, left her son, sir Thomas Charlton, who succeeded
to this estate, which, on his death in 1465, became the inheritance of his son, sir
Richard Charlton; on whose attainder for high treason, Henry the seventh granted
Ruckholt to sir John Rysley, in 1487, which again reverting to the crown on his
death, without issue, in 1512, was given, by Henry the eighth, to sir William
Compton, knt. who died in 1528, and whose only son, Peter Compton, esq. left in
wardship to Cai'dinal Wolsey, dying under age in 1543, William, grandson of sir
William, was his successor, who, in 1592, sold the estate to Henry Parvis, merchant,
who died in 1593, leaving a son named Gabriel, and other children; and whose widow
(Elizabeth Colston) was re-married to sir Michael Hickes, secretary to sir William
Cecil, lord Bui-ghley, who having purchased Ruckholts of the Parvis family, made
it the place of his residence, and died there in 1612;f and, in 1720, sir Harry Hickes,
his descendant, sold this estate to Benjamin Collier, esq, from whom it was conveyed,
by purchase, to earl Tilney. The house, which was many years the seat of the family
of Hickes, was taken down in 1757, after having been a considerable time occupied
by William Barton, as a place for breakfasts and public amusements. This manor
includes the hamlet of Leytonstone, a long straggling place, hdiabited by merchants
and traders of the metropolis.:]:
* Arms of Fraunceys : Per bend sinister, sable and or, a lion rampant counterchanged.
t Sir William Hickes, bart. son and heir of sir Michael, was lieutenant of Waltham Forest, one of the
deputy-lieutenants of the county, and justice of peace. He underwent great trouble and danger on
account of his loyalty to Charles the first. Sir William, his son, knighted by Charles the second at
Ruckholt, when that king came to hunt in Waltham forest, became also a baronet on his father's death :
he married Marthagnettes, daughter of sir Harry Coningsby, of North Myms, in Hertfordshire, of the
ancient family of Coningsby, in Herefordshire, by whom he had thirteen children, of whom only Harry,
Charles, and Margaret attained maturity. He died in 1703, and his son, sir Harry, was his heir. Arms
of Hickes : Gules, a fesse wavy, between three Heurs de lis, or. Crest : On a wreath, a buck's head couped
at the shoulders or, gorged with a chaplet of roses, gules.
J On a branch of the Lea near this place are the Temple mills, said to have anciently belonged to the
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 499
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is of brick, and has a nave, north and CHAP.
..... . XIV.
south aisles, and a tower of stone and brick.* This ancient building* having become
ruinous, was repaired in 1658, or 1659, and the north aisle added: the upper chancel ^*'""^''-
was originally built in 1610, by sir William Rider; and repaired in 1679, through
the care, and partly at the charge of the rev. Mr. Strype, who also rebuilt the vicarage
house, in 1677, with one hundred and forty pounds ten shillings of his own money,
added to the voluntary contributions of the parishioners.
This church, given to the abbey of Stratford by Giles de Montfichet, remained in
the patronage of the abbot and monks till the dissolution, and afterwards both the
vicarage and rectory passed to the owner of the manor.f
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to three thousand, three hundred
and seventy-four; and, in 1831, to three thousand, three hundred and twenty-three-
knight's templars, and afterwards to the knights of St. John of Jerusalem ; in the year 1720, they were
used for brass works, and have since been appropriated to the manufacture of sheet lead.
Forest House is a plain square building, on elevated ground fronting the forest : it anciently belonged
to the abbots of Waltham, and becoming the seat of Charles Goring, earl of Norwich, was named Goring
House : it afterwards belonged to sir Gilbert Heathcote, whose son, John Heathcote, esq. sold it to the
Bosanquets.
Wallwood House was erected by Richard lord Colchester, who, in 1693, had a grant of two hundred
and fifty acres of land in the forest of Waltham, in or near Leyton, for ninety-nine years. The lease was
renewed in 1778, to Dorothea Owsley, spinster, for thirty-one years : it is within the bounds of the
forest, but not subject to the forest laws, now in the tenure of Robert Williams, esq.
Sir Fisher Tench built and resided in a large mansion at Low Leyton, which afterwards belonged to
Thomas Oliver, esq. to John Theophilus Daubuz, esq. and now to his widow.
* The interior walls are covered with escutcheons and monuments, many of them in commemoration Inscrip-
of eminent persons here interred. In the chancel is a memorial of the celebrated historian and antiquary, tions.
John Strype, who held this vicarage sixty-eight years. He was buried here in 1737, at the age of ninety-
four. In the north aisle is the monument of Charles Goring, earl of Norwich, who died in 1670; and
a marble tablet to the memory of Mr. William Bowyer, a learned and eminent printer, whose life, as
written by Mr. John Nichols, his apprentice, partner, and successor, at whose charge the tablet was
erected, contains many interesting particulai-s of the state of literature, &c. through great part of the
eighteenth century. Mr. Bowyer died at the age of seventy-four, in 1777.
There is a free-school for twenty poor boys in this and the adjoining parish of Walthamstow ; a school
of industry for thirty girls, and several Sunday schools, supported by subscription. Other charities are
too numerous for insertion.
t Gough'3 Additions to Camden contain the following account of the antiquities found at tiiis place :— Anti-
" In the year 1718, Mr. Gansell having occasion to enlarge his gardens, on digging up about two acres qmties.
of ground, found under the whole very large and strong foundations ; in one place all stone, with con-
siderable arches, an arched door-way, with steps down to it, but filled up with gravel. In many of tin-
foundations were a great quantity of Roman tiles and bricks, mixed with more modern materials, and
several rough and broken pieces of hard stone, some part of which, when polished, jjroved to be Egyptian
granite; two large deep wells covered over with stone; and in digging a pond, after the workmen had
sunk through a bed of clay, about ten feet, they met with a great quantity of oak timher, eight or ten
inches square, mortised together like a floor, grown very hard and black, l)ut uncertain how far it reached.
500 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
broke.
LITTLE ILFORD.
Little Xhe parish of Little Ilford is bounded on the west, south, and north, by East Ham
llford. ^ . . . '
and Wansted, and on the east by the river Rodon, which separates it from Barking.
Its circumference is about seven miles.* The village is small, and situated a short
distance westward from the town of Great Ilford. A house of correction for the
county has been erected here: it is a spacious building, completed in 1831.
In the reign of the Confessor, two freemen held the lands of this parish, which, at
the survey, belonged to Gocelin Loremar; in 1210, Haluit de Sifrewast held Ylleford
as one knight's fee, and, in 1234, this manor of Eleford, with other lands, and a market,
were granted to Richard de Grey. It appears to have been afterwards granted to
the abbey of Stratford, but by whom is not known: it was divided into Little Ilford,
Berengers, and Ray House. The estate, sometimes divided, at other times united in
one possession, passed to numerous proprietors: and, in 1594, belonged to Robert
Cecil, esq. and Thomas Owen, serjeant-at-law; and some part of it, which had become
the property of Edward, earl of Oxford, was purchased of him by Robert, earl of
Leicester, who sold it to sir Horace Palavicini, who died in 1615. Tobias was his
brother and heir. Afterwards this estate belonged for a series of years to the Wight
family, of Northamptonshire: and William Hibbet, esq. had a moiety of it in right of
his wife, as heiress of the Wights; he was also entitled to the other moiety in fee.
Alders- The manor of Aldersbroke was purchased by lord Cromwell of George Monox,
for Henry the eighth ; and that king granted it to John Heron, treasurer of his
chamber. It belonged to sir Giles Heron, who died in 1521, whose son Giles,-]- not
acknowledging the king's supremacy, his estate was forfeited to the crown. In 1535,
this manor, a tenement called Draginsford, and Naked Hall Grove, and Millfield, in
Wansted, were granted to Anthony Knevett, for his life: and the same estate was,
in 1544, granted to Katharine Adington, widow, and her son Thomas, the latter of
whom, in 1533, conveyed it to John Traves and his heirs for ever. He died in 1569,
Several Roman brass and silver coins, both consular ami imperial, to the time of Julius Caesar, were
scattered about, as well as some silver coins, with Saxon characters. The ground where these discoveries
were made adjoins the church-yard, where, some time before, a large urn of coarse red earth was found."
In 1735, was further discovered, while the workmen were digging holes for an avenue of trees to the
garden, a Roman pavement, extending about twenty feet from north to south, and about sixteen from
east to west. — Brit. vol. ii. p. 50. There are also some remains of a Roman entrenchment here, on a
small eminence, rising from the river Lea; it appears to consist of a square embankment, inclosing a
circular one : the latter, about thirty-three yards in diameter, is surrounded by a moat six yards wide:
the former has traces of a double rampart, divided by a ditch.
* The parish, which is partly within the forest, contains six hundred and seventy acres of land, of
which four hundred and eighty are arable, one hundred and twenty carrots and potatoes, and the remainder
grass. Soil, a light gravel.
t He married Cecilia, daughter of sir Thomas More.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 501
and the estate passed, in 1578, to Henry, earl of Pembroke; to Nicholas Fuller in CH A P.
1580; and to Robert, earl of Leicester, who left it, by will, to his natural son, ^*^'
Robert Dudley; and he, in 1595, sold it to Edward Belling-ham, esq. in whose family
it continued, till, on the death of sir Edward Bellingham, in 1636, he was succeeded
in his estates by Cicely, his uncle Richard Belling-ham's daughter, wife of Mr. Thomas
West; and Henry, their son, sold this estate to Henry Osbaston, esq. who died in
1669; his son Francis was high sheriff of Essex in 1678, in which year he died,
leaving his widow Elizabeth his executrix, who sold this manor and estate to sir John
Lethieullier, knt. of an ancient family, originally of Brabant, driven from their
native country by the persecutions under the duke of Alva.* It continued in this
family till the decease of Smart Lethieullier, esq. in 1760, who was succeeded in his
estates by Mary, daughter of his brother, Charles Lethieullier, esq. counsellor-at-law,
by Mary, sister of Charles Gore, esq. This lady, by marriage, conveyed this manor
to her husband, Edward Hulse, esq. who, in 1786, sold it to sir James Tilney Long,
who took down the house.
The interior of the church of Little Ilford consists of a rough-cast nave, and a red- Church.
bricked chancel, as plain and unadorned as a parish school-house; in this plain building
is, however, the private burial-place of a gentleman's family; though, from the smallness
of the church, it is allowed to be used as a vestry-room: beneath this church are
interred the remains of Smart Lethieullier, one of those patient yet enthusiastic
investigators who take delight in tracing the history of former ages, and those remains
of antiquity that serve for their illustration.f This church is dedicated to the Virgin
Mary, and the advowson of it, granted by Henry the eighth to Morgan Philips, has
since belonged to various families. J There are forty acres of glebe land to this church.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to eighty-seven, and, in 1831, to
one hundred and fifteen.
* John, son of Peter Lethieullier, ancestor of this family, was burnt for his religion at Geneva : John,
his son, removed to Cologne, and died there in 1593, leaving his son and heir John, who came into
England with his mother in 1605, and resided at Great Ilford. Arms of Lethieullier: Argent, a chevron
azure, between three hawks' heads coupee, vert.
t Gent. Mag. vol. 100, part 1, p. 496.
t Some of the monuments have a very elegant appearance, particularly the large sarcophagus of red-
veined marble, in memory of Smart Lethieullier, esq. and of Margaret his wife : she died June 19, 1753,
aged forty-five. On the urn to the left is the following: " In memory of Smart Lethieullier, esq. a
gentleman of polite literature and elegant taste, an encourager of art and ingenious artists, a studious
promoter of literary inquiries, a companion and a friend of learned men; industriously versed in the
science of antiquity, and richly possessed of the curious productions of Nature ; but who modestly
desired no other inscription on his tombstone than what he had made the rule of his life ; ' To do justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with his God.' He was born Nov. 3, 1701, and died without issue,
Aug. 27, 1760." Besides other inscriptions belonging to the Lethieullier family, there are memorials
of Benjamin Smart, esq. who died July 12, 17G1, aged seventy-one. William Waldegravc, who died Oct.
VOL. II. 3 T
502 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
WANSTED.
manor.
Wansted. Xlie parish of Wansted is computed to be twenty miles in circumference, separated
from Barking by the riv^er Rodon. The village is on the borders of Waltham Forest,
on a hill commanding a view of the city of London, and its environs; the hills of
Kent, the river Thames, and a wide extent of a highly cultivated and beautiful country.*
It was celebrated, a few years ago, as possessing one of the most splendid and mag-
nificent mansions in the kingdom; but Wansted House has been pulled down, and
sold in lots under the hammer; the costly furniture, with all the valuable antiques,
disposed of in the same manner; and the beautiful and extensive park is now let for
the grazing of cattle. There is a charity school in the village, founded by Miss Long,
for twenty boys and twenty girls, with an endowment vested in trustees. Distance
from Stratford two, and from Whitechapel six miles.
Wansted 'j'jjg grant of this manor by Alfric to the church of Westminster, was confirmed
by Edward the confessor ;f but before the end of that monarch's reign it became,
probably by exchange, the property of the church of St. Paul, and was afterwards
appropriated to the bishop of London; under whom, at the time of the Domesday
survey, it was holden by Ralph Fitz-Brien. It afterwards passed through various
possessors^ to sir John Heron, whose son, sir Giles Heron, being attainted, his estates
were seized by the crown, and this manor was granted, by Edward the sixth, to
Robert lord Rich, who made it his country residence, and is supposed to have re-built
the manor-house, then called Naked Hall Hawe. His son sold it to Robert, earl of
Leicester, who enlarged and greatly improved the mansion, and in May, 1578, enter-
tained queen Elizabeth in it for several days: here also, the same year, in September,
he solemnised his marriage with the countess of Essex. On the earl's decease, in
1588,§ Wansted, with other lands in the adjoining parishes, became the property of
15, 1610, aged seventy-six : and of Dorothy, his wife, who died Oct. 26, 1589, aged forty-two. Thomas
Newton, rector of llford in I5S3, who died and was buried here in 1607, was a Latin poet, divine,
schoolmaster and physician, a native of Cheshire. He was an author of some celebrity in his time, and
his works are numerous. — flood's Athen. ed. 1721.
In the parishes of llford, East Ham, West Ham, Leyton, and Wansted, on the level part of Eppiiig
Forest, a great mart for cattle, brought from Wales, Scotland, and the north of England, is held annually,
from the latter end of February till the beginning of May. The business between the dealers is prin-
cipally transacted at the sign of the Rabbits, on the high road, in Little llford.
* Wansted, exclusive of its share of the forest, (within the bounds of which it is wholly included),
contains six hundred acres of cultivated land : the soil, gravel with sOme loam and clay.
t Monast. Angl. vol. i. p. 61.
X After Fitz-Brien, succeeded the Hodeing family; and that of Huntercombe, from the time of Henry
the third till toward the close of the reign of Richard the second. In 1446, John Tattershall held this
possession, succeeded by Robert Tattershall and others ; and by sir Ralph Hastings, in 1487. — Strijpe's
Additions to Stowe's Survey of Loud. vol. ii. p. 122. Neiccourty vol. ii. p. 639.
\ At the time of his death, the earl was much involved in debt ; and an inventory and estimate was in
a ^
i=3
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 503
the countess, his widow, who afterwards married sir Christopher Blount, and, by ^ ^ "^ '*•
some family conveyances, this manor became vested in Charles Blount, earl of Devon-
shire, on whose death, without lawful issue, in the year 1606, it appears to have
escheated to the crown.* The following autumn, James the first spent some time
here, after his return from a western progress. It was afterwards the property of
George, marquis of Buckingham; of whom, in 1619, it was purchased by sir Henry
Mildmay, and his wife Anne. Their descendant, sir William Mildmay, and others,
conveyed it to sir Josiah Child, whose son sir Richard, afterwards created earl Tilney,
erected Wansted House in the year 1715, near the site of the ancient mansion. His
grandson, the late earl Tilney, dying without issue in the year 1784, this manor,
with other large estates, devolved upon his nephew, sir James Tilney Long, bart. of
Dray cot, in Wiltshire; whose only son James, succeeded to his title and inheritance,
in 1794. The last of the family, in lineal descent, who occupied this princely edifice,
was Miss Tilney Long, who married Mr. Wellesley Pole: she died in 1825, leaving
two children.
A manorial estate in Wansted, which anciently belonged to the prior and canons of ^^Jl^jj"'^
the Holy Trinity, in London, was on that account named Canons Hall, vulgarly Cann Hall.
Hall. On the dissolution of monasteries it was granted, by queen Mary, to John
Strelley, who died in 1559; and whose son Nicholas died in 1611, leaving Cecilia,
his daughter, wife of Humphrey Cardinal, his heiress. In 1635, Richard Boothby
and Thomas Woolhouse, esqs. had this estate, and it afterwards belonged to William
Colegrave, esq. and to his son of the same name. The present owner of Canons
Hall is John Manby, esq.
Snaresbrook, in this parish, is a delightful village on the confines of the Forest, not
far distant from the river Rodon, about a mile and a half from Woodford, and seven
from London: it contains some capital houses, the residences of gentlemen's families:
the neighbourhood, naturally pleasant and healthful, has been improved by art, and
selected as a suitable situation for numerous elegant seats and country villas. There
consequence taken of all his property, real and personal, the original of which is now in the British
Museum. From this it appears that the furniture, library, horses, &c. at Wansted, were valued at one
thousand, one hundred and nineteen pounds, six shillings and sixpence. The pictures, among which
were three portraits of Henry the eighth, the queens Mary and Elizabeth, lady Casimere, lady Rich, and
thirty-six others not particularised, were valued at eleven pounds, thirteen shillings and four pence.
The library, consisting only of an old Bible, the Acts and Monuments, old and torn, seven psalters, and a
service book, was estimated at thirteen shillings and eight pence. The horses were valued at three hun-
dred and sixteen pounds and eight pence. The bill for the earl's funeral amounted to the enormous sum
(in that age) of four thousand pounds.
* Lord Mountjoy, as is stated by Stowe, having returned out of Ireland, 4th of June, 1C03, with Hugh
O'Neil, earl of Tyrone, who had been in rebellion against queen Elizabeth, they were both lodged at
Wansted, in Essex, for a season, and then repaired to the court, where they were honourably received.
504 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
aooK 11. is a fine expanse of water, with clumps of trees and rural scenery; and the Eag'le Inn
is a favourite resting-place for parties of pleasure, who during the summer months
pass this way into Essex.
Climcli. Wansted church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was repaired and enlarged in the
early part of the last century, principally at the expense of the first earl Tilney ; but
being still found small and incommodious, it was resolved, at the instance of Dr.
Glasse, the present rector, to pull it down, and build a new church on a larger scale,
nearly adjoining to the old site. The first stone of the present structure was laid on
the 13th of July, 1787, and it was finished and consecrated hi 1790. The building is
of brick, cased with Portland stone, and having a portico of the Doric order : at the
west end is a cupola, supported by eight Ionic columns. The inside is extremely neat
and elegant, without any unnecessary embellishment: it consists of a chancel, nave,
and two aisles, separated by columns of the Corinthian order. The pavement (which
is remarkable for its beauty and neatness) is of stone, brought from Painswick, in
Gloucestershire. In the chancel is a beautiful window of stained glass, by Eginton,
of Birmingham, representing our Saviour bearing the cross, from the picture at
Magdalen College, Oxford. In the east window of the north aisle are the royal
arms; in the south aisle, those of the late sir J. T. Long, hart. In the chancel is a
superb monument, with the elfigies of the deceased in white marble, to the memory
of sir Josiah Child, bart. who died hi the year 1699.* This church has a glebe of
seventy-six acres.f
In 1821, the number of inhabitants in this parish amounted to one thousand three
hundred and fifty-four, and, in 1831, to one thousand four hundred and three.
• Lysons, vol. iv. p. 236.
Roman On the south side of Wansted, nearly joining to Aldersbrook, a tesselated pavement was discovered, in
Anti- jjjg yg^j. (735^ ty some labourers who were digging holes to plant an avenue of trees from the gardens.
Its extent, from north to south, was about twenty feet ; and from east to west, about sixteen. The
tesserae were of brick, and of various sizes and colours; on the outside they were red, forming a border
of about one foot in breadth, within which were several ornaments, and, in the centre, the figure of a
man, mounted on some beast. A small brass coin of the emperor Valens, a silver coin, and several large
pieces of Roman brick, were found among the ruins. Mr. Lethieullier supposed it to have been the pave-
ment of a banqueting-room, belonging to a Roman villa. About three hundred yards farther to the south,
ruins of brick foundations have been met with, together with fragments of urns, paterae, Roman coins,
and other antiquities. — Goiig/i's Camden, vol. ii. p. 50. Lysons' Environs, vol. iv. p. 232.
t Clerkenwell nunnery, in Middlesex, had a yearly rent of one mark out of this parish, being the gift
of Henry Foliot, and Lecia his wife, daughter of Jordan, son of Ralph, son of Brian, founder of the said
house. Also, Abraham de Wanestede gave them the mill of Wanestede, and Melegrave, or Millgrove,
near the same — Monasticon, vol. i. p. 431, 433-
quiticr-.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 505
WALTHAMSTOW.
C H A P.
XIV.
This parish extends eastward to Wansted, to Leyton on the south, and to the river Waltliam-
Lea westward; it is computed to be fourteen miles in circumference. The village,
on the border of the forest, consists of a mixture of country seats, cottages, and farms,
so that it may with propriety be considered what the ancients would have named
" a rural city." It is pleasant and healthy, surrounded by beautiful and romantic
woodland scenery ; besides the church and the chapel of ease of St. John's, at Chapel
End, there are two places for public worship belonging to dissenters. Distant from
Stratford three, and from London six miles.*
In the reign of Edward the confessor, this lordship belonged to Waltheof, son of
Siward, by Elfleda, daughter of Aldred, both of which noblemen were earls of Nor-
thumberland.f Some time about the year 1075, Waltheof was beheaded at Win-
chester, and left two daughters.:}: Maud, married to Simon de St. Liz, who had the
earldom of Huntingdon; Alice, otherwise called Judith, was manned to Ralph de
Toeni, of Flamsted, in Hertfordshire, to whom she brought this manor, from him
named Walthamstow Toni. There were also three other manors in this parish:
Walthamstow Beandick, or Francys, also named Low Hall: Higham Bensted; and
Salisbury Hall. There are also the following hamlets: Hou Street, Wood Street,
Marsh Street, Clay Street, and Chapel End.
Walthamstow Toni, and Walthamstow Francis, originally formed one manor, Waltham-
given by the Conqueror to Ralph de Toeni, who was his standard-bearer at the time
of the Conquest. He died in 1612: ♦of his sons, Roger was his successor, followed
by Ralph de Toeni, probably his son: he was in arms with the barons against king
John; was one of Henry the third's generals in 1232, and held Welcumestowe by
the service of attending the king in his proper person when he went upon any war-
like expedition: he died on a voyage to the Holy Land in 1239; Petronil was his
widow, and their son and heir was Roger; who fighting for the king at Lewes, was
taken prisoner, and had his castle of Kirtling seized by the barons. Dying in 1277,
Ralph, his son, succeeded, followed by Robert, son of Ralph, who held Wolkamstowe
* The parish contains four thousand three hundred acres, of which three thousand are inclosed,
three hundred and fifty open fields, one hundred and thirty inclosed woodland, eight hundred and
twenty waste land and roads. The greater part of the inclosed and open fields are pasture. In 1794,
there were only four hundred and twenty-five acres of arable land in the parish ; in 1795, there were six
hundred and two. A great proportion of the soil is clay, with some gravel, sand, and loam. It is wholly
in the forest. There arc no turnpike roads in this parish, the roads being repaired by statute labour. —
Lysons^ Environs.
t Sax. Chron.
X William Gemmeticensis says he left three daughters : lib. viii. ch. 37 ; but Orderic. Vitalis affirms he
left only two, p. 522.
506
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II
Walthani-
stow
Francis.
Highani
Bensted.
of the king, and died in 1309, leaving his sister Alice his heiress.* Walthamstow
Toni, or High Hall, now belongs to the Maynard family. This manor has a court
leet and court baron annually at Toni Hall, a large brick building in Shernall Street,
about a quarter of a mile from the church: High Hall, the original manor-house, with
a few fields attached to it, was sold from the estate previous to the purchase.
Low Hall, or Walthamstow Francis, belonged to Thomas Argall, of Barking, in
1563; and was, by a female heiress, conveyed to John Green, esq. of London,
jeweller to king William; he died in 1718, and the estate afterwards became the
property of the Bosanquet family, of Low Leyton. The manor-house is a mile west
from the church.
The manor-house of Higham Bensted stood on an eminence named Higham Hill,
a mile and a half north west from the church ; the estate belonged to Haldam, a free-
man, in the time of the Confessor, and at the survey to Peter de Valoines, whose great
grand-daughter Lora conveyed it to her husband, Alexander de Baliol. Afterwards,
from the reign of Edward the second to that of Henry the seventh, it belonged to
the Bensted family; in 1494, to sir Thomas Lovel; and had become the property of
* Slie was at that time the widow of Thomas de Leyborn, and afterwards married to Guy de Beauchamp,
earl of Warwick, by whom she had Thomas, John, and five daughters ; and, on his death in 1315, she gave
five hundred marks for licence to marry William la Zouch, (styled of Mortimer) of Ashby, who after her
death held this manor in her right, and dying in 1337, it became the inheritance of Thomas de Beauchamp,
earl of Warwick, who, in 1369, died of the plague at Calais; he had this manor, and the reversion of
Weltomstow Bedyk, which he had purchased. He had seven sons and nine daughters, and was succeeded
by his son Thomas. This earl,"by the artifices of Richard the second's evil counsellors, lost his life and
his estates in 1396, and these two manors in particular were given to William de Scrope, earl of Wiltshire :
but on the accession of Henry the fourth, the family of Beauchamp had their inheritance restored; and
the earl of Warwick dying in 1401, left these manors to Margaret, his widow, and to their son Richard,
earl of Warwick, on her decease. She died in 1406; her son, the earl, in 1439, and his son Henry in
1445, leaving his only daughter Anne, who dying in 1449, these and his other estates were divided between
his two sisters, Elianor and Anne. Elianor died possessed of Walthamstow Tony in 1467; her two
husbands were Thomas lord Roos, of Hamlake, and Edmund Beaufort, duke of Somerset. Edmund Roos,
her grandson, was her heir. Anne, the other heiress, was wife of Richard Nevill, earl of Salisbury, and
had Walthamstow Franceys, with the title of earl of Warwick confirmed to him, and to the heirs of the
said Anne. This Richard, named " the king-maker," lost his life at the battle of Barnet, in 1471, and
his widow in consequence suffered the severest distresses ; all her vast inheritance being taken from her,
and settled on her two daughters, Isabel, wife of George, duke of Clarence; and Anne, wife of Richard,
duke of Gloucester, brothers of Edward the fourth, as if she herself had been naturally dead. Henry the
seventh, on the death of the two daughters, in 1487, restored this noble inheritance to the said Anne,
by act of parliament ; but not with purpose that she should enjoy it, for the same year, by special
feoffment and fine, it was conveyed wholly to the king. But before this act, the manor of Low Hall had
been conveyed to John Hugford, who died possessed of it in 1485. The crown becoming possessed of
these manors, made distinct and several grants of them to various persons. In 1583, the two manors
were united in the possession of Theophilus Adams, but were again separated, and the manor of Wal-
thamstow Toni belonged to George Rodney, esq. in 1365; and very soon after was conveyed to Charles
Maynard, esq.
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 507
sir John Heron in 1521: in 1566, it was conveyed, by Thomas Heron and others, chap.
to sir Thomas Rowe, lord mayor of London in 1568, and retained by his descendants "
till sometime after the decease of William Rowe, in 1739. It afterwards belonged
to Richard Newman, esq. sheriff of Essex in 1762; and he sold it to Anthony Bacon,
esq. member of parliament for Aylesbury, who erected the elegant mansion of Higham
House : it is a square brick building with wings, seated on a high ridge of ground, on
the northern extremity of the parish, which slopes to the east and to the west, in
both which directions the prospects are extensive, diversified, and beautiful. On the
north-west the eye is directed over a finely wooded country into Hertfordshire; to
the west and south-west are the hills of Highgate, and the spires of the metropolis.
The east front commands a rich woodland prospect over parts of Hainault forest and
the vale of the Thames, which are shut in by a ridge of the Kent hills. On the
western side of the house is a fine park, bounded by parts of Epping Forest to the
north and south, and by a piece of water at the bottom. The whole is encompassed
by a winding walk, which, contiguous to the house, is ornamented with numerous
indigenous and exotic trees and shrubs, and is afterwards conducted through the Forest.
Mr. Bacon sold this seat to John Biggin, esq. whose widow, in 1785, sold it by
auction, when it was purchased by William Hornby, governor of Bombay, who
enlarged and much improved the house and grounds; which have been further im-
proved by John Harman, esq. by whom it was purchased in 1790,* and in whose
family it has continued, being the seat of Jeremiah Harman, esq.
The name of this manor is derived from Margaret Plantagenet, countess of Salis- Salisbury
bury, under whom it was holden, in 1522, by sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, who died in 1522,
leaving his son sir Thomas his heir. After the barbarous execution of the countess,
by Henry the eighth, this estate is supposed to have passed to the crown: in 1560, it
was granted, by queen Mary, to sir Thomas White; and, in 1590, Robert Symons
had a grant of it from queen Elizabeth; and his heir, on his death in 1623, was his
son Thomas. Succeeding owners of this estate were Richard Edge, esq. in 1667,
whose descendant, James Edge, esq. bequeathed it to Richard Sheldon, esq. who
dying Avithoiit issue, it devolved to Rice Fellow, esq. and he, in 1761, bequeathed it
to George Dickerdine, who assumed the name of Rice Fellow; in 1778, he sold this
estate to William Cooke, esq. and it is now the property of Mrs. H. Cooke.
The mansion, now a farm-house, is a mile and a half north from the church, in a
lane leading from Clay Street to Chingford church.
The house at W^althamstow belonging to Tristram Conyers, who died in 1620,
afterwards became the property of William Selwyn, esq. by whom it was new fronted.
The Ray House estate was purchased from sir George Wright, bart. by B. H.
Inglish, esq.
• Lysons' Environs, vol. iv, p. 287.
508 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Walthamstow-house is the residence of lady Wigram.*
Edward Withipool, of Marks, in Leyton, had very considerable possessions in this
parish, as appears from his will, referred to by Mr. Astle.f
Cinnch. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is a stately structure, on an eminence,
supposed to have been originally erected in the twelfth century: it has a nave, north
and south aisles, and chancel: the tower was partly rebuilt by George Monox, who
also built the nave, in 1535. It was enlarged, repaired, and beautified in 1817, at an
expense of about two thousand pounds.
At Chapel End, in this parish, a chapel of ease has been erected, at an expense of
eighteen hundred pounds, raised by subscription.
The living of the church is a vicarage, and has an endowment of land left by Mr.
Maynard, which produces about one hundred and twenty-five pounds per annum.:j:
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to four thousand, three hundred
and four; and, in 1831, to four thousand two hundred and fifty-eight.
* Sir Robert Wigrani, bart. of VValthainstow House, county of Es?ex, married Selina, daughter of the
late sir John Hayes, bart. and sister of the present sir Thomas Pelham Hayes, by Anne, daughter of the
honourable Henry White, by whom he has, with two daughters, four sons ; Robert, George Augustus,
Frederick, (to whom his late majesty George the fouith and the present king William stood sponsors)
and Fitzroy. Sir Robert inherited the title as second baronet, at the decease of his father, 6th November,
1830. He is a deputy-lieutenant for the county of Essex, doctor of civil law in the University of Oxford,
and for twenty- five years a representative in the imperial parliament. Arms : Argent on a pale gules three
escallops or, over all a chevron engrailed counterchanged ; on a chief, waves of the sea, thereon a ship,
representing an English vessel of war of the sixteenth century, with four masts, sails furled, proper, colours
flying, gules. Crest : On a mount vert, a hand in armour, couped at the wrist, fessewise, proper, charged
with an escallop, holding a fleur-de-lis erect, or. Supporters : On either side an eagle, wings elevated or.
Collared gules and charged on the breast with a trefoil, vert. Town residence, Connaught Place. Seats :
Walthamstow House, Essex ; and Belmont Lodge, Worcestershire.
f " I leave, (he says) to my wife Elizabeth, for her dower, all my lands in Walthamstow and Leyton,
during her life; which is within little of two hundred marks by the year; trusting, (yea I may say, as I
think, assuring myself) that she will marry no man, for fear to meet with so evil a husband as I have
been." — From the will in the Prerogative Office, copied by Thomas Astle, esq. F.R.S. and preserved in his
libranj.
Inscrip- t The inscriptions at Walthamstow are unusually numerous : among the most elegant and stately
tions. monuments are several belonging to the family of Conyers ; and one for the lady of sir Thomas Merry,
who died in 1(J32.
A very old monument in Monox's chapel, in the north aisle, bears the following: "Here lieth sir
George Monox, knt. sometime lord mayor of London, and dame Ann his wife; which sir George died in
1543, and dame Ann in 1500." This lord mayor (says Weever) re-edified the decayed steeple of this
church, and added thereunto the side aisle, with the chapel wherein he lieth entombed. He founded a
fair almshouse in the church-yard, for an alms priest, and thirteen poor alms people, which he endowed
with competent revenues. He also made a causeway of timber for foot travellers from this town.
In the window of Thome's chapel there was sometime ago the following: " Christen people, praye for
the soul of Robert Thorne, citizen of London, with whose goodys thys syde of thys churche was newe
edyfyd and fynyshyd in the yeare of our Lord 1535."
Among the monuments in the church-yard are : For Mrs. Mary Squires, founder of the new almshouse
HUNDRED OF BECONTREE. 509
CHAP.
WOODFORD.
XIV.
An ancient ford, where Woodford bridg-e is now situated, was the occasion of the Woodford
name of tliis parish, which is wholly included in the forest. It is three miles in
extent from east to west; and two miles from north to south. The village, enclosino-
a green, is distinguished by the purity of its air, and the beautiful and extensive pros-
pects in various directions.*
This parish was one of the seventeen lordships given by earl Harold to the abbey Woodford
of Waltham, and was confirmed to that house by the charter of Edward the confessor, "^''"
in 1062. The canons of Waltham held it at the time of the survey; and when Henry
the second converted the secular canons there into regulars, in 1177, he confirmed to
them this manor, as did also Richard the first, by his charter of 1198.-|- In 1545,
John Lyon had this estate, which being exchanged with king Edward the sixth, he
gave it to Edward Fynes, lord Clinton and Say, from whom it was conveyed, in 1553,
to Robert Whetston, father of sir Bernard Whetston, of Woodford; from whose
descendant, Bernard Whetston, it was conveyed, in 1624, to lady or sir Thomas
Rowe, and was sold by the lady, in 1675, to sir Benjamin Thorowgood, lord mayor
of London in 1685; and his son Richard conveyed it, in 1707, to Richard earl Tilney,
who kept the manor, but sold the manor-house, which is near the church-yard, to
Christopher Crow, esq. who married Chai'lotte, eldest daughter of Edward Henry
Lee, earl of Lichfield, widow of Benedict Leonard Calvert, lord Baltimore; she
dying in 1720, he, in 1727, sold this house to William Hunt, esq. whose descendants
or heirs sold it to John Maitland, esq.
in 1797; Anthony Todd, esq. secretary of the post-office in 1798; and a handsome sarcophagus in
memory of Isaac Solly, esq. in 1802.
The charities are numerous and important: among which are Maynard's charity, which produces Charities,
upwards of forty pounds per annum, left in 1686, for a free-school and almshouse. — Mrs. R. Banks's
reversionary legacy, bequeathed in 1815, now produces above thirty pounds per annum : and, in 15^25, a
bequest of five hundred pounds in the four per cent, annuities was made in aid of the almshouse founded
by William Bedford, esq. There are National and Sunday schools well supported by subscription. An
infant school, established in 1823, which admits one hundred and seventy children. A school belonging
to the Independents teaches and clothes thirty children annually. In 1797, Mrs. Mary Squires endowed
six almshouses for poor widows, the annual income of which is seventy-eight pounds ; with numerous
other charitable bequests and endowments.
* Soil of Woodford, generally a strong loam ; contains about two thousand acres, chiefly meadow and
pasture.
t William Hickman, esq. ancestor of the earl of Plymouth, and of sir N. H. Hickman, was lord of the
manor of Woodford Hall, where he died in 1420. — See liaroJietage, ed 1741 , vol. ii. Also, Walter Hickman
died here in 1.540; and bequeathed to Clement his son, four of his best ambling u)ares, his best gown
lined with fitches, and his russet-gown lined with fox. To the church of Woodford he left ten pounds,
to redeem paschal money at Easter; so that every body in the parish, when they came to God's board,
might say a paternoster and an ave for his soul, and all Christian souls.— Z/yTO«s's Environs, vol. iv.
VOL. II. 3 u
510
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II.
Churcl).
Mr. War-
ner.
The church, dedicated to St. Margaret, was erected m 1817, on the site of the
former ancient building, at an expense of nearly nine thousand pounds, defrayed partly
by subscription, and partly by rates. It is situated on the lowest part of the village,
on the west side of the London road, and is an elegant edifice, in the ancient style of
English architecture, with a square embattled tower; the nave separated from the
aisles by six pointed arches, carried up to the roof, which is of open wood-work,
supported by eight pillars, and surmounted in the centre by an octangular lantern
tower. The east window is of stained glass, divided into three compartments, con-
taining figures of our Saviour, the four Evangelists, and St. Peter and St. Paul.
Mr. Richard Warner resided in an old mansion named Hearts, in Woodford Row,
where he planted a botanical garden, and very successfully cultivated rare exotics.
The Plants Woodfordiensis, written by him and privately circulated, was the result
of the annual herborizations of himself and his acquaintance in this neighbourhood.
The house was built in the year 1617, by sir Humphrey Handforth, master of the
wardrobe to James the first, who is said to have been frequently entertained here
when hunting in the forest. Jervoise Clark Jervoise, esq. married Mr. Warner's
niece, and she had this estate for her marriage portion.
This parish, in 1821, contained two thousand, six hundred, and ninety-nine inha-
bitants; and, in 1831, two thousand, five hundred and forty-eight.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE HUNDRED OF BECONTREE.
R. Rectory.
C. Chapelry.
V. Vicarage. P. C. Perpetnal Curacy.
t Discharged from payment of First Fruits.
Parish.
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Barking, V
Dagenhani, R
Ham, East, V
Ham, West, V
Ilford, Great, C
Ilford, Little, R
Ilford Chapelry ....
Leyton, Low, V
Walthamstow, V. . .
Do. Chapel of Ease .
Wansted, R
Woodford, R
Middlesex.
Kssex
Oliver Lodge
T. L. Fanshaw ....
Wm. Streatfield ...
H. C. Jones
I T. L. Cooke
Rev. Stephen Craff. .
C. H. Laprimaudaye.
W.Wilson, D.D. ...
B. E. Nicholls
William Gilley
William Boldero . . .
1816
1827
1809
1815
1800
1822
1812
1792
.£19 8 l]i
19 10 0
14 3 9
39 8 4
Not in charge )
11 13 9i
t"7'l2"'o
13 6 8
6 13 0
11 12 li
All Souls CoL Oxf.
Mrs. Bonynge.
Bishop of London.
The King.
Jas. H. Leigh, esq.
Rector of Barking.
John Pardoe, esq.
Rev. W. Wilson, D.D.
5 Hon. W. T. L. P.
i Wellesley.
\ Hon. W. T. L. P.
"l Wellesley.
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 511
CHAP.
XV.
CHAPTER XV
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD.
The brook of Ingreburne, which flows into the Thames below Rainhani, forms the Chaflbid.
western boundary of this hundred; which extends eastward to Barstable, and from
the Thames southward to the hundred of Ongar on the north-west: it is in length,
from north to south, thirteen miles; and in width, from east to west, from little more
than two to seven miles. The name written CeafFord, Ceffeord, and Ceffeurd, is of
uncertain origin : it contains the following fourteen parishes. Alveley, Wenington,
Rainham, West Thurrock, Greys Thurrock, StifFord, South Okendon, North Oken-
don, Cranham, Upminster, Great Warley, Little Warley, Childerditch, and South
Weald.
ALVELEY.
Alveley, or Aveley parish, is separated from West Thurrock by a creek named Alveley.
Marditch, and extends to Wenington, Rainham, and the Okendons; it is computed
to be nine miles in circumference. The village is small, on ground considerably
elevated, about two miles from the Thames, over which, and in other directions, it
commands extensive prospects: formerly this place was a market-town, as appears
from ancient records,* from which we also learn, that the road on which this village
is situated was in ancient times named Bredle Street, and is conjectured to be of
Roman origin. Distant from Brentwood ten, and from London twenty miles.
The lands of this parish, in the time of Edward the confessor, belonged to Suene,
to Ulsi, Edward, Godman, Ulwin, Ulstan, and five other freemen: at the survey,
they were holden by John, son of Waleram; Odo, bishop of Bayeux; William of
Warren; Suene, and his undei'-tenant Lewen; and by Ansgar the cook. Afterwards
they were divided into four manors.
The ancient mansion of the manor of Alveley stood in a field surrounded by a moat, Alveky,
on the south-east corner of the church-yard; it was part of the estate of the son of
Waleram : Gilbert de Tani held it as part of his barony, under the name of Anvilers,
in the reign of Henry the second and king John; and it afterwards belonged to the
* From writings formerly in the possession of lord Dacrc.
512
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. families of Brianson, Bradeston, and De la Pole.* It was conveyed, by a female
heiress, to sir Michael Stanhope (ancestor of lord Chesterfield) who was involved in
the unhappy fate of Edward duke of Somerset, the protector, who had married his
sister: his widow Anne survived him many years, to the great advantage of the
Stanhope family, carefully attending to the education of her children, and the pre-
servation of their inheritance. The estate was afterwards conveyed to the crown,
and made part of the endowment of the hospital of the Savoy, hi London, founded
by Henry the seventh, in 1505, and after the dissolution was granted, by Edward the
sixth, to St. Thomas's Hospital.
Belhouse. This manor has been named from a family of great antiquity, who flourished here
in the reigns of king John and of Henry the third. In 1200, Richard de Belhusf
had a confirmation from king John, of all the lands which Reinfred de Bruer held in
Ramsden. Sir Theobald de Belhus was his son, and the father of sir Richard, and
sir Thomas; and sir Richard, his heir, having only one daughter, Alice, married
to sir Nicholas Barrington, he gave the manor of Ramsden (since named Belhouse)
to his brother, sir Thomas, who was made seneschal of Ponthieu by Edward the first :
by his wife Florentia, he had sir John, Nicholas, and William. Nicholas, the second
son, was seated at Alveley, and is buried under an ancient tombstone in the chancel
of this church. A co-heiress of the family, by marriage, conveyed the estate to John
Barrett, esq. of Hawkhurst, in Kent, in whose family it remained more than two
hundred years; during which they were greatly distinguished by their noble alliances,
and by the posts of honour they enjoyed under government.^
* In 1287, Bartholomew de Brianson died holding this estate, as part of the inheritance of his wife
Johanna, and was succeeded by his son William in 1310; by John, who died in 1315, and by sir John
Brianson and his wife Margaret. He died in 1337, leaving his daughter Johanna his heiress ; on whose
death in 1339, the reversion of the estate was in William de Wanton. Thomas de Bradeston, who died
in 1360, had this manor, with the advowson of a chapel here: Thomas was his son and heir, on whose
death, in 1374, his only daughter Elizabeth was his heiress, and married to sir Walter de la Pole, who
retained possession of all, or part of the estate, till his death in 1433; reversion to Edmund Inglethorpe,
cousin and heir of the said Elizabeth ; and, by female heirship, it was conveyed to various families.
t Arms of Belhouse, of Alveley : Argent, three lions rampant, gules, armed and langued azure, between
three cross-crosslets fitch^e, gules.
+ The ancestor of the family of Barrett is understood to have come into England with the Conqueror,
the name being on the roll of Battle Abbey. Sir Thomas Barrett Lennard, bart. of Belhouse, in the
county of Essex, F.S.A. born in 1761 ; married, in 1787, Dorothy, daughter of the late sir John St. Aubyn,
bart. by whom (who died 26th October 1831)) he has issue Thomas Barrett, member of parliament for
Maldon ; married, first, 3d of August, 18)5, Margaret, second daughter of John Wharton, esq. of Skelton
Castle, in the county of York ; and secondly married, after that lady's decease, in 1825, Mary, only
daughter of the late Bartlett Bridger Shedden, esq. of Aldham, in the county of Suffolk, and has issue
Tliomas, born in 1826. John, married in 1814 Dorothy-Anne, second daughter of sir Walter Stirling,
bart. and has issue. George, married in 1820 Elizabeth, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Edmund
Prideaux, esq. of Hexworthy, in the county of Cornwall, and has issue Henry, in holy orders, married,
i
■'•^
HUNDRED OF CHAF FORD. 513
Belhouse is surrounded by a park, about tbree miles in circumference, which c H A P.
contains abundance of fine forest-trees, so disposed and grouped, as to aftbrd ag-reeably ^^'
diversified and interesting appearances. The grounds are rather low than elevated,
yet, from several stations in the park, the view over the Thames into Kent is extensive.
The walks are pleasant and convenient, from the dryness of the soil, which is light
and sandy. The noble and stately mansion was erected in the reign of Henry the
eighth, and exhibits a fine specimen of the domestic architecture of that era. Yet it
has been considerably altered and improved by several proprietors, particularly by the
last lord Dacre, whose decorations are very elegant, and were made from his own
designs.*
The ancient mansion of Bumsted was surrounded by a moat; it stood a mile from Bumsted.
the church, on the northern extremity of Alveley park. This estate, in the reigns of
Edward the first, second, and third, belonged to sir William de Bumsted, and William
his son, and afterwards descended as the rest of the estates of this parish, to the
right lion, lord Dacre. An estate named Brooklands has also gone with Bumsted
manor.
The ancient mansion of Bretts is a mile north from the church, at some distance Bretts.
from the road leading from Alveley to Romford. It is large, encompassed with a
wide moat of clear water; and, though it has been converted into a farm-house, it yet
retains the characteristic evidence of its having been a gentleman's seat: Charles
Barrett, esq. father of lord Newburgh, lived here. The lower story is of brick, with
very ancient Gothic windows : the rest is rough cast.
Keliton is the supposed ancient name of this estate, of which the Saxon possessors
were the thane Ulstan, and five freemen: at the survey, it belonged to Suene, and his
under-tenant Lewin; and to William de Warren. The name of Bretts was only
given to a part of this manor, from ancient owners, of the family of Le Bret; and the
in 1821, Hebe Dorothy, youngest daughter and co-heiress of Edmund Prideaux, esq. of Hexworthy, in
the county of Cornwall. Edward Ponieroy Dacre, in holy orders, married, in 1825, Rachel, eldest
daughter of Jeremiah Ives, esq. of St. Katharines, in the county of Norfolk. Charles. Dorothy Anne,
married, in 1822, to William John, third son of sir John St. Aubyn, bart. Julia Elizabeth, married, in
1822, to C. D. Nevison, M.D. Charlotte Frances. Sir Thomas, who is the son and testamentary heir of
Thomas Barrett Lennard, lord Dacre (son and heir of Richard Barrett Lennard, esq. by Anne, baroness
Dacre. youngest daughter and co-heiress of Thomas, earl of Sussex,}— (See Burke's E.vtlnct Peerage)
assumed, by sign manual, the surname and arms of Barrett Lennard, and was created a baronet, 30th
June, 1801. Arms: Quarterly, first and fourth, or, on a fesse gules three fleur-de-lis of the first, for
Lennard; second and third per pale, argent and gules barry of four, counterchanged for Barrett, all within
a bordure wavy sable. Crest : Out of a ducal coronet or, an Irish wolf-dog's head, per fcsso argent and
ermine, charged with an escallop, barvvays nebul6, gules and sable. Motto : Pour bien desirer. Town
residence, +0, Bryanstone Square. Seat, Belhouse, Essex.
* This manor possesses the peculiar privilege of excluding any person, however high in rank, from
entering it in pursuit of game.
514
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. other portion retained its original name till after the year 1395, as appears by a grant
of that date, from John Chapman to William Warle, of a house and ten acres of land
in Alveley, lying between the land of Kelington south, and the land of Bretts north.
This manor was holden of the honour of Raleigh, and the fee of earl Warren, by
Hugh le Bret, who died in 1266, and retained by his descendants till Elizabeth, only
daughter of Thomas le Brett, conveyed it in marriage to her husband, Henry Baud-
win, of South Okendon.* It afterwards descended through various families, by
female heirship, till it was conveyed, in 1531, to John, afterwards sir John Bakei*, knt.
recorder of London, privy counsellor, and chancellor of the exchequer, who married
Elizabeth, widow of George Barrett, esq. and they jointly, in 1554, settled the
reversion of this manor, after their decease, on Edward Barrett, esq. sou of the said
Elizal)eth, by her first husband, George Barrett, esq. from whom it descended to
lord Dacre.
Church. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, has a nave, north and south aisles, and
chancel; and a square tower, of flint and stone, upon which there was formerly a
lofty spire, but it was blown down in the great storm of 1703.f
This church, at first a sinecure rectory, belonged to the abbot and convent of
Lesnes, in Kent, till the year 1327, when the first vicar was admitted at the presen-
tation of the rector. But there was no vicarage endowed till 1330, when, at the
petition of the convent, Stephen de Gravesend, bishop of London, appropriated the
great tithes to them, and endowed a vicarage, reserving the collation to himself and
successors for ever. The rectory and great tithes, after the dissolution of the house,
were granted to Cardinal Wolsey, on whose praemunire, coming again to the crown,
they were granted, by Henry the eighth, to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's.:}:
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to seven hundred and thirty-three;
and, in 1831, to seven hundred and fifty-eight.
Inscrip-
tions.
Cliarltics.
* The part of Keliton, or Kellington, holden by Suene, is a large farm belonging to sir T. B. Lennard,
known by the name of Kennington : also, the ancient family of De Plaiz had four knights' fees in this
parish, which Robert and Gilbert le Veyse, the prior of St. John of Jerusalem, and sir Thomas Charvil,
held under them. That which the prior of St. John held is now called More Hall, formerly belonging to
sir John Cross, bart.
+ In the chancel, under the figure of a warrior in brass, is a Latin inscription, to inform us that here
lieth Radulphus de Knevynton, buried in 1370. And there is a memorial on brass, in ancient characters,
to the memory of Charles Barrett, esq. who died the viiith day of August, 1584, aged twenty-nine. Also
of many others of the Barrett family; and a memorial inscription in the chancel informs us that Edward
Barrett, lord Newbiugh, was buried here, Jan. 2, 1644. The name entered in the register is followed by
the words " Vir sanctissimus."
Lord Newburgh erected an almshouse in this parish in 1639, which, in 1745, having become ruinous,
was taken down, and a new one erected by lord Dacre, with the original inscription of Donum Dei on the
front. The sum of six pounds, out of a farm here, is annually given to the poor of this parish.
X There was formerly an endowed chapel near the manor-house of Alveley, named the Chapel de la Lee,
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 515
CHAP.
WENINGTON. X^'-
This small parish lies on the border of the river Thames, and is bounded westward Wening-
by that river and the Ingreburne, extending- to Rainham northward. It is in length,
from east to west, between three and four miles, and in width, from north to south,
not much more than one; in circumference about twelve. The village is small, and
lies low, near the marshes. Distant from Romford seven, and from London seven-
teen miles.
Wenington belonged to the abbey of Westminster before the Conquest: in
Edward the confessor's confirmation of their possessions, they are said to have four
hides in Wuntune, and it is entered in Domesday as one of their manors, and named
Wenitun. It was afterwards divided into three manors.
The earliest lord of this manor on record was John de Moresco ; and, in 1345, ^^'^ening-
. ' 'ton Hall.
Henry Garnet died in possession of it, holding jointly, with Joan his wife, of the
abbot of Westminster, by the service of one hundred shillings per annum; it has since
passed through numerous proprietors, and belongs now to Hopkins, esq.
The house is near the church, on the left-hand side of the road from Alveley to
Raynham.
Noke manor-house lies in the marshes, westward from the church, where the river Noke.
forms a corner or nook, the supposed origin of the name of Nook, or Noke Hall.
A family derived their surname from this place, and held possessions here : Thomas
at Noke was buried in the church, under the pulpit, with an inscription in Norman
French, which has been preserved by Weever: it is without date. In 1320, Robert
at Noke, son of Thomas, granted to his brother, Henry at Noke, lands in the marshes
of Wenington and Alvithley. In 1457, this manor belonged to John Warner, esq.
from whom it was conveyed to William Isle, esq. and successively passed to owners
of the names of Pert, and Andrews, to John Barrett, esq. of Belhouse, in 1526, and
has remained in possession of his descendants.
A manor named Leventhorp, belonging to a family of that name, is mentioned in
records, which is understood to have been the purparty of Margaret, younger daughter
of sir Henry Garnet; but the name of Leventhorp is now forgotten in this parish.
The church is a good ancient building, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Peter; it has Chuidi.
a nave, north aisle, and chancel, with a square embattled tower, and is situated high
above the marshes, near the hall.
The abbot and convent of W^estminster had the gift of this rectory till the year
1540, when it was granted, by Henry the eighth, to Thomas Thirleby, bishop of
supposed to have been founded by Adam de Legh, who married Maud, daughter and co-heiress of Gilbert
de Tany, lord of Alveley manor ; or of John at Lee, who married one of the daughters and co-heiresses of
Thomas Helhouse.
516
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Westminster; but on the suppression of that see, queen Mary the first, in 1554,
granted the advowson of this living to Edmund Bonner, bishop of London, and it
has continued in his successors to the present time.*
The parish of Wenington, in 1821, contained one hundred and twenty eight,
and, in 1831, one hundred and twenty-seven inhabitants.
Rainham.
South
Hall.
Berwick.
RAINHAM.
From Wenington and Alveley south-eastward this parish extends to Ingreburne on
the west: from north to south it is about three, and from east to west four miles.
The village forms a street of considerable extent, on rising ground, and commanding
a view of the Thames, and of the marshes, which are here richly productive, and in
summer covered with prodigious flocks of cattle. Distant from Romford five, and
from London sixteen miles. The name, written Rainham, Rayneham, Reinham, &c.
and, in Domesday, Reneham, is of uncertain origin.
Toward the close of the Saxon era, the possessors of these lands were Alsi, a
freeman, Aluard, Lefstan, and a priest. At the general survey, they were the pro-
perty of Odo, bishop of Bayeux, and his under-tenant Hugh ; of Robert Gernon, and
his under-tenant Robert; of Walter de Doai, and of Hagheborn. Afterwards they
were divided into four manors.
The mansion of this manor is in the southern part of the parish, above the marshes,
on the left-hand side of the road from Rainham to Wenington. It is the part that
belonged to Odo, and, on his degradation, was seized by the crown. In 1254, it was
holden of the king by Roger de Crammaville, by the service of wardship at Dover
Castle; he died in 1269, and left his son Henry his heir. After passing through
numerous owners, all, or part of it, became vested in the prior of St. John of Jerusalem,
under whom it was holden by John Goddeston, who died in 1498: sir John Shaw also
held the same of the king and the prior at the time of his decease in 1503. In 1520,
it became the property of Richard Nix, bishop of Norwich, who falling under a
pra'munire in the time of king Henry the eighth, forfeited this estate, which the king
granted or sold to William Bellamy, in 1551, from whom it afterwards passed to
various owners, and became divided into several possessions.
The Saxon Bepepic, a country hamlet, was the appropriate name of this place,
which has also sometimes been called a parish. The manor-house is nearly two miles
north-east from the church, on the left-hand side of the road to Upminster. It was
formerly a large building. The lands are what belonged to Robert Gernon, at the
* It appears from the inquisitions, that sir Edward Trussel had tlie advowson of the living as well a.«
the manor; and though his father might have had the same right, it docs not appear, from the registry
that any but the convent presented. In the window of the north aisle of the church there was formerly
the arms of Vere impaling Trussel.
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 517
time of the survey, and of course came to William de Montfichet; and was afterwards chap.
given, by Gilbert his grandson, to the knights templars; and after the suppression of
that order and their successors, the knights hospitallers, this estate was granted, by
Henry the eighth, to Cardinal Wolsey, on whose praemunire it again became forfeited
to the crown, and was granted to sir Robert Southwell, master of the rolls, who died
in 1559; whose son, sir Thomas, sold it, in 1591, to Robert Houghton, esq. and
others, whose names are not recorded as owners of this estate; but, in 1644, it had
become the property of Ralph Freeman, esq. of Aspenden, in Hertfordshire; and
Ralph, his son, in his lifetime, gave it to his son of the same name, who conveyed it
to George Finch, esq. of a younger branch of the ancient and noble family of the
earls of Winchelsea; William Finch, esq. his son, sold this manor, with other pos-
sessions, to sir Thomas Cross, bart. of Westminster, and it is now the property of the
rev. John C. G. Cross.*
The mansion of Gerpins, or Gerberville, is nearly two miles north-east from the Gerpins,
church. This estate belonged to Walter de Doai at the time of the survey of berville.
Domesday. In 1297, Lawrence de Imperville held this estate of the prior of St.
John of Jerusalem, and William, his son, died in possession of it in 1337, whose son
John was his heir; afterwards, there is no recorded owner of this estate till it was
in possession of Daniel Lowen, esq. who died in 1631, and was succeeded by John
Lowen, his son.
A manor named Launders is mentioned in records as having belonged to Walter Launders,
de Doai; in 1440, it had become the property of John Leventhorp; it belonged to
Reginald Bysmere in 1506, and to Richard Herde, who died in 1568, and left his
grandson Richard his heir. Dovers, in Hornchurch, extended into this parish.
The church, dedicated to St. Helen and St. Giles, is a small building of stone, Chmch.
having a nave, chancel, and north and south aisles; the walls are of extraordinary
thickness, the pillars square and massy; and the arch in the chancel, and a doorway,
are semi-circular, with Norman enrichments. The tower is square, and of stone.
Richard de Lucy, the founder of this church, gave it to the abbey of Lesnes, in
Kent; which, retaining the great tithes, endowed a vicarage, and had the advowson
till the dissolution; afterwards it was granted to Cardinal Wolsey, on whose fall
it passed to various proprietors.
The vicarage-house having become ruinous, in 1701, Samuel Keckwick, the vicar,
purchased a house, garden, and outhouses for the habitation of his successors; and
George Finch, esq. at that time patron, at his own charge rebuilt the mansion.
A chantry was founded here by sir John Staunton, for the good estate of Isabel, ^•'•'""T-
the mother of king Edward the third ; of the founder, and of Alice his wife, &c. It was
in the church-yard, and had a chapel, dedicated to All Saints. The revenues of this
* This estate is near Girpins, and has formerly been named Down Hall.
VOL. II. 3 X
518 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. institution failing-, it was, in 1521, dissolved and converted into a free chapel, to be
enjoyed by a layman unmarried, who was absolved from the obligation of a chantry
priest.*
The number of inhabitants in this parish, in 1821, was five hundred and seventy-
three; encreased to six hundred and seventy-one in 1831.
WEST THURROCK.
West West Thurrock is one of three parishes, named in Domesday Turrock,f and
distinguished from each other by the additional names of West, Greys, and Little,
which last is in Barstable hundred. As the name indicates, this is the most westerly
of the three. It is three miles in length, from east to west; two and a half in breadth,
from north to south; and fifteen miles in circumference. The village is near the
Thames, and inhabited chiefly by persons employed in the chalk-works and in brick-
making. Distant from Brentwood, Romford, and Barking, each twelve miles, and
from London twenty-four.
This parish, in Edward the confessor's reign, belonged to Alward, Mannic, eleven
freemen, and to Ulwin. At the time of the survey, it had come into the possession
of Odo, bishop of Bayeux, and his under-tenants, Hugh and Anschetil, and of Tedric
Ponitel. There is now only one manor.
West Hall West Hall, the manor-house, has also been named Le Vyneyard, from vines
having been cultivated here in ancient times: in modern times it has been named
High House, from its situation on the side of a hill, commanding a delightful prospect
over the marshes and the river Thames.
After Odo's dispossession of this estate, the next owner was Brianzon, whose suc-
cessor of the same family, in the reigns of Henry the second and of king John, was
Robert de Brianzon, supposed to have been the father of Bartholomew, who was
possessed of Alveley in the time of Edward the first, because he is recorded to have
had a son named William, who, at the time of his death in 1310, held both Alveley
and Thurrock; his brother and heir, John de Brianzon, died in 1315, and was suc-
ceeded by his son, sir John de Brianzon, on whose death, in 1337, he left Joanna, his
daughter, his heiress, who survived him only two years; after whom, the next pos-
sessor was sir William de Wanton, who died in 1347, and was succeeded by his son
* Among the charities here are, thirty shillings a year to fifteen of the poorest and honestest house-
holders of Rainham ; and ten shillings to five at Weniugton, to be distributed on Easter-day for ever,
left by William Heard, in 1593. Mr. Elkin, in 1689, gave twenty pounds to the poor, which was ex-
pended in building them almshouses, in 1714. Various persons have also left money to purchase bread
to be given to the poor.
t From similarity of sound, the name has been supposed to be from that of Turold, who held South
Okendon under Geofrey de Mandeville; but it is more reasonably conjectured to be a corrupt pro-
nunciation of Taurus, a bull, their arms being a fesse between three bulls' heads couple.
5^ -3
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 519
William. Afterwards the Bohun family had this estate, and, in 1448, king Henry chap.
the sixth having created Richard Wideville lord Rivers, granted him this estate, 1_
which, on his death in 1483, descended to his eldest son, Anthony Wideville, who
died in 1483, and whose heir was his brother Richard, earl Rivers; on whose death,
in 1491, it became the inheritance of Elizabeth, his eldest sister, married first to sir
John Grey, and afterwards to king Edward the fourth. This estate afterwards
belonged to the Torrell family, from William Torrell, who held it at the time of his
death in 1266, till on the death of Humphrey Torrell, in 1544, his only daughter and
heiress conveyed it, in marriage, to Henry Joscelyn, esq. fourth son of sir Thomas
Joscelyn, of Hyde Hall.
In 1543, sir William Hollis died, holding this estate of the king; and his son of the
same name, in 1547, conveyed it to Robert Tavernier, from whom it passed to Robert
Long, who died possessed of it in 1551.
In 1607, Christopher Holford died possessed of this estate, which continued in his
descendants till it was conveyed, by the marriage of Martha, daughter and co-heiress
of Christopher Holford, to sir Henry Heyman, bart. in 1643. Successive owners
were Benjamin Desbrow, son of major-general Desbrow, who sold it to Caleb Gran-
tham, esq. from whose descendants it passed, by marriage, to John Sear, esq. of the
Grove, near Tring, in Hertfordshire. This estate now belongs to W. H. Whit-
bread, esq.; and High House, the manorial mansion, is the property of John Free-
man, esq.
The pleasant and populous village of Purfleet is a manor and hamlet in this parish, Puifleet.
on rising ground, Avhere the country opens out in extensive and varied prospects;
northward, a woody tract, with Warley and Brentwood hills, interspersed with villages
and gentlemen's seats, and farm-houses; in the immediate vicinity numerous romantic
scenes are formed, by the high projecting chalk rocks, interspersed with deep and
extensive caverns, peculiar to this part of the coast. The rivulet that passes by
Stiiford falls into the Thames here, and a little harbour is formed, which is full of
shipping business and animation ; added to which, the surrounding rustic scenery, and,
in the distance, the opposite coast of Kent, compose a picture peculiarly interesting,
as viewed from the eminence of the Beacon cliff that overlooks the village. A con-
siderable number of the labouring population find employment in the lime and chalk
pits belonging to William Henry Whitbread, esq.* An extensive gunpowder
* " Upon this gentleman's estate," says Mr. Young, " there is a bold cliff of chalk, covered by many feet
of surface loam: from the magnitude of the excavation, it had probably been wrought for many years;
but Mr. Whitbread gave a new appearance to the place, and fresh vigour to the works, by laying down
iron railways for every purpose of carting; twenty-five horses used to be constantly employed, and since
these railways have been made, four do the work, and twenty-one are dismissed. One horse draws five
or six waggons loaded. These railways lead to the bottom of the cliff, to receive loam and chalk, shovelled
down into large wooden hoppers, which pour it at once into the carts, by means of the skeleton chalk
520
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. magazine has been established here by government, where that combustible substance
is deposited in detached and well-protected buildings, which are bomb-proof, and each
having an electrical conductor. There is also a handsome house with gardens, for
the use of the board of ordnance.
Church. The church is a very ancient building of stone, consisting of a nave and north and
south aisles, with a chancel, which has also two aisles. At the west-end there is a
remarkably strong stone tower.
This church was the endowment of one of the seven prebends, founded in the
collegiate church within the castle of Hastings, in Sussex. The prebendary was
rector, and had the great tithes, and presented to the vicarage. After the dissolution
of religious houses, it was granted to sir Anthony Browne, whose son, Anthony
Viscount Montacute, in 1567, sold it to Henry Joscelyn, and Anne his wife; and it
has since gone with the capital manor.
The population of this manor, in 1821, amounted to eight hundred and twenty-nine;
and, in 1831, to eight hundred and four.*
Greys
Thurrock.
GRAYS, or GREYS THURROCK.
This parish occupying the south-eastern extremity of the hundred, is two miles
from east to west, and nearly the same from north to south; it has been sometimes
named Great Thurrocks, and received its distinguishing appellation of Greys from the
noble family of that name, who were in possession of it above three hundred years.
The town consists principally of one street, irregularly built, extending along a
small creek on the border of the Thames. A charter for a weekly market to be held
on Fridays (since altered to Thursday) was procured by Richard de Grey, in the time
of king Henry the third ; and a fair yearly, on the 28th and 29th of June, altered to
May 23, and October 20. This grant was confirmed by Edward the third, in 1330.
There is a free-school, established by William Palmer, esq.; in 1706, endowed Avith
lands and tenements in trust, to maintain a master to teach ten poor children to read,
write, and cast accounts; and to instruct them in the Latin tongue. A house is pro-
vided for the master, and a school-room. Large quantities of bricks are manufactured
here, and sent to London in barges kept solely for that purpose. Distance from
Brentwood twelve, and from London twenty-one miles.
Before the Conquest, the lands of this parish belonged to Harold and Almar, and,
rock being left in forms that conduct to it. Ways lead hence also for delivering the broken chalk directly
to the kilns, which for this purpose are built in a deeper excavation; and coals are also distributed by
other ways. From the kilns distinct iron roads lead also to the shipping, for delivery of the lime; and
the waggons are backed to the ship or barge side, and unloaded at once, by tilting them up." — Geti. View
of the Agriculture of Essex, vol. ii. p. 2'24.
* A ferry acros.s the Thames to Greenhithe has lately been established here, which is much used for
the conveyance of carriasres and cattle.
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 521
at the time of the survey, were in the possession of the earl of Eu, and William chap,
Piperell; seven houses in London being annexed to the earl's manor. Five sochmen, ^^'
Gislebert, tenant of the bishop of Bayeux, and Anschetil, tenant of the bishop of
London, had at that time some lands here.
The mansion of the capital manor is on the right hand side of the road to Stifford. Manor.
The estate having become vested in the crown, was granted, in 1194, by Richard the
first, to Henry de Grey, to whom it was confirmed by king John, with the special
privilege of hunting the hare and fox, in any lands belonging to the crown, except in
the parks of the king's own demesne. This Henry was progenitor of the noble fami-
lies of the Greys of Codnoure, Wilton, Ruthin, and Rothestield. He married Isolda,
neice and co-heiress of Robert Bardolfe; and his eldest son Richard was sheriff of
this county, and of Hertfordshire, in 1238. Joining the discontented barons against
king Henry the third, he was taken prisoner at Kenilworth, and his lands were seized,
but afterwards restored. John de Grey, his son, died in 1271 ; whose grandson Richard,
died in 1335, also holding this manor, then first named Thurrocks Grey, of Thomas
Plantagenet, earl of Lancaster, by the service of one knight's fee : his eldest son John,
was his successor, who mortgaged it to Stephen Gravesend, bishop of London; in
1392, it had become the possession of Joan Cobham, lady de Grey; and Henry de
Grey, of Codnoure, held it at the time of his decease in 1443 : he married Elizabeth,
daughter and co-heiress of Ralph, lord Basset, of Sapcote, by whom he had his son
Henry. Katharine Grey, widow of sir William Berkley, (who died in 1521,) held
this estate of the king, as of his honour of Maude ville, parcel of the duchy of Lan-
caster: sir John Stourton, lord Stourton, her cousin, being her next heir. In 1564,
sir John Zouch was lord of this manor ; succeeded by Thomas Kighley, esq. a
descendant of the Kighleys of Littleton, in Worcestershire; whose son, Thomas,
sold it to William Palmer, esq. Avhose son, by his wife Anne, third daughter of
sir Robert Smith, knt. and bart. of Upton, had William, his son and heir, who, in
1710, dying without issue, gave this manor to Joshua Palmer, esq. son of Dr. Palmer,
of Devonshire, on account of the name, there being no relationship between them : his
son and heir was Ashley Palmer, esq. of Eaton Soken, in Bedfordshire: it belonged
afterwards to James Theobalds, esq. and now to Thomas Theobald, esq.
Peverells, is the name of a manor entered in Domesday, which, by marriage of Peveiells.
Margaret, daughter and heiress of William Peverell, was conveyed to the family of
Ferrers: it afterward became united to the estate which now belongs to Messrs.
Meeson and Hinton.
Belmont Castle, the elegant seat of Richard Webb, esq. is a mile from the toAvn, Belmont
and forms a picturesque object on the summit of an eminence, which rises abruptly '"'' ^'
from the banks of the Thames: it was formerly the country residence of Zachariah
* Arms of Grey: Barry of six, argent and azure.
522 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Button, esq. who finished it in a costly style of architecture. The building, besides
other convenient apartments, contains a spacious circular room, called the round
tower, handsomely finished, and which affords delightful and extensive prospects of
the river, the shipping, and the rich Kentish inclosures, to the hills beyond the great
Dover road; an elegant drawing-room, measuring twenty feet by eighteen, with a
circular front, richly ornamented: and a library-room, fitted up in the most elegant
manner; from this apartment a double flight of stone-steps descend to the terrace,
fronting the great lawn, and in full view of the river. Lofty walls surround a very
extensive kitchen-garden, with a capital hot-house, and a choice selection of the best
fruit-trees. Surrounding the house are the pleasure-grounds, which are tastefully
disposed, and ornamented with forest-trees, of great value and of beautiful forms:
shrubs and plants terminate toward the west by a gothic temple, and toward the east
by an orchard and paddock. There are two approaches to the house ; the one by a
neat, brick gothic lodge, through the great south lawn, from the road between "West
Thurrock and Grays; and the other from the village of Stifford, by the north lawn.
Chuicii. The church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is built in the form of a cross ; the
tower being at the north side, between the nave and chancel.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to seven hundred and forty-two,
and, in 1831, to one thousand two hundred and forty-eight.
STIFFORD.
Stiffbifl, A ford over the brook which, in its course toward the Thames at Purfleet, waters
this parish, is believed to have been the origin of its name. It is in length from north
to south three, and in breadth, from east to west, one mile and a quarter. The vil-
lage is small and pleasantly situated, containing some good houses. Distant from
Brentwood ten, and from London twenty-five miles.
In the confessor's reign, these lands belonged to Aluric, Alwin, and the nunnery
of Barking; and at the survey, to Odo, bishop of Bayeux, whose under-tenants were
Hugh, and the son of Turold. Afterwards, the parish was divided into two manors.
Manor of Stifford Hall is a short distance from the church, eastward. Of its earliest recorded
possessors, were William de Crammaville in 1199, and John Hamme, who died in
1319; Robert, his son, was his heir: after whom the accounts are obscure, till, in
1433, William Ardale of this place, was returned a gentleman of Essex; his ancestors
for many generations had been lords of this manor; and John Ardale, who died in
1504, left Thomasine, his daughter and heiress, who, by marriage, conveyed the estate
to Robert, second son of Hugh Latham, whose family retained this possession many
years. It afterwards belonged to Richard May, and to James Silverlock, esq. who
sold it to Nathaniel Grantham, of the Granthams of West Thurrock: he died in 1708;
Kem-ick Grantham, esq. was his son; after whom, the next possessor was Isaac
Stifford.
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 523
Thorley, who sold this estate to Andrew Goodwin, whose son Henry sold it, in c H A p.
1738, to Henry Barret, of Southwark; and he gave it with his daughter in marriage ^ "
to Richard Cook, of Foster Lane, London; from whom it passed, under a mortgage
of Kenrick Grantham's, to John Archer Shish, esq. and he afterwards sold Ford
House, or Place, to Captain Dodsworth. This manor formerly belonged to the
Embroiderers' Company of London, and lately to Dr. Hogarth.
The mansion of Flethall or Clays, is a mile north-east from the church, on the east Fiet Hall,
side of the brook. This manor is not mentioned till the time of Henry the seventh, ^"^ ^^^'
when it appears to have belonged to the Bruyn family, of South Okendon, from
whom it passed, by female heirship, to various proprietors; but the accounts are con-
fused and uncertain. Ford Place is the principal mansion in the parish, late the resi-
dence of the rev. Dr. Hogarth.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has a nave and south aisle, and the ciuuch.
chancel a chapel on the south. The tower has a shingled spire.
In 1821, this parish contained two hundred and six, and, in 1831, two hundred and
seventy-four inhabitants.
SOUTH OKENDON.
This is one of two parishes distinguished from each other by the appellations of ^outli
south and north, in reference to their situations. In records, the name is written
Okingdon, Wokendon, Lockington, and in Domesday, Wochaduna. South Okendon
has been named Rokele, from ancient owners, and Ad Turrim, from its tower-steeple.
It extends four miles every way, and is separated from the hundred of Barstable, by
the rivulet that has its source in Warley and Dunton.
The village is small but of respectable appearance, and, besides the church, contains
chapels belonging to the Independents and Wesleyan Methodists. Distant from
Romford eight, and from London eighteen miles.
Frebert, a thane, was the owner of this parish at the close of the Saxon era; and,
at the survey, it formed part of the possessions of Geofrey de Magnaville. It has
been divided into two manors.
The capital mansion was a stately building, of great antiquity, encompassed by a
moat, near the church, on the road to Warley and Brentwood. This estate was
holden of Geofrey de Mandeville by Hugh de Ou, in the time of Henry the second,
and sir Richard de la Rokele, supposed to have been the descendant of Hugh, died
holding it in 1222; it remained in the same family till, by the marriage of Isolda,
daughter and co-heiress of Philip de la Rokele,* it was conveyed to her husband, sir
William de Brune, or Bruyn, knight of the bed-chamber to king Edward the first.
Isolda was made lady of the bed-chamber to queen Alinore, and enjoying a consi-
* Arms of Rokele : Lozengy, gules.
524 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. derable degree of court favour, the family acquired large possessions. In 1400, sir
Ingleram Bruyn died holding this manor of the countess of Hereford, by the service
of one knight's fee and a half; leaving Elizabeth, his widow, daughter and co-heiress
of Edmund de la Pole, who held a third of the manor till her decease in 1406.
Maurice was their son and heir, succeeded by his son, sir Henry Bruyn, who mar-
ried Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Darcy, esq. of Maldon, by whom he had his co-
heiresses, Alice, wife of Robert Harleston, esq. and Elizabeth, married to Thomas
Tyrell, son of sir Thomas Tyrell, of Heron.* The estate, parcelled out betAveen
these co-heiresses, was divided into two manors.
Biuyns. Bruyns manor was Elizabeth's portion, whose three husbands were William Ma-
lory, esq. Thomas Tyrell, esq. and sir William Brandon, standard-bearer to king
Henry the seventh at Bosworth-field, where he was slain by the hand of Richard the
third: he was father to Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, said to have been born
here. The Tyrell family were owners of this estate many years; succeeded by Wil-
liam Petre, esq. of Stanford Rivers, who sold it to Jasper Kingsman, of Arden Hall,
in Horndon on the Hill, whose family was succeeded by John Spence, esq. of Stifford:
afterwards, this estate belonged to John Cliff, esq. It is now in the occupation of
T. B. Sturgeon, esq.
Groves. Alice's portion was named Groves: her three husbands were Robert Harleston,
esq. sir John Heningham, and William Berners, esq. ; the first of these left issue, but
king Richard the third, on the attainder of William Brandon, restored a moiety of
this manor to sir John Heningham, with the advowson of the church; on whose death,
in 1499, he left his son, John Harleston, his heir, at that time under age; this family
enjoyed the estate a considerable time, as did also their successors the Saltonstalls.f In
1688, Philip Saltonstall, lord of this manor, was killed by a fall from his horse, in the
thirty-third year of his age. He had six children, of whom Philip, the eldest son and
heir, married Sarah, daughter of sir Capel Lukyn, bart. of Messing, who was after-
wards re-married to Dacre Barret Lennard, esq. of Alveley. By her husband, Sal-
tonstall, she had Phillippa, who was married to John Goodere, esq. of Claybury, to
whom she conveyed this estate. This estate is now the property of John Henry
Stewart, esq.
Church. The church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, has a nave and north and south
aisles; and the chancel has a north chapel. The chief doorway has a Norman arch,
of elaborate workmanship ; and there is a round tower embattled. Formerly a wooden
spire rose above this tower, but it was burnt down by lightning, in 1638. A gallery
has been erected in the west end of this church.t
* Arms of Bruyn : Azure, a cross moline, or.
+ Arms of Salton.stall : Or, a bend dexter, between two eaglets displayed, sable.
X There are or were inscriptions to the memory of the following persons -.—Sir Ingram Bruyn, why
died August 12, 1400; Gilbert Saltonstall, who died nth Nov. '585; sir Richard Saltonstall, knt. who
died in 1601 ; Philip Saltonstall, who died I4th Sept. 1688.
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 525
After the division of the manor, the advowson of the rectory became alternate in chap
the possessors of either portion. The whole of the advowson afterwards belonged ^^'
to George Leith, esq.; and Caff, esq. lately died in possession of it.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to seven hundred and seventy-
seven; and, in 1831, to eight hundred and sixteen.
NORTH OKENDON.
This lies north of the last-described parish, and is in records named Wokyndon Noitli
Septem Fontium, either from an owner of that surname, or from seven springs for-
merly situated here. It is in length three miles, from north to south; and in breadth
two, from east to west. Distant from Romford seven, and from London seven-
teen miles.
The village contains few houses, of Avhich North Okendon Hall is a lofty building,
of apparent antiquity, partly modernised: it is on an eminence, commanding a richly
varied prospect.
Earl Harold had this possession previous to the Conquest, and, at the time of the
survey, it belonged to the abbey of St. Peter, at Westminster, under whom a part
of it was holden by William the chamberlain. From 1086 to 1315, the records are
silent respecting this estate, which, in 1316, belonged to John Malgrefe, from whom
it passed through several proprietors to the family of Pointz, originally of Tokington,
in Gloucestershire,* whose descendants retained possession till it was conveyed by
Katharine, daughter and heiress of sir Gabriel Pointz, to her husband, sir John Moi'-
rice, of Cheping Ongar. Afterwards, by various intermarriages, this estate passed
to the family of Lyttleton, descendants of the celebrated judge and author, sir Thomas
Lyttleton,-]- and to Richard Benyon, esq. and now belongs to sir Charles Hulse, bart.
of Lincoln' s-inn-fields, London.
* Thomas Pointz, esq. who died in 1532, held this manor of the queen; and it is said of him, that for
his most faithful service to his prince (king Edward the sixth) and his ardent profession of the truth of
the gospel, he suffered bonds and imprisonment beyond sea, and was destined to death, if he had not
wonderfully escaped out of prison by divine assistance. He married Anne Van Calva, daughter and co-
heiress of John Calva, esq. a German, by whom he had, besides other children, sir Gabriel Point/., who
was high sheriff of Essex in 1577 and 15S9, and died in 1007, leaving by his wife Etheldred, daughter of
William Cutts, esq. of Arksden, Thomas, who died unmarried; and Katharine, sole heiress to this estate.
Arms of Pointz : Or, barry of eight, or and gules.
t Thomas Pointz, otherwise Lyttleton, by will gave this estate to his lady for life; but having no issue,
left it after her to his great nephew, James Lyttleton, esq. of Longueville, in Surrey, whose son James,
bred to the sea, became at length vice-admiral of the white, and was also meuiber of parliauient for
Woodstock, Chichester and Portsmouth. He died in 1722, and was buried in this church, the admiral;;
Jennings, Wager, Norris, Hosier, De Vail, and Strickland, supporting his pall. Arms of Lyttleton-
Pointz : Argent, a chevron sable, between three escallops of the second.
VOL. II. 3 Y
526 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
MOOK II. Slubbers, an ancient seat or capital messuage in tbis parisb, is about half a mile from
Stubbers. the church; it formerly belonged to a family of Welch original, named Coys.* It
afterwards was purchased by sir William Russel, knt. of Worcestershire, and now
belongs to William Russel, esq.
(^hmciu Tijg church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, has a nave and north aisle, and the
chancel a north chapel; the tower is of flint and stone.f
In 1821, the number of inhabitants in this parish amounted to three hundred and
twenty-five; and, in 1831, to two hundred and ninety-four.
CRANHAM.
Cranliain. -pj^g small parish of Cranham is about three miles in length, and not more than half
a mile broad. The village is distant from Brentwood five, and from London sixteen
miles.
This parish, with the two Okendons, were formerly united, forming a district
named Okendon, or Wokendon; and, at the time when the division into three lord-
ships took place, this portion was named Wokendon Episcopi, on account of its
belonging to the bishop of London; its name of Cranham is not found in records
till the time of Edward the fourth.
Cranham 'pj^g mansion of Cranham Hall is an ancient building, near the church. The manor.
Hall. _ _ _ ^
after having belonged to the families of Curson, Trendle, Selman, and Mordaunt,
was purchased by sir William Petre, who died in 1571; and Francis Petre, esq. his
descendant, sold it to Nathan Wright, esq. son of John Wright, of Kelvedon Hatch,
who died in 1657; and his family retained this possession till it was conveyed in
marriage with Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of sir Nathan Wright,:}: to James
Oglethorp, of Westbrook Place, in Surrey, general of his majesty's forces. The
general, after having witnessed the establishment of the independence of America,
which he had assisted to accomplish, and having himself settled that of Georgia, in
* Gwillim ap Jenkins, alias Herbert, of Guorney, in Monmouthshire, by his wife Gvvenlian, daughter
and heiress of William Howell, ap Jovan ap Howell, had issue John ap Gwillim, and Thomas ap Gwillim,
alias Herbert. John was father of Roger Coys, of London, who, by Joan his wife, daughter of Robert
Warren, of Thurlow, in Suffolk, had William Coys, esq. of North Okendon, who married Mary, daughter
of Giles Alleyn, esq. of Haseley Hall: of their eight sons and six daughters, Giles Coys, esq. the eldest
son, was their heir.
Inscrip- f There are inscriptions in this church to the memory of William Coys, of Stubbers, who died 6th
tions. March, 1G27 ; and of Mary his wife, who died 13th March, 1617: of sir Thomas Pointz, otherwise Lyt-
tleton, bart. who died 12th April, 16S1, and many others of the same family.
Charity. In 1640, Richard Pointz, esq. left two Iiundred pounds to purchase land for the poor, with which the
trustees purchased a farm of forty acres, called Stedding Hill, in Horndon-on-the-hill. He also gave
fifty pounds to purchase communion plate.
X Arms of Wright : Azure, two bars, argent, in chief three leopard's faces, or. Crest : Out of a ducal
coronet, or, a dragon's head issuant, proper.
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 52T
1732, died in 1785, aged one hundred and three. He Avas survived by his widow, chap
on whose decease the estate became the property of sir Thomas Hussey Apreece, bart.
of Washing'ley, in Huntingdonshire.
The church is a plain ancient building, dedicated to All Saints.* chinch.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and eighty-nine;
and, in 1831, to three hundred.
UPMINSTER.
This large parish is bounded by Raynham on the south, by South Weald on the Lii.min-
north, by Cranham and the Warleys on the east, and on the west by the Ingreburne:
it measures seven miles in length, from north to south; and in breadth, from east to
west, does not exceed one mile.f
The village is in a pleasant part of the parish, surrounded by capital mansions and
elegant plantations. There is a chapel for dissenters here. Distant from Hornchurch
two, and from London sixteen miles.
The Saxon CDynj-tep, generally signifies a cathedral or collegiate church, yet it
is sometimes applied to a parish church, and the addition of Up here, is considered to
denote its elevated situation. It is divided into north and south. Previous to the
Conquest, these lands belonged to Waltham Abbey, to Suene, Suart, and Uiwin : and,
at the general survey, the possessors were Walter de Doai; Odo, bishop of Bayeux,
and the said abbey.
The mansion of Gaines is half a mile south from the church, near Gaines Cross. Ciaines.
This estate being what originally belonged to Walter de Doai's family, includes the
greater part of the parish. In the time of king John, it had become the property of
William de Courteney, whose heirs were William de Cantelupe, baron of Berga-
venny, and Vitalis Engaine, lord of Blatherwick, in Northamptonshire; and on a
partition of the estates, this, with other manors, became the property of the Engaine
family,:]: in which it continued till sometime after the year 1318, when it was conveyed
to the family of Havering, and was holden by Lora, wife of sir John de Havering, till
her decease in 1393: afterwards, sir John Deyncourt,§ obtained a grant of this
manor, which is supposed to have been conveyed in marriage with his daughter Ellyn,
* There are inscriptions in the church to the memory of many of the family of Wright. Sir Nathan
Wright gave two almshouses in St. Mary's Lane.
t The northern part of this parish is on a somewhat rising ground, and the soil stiff and clayey, but
the more level southern division is light and sandy. Average annual produce per acre: wheat twenty-
four, barley forty, beans forty.
X Arms of Engaine : Azure, a fesse dancette, or, between six cross crosslets of the second.
§ He was of the noble family of d'Encourt, descended from Walter, who came with William the con-
queror. His son Roger died in 1455, and is buried with his wife Elizabeth, under the arch, between the
chancel and north chapel.
528 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. to Nicholas Wayte, citizen of London. It afterwards belonged to Ralph Latham,
esq. a descendant of the ancient family of that name in Lancashire, who were lords of
this place from the time of Richard the first to the latter end of the reign of Edward
the third, when Isabel, only daughter and heiress of sir Thomas Latham, by her mar-
riage to sir John Stanley, conveyed it to the noble family of Stanley, earl of Derby.
This estate, in 1587, was in the possession of Gerard d'Ewes, son of Adrian
d'Ewes, descended from the ancient lords of Kessel, in Gelderland, who settled in
England in the commencement of the reign of Henry the eighth. He died in 1592,
leaving his son Paul* his heir, from whom it was re-conveyed to the family of
Latham. In 1721, this manor was sold to Mr. Amos White; and afterwards belonged
to sir James Esdaile, knt. who had an elegant seat, nearly a mile north-east from
the church. But it was pulled down several years ago, and the park and grounds
sold in lots.
Upmin- This manor was one of the seventeen ffiven by earl Harold to Waltham Abbey,
ster Hall. o j j '
and on that account was formerly named Waltham Hall. It was confirmed to the
abbey by Edward the confessor, Henry the second, Richard the first, and Henry the
third, and in Cartse Antique, it is called one hundred and four acres. The abbey was
possessed of it at the general survey.-f
Upminster Hall was probably a retiring place, or hunting seat, for the abbot; and
he had a chapel here of stone, which yet remains, with a font for the use of his tenants
and dependants. There was also a cemetery, as appears from human bones having
been dug up where the garden noAv is. The house is pleasantly situated, a mile north
from the church, commanding fine prospects over parts of Essex and Kent.
After the dissolution of abbeys, this estate was granted to Thomas Cromwell, earl
of Essex; and passing, on his attainder, to the crown, was granted to Ralph La-
tham; from whose son William, it passed to William Strangeman and others in 1563.
It belonged afterwards to Roger James, who died in 1596, and, in 1641, it belonged
to Ralph Latham, esq. common-serjeant, whose son sold it to Juliana, viscountess
dowager Campden, who settled it on herself for life; remainder to Henry, second son
of Baptist Noel, (grandson and heir-apparent to Edward, lord Campden,) who died
* This Paul bought Stow Hall, in SuflFolk, which he made the place of his residence. The learned sir
Symonds d'Ewes, knt. and bart. of Stow Hall, was his son. The family became extinct on the death of
sir Jermyn d'Ewes.
+ The bounds of this lordship are particularly described in the Monasticon, as follows — " Gjieyc at
Ti^^elhyjij-c j-uS topajie GQajicbice. op pajie toice lUcytr in Injcebujine. op jiajie bujine no/v5 in co Bec-
cen;;^aj-ic. of Bcccen^ape nojif^ anb lanj jajie lUalbj-cjiace inco Siran^aj^e. oj: Stan^ape nojit^ into
fOannej- Lanbe. oj: CDannej- lanb ejc into Ti^elhyjij-te," i. e. " First at Tigelhyrste south toward Marc-
dike, from that dike west in Ingceburn, and from that burn north to Beccengare ; and from Beccengare
north along the Wald-street to Stangare ; from Stangare north into mannes land, from mannes land again
to Tigelhyrste."
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD.
529
in 1671, and left this estate to his brother Edward, afterwards earl of Gainsboroug-h C H a i'.
who retained possession till 1685, when it was sold, under a decree in chancery to ^^ '
captain Andrew BranfiU,* whose descendant. Champion Edward Branfill, esq. is the
present owner.
The lands which, in the Confessor's reign, belonged to Ulwin, and to bishop Odo New
at the survey, were on the most southerly part of this parish, and extended into the ^^^'
parish of Alveley, forming part of the manor of Burasted along the eastern side,
through Corbet's Tye, as far as New Place. This is a nominal manor, eastward from
the church ; its name was to distinguish it from Gaines, the ancient residence of the
lords of this manor. The old house has been pulled down, and a new one erected,
which is the residence of Thomas Boyce, esq. '
A manorial estate is named Bridge House, on account of its situation by the bridge Bridge
over the brook; it extends into the parish of Hornchurch. It belonged to John de *^"''^'
Reydon in 1375, and to a succession of ancient proprietors; and became the property
of Ralph Latham, from whom it passed with the capital manor.
Corbet's Tye is a hamlet near Gaines, which derives its name from an ancient Corbet's
owner, and the Saxon cyj, inclosure; it is pleasantly situated, and consists principally ^^"
of the houses of labourers.
The church is a handsome, ancient building, with a spire, ivy-mantled. It is dedi- Church,
cated to St. Lawrence, and has a nave, north aisle, and chancel, on the north side of
which there is a chapel, erected by sir John Engaine, for the burial-place of his family,
and named Gaines chapel ; it was also named St. Mary's, being dedicated to that
saint, and the lane behind it also received the same name.f The burial-place of the
Latham family was also here ; and " Hamlet Clarke, gent, whose second wife was
Alice, mother of Ralph Latham, esq. (who married Mary, only daughter of the said
Hamlet,) out of his pious devotion to the honour of God, did, at his sole charge, re-
pair and beautify this chapel, A.D. 1630.":^ Some time after the year 1770, having
become ruinous, it was taken down, and re-built by sir James Esdaile ; who built also
within it a cemetery for himself and family.
* He was of Dartmouth, in Devonshire, of a seafaring family; and, at the age of nineteen, became
commander of a ship, in which occupation, by his industry, he acquired a considerable fortune. The
name is supposed to have originally been Bampfield, the arms of both families being the same. In IfiSl, he
married Damaris, eldest daughter of John Aylet, of Kelvedon Hatch, son of the heroic captain Aylet, of
Magdalen Laver : he died in 1709, having had, besides several other children, Champion Branfill, esq. his
eldest son and heir, who was high-sheriff of Essex in 1731, and whose heir was his son of the same name.
Arms of Branfill : Or, on a bend gules, three estoiles argent.
t Among the inscriptions in this church are memorials of the following : Rayffe Latham, esq. lord of Inscrip-
Upminstre, who deceased xix July, 1457; also Elizabeth his wife. Nicholas Wayte, who died 7th Aug. tions.
1544, and his wife Elleyn, who died in 1545; Hamlet Clarke, and Alice his second wife.
I In the building of this vault, a coffin of one of the Latham family, interred there one hundred and
fifty years before, was broken open, and the body found free from any appearance of decay.
530
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The steeple and part of the church were fired by lightning and defaced, but after-
wards repaired : and the north aisle having gone to decay, was rebuilt, with money
raised by a general subscription.*
In 1821, this parish contained nine hundred and fifty-two, and, in 1831, one thou-
sand and thirty inhabitants.
Great
Wailey.
Manor of
Great
Warlev.
GREAT WARLEY.
The two parishes named Warley,-]- are separated from each other by the stream
that, passing by Bui van Fen, flows into the Thames. The extent of this parish, from
north to south, is seven miles; and from east to west, does not exceed one. The village
is nearly two miles in length, and the houses considerably distant from each other.
Distant from Brentwood two, and from London sixteen miles4
Before the Conquest, this lordship belonged to the abbess of Barking, and on that
account, besides its present name, has also been named Abbess Warley. There are
two manors.
The manor of Great Warley, both before and after the Conquest, belonged to the
abbess of Barking. The mansion was behind the church, and the farm-house belonging
to the estate is named Pound House. The court meets at an alehouse on Warley Com-
mon. After the dissolution of monasteries, this estate, in 1539, was granted to William
Gonson, who died possessed of it in 1544. He was succeeded by his son Christopher,
whose successor was his son Benjamin; on whose decease, in 1577, his son of the same
name was his heir, who died in 1600, and left his four daughters his co-heiresses,
among whom the estate was divided; and from their connexions, the Fleming and the
Evelyn families had this possession; which, in 1655, was sold, by some of the Evelyn
family, to John Hart, merchant, of whom it was purchased, in 1669, by Rowland
Winne, merchant, of London, son of Edmund Wimie, esq. of Thornton, in Lincoln-
shire, younger brother to sir George Winne, of Nostell Abbey, in Yorkshire. At
his death, he gave this estate to his two nephews, and on the death of either to the
survivor, from whom it descended to the hon. George Winne, afterwards lord Head-
* The learned and |)ious Dr. William Derham was rector of this parish, from 1689 to 1735. He was
born at Stowton, near Worcester, in 1657, and educated at Trinity College, Oxford; was chaplain to Ka-
tharine, lady dowager Grey of Warke ; presented to this living in 1689 ; installed canon of Windsor in
1716; and, by diploma from the University of Oxford, created D.D. in 1730. He was one of the most
useful members of the Royal Society, to which he made numerous interesting and valuable communica-
tions. By Anne, his wife, aunt to George Scott, of Chigwell, he had several children, of whom the eldest
was William Derham, D.D. who died president of St. John's College, Oxford.
t The name is by Salmon derived from the word icard, there having been, as he supposes, a watch or
ward kept here for the security of travellers, in the time of the Saxons.
X The soil strong and heavy, on clay. Average annual produce: wheat, twenty-four; barley, forty
bushels per acre. The prospects from various parts of this parish, and of Little Warley, are extremely
beautiful and extensive.
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 531
ley, one of the barons of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, It now belongs to ^^ ^ •'
Rowland Winne, esq. grandson of lord Headley. 1_
The mansion of Warley Franks is about a mile south-west from the church. The Wariey
name of the owner of this estate in Edward the confessor's time was Godric; and, at
the survey, it belonged to Suene of Essex. Hugh, his grandson, was his heir, who
forfeiting this with his other estates to the crown, it was granted to Hubert de Burgh,
earl of Kent, in 1226. Francis de Scoland is the next recorded possessor, from whom
the name of Franks is supposed to have been derived to this estate: he was succeeded
by his son and grandson, of the same name; after whom, the estate was sometimes
divided, and sometimes entire, till, in 1589, Thomas Dry wood purchased several
shares, and became possessed of the whole, which, in 1604, his son, William Dry wood,
sold to Nicholas Fuller, esq. of Gray's Inn ; and his son, Dowce Fuller, sold it to
Thomas Gundrey, esq. of Chingford; it passed from him to his heirs, and to several
successive proprietors; and now belongs to lieut.-general sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B.
Great Warley Place is the seat of lieut.-general Bonham; and Warley House is
the seat of sir J. H. English.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is an ancient building of brick. The Church,
steeple was some time ago burnt down by lightning, but has been supplied with a
wooden belfry, above which there is a small spire, of one piece of wood.
The population of this parish, in 1821, was five hundred and twenty-one, and, in
1831, had decreased to four hundred and twenty-four.
LITTLE WAKLEY.
This parish extends from Great Warley eastward; and is sometimes named East Little
^ , _ , -^ Warley.
Warley. The village is small: distant from Brentwood three, and from London
seventeen miles.
We are informed, by the most ancient records relative to this parish, that it be-
longed to the church of St. Paul, but had been taken from it, and was in the posses-
sion of a Saxon named Guest, some time before the Conquest; after which, it Avas
given by the Conqueror to William, bishop of London, whose successors retained
possession of it till the year 132T.
From William de Semeles, who had this manor in 1357, it passed to the Burnel Little
family; and, in succession, became the property of Sewall Michel, of Canewdon, in Hall. '
1361; and of sir Thomas Tyrell, in 1363; from whose descendants it passed to sir
Denner Strutt, knt. created a baronet in 1641, and styled of Little Warley Hall. His
first wife was Dorothy, daughter of Francis Strasmore, esq. of Folresworth. in Lei-
cestershire, member of parliament for that county in the first parliament of Charles
the first; she died in 1641. His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter ol" sir Thomas
Woodhouse, of Kimberley ; and his third was Mary, daughter and heiress of Thomas
532
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Church.
Childer-
ditch.
Childer-
ditch Hall
Tilling-
hani Hall.
Chapman, esq. of London; she died in 1654. By his second wife, sir Denner left
two daughters, co-heiresses ; Anne, the younger, was married to William Samwell,
of Watton, in Norfolk; and Blanche, the elder, was the wife of Thomas Bennet, esq.
of Wiltshire, a relation of lord Ossulston. The Bennet family enjoyed this estate
many years, and were succeeded by John Fisher, esq. of Brentwood. It now belongs
to Rowland Winne, esq. Warley Lodge, a newly-erected mansion in this parish,
also belongs to Mr. Winne.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a small ancient building. The tower was
rebuilt of brick in 1718. The living has been in the gift of the ancient family of
Tyrell, of Heron, ever since the year 1382.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to one hundred and seventy-nine;
and, in 1831, had diminished to one hundred and sixty-three.
CHILDERDITCH.
This parish lies south-east from Brentwood, on the boundary of Barstable hundred.
It is in length between four and five miles, and in width nearly one. Distant from
Brentwood three, and from London nineteen miles.
In the reign of Edward the confessor, the lands of this parish were divided into
three estates, of which one was the property of Herbert, and afterwards of the queen ;
another belonged to a freewoman named Alwen; and a freeman named Ongar had
the remaining portion: Suene, and his under-tenant Osbern, and Sasseline, and the
sheriff of Surrey, were the holders of these lands at the time of the survey. They
were afterwards divided into the two manors of Childerditch Hall, and Tillingham.
Childerditch Hall is near the church: this manor is what at the survey belonged
to the king, and was in the hands of the sheriff of Surrey. It continued in the crown
till the reign of Henry the eighth, Avho granted it to sir Thomas Seymour. He had
also the manor of Tillingham Hall: the mansion of which is a mile south-east
from the church, the lands extending into the parish of South Weald. A parish
in this county is named Tillingham, and Richard de Tillingham held two fees here,
which Robert de Tillebury held in 1165, as did also Richard de Tillebury, in 1275:
probably the name of the manor might be derived from this family. Sir William
Baude, senior, who died in 1376, held this manor of the king, by service and
homage: and, in 1377, a licence was granted to William de Humberstone and
others, to give this manor to the abbot and convent of Coggeshall, to find daily a wax
taper to burn in their abbey church, before the high altar, at the time of high mass.
The abbey retained this possession a considerable time, but not till their dissolution,
in 1538; for, in 1525, it was granted to cardinal Wolsey, after whose fall it was
granted to sir Thomas Seymour, who, in 1540, sold the manors and granges of
Childerditch and Tillingham Hall to sir Richard Rich; and he, in 1554, settled
1
J
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 533
them on his second son, sir Hugh Rich, whose descendants retained possession till c H a <'
the year 1662, when they belonged to Edward Montague, earl of Manchester, who
had married Anne, second daughter of Robert, the second earl of Warwick. Sir
Thomas Cheke married, for his second wife, Essex, daughter of Robert Rich, first
earl of Warwick of that family, and is understood to have had with her these manors,
which remained in his descendants from 1666 to 1707, when Katharine, the youngest
daughter of Anne, lady Tipping, conveyed them in marriage to the right honourable
Thomas lord Archer, of whom they were purchased by lord Petre.
The church is a good plain building, dedicated to All Saints and St. Faith: the (-'"ncii.
steeple of brick and wood, with a shingled spire.
The advowson of this church was given to the abbot and monks of Coggeshall by
Robert Hovel, and his wife Margaret, and they presented to it as a rectory till 1370;
and, in 1379, on their petition to pope Urban the seventh, he, by his bull, dated 16th
of August of that year, ordered the appropriation of this church to the abbey, and
a vicarage was endowed. But this having been done without the king's licence,
according to the statute of mortmain, the patronage became forfeited to the crown.
Yet afterwards, on payment of one hundred shillings into the hanaper, they obtained
a pardon, and regained possession of the great tithes and advowson of the vicarage,
which, since the dissolution, have gone with the manors.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and eighty-nine;
and, in 1831, had diminished to two hundred and fifty-one.
SOUTH WEALD.
The extensive parish of South Weald contains about six thousand acres, and
occupies the northern extremity of the hundred, where it is bounded by Navestock,
Kelvedon, and Doddinghurst; by Great Warley and Upminster on the south; Shen-
field eastward, and Romford on the west. The Saxon wealb, wood, applied to this
place, sanctions the opinion of its having been one of the first inhabited parts of the
forest; the addition of South is to distinguish it from North Weald, near Epping-.
The village is a mile from the road between Romford and Brentwood: the sur-
rounding country distinguished by beautiful and picturesque scenery, with orna-
mental inclosures and pleasure grounds, having been selected as a convenient and
healthful situation for numerous elegant mansions, the residences of genteel families.
Before the survey, the lands of this parish belonged to Waltham abbey, except what
had been in the possession of a Saxon named Sprot; at the survey, a portion of Avhat be-
longed to the abbey had been exchanged with Geofrey de Mandeville, and Sprot's portion
had become the property of Robert Gernon. The whole was afterwards divided into
six manors; including the hamlets of Brentwood and Brook Street, with part of Dod-
dinghurst List: the remainder of the parish, named Uplands, has its own constable.
VOL. II. S z
Soutli
Wfiild.
534 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
.800K 11. The manor of South Weald was anciently named Walda, and given to the abbey
Manor of of Waltham by earl Harold, in the year 1062; and this appropriation was confirmed
wSld ^y Henry the second, and by Richard the first. It was named Abbots Weld, on
account of its having- belonged to the abbey.* In 1540, this possession was taken
from the abbey, and, with a farm named Boyles, belonging to Blakemore Priory,
was granted, by Henry the eighth, to sir Brian Tuke, treasurer of his household,
whose successor, his eldest son Charles, died in 1547, and was succeeded by his
brother George, who the same year sold the estate to sir Richard Rich, lord chan-
cellor of England ; and he sold it to sir Anthony Browne, of a family of note,
originally of the west of England, whose descendants retained possession till, in 1662,
it was sold, by sir Anthony Browne, to sir William Scroggs, a learned civilian, who
died in 1683, and is buried in this church: sir William, his son and heir, sold the
estate to Erasmus Smith, alias Heriz, esq. alderman of London, whose son Hugh, on
his succeeding to the estate, greatly improved the house and grounds. By his wife
Dorothy, daughter of the lion. Dacre Lennard Barrett, of Alveley, he left two
daughters, Doroth\^, the eldest, married to John Smith Barry, esq. fourth son of
James, earl of Barrymore; and Lucy, who was married to James Stanley, lord
Strange, eldest son of Edward, earl of Derby, by whom she had five children. On
her decease, in 1759, the estate descended to the male issue, of whom it was purchased
by Thomas Tower, esq. and has descended to the present owner, Christopher Thomas
Tower, esq.
Weald The elegant mansion of Weald Hall is chiefly of modern erection, with part of the
ancient building modernised. It is encompassed with pleasure-grounds, gardens, and
plantations, enclosed in an extensive park; in which, from various stations, highly
interesting prospects are presented over parts of the country richly cultivated, and of
varied appearance. In the park there is an ornamental embattled tower, which has
received the name of Prospect House; and from this elevation the view is rendered
more widely extensive.f
liowciis. The reputed manor of Bowells is supposed to be the estate held by Robert Gernon
■ of the king's gift, as stated in Domesday. It belonged afterwards to the priory of
Blackmore, and was granted, in 1540, with the manor of South Weald, to sir Brian
Tuke;J and belonged successively to his son George, to Humphrey Frith, and to
* The boundaries of this estate are defined in the Monasticon, to be " from Dellen north through a
gate, east into Halfgate, from Halfgaete east into the VVulfpytte. From that pytte south into the park,
or inclosed land, from thence south to Freebearnes leap, and so into Mannes land, and then again to
Dellen."
t Rochetts, formerly the seat of sir Peter Parker, knt. and lately of earl St. Vincent, who married sir
Peter's only daughter, is in this parish.
X In 1533, he was sheriff of Essex, and is highly praised by Leland for his learning and wonderful
eloquence. He was seated at Layer Marney.
! ^
s
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 535
Robert his son, in 1573, succeeded by Ralph his son; by John Justice, esq. by David CHAP.
Papillon, esq. and by his son. The manor-house, on the road from Brook Street to '
Warley, is the property and residence of J. Lescher, esq.
The mansion of the manor of Calcots is near Weald Hall Park, northward from Caicots.
the church. It consists of the land that belonged to Sprot, in the reign of Edward
the confessor, and to Robert Gernon, and his under-tenant Ralph, at the time of the
survey : it was all or part of it given to the abbey of Stratford Langthorn, by Richard
de Montfichet; and, after the dissolution, was granted, by Henry the eighth, in 1544,
to Thomas Buck, and other citizens of London; and, in 1592, a grant of it was
procured by William Tipper and Robert Dawe, and, in 1599, it belonged to Anthony
Browne, esq. succeeded by Hugh Smith, esq. and now belongs to C. T. Tower, esq.*
The manor of Brentwood, also named Cost Hall, or Costead Hall, contains the Bient-
hamlet or town of Brentwood, which is the most considerable in the parish. This
manor was given to the abbey of St. Osyth, by William de Wochendon Camerarius,f
and confirmed to that house by Henry the second. The donation seems to have been
made either immediately on the founding of the priory, or soon after, and the town
was grown so considerable a place in the reign of king Stephen, that it had obtained
a grant of a weekly market and a fair. After the dissolution of the monastery, this
manor was granted to Thomas lord Cromwell, on whose attainder, returning to the
crown, in 1549, it belonged to the lady Anne of Cleve. In 1553, it was granted to
Anthony Browne, and passed from his successors as the other estates, to the present
owner, Christopher Tower, esq.
The town is on an eminence, pleasant and healthy; the houses, generally old, Brent-
and irregularly built on each side of the road, form a street of considerable extent.
The inhabitants are supplied with excellent water from wells. The market has been
discontinued, but there are fairs on July 18, and October 15, for cattle. Courts leet
and baron are held occasionally by the lords of Calcots. The assizes were formerly
held here, and there are remains of a town hall and prison in High Street, vested in
feoffees for the use of the judges of assize. There is a place of worship here for
dissenters, of the denomination of Independents. A free school, endowed by sir
Anthony Browne, receives boys from this and any other parish within three miles of
the school-house.:]:
The mansion of this manor is near the road from Brentwood toward Ongar, two Biuuls, or
Dounsels.
* An ancient capital mansion here, belonging to the abbey of Stratford Langthorn, was on tiiat account
named Langtons, or Langthorns ; it is the property of Mr. Tower.
t He was apparently the same William the chamberlain who had lands in South Okendon.
X This school was founded here by sir Anthony Browne, knt. serjeant-at-law, of Weald Hall, by letters
patent of king Philip and queen Mary, dated the 5th of July, 1557. There are usually betwetai sixty and
seventy boys, all upon the foundation, no other being admitted : they are received without any expense
whatever, and no one who has applied, and been qualified for admission, has ever been refused. They
536 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
iMHHi (1. miles north-east from the church; the manor is partly in this and partly in the parishes
of Kelvedon Hatch, Doddinghurst, and Shenfield.* Ralph Bawde, who died in 1483,
held this estate of the bishop of London, and it belonged to Thomas Bradbury at the
time of his decease, in 1509, being at that time named Bawdes. From this family it
passed to that of Crafford: Arthur Cratford lived at his manor of Dounsells, where
he died in 1606. John Leech, secretary to the sequestrators of this county during the
civil wars, had this estate, which he sold to Thomas Manby, esq. of the family of
Manby, at Elishara, in Lincolnshire, where they were seated in the time of Edward
the tirst.f The estate remained in the Manby family until the death of John Manby,
esq. in 1819, wben it was sold to the rev. Emanuel Dias Santos.
Hoi)(.r.>«. Xhe lands of Ropers manor lie to the left of the London road from Brentwood,
and extend from Brook Street toward Great Warley: Henry Roper, pursuivant to
queen Katharine of Arragon, in 1614, let this manor, with the place or moat-house,
and mill. In 1617, the estate was conveyed, by Constance Roper, to William Ipgrave.
This manor was afterwards divided into Great Ropers, the property and residence of
John Hirst, esq.; and Little Ropers, the property of Henry Hall, esq. of Hutton.
The ancient mansion of Moat House was named Brook Hall, when it belonged to
the Wright family;:}: the estate was holden of the duchy of Lancaster, and passed from ^
are instructed in Latin, Greek, English, mathematics, writing, and arithmetic. The school is near the
east end of the town, and the master's house, which joins to it, has a small garden, and six acres of land.
The corporation seals form a double clasp seal of silver, and are kept in an iron chest, with the muni-
ments of the school.
This school is entitled to a small scholarship of six pounds per annum, at Christ College, Cambridge,
in turn with the schools of Maldon and Chelmsford, given by Thomas Plume, D.D. The master is
allowed to employ an usher at his own cost, and to change him at his pleasure. He must by himself, or
some other person properly licensed, read divine service every Wednesday and Friday in the chapel of
Brentwood. This chapel, with the patronage of the school, now belongs to Christopher Towers, esq. of
Weald Hall. The income arising from the endowment is one thousand, four hundred and fifty-two pounds,
seven shillings, per annum, paid to the master, subject to an allowance of ten pounds each to five persons
as alms, and to the expense of keeping the premises in repair.
Doddin"- * '^'^"'^ nianor forms a peculiar jurisdiction called Doddinghurst List, which has a constable quite in-
hurst List, dependent of any other parish or hamlet, although this district lies within several parishes, and for church
and poor is not a separate district from those parishes ; yet, for the purposes of the land tax and the peace,
it is all within the hundred of Barnstaple, and is quite separate from the several parishes in those respects.
+ He died in 1678, liaving had, by his wife Mary, daughter of Daniel Caldwell, esq. of Horndon-on-the-
Hill, Caldwell, Thomas, and two daughters. Thomas succeeded to the estate; he was knighted by king
James the second in 1686, and was high sheriff of Essex in 1688. His first wife was Julia, daughter of
sir George Selby, hart, by whom he had Francis, and Thomas ; and by his second, Elizabeth, daughter of
sir George Carey, knt. of Torr Abbey, in Devonshire, he had Robert, Edward, and George. Francis, his
eldest son, was his successor. Arms of Manby : Argent, a lion rampant, sable, between an orle of eight
escallops, gules. Crest : On a torse argent and gules, an armed hand, proper, sleeved or and argent, cutfed
or, grasping a dagger, argent.
I They came from Kelvedon Hatch ; John, of that place, had Robert, John, of South Weald, and another
John, resident at Wright's Bridge, on the Ingreburne, so named from a branch of this family.
HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD. 537
the Laurence to the Wright family, and probably came from Ipsrrave to Laurence. CHAP
* • XV
The house is on the left of Brook Street, going toward London. John, son of 1_
Thomas Wright, was succeeded by his son John, and by his grandson of the same
name, who sold Moat House to Mr. William Wheatley, in 172L
Brook Street is a hamlet by a brook, at the foot of Brentwood Hill, in this parish, ^^'^ol^
a mile south-west from the town, on the Loudon road.*
Tillingham Hall, described under Childerditch, extends into this parish.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a handsome building on an eminence. Five Church.
pillars divide the nave and chancel into two paces, and a massive stone tower,f rising
to a considerable height, forms a conspicuous object at a great distance.:}:
The time of the building of this church is not known; Avhen earl Harold gave the
manor to Waltham Abbey, it was given with it, if it existed at that time. In 1244,
it was appropriated to that house by Fulk Basset, bishop of London, to which the
gift was confirmed by John Chishull, the succeeding bishop, who at the same time
reserved to himself and successors the collation to the vicarage. The vicarage-house
was erected by the rev. Dr. Bridges, during his incumbency.
The chapel at Brentwood, dedicated to St. Thomas a Becket, is a small ancient
edifice, partly in the early and partly in the later style of English architecture : within
is a rude image of its tutelar saint, carved in wood. The living is a perpetual curacy,
endowed with six hundred pounds private benefaction, eight hundred pounds royal
bounty, and four hundred pounds parliamentary grant.
This chapel was founded in 1221, at the request of David, abbot of St. Osyth, for
the convenience of their tenants at Cost Hall, with the consent of the bishop of
London, of Richard, parson of Weald, and of the abbot and convent of Waltham.
The abbot and convent of St. Osyth were to build it on their own fee, at the new
* A hospital for lepers was founded here, on the north side of the street, by the Bruyn family, of South
Okendon ; it had a master, or warden, admitted by the bishops of London, on the presentation of the
said family of Bruyn. The estate is now known as " The Spital."
t This tower was built in the beginning of the reign of Henry the seventh, by a rate for five years,
in all amounting to two hundred and eighty-nine pounds, five shillings and ten-pence.
J Among the inscriptions are memorials of sir Anthony Browne, who died May 3, 1567, aged fifty-
seven. Arthur Crafford, of Bawds, who died JNIay 1606, aged seventy-two. Thomas Manby, esq. of
Bawds, Feb. 1678, aged fifty-five. John Wright Bridge, esq. in 1644, aged forty-five. Laurence Wright,
M.D. Oct. 3, 1657, aged sixty-seven: also his wife. Sir Anthony Browne, knt. March 26, 1623. Mary
Barrington, widow of John Barrington, of Hatfield, who died Jan. 21, 1680, aged eighty. George Gittins,
of Bishop's Hall, Nov. 25, 1712, aged eighty-three.
Besides the school at Brentwood, and other important charities, are the following :— Five almshouses, Charities
founded by sir Anthony Browne and his wife, for three men and two women, successively chosen from
South Weald, Brentwood, and Brook Street, by the owner of South Weald : the master of Brentwood
school to pay a yearly stipend, and to keep the houses in repair. John Wright, of the Moat House, in
1682, left the interest of two hundred pounds to the poor of Brook Street, Uplands, and Brentwood. In
1611, Mr. Lound, vicar of South Weald, gave a yearly rent of one hundred pounds to the poor of the
Uplands, for ever.
538
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Roman
anti-
quities.
BOOK II. place,* and to maintain a proper priest to officiate in it daily, if they thought fit.f
The chapel continued in possession of the abbey of St. Osyth till the reign of Henry
the eighth.
A chantry was founded in this chapel for the soul of Isabel, countess of Bedford;
it was dedicated to St. Mary, and a chaplain instituted in 1393, at the presentation
of Edmund duke of York, and others.
Camden supposed the Caesaromagus of Antoninus was in the neighbourhood of
Brentwood; but this opinion (offered indeed with great diffidence) has not been sup-
ported by other antiquaries. Some pateras, and other earthen vessels, are however
mentioned by Salmon to have been found on a military way, leading from Billericay
towards Ongar; as also two Roman lares, dug up near Shenfield; also at South
Weald, on the south-western verge of South Weald Hall Park, are traces of a cir-
cular camp, single ditched, including about seven acres, supposed to have been a
castra exploratorum.
In 1821, South Weald, with the hamlet of Brook Street, contained eleven hundred
and thirty-five inhabitants; the chapelry of Brentwood, fourteen hundred and twenty-
three; total, two thousand, five hundred and fifty-eight: increased, in 1831, to eleven
hundred and eighty-three in South Weald, &c. and sixteen hundred and forty-two in
Brentwood ; total, two thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five inhabitants.
* Apud novum locum, implies that the name of Brent, or Burnt-wood, was not known at that time.
t The perquisites of the chaplain arose from the gifts of travellers, and such as came out of devotion
to St. Thomas ; from whom a gate in this parish, on the Ongar road, has been named Pilgrim's Hatch ;
and opposite to it another gate or hatch has been called Hou, or Forest Hatch.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE HUNDRED OF CHAFFORD.
R. Rectory. V. Vicarage. t Discharged from payment of First Fruits.
Parish,
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Essex
John Holmes
J. Newman
Thomas Ludbey.. ..
Henry Eve
Edward R. Benyon .
J. T. G. Cro.ss
J. T. G. Cross
J. H. Hogarth
J. Foster
G. F. Hele
J. R. Holden
H. Robinson
R.Smyth
Ch. Belli
— Rhodes. .•••••..
****
1805
1818
1819
1827
1826
1822
1805
1828
1827
1801
1823
1S34
1826
£fU 10
t 8 0
13 13
33 6
16 13
10 0
Not in cha
15 0
15 13
t 3 0
26 13
14 0
11 3
26 13
C.V. 2 10
8 0
5
0
4
8
4
0
•ge
0
4
10
4
0
9
4
0
D. and C. St. Paul's.
Lord Petre.
Rev. Thomas Ludbey.
G. Leith, esq.
Sir C. Hulse, bart.
J. C. G. Cross.
Pem. Col. Oxon.
S. Whitbread, esq.
Pem. Col. Oxon.
W. Holden, esq.
St. John's CoLCamb.
( Earl Brownlow and
i Miss Tyrell.
Bishop of London.
Chr. Tower, esq.
Bishop of London.
Childerditch, V
Cranhaui, R
Okendon, South, R.
Okendon, R
Rainham, V
Rainham, Ch
.Stifford, R
Thurrock, West, V. .
Thurrock, Greys, V.
Upminster, R
Warley, Great, R. . .
Warley, Little, R. . .
Weald, South, R. . •
Do. Ch. of Brentwood
Wennington, R
George W. Curtis . .
0
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 539
CHAP.
XVI.
CHAPTER XVL
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE.
This hundred extends from ChaflPord on the west, to Rochford and Chelmsford Barstable.
hundreds eastward; and from the Thames on the south, to part of Chelmsford hundred
northward; and a narrow portion of this district stretches north-westward between
the hundreds of Chelmsford and Chafford, which is crossed by the London road :
its greatest extent, from north-west to south, is seventeen miles; and from east to
west, eleven. In records the name is written Barstable, Barstaple; and in Domesday,
Berdestapla. It contains the following thirty-four parishes: Doddinghurst, Shenfield,
Huttan, Great Burghsted, Little Burghsted, Ramsden Grays, Ramsden Belhouse,
Downham, East Horndon, West Horndon, with Ging Ralph, Horndon-on-the Hill,
Dunton, Bulvan, Orset, Little Thurrock, Chadwell, West Tilbury, East Tilbury,
Mucking, Stanford le Hope, Coringham, Fobbing, Langdon Hills, Langdon, with
Basildon, Nevendon, Wickford, Pitsey, Buers Gifford, North Bemfleet, South
Bemfleet, Thundersley, part of Canvey Island.
DODDINGHURST.
Tliis parish occupies the north-western extremity of the hundred, on the border Dodding-
of that of Ongar. It is distant from Chelmsford eight, and from London twenty-
two miles.
In the time of Edward the confessor, it belonged to Aluric, and at the survey
to Robert, son of Corbutio, whose under-tenant was Girard. There are two
manors.
The mansion of Doddinghurst Hall is near the church: this manor belonged to Dodding-
Hugh, the fourth earl of Oxford, who died in 1263, and continued in that noble
family till Edward, the last earl, sold it, in 1579, with the advowson of the church,
to Richard Stonely, esq. of whom it was purchased, in 1.599, by Thomas Glascock,
on whose decease, in 1623, he left his only daughter, married to Thomas Luther, esq.
hurst Hall
540
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Dodding-
hurst
Place, or
Kensing-
tons.
CIiuitL,
his heiress: Anthony Luther was their son and heir, who died in 1678. By Dorothy,
his wife, daughter of sir Henry D'Autrey, knt. he had, besides other children, Henry,
his eldest son and heir, whose successor was his son Anthony, who dying without
issue, his widow gave the estate to her niece, Miss Surman. It now belongs to
William Manby, esq.*
The mansion of Doddinghurst Place is on low ground, half a mile north-west from
the church. The time of its being separated from the chief manor is not recorded.
In the reign of queen Elizabeth, it belonged to Richard Stoneley, and by the marriage
of his daugliter, was conveyed to the ancient family of D'Hautrey, by contraction
Dawtrey. Thomas Dawtrey, esq. was sheriff of Essex in 1682, as was also his son
and heir William, in 1736,f who dying unmarried, his large possessions were inherited
by his nephew, Richard Luther, esq. of Myless: this estate now belongs to John
Fane, esq.:}:
The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a plain ancient building, tiled.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to three hundred and fifty-six,
and, in 1831, to three hundred and seventy-two.
I
Shenfield.
Shenfield
Hall.
SHENFIELD.
This parish extends from Doddinghurst on the north-west, and is bounded north-
eastward by the hundred of Chelmsford; from east to west it is computed to be three,
and from north to south, three and a half miles. The Saxon name of Scenpelb, a
pleasant field, is properly applicable to this agreeable district; and the houses, gene-
rally distant from each other, form a pleasant village on the London road between
Mountnessing and Brentwood :§ distant from Chelmsford ten, and from London
nineteen miles.
The lands of this parish, at the close of the Saxon era, belonged to a freeman named
Bodd, and, at the general survey, to Eustace, earl of Boulogne. It was afterwards
divided into two manors.
The manor-house of Shenfield Hall is near the church: the estate belonged to
Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex, who died in 1298, and is believed
to have become the possession of that family on the marriage of his great grandfather,
* An estate incorporated in this manor was, in 1259, holden by Osbert Daggerworth of the king, of
the honour of Rayleigh, in socage, by the service of three arrows, feathered with eagles' feathers, bound
round with a thread of gold.
t Arms of Dawtrey : Azure, three lozenges in fesse, argent.
I A reputed manor named Groves, was given by sir Thomas Bourchier to a chantry in Grace Church,
London, which became the property of earl Waldegrave, in 1739. " Convers," was also a manor which
extended into Navestock, where the name was remembered in Mr. Morant's time.
§ The greater part of the soil of this parish is a fruitful loam.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 541
Henry de Boliun, earl of Hereford, witli Maud, heiress of the house of Mandevillet chap
it remamed in this nohle family till it was conveyed, in 1361, by Eleanor, a co-heiress ^^'•
of Humphrey de Bohun, to her husband, Thomas of Woodstock, sixth son of Edward
the third; and on his murder, in 1397, his daughters Anne, Joan, and Isabel, were
his co-heiresses: of these, Anne became ultimately sole possessor, and is understood
to have been succeeded by her son, Humphrey Stafford, duke of Buckingham, who
beings slain at the battle of Northampton, 10th of July, 1460, this estate was seized
by Edward the fourth, who settled it on Elizabeth, his queen. Afterwards it passed
from the crown, and belonged to Humphrey Tyrell in 1545, and, some lime previous
to 1559, to the Lucas family. In 1556, it was the property of John Lucas, from
whom it passed to his descendants, forming part of the estates of the right hon. Philip
earl Hardwicke, which he received in marriage with the lady Jemima Campbell,
(created marchioness de Grey in 1740) g-rand-daughter to the duke of Kent, into
whose family this estate was brought in marriage by Mary, daughter of John Lucas,
esq. created baron Lucas of Shenfield in 1644. It now belongs to lady baroness
de Grey.
The estate of Fitzwalters is derived from the capital manor, and belonged to the family Fitz-
whose name it bears. The house is on low ground, north-west from the road between
Ingatestone and Brentwood, a mile from the church: it has a very singular appearance,
being nearly of an octangular form, with the chimneys rising in the centre. In front
there is a piece of water, with a neat little bridge, and toward the road are two
porters' lodges. In 1301, Robert lord Fitzwalter had licence to inclose his wood at
Shenfield, to make a park, which is believed to have been this estate; held, in 1363,
by Joan his wife, of the king hi capite, by the service of a pair of gilt spurs, at the
coronation. It belonged to Walter Fitzwalter in 1386, and afterwards was in
possession of the Knyvett family; succeeded by John Morecroft, esq. who erected
the house from an Italian model.* It was the property of sir Thomas Ambrose,f knt.
of Houndsditch, and sheriff of London in 1718 and 1719. Thomas, his son, was
his successor, Avliose son of the same name was sheriff of Essex in 1735. Passing
to a female heir of this family, it became the residence of Pinson Bonham, esq. and
afterwards belonged to Thomas Wright, esq. It is now in the possession of
J. Parker, esq. and belongs to Robert Westley Hall Dare, esq.
The capital messuage of Shenfield Place, on the north side of the London road, Shenfield
belonged for many years to the Vaughan family, and now belongs to the hon. George
William Petre.
There are many estates not manorial, and numerous gentlemen's houses in this as
well as the neighbouring parishes.
• Arms of Morecroft : A horse courant with a bridle tied in a knot, over his shoulders, between three
roses, two and one.
t Arms of Ambrose : Or, three dice, gules, each charged with an ace, argent.
VOL. II. 4 A
Placi
542 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has a nave, north aisle and chancel, to
which there is a north chapel: a spire of wood rises to a considerable height.*
Church. The number of inhabitants in this parish, in 1821, were six hundred and nineteen,
and, in 1831, six hundred and sixty-five.
HUTTON.
Hutton. This parish and small village is about half way on the road from Brentwood to
Billericay. In the reign of the Confessor, it belonged to a freeman named Got, on
whose dispossession by the Conqueror, it was made part of the endowment of Battle
Abbey; and, on the dissolution, was granted to sir Thomas Darcy, in 1539, who the
same year conveyed it to sir Richard Rich, from whose grandson, Edwin Rich, esq.
it was sold to Jerom Weston, escj. from whom it was conveyed to Richard White, esq.
of the family of that name, at Runwell. He married Maud, daughter of sir William
Tyrell, of Heron, and his descendants retained this estate, till in 1628, George, son
of Richard White,-]- esq. sold it to Thomas Cory, esq.J of Franson, in Norfolk, one
of the benchers of the Inner Temple, and prothonotary of the court of Common Pleas;
he died in 1656, leaving, by his wife Judith, daughter of sir Christopher Clithero, knt.
lord mayor of London, his only daughter, married to John Heyward. It after-
wards belonged successively to William Hatherley, of London; to Robert Surman,
esq. cashier of the South-sea company; to Henry Hall, esq. brother of sir Philip
Hall,§ knt. of Upton, who died in 1749, whose son Henry sold it to Benjamin
Booth, esq.
The mansion is a very good building, northward from the church, lately the resi-
dence of James Forbes, esq.; the present owner of the estate is Robert Scholey, esq.
alderman of London.
Chuicli. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a small building, with a wooden steeple,
containing five bells.
This church was retained by Battle Abbey till the dissolution; yet the advowson
Inscii])- * Within the church are inscriptions to the memory of John Ashurst, and Elinor his fourth and last
tions. ^yjfp . j^jjj (jf Waittjr Murrell, who died in 1653, aged seventy-two ; Penelope Morecroft, daughter of John
iMorecroft, esq. high sheriff of Essex, who died in 1677; Charles White, and Elizabeth his wife; she died
in 1735, aged thirty-five; he in 1750, aged sixty-nine.
t Thomas White, of this family, was a secular priest, celebrated for his learning, and esteemed a
distinguished philosopher in the age in which he lived. He died 6th July, 1676, aged ninety-four, and
was buried in the church of St. Martin's-in-the-fields. JVood's Ath. vol. ii. col. 665. Anns of White :
Argent, a chevron gules, with a crescent at the top, between three Cornish choughs, within a borduie
azure byzante of eight, or.
J Arms of Cory : Argent, a chevron gules, charged with five annulets or, between three spread-eagles,
sable. Crest: On a helmet closed a torse argent and gules, a demi-griffin segreant gules, winged, or, on
the inside of the left wing a mullet sable.
§ Arms of Hall : Sable, a chevron between three talbots' heads erased, argent.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 543
of the vicarage belong-ed from time immemorial to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, ^ ^^ ''•
who are the present patrons.*
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to four hundred and eighteen,
which, in 1831, had decreased to three hundred and eighty-one.
GREAT BURGHSTED.
This parish extends eastward from Hutton to the border of the hundred of Chelms- Great
1 -1 Burghsted
ford; from north to south it is computed to be four, and from east to west three miles.
Its general situation is exceedingly pleasant, commanding extensive prospects; and,
from various stations, the shipping may be distinctly seen passing and repassing on
the Thames, at the distance of twelve and fourteen miles.
The village, where the parish church is situated, is two miles distant from Billericay.
Anciently this lordship belonged to the abbot and monks of Stratford Abbey, to whom
king Henry the third, in 1253, granted a market and fair to be held here; and this
grant was confirmed by Edward the first, in 1285; but they were probably discon-
tinued, either previous to or at the time when a similar grant was made to Billericay.
Distant from Chelmsford nine, and from London twenty-three miles.
In Edward the confessor's reign, a Saxon thane named Ingar had this parish, of
which he was dispossessed by the Conqueror, who gave it to his half-brother, Odo,
bishop of Bayeux; on whose disgrace and banishment it became vested in the crown,
and was granted to the family of Mareschall, earls of Pembroke. It was afterwards
divided into three manors.
The mansion of this manor is half a mile east from the church, toward Ramsden Great
Burghsted
Cray. The Cistercian Abbey of Stratford Langthorn had a grange here, which Grange.
accounts for the name; that house had nearly the whole of the parish, which they
retained till their dissolution; and, in 1551, the estate was granted^ by Henry the
eighth, to sir Richard Rich, and retained by his descendants till it was sold, in 1600,
by sir Edwin Rich, to sir John Petre, knt. and his son William. In 1603, sir John
was created baron of Writtle, and died in 1618, possessed of this manor, which has
descended from him to the present lord Petre.
West House was half a mile west from the church, and with the estate to which it Wat
belonged, was included in the grant of the capital manor to sir Richard Rich, who
sold it to Walter Farr, esq.; after whose decease, in 1608, it was conveyed, by pur-
chase, into the family of Lumley, of Great Bardfield, and was sold by the trustees of
* Among the inscriptions in the church are memorials of George White, esq. son of Richard White, Inscrip-
who died 12th June, 1584; Thomas Cory, esq. who died Ifith December, 1056, the monument erected by ^i""^-
"his most sad, dcere wif Judith;" also of the said Judith, who died 6th June, 1663.
George White, esq. in 1.584, left a lield of nine acres for tlie reparation of the church, and for the use Charity,
of the poor of the parish.
544
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Blund's
Walls.
Billeilcay.
BOOK 11. sir James Lumley, to Guy's Hospital. This estate is supposed to be what is now
called Broom Hill, the property of sir Thomas Neave, bart.
This manor is named from the ancient family of Blund, and from earth-works called
Walls, the remains of which are yet visible here.* The mansion is a mile and a half
north-west from the church.
Thoby Priory, in Mountnessing-, had this estate till their dissolution, and it was
p^ranted to cardinal Wolsey in 1525: afterwards coming- to the crown, it was granted,
by Henry the eighth, to sir Richard Page, knt. for the term of his life, without any
account; on whose decease the same monarch, in 1554, sold this estate to sir William
Petre, and it has continued in that noble family to the present time.
Billericay is a chapelry in Great Burghsted, yet quite independent of the mother
church: it had the privilege of a market granted by Edward the fourth, in the year
1476; and Camden describes it as a considerable market-toAvn in his time. It is
pleasantly situated on high ground, from which the Nore and the coast of Kent may
be seen on a clear day; and overlooking an extensive and richly cultivated vale, with
a fine prospect of the surrounding country, which abounds with beautiful scenery.
The town is a great thoroughfare from Chelmsford to Horndon-on-the-Hill, East
Tilbury, and Gravesend; it contains many good houses, and in every part has a neat
and respectable appearance. There are a considerable number of Dissenters here, and
places of worship for Baptists, the society of Friends, and Independents. The chief
trade is in corn, and there is a silk manufactory, which employs a considerable
number of hands.
Lord Petre, who is lord of the manor, holds a court leet and baron annually in
Whitsun week, at the former of which, constables and other officers for the internjil
regulation of the town are appointed; and petty sessions are holden at the market-
house the first and third Tuesday in every month. The market is on Tuesday, and
fairs are held on August 2, and October 7, principally for cattle. The town is distant
from Chelmsford nine, and from London twenty-four miles.f
The episcopal chapel, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, is a substantial brick
building, near the centre of the town: the tower is evidently ancient, but the body
has a more modern appearance. The erection of this chapel was some time after the
year 1342, and Mr. Newcourt recites a passage from bishop Bonner's Register, p. 412,
which seems to prove that this chapel was originally built for the convenience of the
* These remains consist of a ditch and rampart, including about four acres, part of which is inclosed
in a farm-yard : the rampart is considerably above the level of the fields. Several artificial mounts within
the inclosure have been nearly levelled. There have also been discovered here various fragments of urns,
paterae, and other earthen vessels, about three feet below the surface, on a high hill near Billericay,
together with Roman copper coins, and two silver ones, of the emperors Trajan and Adrian. From these
various remains it is inferred tliat-this neighbourhood has been the site of a Roman villa, or small station.
t The manor of Cowbridge, the mansion of which is in Mountnessing, extends into this parish ; and a
considerable portion of the western side of the town of Billericay is within that manor.
Chapel.
f^^9BS»
BilliC3:;~T^. -
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE.
545
inhabitants of the western part of Great Burghsted, when, on account of the inun- t" h a v.
flation of the waters in the winter time, they could not conveniently attend at the ^^ '
parish church.
This chapelry was originally used as a chantry, and endowed with lands for the
support of a chantry priest, who also officiated in the chapel.* It is now supported
by the rental of the pews.
The church of Great Burghsted has a nave and north and south aisles, and the Clnnch.
chancel a north chapel.f There are two ornamented niches on the south of the
communion table, and the entrance door on the north has a pointed arch, with highly
ornamented mouldings.
The Walton family were many years seated in this parish: Charles, commonly ^Valton
called captain Walton, died in 1714, and had one son and two daughters, of whom
Foley, was married to Richard Onslow, esq. general of his majesty's forces, and
younger brother of Arthur Onslow, esq. speaker of the House of Commons. The
brave George Walton, knt. admiral of the blue, who died in 1739, was an honour
both to his family and country.:}:
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to one thousand, eight hundred and
sixty-one; and, in 1831, to one thousand, nine hundred and seventy-seven.
LITTLE BURGHSTED.
This parish, extending south-west from Great Burghsted, has been sometimes named Littlf
West Burghsted: the village consists of a few scattered houses, nearly two miles from '"^'""' "^ "^"
Billericay. Godwin was lord of this manor in the time of Edward the confessor, and
* The chapel and the chantry lands were sold, by king Henry the sixth, to Tyrell ; who, reserving
the lands for himself, sold the chapel to the inhabitants of Billericay, for whose use it was vested in
trustees ; but it not being certainly known whether this sacred edifice had ever been properly consecrated,
the inhabitants surrendered their legal right to Henry, bishop of London, on the 30th of August 1693-
and, on the 8th of October following, lie consecrated and dedicated it to St. Mary Masrdalen, with tlie
usual privileges belonging to ancient chapels, but reserving to the mother church all her rights.
t In this churcli there are monuments and inscriptions to the memory of Felton Neville, esq. ; Joseph Inscrip-
Fishpool, gent, of Billericay, who died in 1659, and of Anne his wife : also several of the family of ^''^'"•'*-
Thresher, of this parish ; and of the family of Tyrell, the lineal ancestors of the present sir John Tyrell.
Rev. Bayley, rector of North Benfleet, left an estate of twenty pounds per annum, for tlie education
of ten poor children of this parish.
There is also an almshouse for poor females, and a well-conducted workhouse.
♦ This brave man signalised himself on many occasions, particularly at the destruction of tlie Spanish
fleet, near Messina, in 1718. His letter on that event to sir George Byng, is as follows : —
Sir, " We have taken and destroyed all the Spanish ships and vessels whicli were upon tlie coast,
number as per margin. — I am, &c. G. Walton, 16th Aug. 1718. Canterbury, off Syracuse." The number
was: taken, four sixty-gun ships, one of fifty-four, one of forty, and another of twenty-four; a bomb
vessel, and another laden with arms : burnt, one of fifty-four, two of forty, and another of thirty guns,
with a gun vessel and fire-ship. u4ccount of the Expedition of the British Fleet to Sicily, ^c. 8vo. p, 19, 20.
Sir George was knighted 15th Jan. 1720. Arms of Walton : Seme de luce, a mullet on the dexter part.
546
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
White
Hall.
BOOK 11. at the general survey it belong-ed to the bishop of London, whose successors have
retained the capital manor, with the patronage of the rectory.
The manor of White Hall was in the family of Helion in the reign of Henry the
second, and passed in succession to Gilbert de St. Owen, in 1301: Humphrey de
Walden, who died in 1331, and Andrew, his heir, son of- his brother Roger: to
Humphrey de Bohun, who died in 1372; and to Robert Pekenham in 1377, from
whose descendants it was conveyed to the ancient family of Tyrell, of whom sir
Thomas Tyrell died possessed of it in 1476. It now belongs to the earl of Arran.
This is the name of another manor, which was holden by sir Thomas Tyrell of the
king, as of his duchy of Lancaster, by the rent of twopence. The manor-house of
this estate is half a mile west from the church, and near it is a house belonging to an
estate named South Fields, which, with White Hall and St. Margarets, descended to
the heirs of sir John Tyrell, bart. and were retained by his descendants till conveyed,
by marriage, to the present owner, the earl of Arran.
The church is small, and in an obscure situation ; it has thirty-one acres, three roods,
and seven perches of glebe lands.*
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and one, and, in
1831, to two hundred and four.
.St. Mar-
garet's.
Church.
Ramsden
Crav.
Ramsden
Cray
Manor,
RAMSDEN CRAY.
This parish, named in Domesday Ramesdan, extends northward from the Burgh-
steds, and is in length three miles, and in breadth one. The village is small: distant
from Brentwood nine, and from Lopdon twenty-five miles.
In Edward the confessor's reign, part of these lands belonged to two freemen, and
the other portion belonged to Siric : of these possessions, one was deprived by Raven-
gar, and the other by Robert, son of Wimarc. At the time of the snrvey, they be-
longed to Odo, bishop of Bayeux, and Ralph, brother of Ilger. There were two
manors, which are noAv united, and Tyled Hall is the manor-house.
The manor-house is south from the church: this estate consists of the lands
which belonged to Odo. Simon de Crei was the owner of it in 1262, as was
also a second Simon, of the same family, who died in 1305; in 1332, it belonged
to John de Liston, and, in 1363, was conveyed from Thomas, son of William
Inscrip-
tions.
Charities.
* Among the inscription.s in the church are memorials of Christopher Herris, .son and heir of Chris-
topher Herris, esq. of Shentield and INIargaretting, by his wife, sole daughter of sir Harbottle Grimston,
knt. and hart, who died March HifiG : the hon. .sir George Walton, late admiral of the blue, who died in
Nov. I7.S9, aged seventy-four. Also other memorials of the same family.
There are three almshouses in this parish, and twenty shillings are given yearly to the poor at Christmas,
called Pancras money, charged upon lands ; and also five shillings in bread, at Whitsuntide. Rev. W.
Dunbar, rector of this parish, left twenty pounds a year to the succeeding rectors, payable out of an
estate called Braintrees, near Braintree.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 547
de Liston, to sir Thomas Tyrell, of East Horndon, in whose descendants it continued, (j h a f.
till, in 1630, it was conveyed, hy sir John Tyrell, to William Walton, esq. of Little ^^^'
Burg-hsted; and, some time after the year 1700, his descendant of the same name, and
brother of admiral Walton, sold the estate to Richard, earl of Scarborough ; and he,
in 1718, sold it to John Hopkins, esq.
The manor of Tyled Hall is apparently that part of the parish which belonged to 'I'yled
Ralph, brother of Ilger, at the survey: the mansion is half a mile north from the
church. In 1372, it belonged to Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex,
and was hold en, under this family, by John de Vere, earl of Oxford; and by his son
and successor, Thomas, in 1358 and 1370. It was in the possession of Roger Mor-
timer, earl of March, in 1398; under whom it was holden by Hamo de Chevre; and
afterwards passed, with the capital manor, to the families of Tyrell, Walton, and
Hopkins. The united manors now belong to T. B. Batard, esq.
The church is a small ancient building, with a belfry and spire, and a small gallery cinucli.
has been erected.
In 1821, the number of inhabitants in this parish amounted to two hundred and
seventy-six, and, in 1831, had decreased to two hundred and seventy-two.
RAMSDEN BELHOUSE.
This parish is four miles in length and one in breadth; bounded on the east by the Ramsden
Belhoust.
hundred of Chelmsford : distant from Billericay four, and from London twenty-six miles.*
Before the Conquest, the lands of this parish were held by Godric, and three free-
men; and at the survey belonged to the bishop of London and Robert Gernoii.
Afterwards it was made to form two manors.
The mansion of Ramsden Belhouse is north-west from the church : the estate is Kajui^^len
what belonged to the bishop of London. In the reign of king Henry the second, manor.
Reinfred de Bruer was possessed of this estate; which, in 1200, formed part of the
possessions of Richard de Belhus, of Alveley. In 1375, sir Thomas de Belhouse
died without issue, and left his sister, married to John Castelayn, esq. his heiress ;
whose only daughter Margaret, conveyed his estates in marriage to Robert Knivet,
esq. son of sir John Knivet, lord chancellor ; from whose descendants it was con-
veyed, in 1388, to the Clopton family: and, in 1662, the estate and advowson of the
church belonged to sir Jacob Gerard, knt. and bart., whose heir was his son Thomas,
living in 1686; succeeded by his second son, sir Nicholas Gerard, who married
Cecilia, daughter of sir Edwyn Steed, knt.; but having no issue, his estates descended
to his heir at law, sir Jacob Gerard Downing, bartf
* ITie soil is strong and heavy. Average annual produce per acre; wheat, twenty-two; barley, thirty-
two bushels. The river Crouch runs through this parish,
t For an account of this family, see the English Baronetage, edit. 1727, vol. ii. p. 31U.
548 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Robert Gernon had this portion of the parish at the time of the survey: it was
Ramsden afterwards in the Belhouse family, from whom it was conveyed, by the marriage o
ton '^"^' -^lice, daughter of sir Richard de Belhouse, to sir Nicholas Barrington, of Barrington
Hall, in Hattield Broad Oak, who gave his brother the capital manor of this parish ;
and to his son, sir Philip Barrington, he gave this estate. Sir Philip, his youngest
son, from whose descendants, Nicholas, John, and a second John, who left an only
daughter Thomasine, it passed to the noble family of Bohun. Humphrey de Bohun
died in 1372, and left two daughters co-heiresses; Eleanor, the eldest, was married to
Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, and had by him Anne, and two other
daughters, who dying without issue, the whole half of the inheritance centered in
Anne, who was married, first, to Thomas, then to Edmund, both successively earls of
Stafford; and afterwards to William Bourchier, earl of Eu, by whom she had Henry
Bourchier, earl of Essex. On partition of the estates of Humphrey de Bohun, be-
tween this Anne, and king Henry the fifth, son of Mary, the other daughter and co-
heiress of Thomas of Woodstock, this estate fell to the share of Anne, and was dis-
united from the duchy of Lancaster, to which it had been annexed by Henry the fifth,
in 1414. W^ alter Devereux, lord Ferrers of Chartley, as heir to Anne, marchioness
of Northampton, had this estate in 1570; which he soon afterwards sold to Edmund
Tyrell, esq. of Beches, in Rawreth; and his heirs, in 1625, sold it to sir Edmund
Wright, alderman of London; of whom it was purchased by sir Thomas Cheek, in
1640; from whom it descended, as the manor of Pergo, to Thomas Archer, esq. in
right of his wife. The estate now belongs to Philip Francis, esq.
Church, The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is small, with a steeple and spire.*
In 1821, this parish contained four hundred and fifteen, and, in 1831, four hundred
and thirty- eight inhabitants.
DOWNHAM.
Down- This parish is bounded on the west by Ramsden Belhouse, and on the east by the
hundred of Chelmsford: distant from Billericay four, and from London twenty-seven
miles.
Downham is not found in Domesday book, except, as is conjectured, it was included,
at that time, in Ramsden Belhouse, and was the estate in that parish which was
holden by Anchetil, of Robert Gernon. There are three manors.
The mansion is south-east from the church, and the estate belonged to a family sur-
named De Ramsden, about the close of the reign of king John, or the commencement
of that of Henry the third. In 1263, Hugh de Vere, earl of Oxford, died in pos-
session of this manor, which, in 1329, belonged to Thomas de Vere, son of Robert,
* Twenty shillings yearly were given out of an acre and a half of land joining to the chapel yard in
Barringtons, to find bread and wine for the sacrament.
Down-
ham Hall.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 549
sixth earl of Oxford; and it continued in this family till, in 1584, it was sold to Henry c h a i'
Attslow, son and heir of Edward Attslow, M. D. and, in 1622, Henry Attslow died '
(
in possession of it, leaving Edward, his son, his heir; whose daughter and heiress,
Helen, by marriag-e, conveyed it to sir William Andrew, bart. who died in 1684.
Sir Francis Andrew was his son and heir; who, in 1698, sold this estate to Francis
Piatt, esq. of the victualling- office: who, dying in 1714, without issue, his three sis-
ters and co-heiresses, sold it to Osmond Beauvoir, esq. of Balms, in Hackney, sheriff
of Essex in 1742; and he, on his decease, left his son his heir. R. B. de Beauvoir,
esq. is the present owner of the estate.
This manor is believed to be, what in Domesday is named Bertuna. It first ap- Berne
pears in records in 1330, at that time holden by John de Rochford ; who was suc-
ceeded by his son, sir Thomas. In 1392, it belonged to Alianor Dersham : it after-
wards again returned to the Rochford family, and to that of Bayning : Paul viscount
Bayning left an only daughter his heiress, married to Aubrey de Vere, the twentieth
and last earl, upon whose decease, without issue, her noble inheritance was divided
among her four aunts.
The mansion of Tremnales is a large ancient building, a mile and a half north from Trem-
the church, vulgarly named Famnals. Sir Thomas Tyrell held this manor in 1476;
and sir John Tyrell, one of his descendants, having no issue, sold it, in 1627, to sir
Henry Browne, knt. of Writtle, and Edward Strode, esq. of the Inner Temple, for
their lives, and to the longest liver of them. The estate afterwards belonged to sir
Thomas Raymond, knt. one of the justices of the King's Bench; who was succeeded
by his son, also lord chief-justice ; and, in 1732, by his grandson, Robert, lord Ray-
mond. Benjamin Disbrow,* sheriff of Essex in 1689, was the next owner of this
manor, which continued in possession of his descendants many years. It now belongs
to William Manby, esq.
* He was the seventh son of the celebrated major-general John Disbrow, a yeoman at the com-
mencement of the disputes between Charles the first and the parliament ; who having married one of the
four sisters of Oliver Cromwell, exchanged the spade for the sword, to gain power and influence in the
army. He was made colonel of a regiment of horse, one of the four commanders of the fleet in the Dutch
war, commissary-general of the horse, major-general of several counties in the west of England, &c. He
was also one of Cromwell's council, one of the commissioners of his treasury, one of the lords of the
cinque ports ; of both the committees of safety, and a member of the council of state; most of which were
very profitable places. As one of the council, he had one thousand pounds a-year; as general at sea, one
thousand and ninety-five pounds ; as colonel of horse, four liundred and seventy-four pounds, ten shil-
lings ; as major-general of the western counties, six hundred and sixty-six pounds, thirteen shillings, and
fourpence; in all, three thousand two hundred and thirty-six pounds, three shillings, and fourpence. He
earnestly opposed Oliver Cromwell's taking the title of king; and persuaded Richard Cromwell to dis-
solve the parliament. — See IVhitelocke's Memorials ; Ludlow's Memoirs, 8vo. edit. vol. ii. p. 470, 479, &c.;
flood's Fasti, edit. 1721, vol. ii. col. 89. Arms of Disbrow : Argent, a fesse between three bears' heads
muzzled, erased, sable.
VOL. II. 4 B
550 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
|{()(.'K II. Xhe church, dedicated to St. Margaret, is a small ancient building, with a handsome
Church, square tower.*
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to three hundred and fifteen, which,
in 1831, had decreased to two hundred and seventy-one.
East
Horndon.
Heion, or
Heme
Hall.
Abbots.
Inscrip-
tions.
EAST HORNDON.
This is one of three parishes named Horndon, taken from a lordship which was
imdivided at the time of the general survey, and named in records Horninduna,
Torninduna, Torenduna, and, in Saxon, Hojinbon. These lands have been divided
into East Horndon, West Horndon, and Horndon-on-the-Hill. East Horndon is
three miles from Brentwood, and twenty-two from London.
In Edward the confessor's reign, the lands of East Horndon belonged to a king's
thane, named Alwin; Aluric, a priest; and Godwin, a freeman; and, at the time of
the survey, they were in the possession of Suene of Essex, and the bishop of London,
and Odo, bishop of Bayeux, had twenty acres. Suene's under-tenants were Siric and
Pagan. These lands were afterwards divided into two manors.
A heronry at this place is believed to have been the origin of the name of the manor,
and also of the surname of the most ancient proprietors on record. The mansion
Avas a mile north from the church, surrounded by a moat; it was pulled down about
the year 1790, with the exception of two round towers, Avhich yet remain; and a
spacious farm-house has been erected. It became the property of the Tyrell family,
by the marriage of Margaret, daughter and heiress of sir William Heron; in 1363,
Thomas Tyrell had licence to impark four hundred acres in Thorndon, and John
Tyrell had this manor in 1413. The next owner mentioned in the inquisitions was
sir Thomas Tyrell, who died in 1476. Sir Thomas, his son and heir, died in 1510;
succeeded by Thomas Tyrell, esq. who died in 1540; his brother, sir Henry Tyrell,
also held it in 1588; as did his sou Thomas in 1591, from whom it passed to his
descendants, and now belongs to earl Arran, who had it in marriage with the daughter
of sir John Tyrell.
This manor belonged to Walthara Abbey, and was in consequence named Abbots;
it is also called Low Horndon, frqm its situation on ground below the church : it
* Among the inscriptions in this church, are memorials of " Good sir Henry Terrell, knt. and dame
Thomasine, his wife, who died -iOth May, 1588;" Joyce, wife of John Tyrrel, esq. and daughter to John
Baker, esq. who died June, loOi; Wingfieid Atslow, third son of Edward Atslow, docteur of phisicke,
aged three years, ob. J 7th April, 1584; sir William Andrew, bart. who died 15th August, 1684; Benjamin
Disbrow, esq. who died 21st Feb. 1707 ; Sarah Norden, wife of Benjamin Disbrow, esq. ; she had formerly
been the wife of Andrew Sane, merchant, of Dort, in Holland, and afterwards the wife of Cornelius Van-
den Anker, of London, merchant. She left one daughter, Cornelia Vander Anker, and died 9th April,
1692. On a black marble monument, an inscription to the memory of sir Thomas Raymond, knt. justice
of the King's Bench, who died I4th July, 1683, aged 57.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 561
belonged to Suene of Essex at the time of the survey, and on the forfeiture of his c H a p.
grandson, Henry de Essex, passing to the crown, was granted, by king Henry the ^^'"
second, to Henry, son of Gervase de Cornhull, whose heir held it in 1166; and
which Joan, his daughter and heiress, conveyed in marriage to her husband, Hugh
de Nevill, in 1195; and he, with the good-will and advice of his son, granted this
estate to the canons of Waltham Holy Cross, to pray for his soul, and the soul of his
wife Joan; and the souls of his heirs and successors. In 1210, sir William de
Tormdon, or Torindon, held this manor; Desiderata, his daughter, was married to
Robert de St. John; and had by him, Agnes, to whom her grandfather sir William
gave some assart lands in this parish, named Damhelins, which she granted to the
abbot and canons of Waltham, and which afterwards passed Avith this manor ; which,
in 1544, was granted or sold, by the name of the manor of Est Thorndon, with
appertenances in Est Thorndon, and Damhelins, to sir William Petre. Afterwards,
in 1551, Damhelins was purchased of sir William by John Tyrell, esq. but Abbots
has remained in the Petre family.
The church is a small brick building, apparently erected at different periods; it has Church.
a tower at the west end, strengthened by massy buttresses. The central part of the
building consists of a nave, north and south aisles, and a chancel, in which there is an
octangular ceiling of wood, ornamented with carved shields of arms, roses, and other
figures : on the south are chapels of the Tyrell and Petre families. On the north
there are also two chapels, one of which is much ornamented. The font is formed of
a square massy stone, carved with intersecting arches, and other ornaments: it is
dedicated to All Saints.*
In 1821, the inhabitants of this parish amounted to four hundred and fifty-nine,
and, in 1831, had diminished to four hundred and thirty-eight.
WEST HORNDON.
This parish lies westward from East Horndon; in records it is sometimes named ^^'es*
Little Horndon, or Thorndon, in Saxon, Dojinbon and Hopnbon; in Domesday
written Torninduna, and Horninduna.
* There are several of the monuments yet remaining which have been described by Weever, in whicli Insirlp-
the following persons are commemorated : Thomas Tyrell, son and heir of John Tyrell, knt. and dame ^'O""-
Aunehis vvyf, daughter of sir William Marney, knt. On the east window: " Tyrell, knt. and dame ,
and for all soulys schudd be preyd for ; i)rcy for the welfar of the sayd Thomas Tyrell, knt. Alice his wyf,
and for all christen soules."
In the south chapel, on a grave stone, is a Latin inscription, of which the following is a translation :
" Upon him once decimated, twice imprisoned, thrice sequestered ; he holds his peace as oft as plundered.
Here lieth buried John Tyrell, knt. He died in the year 1645, aged eighty-two. (He was a great sufferer
for his loyalty to king Charles the first.) Dame Martha, his wife, died 27th Dec. 1670, in the ninety-
eighth year of her age."
552 HISTOR'Y OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. In the time of Edward the confessor, it was, according to the record, possessed by
two freemen, and at the survey had been granted to Edmund, son of Algot. The
next recorded possessors were the families of De Thany, Brianzon, Drokensford, and
Neville: it was holden under Roger Mortimer, earl of March, by John Noyl (Neville)
at the time of his decease in 1360. From this period the accounts are obscure or
contradictory, till the time of king Henry the sixth, when it had become the property
of a family surnamed Lewis John, about this time first mentioned in the records
relatino- to Essex, as having large possessions here; and in the pedigree of the noble
family of Mordaunt, earls of Peterborough, it is stated that in the reign of king
Henry the seventh, John Mordaunt, esq. married Ellen, daughter and heiress of sir
Richard Fitz-Lewis; which family, we are informed, were derived from Lewis the
eighth, who was invited here by the barons in the time of king John. During his
stay he had an intrigue with an English lady, co-heiress to a great estate, by whom
he had a son, named Lewis Fitz-Lewis. This lady was afterwards married to a
nobleman, from whom some of our greatest families are descended. Lewis Fitz-
Lewis married Margaret of Essex, and had by her sir John Fitz-Lewis, who acquired
fame and knighthood in the first war with Scotland, but was slain at Boroughbrid^e,
fighting in the Lancastrian cause against Edward the second; his estates were there-
fore confiscated: having married Elizabeth de Harpenden, he left by her his son, sir
Richard Fitz-Lewis, to whom the family possessions were restored by king Edward
the third. He married Elizabeth le Baude, by whom he had sir John Fitz-Lewis, of
West Horndon, who, in the inquisition is called Lodowick John, and died possessed
of this manor and other estates in 1442. He married, first, Elizabeth, daughter of
Robert Neville, by whom he had Elizabeth, married to sir John Wingfield; secondly,
he married Alicia, daughter of John de Vere, twelfth earl of Oxford, by whom he
had sir Lewis Fitz-Lewis, and sir Henry Fitz-Lewis. The latter, a brave knight,
magnanimously supporting the Lancastrian interest: he married Mary, second sister
and co-heiress of Edmund Beaufort, duke of Somerset, by whom he had Mary, his
daughter and heiress, first married to Anthony Woodville, earl Rivers, and afterwards
to sir John Neville, a natural son of the earl of Westmoreland, to whom she bore Anne,
married to sir John Markham. Sir John Lewis Fitz-Lewis married, thirdly, Anne,
daughter of John Montacute, earl of Salisbury, and had by her Lodowick, or Lewis
John, who appears to have had this estate, which, on his attainture for adhering to
the house of Lancaster, was given, by Edward the fourth, to his brother Richard,
duke of Gloucester. Sir Lewis John Fitz-Lewis married Margaret Stonor, by whom
he had sir Richard Fitz-Lewis, to whom the family estates were restored: he married
Mary, daughter and co-heiress of John Harleston, esq. and had by her John, and a
daughter named Ella, or Ellen. John Fitz-Lewis, esq. married Anne, daughter of
sir Robert Lovel; but on his wedding-night, he and his bride were destroyed by a
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE.
553
disastrous fire, which consumed the ancient manor-house of West Horndon Hall, chap
In consequence of this event, Ella Fitz-Lewis being a great heiress, sir John Mor- ^^^'
daunt gave thirteen thousand marks for her wardship, and married her: she died in
1543, in possession of nearly all the estates formerly belonging to her great grand-
father, sir John Fitz-Lewis, amounting to five hundred marks a year, which descended
to her son, Lewis Mordaunt, who, at the time of her decease, was only five years of
age. The estate afterwards became the property of sir William Petre.*
This princely residence of the noble family of Petre is on an eminence, in an ex- Thomdon
tensive park: the mansion is of white brick, built from designs, and under the direction, "^'''
of the celebrated architect, Paine. It consists of a centre, and two wings, connected
by circular corridors. The approach from Brentwood is to the west front, which is
of plain appearance; but there is a noble portico on the east, with six beautiful Corin-
thian pillars, fluted: the lawn falls in a gentle slope, and commands an exceedingly
fine prospect into Kent, across the Thames. The hall is a magnificent apartment,
forty feet square, the roof supported by eighteen columns, covered with a composition
resembling marble, by Wyatt. Various fine portraits of the Petre family ornament
the dining-room, in which there are also portraits of Henry the eighth, and Edward
the sixth (supposed by Holbein) James the second, earl Darnley, Joan of Arc, the
duke of Buckingham, and some others. There is a fine painting of St. Katharine in
the state bed-room; the drawing-room measures thirty-eight feet by twenty-six, and
is ornamented by portraits of the dowager lady Petre, and Mrs. Onslow, by Cosway.
A very handsome apartment is appropriated to the library; it is over the east corridor,
and resembles a semi-circular gallery, ornamented with several models of cattle,
executed by Garrard, for lord Petre; and elegant busts of Charles James Fox,
R. J. Petre, and R. E. Petre. The saloon measures sixty feet by thirty, and contains
a great number of portraits. The right wing is occupied by the chapel, which is
fitted up with great elegance, and decorated with a fine painting of the Nativity,
brought from Rome. Thorndon Hall is distant from Brentwood three, and from
London twenty-three miles.
GING RALPH.
Ging Ralph, vulgarly Ingrave. The Saxon Geing,f and Ralph, its owner at the time G'mg
of the survey, accounts for the name of this parish, i. e. " Ralph's Ing, or meadow."
In records the name is written Ging Raff, Ginges Radulfi, Ging ad Radulphura,
Raufre Yengrave.
• The account of the Petre family is given at Writtle, vol. i. p. 177 : besides this, their other seats are
Buckenham House, Norfolk ; and Dunket Hall, Lancashire. Town residence, 3, Mansfield Street.
t This is one of five neighbouring parishes ending or beginning with ing, or ging, viz. Ging Ralph,
Mountneys-ing, Ing-att-stone, Friern-ing, Margaret-ing.
554 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
iiuoK II. ^[jg manor-house is near the site of the ancient church. This lordship was holden
Ging of the barony of Swainscamp, by the family of Montchensy; and on failure of the
** "^ ' ^ male line of the oldest branch of that house, in the time of Edward the first, it was
given by that king to his sixth son, Edmond of Woodstock, earl of Kent; and, in
1284, William de Montchency held this estate, which, in 1281, was in the possession
of Reginald de Ginges; and, in 1314, his son John, and Margery his wife, passed
this estate by fine, after their decease, to Richard Gossalin, in right of Alice his wife,
said, to have been a daughter and heiress of John de Ginges. They held them in
1330: sir Richard Gossalin died previous to the year 1353, and it was in the pos-
session of Robert Gossalin in 1388,* and this family became extinct here previous to
the year 1420; the estate being conveyed by the marriage of an heiress to Lodowick,
or Lewis John, whose descendant, sir Lewis Fitz-Lewis, forfeited it to the crown,
and it was given to Richard duke of Gloucester, on whose defeat and death at the
battle of Bosworth, king Henry the seventh restored this manor to sir Richard Fitz-
Lewis, who presented to the rectory from 1494 to 1519. It was afterwards conveyed,
by the marriage of Ella Fitz-Lewis, to sir John Mordaunt, of whose family it was
purchased by sir William Petre, from whom it has descended to the present lord
Petre.f
Church. On the union of the livings, a new church was erected in 1734, at the charge
of Robert James, lord Petre: it is a plain brick building, situated at nearly an equal
distance from either of the ancient churches. The church of West Horndon was
below the hall, and that of Ging Ralph at the distance of two miles : they were each
of them dedicated to St. Nicholas.:f
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to forty-five; increased to sixty-
three in 1831.
* This family name is written variously, Godsaline, Godsalf, Godselm, Goshalm, Gosholme, Gossalin,
Gossalyne, Goselyn, Gosselyne.
t An estate named Field House, which passed with Ging Ralph to lord Petre, had previously, in the
reign of Henry the fourth, belonged to the family of Coggeshall.
I There is an inscription in Latin over the west door of the church, of which the following is a trans-
lation : " Sacred to God and St. Nicholas, Robert James Petre, baron of Writtle, on the union of the
parishes of West Horndon and Ingrave, by act of parliament, built this church, 1734."
Inscrip- ^^ the old church below the hall, there was an elegant monument of black marble, with an escutcheon,
tions. and the representation of a female kneeling, between two children ; these figures had been so much
injured, that they could not be placed in the new church ; it was for a female of the Southcott family.
Two stones belonging to the family of Fitz-Lewis have been removed into the new church ; they are
covered with male and female figures, and coats of arms. One of these bears an imperfect inscription
which Mr. Salmon endeavours to render intelligible, and translates as follows : " Here lieth Margaret,
wife .... daughter of Lewis John, knt. son of Jolin Fitz-Lewis, and Anne his wife, afterwards the wife
of the most noble lord John, late duke of Exeter, which Margaret died 17th day of August, A.D. 1400."
HUNDRED OF BARS TABLE. 555
CHAP.
HORNDON ON THE HILL, XVI.
This parish is on a hill, from which the prospect of the surrounding country is of Horndon
wide extent, and very beautiful ; and from the highest part of this eminence a valley hIii^^
is seen extending either way, in which London appears at a remote distance, with
Tilbury Fort, Gravesend, the coast of Kent, and numerous villages on the Essex side
of the Thames, to the Nore and Sheerness, thirty miles either way. The parish is
three miles in length from north to south, two in breadth from east to west, and eight
miles in circumference.
The village is small ; it had formerly a market on Saturdays, and fairs in June and
July, for wool, which, if not discontinued, have sunk into insignificance: distant from
Brentwood ten, and from London twenty-four miles.
Uluric, a freeman, had the lands of this parish previous to the Conquest, and, at the
survey, they were holden by Eustace, earl of Boulogne, whose under-tenant was
named Garner. It was afterwards divided into three manors.
The mansion of Ardern Hall is a good old brick building, at the eastern extremity Aidern
of the town. This is the largest manor, and its most ancient owners, after earl ^ '
Eustace, were the family of De Arden, from whom the place has been named. The
families of Fabel, Shaa, and Pooley, were the owners of this estate in succession;
William Pooley, esq. of the Pooleys of Boxled, in Suffolk, who died in 1587, had
this estate; and lady Anne Pooley enjoyed it in 1635. It was afterwards purchased
by the Kingsman family, and belonged to Benjamin Kingsman, esq. in 1770: it now
belongs to Theobald, esq.
The manor-house of MalgrefFs is a mile from the town, on the left of the road to Malgreflfs,
Langdon hills: the estate belonged to Arnulph Malegrefe in 1200, who, as the graves.
record states, in that year paid two marks to the scutage of Normandy. It remained
in this family till toward the close of the fifteenth century, and in 1550 was purchased
by sir John Tyrell. It was in the possession of Edward Archer, esq. in 1600; and
Anne, daughter of Thomas Andrews, of London, conveyed it in marriage to her
husband, Thomas Cotton, esq. of Conington, in Cambridgeshire, from whom it de-
scended to their daughter and heiress, Frances, wife of Dingley Askam, esq. of
Conington, the owner of this estate in 1772. It now belongs to Mrs. Baker.
The mansion of this manor is a mile north from the church. The estate was de- Wythficld.
tached from the other parts of the parish as early as the time of king Edward the
third; in 1337, it belonged to Maud, wife of John de Handloe, and to Humphrey
de Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex in 1372; and it was holden of him by Abel
de Withfield, from whom it took its name. Thomas Sampken, esq. and Christopher
Cibborn, esq. succeeded; and the estate passed afterwards into the possession of
Thomas Wright, esq. who settled it on his wife Esther for life, then on Simon, his
)56
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. son and heir. Geofrey Tucker, esq. had it afterwards, who sold it to William
Vernon, esq. and it was afterwards purchased of Jasper Kingsman, esq. of the Middle
Temple.
Thomas Highbed, yeoman, who was burnt here for heresy, in the reign of queen
Mary the first, on the 26th of March, 1555, had a messuage and sixty acres of land
called Horndon House, and a cottage.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is pleasantly situated near the centre of the
town. It has a nave, north aisle, and chancel, with a tower of stone, and a wooden
spire.*
This church belonged to the abbess and nuns of Barking, and was, with the ad-
vowson of the vicarage, granted, by Henry the eighth, to the dean and chapter of St.
Paul's, who are the present owners.
The number of inhabitants in this parish, in 1821, was four hundred and twenty;
increased to five hundred and eleven in 1831.
Horndon
House.
Church.
Dunton.
Dunton
Hall.
DUNTON.
This parish lies between east Horndon and Horndon on the Hill, and extends two
miles and a half from north to south, and from east to west about three quarters of a
mile. Distant from Brentwood six, and from London twenty- four miles.
Ulwin, a priest, and a freeman held these lands in the Confessor's reign; and, at
the survey, they formed part of the possessions of Odo, bishop of Bayeux; and God-
win Gudhen had seized what had belonged to Ulwin. It was afterwards divided into
two manors.
On Odo's being deprived of his possessions, the Conqueror gave this manor to the
abbey of Bee, in Normandy: Negal de Albini gave lands here to that abbey in the
time of Henry the second, and afterwards became a monk of that foundation, where
he died. Dunton Hall was holden of the abbey by Humphrey de Walden, in 1331,
and by John de Vere, in 1358. This manor belonging to an alien priory was seized,
either by king Edward the third or Henry the fifth, but to whom it was immediately
granted is not known. The advowson was in the family of Inglefield, who presented
* Among the monumental inscriptions are memorials of the following persons : Of Jaspar Kingsman,
of the Middle Temple, and of this parish, who died 24th June, 1686, aged thirty-six. Also of several
others of the same family : also of the Caldwell family, who formerly had possessions here.
On the south wall : " In memory of Thomas Ashen, A.M. born in this neighbourhood, who finished his
education at Cambridge; lived piously and died resigned, in 1684. Also Frances, his beloved wife, was
buried here in 1694." On a decayed monument is the following: —
Take, gentle marble, to thy trust,
And keep unmix'd this sacred dust ;
Grow moist sometimes, that I may see
Thou weep'st in sympatljy with me ;
And when by him I here shall sleep,
My ashes also safely keep.
And from rude hands preserre us both, until
We rise to Sion's mount, from Horndon on the Hill."
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE.
557
to the living- from 1422 to 1431, and is therefore supposed to have had the estate. In C H a p.
1442, sir Lewis John died possessed of it, and, in 1467, it was given, hy Edward the L_
fourth, with the advowson, to Thomas Wilmot (vicar of Ashford, in Kent) and his
successors, to provide two fit chaplains, and two secular clerks, to pray in that church,
for the said king and a few others, during their lives; and after their decease for their
souls, and the souls of the near relations of that king, and of several of his friends slain
at the battles of Northampton, St. Albans, and Sherborn. After the suppression of
alien priories, this estate became vested in the provost and fellows of King-'s College,
Cambridge, who presented to the church in 1532, and have retained the manor and
advowson to the present time.
The manor of Friern belongs to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in London; the Fiiem.
house is in a low situation, half a mile north from the church.
A capital messuage named Dunton Waylet, was holden of King's College by Dimton
George Dry wood, esq. who died in 1603. ''^ ^*
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is pleasantly situated on rising ground; Church,
it has a nave and chancel, and a wooden belfry, with a spire.
In 1821, this parish contained one hundred and thirty- three, which, in 1831, had
increased to one hmidred and seventy-three inhabitants.
BULFAN, or BULVAN.
The parish of Bulfan lies south from Dunton, and extends westward to the brook, Buifan.
which, in its course to Purfieet by the reflux of the tide, considerably overflows the
country producing the marsh lands of Orset, and Bulfan fens; and there is a tradition
that formerly, in high tides, boats could sail up this stream as far as Orsett hall. From
east to west the parish extends three miles, and from north to south, a mile and a halt.
Distant from Brentwood seven, and from London twenty-five miles.
Anciently this parish belonged to the nunnery of Barking, and the manor and
advowson were retained by that house till the dissolution of monasteries.
The hall is near the east end of the church, and has been sold from the manor : Bulfan
• 1 1 • -i ^ 1 ^ • I'll Hall, and
Wick house is on low ground, eastward; in 1540 it was granted, with the manor, the Wick.
by Henry the eighth, to Edward Bury, who held this estate, Railey park, and the
lodge, at the time of his decease, in 1630. Henry Bury and Jasper Kingsman pre-
sented to this living in 1692, and the advowson and the manor were shared between
their families. The estate now belongs to the Bonham family.
Bulfan church is a small ancient building, dedicated to the Virgui Mary. It has Chmch
a wooden belfry and spire. On the south of the chancel are some remains of a
chapel.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and forty-two,
which, in 1831, had decreased to two hundred and thirty-six.
VOL. II. 4 c
558
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Orsett.
ORSETT.
Orsett
Hall.
The Saxon Hopj-hie^, the Horse's heath, appears to have been gradually changed .
by a barbarous and imperfect pronunciation to the present name, written in records,
Horset, Dorsed, Orfedd, and Orzed. Horseheath, in Cambridgeshire, is commonly
pronounced Horset.
Before the Conquest, this parish belonged to the see of London, but part of it had
been given to Eustace, earl of Boulogne, at the survey: and this division of the estate
produced two manors.
Orsett Hall is north-west from the church ; in old writings it is sometimes named
Ladysons, and sometimes White House. It is a large and apparently very ancient
building. The see of London had this estate till the time of queen Elizabeth, when
it became the property of the crown, in which it continued till 1614, when it was
granted, by James the first, to Francis Downes, esq. of Orsett, and his heirs, for ever.
It remained in this family till 1650, when, either by marriage or otherwise, it became
the property of John Hatt, esq.* in whose family it continued till the year 1722, when,
on failure of heirs male, it descended to the two daughters of Pigott Hatt, esq.; one
of these was married to Richard Letchmere, and the other to Jolin Lidgould, clerk,
who, with his wife, in 1729, alienated their moiety of this estate to Richard Letch-
mere, and he, in 1746, died in possession of the whole, which was sold, by his trustees,
to Richard Baker, esq. who dying in 1751, left his son Richard his heir.
The manor of Orsett is almost the only one of its size in the county that has no
other within itself. There are two considerable hamlets belonging to it, the one called
Baker's Street; the other lies beyond Stock, yet is part of this parish; it is called
Crondon Park, consisting of farms, all belonging to lord Petre. The manor of
Orsett holds a court leet and court baron sometimes twice or oftener in the year, and
is computed to contain about six thousand acres of land, including its two hamlets.
Lost Hall. This manor is Avhat belonged to earl Eustace : after being successively the property
of various persons, it was given to maintain a chantry for one chaplain to perform
divine service at the altar of St. Mary, under St. Mary's chapel, within the bishop of
London's palace, joining the church of St. Paul, to pray for the soul of Robert Bray-
broke, sometime bishop of that diocese. After the dissolution it was granted, by
queen Elizabeth, in 1559, to Edward Baeshjf esq. and Henry Parker; and passed to
Owen Clunne, who died in 1563, whose heir was Anne, wife of John Shepherd, of
Batchcot, in Shropshire; and it belonged to Francis Downes, esq. in 1616.
Sabur. Sabur, or Seborow manor, extends into the parishes of Orsett, Mucking, and
* Arms of Hatt : Quarterly, argent and gules, a bend dexter, sable, with three chaplets, or.
t He was in high repute in the time of Henry the eighth, and was seated at Stansted Abbots, in Hert-
fordshire.—See Sir Henry Chauncey's Hist, of Hertfordshire, p. 194.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 559
Chad well. It is on the road from Horndon on the Hill to Chadwell; anciently it CHAP.
XVI
belonged to the hospital of St. Mary's, Bishopsgate- without, London: it afterwards _
belonged to John Wiseman, of Felsted, and to William Strangeman, esq.
Crondon, or Cranham park, is a considerable parcel of land, between the parishes Ciondon.
of Stock and Margaretting, and thirteen miles north from Orsett, yet it is a hamlet to
this parish. It was formerly a park, but has been thrown into farms, all of which
belong to lord Petre, except a small part, which has belonged to the Tabor and other
families.
The church, dedicated to St. Giles and All Saints, is a large ancient building, with Church,
a nave, north and south aisles, and chancel, with north and south chapels; the whole
is in good repair, with a brick tower and a wooden spire.* Thomas Hotoft founded
and endowed a chantry in this church.
In 1821, this parish contained one thousand, one hundred and thirty inhabitants,
which, in 1831, had increased to one thousand, two hundred and seventy-four.
LITTLE THURROCK.
Of the three parishes of this name, on the border of the river Thames, this is the Little
most easterly, and therefore sometimes named East Thurrock. It is twenty-five
miles from London.
Ulvvin, a freeman, had this estate in the time of Edward the confessor, and, at the
survey, it was styled the fee of the bishop of London; so denominated to distinguish
it from " terra episcopi Londinensis," the bishop of London's land ; the first of these
being his private estate, distinct from what belonged to the see. There are three manors.
• In the chapel belonging to Orsett Hall there is a handsome monument to the memory of John Hatt, Inscrip-
esq. who died the 12th day of April, 1658, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. There are also monuments t'^'n''-
to the memory of Robert Kinge, parson of this church, who died Nov. 3, 1584, aged forty-seven : of
Matthias Stiles, S. T, P. proctor of the University of Oxford, sub-rector of Exeter College, chaplain to
the queen, and rector here, who died in 1652.
Among the numerous charities in this parish are the following ; an estate of forty acres called Goldwell, Charities,
was given, in 1495, by Thomas Hotofte, in behofe of the parishioners of Orsett, to bear out the common
fine of Orsett for ever. — A copyhold tenement of ten acres, called Slades Hill, was left to the poor of this
parish ; the donor unknown. — An annuity of five pounds, on land at Dover Court, left by Ambrose Gil-
bert, B.D. who also left (as appears from the following extract from his will) an estate to found a fellow-
ship, &c. in Cambridge. " Item : I bequeath Marsh House, in St. Osseth, Essex, with all the lands and
woods belonging thereunto, to the founding of a fellowship and scholarship in St. John's College, Cam-
bridge, and do appoint to be capable of those places, first, the Gilberts, next the Torkingtons, then Col-
chester school, lastly, Orsett in Essex." — One moiety of a tenement and twenty acres of land, and five
acres called Pye Corner, and three tenements in Orsett, and four in London, with numerous other pos-
sessions, were left to the poor of Orsett in 164i3, by Alice, wife of Isaac Heniinge. — There are almshouses
in Baker Street, purchased with money left by Peter Castle, for the use of the poor. There are also
almshouses near the church. — Jasper Kingsman left ten sixpenny loaves to be given to the poor every
Lord's day, and John Blatch gave forty loaves to be given every May day.
560 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
iiUOK II. The mansion of this manor is near the church: in the time of Edward the second
Manor of or Edward the third, it belong-ed to a family surnamed De Gravesend, and was in the
Thnnock ^^^^^^ ^^ Cai'ew from 1372 to 1393; of William Skreen in 1408, and of John Berd-
iield in 1437. Thomas Sampson, or Samkin, esq. was in possession of it in 1539,
and it afterwards passing- to the crown, was granted, by Philip and Mary, to Thomas
White and others, in 1558. It was again in the crown in queen Elizabeth's time.
Sir John Lewes held it in 1596, and it was afterwards granted, by king James the
first, to Robert Stratford. Thomas Lakes presented to the living from 1605 to 1670 :
Abraham Fothergill in 1681: sir Robert Dashwood, bart. and others, in 1697.
The estate was afterwards mortgaged to Newburgh, esq. of Ireland, and pur-
chased by Francis Hayes, esq. of the Temple, whose nephew and heir, Charles Hayes,
esq. sold it to Mr. James Green, cornfactor, of London, who sold it, with the ad-
vowson, to Ebenezer Mussel, esq. who died in 1764.
Torelis The mansion of Torells Hall is by the side of the road near the pound. This
Hall
estate was detached from the chief manor, and belonged to the Torell family as early
as the reign of Henry the second, in which it continued till 1560, when it was con-
veyed, by marriage, to Henry Jocelyn, esq. fourth son of sir Thomas JoceljTi, of
Hyde Hall, whose son sold the estate to sir Thomas Leveson. It afterAvards belonged
to Nicholas Grice, esq. and being sold by a decree in chancery to pay his debts, was
purchased by colonel Henry Cornewall, of Bradwardine Castle, in Herefordshire.
Its next owner was general Cornewall, who, on his decease, left it to a female
who had lived with him several years, and who was married to Mr. Moore, of
Ireland, to whom she bequeathed this estate; and he left it to his brother, Blunden
Moore, esq.
Beiewes. Berewes was also taken from the paramount manor: the house is on the road leading
to Chadwell, into which parish this manor extends. The account of this estate is
imperfect. Roger Mortimer, earl of March, who died in 1360, had one fee here,
called Berewes, which William Squyry held of him; and which was holden by John
Squyry, under a succeeding earl of the same name, in 1398; and under Joan, widow of
sir John Grey, in 1425; also holden in 1352, by John Surey, under John Plantagenet,
earl of Kent. Thomas Springe, in 1523, had this estate, which, in 1567, in Hilary
term, Clement Siseley, and Anne his wife, and Agnes Kidderminster, widow, were
enjoined to deliver possession of to Joanna Laxton. Afterwards the estate belonged
to John Russel, esq. of North Okendon.
Clnirch. The church is of one pace with the chancel: it is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
In the south wall of the chancel there are arches, supported by pillars, forming a recess,
apparently intended for the reception of a monument, or a statue.
In 1821, this parish contained one hundred and ninety-two inhabitants, which, in
1831, had increased to three hundred and two.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 561
CHAP.
CHADWELL, or CHALDWELL. ^^'•
This parish is fifteen miles in circumference, extending from Little Thurrock to Chadweii,
West Tilbury. The village consists of a few scattered houses: distant from Romford
fourteen, and from London twenty-six miles.*
In Edward the confessor's reign, this parish was in the possession of Aluric, a king's
thane, Edwolt, the king's sheriff, and Godman, a freeman. At the time of the survey,
the bishop of London held the largest portion, under the title of his fee ; Odo, bishop
of Bayeux, had the next considerable share; and Grime the sheriff, and Hubert de
Pont, another. The bishop of London's under-tenant was Hugolin; and Odo's, the
son of Turold. These lands were afterwards divided into four manors.
The manor-house is near the church, and the earliest notice of this estate after the Cliadweli
survey is about the year 1250, when it was holden, with the advowson of the church,
under the bishop of London, by a family surnamed De Wokindon.f It afterwards
was conveyed to the Halughtons, or Haltons, and to several others, by intermarriages.
John de Bois had the estate in 1409, and Nicholas de Rykhill in 1422. The manor
and advowson afterwards belonged to Philip Malpas, citizen and draper, of London.
Elizabeth, his only daughter and heiress, was married to sir Thomas Cooke, of Geddea
Hall; her son Philip succeeded. Sir Edward Cooke, knt. a descendant of this family,
left two daughters, co-heiresses: Anne, married to sir Edward Sydenham; and Vere,
the wife of sir Charles Gawdy, of Crowshall, in Suffolk. The latter had this estate.
It afterwards belonged to Thomas Velley, gent, and was soon afterwards purchased
* The soil of this parish is generally deep and heavy ; the lands rising above the marshes, and the
surrounding district distinguished by extensive chalk works. There are numerous caverns or holes Caverns,
among these rocks, of various depths and unequal dimensions, which are considered of great antiquity.
Camden describes them as artfully built with stone, and opening from the top by a narrow circular pas-
sage, which near the bottom widens, communicating with subterraneous apartments of various forms.
Dr. Derham measured six of these caverns, and found them respectively of the depths of fifty feet, five or
six inches ; seventy feet, ten inches ; eighty feet ; and eighty feet, four inches. The origin of these
caverns is uncertain ; they have been attributed to the Britons, and supposed to have been used as gra-
naries ; others believe they have been occupied by the Danes as receptacles of plunder. Many of these
caverns are on grounds near the highway from Stifford to Chadweii; some are within the bounds of the
parish of Little Thurrock, and in East Tilbury there is a field called Cave Field, in which there is an
horizontal passage to a cavern.
When Tilbury Fort was enlarged, in the time of king Charles the second, the road was turned into Koad to
Chadweii, being that which comes in at a gate, and goes on to the fort. The inhabitants of Chadweii
were indicted for not repairing so much of this road as lay in their parish : but, on a trial at the assizes
at Chelmsford, in 1741, it appearing that the governors of the fort had kept the road in repair, out of the
profits of the ferry, from the time it was first turned into Chadweii, they were ordered to continue so to
do, and consequently the inhabitants of this parish were acquitted.
t Arms of Wokindon : Gules, a lion argent, crowned or; otlierwise, gules, a lion l)ai re, argent and
azure.
562
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Ingleby.
Long
house, or
Chadwell
Place.
Bigging.
Cowpers.
West
Tilbury.
by sir Robert Smyth, bart. Sir TrafFord Smyth sold it, Avith the advowson, in 1749,
to Mr. Hyder, of Grays Thurrock, who afterwards dispossessed himself of the ad-
vowson, but retained the manor.
The manor-house of Ingleby has been taken down: it stood near the two trees
Avhere the court is held, but there are some buildings near the ferry, belonging to the
demesnes. This manor was originally part of the fee of the bishop of London; and
Stephen de Gravesend, bishop, in 1337 passed, by fine, these lands in Chadwell and
Southminster, to William Vigerons and others, who granted them to the bishop for
his life; remainder to Thomas de Gravesend, in tail; remainder to Thomas, son of
Henry le Chamberlaine. Thomas de Gravesend held it under Humphrey de Bohun,
earl of Hereford and Essex. In 1364, Joan, widow of sir Thomas de Gravesend,
holding this in dower, conveyed it to Thomas de Ingleby, from whose family the
name was derived. Peter Simonds, in the year 1587, was the next owner after the
Inglebies, and was succeeded by his nephew Richard. This estate now belongs to
the poor of Winchester.
This manor is not mentioned in records till the time of Henry the sixth: sir Wil-
liam Skrene held it in 1430, and sir Thomas Tyrell, who died in 1476; after whom
the next possessor was John Russell, esq. of North Okendon.
The mansion of this manor is on the road toward Little Thurrock; the name
Saxon, Biganje, a habitation or manor-house. It belonged to the abbey of Stratford
Langthorn, and was holden under them by sir Ralph Jocelyn, in 1478. After the
dissolution of the monastery, it was granted, in 1544, to the dean and chapter of St.
Paul's, in London, who have retained possession of it to the present time.
An estate named Cowpers is a reputed manor: Roger Tasker died in 1595, in pos-
session of this estate, with tenements called Shepherds, Mots, Slepers, Tholmans, and
other parcels on Orsett Heath, in this parish.
The church is on the side of a hill, the nave and chancel of one pace, and nearly of
the same breadth; and at the west end, a stone tower rises to a considerable height:
it is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
In 1821, Chadwell contained two hundred and two inhabitants, and, in 1831, only
one hundred and eighty.
WEST TILBURY.
This parish extends from Chadwell to the Thames, and is three miles long, and
one broad. In the seventh century there was a considerable town here, though it
has since been reduced to a small village.* It is stated in records, that when Cedda,
or St. Chad, spread the Christian religion in this county, he built churches in several
* A medicinal spring was discovered here in 1727, about twelve feet beneath the surface of a small
eminence, rising above the^marshes. It is said to have been found highly beneficial in various disorders.
An account is given of it in a letter from Mr. Kellaway to Smart LethieuUier, esq.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 563
places, but " especially in the city, by the Saxons named Ythancestre; and also in that chap.
which is named Tillaburgh; where, gathering a flock of the servants of Christ, he '
taught them to observe the discipline of a regular life, as far as those rude people were
then capable."* Ythancestre is supposed to have stood at the mouth of the river Pant,
or Blackwater; but it was, at a remote period, overwhelmed and buried beneath the
waves. The village of West Tilbury is sixteen miles from Romford, and from
London twenty-six.f
In the time of the Saxons, this parish belonged to Aluric, a priest; and a freeman;
and, at the survey, had become the possession of Suene, whose under-tenants were
Osbern and Ralph, two Frenchmen : afterwards it was divided into two manors.
The mansion of the chief manor is near the church, north-westward: Robert de West
Tilbury:}: held this manor in the reign of Henry the second, which remained with his n/anor^
descendants till the year 1319, when it was granted, with the advowson and the chapel,
to Richard Abel; and, in 1362, sir Thomas Vaughan died possessed of it, succeeded
by sir Hamo, his son and heir. Afterwards passing to several female heirs, the estate
was divided, till it became the property of Richard Jenoure, esq. of Bigods, in Dun-
mow, who died in 1548; and Wiburga, his widow, was re-married to sir Richard
Weston, who, in her right, held a moiety of the estate till sir Kenelm Jenoure, bart.
succeeded his grandfather, on whose decease, in 1629, he gave it to his daughter Anne,
who, by marriage, conveyed it to sir Richard Hatton; and he dying without issue, in
1677, was succeeded by his brother, sir Robert, who died in 1684, leaving his son
Thomas § his heir, who sold this estate to Mr. John Kellaway, Avhose widow had it
after his decease in 1737, and sold it to captain Richard Miclefield, of the East India
company, from whom it descended to his nephew, Richard Hunt, esq. It is now in
the possession of John Newing, esq.
The mansion of Condovers is on a green, near the parsonage: the estate belonged Condo-
to Edward Baker, esq. of Bowers Giff'ord, who died in 1535; and to H. Baker, who
died in 1605, || Philip Howard was the next owner; and sold it to John Brewster,
* Bede's Ecclesiastical History, book iii. chap. 2'2.
t The marshes in this neighbourhood are chiefly rented by the grazing butchers of London, who gene-
rally stock them with Lincolnshire and Leicestershire wethers, which are sent here in September or
October, to feed till Christmas, or Candlemas, when they are taken to the Loudon market.
I Gervase of Tilbury, the historian, who flourished in 1210, was a native of this place, and a nephew Gervase
of king Henry the second. He wrote a Commentary on Geofrey of Monmouth's British History: also a of filbiiry
Tripartite History of England. His other works are— Otia Impcrialia, printed in the Rernm Brunsvicensium
Scriptores, edited by Leibnitz. A History of the Holy Land. Origines Burgundionum. The compilation
of the Exchequer Book, entitled. Liber Niger Scaccarii, was ascribed to him, but Mr, Maddox, who
published a correct edition of it, gives it to Richard Nelson, bishop of London.
§ Alice, second daughter of Robert Hatton, esq. second son of serjeant Hatton, was married to Charles
Hornby, esq. secondary of the Pipe office. Arms of Hatton : Azure, a chevron between three garbs, or.
II Upon the decease of Henry Baker this estate was allotted to Ann the wife of Thomas Bendist, esq. of
Steeple Bumstead, as one of his co-heiresses.
564 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. from whom it descended, to John Bi'ewster, esq. of the Cursitor's office, whose
grandfather was Francis, fourth son of Francis Brewster, esq. of Wrentham Hall,
in Suffolk.*
Tilbury This building is on the banks of the Thames, opposite Gravesend, and was originally
erected by Henry the eighth as a blockhouse ;f it was enlarged, and made a regular
fortification, by Charles the second, after the Dutch fleet had sailed up the river, in
the year 1667, and burnt three English man-of-war ships at Chatham. The esplanade
is very large, and the bastions are the largest of any in England ; they are faced with
brick, and surrounded with a double ditch or moat, the innermost being one hundred
and eighty feet broad, and having a good counterscarp. On the land side are two small
redoubts of brick; but on this side its chief strength consists in its being made capable
of being altogether laid under water, as far as the level extends. On the side next the
river, there is a very strong curtain, having a gate in the middle, called the water
gate, and a ditch palisaded. At the place intended for the water-bastion, and which, by
the plan, should have run out into the river, so as to command both the curtains, stands
a high tower, erected by queen Elizabeth, which was called the Blockhouse.:}: Before
this curtain is a platform, instead of a counterscarp, mounted, in time of war, with one
hundred and six cannons, from twenty-four to forty-six pounders, besides which there
are smaller pieces, placed between them and the bastions and curtains. The interior
of the fort contains all the necessary apartments for the garrison; but it is chiefly used
as a depot for the recruits of the district.
Church. The church is dedicated to St. James, and pleasantly situated on rising ground,
* This was part of Captain Micklefield's property; now belongs to iMr. Hunt.
f Lombard's Topographical Dictionary.
X Queen Elizabeth established her army here in 1588, when the kingdom was threatened with invasion
by the Spanish Armada, and traces of the encampment may yet be seen : it was near the place where there
has been a windmill. The patriotic address delivered by the queen on this occasion, has been justly ad-
Speech of mired ; it was as follows : — " My loving people, — We have been persuaded] by some that are careful of
zabeth^ ' ""'^ safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure
you, that I do not live to distrust my loving and faithful people. Let tyrants fear. I have always so be-
haved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and
goodwill of my subjects. And I therefore am come amongst you, as you see at this time, not for any
recreation or disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of battle, to live or die amongst you all ;
to lay down, for my God, and for my kingdom and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust.
1 know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king —
and of a king of England too ! and think foul scorn, that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should
dare to invade the borders of my realm; to whicli, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself
will take up arms ; I myself will be your general, judge and record of every one of your virtues in the
field. I know already for your forwardness you have deserved crowns ; and we do assure you, on the
word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the meantime, my lieutenant-general (Robert Dudley,
earl of Leicester,) shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded more noble or worthy sub-
jects: not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour
in the field, we shall shortly have a most famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom,
and of my people."
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE.
565
from which there is an extensive prospect toward the Thames and the Channel, c h \ p
Formerly there was a very high tower of stone, but it fell down, and a wooden ^^'•
frame and spire have supplied its place. The original building had a north aisle
which was omitted on its re-edification, except what forms the north porch.* The
rectory was appendant to the manor, but in 1345 was given by John de Poultenev
the Chantry of Corpus Christi in the church of St. Lawrence, in Candlewick
Street, London ; and since the dissolution, has remained in the crown.f
A chapel formerly stood on the site of the Fort distinguished by its name of West Lee
West Lee chapel, from the chapel of East Lee, at Langdon. The founder of this ^**^P^^-
chapel was supposed to be of the de Tilbury family : it was dedicated to St. Mary
Magdalen, with a chaplain to officiate for ever for the souls of the king's predecessors:
it was founded in the time of Thomas the Martyr. In the return in the book of
Chantries, this chapel is stated to be a mile or more from the parish-church. Sir
Thomas Vaughan presented Nicholas de Hall to it in 1335.
The population of this parish, in 1821, was two hundred and forty-nine, and in
1831, two hundred and seventy-six.
EAST TILBURY.
This parish lies eastward from West Tilbury, on the border of the Thames, and East Til-
extends to a portion of the river named Tilbury Hope. It is three miles from ^"'^'
south-west to north-east; and two miles and a half from east to west. From
Brentwood distant fourteen, and from London twenty-eight, miles.
Before the Conquest, the lands of this parish Avere holden by a freeman : and at
the survey, Tedric Pointel, and his under-tenant Hunald, held them. At that time
they formed only one manor, but have since been divided into five.
The mansion of this manor is near the church, on the west : it belonged to East Til-
Edmund Kemeseck, or Kewseck, who died in 1288; and to William, son of Philip ^"'^ ^'^'
de Welle at the time of his decease in 1349 ; he had with it the advowson of the
church, and the passage, or ferry over the river. His daughter Joane was his heiress,
and was married to sir Henry de Coggeshall. The estate was purchased, toge-
ther with Sabury hall, for the endowment of the rectory of St. Anne at Lime-
house, with 35001., granted by act of parliament for that purpose, in 1729 : the
church at Limehouse being one of the fifty new churches built at that time in and
about London.
* In the aisle of the ancient church, there was a grave-stone in the form of a coffin, ornaiuentcd witli
crosses ; it now forms the sill of one of the windows.
t Lands in this parish, named VVilies, or Wike court, form part of the endowment of Chelmsford Charities,
school.
Five acres of land were given for two obits in this church, and one acre and a half for a lamp A
charity of twenty shillings yearly is given to poor labouring men at Easter.
VOL. II. 4 D
566
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK J I. Xhe name of this manor was derived from its most ancient ovvnei's. William de
St.cieie's. Sancto Claro, or St. Clere, was in possession of it in 1266. It afterwards belonged
to a family named Mosle, or Moseley; and in 1484 sir John Scott died in possession
of it. In 1588, the manor belonged to the queen, under whom it was holden by
fealty. Sir Charles Inglefield had this possession, which he sold to Thomas Grant ;
who in 1716 sold it to sir William Humphreys, bart., of Barking.
Gobyons. The manor-house of Gobyons is a mile north from the church near the river; its
name is derived from a knightly family who have left their name to many places in
this county. From the Gobions, this manor passed to Edmund Kemesek, and to
sir Richard de Sutton, who died in 1395, holding this manor of Joane, countess of
Hereford. Afterwards the Birdford family had this estate, which for a considerable
time took their name. It belonged to John de Vere, earl of Oxford, and his
descendant Edward, the seventeenth earl, is believed to have sold it. In 1606 it
belonged to Edward Lawrence, esq. ; and afterwards to Champion Branfil, esq., of
Upminster Hall, and now belongs to his descendants.
Gossalyne. The mansion of Gossalyne, or Gossaline, is three quarters of a mile north-west
from the church. This estate belonged to Richard Gossalyne, who on his death in
1332 was succeeded by his son Richard, and in 1354 Robert, son and heir of sir
Richard Gossalin, conveyed it to John Merlaw. In the beginning of the reign of
queen Elizabeth, William Strangman and Anne his wife held it by the name of
Goshalines: and sir Thomas Wiseman held it in 1635, of the honour of Mandeville.
Southall. This manor is in the south part of the parish. The pound belonging to it is near
the church ; but the manor-house was at a considerable distance in the marshes. In
1372, Edmund, son of Simon, held this estate of the earl of Hereford ; and it is
believed to have been in the possession of the Gobion family. This estate is
appropriated to the repairs of Rochester Bridge, but by whom it was given is not
known.
Church. The church, dedicated to St. Katharine, has a nave, north aisle, and chancel ; the
tower was on the south, or south-west angle, of stone embattled ; but was beat down
by the Dutch in the time of Charles the second.*
This church was a sinecure rectory, with a vicar, as early as 1325, the patronage
of the rectory being in the lords of the manor of East Tilbury, till 1389, when John,
lord Cobliam, had it appropriated to his college at Cobham, by authority of a bull
from pope Urban VI : and on the suppression of chantries, it passed to the crown,
where it has remained to the present time.
Chantries. A chantry was founded in this parish by sir Thomas Gobyon, in 1328, for a chap-
lain, to perform divine service daily at the altar of St. Katharine in this church. On
* A gift of twenty shillings yearly to the poor, out of a farm called the Folly, is distributed at
Christmas and Midsummer, with some other trilling benefactions.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 567
its suppression, the lands belonging to it were granted to Thomas, nephew of the lord chap.
chancellor Audeley. There was also another chantry here, the endowment of which !_
was granted to William Goldham.
The Roman road of Higham causeway, of which some traces yet remain, from The Ferry.
Rochester by Higham, points in the direction of the ancient ferry over the Thames
here, which is believed to have been the place where the emperor Claudius crossed
the river Thames in pursuit of the Britons, as related by Dion Cassius. In 1821,
this parish contained two hundred and fifty-four, and in 1831, two hundred and fifty-
five inhabitants.
MUCKING.
This parish is two miles from east to west, and two and a half from north to south: Muckin:;.
it lies very low ; the soil gravelly. Two streams meet and form a creek where the
village is situated, near the Thames ; distant from Brentwood eleven, and from London
twenty-eight, miles.
Previous to the Conquest, Mucking belonged to the nunnery of Barking, and
was afterwards divided into two manors.
This manor in 1341, belonged to John, son of John de Walton, and afterwards to Waltons.
John de Vere, thirteenth earl of Oxford, who died in 1512 ; he held it of Elizabeth,
abbess of Barking, by the service of one knight's fee, yearly rent of ten shillings, and
suit at the court of Mucking Hall ; and on the death of every tenant, one of the best
beasts for an heriot.
After the dissolution of religious houses, this estate was granted, in 1547, by Mucking
Edward the sixth, to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, and their successors. The
manor-house is on the south of the church.
The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, has a nave, south aisle, and chancel, Churcli.
with a stone tower, and a shingled spire.*
The population of this parish in 1821, amounted to one hundred and eighty-nine,
and in 1831, to two hundred and twelve.
STANFORD-LE-HOPE.
A stone, or paved ford here, where there is now a bridge f over the stream which Stanford-
forms the boundary to Stanford, Mucking, and Horndon-on-the-Hill, has given the "' "'"'"
* A monument in the aisle bears an inscription to the memory of Elizabetli Downcs, wlio lived in Inscrip-
happy matrimony with four several husbands, namely, Eugcnius Gatton, Thomas Gill, Dcnfil Hatridge,
and Francis Downes, all kind and loving gentlemen. She was ever religious, charitable, and a good
house-keeper. She has given yearly, for ever, to the church and poor of this parish, twenty nobles : to
the poor of Horndon twenty shillings, and to the poor of Stanford twenty shillings. She lived a happy
life on earth, and made a blessed end 30th of January, 1607 : her four husbands also lie buried here.
t Half the arch of this bridge, north and south, is maintained by Stanford ; the south-west quarter by
Mucking ; and the north-west by Horndon.
568 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. name ; and the bay formed by the winding of the river, called by seamen the Hope,
has been applied as a surname to this parish : it is said to have anciently formed two
distinct hamlets, named Stanford and Hassingbroke ; and the circumstance of there
having been a free chapel here, the advowson to which went with the Abbot's manor;
is an evidence of the truth of this statement. It is distant from Brentwood ten, and
from London twenty-nine, miles.
In the Confessor's reign, sixteen freemen, Lefstan, another freeman, and Alric and
Ulwin, were the possessors of the lands of this parish ; which, at the time of the
survey, belonged to Odo, bishop of Bayeux, and Suene, of Essex; whose under-
tenants were, Turold, and the son of Turold : and Sasselin held the part which had
belonged to Alric and Ulwin. These lands were afterwards divided into three
manors.
Hassin '^^^ chief manor takes the name of the brook near which the mansion is situated,
broke Ma- about three quarters of a mile north from the church; it is a stately edifice, built by
Cuthbert Featherston, esq. in the reign of James the first. After Turold and his
son, William de Montchensy succeeded to this estate in 1255. Joan, his sister, was
married to William de Valence, earl of Pembroke, and left a son named William,
who died without issue : and a daughter, Dionysia, wife of Hugh de Vere, second
son of Robert, fifth earl of Oxford ; and he and the lady dying without issue, in 1313,
her estates descended to her next heir, Adomare de Valence, earl of Pembroke, who
also died without issue, leaving his lady, who died in 1376, having enjoyed this
estate during her widowhood of fifty-three years. Isabel, one of her husband's
sisters, was married to John de Hastings, lord Bergavenny ; and Elizabeth, another
sister, to Gilbert Talbot ; and their posteiity inherited, successively, this estate, till it
became wholly the property of the Talbots. Afterwards, it descended to Reginald
de Grey, of Ruthyn, son of Reginald, son of Elizabeth, daughter of John de Has-
tings ; and Isabel, sister of Adomar de Valence. Richard Rede, and Alice, his
widow, had this estate till the year 1434 : and in 1457 William Wittenhale, citizen
and alderman of London, succeeded to it; after whom it was in the possession of
Roger Ross, the king's tailor ; and both these held it of the king, in capite, by the
service of one silver needle. George Wetenhall, esq. sold it, in 1554, to Richard
Champion, of Godalmine, in Surrey, citizen and draper; sheritf of London in 1530;
in 1565, lord mayor, and knighted in the same year. After the year 1618, the
Fetherston family had this possession, which they retained for more than a century.*
James Scratton, esq. of Aldersbrook, is now lord of this manor.
* The ancestor of this family was Cutiibert Fetherston, sprung from the Fetherstoiis of Hetherye-
Cleiish, in the parish of Stanhope, in the diocese of Durham ; they were of great antiquity in the north
of England. Cuthbert was thirty-five years usher and cryer to the king in the king's court, whenever
his majesty was in England. He built Hassingbrook Hall, where his effigies used to be seen in the habit
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 569
This estate belonged to John de Newenton, in 134-2 ; and, in 1465, was conveyed c H a f.
by Richard Walch and Richard Pigge, to WilHam Henifey, of London : and it L_
belonged, in 1607, to Reginald Hallingworth, esq., and afterwards became the pro- Caiboume,
f 1 T-i 1 p -1 ^01 Canvers.
perty or the l^etherstone ramily.
Abbot's Hall, the manor house, is a mile north-east from the church. The estate Abbots
consists of the lands which belonged to Alric and Ulwin, and afterwards to Sasselin, ^^''"*^' •
named Stantmere, and Winthelle. William de Septem Molis, or Semeles, gave it to
Waltham Abbey, with the advowson of a chapel here ; but the grant in the Char-
tulary is without date. After the dissolution in 1 543, it was granted by Henry the
eighth to Walter Farr, alias Gillingham ; and Edward the sixth made a grant of it
to Robert Curson and his heirs ; but Walter Farr retained possession till his decease,
as did also some of his heirs, to whom he had secured it by licence. This estate after-
wards belonged to Thomas Aleyn, D.D. rector of this parish, who died in 1677;
and it was conveyed in marriage with his grandaughter, to William Ashby, esq., of
Breakspear, in Harefield, in Middlesex. Afterwards, it became the property of the
rev. Thomas Aleyn, vicar of Cookham, in Berkshire; whose trustees sold it, in 1771,
to sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh. Now belongs to James Scratton, esq.
The church is pleasantly situated on rising ground, on a green where several ways Cliurcb.
meet. It has a nave, north and south aisles, and chancel : the tower of this church is
on the north side. St. Margaret is the patron saint.*
There was formerly a chapel near, or joined to the church: it was for a chantry,
and granted to Thomas Golding.
of his office, as large as life. Having lived forty years with his wife Katharine, he died in 1615, aged 78,
and she in 1622, aged 85 ; they left three sons, of whom Henry had by his second wife Katharine,
daughter of Michael Heneage, esq., his son and heir Heneage, born in 1628, who, for his attachment to
the royal cause during the civil wars, was created a baronet in 1660, being styled of Blakesware in
Hertfordshire, which he purchased, and afterwards sold to sir Thomas Leventhorp. In 1666, he was
sheritf of Essex, and died in 1711. Sir Henry Fetherston was his heir, who dying without issue in 1746,
in the ninety-second year of his age, bequeathed his very large possessions to Matthew Fetherstonhaugh,
esq. of the same ancestry, of Fetherston Haugh, in Northumberland, created a baronet in 1747. Arms
of Fetherston : Gules, on a chevron between three ostrich's feathers, argent, a pellet.
* In the windows of this church, there were formerly the coats of arms of the families of Valence,
Montchensy, Vere, Hastings, Lucy, Le Power, Mandeville, Fitz-Warren, Tany, Ardell, Gernon, Burnham,
and Brockhole.
There are among the inscriptions memorials of the following persons : Richard Champion, esq. insciip-
nephew and heir to sir Richard Champion; he died in 1599. Heneage Fetherston, who died 23d of t'ons.
October, 1711, in the eighty-fourth year of his age; and of dame Mary his wife, who died 12th of
January, 1710, aged seventy-seven ; also of Thomas Fetherston, esq. third son of sir Heneage, who died
in 1723. Dame Katharine Bertie, widow of the hon. Captain Bertie, of Springfield, eldest sister 'of
sir Henry Fetherston : she died 8th of February, 1736.
A tenement and orchard in I-'obbing belongs to the poor of this parish ; and from Earl's Hope Marsh, Charities,
in the manor of Calbourne, twenty shillings are received for the church, and twenty shillings for the
poor. There are also some other charities.
570 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The population of this parish, in 1821, was three hundred and one ; and in 1831,
three hundred and thirty.
CORRINGHAM.
Corring- This parish extends eastward from Stanford-le-Hope, and southward to the
— ■ — Thames : it belonged to Sigar, a freeman, in the time of Edward the Confessor ;
and at the surrey, to the bishop of London, whose under-tenant was William. Odo,
bishop of Bayeux, had taken away from it half a hide ; which he is supposed to have
joined to his manor of Hassingbroke, in Stanford. Afterwards, these lands were
divided into three manors.
Corring- The mansion of the chief manor is near the church, and commands a fine prospect
over the Thames into Kent. The family of Baud are the first recorded possessors of
this estate under the bishop of London.* Though the names of Baud appear as
patrons of the rectory till 1599, yet the manor seems, in the mean time, to have been
in other hands. It belonged to George Blaverhasset, esq., in 1540 ; to John Birde,
in 1555 ; to John Brewode, esq., in 1559; and to sir Henry Anderson, who died in
1605, in possession of this manor, with the advowson of the church; Richard, his son,
was his heir. In 1637 it belonged to sir Edward Spencer, knt., and soon afterwards
was conveyed to the family of Biddulph, of Ledbury in Herefordshire. It now
belongs to Richard Wingfield, esq.
The mansion of this manor is a quarter of a mile from the church ; it was rebuilt
some time in the last century.
Old Hall. In 1470, Richard Welles enjoyed this estate, in right of his wife Agnes ; and it
belonged to Thomas Fisher in 1508. In 1553, it was conveyed from William Scot
to Thomas Docra, or Douvray, who, with his Avife Mildred, in 1554, passed the
same, by fine, to Thomas Crawley, who held a court here in 1573. In 1607, it
* The first of this surname on record, is Simon de Baud, a valiant knight, who, under the banner of
the cross, died in the Holy Land, in 1174 : after whom succeeded the renowned sir Nicholas de Baud,
who fought against the Saracens in Spain, and died in Gallicia, in 1189. Sir Walter, supposed his son,
dwelt at Corringham, and died there in 121C ; whose son and heir, sir William, was succeeded, on hi.""
decease in 1270, by his son, rsir Walter, to whom king Henry the third granted free warren in his lands in
Hadham, which his father had purchased : he was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1307, and died in
1310. Sir John de Baud attended king Edward the third in his expedition into Gascony, in 1346, and died
there. Sir William de Baud was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1372, and died at his manor-house
of Hadham, in 1375, being the first of the family who had their residence there. His successors were —
Walter, who died in 1420 ; Thomas, his son, in 1449; succeeded by his son Ralph, who died in 1483,
leaving Thomas, his son and heir, afterwards knighted ; he presented to this living in 1502 and 1506.
John Band, esq. died at Corringham in 1550 ; and another of the same name presented to this living in
1558, 1563, and 1599. Apparently the last of the family here obtained the grant of a fair, and market, and
free warren. Arms of Baud : originally gules, three eagles' claws, or ; afterwards gules, three chevronels,
argent. Crest -. a Black Moor's head, couped at the shoulders, proper, with a pair of dragons.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 571
belonged to Francis Crawley ; afterwards, it belonged to William Moxon, secretary chap
to sir William Dawes, bart., archbishop of York. ^^''"
This manor-house is by the road-side leading from Corringham to Stanford-le- Coggars.
Hope. The estate was holden of Richard Welles, by sir Thomas Tyrell, who died
in 14T6; which sir Robert Tyrell, at the time of his decease in 1508, also held of
Thomas Fisher. It afterwards belonged to George Peale and his descendants ; after-
wards it passed as a jointure to the family of the Olands, of which the co-heiresses
sold it, in 1771, to John Judd, esq.
The church is on a green, and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary ; it has a Church,
nave, north aisle, and chancel. The tower is a large low building, with a shingled
spire.
A chantry was founded on the north side of the chancel, by William le Baud, in Chantry.
the year 1328, the endowment of which was one messuage, one hundred acres of
arable, and thirty shillings rent, in Corringham, Fobbing, Stansted, or Stanford,
Estlee, and Westlee, holden of the bishop of London, by the service of bringing to
the high altar of the church of St. Paul's, London, one buck and one doe yearly.*
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and thirty-five,
and in 1831, to two hundred and thirty-four.
FOBBING.
Fobbing, in Domesday, Phobinge, lies north-east from Corringham, having the Fobbing.
Thames on the south, into which a bay or creek opens, named, at the entrance. Hole
Haven. The parish is four miles from north to south ; and, from east to west, a
mile and a half where widest. The village is on a high hill, two miles from the
Thames, yet the aguie is very prevalent, owing to the extensive marsh grounds, called
the Flatts. The village consists chiefly of small rural dwellings, forming one street,
* They were offered at the high altar of St. Paul's cathedral, the doe on the 2.5tli of January, the day of
the conversion of St. Paul ; and the buck, June the 29th, the day of tlie commemoration of St. Paul. Tht
buck and doe were brought on these days, by one or more of the servants of the family, at the hour ot
procession, passing through the midst of it to the high altar, with the offering ; after which they received
of the dean and chapter 12d. for the buck, but nothing when the doe was brought. The offering being
brought to the steps of the altar, the dean and chapter, apparelled in copes and proper vestments, with
garlands of roses on their heads, sent the body of the buck to be baked, and had the head and horns fixed
on a pole, borne before the cross in their procession round the church, till they issued out at the west
door, where the keeper that brought, blew the death of the buck ; and then the horncrs that were about
the city answered him in like manner, for which they had each fourpence in money, and their dinner ;
and the keeper, during his stay, meat, drink, and lodging, and five shillings in money at his going away;
together with a loaf of bread, on which was impressed a figure of St. Paul. Tliis ceremony continued till
the time of queen Elizabeth. Dugdale's Hist, of St. Paul's, p. 17, &c. Camden's Britannia, in Middlesex.
Stow's Survey, edit. 1720 ; vol. i. b. 3. pp. 164, 165.
572 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
i5()OK 11. extending north and south, distant from Billericay seven, and from London twenty-
eight, miles.*
A thane, named Brictmar, had this estate in the time of Edward the Confessor,
and it formed one of the numerous lordships given to Eustace, earl of Boulogne, after
the Conquest. Turold had thirty acres from it, to add to Odo's fee, and Ingleric had
made a considerable addition to it. It was divided into two manors.
Fobbing The mansion of the capital manor is near the church. From the most ancient
' account, after Domesday, it appears that Thomas Camvill held this estate of the
honour of Boulogne, and had to pay out of it twenty pounds to the monks of St.
Winer; and afterwards, by the king's command, to Eustace the monk; and in 1204,
a fine passed between Richard the monk, and William the tenant, to authorize this
payment. In 1279, the Camvill family are understood to have made over their right
here, to king Edward the first. It was afterwards in the noble family of Bohun ; and,
by marriage, came to the earls of Stafford ; and Henry, duke of Buckingham, son of
Edmund, earl of Stafford, being instrumental in setting king Richard the third on the
throne, and endeavouring to pull him down again, lost his head, and had his estates
confiscated. They were afterwards restored to Edward, eldest son of Henry, duke
of Buckingham, who enjoyed them till 1521, when he was beheaded, through the
artifices of Cardinal Wolsey, and this, with his other estates, forfeited. In 1522, this
manor, with the advowson of the church, was granted to sir Thomas Bullen, and his
heirs male. He was afterwards created earl of Wiltshire and Ormoud ; his son
George being beheaded, in 1537, this estate Avas given to the lady Mary, afterwards
queen, from Avhom it passed to queen Elizabeth. In 1559 it belonged to George
Tvrell, esq , and, in the reign of king Charles the first, the manor and demesne lands
were separated, anti the manor was purchased by sir George Whitmore, knt. alder-
man of London, who, in 1682, sold it to sir Thomas Dewall, sen., whose son married
Lydia Katharine Van Hattera, by whom he had two sons, who died in infancy. She
was remarried to Henry, duke of Chandos, and had this estate included in her mar-
riage settlement; it afterwards belonged to sir John Hattem. The demesne lands
belonged successively to John Wood, to Lawson, and to John Gosse, who sold
them to Henry Saunders, who farmed the hall. The estate was afterwards purchased
by Mr. Robert Johnson, of Low Leyton, who died in 1749.
Hawkes- Originally, the manor of Hawkesbury belonged to Barking abbey ; and, after the
''"'^' dissolution, was granted to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's.
Chmcii. The church is dedicated to St. Michael, and has a nave, south aisle, and chancel.
Being on an eminence, with a tower of unusual height, it forms a conspicuous object
at a great distance, and is clearly visible from the Kentish hills. It has a peal of five
* Jack Cade's rebellion began in the "village of Fobbing, where the mob broke into a priory, and
drank up three tuns of wine, and devoured all the victuals," Stow's Annals.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 573
bells, which enliven the villagers with their harmony; and, in the summer months, chap.
xvr
the scenery of this vicinity is correctly described in the following lines of the poet '
Cowper :
" Here Thames, slow gliding through a level plain
Of spacious meads, with cattle sprinkled o'er,
Conducts the eye along its sinuous course,
Delighted."
The rectory was appendant to the manor of Fobbing Hall till the attainder of
Edward, duke of Buckingham, when it reverted to the crown, where it has remained
to the present time.
In this parish, in 1821, there were four hundred and seven inhabitants; and, in
1831, three hundred and ninety-one.
FANGE, OR VANGE.
From Fobbing, and a creek which opens out from the Thames, this parish extends Fange, or
northward : it is two miles and a half from west to south, and two from east to west.
The name, in records, Fange, Fange at Noke, Fanges, Fenge, Funge, Wyinge, and, in
Domesday, Phenge ; distant from Brentwood twelve, and from London thirty miles.*
In the time of the Saxons three freemen held these lands, and, at the survey, what
had belonged to two of these had been given to bishop Odo, whose under-tenant was
Turold's son ; and the other portion was in the possession of Ralph Peverel, and his
imder-tenant Serlo ; but the whole was, at an early period, united into one manor.
The manor-house is on a pleasant hill, half a mile north from the church. The Fange
Hall
estate for many years went along with Hassingbroke, in Stamford-le-hope, passing, as
that manor did, to the families of Montchensy, Vere, de Valence earl of Pembroke,
Rede, and Wettenhale, who successively had possession from 1280 to 1577, in which
year it was sold, by Thomas, son of George Wettenhale, to Thomas Newman, gent.
of Quendon, who dying, in 1585, left Anne, his only daughter, his heiress: yet
William Tanfield, esq. is mentioned, in records, as lord of the manor of Fange at
Noke in 1565 and 1572. In 1606, John Baker died possessed of this estate, in
which he was succeeded by his son Richard. It belonged to Charles Tooker, who
died in 1625, whose son Robert presented to the living of this church in 1639, as did
Christiana Tooker in 1668 and 1669. Paul Viscount Baining had this manor, and
compounded with the crown for disafforesting it; he had a tenement belonging to
it, and lands amounting to two hundred and eighty acres, rented at one hundred
pounds a year. This estate was afterwards parcelled out to various purchasers.
The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a small building, with a nave and chancel Church,
of one pace.
* Lands in Canvey island and Bowers marsh belong to this parish.
VOL. II. 4 E
574 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. In 1821 this parish contained one hundred and twenty-four, and, in 1831, one
hundred and sixty-five inhabitants.
LANGDON, OR LAINDON ; VULGARLY, LANGDON HILLS.*
Langdon. The Saxon Lanj bun, i. e. Long hill, is, with propriety, applicable to the two parishes
onhigh ground, north of Fange, Corringham,andof Horndon-on-the-hill; of these this is
the most southerly. Distant from Brentwood nine miles, and twenty-two from London.
In the time of Edward the Confessor, Alric, a thane, had this estate, which, after
the Conquest, was in possession of Suene of Essex, whose under-tenant was named
Walter. On the disgrace and forfeiture of Henry de Essex, Suene's grandson, the
estate passed to the crown.
The hill on which this parish is situated extends nearly a mile from north to south,
and about the same from east to west; and the most extensive view in Essex is from
the l)row of this eminence, which is believed to be, also, the finest prospect in
England. From the north, the ascent of this hill is gradual, and almost imper-
ceptible ; but from the south, south-east, and south-west, it rises abruptly, and the
traveller is astonished to behold a scene so beautifiil, extending toward London more
than twenty, and from east to west including an extent of nearly forty miles.f
.Manor ot The mansion of the capital manor is on the side of the hill near the church.
After Suene's grandson, a family surnamed de Langedon had this estate ; yet the
knightly family of Sutton were lords paramount. In 1382, John de Langedon,
having died without issue, John Ewell, the king's escheator, seized this manor into the
king's hands, which shews the time when that family became extinct here. Since
this parish has been united with West Lee, what was held here from the church of
St. Paul is reckoned in that manor.
* The word " hills" has been added ignorantly by those who did not know that don has the same mean-
ing. The more appropriate distinction of this parish is " Langdon with the church of Westley." The
name common to either of these parishes, is in records, Laingdon, Laindon, Laundon, and in Domesday,
Langeduna.
t Mr. Young, in his " Southern Tour," addresses the following animated description to his corre-
spondent : '* On the summit of a vast hill, one of the most astonishing prospects to be beheld, breaks out
almost at once upon one of the dark lanes. Such a prodigious valley, every where painted with the finest
verdure, and intersected with numberless hedges and woods, appears beneath you, that it is past descrip-
tion ; the Thames winding through it, full of ships, and bounded by the hills of Kent. Nothing can
exceed it, unless that which Hannibal exhibited to his disconsolate troops, when he bade them behold
the glory of the Italian plains ! If ever a turnpike road should lead through this country, 1 beg you will
go and view this enchanting scene, though a journey of forty miles be necessary for it. I never beheld
any thing equal to it in the West of England— that region of landscapes '." Since the writing of thi.", a
road has been made from Chelmsford toward Gravesend, passing by this hill; it was twenty-one years
in a turnpike trust, but is now free.
Lanirdon.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 575
The mansion of this manor is on higher ground than the other, and lies southward chap.
from the church ; it joins to Malgraves in Horndon, and has usually been holden with ^^'-
that estate. It was in possession of the Malgrave family, and afterwards of the ^"^'^^
Tyrells. Edward Archer, esq. had this estate, as well as Malgraves ; afterwards it
passed to Thomas Andrews, esq. whose daughter Anne was married to Thomas
Cotton, esq. and their only daughter and heiress, Frances, conveyed it in marriao-e
to Dingley Askham, esq. one of the co-heirs of sir Robert Cotton, of Great
Conington, Huntingdonshire ; their daughter and co-heiress brought it to her
husband, sir Thomas Hatton, bart. the present owner of Long Stanton, Cambridge-
shire. Sir Thomas Hatton had two sons, one of whom died abroad, and the
other from a fall out of his carriage, and Laindon descended to the two sisters,
co-heiresses of sir Thomas Dingley Hatton, bart. of whom Mrs. S. Hatton is owner
of the manor of Laindon.
West-Lee, or Ley,* formerly a distinct parish, about a mile from Langdon, West Lee.
toward Vange, was united to this parish in 1432, and the inhabitants have since that
time resorted to this church, their own having been destroyed, and the place where it
stood unknown. It belonged to Edeva before the Conquest, and, at the survey, to
the canons of St. Paul's church in London, who have retained possession to the
present time.
The manor-house is on the side of a hill, nearly a mile from the church. In 1313 Westley
king Edward the second granted to this manor the immunity "that no king's ^^""
purveyor should take any corn within its precincts." f
The church is on the western side of the hill; it is dedicated to All Saints; the chmch.
nave and chancel of one pace ; the chancel having a north chapel.
Bileigh abbey had the patronage of the rectory of Langdon till 1432, when, on
the union of the two churches, the abbey reserved to themselves two turns, and the
third was appropriated to St. Paul's, but, since the dissolution, it has wholly belonged
to that church.
In 1821 the number of inhabitants in this parish amounted to two hundred and
five, and, in 1831, to two hundred and twenty-four.
* West-ley, Saxon, west pastures.
t An estate in this parish was settled by Thomas White, D.D. as an endowment of the professorship
of moral philosophy, founded by him at Oxford in 1621 ; and also to be given out of the same farms to
five scholars, or exhibitioners of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, eight pounds a year each; and four pounds a
year to the principal of that hall. This munificent patron of learning was the founder of Sion College,
in London ; he was born in the city of Bristol, and died in 1623 ; he published numerous sermons, among
which were — ^Two Sermons at Panics, in the time of the Plague. London, 1577, 8vo. A Godly Sermon,
preached the xxi day of June, 1586, at Pensehurst, in Kent, at the buriall of the late right honourable sii
Henrie Sidney. London, 1586, 8vo.
576
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
JiOOK 11,
Laindun
with Ba-
sildon.
Manor of
Langdon.
Gobions,
Church.
Chantry.
Basildon.
Barstable
iNIanor.
LAINDON WITH BASILDON.
From its clayey soil this parish has been named Laindon Clay ; it extends north-
ward from the last described parish.* The village distant from Brentwood eight, and
from London twenty-four miles.
Before the Conquest, this lordship belonged to a female named Alfered, and, at the
survey, had been taken from her, and given to the bishop of London, whose
successors have retained possession to the present time. In 1291, it is stated in the
records, that the bishop had enclosed his wood in Leyndon, called the Fryth, with the
demesne lands adjacent, and had made a park within the bounds of the forest of
Essex : this Frith Avas the manor-house where the courts are kept.
The manor-house of Gobions is about a mile west from the church, near Dunton.
This estate was holden, by knight's service, by Thomas Gobion, junior, in 1334,
succeeded by John Gobion, in 1396, whose only daughter and heiress was first
married to John Aspall, and afterwards to John Symond, whose daughter, Joane
Symond, conveyed it in marriage to William Gaynesford ; and his son Richard died
in possession of it, in 1484, leaving his brother John his heir.
The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is on rising ground, and has a nave, south
aisle, and chancel, with a wooden steeple and spire.
A chantry was founded here, and largely endowed, in 1329, by Thomas Berde-
field, Avith a chaplain, to celebrate mass for his soul for ever at the altar of the
Virgin Mary and St. Thomas the Martyr.f
Basildon was made a chapelry to Laindon, at an early unknown period.^ It is
a separate parish, and contains three manors.
The mansion of this manor was half-a-raile from the church, or chapel, in a place
where, according to a traditionary account, there formerly was a town. This is
rendered probable by the fact of foundations of houses having been ploughed up in the
town field, which is near the church : considerable quantities of human bones have also
l)een dug up in the garden belonging to the parsonage. If it be true that the name of
the hundred has been derived from this place, it must have been formerly of more
Inscrip-
tions.
Charity.
* The tiat marsh lands, extending from Laindon to Goldhanger, are of a superior description, chiefly
arable. The average annual produce per acre at Langdon Clay, is, wheat twenty-four, and barley thirty-
six bushels.
f There are some ancient gravestones in this church, with several figures of persons in religious habits,
but the inscriptions have been destroyed.
In 1617, John Puckle gave all his copyhold lands to support a schoolmaster to teach a competent
number of poor children of Basildon and Laindon. In 1703, this charity having laid dormant many
years, was recovered by a commission from parliament.
I There was formerly a fair here on the fourteenth of September, but it seems to have been discon-
tinued some time ago.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 577
importance than at present ; but these assumptions are not authorized by any certain c H a f.
evidence. The record of Domesday informs us, that this estate was taken from a '
Saxon fi-eeman, and had been given to Odo, bishop of Baieux : there is no other
account of its owners till the reign of king Edward the third, when it was generally
holden, with the hundred, of the king. It was holden by Humphrey Waldene under
Edmund of Woodstock, earl of Kent, who was beheaded in 1330. From 1399 to
to 1419 it belonged to the Walden family, from which it passed, by marriage of
female heirs, to John Barle, esq. junior, and to Henry Langley, esq. whose only
daughter, Katherine, was married to John Marshall; she died in 1517, and he in
1520, leaving two daughters, co-heiresses: — Eleanor, wife of Henry Cutt, son of
sir John Cutt, of Thacksted ; and Mary, wife of John, son of Richard Cutt. After
the Cutt family, it belonged to Coleman, esq. of Istleworth, from whom it was
conveyed to Charles Brown, esq. It now belongs to Mrs. Slater.
An estate here, named Little Barstable, is mentioned as a manor in this parish,
which belonged to William Sandell in 1562, who also held Bacon's and Longland,
alias Waldens.
The manor, and the adjoining estate of Battlewick, were part of the possessions Belesden,
of Suene, of Essex ; the first having, previous to the Conquest, belonged to Lefstan, eis.
and the other to Goda, a freeman. The mansion of Botelers is near the church on the
south. In the reign of king Henry the third, it belonged to Wido de Bertlesdon ;
afterwards to Adam de Bertlisden, succeeded by his son and heir William, in 1274.
In 1350 to 1358 it was holden under John de Vere, earl of Oxford ; and on that
earl's death, in 1370, passed to the Cornwall family, of Avhom John Cornwall, or
Cornwallis, died, holding it of the bishop of London, in 1536 ; whose descendant,
sir Charles Cornwallis, sold it to sir Robert Wroth, who died in 1606; and his
son and heir, sir Robert, sold it to Henry Atkins, M.D. from whom it was
conveyed to Martin Bowes, esq. of St. Edmond's Bury, in Suffolk, whose three
daughters were his co-heiresses, one of whom, married to Philip Broke, esq. con-
veyed to him this estate. It now belongs to Golden N. Prentice, esq.
The mansion of this manor is near the church, and, in records, is sometimes named Battles-
Battlesdon, but there is some confusion in the accounts. From the feodary of the
earls of Oxford, it appears to have been in possession of that noble family from the
time of John de Vere, who died in 1421 co John de Vere, the thirteenth earl, who
died in 1512.
This estate, which is extra-parochial, is a mile from Lahidon church : the Liberty of
mansion is now a farm-house, situated on rising ground. It is seldom mentioned ^^.j
in records. It was in the possession of sir Brian Tuke, who died in 1545: in
1591 it was granted by queen Elizabeth to Henry Best and John Wells; and, in
1613, John, lord Petre, as also John Petre, esq. in 1623, died in possession of it.
578 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. succeeded by William Petre, esq. of New House in Writtle. It now belongs to
Lord Gambier.
There was anciently a chapel here, the foundations of which are yet visible : it was
either built for a chantry, or there was one founded in it afterwards ; and the
certificate of chantries, in the time of Edward the sixth, informs us that " lands and
tenements were here put in feoffment by divers persons to the maintenance of a
pi'iest, the said priest to sing mass in a certain chaple, called East Lea chaple, in
Laindon, distant from the parish church a mile and more. The yerely value of the
same doth amount to the sura of 41." This endowment was holden of the king
as of the manor of East Greenwich, by fealty only, in free socage.*
Basildon This is a chapel of ease to the mother church, from which it is two miles distant ;
'^^*^ ' it is on ground rising up from the valley, which lies between them, and in which the
parsonage house is situated. Basildon chapel is a good building, with a nave and
chancel, an embattled tower, and a spire.
In 1821 the population of Laindon amounted to four hundred and two; Basildon
to one hundred and forty-two : in 1831 Laindon contained four hundred and
twelve ; Basildon one hundred and twenty-four inhabitants.
NEWENDEN, OR NEVENDEN.
Newen- This parish is small, and situated in a valley, as the last syllable of its name, which
Nevendeii. is Saxon, seems to indicate. The name, in Domesday, is written Neutenden, and
Nezenden. Distant from Billericay five, and from London twenty-seven miles.
Before the Conquest, these lands belonged to Alward Dore, Tovi, a freeman, and
Alwin ; and, at the survey, had been granted to Roger Mareschall, Haghebern, and
another proprietor. There are two manors.
Biomford The chief manor of Newenden is also named Little Bromfords, and the mansion is
a capital building near the church. It is first mentioned in records by this name in
1419, when it seems to have been divided, in order to settle a part of it on the
hospital of St. Mary without Bishopsgate, which was retained till the dissolution.
In 1442, sir Lodowick John died, holding this estate, with the advowson of the
church, of Humphrey Stafford, earl of Stafford. Henry Fitz-Lewis, esq. the son of
Sir Lewis, was the next possessor, who died, holding it, in 1480, and left his
daughter Mary, wife of Anthony Wideville, lord Rivers, his heiress. In 1522,
William Fitz-Lewis, and Anne his wife, conveyed this estate to William Berdford ;
and it passed, in 1537, from Ralph Symonds and Elizabeth his wife to sir John
Mordant; and from the sheriffs' accounts it appears that, in 1607, John, lord
* This estate is extra-parochial, and pays no dues to any parish, but is in the jurisdiction of the
constable of Laindon, and is charged for taxes in the assessments upon that parish.
Hall.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 579
Mordant, had this possession, which, in 1610, belonged to Richard Robotham, gent, c h a f.
succeeded by Thomas Blackmore, esq. whose descendants appear to have retained ^^^'
possession a considerable time. Sometime after the year 1770, it belonged to
Joshua Blackmore, esq. and was afterwards purchased by Mrs. Ann Bavin, of
Downham. This estate is now the property of George Eachus, esq. of Saffron
Walden.
This manor is what was taken from Bromfords and given to the hospital. In Fieme, or
1546 it was granted by Henry the eighth to the mayor and commonalty of the city '^'^'"^"
of London, from whom, in 1563, it was conveyed to sir William Petre, who died
possessed of it in 1571, as did also his son John, lord Petre, in 1613, and was
succeeded by Thomas Petre, esq. From the presentations to the living, it appears
to have been in the families of Wakefield and Hoare from 1662 to 1678. The estate
afterwards belonged to Joshua Galliard, of Thavies-inn, and to his son. Pierce
Galliard, esq. counsellor at law.
The church is a small ancient building, dedicated to St. Peter. The living, a Chmch.
rectory, originally appendant to the manor of Little Bromfords, but, after the year
1574, it was in the gift of the lords of the manor of Frerne, or Great Bromfords.*
Li 1821, the population of this parish amounted to one hundred and eighty-six,
and, in 1831, to one hundred and eighty-one.
WICKFORD.
This parish lies between Newenden and Downham ; on the north is bounded by Wickfoid.
part of the hundred of Chelmsford; and, eastward, extends to the hundred of
Rochford.f The village is on low ground, between Rayleigh and Billericay ; distant
from either of these places about six miles, and from London thirty.
In Edward the Confessor's reign, this parish comprehended four manors, besides
four other parcels of land, which belonged to Lefstan, to Bricteda, a freewoman,
Godwin, a king's thane. Dot, Godric, Edwin Grut, and seven other freemen. At
the survey, Suene, of Essex, Odo, bishop of Bayeux, William, son of Odo, Mainard,
Moduin, and Ilbodo, were the landholders here ; afterwards a considerable change
was made in these estates, and some of them appear to have been added to the
neighbouring parishes, so that there are now only two manors.
* The chantry chapel, or hospital, of Milton, in Kent, had its endowment chiefly in this parish, which, Chantry
in 1524, was granted by Henry the eighth to sir Henry Wyatt ; John Dygon, the last master, having died '-''nds.
in that year. .
In the churchyard there are memorial inscriptions for Thomas Blackmore, gent., buried May 22, 1679 ; Inscrip-
also of his two daughters, Elizabeth and Anne.
Andrew Pascal, gent., who died in 1613, left ten pounds yearly to the poor of Newenden. Charity.
t The lands by Ramden and Downham, to Wickford, are strong and heavy; but tliere is a fruitful
loam, from one to two feet deep, in the vale of Wickford, which produces good crops of wheat.
580
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Hall
BOOK II. This manor is what belonged to Suene, and was subsequently holden of the
wickford honour of Rayleigh. After the forfeiture of Suene's grandson, the crown retained
this possession till the time of Richard the first, who granted it to Ulric Balis-
tarius, commander of his crossbow-men ; and his posterity, by the names of Urric,
Urry, and sometimes Orric, retained possession till after the year 1300 :* Gilbert
Urry, who died in that year, and his son Nicholas, and grandson of the same name,
are the last of the family on record as possessors of this estate. It afterwards
belonged to John Plantagenet, earl of Kent, who died in 1532; but no other possessors
are mentioned till the time of king Henry the eighth, when it belonged to Elizabeth,
the widow of sir John Pound, who on her death, in 1511, was succeeded by her son
and heir William, who died in 1525, leaving Anthony his son and heir. The next
possessors were sir Henry Radcliffe, and Honora his wife, from whom it was conveyed
to Arthur Harrys, esq. and he, in 1566, sold it to Christopher Harris, who died in
1571, and was succeeded by his son Edward, followed by sir William Harrys, of
Shenfield, in Margareting. Latter possessors of this estate were Edmund Godwin,
esq. of Hook's hall, in Surrey ; Richard Vaughan, esq. of Shenfield-place ; and his
son, John Vaughan, esq. who married Ellen, daughter of Nicholas Partridge, esq. by
whom he had Richard Partridge, esq. of Shenfield-place ; afterwards it belonged to
the Luther family.
The other considerable estate in this parish is named Stileman's. The mansion was
half a mile westward from the church, on the north side of the river, near Runwell,
but it has been long since destroyed. The courts-leet meet here, and choose two
constables. There is no account of the ancient owners of this estate. It was given
by Mr. Robert Chester to Mr. John Moore, his sister's son, whose son and heir left
it by will (if his son died without issue) to Jehu Hall, his sister's son, and it con-
sequently became the property of the Hall family.f This manor now belongs to
R. B. de Beauvoir, esq.
Geidables. There are two geldables| here, which bear a third part of the king's taxes : they
extend into the neighbouring parishes of Rawreth, Runwell, and South Hanning-
field.
Church. The church is pleasantly situated on rising ground ; it has a nave and chancel,
Stile
man
* Richard Orric, at the time of his death, in 1247, had this estate ; and his sisters, Isabel and Maud,
were his heirs. Maud died unmarried; and Isabel assumed the surname of de Wikeford, as did also her
son John, to whom she gave part of her sister's share of the estate, which had descended to her. This
family were surnamed Arbelaster, from the French,' Arborleste, cross-bow. — Symonds' Collect, vol. iii.
fol. 505.
+ Arms of Hall :— Argent, three talbots' heads erased between nine cross crosslets, sable. Crest : a
talbot's head.
X This word is from the Saxon, and signifies " taxable."
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 581
which are of one pace. It was given to the priory of Prlttlewell, by Robert de chap
Essex.* ^V'-
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and eighty-one inhabitants, and four
hundred and two in 1831.
riTSEY.
Two arms of the river Thames form a peninsula, of which the western branch is Pitscy.
called Pitsey-creek ; from this the parish extends north-eastward, f The name is
written Pichesea, Pecheseye, and in Domesday, Piceseia. The village is small and
insignificant ; distant from Brentwood fourteen miles, and from London twenty-eight.
Before the Conquest, Ulueva, the wife of Phin, had this estate; who appears to
have retained possession till the general survey ; but it soon afterwards belonged to
Eudo Dapifer, who gave part of it to St. John's abbey, in Colchester ; which part is
believed to have been what was afterwards Pitsey-hall-manor.
The mansion of Pitsey hall is at the bottom of the hill, near the creek. In 1539 pitsey
this manor, with the advowson of the church, was granted to Thomas lord Cromwell; ^^''*
on whose attainder in 1540, reverting to the crown, it was appointed for the main-
tenance of the princess Mary; and afterwards, in 1562, was granted by queen Eliza-
beth to Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk; upon whose execution, in 1572, this
estate descended to Philip Howard, earl of Arundel, his eldest son by his first lady,
Mary, daughter and heiress of Henry Fitz- Alan, earl of Arundel ; from whom it was
conveyed, in 1581, to Roger Townshend, esq. and Edward Cook, gent. ; from the
former of whom it passed to Edward Cook, and Bridget his wife, who held it of the
heirs of the duke of Norfolk. In 1618, sir Edward Cooke, knt. held this manor, and
in 1630 presented to the living; in 1664 it belonged to Mr. Samuel Moyer, and to
his son Samuel, created a baronet in 1701, who died in 1716. His nephew, Benjamin
Moyer, esq., was his successor in this estate ; which now belongs to Mrs. Moyer. J
In ancient writings, this manor is named Chalverton, Chaluton, Celdon, and Chel- Chaher-
vedon hall. The mansion is a large old house, on low ground, between Pitsey-street ^°"'
and Newenden. The first occurrence of the name is in 1224 or 1225, after which it
belonged to St. Mary's hospital without Bishopsgate, holden under Robert Fitzwalter,
who died in 1328 ; and, in 1386, Walter Fitzwalter died possessed of it. It was
* A stone in the chancel bears the effigies of three persons, and below these the representation of what Monu-
is understood to be their four sons and four daughters, but the inscription is destroyed. There are three ment.
shields of arms : the first, said to be for Clavil ; * * • * between three boars' heads, couped. Second,
quarterly, first and fourth, a fess engrailed. Third, defaced.
t The lands of this ])arish are strong and heavy, with few variations.
t Anns of Moyer. Argent, two chevronels, gules, on each a mullet of six points, or, pierced of the
second.
VOL. II. 4 F
582 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. granted by Henry the eighth to Thomas lord Cromwell, and, returnhig again to the
crown on his attainder, was afterwards appropriated to the maintenance of the
princess Mary; and, in 1562, was granted by queen Elizabeth to Thomas, duke of
Norfolk; after whose execution, on account of his connexion with the affairs of queen
Mary of Scotland, being forfeited, was restored to his son Thomas, lord Howard,
created earl of Suffolk in 1603. It afterwards belonged to the family of Prescot, of
Mountnessing, and to Blinco.
Church. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is on an eminence which commands a delight-
ful prospect of wide extent; it has a nave and chancel, with a tower of stone, and a
shingled spire.*
This parish, in 1821, contained two hundred and eighty-nine; and, in 1831, two
hundred and seventy-six, inhabitants.
BURES, OR BOWERS GIFFORD.
Bures or This parish is distinguished from Mount Bures, in Lexden, by affixing to it the
f^-ff^^^'^^ name of an ancient owner. The village is near the marshes ; with a «mall, but gra-
dually increasing population : distant from Billericay eight miles, and from London
thirty-one.
The lands of this parish, before and after the Conquest, belonged to St. Peter's, of
Westminster ; Alestan, a freeman ; and several others. At the time of the survey,
they were in the possession of Piperell, or Peverell; Walter, the deacon; and
Grime, the sheriff or bailiff: afterwards, the whole formed only one lordship, in the
possession successively of families named Leyborn, Sutton, Bigod, and Gifford ; but
were again divided, forming two manors.
Bures Gif- In the time of king Henry the second, Bures was holden under Robert de Liburne,
^"^ *' by Robert de Sutton, by the sergeancy of scalding the king's hogs: this Robert de
Sutton gave all his lands in Sutton and Bures, with other possessions, in frank mar-
riage with his daughter Margaret, to William, a younger son of Roger Bigod, earl
of Norfolk. William was succeeded by Hugh Bigod, vmder whom this estate was
holden by the ancient family of Giffard, or Gifford, descended from Walter Giffard,f
son of Osbern de Bolebec and his wife Aveline, sister of Gunnora, duchess of Nor-
mandy, great grandmother to the Concjueror. In 1253, William Giffard, and
Gundred his wife, had the advowson of the church; and, in 1255, William Giffard
held this manor by the sergeancy of making the king's lard or bacon, wherever he
should be in England. In 1281, the estate was holden by William Giffard, and
Robert his son, and Gundred, wife of the said Robert. Of these, the last survivor
* A stone in the chancel bears a Latin inscription, to inform tis, that " Here lies Elizabetli, wife of
John Parlevant, formerly Elizabeth Haye, who died in 1588."
t Created earl of Buckingham by the Conqueror. — Dugdale's Baron., vol. i. p. 59.
nor.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 583
was Gundred, who died in 1300, and left Robert GifFard, her son and heir, who died chap.
in 1348, and is the last recorded possessor of the estate of that family : his next heir ^
was William, son of Thomas Brygod ; after whom the de Veres, earls of Oxford,
were lords paramount here. On the division into two manors, the first mentioned in
records is Bower's hall, which was holden by Robert Travers, in 1347, and by John Howci's
Gerard, from 1349 to 1351; and, from an inspection of the London Register, it ^^^^'
appears that a family, named St. Nicholas, presented to the living from the year 1392
to 1463; and, in 1494, Henry Baker presented, in whose descendants the right of
presentation continued till the time of James the first; durhjg which period the earls
of Oxford presented twice, in 1537 and 1541, by reason of guardianship ; the heirs of
the Baker family being then under age. In 1569, James Baker died possessed of
this estate, whose son Henry was his heir ; and it was afterwards conveyed, by female
heirship, to the Boughton family, of Warwickshire, in 1641 ; and, in 1662, sir Edward
Boughton, bart., sold Bowers Gifford hall to Edward Lewen, esq., who, in 1681,
left it by will to his younger son, Martin Lewen, esq., of Gray's inn, city marshal ;
who sold it to John Slaughter, of east Smithfield, London ; whose son John was his
heir. It afterwards belonged to Henry Honychurch, esq.
The manor of this mansion is a quarter of a mile below the church, in the marshes. Eai!.<Fee,
This is what remained of the estate of the earls of Oxford, in this parish, after they
had granted part of it to under-tenants. It is not mentioned in records by the name
of Erlesfe, till 1513. In 1569 it was holden of Alberic de Vere, second son of John,
the fifteenth earl, by James Baker, esq., by the service of a clove gillyflower. It was
afterwards above a hundred and thirty years the property of the Read family. John
Read died possessed of it in 1627 ; and, in 1747, Henry Read sold it to George
Montgomery, esq.
The church, dedicated to St. Margaret, is of one pace with the chancel : it has a ciuuch.
steeple, and shingled spire.
In 1821, the inhabitants of this parish amounted to two hundred and twenty-one;
and to two hundred and thirty-one, in 1831.
BEMFLEET, OR BENFLEET ; ANCIENTLY BEAMFLEET.
The district named Bemfleet was not formerly divided into north and south, but
was made to constitute only one lordship. In the ninth century it was distinguished
as the usual landing-place of the Danish pirates ; and in the year 893 the Danish rover
Hoesten built a castle or fortifications, in which he used to lay up his plunder, guarded
by a large garrison.* But, in 894, king Alfred drove away the garrison, and demo-
molished the castle, and took Ha'sten's wife and two sons prisoners, with all the booty,
* It was in tlie southern part of this district ; and is described as a strong place, by Matthew of West-
minster, Ad ann. 895.
584
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II. which was conveyed to London. He also destroyed most of the Danish ships; taking
' what remained to London and Rochester.*
North
Henifleet.
North-
Bern fleet
Manor.
Berdfelds.
Fan Hall
NORTH BEMFLEET.
The villag-e of North Bemfleet is pleasantly situated three miles from the Thames;
distant from Billericay seven, and from London thirty miles. The lands of this
parish belonged to earl Harold ; to Aluin, a freeman ; and to two others, in the time
of the Saxons. At the survey, the greater part had been retained by the Conqueror,
and kept for him under the snperintendance of Ralph, brother of Ilger; what
remained Avas in two parcels, and the whole was divided into three manors.
The mansion of this manor is near the church, the lands being what belonged to
earl Harold. Li the reign of king Henry the third, in 1263, Alexander de Bemfleet
held one hidate of land here, of the gift of St. Martin-le-Grand ; and his brother John
Avas his heir : but, at that time the larger portion of the estate was holden by a family
surnamed de Plumberg, of the neighbouring parish of Hockley. The estate was next
in the considerable family of Coggeshall, of Paklesham : Ralph de Coggeshall died
holding it, in 1305, leaving John de Coggeshall his son and heir : his successor was
his son, sir John de Coggeshall, who, on his decease, in 1361, was succeeded by his
son Henry, who, dying in 1375, left his son William his heir, Avhose four daughters
were his co-heiresses : of these, Alice, married to sir John Tyrell, of Heron, con-
veyed to him this estate : their fifth son, William Tyrell, esq. was the next possessor
of it at the time of his death, in 1494 ; and left his son Edward his heir, who died in
1541. Successive proprietors were, William Tyrell, esq. brother and heir of Edward,
in 1543; Edmund Tyrell, esq., son of Jasper, younger brother of John, father of
William, he died in 1576, leaving Edmund Church, son of his eldest daughter Mary,
and his three daughters his co-heirs. Sir Ralph Wiseman, knt., of Rivenhall, who
died in 1608, held this estate; which descended to his son, sir Thomas Wiseman;
and his son, sir William Wiseman, hart., becoming possessed of it, conveyed it to
Edmund Godwin, esq., who, in 1694, sold it to John Wilmer, merchant, of London,
a descendant of the Wilmers of Northamptonshire.-]- It now belongs to Richard
Wingfield, esq.
This manor is also named Bradviles, Boadvills, and Browfords. The account of it
is very imperfect; in 1497 Richard Lee, esq. died, holding this estate; and it belonged
to Thomas Wiseman, esq., of North End, in Great Waltham, who died in 1584. In
1615 it Avas holden by George Pomfret, of sir Henry Appleton, knt. and bart.
Fan-hall is a mile from the church ; in 1768 it belonged to John Russell, esq..
* .Saxon Chion., p. 93, 9k
t Ai ins of Wihner. Gules, a chevron varey, hetween tlirec eagles.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 585
of North Okenden, Lut there is no authorized account of former possessors of this CHAP,
estate. xvi.
The church is an ancient structure, with a tower and five bells; it is dedicated to Church.
All Saints.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to three hundred and three; and
had decreased to three hundred, in 1831.
SOUTH BEMFLEET.
As the name indicates, this lies south from the last-described parish; and is parted South
from Canvey island by a creek, which, passing by Hadley, is named Hadley Ray.* ^^ ^^*'
The parish is three miles from east to west, and two from north to south.
The village, on the border of the creek, is considerably larger than North Bem-
fleet ; and the creek being navigable for small craft, some business is carried on here,
particularly in wood, corn, and calves.f It is distant from Brentwood eighteen
miles ; and from London thirty-six.
Before the Conquest, part of this parish belonged to the monastery of Barking, but
was taken from that appropriation by William the Conqueror, and given to West-
minster abbey. Another part, which belonged to Alwln, a freeman, in the reign of
the Confessor, was in the possession of Suene at the time of the survey. There are
three manors.
The manor of the Abbey, on the dissolution of monasteries, passed to the crown. Manor of
where it remained till the institution of a dean and prebendaries there, by king Henry
the eighth, who made this estate part of their endowment : which, notwithstanding
the successive alterations in that church, has been retained to the present time, as it
was confirmed to that foundation, with the rectory and advowson of the vicarage, by
queen Elizabeth, in 1560.
That part of this parish which belonged to Suene, has been divided into the Manors ot
manors of South Bemfleet and Jarvis. South Bemfleet hall is on the north of the Bemflcet
church, and Jarvis' hall is a mile distant from it in the same direction ; it is on a hill, ^? "
named North-Mayes, and also Jarvis' hill. After Henry de Essex, the next recorded
owner of this estate was William de Woodham, who died in 1280, succeeded by his
son Thomas, and his grandson William. The next owner was John de Coggeshall ;
succeeded by his son sir John de Coggeshall, whose son sir Henry, was his succsssor
in 1360; and his successor, on his decease in 1375, was his son, sir William de
Coggeshall, who left four daughters co-heiresses : of these, Alice, the second, was
* From the Norman French Rie, shore, coast, or bank.
t Average annual produce of arable lands here, wheat twenty, barley thirty bushels per acre. There is
a fair on the 24th of August. ,
586 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. married to sir John Tyrell, of Herons; and their descendant, Joice, daughter of sir
Robert Tyrell, conveyed this estate in marriage to Thomas Appleton, esq., which sir
Roger Appleton, their son, held at the time of his decease, in 1557, and it continued
in this family nearly two hundred years, when Elizabeth Appleton, sister of sir
Henry, and ultimately heiress of the last sir William,* was married to Richard
Vaughan, esq. of Shenfield-place, and conveyed to him this estate : their son, John
Vaughan, esq., was their heir and successor. The manor of South Bemfleet now
belongs to John Perry, esq.
^i'^''- Rich-marsh, now named Richnesse, was made the endowment of a chantry, founded
Marsh.
in the cathedral of St. Paul, in 1239, by Martin de Pateshull,f dean of that church;
which, after the dissolution, passed from the crown to John Hulson and Bartholomew
de Brokesby, and to various possessors. There was also a manor here, called le
White hall, and lands and tenements named Poynantes, which Robert Blosme
released to W^illiam Trusbit, esq., in 1412. J
Church. The church is a handsome and stately edifice, on high ground in the street: it is
dedicated to St. Mary ; with north and south aisles, and chancel ; the aisles separated
from the nave by massive pillars. The tower is of stone, with a tall wooden spire,
and five bells.
In 1821, there were five hundred and fifteen inhabitants in this parish; which had
increased to five hundred and thirty-three in 1831.
* Arms of Appleton. Argent, a barr ingrailed, sable, between three apples slipped, gules, leaved and
stalked proper.
t Dugdale's Hist, of St. Paul's.
+ In 1563, sir Henry Appleton, knt., Roger Appleton, M.D., and William Appleton, LL.D., had the fol-
lowing lands disafforested in consideration of five hundred pounds paid to the crovifn. The manor of
Jarvis hall, containing six thousand six hundred and sixty acres ; Jarvis hall park, north Moyes park,
South Bemfleet park, Jarvis hall demesne lands, Jarvis great woods, Jarvis high woods, Jarvis springs,
Thundersley great woods, Hadley great woods, Garren's woods, Goldley springs. Hick hawkes woods,
Mawling's woods. Temple woods, Dawes' woods, Dawkins' woods, and so beyond Dawes' heath, Bushey
lees great woods. Hartley groves. Church woods, Hovell thick woods, Philips' springs, Philax groves,
Acley bottoms, Hope's green, Read's hills ; Boyse's, Muller's, Bacon's, north, south, east, and west
downs, with divers marshes in Canvey island, containing three thousand eight hundred acres ; named
Monk's wick, North wick. Father wick. Castle wick, Chafleet shores wick, Hope's wick, Leighbeck,
Scarhouse, Woolspit, Antleah's, Shouldry, Runtisward marsh, Darlet, Lymeyard, Waterside, Newinins,
Lubbyns, Great Russels, Little Russels, Seachurch marsh, Hadley marsh, Southvvick marsh. West Stanes
wick, and the feedings, fishing, water-courses, from Timon's beacon, Wodeham horse. Sea horse,
Creeten's pool and Creten's reach. Cliff hill. Holly haven, and Bemfleet ray ; so all round the whole isle
of Candey or Canvey, as far as Hadley ray, &c. Also the manor of south Bemfleet, containing three thou-
sand acres ; also of the farm of Leigh park, with the woods and underwoods, containing one hundred and
eighty acres, with several other messuages and tenements.
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE. 587
CHAP.
THUNDERSLEY. XVi.
This parish is on the eastern extremity of Barstable, where it joins to the hundred Thunders-
of Rochford : it is two miles from north to south, and one and a half from east to ^^ '
west.*
The village is small, on high ground, commanding agreeable prospects over a wide
extent of country : distant from Brentwood, seventeen miles ; and from London,
thirty-three.
In the time of Edward the Confessor, a king's thane, named Godric, held this lord-
ship, which belonged to Suene at the time of the survey, and was afterwards divided
into two manors.
The manor-house of Thundersley is half a mile north from the church. The estate Tinmdci s-
passed to the crown on the forfeiture of Henry de Essex, but in the time of Henry ^^'
the second had been granted to the family of Fitz-Barnard ; it belonged to John
Fitz- Barnard, who died in 1260, and was succeeded by Robert Fitz-Barnard, who
died in 1299. In 1313 it was conveyed by Thomas le Fitz-Barnard to Bartholomew
de Baddlesmere, who gave it to king Edward the second, in exchange for the manor
of Bourn, in Sussex. In 1329, king Edward the third granted this manor to John
le Sturmy, who died in 1343, and was succeeded by his son Robert de Sturmy : sir
Donewald Sturmy was his son and heir, and, in 1361, by deed conveyed this estate to
king Edward the third ; and in 1367 Isolda, his widow, released to the king all her
right to the same. This purchase by the crown appears to have been for the purpose
of uniting this estate to Rayleigh Castle, at that time belonging to the royal family.
In 1390, it was granted by king Richard the second to Edmund, duke of York, fifth
son of king Edward the third; on whose decease, in 1401, he was succeeded by his
son Edward, who had it during his life ; and Philippa, his dowager, held a third part
of the estate till her death in 1422. It Avas afterwards granted, by king Edward the
sixth, to William Parr, earl of Essex and marquis of Northampton, who conveyed it
to Edward Bury and Kenelm Throckmorton, esq. ; and the latter, in 1550, conveyed
it to Thomas Gesting. George White, esq., of Hutton, who died in 1584, lield the
manor of Thundersley of the queen ; and it was conveyed by his son Richard to
Francis Fitche ; and supposed to have belonged to the following persons, who suc-
cessively presented to the living of the church: Robert Wiseman, esq., in 1619;
Robert Smyth, esq., in 1644 and 1646; Thomas Bowling, gent., from 1676 to 1689;
and John Dowling, esq., in 1700. In 1720, it was sold by John Ange, esq., of
Upton, to Robert Surman, esq., cashier of the South-sea Company ; and was pur-
chased of the directors by Edward Turnor, esq., who bequeathed it to his nepliew,
* The soil here is strong and wet, and liollow-drained : average annual produce per acre, wheat twenty,
barley thirty bushels.
588 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. Edward Montgomerie, esq., on whose death, in 1747, it descended to his brother,
George Montgomerie, esq. It now belongs to Charles Bosanquet, esq.
Busches, The name is supposed to have been from William Buseh, whose wife Lettice, who
Buishcs. died in 1309, held lands here, supposed to be this manor : and it appears by a charter,
that in 1267 William Saundon, the king's cook, held lands here, believed to be this
manor, Avhich afterwards belonged to the new hospital of St. Mary without Bishops-
gate ; and, on the dissolution of monasteries, coming to the crown, was granted to
John de Vere, earl of Oxford, in 1545 ; and was holden by John Warner, who died
in 1552: on the death of Henry, his brother and heir, in 1556, it went to Thomas
Newdigate, son and heir of Anne Warner ; and to Elizabeth Thomas, and Margaret
Thomas, daughters of Thomasine Warner. In 1557, it was sold by Robert Kemp
and Thomas Newdigate, to Henry Songer and Elizabeth his wife ; and they, with
Thomas Philips, sold it, in 1558, to Bartholomew Averell; who, dying in 1562, left
Mary, wife of sir John Sammes, Grace, and Elizabeth, his daughters and co-heiresses.
The estate afterwards belonged to captain Crowder, of Goodman' s-fields, London;
and now belongs to John Fare, esq.
Churcli. The church is on an eminence, commanding a prospect of wide extent; it has a
nave, north and south aisles, and chancel, with a spire : it is dedicated to St. Peter.
This ancient building has short round and octagonal piers, with some flowered
capitals, and pointed arches. The style is a mixture of Norman and early English.
In 1821, the inhabitants of Thundersley amounted to three hundred and thirteen;
those of the hamlet, to two hundred and thirty-three: in 1831, Thundersley, with the
hamlet, amounted to five hundred and twenty-six,
CANVEY ISLAND.
Canvey This island is separated from Bemfleet and Hadley, by one of the branches of the
■''"'■ river Thames by which it is surrounded. Camden supposes it to be that which is
mentioned by Ptolemy, and named Ktoowog : it is in length five miles, and in breadth
two ; and contains three thousand six hundred acres of marsh land, chiefly appro-
priated to the grazing of cattle and sheep. It is not a parish of itself, but is chiefly
connected with Bemfleet, yet also pays taxes and tithes to the parishes of Bures
Gifl'ord, Pitsey, Vange, Laindon with Basildon ; and to Lee, Prittlewell, and South-
church, in Rochford hundred. There is a passage across the creek, called Hadleigh
Ray, by a causeway leading into it from the main land. There are about fifty houses
on the island, and there is a fair on the twenty-fifth of June. It is thirty miles
distant from London.
Ancient possessors of lands in this island were Edward Baker, esq. Avho held here
the three marshes of Knightwyke, Southwyke, and Attnash, in the year 1543 : in
1569, James Baker, esq. held five hundred acres of Salt-marsh; and, in 1557, sir
HUNDRED OF BARSTABLE.
589
Roger Appleton had possessions here, which belonged to his great-grandson, sir
Henry Appleton, in 1604; who in 1622, with other proprietors, agreed to give one
third of the lands, in fee simple, to Joas Croppenburgh, a Dutchman, in consideration
of his securing the island from the overflowing of the tides, and the encroachments of
the sea.
A timber chapel was erected here for the Dutch inhabitants, which being decayed,
a new one was built, in 1712, by Mr. Edgar, an officer in the victualling office:
this also had decayed, when, in 1745, the present building was erected, partly by a
contribution of the inhabitants, but chiefly by a benefaction of Daniel Scratton, esq.
of Prittlewell. He also gave part of the tithes to trustees, to pay ten pounds a year
to the vicar of Prittlewell, and ten pounds a year to the curate, to preach twenty
sermons in this chapel.
John Curtis, esq., Baillie, esq., and Thomas Spitty, esq., are proprietors here.
CHAP
XVI.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN BARSTABLE HUNDRED.
R. Rectory. V. Vicarage. t Discharged from payment of first fruits.
Parisli.
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber « .
Regis. Patron.
Basildon, C
Benfleet, North, R. .
Benfleet, South, V. .
Bulphan, R
Burghsted, Great, V.
Burghsted, Little, R.
Canvey Island, C. . .
Chadweli, R
Corringhani, R
Doddinghurst, R... .
Downham, R
Dunton R
Essex ....
Rector of Laindon..
S. Trenoweth
Geo. Swayne, D.D..
Thomas Hand
J. Thomas
1803
1778
1827
1830
1822
1820
1828
1819
1818
1813
1827
1798
1822
1795
1827
1797
1814
1803
1825
1824
1814
1808
1798
1786
1821
1829
ISOl
1830
1786
1803
1818
1827
Not in cha
£\6 0
tl6 5
23 0
17 6
12 0
Not in cha
17 13
22 3
10 3
12 2
14 1,3
21 0
10 0
tl4 6
14 3
8 0
85 6
flO 3
10 0
10 13
29 6
16 13
14 0
20 0
14 18
12 9
t23 7
13 15
tl3 6
20 0
14 0
rge Rector of Laindon.
0 Rev. C. R. Rowlatt.
5 1 Dn.&Ch.of We-stmin.
0 Mr. Bury. &c.
8 Rev. Ed. Evans.
0 Bishop of London,
rge Rector of Laindon.
4 Rev. J. P. Herringham.
4 Rev. W.R.Stephenson.
9 Jarvis Kenrick.
8i R. B. de Beau voir.
4 Khicr'a Pnll ranih
A. W. Roberts
Win. Macleod
J. P. Herringham. ..
W. R. Stephenson . .
Bridges Harvey ....
E. R. Benyon
J. S. Hand
J. H. Randolph
H. Powell
Theophilus Lane . . .
Thomas Newman.. .
Richard Black
Edward Hodson
R. C. Packman
J.W.Vivian, D.D...
Vincent Edwards. , .
John Fred. Usco . , ,
C. Hewitt
Fobbing, R
Horndon, East, R. . .
Horndon-on-hill, V.
Horndon, West, R. .
Hutton, R
0
0
8
4
0
8
9
0
4
8
4
0
0
4
9^
8^
0
H
0
0
The King.
Earl of Arran.
Dn.&Ch. of St. Paul's.
Thomas Newman, esq.
Du.&Ch. of St. Paul's.
Bishop of London.
Dn.&Ch. of St. Paul's.
Dn.&Ch. of St. Paul's.
Rev. Vincent Edwards.
Bishop of London.
Mrs. Heathcote, &c.
Rector of Stock.
< Divisees of Rev. Dr.
( V\c. Knox.
Countess de Grey,
j Sir H.Fcathcrstone-
( haugh, bart.
Rev. G. Hemming.
Rev. T. Schrieber.
Lord Chancellor.
The King.
R. B. de Bcauvoir, esq.
Laingdon, R
Laingdon-hill, R
Mucking, V
Newenden, R
Orsett, R
Exempt. ..
Essex
Pitsea, R
Ramsd. Bel. R
Ramsd. Grays, R. . .
Shenfield, R
Stanford-le-Hope, R.
Thundersley, R
Thurrock, Little, R. .
Tilbury, East, V
Tilbury, West, R. . .
Wickford, R
Rector of Stock ....
Thomas Knox, D.D. .
C.J. Yorke
Wni. Armstrong. . . .
G. Hemming
Henry Ward
A. P. Postan
Edward Linzee
Thomas Hulse ....
VOL. II.
4g
590 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
CHAPTER XVn.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD.
^QQ'^ "• This hundred extends eastward to the German Ocean ; westward to Barstable ;
Rochford. southward to the border of the river Thames, and to the sea; and the river Crouch
forms its northern boundary: from west to east its length is eighteen miles, and its
breadth, from north to south, nine. After the Conquest, it was granted to Suene ;
on whose forfeiture, returning to the crown, it was granted by king Henry the third
to Hubert de Burgh, chief justice of England, who, by that king, was created earl of
Kent in 1226 : he died in 1243 ; and his last wife, Margaret, sister of Alexander the
second, king of Scotland, had this hundred at the time of her decease, in 1260 : dying
without heir, John de Burgh, earl of Kent, her husband's son by his first wife, suc-
ceeded to the estate; which, in 1274, he conveyed to king Edward the first, with the
manors of Rayleigh and Eastwood ; and in 1340 it was granted, by Edward the third,
to William de Bohun; who dying in 1360, it descended to his son Humphrey, earl
of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton ;' who, at the time of his death in 1372, leaving
only daughters, it returned to the crown : it was granted to Thomas de Staple ; and
in 1380 to Alberic de Vere, the tenth earl of Oxford: succeeded in 1400 by Edmund
de Langley, duke of York, fifth son of king Edward the third : in 1402 his son
Edward, duke of York, succeeded to this estate; and he dying in 1415, his widow
Philippa, held part of it in dower. It afterwards was in the possession of Richard
Plantagenet, duke of York, father of Edward the fourth, and nephew of Edmund de
Langley, on whose decease it passed to the crown : and was granted by Edward the
sixth to Richard lord Rich, who died in 1566, after whom it remained in his family
till 1673. This hundred contains the following twenty-four parishes: Rochford,
Rayleigh, Hadleigh, Leigh, Eastwood, Raureth, Hockley, Hawkswell, Sutton, Prit-
tlewell, Southchurch, North Shoebury, South Shoebury, Great Wakering, Little
Wakering, Barling, Shopland, Packlesham, Canewdon, Great Stanbridge, Little
Stanbridge, Assingdon, South Fambridge, Foulness, and other islands.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 591
ROCHFORD.
CHAP.
XVII.
This is the most considerable town in the hundred to which it has given its name ; Uochfoid
it is by a brook or rivulet, named Broomhill, over which there are two small bridges,
and which flows into the great creek communicating with the river Crouch. Probably
there has formerly been a ford here, from which the latter syllable of the name is
derived ; the first syllable is of more doubtful origin. Morant is of opinion, that it
may be from Rodesford, or Radesford, being on the principal road of the hundred ; it
is written in Domesday, Rochefort. The houses are mostly irregular, and of mean
appearance ; the market-house, of timber, near the centre of the town, bears the date
of 1707. The market is on Thursday ; and the fairs are on Tuesday and Wednesday
in Easter week, and on the Wednesday and Thursday after the twenty-ninth of
September. Distant from Rayleigh five, and fi'om London thirty-nine miles.*
A freeman had the land of this parish at the close of the Saxon sera ; and at the
time of the survey it belonged to Suene, whose under-tenant was Alured, a Saxon.
There are two manors.
The manor-house of Rochford-hall, near the west end of the church, is an ancient Rochfor.i
Hall
and stately building, said to have been the residence of Anne Bullen. It was some time
ago in a ruinous condition, but has been completely repaired : it had formerly an
extensive park. A family, surnamed de Rochford, had this estate in the time of king
Henry the second;! and in 1247 sir Guy de Rochford had the grant of a market and
fair here.| His descendants retained possession till, on the failure of the heir general,
* The soil of this and some neighbouring parishes, particularly from Rochford town to the south
coast, contains a large proportion of good turnip land, and bears the general character of being as rich a
tract of land as is to be found in the county. It is generally a pale, impalpable mould, similar to what
is found in Tendring.
t Eustace, the Norman, had three sons : Eustace, Pagan, and William de Say. Eustace married first
the heiress of the barony of Haulton, in Cheshire; and, to his second wife, had the heiress of Vesci,
baron of Malton and Alnwick, in Northumberland. From Richard Fitz-Eustace, his eldest son, descended
the earls of Lincoln, of the surname of Lacy, and lords of Warkworth, in Northumberland, and of Cla-
vering, in Essex. Pagan, the second son, was lord of Ewas, in Wales, in 1136. Guy was father of
Pagan, living in 1204, whose sons were Guy and John. John de Rochford, son of Maud, sister to Guy,
was his cousin and heir, who died in 1309, and was succeeded by his son and heir, Robert, who held
these estates jointly with Isolda, daughter of William Fitzwarin (supposed his wife), in 1324: sir
Thomas de Rochford was his son and heir. Arms of the Rochford family : Quarterly, or and gules, a
bordure sable bezant^e, or.
X John de Rochford was summoned, by a quo warranto, to appear before the king's justices itinerant
at Chelmsford, in 1285, to shew by what right he claimed wreck at sea, tumbrel, emendation of assize
of bread and beer, broken, &c. in Rochford, &c. He appeared, and answered as for wreck at sea, that
one John de Burgh, senior, granted to Guy de Rochford, his uncle, whose heir he was, all his
marshes, with the appertenances (except the collation of tithes which he had in Foulness, &c.),
together with all his marshes, as well within the wall as without, to have and hold, with all the apper-
592 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II ^^^^8' Edward the third, in 1340, granted this manor to William de Bohun, earl of
Northampton, who died in 1360, and was succeeded by his son Humphrey, earl of
Hereford, Essex, and Northampton, baron of Brecknock, and high constable of
England, who died in 1372 : Joane, his widow, daughter of Richard Fitzalan, earl of
Arundel, presented to this living in 1395 and 1397. Their daughters and co-heiresses
were Eleanor, married to Thomas, of Woodstock, on whose murder her portion of
this estate went to the crown ; and Mary, who being married to Henry, earl of
Derby, her share became incorporated into the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1454, James,
fifth earl of Ormond, and in 1449, earl of Wiltshire, for his attachment to the Lan-
castrian cause, obtained this estate ; but was taken prisoner and beheaded, after the
battle of Touton in 1461 : John, his brother, the sixth earl of Ormond, was restored
in blood, and to some of his estates, but not to this, which remained in the crown till
Edward the fourth gave it to his sister Anne, duchess of Exeter, in 1462: afterwards
it passed successively to the king's father-in-law, Richard Widville, earl Rivers ; after
whose tragical death, in 1469, it passed to Thomas Grey, marquis of Dorset, son-in-
law to Edward the fourth ; then to his brother, sir Richard Grey. On the accession
of Henry the seventh, Thomas, earl of Ormond, recovered this estate, which he
enjoyed till his decease, in 1515. He was summoned to parliament, in 1495, by the
title of sir Thomas Ormond de Rochford; on his death, in 1515, he left his two
daughters his co-heiresses : Anne, wife of sir James St. Leger, and Margaret, married
to sir William Bullen ; and their only son and heir, sir Thomas Bullen, who wa&
made treasurer of the king's household, lord privy seal, K. G., created viscount Roch'-
foi'd, and earl of Wiltshire, and also earl of Ormond. He died in 1538, leaving, by
his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk, George viscount
Rochford, who was beheaded in 1535, falling a sacrifice to king Henry's jealousy ;
Anne Bullen, second queen of the same brutish tyrant, who Avas sacrificed to his lust ;
and Mary, married to William Carey, esq., and afterwards to sir William Stafford :
on her death, in 1543, she left, by her first husband, Henry Carey, esq., who suc-
ceeded to this and her other estates;* and his descendants retained this manor till it
tenances in waters, sands, or washes, shores, wrecks of the sea, ways, patlis, drifts, warrens, and all
other liberties to the said marshes appertaining, which grant Edward, now king of England, by his
charter confirmed ; which charter he then produced. Also, for tumbrel, emendation of assize of bread and
beer, broken, &c. he said, king Henry, father of the king that now is, granted, and by his charter con-
firmed, to the aforesaid Guy de Rochford, and his heirs, one market, at his manor of Rochford, every
week, upon Tuesdays, and one fair yearly, to continue three days, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, in
Whitsun-week ; and also, to have the aforesaid tumbrel : and the charter of the said king he then pro-
duced in court.
* William Carey, esq. by his first wife, Anne, daughter of sir John Paulet, had a son, from whom
descended the Carey family of Cockington, in Devonshire. By his second wife, Alice, daughter of sir
Baldwin Fulford, he had Thomas, who left two sons, sir John and William. Sir John had issue, sir
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 593
was conveyed, by Henry, the first lord Hunsdon, to Richard lord Rich, who resided chap.
at Rochford-hall, where he died in 1566. The estate descended to his son Robert, ^^'^"
lord Rich, who died in 1580; to Robert, created earl of Warwick in 1618, and
to his descendants — Robert, to a second Robert, and to Charles, successive inheritors
of that dignity; and on the death of the last of these, in whom the title became
extinct, the g-reat estates of the Warwick family being divided among the co-heirs,
the manors of Rochford, Hadleigh Castle, Leigh, Prittlewell, Assingdon, Packlesham,
and W^est-hall, were allotted to sir Henry St. John, bart., who had married Mary,
niece to Charles, the last earl of Warwick; and was, in 1716, created baron of
Battersea, and viscount St. John; his eldest son, Henry, created viscount Bolingbroke,
in 1712, sold this estate to sir Richard Child, afterwards earl Tilney. It now
belongs to the hon. W. T. L. P. Wellesley.
Grested hall is a mile west from the church. Roger Davey, at the time of his Crested.
decease in 1508, held this estate of the earl of Ormond, as of his manor of Rochford;
and in 1556, William Harrys held it of the lord Rich, as of his manor or honour of
Rayleigh.
Doggett, or Doccet, is a reputed manor, and was holden by an ancient family of that Doggett &
. I'll! IAT/-I Combes,
name m 1305. Combes is also a reputed manor, which belonged to Mary Carey.
Doggets, Combes, Upwicke, and other possessions here, belonged to Robert, earl of
Warwick, in 1619. Belongs now to the Hon. W. T. L. P. Wellesley.
The singular custom in this parish, of keeping what is called the lawless court, is
of uncertain origin; in old authors it is spoke of as belonging to the manor of
Rayleigh.*
Edward Carey, father of Henry, created lord viscount Falkland, and made lord deputy of Ireland, whose
son was the excellent Lucius Carey, lord viscount Falkland, secretary of state to king Charles the first,
and slain at the battle of Newbury, 20th of September, 1643. William, son of William Carey, esq. died
in 1528, having married Mary Bullen, by whom he had Henry, and Katharine, married to sir Francis
KnoUes, K.G. Henry Carey, esq. the son and heir, being first cousin to queen Elizabeth, was knighted
by her soon after her accession ; in 1558 advanced to the title of baron Hunsdon, and employed in offices
of the greatest importance. He married Anne, daughter of sir Thomas Morgan, and had George, John,
Edmund, Robert, created earl of Monmouth, and three daughters : Katharine, married to Charles
Howard, earl of Nottingham; Philadelphia, married to Thomas, lord Scrope ; and Margaret, to sir
Edward Hoby, knt. ; dying in 1596, he was buried in Westminster abbey.
* The following account of a court, then commonly called the " Lawless court," is printed by Hearne
from the Dodsworth MSS. in the Bodleian Library, vol. 125.
" The manner of Raylie, in Essex, hath a custome court kept yearely, the Wednesday ncxtc after
Michael's-day.
" The court is kept in the night, and without light, but as the skye gives, att a little hill witliout the
towne called the King's hill, where the steward writes only with coales, hnd not witli incke. And many
men and manners of grcate worth hold of the same, and do suite unto this strange court, where the
steward calls them with as low a voice as possibly he may : giving no notice when he goes to the liill ta
keepe the same court, and he tliat attends not is deepely amerced, if the steward will.
594.
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Chuicli
BOOK II. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a large ancient building-, nearly half a mile
from the town, by the hall : it has a nave, north and south aisles, and a chancel, in
which there is a north chapel ; at the west end, a lofty tower is said to have been
erected by lord Rich, but the arms of Boteler induce the belief that the family of
Ormond erected it. Probably it was repaired and heightened by lord Rich.*
In 1219 a vicarage was instituted here ; but it was soon after made a rectory.
In 1821, this parish contained one thousand three hundred and eighty-two, and in
1831, one thousand two hundred and fifty-six inhabitants.
RALEY, OR RAYLEIGH.
Rayleigli. The parish of Rayleigh lies north-westward from Rochford ; its general situation
is on high ground, with a heavy and stiff soil. The name is written in records,
Regeneia, Ragheleia, Ragley, Ragleigh, Ralegh, Raylee, Raylegh, Raylil. The
village was formerly a market town,f and the head of the barony of Suene ; who
Inscrip-
tions.
Charity.
The tytle and entry of the same court is as foUoweth, viz.
" Curia de domino rege.
Dicta sine lege,
Tenta est ibidem,
Per ejusdem consuetudinem,
Ante ortum solis,
Luceat nisi polus,
Seneschallus solus,
Scribit nisi colis.
Clamat clam pro rege
In curia sine lege .-
Et qui non cito venerit
Citius psenitebit ;
Si venerit cum lumine
Errat in regimine.
Et dum sine lumine
Capti sunt in crimine,
Curia sine cura,
Jurata de injuria,
Tenta est die Mercuriae
prox. post, festum S. Michaelis."
Weevor, who mentions this custom, says, that he was informed that "this servile attendance was
imposed at the first, upon certaine tenants of divers manners hereabouts, for conspiring in this place, at
such an unseasonable time, to raise a commotion." A court is yet held here at midnight; and a pool
marks the place where the conspirators assembled.
* In the north aisle, a grave-stone bears an inscription in Norman French, of which the following is
a translation : " Pray for Anne SnokeshuU, daughter of John Filol, of Landmere, who lieth here ; God
have mercy and compassion on her soul, who died on St. V^alentine's day, in the year of Jesus Christ 1386."
The following was here some time ago, but has been destroyed : " Of your charite prey for the sowl
of Rose Crymvill, wyf of Richard Crymvill, which Rose desesyd 8 Apr. 1424."—" Here lieth Mary
Dilcock, who died 13 Dec. 1514, on whose soul Christ have mercy." The arms of Bohun appear in the
east window.
There are six alms-houses on the lower extremity of the town, built by Robert Rich, the first earl of
Warwick of that family : they are for five men and one woman. The endowment is sixty pounds per
annum, each to have three shillings and sixpence weekly, and a gown at Christmas, price, twenty shillings
and eightpcnce. Two loads of wood to be brought for each of them out of the earl's woods for ever.
The statutes for the government of these houses are the same as for those which Richard, lord Rich,
built at Felsted.
t This market was of very ancient institution, for, in 1-249, Margaret, countess of Kent, sued Hugh de
Vere, earl of Oxford, for setting up a market at Prittlewell, to the prejudice of her market at Rayleigh.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 595
built a castle here, of which some important earth works yet remain : they consist of" c h a h.
... X\'II
a mount, with an oval-shaped base, surrounded by a ditch ; and this again by a rampart,
and by a second ditch, defended by other embankments, particularly on the east side.
The summit of the mount is divided ; the western part circular, and upwards of one
hundred feet high ; the other is somewhat of an oval form, and lower. The principal
ditch is from thirty-six to fifty feet wide ; the interior vallum fifty feet high. In some
places the works are much broken, and the ditches partly filled up. In Domesday,
there is said to have been " a park here, with six arpenni of vineyard, yielding, in a
good season, twenty modii of wine." The village consists of one wide street, of con-
siderable extent ; and from the site of the castle, at the upper end of the town, an
extensive and interesting prospect is presented over the surrounding country. Besides
the ancient church, there is a place of worship here for dissenters, of the denomination
of Baptists.
The market, which has been a long time discontinued, was on Saturdays : the fair
is yet held on Trinity Monday for cattle. Distant from Brentwood, sixteen miles :
and from London, thirty-five.*
In 1163, Henry de Essex, forfeiting his extensive possessions, this lordship was
retained by the crown, till it was granted, by king Henry the third, to Hubert de
Burgh, lord chief justice, whom he afterwards created earl of Kent. On this noble-
man's incurring the king's displeasure, he was deprived of the greater part of his
extensive possessions ; yet the reversion of this was in his eldest son ; and was enjoyed
by his countess after his death in 1243; she died in 1260, and was succeeded by John
de Burgh, the son, who sometimes bears the title of earl of Kent.f The lordship
was afterwards divided into three manors.
In 1340, this manor, the manor of Estwood, the honour of Rayleigh, and hundred iManor ot
of Rochford, were granted by king Edward the third to William de Bohun, earl of " *" "
Northampton ; whose heir, on his decease in 1360, was his son Humphrey, earl of
Essex, Hereford, and Northampton, and constable of England: he died in 1372; and
leaving only daughters, the estate returned to the crown ; and in 1380, king Richard
the second granted for life, to Alberic de Vere, the tenth earl of Oxford, the honour,
fee, fair, and market of Rayleigh, with the profits of the herbage of Rayleigh park,
* The soil here is wet and strong, with some variations ; some poor and hnngry : all the high
land wet.
t Hubert de Biirgli had five wives : Margaret, daughter of Robert de Arsike, by wlioni he liad John and
Hubert. In 1199 he married his second wife, Joane, daughter of William de Vernona, earl of Devonshire.
His third wife was Beatrix de Warenn, widow of Dodo Bardolf ; she died in 1209. His fourth wife was
Isabel, daughter, and one of the heirs of William, earl of Gloucester : she was the repudiated wife of king
John, and widow of Geofrey de Mandeville, earl of Essex. Hubert's fifth wife was Margaret, daughter of
William, and sister of Alexander the second, king of Scotland; to this last he was married in l'^21.—
Milles' Cat. of Honotir, p. 7G2 ; and MS. Ulemoirs.
596 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. and the manor of Estwood; and on his death hi 1400, the same king had granted the
reversion of them to Edmund Plantagenet, or de Langlej', duke of York ; on Avhose
death, in 1402, he was succeeded by his son Edward, who was slain at the battle of
Agincourt, on the 25th of October, 1415 : Philippa, his duchess, held a third part of
his estates till her death in 1431, when the whole became vested in the crown, where
it remained till 1535, when it was granted by Henry the eighth, to Thomas BuUen,
earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, and to his son, George Bullen, lord Rochford, for
thirty years; but the lord viscount Rochford was beheaded in 1535, and his father,
the earl, died in 1538, when this honour again returned to the crown, and in 1553
was granted, by king Edward the sixth, to Richard, lord Rich, who, being sub-
servient to the views and purposes of queen Mary, retained this estate during her
reign ; but, on the accession of Elizabeth, that queen granted it to her cousin, Henry
Carey, lord Hunsdon, who died in 1596 ; and was succeeded by his son, sir George
Carey, on whose death, in 1603, he left only one daughter, and was consequently
succeeded by his next brother, John, lord Hunsdon; whose son and heir, Henry,
lord Hunsdon, in 1621 conveyed it to sir Thomas Wroth and others, in trust, for
Robert Rich, earl of Warwick, who died in 1658, leaving Robert his eldest son,
third earl of Warwick, his heir; who, dying in 1659, without issue male,* was suc-
ceeded in title and estates by Charles, his next brother ; and he dying without issue,
in 1673, and his lady dying in 1678, the extensive possessions of the Rich family were
divided among the six co-heirs, or their heirs ; and this honour and manor, &c. became
the share of Daniel, earl of Nottingham, who sold them to Robert Bristow, esq.,
whose son, Robert Ward, was alderman of London, and, in 1719, lord mayor ; Robert
Bristow, esq., his son, was his successor. It now belongs to R. Bristow, esq.
Hcrbeiges. The mansion of this manor is a quarter of a mile from the church, towards Rawreth;
the name is sometimes written Harberts. In 1284, it was holden of the king, in
capite, by William, son of Warine, and William de Haverburgh ; and by William de
Hareburgh in 1304 ; succeeded by Adam, his son and heir, who, with Isolda de Bel-
hous, held this estate in 1340: he died in 1372, and was succeeded by his son John.
In 1372, John Baud, esq., held this messuage, named Haverberge, with the same
quantity of land, the rent only two shillings and threepence. Afterwards, this manor
was enlarged by lands in Rawreth and Hockley. It was holden by Thomas Lawrence,
who died in 1551, and is described as containing one messuage, one cottage, three
hundred acres of arable, twelve of meadow, forty of wood. John was his son. John
Wincoll, esq. died in 1576, in possession of this manor; and left Isaac, his son, his heir.
It belonged to Thomas White in 1623; and was purchased of Thomas Clutterbuck,
esq. by sir William Humphreys, knt. and hart, in 1719.
* By his second lady he had three daughters : Anne, married to Thomas, son of sir John Barrington,
hart. ; Mary, wife of sir Henry St. John j and Essex, married to Daniel Finch, earl of Nottingham.
I
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 597
The manor-house of Whatley is half a mile north-west from the church. The C H a F.
earliest owners of this estate on record were sir John de Burgh, who granted it to sir _
John Handel, who gave it in free marriage, with his daughter Alice, to William Fitz- ^Vhatic) .
Warine, gentleman of the bed-chamber to Edward the first. It was afterwards in the
Belhouse, Knivet, and Clopton families, who sold it to Thomas Cheke, esq. ; and his
grandaughter Anne, lady Tipping, sold it, in 1*718, to sir William Humphreys, knt.
and bart.
Down-hall is a quarter of a mile from the church; it belonged to sir Thomas Bel- Down
house, who died in 1375. In 1419 it belonged to Thomas Knivet, esq., and by the
marriage of Thomasine Knivet, it was conveyed to the Clopton family. In 1514 it
was holden by agreement, for life, by John Hastings, esq., and afterwards belonged to
Mr. Downes, attorney, of London ; of whom it was purchased, in 1719, by sir William
Humphreys, knt. and bart.
This stately Gothic edifice is of great apparent antiquity; it occupies ground con- church.
siderably elevated, at the upper end of the town; and consists of a spacious nave, side
aisles, and chancel. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity; and there are five large bells
in a lofty tower, above which there rises a shingled spire.* The south chapel is kept
in repair by the owner of the site of the castle.
This rectory being appendant to the capital manor, was given to the priory of Prit-
tlewell, by Robert de Essex ; and having passed to the crown, was granted, by queen
Elizabeth, to lord Hunsdon, who presented to the living in 1593 : Henry, his youngest
son, conveyed it, in 1621, with the manor, to Robert Rich, earl of Warwick; from
whom it passed to successive earls : and to Daniel, earl of Nottingham, one of the
co-heirs of the family ; who sold both the manor and advowson to Robert Bristow,
esq. There was a chantry in this church, with a priest, and also a chapel for his use,
but it is not known where it was situated.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to one thousand two hundred and
three; and to one thousand three hundred and thirty-nine, in 1831.
HADLEIGH.
This parish occupies high ground, near South Benfleet, and is separated from HadieiRh.
Canvey island by a branch of the river, named Hadleigh Ray. It is named in records
* The most ancient inscription in this church is of the date of 1416 ; but there is a mutilated ancient Jnscrip-
altar-tomb, displaying very beautiful workmanship, in the pointed Gothic style which prevailed from the tion.
twelfth to the fourteenth century : it hears no inscription, but undoubtedly covers the remains of some dig-
nified person of celebrity. There is, also, in the south chapel, a monument without inscription ; but the arms
of Vere,' impaling Howard, appear on the ceiling; and the arms of Barrington, impaled by Lunsford, are
represented in' the fourth window of the north aisle. A tomb under the arch, between the chancel and
north Visle is defaced, but some shields remain, with the arms of Barrington.
There are some charities belong to this parish, but they seem to have been neglected. Chanties.
VOL. II. 4 H
598 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Hadley ad Castrum, or Hadleigh Castle, from a castle built here by Hubert de Burgh,
^Zt^_ in the time of Henry the third, with that king's leave. This picturesque ruin, exhi-
biting- the remains of ancient streng-th and magnificence, occupies the summit of an
eminence which commands a pleasing and extensive prospect over the broad estuary
formed by the junction of the Thames and the Med way at the Nore, from whence
their combined streams proceed toward the German Ocean. The area inclosed by
the fortress, is elliptical ; in length, one hundred and ten, and in breadth, forty paces.
It is built of stone, strongly cemented together by mortar of extraordinary hardness ;
and the north and south walls strengthened by buttresses. The entrance was at the
north-west angle, between two lofty towers, and a deep fosse extended along the
north side ; two other towers, at the north-east and south-east angles, form the chief
part of the ruins that now remain : these are outwardly circular, but octangular
within, and each divided into five apartments. In the tower on the south-east, near
what appears to have been a fire-place, there are several courses of thin bricks placed
in the herring-bone mode of building. The walls, pierced with narrow loop-holes,
were lined with squares of chalk, and at the bottom measured nine feet in thickness,
gradually diminishing toward the top, where they were five feet.
The village is small, and very pleasantly situated on the road to Southend : it has a
fair on the twenty-fourth of June, and formerly had a weekly market on Wednesdays.
Distant from Rochford three miles, and from London thirty-five.
Aianor. Hadleigh is not mentioned in Domesday, nor in the Red-book of the Exchequer ;
and part of it is believed to have been included in the extensive park belonging to the
honour of Rayleigh. After Suene and Henry de Essex, Richard de Thany liad the
government of this castle in the time of Henry the third. The eai'l of Oxford, and
afterwards the duke of York, as also the earl of Richmond, held both the castle and
manor. They were given by Edward the sixth to lord Rich, from whom they passed
to his noble descendants, earls of Warwick. On the partition of the Warwick
estates, this fell to the share of Henry, viscount St. John ; which his son, lord Boling-
broke, having sold, it passed, by marriage, to the Bernard family.
Church. The church is an ancient Gothic building, dedicated to St. James, and distinguished
by the peculiarity of the east end of the chancel being semi-circular, in the form of a
Roman basilica, and separated from the nave by a very heavy arch. The windows
are small, and lancet-shaped, and that on the south is ornamented with the coats of
arms of several of the ancient families to whom the lordship belonged, particularly of
Strangman, who had possessions here at a very early period.*
* William Strangman lived here in the time of Edward the third ; and his successor, oi' the same
name, died in 1410, followed by Richard, who died in 1480, William Strangman married Alice, daughter
and heiress of Thomas Hooe, and had by her, John, the father of John Strangman, whose son Edward
was succeeded by his son Francis, who died in 1557, leaving numerous daughters, and his son and heir.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 599
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and twenty-nine inhabitants, increased CHAP,
to three hundred and sixty-five in 1831.
LEE, OR LEIGH.*
This parish extends eastward from Hadleigh to Southend, and supplies numerous Lei^h.
pleasant walks and pictijresque excursions to the visitors of that favourite watering
place. The lands rise from the village to a considerable height, aflPording from various
stations very extensive prospects, and agreeable situations for numerous capital houses ;
and in the summer months the enlivening sea breezes, with the agreeable scenery,
render this part of the country very pleasant and healthy ; but, being included in the
low marshy district, it yet retains the character of unhealthiness, though by no means
in the same degree as formerly.
The village is on the border of the Thames : the houses mostly small, and of
insignifi<iant appearance. Besides the church, the Wesleyan Methodists have a place
of worship here. There is a custom-house, and a small port, formed from the
channel passing by this place to South Benfleet. The inhabitants are chiefly fisher-
men engaged in the oyster trade, which is in the management of a Company, who
annually provide proper vessels that go out for the spawn of the oyster, found in a
jelly-like form in various places, particularly near Cancalle bay, on the coast of
France. This substance, laid on the sands, in a few months acquires consistency, and
the shells and young brood are formed. The quality of this shore, which renders it
peculiarly adapted to the breeding of oysters, was accidently discovered, nearly a
hundred and fifty years ago, by a person named Outing, who, taking this district on a
lease, in a short time acquired an independent fortune. In this vicinity there is one
of the finest springs of water in the hundreds of Essex. There is a fair on the second
Tuesday in May. Distant from Southend four miles, and from London thirty-nine.
If, as is supposed, this district was part of Rayleigh, it was separated from it before
the Conquest, and in possession of a freeman ; at the survey it belonged to Ralph
Peverell. There is only one manor.
The mansion is near the church, on the top of the hill. The first record relating L-eiph
to this place after the Conquest, was in the time of Edward the second, when it
belonged to Apton, of Apton-hall, in Canewdon. From the year 1337 to 1673, the
John Strangman, whose eldest son and successor was William Strangnian, who married a daughter of sir
William Kemp, and, for his second wife, had Mary, daughter of sir Thomas Barnardiston. He died in
1573, and his son and successor, Bartholomew, died in 1580, succeeded by Robert and James ; of whom
the last was a learned antiquarian, and made extensive collections for the liistory of his native county ;
and to whom all succeeding writers on the subject are greatly indebted. He left a large volume, chiefly
relating to monasteries, which is preserved in the Cottonian collection, in the British Museum. Arms of
Strangman : Parti per bend, sable and argent, a bend, raguled, counterchangcd.
* The name, in records, is written Lega, Legra, Legh, Leighe, Lighe, Lye, Lygh.
600
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
MOOK 11. holders of the manor or lordship of Rochford appear to have had this estate ; these
were the Rochfords, Bohun, Roteler, Bullen, and Rich. Sir John Bernard had this
estate and Hadleigh in right of his mother, and from him it passed to his descendants.
Chuicli. The church, on the top of the hill, opposite to the channel named Leigh-road, is
a spacious ancient huilding, with a nave, north and south aisles, and a chancel. It is
dedicated to St. Clement; and, in a lofty tower, there are five bells.*
The rectory formerly went with the manor, till the partition of the Warwick
estate, when coming to Daniel, earl of Nottingham, he gave it, with Prittlewell, to
the bishops of London, in exchange for the vicarage of Okenham, in Rutlandshire,
where he had his seat of Burl ey-on-the- Hill.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to nine hundred and fiive, and, in
1831, to one thousand two hundred and fifty-four.
Eastwood.
Eastwood-
bury.
Inscrip-
tions.
Charities.
EASTWOOD.
This parish is named from its situation, eastward from the woods and parks of
Rayleigh and Thundersley. In Edward the Confessor's time it belonged to the
father of Suene, of Essex, to the latter of whom it had been granted by the Con-
queror, at the time of the survey. It is in length nearly four miles, and in breadth
one : the village distant from Rochford two, and from London forty, miles.
Eastwoodbury, the manor-house, is near the east end of the church. The estate,
after having belonged to a family named from the place, of whom Robert de
Estwood was the owner in 1210 and 1211, passed, as the manor of Rayleigh did, to
Robert Bristow, esq. and his descendants. This estate is now in possession of
William Weld Wren, esq.
* There are, among the numerous inscriptions in this church and church yard, memorials of the follow-
ing persons : " Mary, wife of John Bonner, who bore him eleven sons and eight daughters. Ob. 26 Jan.
1580. — Thomas Saman, aged seventy, grandfatlier to Thomas Saman, aged fourteen years, who both died
on one day, 5 Aug. 1576. — Richard Haddock, with the effigies of a man and three women, with ten sons,
and eleven daughters. — A tomb erected by sir Richard Haddock, knt. to the memory of his grandfather,
captain Richard Haddock, who died 22 May, 1666, with the arms. — On a monument with a bust, and
three salmons hauriant argent, to the memory of Robert Salmon, esq. master of Trinity-house in 1617,
sheriff of London in 1640, died in IGAl, aged seventy-four. — Capt. John Rogers, of his majesty's ship
Unicorn, distinguished by his magnanimous conduct in three engagements with the Dutch in 1672.
Ob. 30 Nov. 1685, aged sixty-five. — Mrs. Judith Darling, who by her last will gave divers sums of money
to this and other parishes, and bequeathed several yearly payments to private persons, and for putting
apprentice poor children, &c. Ob. 4 Oct. 1678."
Captain Lawrence Moyer, of Milton hall, in Prittlewell, in commemoration of a deliverance from
shipwreck, in Leigh-road, gave one hundred pounds, to pay five pounds per annum for ever to twenty
poor seamen s widows, of the town of Leigh.
James Moyer, who lies buried in this church, gave fifty pounds to the poor of the parish.
Sir Samuel Moyer, bart. erected a free-school in this town, for the instruction of children'in christian
principles.
^ g
I
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 601
Barrow-hall, also named Breg-hall, is another manor. The house is about half chap.
a mile north from the church. To distinguish it from Barrow-hall in Great Waker- ^^"•
ing, it is named West Barrow-hall. The family, surnamed de Berwes, appear to have Banou
taken that surname from this place, which was holden by Stephen de Berwes of sir "'"'''"
John de Rochford. It belonged to Philip Perdriz, of Sutton, who died in 1313,
whose heir was John Hevingham, on whose decease, in 1331, his heir was his son
John, afterwards honoured with knighthood, and his descendants retained posses-
sion more than two centuries. It belonged to sir Anthony de Heavingham, who died
in 1557, leaving a son named Henry ; but sir Anthony, previous to his decease in
1547, had conveyed this estate to Richard Smart, of Ipswich, who, on his death, in
1560, was succeeded by his son John. The next possessor was Thomas Emery, in
1618, whose son Thomas sold the estate in parcels. It now belongs to sir William
Rush, bart.
Eastwood-lodge is a capital old mansion, on a hill two miles west from the Kastwood
church. It is in the occupation of Mr. Caure. ^" ^^'
The church, dedicated to St. Lawrence and All Saints, has a nave and two aisles, Clmich.
with a chancel, of one pace. Massive pillars separate the aisles from the chancel, and
there is a tower with a spire.*
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to five hundred and thirty, and,
inl831, to five hundred and thirty-one.
RAWRETH.
This parish is in the north-west corner of the hundred. It extends, westward, to Rawreth.
Wickford; to Rayleigh on the south: is bounded on the north by the river Crouch;
by Hockley on the east. Battle-bridge, over the river Crouch, is partly in this
parish. The name is written Raureth, Rawreth, Ragel, Raree, Raurith, Raurere,
Ragerin. The distance from Rochford is six, and from London thirty-two, miles.
It is not mentioned in Domesday ; and is therefore supposed to have been made to
form a manor after the writing of that record. Odo, bishop of Bayeux, had lands
here on either side of it. In the reign of king John it was granted to Hugh de
Barneval ; in 1253, belonged to Henry de Barneval ; and to William Sandon, the
king's cook, in 1266.
The mansion of this manor is distant three quarters of a mile, south-east, from the Hawicth
church. William Goffbrd, or Gifibrd, held it of the king in 1284 ; and it belonged
to his heirs and successors of Bowers GifFord, till it passed to John, son of William
* There is an inscription in the church-yard on Thomas Purchas, vicar of this church forty-five years, insciip-
who died 20 Dec. 1657, aged sixty-seven. He was either brother, or son, to the learned and industrious '"•"■
Samuel Purchas, born at Dunmovir, or ITiaxted, and author of the valuable work entitled " Purchase's
Pilgrimage," in five vols, folio : he was likewise instituted to this vicarage, 24 Aug. 1604, and removed to
St. Martin's, Ludgate, where he died in 1628.
602 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK I! Doreward, in 1385 ; some iuclivicluals of this family having previously had possessions
here. John Doreward dying without issue, in 1495, the estate passed to his sister
Elizabeth, who was married to Thomas Fotheringhay, whose three daughters,
co-heiresses, conveyed their shares to several proprietors; one moiety of which
having been appropriated to St. John's college, Cambridge, the remainder has since
been conveyed to that foundation.
Beches The manor-house of this estate lies between Battle-bridge and Hull-bridge, a mile
north-east from the church. Bacheneix, from which Beches has been formed, was
the name it bore at the survey ; at which time it belonged to Odo, having previously
belonged to an owner named Ravengar. There is no further account of this manor
till the reign of Edward the third, when it belonged to a family surnamed de la Beche;
afterwards to the Tyrell family ; and it belonged to Thomas White, D.D. the founder
of Zion College, in London, who settled it on that foundation. He died in 1624.
Beke Hall. This estate has been reckoned a manor ; the mansion is on the left of the road from
Rayleigh to Wickford. It belonged to Richard Wiseman in 1526; and sir Edward
Boteler, knt. died in 1627, holding this manor of George Foster.
Trinde- In 1210, this manor or hamlet belonged to Robert de Trindeho, who held it of the
'^^* honour of Rayleigh. Its successive possessors were Robert Gilford of Bures, in ] 300,
and Peter Savary, succeeded by his son William, in 1305 : the next possessor was
Roger Darcy, esq. of St. Clare's, in Danbury, succeeded by Thomas, his son and heir.
It belonged to Robert Trapps in 1571, followed in this possession by Robert, his son.
Cluu cli. The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, has a nave and chancel ; and a south aisle
belonging to the lord of Beches' manor, who is to keep it in repair.* The rectory was
in the gift of Prittlewell priory, to which it was given by Robert de Essex : on the
dissolution of monasteries, passing to the crown, it was granted by Edward the sixth
to Richard Fermor ; from whom it was conveyed to Dr. L. Andrews, scholar, and
afterwards fellow and master, of Pembroke-hall, in Cambridge, and bishop of Win-
chester, who gave it to the master and fellows ; and he also gave them one thousand
pounds for founding two fellowships there.
This parish, in 1821, contained three hundred and twenty-seven, and in 1831 three
hundred and twenty-one inhabitants.
HOCKLEY.
Hockley. This parish extends eastward from Rawreth; in records it is divided into little and
great Hockley; and is also named Hockley super Montem, on account of its high
situation. It is a parish of considerable extent, containing five thousand acres of
* This church has lately received the addition of sixty-three free sittings ; toward the expense of
which, the " Society for the enlargement of Churches and Chapels" gave 50/. There is a charity-school
here, partly supported by subscription of about 10/. per annum.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 603
land.* The village is pleasantly situated; distant from Rochford four miles, and from c h a i^
London thirty-six. The capital manor, before and after the Conquest, belono-ed to the ^^"''
monastery of Barking. Another manor belonged to Robert, son of Wimarc; and
there was another, which, at the time of the survey, belonged to Suene ; afterwards
there were five manors.
Hockley-hall is near the church, southward ; after the dissolution of religious Hockley
houses, it was granted to Thomas lord Cromwell; and in 1557, to sir Richard Rich, ^^""
descending to his posterity, who had this estate till the death of Charles, earl of
Warwick in 1673, when it was allotted to Daniel, earl of Nottingham, one of the
co-heirs ; and he sold it to Robert Bristow, whose descendants have retained posses-
sion to the present time. It belongs to Robert Bristow, esq.
The mansion of Blounts is a quarter of a mile from the church. It first appears in Blount>.
the record in 1453, when it belonged to Richard Pakelsham, lord of Pakelsham-hall. It
was afterwards in the possession of James Baker, esq. who died in 1569. Henry, his
son and heir, succeeded to this estate, and on his death, in 1611, left three co-heiresses.
The mansion of Bawdewyns is in a low situation, near Hull-bridge, above a mile iiawde-
north from the church. The first account of it is in 1500, when it belonged to
Robert Yngoe, who had lands also in Hawkswell : his heir was Mary, wife of John
Strangman, whose son, William Strangman, esq. was their heir, followed by Bar-
tholomew his son, whose sons were Robert and James Strangman. Dudley Fortescue,
esq. was the next owner of this estate, and was succeeded by his son Daniel : it passed
afterward to Richard Hopper, to Thomas Holt, esq. and to his nephew, Thomas
White, ancestor of the present possessor.
This manor is named from its situation, and is about half a mile north-east from the Lower
church. Godbold and Odo had it at the time of the survey; and the principal owners ^au
of it, from 1274 to 1515, were John de Kokeham, Johanna Inglesthorpe, Elizabeth
Scrope, and their heirs. It was one of the estates which Henry the eighth assigned
to his cast-off queen, Anne of Cleves, for her maintenance ; afterwards it belonged
to Thickness, who left five daughters, one of whom was married to the rev. Mr.
Hotchkins, of Romford ; it now belongs to the Bristow family. Lower Hockley hall
is the property of John Robert Spencer PhiUips, esq. of Riffham's Danbury.
The manor of Plumberow is also a considerable hamlet or village in the southern Plum-
part of the parish. The hall is on the road from the church toward Rochford : being
on high ground, it has commonly been named Plumberow Mount. An ancient family
residing here, took their surname from this place. Thomas de Plumberg had this
estate in 1211; Laurence was his son and heir at the time of his decease in 1253.
* The soil here is generally heavy, but in a capital state of cultivation ; and, on tlie road toward
" Rayleigh, there is a view of a very rich vale, bounded by distant higher grounds : the whole a scene
to the eye of rich cultivation, well wooded." — Young's Essex, vol. I. p. 34.
604 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Among several succeeding possessors was sir John Cutt, who died in 1520, and was
succeeded by his son John Cutt, esq. who died in 1528 : they held of the king as of
the honour of Rayleigh. The next possessor of this estate was Edmund Tyrell, esq.
and Edmund Church, his eldest daughter's son, and his three other daughters, were
his co-heirs. It afterwai'ds belonged to George Cheveley, esq. of Roxwell.
Churcii. The church is on a high hill, in the most conspicuous part of the parish; it is dedi-
cated to St, Peter, and has a nave, north aisle, and chancel, with massive pillars sepa-
rating these from each other. It has an octagon tower, with a shingled spire.*
This church belonged to Barking Abbey; and they presented to it as a rectory till
1384, when, appropriating the great tithes to themselves, they presented to it as a
vicarage till their dissolution, when both the rectory and vicarage went to the crown.
The great tithes were granted by James the first to Edmund Newport, and others ;
and soon after the advowson of the vicarage was given to Wadham College, Oxford,
who first presented in 1619; and the great tithes have also been given to them.
The population of this parish in 1821 amounted to seven hundred and eighty-four,
and in 1831 to seven hundred and seventy-seven.
HAWKSWELL, OR HAWKWELL.
Hawks- This small parish is situated between Hockley and Rochford. The village consists
of a few straggling houses, on a level piece of ground : distant from Rochford one,
and from London thirty-nine miles.f
Ulmar, a freeman, had the lands of this parish in the time of Edward the Confessor:
which, at the survey, had been given to Eudo, and holden under him by Pirot: Suene
had also some lauds here. There are two manors.
Hawks- This manor house is near the west end of the church. In 1340, an estimate being
taken of the knights' fees belonging to the honour of Rayleigh, Ralph Pirot, or Perot,
was at that time found to hold a moiety of this manor, by the service of one knight's
fee ; and the name of Perot was formerly to be seen inscribed here, with the date of
1340. The principal owners afterwards were the families of de Coggeshall and Dore-
ward, till for want of male heirs it went to the crown, and was granted to Thomas
Boteler, earl of Ormond, Avho died in 1515, from whose daughter and co-heiress,
Margaret, married to sir William Bullen, it descended to sir Thomas Bullen, viscount
Rochford, whose daughter Mary, by marriage, conveyed it to William Carey esq. and
by her second marriage, to sir William Stafford. It afterwards belonged to Richard
lord Rich, and to Daniel, earl of Nottingham, who sold the manor, demesne lands, and
advowson, to the ancestor of the Bristow family, to whom it now belongs.
Clements. lu 1440, this manor belonged to Philip Clement, whose daughter and heiress was
Charity. * There is an almshouse for two dwellers, near a house called Whitbreads, but it has no endowment,
t The average annual produce per acre here is — wheat twenty-six, barley thirty-two bushels.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFOllD. 605
married to John Ingoe, who had with her this estate. Afterwards it passed by pur- chap
chase to the noble family of Rich, earls of Warwick: it belonged to Thomas Holt, esq. '^^^^'
in 1745; and ultimately came to the White family. The manor-house is half a mile
west from the church.
The church is a small building, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The rectory all Chmch,
along appendant to the manor of Hawkswell-hall, was united with the living of
Assingdon, in 1429 ; but again separated from it, in or before the year 1457.
In 1821, this parish contained three hundred and sixty-two, and in 1831, three
hundred and twenty-nine inhabitants.
SUTTON.
Lying south-south-east from Hawkswell and Rochford, this parish is supposed Sutton.
to have derived its name from that circumstance; originally South-town, by a
barbarous pronunciation, converted to Sutton; in Domesday, Suttun; and to dis-
tinguish it from Little Sutton in Prittleweli, it has been named Great Sutton. The
small village and church are distant from Chelmsford seventeen miles, and from
London forty-one.* Robert, son of Wimarc, and two freemen, held these lands
before the conquest ; which, at the survey, belonged to Suene, whose under-tenants
Avere Ascelin, Roger, and an English woman, named Aluid.
The manor of Sutton-hall is what was holden by Ascelin ; the mansion is near the Sutton
H'llI
east end of the church. Sir Hammond de Sutton, who lived in the time of Edward
the first, is believed to have derived his surname from this place.f In 1210, Thomas
de Plumbergh, of Plumberow, in Hockley, held this estate of the honour of Ray-
leigh; and was succeeded on his decease, in 1247, by Laurence, his son and heir;
on whose death, in 1253, he left it to John de Plumberg, the son of his brother
Thomas. In 1264, John de Stodham died in possession of this estate, in which he
was succeeded by Roger, his brother and heir; on whose death, in 1268, Thomas
de Stodham succeeded, who died in 1285. In 1304, William Cosyn had this pos-
session ; and it was holden of queen Philippa, by knight's service, by Peter Cosyn,
who died in 1334 : the last of this family was Rose, only surviving daughter of
William and Joan Cosyn ; and she, by marriage, conveyed the estate to Thomas
Flemyng, esq., of Flemyngs, in Runwell. From this family, passing by female
heirship, it became divided, and successively belonged to various proprietors, and
to lord Richard Rich, who died in 1566 ; John Barrett, esq., of Belhouse, had
also two portions of it, which afterwards belonged to the Wyatt family; and in
1629, the whole estate belonged to Thomas Hobson; whose son, Charles Hobson,
* Average annual produce of tliis parish is stated to be— wheat twenty-eight, barley thirty-four,
bushels per acre,
t Arms of Sutton : Vert, a crusule between three cups, argent, lul. U. Mores.
VOL. II. 4 I
606 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
esq., sold it to William Brittridge, esq., of Harrow-on-the-Hill. He purchased the
mansion called New-house, of Aylet ; and made it the place of his resi-
dence. By his first wife, Martha, daughter of captain Goodlad, of Leigh, he had
his only son, Richard, who had three daughters, Elizabeth, unmarried; Martha,
wife of Jehu Hall ; and Anne, married to the rev. Thomas Rant, rector of Stur-
mere, who had by her, John, rector of this church, and other sons and daughters : *
Jehu Hall, by Martha, his wife, had Chester-More Hall, esq., counsellor-at-law, the
possessor of this estate in 1772. It now belongs to William Cockerton, esq., of
Sutton.
FicteHall. The mansion of this manor is near the arm of the sea, named the Fleet, which
proceeds towards Rochford : it is half a mile north from the church. This estate,
as well as Sutton-hall, belonged to Suene, and was holden under him by Aluid, an
English woman. It belonged to Serlo de Flete, in 1210; and was many years in
the families of Perdriz, Hevingham, and Smart; and belonged to Mr. Bailey, of
Romford. It was lately the property of John Barrington, esq., and is now in the
hands of trustees for sale.
Church. The church is a small ancient building, with a nave and chancel; and a tower of
stone.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to eighty-nine, and in 1831, to
ninety-six.
PRITTLEWELL.
Piittle- The parish of Prittlewell is on the border of the Thames, between Leigh and
' Southchurch : the name in records is Prittewella, Pritwell ; supposed, from a well in
the priory manor, reckoned the best in this hundred. The village is pleasantly
situated, consisting of modern and well-built houses ; the inhabitants chiefly engaged
in agricultural pursuits; and the surrounding country pleasant and fertile. There
is a fair on the fifteenth of July. Distant from Billericay fifteen miles, and from
London forty.
The lands of the capital manor appear to have belonged to Suene before the
conquest, no former possessor being named in Domesday. A freeman had a portion
of this estate, which was holden by Tedric Pointel at the survey ; the church of the
Holy Trinity, at Canterbury, had another considerable part of it named Mildentun.
There were afterwards five manors.
Priors. This manor had its name from the religious house to which it belonged, and the
remains of which form the manor-house, a quarter of a mile north from the church.
Robert de Essex, son of Suene, was the founder of the priory, and made this manor,
* Anus of Brittridge : Sable, a bend argent, charged with three boars' heads erased, of the field,
between two cinqfoils, azure.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 607
with large demesnes, a part of its endowment.* After the dissolution, it was granted, ^Jt/^,^•
in 1527, to Thomas Audeley, brother of Thomas lord chancellor Audeley ; and in
1551, was conveyed to Robert, son of Richard lord Rich, whose descendants re-
tained possession, till, on the partition of the family estates, in 1673, this manor
became the property of Daniel, earl of Nottingham, of whom it was purchased by
Daniel Scratton, of Billericay; who also purchased Milton-hall, and other estates
in this neighbourhood, which has continued in possession of his descendants. It now
belongs to John Scratton, esq.
Earls'-hall is a quarter of a mile north from the church on the opposite side of the Earis'Fee,
road from Priors, near Foisted common. This manor having belonged to the ^^f.^^ wic.
earls of Oxford, was, on that account, named Earls' Fee : it is what belonged to
Suene, under the name of Puteseia. In the reigns of Henry the second, Richard
the first, and king John, it belonged to a family surnamed de Polsted; and was
afterwards divided, a portion of it being in the family of Southchurch, and another
in that of de Vere ; after whom it went to the noble families of Arundel, Howard,
Berkley, lord Rich, and to the earl of Nottingham ; from whom it passed by sale,
and became successively the property of various persons, and of the Bristow family.
From these capital manors of Suene, there arose the four subordinate or reputed Boteictji,
manors of Botelers, which belonged to William de Botyller, in 1260. Serlesland, jand,
which belonged to Serlo, son of Philip, in 1280 ; and to the heirs of Richard Serle, oeJ-y!,"' "*'
in 1340. Berlands and Blake formerly belonged to J. Baud, to J. Webb, and to
Edward Bashe, of whom they were purchased by Richard lord Rich, on whose
death they passed, as the rest of that family's estates in this parish. Derys, in 1453,
f" belonged to Richard Pakelesham ; and in 1575, to Thomas Shaa, of Terling; from
whom they were conveyed to Robert lord Rich. These were purchased, with the
other estates, by the ancestor of the family of Scratton.
This manor having belonged to the Knights Templars, accounts for the first part Temple
of its name ; it was also named Little Sutton. The mansion is near a mile north-
east from the church ; it had formerly a chapel or oratory belonging to it, and a con-
siderable part of the demesne lands extend into the parish of Great Sutton. It was
holden by the name of Sutton, in the time of Edw:m'd the Confessor ; and at the
survey belonged to Tedric Pointel, whose under tenants were, Grimbold, Ilunold,
and Robert. In 1280, it belonged to the preceptory of Cressing Temple, in Witham,
but when and by whom given is not known: it retained possession till the
* Thi8 priory was founded in the reign of king Henry the second, for uioni<s of the order of Clugni,
and dedicated to St. Mary. It was a cell to the alien priory of Lewes, in Sussex, and naturalized in the
time of Edward the third. At the dissolution it was valued at one tliousand five hundred and fifty-five
pounds, twelve shillings, and twopence. There were in it only seven monks. Sec Tanner's A'olitia,
p. 130 ; Muncast. vol. i. p. 619 ; a List of the Priors in Ncwcourt, vol. i. p. 473.
608 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. dissolution, when it was granted, in 1541, to George Harper, who sold it, in 1543,
to sir Richard Rich, and it was retained by his descendants, earls of Warwick,
till it became the property of Henry St. John, lord Bolingbroke, in right of his
mother, Mary Rich; and he, in 1714, sold it to sir Richard Child, bart. It is in
the occupation of Mr. T. Laver, and belongs to the hon. W. T. L. P. Wellesley.
Milton This manor is on the southern part of the parish, and the Hall is about mid-way
between Leigh and South-church, which accounts for its name; in records, written
Middletun, Mildentun, since contracted to Milton. The hamlet here was formerly
a parish, and the remains of the church were, some time ago, visible at low water.
This lordship was granted to the prior and monks of the Holy Trinity, at Can-
terbury, by Edward the Confessor:* it was retained by the monastery till the disso-
lution, in 1539, when it was made to form part of the endowment of the dean and
canons instituted there by Henry the eighth; but was, by the same monarch, taken
from them in exchange for other possessions; and in 1545, was granted to sir
Richard lord Rich, and afterwards conveyed, by purchase, to the Scratton family.
It now belongs to John Baynton Scratton, Esq.
( liaikwell This reputed manor was holden of Milton-hall, by knight's service and an annual
'^' ■ rent, and three of the best living creatures for Heriots. The manor-house is a mile
and a half south-west from the church. In 1488, Cobham, es(|., of Berneston,
was lord of this manor; and in 1498 it belonged to sir Thomas Boteler : afterwards
it belonged to Malby, and to Lambert Pitchers ; who sold it to Mrs. Jonas
Lamb, of Leigh, whose daughter had it in marriage with Charles Tyrrel, esq., of
Rochford.
Clniicli. TJie church is a handsome structure, in the latter English style of architecture;
it occupies the summit of the hill on which the town is situated ; and being a large
and remarkable building, is seen at a great distance, and made to form a good sea-
mark; it is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and has an unusually large south-aisle;
which, where it extends across the chancel, f is named the Little Chancel; its lofty
stone tower has pyramidal corners, and contains six musical bells.
In the time of Edward the fourth a chantry was endowed here with two wardens,
a master, and certain brethren, to find a priest, called Jesus Priest.
* The confirmation charter was to this effect : " I, Edward, by the grace of God, king of England, do, by
Divine impulse, grant to Christ church, in Canterbury, for my soul's health, Southcyrcan, Lagefare,
Middletun, &c. in Est Sex. If any one shall hereafter presume to deprive them of this, their lawful right,
or shall consent to the .«ame, let him be for ever anathematized, and damned with the traitor Judas."
The hamlet of Milton having belonged to the chinch of Canterbury, is one of the peculiars of that see,
subject in spirituals to the dean of Uocking, and the inhabitants choose a churchwarden and constable
of their own.
Inscrip- f There is a Latin inscription in the chancel, of which the following is a translation : " Here lies Robert
tions. Edmunds, sprung from the Lavvsons, an ancient northern family. He lived in this priorship, a benefactor
p
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD.
609
SOUTHEND. CHAP.
XVII.
The very pleasant hamlet of Southend is in the parish of Prittlewell, near the Soiuhcnii
mouth of the Thames. It first began to attract visitors, as a watering- place, about
thirty years ago, but continued nearly stationary for a considerable time, owing to
the failure of the original proprietors of the principal buildings ; when the property
being sold by auction in 1800, passed into the hands of James Heygate and Thomas
Hope, esqs. ; the late sir Thomas Wilson, lady Langham, and other families of
distinction, became proprietors, and occasional residents here, and numerous public
buildings have been erected.
The assembly-room and the theatre are fitted up in a superior style of el egance,
and are well attended in the season : the latter was erected in 1804. The library is
pleasantly situated on rising ground, between what are called the old and new towns,
and is promptly supplied with new publications of general interest, and with periodi-
cals of all descriptions. The capital inns are the hotel at the eastern extremity of the
terrace, which is large and convenient, with elegant assembly and coffee rooms in full
view of the Thames and the ocean ; and the Ship tavern, which besides all other
necessary accommodations for comfort and convenience, is supplied with hot and cold
baths : the Hope tavern is also a very respectable inn. The surrounding district is
luxuriant in vegetable productions, and the hill which the village partly occupies, is,
in many parts of it, plentifully wooded. The air is dry and healthy ; and the water,
notwithstanding its mixture with the Thames, clear, and sufficiently salt. The
Terrace, sometimes also called New Southend, is an extensive row of houses, fur-
nished with pilasters and cornices of stone ; and being on an eminence, commands
an extensive view, exhibiting the most striking features of coast scenery, with the
ever-changing prospect of the waters of the Nore, the Medway, and the sea; and
animated by a constant succession of numerous vessels of various descriptions passing
and re-passing ; with the isle of Sheppey, the fortress of Sheerness, and the hills of
Kent, seen at a distance. At high water the view is strikingly beautiful ; the river
to the indigent, and died, in the seventy-third year of his age, Feb. 7, 1.387. ALso with him lies buried
Richard Cely, gent, adorned with every virtue and accoinplishnient, and who, returning from a voyage to
the east, died (while in condolence with his sister on the death of her husband), in 1588, aged forty-
eight." Also on Mary Davis, a descendant, on the mother's side, from the riglit hon. Tiiomas, lord
Wentworth, lord chamberlain to Edward the sixth. Ob. 1G23. — Among the more ancient inscri|)ti(ins
preserved by Weaver are, on " Master Jolin Lucas, bachelor of divinity, formerly vicar of this church, who
died 16 Jan. 1477."—" Prjcy for the soul of John Cock the younger, and Margaret, his wyf, wliich John
dyed 1532." — And on " Richard Down, who died in U32."
There is a charity-school, for sixteen scholars, instituted and endowed by Mrs. Scratton. School.
610 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. here is five miles over, and the cliff on which the terrace is built, is high enough
to command the whole: the general effect is much improved by the outline of
luxuriant foliage reflected on the broken Avoodland shore. There are places of
worship here for Independent and Baptist dissenters.
This commodious bathing station has gradually acquired an interest and celebrity
with the public, not only from its many natural advantages, but from having received
the preference of persons of rank; among whom may be noticed, the princess
Charlotte of Wales, in 1800, and her mother, the princess of Wales, who attracted a
fashionable circle here, during three months of the summer of 1804.
The most agreeable walks are in the front of the Terrace, on a declivity proceed-
ing in the same direction, and along the beach upon extensive and firm beds of
smooth sand, left by the tide; rural walks, lying westward from these, give an
agreeable variety, exhibiting enlarged views in Essex, and over the Thames into
Kent. Some pedestrians prefer more sheltered inland paths that lie north and north-
east from the Terrace; and some find an agreeable variety in passing along the
borders of corn-fields and pasture grounds, on the road toward the neighbouring
villages of Sutton, Southchurch, and Prittlewell.
At no great distance from Southend, there is a stone, which marks the boun<lary
of the jurisdiction of the corporation of London over the river Thames.
Coaches go daily for Southend from the Bull and Blue Boar in Aldgate ; and
a steam - packet starts from the Tower stairs every Tuesday, Thursday, and
Saturday.
Southend is distant from London forty-two miles, and foui' from Rochford.
This parish, with the hamlet of Milton and Southend, in 1821, contained one
thousand nine hundred and twenty-two inhabitants; increased to two thousand two
hundred and sixty-six in 1831.
SOUTHCHURCH.
South- This parish is on the most southern part of the hundred, and so near the sea, that
it was formerly named Seachurch : it is named Sudmynster, in the Synod of Clo-
vestro. The village is small, and chiefly inhabited by families engaged in agricultural
occupations : distant from Leigh three miles, and from London forty-two.
In or before the year 824, this lordship and the church were given to Christ's
church, at Canterbury, to which appropriation they were confirmed by Edward the
Confessor, and that church, then dedicated to the Holy Trinity, held them at the
time of the survey: lands here belonging to Ealdbhirt, a Saxon earl, and to his
sister Selethryth, were also given to the same church; and this gift became the
subject of a public investigation and scrutiny in a council held at Clovesham, in the
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 611
year 824,* but the affair was determined in favour of the church ; and the lands were t; H a i'.
. . . . XVII
confirmed to archbishop Wilfred, and to his successors. There are three manors _I _
in this parish.
The mansion of this manor is half a mile south-west from the church; it was >-outi)-
moated round, and has a fine spring of water constantly flowing over. It was Hall.
hold en under the prior and monks of Canterbury, by Richard de Southchurch, in
1294: Peter, his son, held it at the time of his death, in 1309; Alice and Joane
were his co-heiresses. In 1342 the estate was in the possession of John de New-
enton, from whom it was conveyed to William de Dersham, in 1350. After the
dissolution it went to the family of Rich, and to Daniel, earl of Nottingham, who
sold it to George Asser, esq., on whose death, in 1738, he left it to Elizabeth, his
only child, the wife of the rev. John Davis, vicar of Barling. She died in 1739,
and her husband in 1750 ; leaving their only child and heiress, Elizabeth Asser ; who
was married to Thomas Drew, esq., in 1746 ; their son, George Asser Drew, esq.,
and a daughter, Elizabeth. The said Thomas Drew, esq., had this estate in
1772.
The mansion of this manor is half a mile north-east from the church, and com- south-
mands a most delightful prospect over the isles of Canvey, Grain, Sheppey, and \y"p* '
Thanet; and also an expansive view of the Nore, the Medway, and the Thames.
This manor also belonged to Thomas Drew, esq.
These two manors, in the time of Edward the Confessor, belonged to Godric, a
king's thegne, and after the death of that king, Robert, son of Wimarce, had one
moiety at that time, named Torpeia. The other was named Thorpe, and belonged
to Inguar. At the time of the survey, Torpeia belonged to Suene ; Ranulph, son ot
Ilger, had the other manor; and Odo was under-tenant to both. These two manors
are now united. Thorp-hall is near the sea coast, a mile from the church. The
estate formerly belonged to the Bohun family; and to John Mowbray, duke of
Norfolk, in 1432. It also went to the Stafford family ; but, on the arraignment and
condemnation of the duke of Buckingham in 1521, it passed to the crown; and was
granted by Henry the eighth to Brian Tuke, esq., who sold it to Robert Petre, esq.
Afterwards it was purchased by sir Thomas Cheke, knt., from whom it descended to
lord Thomas Archer.
The shore against this parish is flat, and where the tide leaves it dry for two or
three miles, has, as Avell as the adjoining Milton shore, been made a nursery for
* Hence it appears that at this time lands eoiild not be given to religious bodies without the exauiina-
tion and consent of the great council of the nation, or Wittenageuiot. The original council of Clovesham
is preserved among the MSS. of the late Thomas Astlc, esq. witli other curious originals, one of which is
king Withred's charter, A. C. 693, to Liminge monastery, for four plough-lands in Wlghclmisnctuu), ni)\\
Wilmington. Ex. Archiv. Eccl. Christl Cant.
612 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
B(30K 11. oysters since the year 1700, when this part of the coast was first used for that
important purpose hy Mr. Outing-.
Church. The church is a small ancient building Avith a tower and spire. It was. repaired,
and a gallery erected at the west end in 1756, at the charge of Thomas Drew, esq.,
and EHzabeth, his wife ; and the family arms appear on the front.
This rectory is one of the peculiars of the archbishop of Canterbury, and in
spirituals under the jurisdiction of the dean of Bocking.
In 1821 the population of this parish amounted to three hundred and fifty-three,
and to four hundred and one in 1831.
SHOEBURY.
Shocbury. The two parishes of this name, anciently but one district, extend along the coast
against the Nore ; the most southerly point is a small promontory, called Shoebury
Ness, from the Saxon Naej-e, nose.* Shoebury, in records, is written, Essobiria,
Scabivig, Scobrih, Shobery, Shoobery, Showbery, Sobury, and is first mentioned in
894, when king Alfred being engaged with the Danish invaders in the west of
England, two troops of those barbarians landed here, and built a fort or castle,
which has been shice entirely levelled and washed away by the sea. Even before
the Conquest this district was divided into South and North Shoebury.f
SOUTH SHOEBURY.
soutii This parish, named South, and also Great, Shoebury, is near the sea; and the
shoehuiy. y^jjag-g^ which is small, is distant from Southend three, and from London forty-
four miles. After the death of Edward the Confessor, Robert, the son of Wimarc,
had this estate, which belonged to Suene at the time of the survey. There is only
one manor which had an estate united to it, named Mustal Grondage, | the site of
which is not known.
Soutii The manor-house is on the south side of the church. This lordship was given to
the priory of Prittlewell, by the founder, Robert Fitz-Suene, together with the
Shoel)uiv
Hall.
* It was usually the custom of the Britons and Saxons to name hills and rocks from their apparent
similarity to different parts of the human body.
f According to Camden, there was formerly a city here. He observes that, "here the land juts out
into a nook, called Blacktail-point, and Shoebury-ness, from Shoebury, a little village upon it, formerly
the city Sceobijiij ; for we read that the Danes, being chased from Beamfleet, repaired to a city of the
East-Saxons, called in their language Sceobijii^, and there fortified themselves." It is also observed,
that not only large traces of the Danish works yet remain, but many urns have been found hereabouts,
as if the Romans had been here. See Gough's Camden, vol. ii. p. 5.
X in 1580, Robert, lord Rich, died possessed of a pasture in this parish, called Mensual Grondage, which
also belonged to his son Robert, earl of Warwick, who died in 1618.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 613
advowson of the church ; and it contmued in that monastery till the dissolution : in chap
1537 it was granted, by Henry the eighth, to sir Richard Rich, and was retained ''^^''^-
by his descendants, earls of Warwick, till on the failure of male issue, their great
inheritance went to co-heirs; when this became the property of Daniel, earl of
Notting-ham, in right of the lady Essex, his wife, and he sold it to Robert Bristow,
esq. and it now belongs to his descendant, R. Bristow, esq.
The messuage named Dangers, is on the right of the road to North Shoebury, and Dangers,
some of the lands are washed by the sea : it seems to be the estate formerly named
Dawes, which belonged to the Baker family. It afterwards was the property of sir
Henry Fetherstone, bart.
The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a small building, with a tower of flints, and Church.
a spire. The wreathed arch over the passage into the chancel is of ancient work-
manship.
This parish, in 1821, contained one hundred and fifty-three; and in 1831 two
hundred and two inhabitants.
NORTH SHOEBURY,
This parish extends northward from South Shoebury, and the two villages are very Noi tii
near to each other. In the time of Edward the Confessor a freeman had the whole ^ '"'^ "'^"
of the lands of this parish, which at the survey belonged to Suene, whose under tenant
was named Walter. There are two manors.
The mansion of this manor is on the south side of the church. In 1265, and 1272, North
William de Wodeham, of the family of that name, of Wodeham Ferrers, had this Hall,
estate, and left his son Thomas his heir, in whose descendants it remained till, in 1419,
Edward, son of Edward Wodeham, of this place, granted to Nicholas Fitz-Symond,
this and other estates in this parish,* which remained in the family about a hundred
years, till it became the heritage of Joane, daughter and heiress of Robert Fitz-
Symon, first married to Robert Temperley, and secondly, to Henry Wentworth,
conveyed to him this estate, which, in 1522, belonged to his son, Nicholas Wentworth,
esq. It afterwards successively passed to Aston, esq. in 1574; to Thomas
Collins, whose widow married Charles Russel, and after his death sold this estate, in
1722, to George Asser, esq. of Southchurch-hall ; it afterwards became the property
of Thomas Drew, esq., and his heirs. It now belongs to Robert Bristow, esq.
• The Fitz-Simon family had estates here as early as 1294.— Sir John Fitz-Simon liad four sons, Adam,
Hugh, Edward, and Richard. — Edward, son of Adam Fitz-Simon, was the father of— Edward, who, by his
wife, Anne, dauRhter of » * * Havering, had— John, wlio married Alice, daughter of lord Fitzwalter, and
had by her— Philij), father of John; who, by his wife, Mary Chambers, had Robert and John. Robert
married Katharine, daughter of Robert Manfield, by whom he had Joune, his daughter and iieiress.
VOL. II. 4 K
614 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK n. The manor-house of Kents was formerly a lar^e ancient building moated round :
~ 7 it is situated between the two Shoeburies, and the land belonging to it extends into
both those parishes. This estate seems to have been taken from the capital manor
in, or before the reign of Edward the first, for in 1328 John Fitz-Simon held lands
here, as did also Adam his son, and Simon his grandson. It was conveyed to Jasper
Tyrrell in 1501, who,- the same year, conveyed it to Henry Baker, in whose family,
•who lived at Southchurch and Bures GifFord, it continued many yeai's. In 1535
Edward Bakei-, esq. died in possession of it, and his son James was his heir ; whose
son and heir, Henry Baker, esq., on his death in 1611, left his daughters Abigail,
Judith, and Anne, his co-heiresses. Afterwards the estate was purchased by George
Asser, esq., and became the property of Thomas Drew, esq., and his heirs. *
Church, The church is a small building, with a nave and chancel, dedicated to the Virgin
Mary : it has a tower and spire.
This church belonged to the priory of Prittlewell till its dissolution, when, passing
to the crown, it has remained there to the present time. It was a rectory till 1423,
when the great tithes were appropriated to the priory, and a vicarage instituted here.
In 1719, this vicarage was augmented by bishop Robinson, with two hundred pounds,
to which were added, two hundred pounds of queen Anne's bounty. In 1591,
queen Elizabeth granted the rectory to Henry Best and John Wells ; however it
came again to the crown.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and ten; and to
two hundred and twenty-six in 1831.
WAKERING.
Wakering. The two parishes of this name, with the two Shoeburies, foi'ra the south-east
corner of the county, bounded by the sea.
GREAT WAKERING.
Great This parish extends along the coast from North Shoebury, and the road passes
Wakering. through it to Foulness Island, f The village is five miles south-east from Rochford,
and from London forty-three.
Even before the conquest the lands of this parish belonged to Suene of Essex,
who had also possession of it at the time of the survey. It was divided into
two manors.
* Many Roman urns have been found in this neighbourhood.
t The lands of this parish rise above the islands, and it has a rich soil in high state of cultivation. The
subsoil clay ; at three feet deep, a white sand ; very little gravel : in some places, under the sand, a
reddish gravel. Average annual produce per acre — wheat, twenty-eight bushels ; barley, thirty-four.
There is a fair here on the twenty-fifth of July.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 615
After the forfeiture of Henry de Essex, this lordship passed into the nohle and CHAP,
dignified family of Nevill : it was forfeited by Hugh de Nevill on his being found in J
arms with Simon de Montfort, against king Henry the third ; but restored to him ^^^^or of
again in 1266, in consideration of his giving up his manor and castle of Stoke-Curcy, Wakerint.
and other estates ; * John de Nevill, his son, who died in 1282, had this manor, which
Robert de Bruce held under hira for life, by the service of one knight's fee : Hugh,
his son and heir, being under age, the king committed his wardship and marriage to
Henry de Waleys, and Thomas de Weylond : he died in 1335, holding this manor
of the king, in capite, as of his crown, by the service of one knight's fee : Ida, his
widow, had the third part of it for life ; and sir John Nevill, their son, died in
possession of it in 1358; and after the death of his mother, Ida, and his widow, Alice,
the reversion of the whole was in William de Bohun, earl of Northampton, and his
heirs for ever : but he dying in 1360, and his son Humphrey, before his mother, the
lady Alice, it did not go to the Bohun family till her death in 1394, when it became
the property of Eleanor, wife of Thomas of Woodstock, and of Mary, wife of Henry,
earl of Derby, afterwards king Henry the fourth. In 1421 this manor became the
portion of Anne, countess of Stafford, and passed afterwards into the family of her
third husband, William Bourchier, earl of Eu. It belonged to Henry Bourchier,
earl of Essex, who died in 1483, whose grandson Henry succeeded to his title and
estate, and was killed by a fall from his horse in 1540, when the estate became the
inheritance of his only daughter Anne, married to William Parr, baron of Kendal,
and marquis of Northampton : she was divorced from him, yet enjoyed this estate till
her death in 1570, on which event it passed to her heir, W^alter Devereux, viscount
Hereford, lord Ferrers of Chartley, and earl of Essex, grandson of sir John
Devereux, by Cicely Bourchier, his wife, aunt to Henry, earl of Essex. Robert,
earl of Essex, his son, sold it to Robert Wroth, in 1594.
Sir John Cope, knt. and hart., had the reversion of both the Wakerings, which
were afterwards in the family of Higham, of Boreham, whose two co-heiresses were
married, the one to John Tyrell, esq. of Hatfield Peverel, the other to Daniel Richard-
son. Mrs. Tyrrel, surviving her sister, had the whole of this manor. The manor-
house was near Palespit, at the entrance of the street. The courts are kept at Little
Wakering-hall. Sir John Tyrrel, bart. is lord of this manor.
The mansion of this manor is half a mile west from the church; the name in records Biiiiow
is Berremera, and Villa de Berwe; the lands are very considerable, and extend
into the parish of Little Wakering. Before the conquest it belonged to a Saxon
* " Ac rex restituit ei in fcodo Muneiium de Wakering ac iManeriuiii de Wethcrsfeld, et diversa
servicia, feoda militum, pro quibus Hugo remisit Roberto Walerand jus suuni in Castr' et Maner' do
Stoke Curcy, ac in Manerio de Wadwey ; cum Hundredo de Haihaiii, ac in divcrsis serviciis et feodis
mililum, xxxv. in scedulae. Pat 50, Hen. HI."
Hall.
616
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. named Phindac, and at the survey to Richard, son of earl Gislebert, or Gilbert. In
1289 it was in the possession of Gilbert Coleman, and belonged to William Bar we,
who died in 1366, leaving- James, his grandson, his heir. In 1374 it was holden by
Maud, wife of John Coleman ; and her son and heir was James de Barowe. It after-
wards belonged to a family named Prittlewell, and was granted, with other estates, by
John Prittlewell, to John Wakering,* Clerk, and others, which they, in 1407,
conveyed to John Pyncherne ; and it was granted to Thomas Pynchon and his
wife Alice, in 1426, by Robert Warenor and others: in 1458 it passed from Thomas,
son of Thomas Pynchon, to William Lawsell ; and the same year was conveyed by
Thomas Spenser to William Lawsell. It belonged to sir John Shaa, of Horndon,
who died in 1503; whose son Edward, or Edmund, dying in 1532, left his only
daughter, Alice, his heiress ; who, by marriage, conveyed this estate to William Foley,
esq. of the Poleys of Wormingford in Lexden ; and it was sold by their descendant,
William Foley, esq. in 1720, to Robert Surman, esq. deputy cashier of the South Sea
Company; and on the forfeiture of his estates, in 1723, was sold to Samuel Rush, esq.,
from whom it passed to his descendants and heirs; and now belongs to sir William
Rush, bart.
A reputed manor, which comes up to the road from the church, has usually gone
with Barrow-hall; having anciently belonged to Adam Fitz-Simon, it has been on
that account named Adam's fee, and vulgarly Aldermans.
A considerable estate, named Lovetotes, extends into the two Wakerings, and the
parishes of Shopland, Great Stambridge, Little Shobery, Southchurch, Ley, Raleigh,
Bemfleet, and Stamford ; it was holden of the honour of Raylelgh. Its name is
Adam's
Fee
Lovetotes.
* The parish gave name to this family, who resided here in the fourteentli century ; John de Wakerinjr
living in the time of Edward the third, and Richard the second. He had two sons, William and John, oi'
whom the latter was chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. William, the eldest son, was the father of
William ; and of John, who was master of the rolls, and keeper of the privy seal, in the time of king
Henry the fifth. William, the elder brother, and heir to the family estate, had two sons, named John,
one of whom was archdeacon of Canterbury, and, in 1416, bishop of Norwich : he was one of the English
divines who attended the council of Constance, was a benefactor to Bennet, or Corpus Christi, college,
Cambridge, and of distinguished wisdom and learning. He had Canewdon, and other lands, in this
county, and died in 1425. The other brother had the family mansion of Wakering place, which he sold,
in 1427, to Robert Davey. His two sons were Ralph and John : — Ralph was the father of Richard, whose
son, Edmund, by his first wife, Margaret, daughter of John Archer, had James ; sir Gilbert Wakering,
knt., who died in 1610; and Richard, who died in 1583. Edmund Wakering, by his second wife, had
Ralph, father of Gilbert and John : his eldest son, James Wakering, lived at Kelvedon, and by Margaret,
daughter of John Bird, had liis son and heir, John, who was of Lincoln's inn, and Church hall, in
Kelvedon, in 1C34. By his wife, Mary, daughter and co-heiress of Dionysius Palmer, esq. of Felsted, he
had Dionysius, and Mary, married to Thomas Wilcox, esq. of Tottenham. Dionysius Wakering, esq. the
son and heir, was one of the representatives of this county in Oliver Cromwell's parliaments, for 1654
and 1 656. His only daughter and heiress was Mary, married to Francis St. John, esq. Arms of Wakering :
Azure, a pelican, or.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 617
supposed from the family of Lovetote, and to be the carucate of land held by Walter c h a \>.
de St. John in 1259 ; his son Walter died without issue, and Margery, his daughter, ^^'^'
married to Edward Shardlow, conveyed to him this estate, Avhich, in 1276, she joined
with him in conveying to John de Lovetot. In 1310 it belonged to William de
Brianzon, whose son John was his heir : it afterwards belonged to the family of
Bluet.
The church is a good building, pleasantly situated in the street; it is dedicated to Churcli.
St. Nicholas, and has a nave and chancel, with a tower and spire. *
This church was given to Bileigh abbey, near Maldon, and was a rectory in their
gift till 1283, when Richard de Gravesend, bishop of London, by his act, dated at
Copford, appropriated the great tithes to the abbey, reserving the collation of the
vicarage to himself and successors, bishops of London, in whom it has continued to
the present time.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to seven hundred and seventy-six,
and in 1831, to eight hundred and thirty-four.
LITTLE WAKERING.
This parish extends northward from Great Wakering to Barling. It belonged to i.ittic
Robert, son of Wimarce, after the death of Edward the Confessor ; and at the time ' ^
of the survey, to Suene, of Essex. There is only one manor.
Tlie manor-house is near the church, on the north-east. The estate passed Little
successively, as that of Great Wakering did, to John de Nevill; to Humphrey hhIl"^'"^
de Bohun ; Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex ; Henry, his son, whose daughter and
heiress, Anne, was married to William Parr, marquiss of Northampton, under whom
this manor was holden by Thomas Shaa in 1546 : it afterwards passed into the family
of Devereux, earls of Essex; and to Sir John Cope, &c., descending, as Great
Wakering, to John Tyrell, esq. ; and the present lord of the manor is sir John Tyrell.
The great tithes of this parish, with an estate including Shernewarles marsh, in the
occupation of Francis Bannester, esq. belongs to St. Bartholomew's hospital.
The church is a small building, with a nave and chancel, dedicated to the Virgin Churdi.
Mary : on the entrance to the tower, on the right hand side of the belfry-door, are
the arms of bishop Wakering — a pelican, with a mitre in chief. Probably he was at
the charge of building the tower. The arms of France, England, and Bohun,
quarterly, appear on the opposite side.
This church belonged to the ancient monastic institution of St. Bartholomew's
hospital, near Smithfield, London, to which the rectory and great tithes were appro-
priated : on the dissolution these passed to the crown ; and on the founding of the
present hospital, by Henry the eighth, in 1546, he granted to it, among other things,
* There are alms-houses in this parish for six persons, but they are without endowment.
618
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. this rectory and advowson of the vicarage, with Shernewarles marsh, in this parish, to
" the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of London, governors of that hospital.
There is an arch in the north wall of the church, supposed for the effigies of the
founder.
In 1821 this parish contained two hundred and sixty-two, and in 1831 two hundred
and ninety-seven inhabitants.
BARLIXG.
Barliug. This parish is on the north of the Wakerings, near a creek that communicates
with the river from Rochford, and with Potten Island. It is distant from Rochford
three miles, and from London forty-two.
In the time of Edward the Confessor this lordship belonged to the crown; and he
gave it to the cathedral church of St. Paul's, in London ; and at the survey it was
found to belong to the canons of St. Paul's. There are two manors.
This manor-house is half a mile north-east from the church : the estate, as formerly,
belongs to St. Paul's cathedral, and is holden under them by J. G. Welch, esq. *
Mucking-hall is half a mile west from the church; it is named from John de Mockyng,
who died here in 1362 : it belonged to Robert Fitz-Symon, in the time of Edward
the fourth; and to Thomas Wiseman in 1580 ; to Dionysius Palmer in 1630; to sir
Francis St. John, bart., and, by the marriage of his daughter, became the property of
sir John Bernard, bart. It now belongs to lady Eliza Bernard Sparrow.
Church. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is an ancient building, with a nave, chancel,
and north aisle ; and a tower and spire.
This rectory has belonged to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, from the reign of
Edward the Confessor to the present time : they are not only patrons, but also ordi-
naries of this place, which is subject wholly to their peculiar jurisdiction.
In 1821 this parish contained two hundred and ninety-three, and in 1831 three
hundred and seventeen inhabitants.
Bailinij;
Hall.
Mucking
Hall.
SHOPLAND.
Shopland. This small parish is surrounded by Barling, Sutton, Southchurch, and Prittlewell :
in records the name is written, Schopland, Scoland, Shopeland, Shupeland; in
Domesday, Scopeland. In 1723, there were in this parish four farm houses, a
* In 1253, Henry de Cornwall, dean of St. Paul's, purchased a marsh of Radulphus Ceraentarius for ten
marks. This marsh is included in the demesnes of the manor : and, in 1254, Absolon, son of Richard dc
la Weylate, gave lands in Barling to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's. In 1322 the church of St. Paul's
came to a composition with Adam, son of Simon de Barling, whereby the said Adam, and his tenants,
obliged themselves to raise a wall on his own grounds to keep out the inundation of the sea, or river,
and a perch of wall upon the demesne lands of the dean and chapter ; in consideration of which, he, and
his heirs, were to have the entire profit of the fishery of the upper part of the stream for ever.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 619
vicarage house, and one cottage ; it had no alehouse, and paid no poor's rate : it chap
contains no copyhold lands. Distant from Rochford two, and from London forty- ^'^^"•
two miles.
Before the conquest, Scopeland belonged to a freeman, succeeded by Ingelric;
and at the survey it was holden by Eustace, earl of Boulogne. There are two
manors.
The chief manor house is near the church ; the estate was holden under Robert siiopiand
Fitzwalter, by Philip de Cantelough, in the reign of king Edward the third. In "^""
1289, it was holden by Henry le Waleys, of the barony of Boulogne : Walter Fitz-
Robert, i. e. son of Robert the first of the Fitzwalter family, left it to his son Robert,
lord Fitzwalter ; and he invested in this possession, Robert de la Ward, who married
his daughter Ida; in 1307, they jointly held it of the king, as of his honour of
Boulogne : this Robert had by Ida, a daughter named Margaret, and by a former
wife was the father of Joanna, married to Hugh de Meynill. In 1333, Huo-h and
Joanna held a moiety of this estate, yet are supposed to have died without issue : Ida
was remarried to Hugh de Nevill, and at the time of her death, in 1361, held the
whole of this manor, which Avas given to her by her father for life. Margaret was
married to Thomas de Staple, esq., and, with him, held a moiety of this manor.
After his death, in 1372, she was remarried to sir John Chanceaux, and died in 1389.
The manor afterwards remained many years divided ; a moiety of it was in possession
of sir Thomas Darcy, who sold it to William Harris, Esq., in 1535 ; on whose death,
in 1555, he was succeeded by his son William. In 1569, Christopher Harris died in
possession of it; but it did not descend to his son Christopher. It was purchased by
lord Rich in 1561 ; and after remaining in this family many years, the whole estate
became the property of William Gillingham, of Kent, and afterwards of the Tyrell
family.
This manor was originally a distinct hamlet; in records named Butlers-in-Shopland; Hi''yllers.
and the manor and advowson of the church of Butlers. The mansion is on the right of
the road, from Barling to the church. In 1261, William de Botyller died in possession
of this estate; and his son Hugh was his heir, who died in 1279, whose son William,
who died in 1328, left a son and heir named John, of whom no particulars are recorded.
The estate was conveyed from Robert Maundesley to Thomas Burgoyne, and John
Sygar in 1448 ; and passed from James Keloun and his wife Editha, to Hugh Oldham,
bishop of Exeter, in 1504. Ralph, son of his brother John, was his heir. Lord Kich
had this manor in 1562; and passing to his descendants, earls of Warwick, it was,
on the partition of the family estates, purchased by Richard, lord viscount Castle-
main, afterwards earl Tilney ; and he sold it to his steward, Thomas Holt, es(j.,
whose heir was his nephew, Thomas White, esq. : it now belongs to Mrs. Holt
White.
Church.
620 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The church is a small building, dedicated to the Virgin Mary: it has a nave and
chancel.*
The vicarage being of small value, was for a considerable time held by sequestra-
tion. This church was given to the abbey of St. Osyth, to which the rectory being
appropriated, a vicarage was ordained in the year 1237: these were retained by the
abbot and convent till the dissolution; and they presented to the vicarage from 1550
to 1583. f Bishop Bonner had it in 1557, but it was taken from him by queen
Elizabeth.
This parish, in 1821, contained thirty-four, and 1831, forty-eight inhabitants.
PAKELESHAM, OR PAGLESHAM.
Pagles- This parish is nearly surrounded by water, forming a kind of peninsula, having on
™" the east the island of Walasea. In records, the name is written, Pachesham, Pades-
ham, Pagesham, Pagglesham, Pakelesham, Paklesham, Patelesham ; it is distant from
Maldon sixteen, and from London, forty-three miles. There are four manors.
Churcii This manor-house is near the east end of the church: the estate was given by
^ ■ Ingulph, to the church of St. Petre of Westminster, in 1066, and the grant was
confirmed by Edward the Confessor.ij: That church held it at the time of the survey,
and it retained possession till the dissolution of monasteries.
In 1368, William de Maldon held this manor of the abbot of Westminster, and
was succeeded by John, his son or grandson, who held it till 1428, when it was
conveyed to John W^arner, esq. of Warner's hall, in Great Waltham, and it remained
in his successors till it was conveyed by Henry Warner, in 1554, to Anthony
Browne, esq. (afterwai-ds Sir Anthony), who died in possession of it in 1567; as did
also his great nephew, Wistan Browne, esq., in 1580 : and John Browne, esq., the
uncle, and next heir of Wistan, had this estate in 1585, in wliose descendants and
heirs it continued till it was sold by sir Anthony Browne, in 1661, to John Goldes-
burgh, of whom it was purchased by sir Francis St. John ; and in 1772, belonged to
John Butler, esq. of Warminghurst, in Sussex. Now in the occupation of Mr.
Thomas Fisk.
Kast Hall These two manors having been some time united in the same possessors, are
Hall. "" ' therefore given together. The first of these was first named the manor of Pakles-
ham, and Paklesham hall ; and both were afterwards denominated east and south, as
distinguished by their relative situations from the church, from which they are each of
* Some time ago there was a monument for Thomas Staple, " formerly serjeant-at-arms to our sove-
reign lord the king, who died the second day of March, in the year of grace 1371," with his arms; a
saltier between staples. Also, in the western windovV, the arms of Hotiller ; sable, three covered cups.—
Weevefs Fun. Mon. Ed. 1766, p. 408.
t Newcourt, vol. ii. pp. 531, 632.
X Monast. Angl. vol. i. p. 61.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 621
them distant half a mile. Two freemen held these lands before the conquest ; and at c H A P.
the survey they belonged to William de Warren, and Robert, son of Corbutio. '^^'""
In 1305, Ralph de Coggeshall died, holding the manor of Pakelesham of sir Drogo
de Barentyne; John de Coggeshall was his son and successor in 1339, and died in
1361 : Henry, his son, was his heir. In 1340, Hugh de Naunton held one of these
manors, but which of them it was is not known. Sir Richard Sutton, in 1373,
granted a moiety of Southall manor to Robert Fitzwilliam, of Newendon ; and a
portion of this estate was conveyed from John Fordham, esq. to Lewis John, esq., in
1417. These manors were soon after united in the possession of the Pakelesham
family, and belonged to Thomas Pakelesham in 1438 ; and to Richard Pakelesham,
who died in 1453. Thomas Bullen, earl of Wiltshire, had this estate, which he gave
to Mary, his eldest daughter, married first to William Carey, esq., and afterwards to
sir William Stafford : Henry Carey, afterwards lord Hunsdon, was her son and heir,
and sold these manors to Richard lord Rich, who died possessed of them in 1566; and
passing to his descendants and their heirs, became the property of Henry viscount
Bolingbroke, who sold them to sir Francis St. John ; from whom they descended to
sir John Bernard, and to sir Robert Bernard, barts.
The name of this manor is from its situation, west from the church, from which it West
Hull
is a mile distant. This estate was the property of a freeman before the conquest, and
at the survey belonged to Ralph Baynard : his son Geoffrey was the father of William
Baynard, who forfeited his estates for joining in a conspiracy against king Henry the
first; and they were given by that king to his steward, Robert, son of Richard Fitz-
gilbert, progenitor of the ancient earls of Clare, from whom descended the noble
family of Fitzwalter. In 1214, Ralph de Genges held this estate under Robert Fitz-
walter, as did also the heirs of Hugh de Bromford, in 1328. The families of Colt,
Strangman, and Wiseman, of Great Badow hall, had this estate, which passed, as
the last two manors, to sir Francis St. John, sir John Bernard, and sir Robert
Bernard, harts.
The church is on low ground, with a nave and chancel, of one pace ; it is dedicated Cliuicl].
to St. Peter.
The rectory, with the capital manor, was given by the above-mentioned Ingulph to
Westminster abbey; and on its conversion to a bishopric by Henry the eighth, in
1540, this estate became part of its endowment: but on the dissolution also of this
institution, in 1550, Pakelsham rectory was granted by Edward the sixth to Nicholas
Ridley, bishop of London, and his successors ; this grant was confirmed to bishop
Bonner, by queen Mary, in 1553, whose successors have retained possession to the
present time.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to three hundred and ninety-six,
and to four hundred and fifty in 1831.
VOL. II. 4 L
(Ion Hall.
622 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
CANEWDON.
Canew- This parish, bounded on the north by the river Crouch, joins to Pagelsham on the
''""■ south-east. In records, the name is written Cannedon, Canodon, Canvedon, Can-
vidon, Canudou, Canwedon, and Carendon. The Danes are known to have much
infested these parts, and the supposed derivation of this name is from some chief of
those barbarians, whose habitation was here.* The parish is twenty miles in circum-
ference, and contains nearly five thousand acres of excellent land. The village is very
pleasantly situated on high ground, with a beautiful and expansive prospect over the
country. There is a fair here on the 24th of June. Distant from Rochford four, and
from London, forty-one miles.
This lordship is believed to have belonged to Suene before the conquest, as no
former owner is mentioned in Domesday. It has been divided into five manors.
(Jaucvv- This ancient mansion is on the north-side of the church, and has been formerly
strongly fortified, and doubly trenched. In 1289, it was holden of the king by
John de Caucellis, or Chanceaux, -{- and his wife Joane; — the latter held it during her
widowhood, and dying in 1306, was succeeded by her son, sir Charles Chanceux,
who died in 1317. John Chanceux, his son and heir, had this estate, and a marsh,
named le Norde, with other lands in Paklesham, Rochford, Wakering, and Hockley.
There is no connected account of the succeeding proprietors of this family ; Margery,
wife of sir John de Chanceaux, died in 1389, holding this manor, and the manor of
Pudsey, in this parish. In 1485, Thomas Darcy died possessed of this estate, which
* The Saxon Chronicle, p. 143—151, informs us that Suene, and his son Canute, were actively engaged
in this part of the country ; and VVeever, in his Funeral Monuments, p. 408, observes of this place, "it
was so called from king Canutus, the Dane, who kept his court here ; qu. Canuti domus." But allowing
the very probable supposition of the Danish origin of the first part of this name, it can scarcely be doubted
that t-he latter is from the Saxon bun, a hill. The Romans, undoubtedly, had a station here ; for in 1712,
in a field near the hall, twelve urns were found; and, in the following year, eighteen more were dug up :
they were so tender that onl) two could be preserved entire. One was nearly six inches in diameter ; the
other exceeded that measure. One of them contained ashes, and fragments of bones ; the rest were filled
with earth. These vessels dilTered from each other iu their forms, size, colour, and the figures with
which they were ornamented. This account is from the writings of the rev. George VVheatley, curate
here in 17-Jl, a learned person, intimately acquainted with the Saxon language : he translated "Gregory's
Pastoral" into English, from king Alfred's version. iMany urns of various kinds were also found here,
some time ago, by the rev. Thomas Pocock, rector of Dunbury. They lay on a stratum of gravel, about
eighteen inches below the surface.
t The supposed ancestor of this family came in with William the Conqueror, and was of Chauncy, or
Chanccau, near Amiens, in Picardy. The name appears in the roll of 15att!e abbey. Sir Henry Chauncy,
of Herefordshire, the learned author of the history and antiquities of that county, was of this family.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 623
his son Roger held at the time of his decease in 1508; and his son Thomas sold it, CHAP,
with other lands here, to Thomas Armiger, esq., in 1553, Avho, on his death in 1558, '^^""
left Thomas, his son, his heir.
In 1727, sir Nathan Wright, bart. of Cranham hall, died holding this possession,
which his widow retained till her death, in 1741, and which sir Nathan's only daughter
and heiress conveyed by marriage to general Oglethorp.
The manor-house of this estate is a mile south-west from the church : its name Aptou
is derived from, or gave the surname to, the family of de Apeton. William de ^'^^^'
Apeton died in possession of it in 1269, succeeded by John, his son, and William, his
grandson; and another John Apeton, who died in 1321 ; John was his son and heir.
Successive possessors were, Thomas de Staple, esq., of Shopland, in 1372 ; Roger
Darcy, in 1508 ; sir Thomas and Geoffrey Darcy, in 1550 ; and the widow, Anne
Darcy, in 1558, Avho left Thomas, son of Geoffrey, her heir. It was sold in 1583, by
Edward Dier, esq. to Thomas Smith ; and belonged to sir Arthur Harris, who died
in 1631, leaving sir Cranmer Harris, his son, his heir. The next possessor of this
estate Avas Mr. Joseph Fishpool, of Billericay, whose descendant, John Fishpool, of
the same place, and owner of this estate, was sheriff of Essex in 1749.
The mansion of this estate is a mile south from the church. According to Weever,* sfcottys.
this manor was formerly named Breamston, which was probably from John de
Brianzon, possessed of it in 1320, and who left Bartholomy, his son, his heir. It
afterwards belonged to the family of Tyrell, of Beeches, in Raureth ; with whom it
remained till Edward, son of Jasper Tyrell, dying in 1574 without male issue, his
co-heiresses were his four daughters ; of whom Thomasine was married first to
William, second son of sir Henry Tyrell, and afterwards to William Playters, esq.,
of Sotterley, in Suffolk, who had this manor in her right. She died in 1578 ; and he
in 1584, leaving Thomas Playters, his son and heir; and he in 1598 conveyed it to
Cannon, of Rettenden, who had possession of it in 1598. In 1616 it belonged
to John Scott, whose son William was his heir. It afterwards belonged to Alderman
Kiffin, of London, who sold it to John Evans, esq., of Wanledge, in Wiltshire,
who settled it on his daughter Eleanor, wife of John Lance, of the Inner Temple, and
on her children after her death; who sold it to Nehemiah Bennet, merchant of
London, of whom it was purchased by the rev. Thomas Juson, rector of Wansted ;
who on his death, in 1750, left by his wife Katherine, the rev. Thomas Juson, his son
and heir, f
This manor-house is a mile south-east from the church, on the border of the l.amhmn
marshes near W^allasea Island. The estate is believed to be what belonged to Robert
* Fun. Mon., ed. 1766, p. 408.
t It appears, by the court rolls, that this manor has held courts-lcet, as well as courts-baron. The
lord of Scotty's hall is one of those concerned in the Lawless or Whispering court.
624 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. de Lamborne, of Lamborn, in Ongar, from the year 1199 to 1213: it belonged to
William de Lamborne, Avho died in 1300, and was succeeded by James, his son and
heir. There is no further account of the possessors of this estate till the time of
Henry the seventh ; when it belonged to Thomasine, daughter of John Barrington,
esq., of Rayleigh ; who was succeeded by her son, William Lunsford, or Lonseworth,
as it is in the Inquisition : he died in 1531, and left John, his son, his heir.* It after-
wards belonged to Henry Campion, esq.
Piulsey Pudsey-hall is near the river Crouch, half a mile west from the church. In the
^ ■ time of Edward the Confessor this hamlet and lordship was in the possession of two
freeman ; in Domesday, is named Putsea, and holden by Suene, whose under-tenants
were named Ascelin and John; the name of this place is also written Podehele,
Podeseth, Potesthete, Pudshall, and Pudsithe. The de Veres, earls of Oxford, were
the lords paramount of this manor, which was holden under them in 1322, by John
Chanceaux, and was retained by his descendants till the decease of Margery Chan-
ceaux, in 1389, when the estate passed to Thomas Darcy, whose grandson, Thomas
Darcy, esq. conveyed it, in 1554, to Bartholomew Averel, esq., on whose death, in
1562, his three daughters were his co-heiresses; Mary, the wife of John Sammes;
Gi'ace ; and Elizabeth, married to Edward Waldegrave, esq. of Lawford. After-
wards it belonged to sir Samuel Moyer, created a baronet in 1701, and styled of
Pudsey hall. In 1772, it belonged to John Luther, esq., M. P.
Loftmans. The estate and capital mansion of Loftmans, or Loughmans, formerly reckoned a
manor, was purchased by Mr. Jeremiah Kesterman, in 1746, and belongs to his
descendants. Lieut.-Colonel Kesterman resides here with the family.
Acres-fleet is called a manor in records ; it lies in Wallasea Island, but belongs to
this parish.
Clmi cli. The church is on a hill of considerable height, and has a nave and north aisle, which
measure in breadth thirty-six feet, and in length sixty-two ; the chancel, and a chapel
on the north side of it, measure in length thirty-six, and in breadth nineteen feet.
The steeple rises to the height of seventy-four feet, and contains five tunable bells. It
is dedicated to St. Nicholas.f
* Anns of Lunsford : Azure, a chevron between three boars, or bears, heads coupe, or.
t 111 the south window is an escutcheon; argent, a chevron betwen three annulets, gules. The same
is also carved on the pillars that support the north aisle. The arms of France and England, quarterly ;
and also shields of the arms of lioliun, Mowbray, and Warren.
When this church was beautitied, in 1711, a tigure of St. Christopher was found, which had been
covered over.
Inscrip- A Latin inscription informs us, that " Here lies lord John Chanceaux, a warrior, who died Fob. 5,
Also, Thomas Chanceu.x, esq. who died October ."
Charities. 'Jllie following charitable donations are recorded here : — A messuage, with forty acres of land, in South-
minster, called Podds, or Capels, known by the name of Conyndou lands, — A messuage, and six acres of
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD.
625
This church was given to Prittlewell priory by the founder, Robert de Essex, son c H A P.
of Suene, as appears by the following record: — In 124.1, a quo ivarranto was brought '^^"-
against the prior, to show by what authority he held the advowson of Canewdon
church, parcel of the lands of Henry de Essex, escheated to the king ? He answered
that his right was confirmed by Henry the second, the king's grandfather ; and he
produced the charter of Henry de Essex, of Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London, and of
Giles de Chanceux ; in the year 1231, the prior and convent empowered Roger Niger,
bishop of London, to ordain a vicarage; which he did, and endowed it well, reserving
the nomination of the vicar to himself and his successors, bishops of London. In
1587, it was granted by queen Elizabeth to Edward Downing, and Miles Dodding,
from whom the great tithes passed to other proprietors; but the presentation to
the vicarage has continued in the bishop of London. There is a glebe of sixty
acres.
In 1821, this parish contained seven hundred and thirty-two; and in 1831, six
hundred and seventy-five inhabitants.
GREAT STAMBRIDGE, OR STANBRIDGE.
This is the larger of two parishes, between Rochford and Pakelsham, formerly Great
united : in records, the name is Stanbruge, Stamberg, Stambreg, Stambrugg, sup- blhi"!-
posed from an ancient stone bridge over the small river, that passes by Rochford.
The village is near a stream, above Potten Island. It is two miles from Roch-
ford, and forty from London. Before the conquest, Oswald and a freeman had the
lands of this parish ; and at the survey, they belonged to Odo, bishop of Bayeaux,
whose under tenants were Suene and Wiard. They were divided into three
manors.
The mansion of this manor is eastward from the church, near the river ; the Manor of
estate passing from the grandson of Suene to the crown, it afterwards belonged ^l^
Great
tam-
to Richard Fitzwilliam, under whom it was holden by the ancient family of^'"'?«^-
pasture, and meadow, in this parish, called Pogdens. — Finch's lands, containing forty acres, in Canewdon,
given to the poor by Agnes Finch, widow. — Two acres, called Spylfrenches, given to the poor by William
Hawshill and Thomas Hawkins, in 1495.— Edward's lands, in Canewdon, containing twenty- five acres.—
Cuppolds, or Cuckingstole Croft, alias Lamp Crofts, given for the support of a light in the church.— The
rents of these estates are given to the ])oorest of Canewdon of good name and fame. Richard Wood, of
Scaldhurst, in the hamlet of Pudsey, gave, after his wife's death, in 1688, all his real and jR-rsonal estate,
to purchase lands, the rents of which .should be employed to find bread for the poor. — Lands belonging to
Brogrove, esq. of Norwich, are charged with fifty-two pounds, two shillings, payable to the vicar,
to be given to the poor. These were originally given by William Totham.— Anciently a fraternity of
St. Anne had an estate for lamps and lights; the overplus given in beans and herrings to poor peo|ile, in
Lent.— The Poor's land, in Wigan, is a considerable estate in Pudsey, which belongs to the poor of Wigan,
in Lancashire.
626 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Musters,* in the time of king- John. Wlliam, son of Richard Fitzwilliam, on his
death, in 1260, left his only daughter, Margery, his heiress, who was married to
Richard de Tan}^, of the family of that name, of Stapleford Tany. Richard de Tany,
his son and heii", died in 1296.f In 1298, Henry de Grapenell died, holding- this
estate of the king by knight's service. Petronilla, Margery, Joanna, and Margaret,
his daughters, were his co-heiresses, of whom Petronilla, the eldest, was the wife of
John Fitzjohn ; and Joanna was married to Adam Fitzjohn. Petronilla Fitzjohn, to
her second husband, had sir John Bensted, who in her right held this estate, at the
time of his death, in 1323. He was of Higham Bensted in Walthamstow; and his
descendants retained this possession till it was conveyed by William Bensted, esq.,
in 1490, to Thomas Stillington, who died in 1491. It belonged to Francis Clopton,
esq., in 1544; to sir John Shaa, alderman of London, who died in 1503; and was
sold by Thomas Shaa, esq. to Thomas Ive, gent, of East Donyland, in 1579. It
belonged to Robert Lawson, esq. at the time of his death, in 1587 ; and in 1604 was
sold by Thomas Lawson to Thomas Sutton, esq. founder of the Charterhouse, who
settled this estate upon that foundation, to Avhich it now belongs.^
Hampton The mansion of this manor is in the marshes, near the creek, half a mile from the
road to Paklesham : it is believed to have been taken from what belonged to Odo,
about the time of king Richard the third : it was holden by William Lawsel, who
died in 1485 ; and in 1549, it was conveyed from Richard Townshend to Richard
Smart, of Ipswich ; who was succeeded by his son W^illiam. It afterwards belonged
to Mr. Scratton, of Bromfield.
liicton, This manor is part of what Wiard held under Suene, at the survey; the house is
j^;jll, on the south-side of the channel. It was holden by Hugh Brito, by knight's service,
and has retained his name. In 1337, Robert Rochford died in possession of it; and
in 1379, it belonged to Joane, countess of Hereford : in 1526, it was conveyed by sir
Thomas Darcy to John Lucas, esq., from whom it passed, in 1550, to Bartholomew
Averill, on whose death, in 1562, he left his three daughters, Mary, Grace, and
• Anns of Musters : Gules, on a bend or, a lion] passant, of the field, within a bordure engrailed,
argent.
f Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 509.
I South Minster, Cold Norton, Stambridge, Little Hallingbury, with Little Wigborough manors, were
all disafforested, by letters patent of king Charles the first, in 1638, for which privilege the governors of
the Charterhouse gave five hundred pounds; and in the court, kept 4th October, 1670, before Albery de
Vere, earl of Oxford, chief justice of the king's forests, the governors of the Charterhouse claimed within
this manor, court letc, and view of frank pledge of all their tenants, dwelling and residing within the
precincts of the same ; and fines and amerciaments, and other profits ; assize of bread, and other victuals ;
wine, beer, &c. ; the examination of weights and measures ; choice of constables, and other officers;
pillory, tumbrel, and gallows ; sufficient fire-bote, house-bote, cart-bote, for the tenants of the manor in
their own woods, without view of the foresters.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 627
Elizabeth, his co-heiresses ; and the last of these married to Edward Waldegrave, t H a i'.
esq. of Lawford, conveyed to him this estate: it belong-ed to John Gleane, esq. nf
Harwick-hall, who died in 1670; and was purchased by sir Isaac Shaarde, knt. and
descended to his son, sir Abraham Shaarde, who died in 1746.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is pleasantly situated on rising ground: Church.
it has a nave and south aisle, separated by plain large pillars of ancient appearance. It
has a tower and wooden spire.*
The inhabitants of this parish, in 1821, amounted to four hundred and one, and in
1831, to four hundred and five.
LITTLE STANBRIDGE.
This parish extends northward from Great Stanbridge. It is about two miles '-'ttle
from Rochford, and forty from London. Before, and at the time of the survey, a bridge,
part of these lands were appropriated to the maintenance of the monks of the church
of the Holy Trinity, in Canterbury ; and another part, in the reign of Edward the
Confessor, had belonged to a freeman, from whom it was unjustly taken by Tedric
Pointel. The whole was divided into two manors.
The manor-house of Little Stanbridge is near the west-end of the church. Ralph Little
Baignard held this manor of the church of the Holy Trinity; and his grandson, b,-'i,]ge
William, joining the enemies of king Henry the first, was deprived of it on that account ; ^''''*
after which, that king gave it to Richard Fitzgilbert, lord of Brionne, in Normandy.f
It was holden of John Fitzjohn, by John de Kokeham, who died in 1275; and whose
heir, Lawrence de Hardel, died in 1285. The next possessor was Bartholomew de
Baddlesmere, a nobleman of Kent, who was beheaded in 1322.;}; It was holden by
his son and heir, Giles de Baddlesmere, who, dying without issue, left his four sisters
his co-heiresses, who had this estate divided among them: Maud was the wife of
John de Vere, seventh earl of Oxford; Elizabeth was married, first to Edmund de
Mortimer, and afterwards to William de Bohun, earl of Northampton; Margaret,
wife of sir John Tipetot; and Margery, wife of William, lord Roos.§ In 1372,
sir Robert, son of sir John Tibetot, died possessed of this manor, which he held of
the king, except a third part of it, which was holden of sir W^alter Fitzwalter, by the
service of a pair of gilt spurs. Margaret, Milicent, and Elizabeth, were his
daughters; the two eldest married to Roger and Stephen, second and third sons of
Richard Scroope, lord treasurer of England ; and Elizabeth, to Philip le Despenser.
Sir Philip le Despenser, Avho died in 1124, had this estate, which he left to his only
* There is an epitaph, in tlie chancel, to the memory of Mr. John Gleaiic, owner of the manor of
Barton-hall.
t Diigdale's Baronage, vol, i. p. 461. * Ibid. vol. ii. p. .")8. § Ibid. p. 10.
628 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. daughter, Margery, first married to John, lord Iloos, and afterwards to sir Roger
Wentworth. She died, possessed of this manor, in 1478, and was succeeded by her
grandson, Henry Wentworth, the son of her son Phihp. It afterwards belonged
successively to sir Richard Wentworth, who died in 1528, and to his son, sir Thomas,
of Nettlested, in Suftblk, who was afterwards created baron Wentworth. It after-
wards belonged to John Cocke, who died in 1574. Micajah Perry, esq., a Virginia
merchant, had this possession : he died, aged eighty, and upwards, and was succeeded
by Micajah Perry, esq., his grandson, alderman of London, and lord mayor in 1739,
and member of parliament for that city in 1727 and 1734; his son, Richard, was his
successor.* This manor now belongs to the hon. W. T. L. P. Wellesley.
Chiucli. The church is a small ancient building; the nave and chancel of one pace: the
arms of Bohun appear in the window of the belfry.
The rectory anciently belonged to the manor, and was presented to by Bartholo-
mew de Baddlesmere ; and by his widow, Margaret Dumfrunvill, lady de Baddies-
mere in 1328 and 1333. By Elizabeth, one of his daughters, married to Edmund
de Mortimer, it came into the Mortimer family. Richard Nevil, duke of York,
presented in 1434 and 1445. On his being slain at the battle of Wakefield, in 1460,
his second son, Edward, earl of March, afterwards king Edward the fourth, in-
herited this with his other possessions; and it has since that time remained in the
crown. f
The number of inhabitants in this parish, in 1821, was one hundred, and in 1831,
one hundred and five.
ASSINGDON.
This small parish is north from Hawkswell, and north by west from Rochford.
The name, in records, is written Assingden, Assindon, Assandum. The village is
small. Distant from Rochford three, and from London forty-one miles4
* Arras of Perry : Quarterly, or and sable, on a bend gules two lions passant, gardant, argent, cotised
ermine. On an inescutclieon sable, a chevron between three fleur de luces argent. Crest. On a close
helmet, an hind's head erased proper, in its mouth a bunch of pears or, the branch vert.
t Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 542.
:j: Camden supposes the great battle between Canute and Edmund ironside to have been fought here ;
other writers suppose It to have been at Ashdon, near Bartlow. "Nothing is more surprising," obseiTCS
Gough, in his Additions to Camden, *' than the error all antiquaries have hitherto lain under with
respect to the scene of the battle between Edmund Ironside and the Danes. Though they had the
authority of Mr. Camden against them, they have carried it quite across the country to the northern
extremity, as far from the sea as possible, and in defiance of every circumstance that could fi.x it there.
In a marsh in Woodham Mortimer parish, on the Chelmsford side of the river Burnham or Crouch, are
^ twenty-four barrows grouped in pairs, and most of them surrounded by a ditch. At Canewdon, which
Weever was for rendering Canuti domus, is the Danish camp. Hocklie on the hill, on the other side of
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 629
This lordship belonged to Saene, at the survey, and afterwards passed to the CHAP,
same families as Hawkswell. Very little occurs, in records, relative to it. There '^^*''
are two manors, which extend into other parishes.
Assing-don-hall, the manor-house, is near the church. Laurence de Hardel, who Assint?-
died in 1285, held lands here, of Philip Mansel, by the service of a garland of roses: ^"" "^"'
Nicholas Mansel was his son. In 1340, Reginald Garrey, and in 1372, sir Robert
Tibetot, had possessions here, which belonged to Little Stanbridge. An estate,
named Beckney, in Assingdon, Hockley and South Fambridge, is supposed to be this
manor. It is mentioned, in the record, as holden of the prior of Colnes, by fealty,
by Richard Allen, who died in 1517, and by his son John. The manor of " Beck-
ney, with appertenances, in Assindon, South Fambridge, Hockley, and Sutton, was
holden of lord Rich, as of the honour of Rayleigh, by William Harrys, esq., who
died in 1555, and was succeeded by his son and heir, William, the father of Chris-
topher Harrys, esq., of Shenfield, who, dying in 1570, was succeeded by his son of
the same name, who died in 1571 ; and whose brother, sir William Harrys, had this
estate at the time of his death, in 1634, and left his cousin, Christopher, his heir."
It now belongs to the lion. W. T. L. P. Wellesley.
The church is a small building of apparent antiquity, dedicated to St. Michael : Church,
formerly there was an arch between the nave and chancel, and it has a tower of
stone. The hill on Avhich this church is situated, commands a pleasant view over the
country, including the whole of Dengey hundred, as far as Maldon.
This church, and that of Hawkswell, were united in 1429, but were soon after-
wards again separated.
There was formerly an image in this church, which, in superstitious times, was of
high celebrity for the miracles said to have been performed by it.*
In 1821, this parish contained ninety-seven, and in 1831, ninety-eight inhabitants.
SOUTH FAMBRIDGE.
The river Crouch separates this parish from North Fambridge, in the hundred Sontli
of Dengey ; an ancient britlge, and the froth or foam of the passing- stream, is tiie iil-nhre.
the river, has the memorial of slaughter in its name from Haccan, caedere ; the church is supported by tlic
ancient massive round pillars, and in the parish is a very large single barrow. Battle Bridge, four miles
lower down, may have taken its name from this action, though Hull Bridge (now only a ford and terry,
the piles remaining in the river) is close to the marsh where the barrows are. 'i'he Danes had been
hovering about this neighbourhood for twenty years before. They probably landed at Bradwell. How
much more obvious the resemblance between Assanduue and Assiugdon, than between Assaudune and
Ashdown ; not to mention that Simeon Dunelmensis expressly says, Canute and Turkil built the church
in monta; quie Assandune dicitur ! This is the exact situation of Hocklie church : but is it so of that
at Bartlow .'
* Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 19. ,
VOL. II. 4 M
630 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. supposed origin of the name, which, in Domesday, is written Phenbrudge. Distant
from Rochford three, and from London thirty-nine miles.
This lordship was given to the monastery of Ely, by Edward the Confessor ; but
the Conqueror had taken it from that appropriation, and it was holden under him by
Rainald Balistarius, at the time of the survey. There is only one manor.
Soiuii The mansion is about half a mile north from the church, on rising ground. In
biult^e 1166, the monks had regained this possession, which was holden of Nigel, bishop of
^*'"' Elv, by Reginald de Fambridge. In 1286, Bartholomew de Brianson died, holding
this estate of the inheritance of Joane, his wife : William was his son and heir, and
died in 1310; and it continued in his family for some time, till it was conveyed to
William de Bohun, earl of Northampton, who died in 1360, holding it of the bishop
of Ely. In 1395, this estate was appropriated to the college of Pleshey, founded by
Thomas of Woodstock; and on the dissolution of religious houses, was granted,
by Henry the eighth, to John Gate, esq., on whose trial and condemnation, in the
affair of Lady Jane Grey, this, and his other estates, passed to the crown, and was,
in 1560, granted, by queen Elizabeth, to Peter Osborn, esq., in whose family it
continued through many generations, till sir Dan vers Osborn* sold it to John
Stevenson, esq., who married the daughter of Jonathan Forward, of London.
Cliiiich. The church is a small low building, dedicated to All Saints; it is half a mile from
the ferry.
The population of this parish in 1821, amounted to one hundred and seven, and to
ninety-one in 1831.
* The family of Osborn are said to have come from the nortlieru part of the country : in 1442, Peter
Osborn resided at Purley, in Essex. Richard was his son ; whose son Richard was seated at Tyled hall,
in Lachingdon ; of his two sons, Peter, born in 1521, was distinguished for his learning and superior
understanding, and his activity and zeal in promoting the Reformation. He was keeper of the privy purse
to king Edward the sixth, who granted him and his heirs the office of treasurer's remembrancer, in the
Exchequer. He was the friend of sir John Cheke, who died at his house. In the reign of queen Elizabeth
he was one of the high commissioners for ecclesiastical affairs. His son, sir John Osborn, knt. was
treasurer's remembrancer, and commissioner of the navy, in the reign of king James the first. He
married Dorotliy, daughter of Richard Barlee, esq. of Elsenham, by whom he left four sons; Francis, the
youngest, was the author of Essays, or Miscellanies, in which was included his " Advice to a Son." Sir
John Osborn, knt. settled at the nunnery of Chicksands, in Bedfordshire, and died in 1628. Sir Peter,
his eldest son, was twenty-eight years governor of Guernsey. By his wife, Dorothy, daughter of sir John
Danvers, of Dauntzey, in Wiltshire, he had seven sons and two daughters, of whom the eldest son, ."sir
John, was the first baronet of tlie family : creation, iu I6G0. He was of the privy chaml)er to king Charles
the second ; and also treasurer's remembrancer. He married Alianor Danvers, of Dauntzey, and dying
in 1G99, was succeeded by his only son, sir John Osborn, hart, who by his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter
of William Stroud, esq. of Barrington, in Somersetshire, had John ; and by his second wife, Martha,
daughter of sir John Kelyng, had seven sons and four daughters. John, the eldest son, married Sarah,
daughter of George lord Torrington, and died in 1719, in his father's life-time, leaving a son, who suc-
ceeded his grandfather, as sir Danvers Osborn, in 1720.
HUNDRED OF ROC H FORD. 631
CHAP.
FOULNESS ISLAND. XVII.
This island, which is also a parish, is the largest of six islands, which occupy the Fo^llnc^'s.
eastern extremity of the hundred. The name, in records, is Fughelness, Foulness,*
and more anciently, ebulpnej-j-e. It is computed to be above twenty miles in circum-
ference, exclusive of the Saltings, which are not embanked from the sea; and is
reckoned to contain about four thousand five hundred acres of land.f There is a fair
here on the 10th of July. Distant five miles from Rochford, and forty-four from
London.
The manor-house is near the church; the estate anciently belonged to Suene, from Foulness
whose grandson, passing to the crown, it was granted, with the honour of Rayleigh, ^ '
to Hubert de Burgh ; and his son, John, gave it to Guy de Rochford, from which time
it commonly went with the manor of Rochford. Sir Guy died in 1274, and John
Rochford, his nephew, son of his sister Maud, was his heir, Avho on his decease, in
1309, was succeeded by his son Robert. In 1343, William de Bohun, earl of
Nottingham, had this estate ; on whose decease, in 1360, it passed to his son,
Humphrey de Bohun ; succeeded by his sister Alianor, married to Thomas of Wood-
stock ; on whose murder it passed to the crown, and was afterwards granted, by king
Henry the sixth, to James, earl of Ormond ; from whom it was conveyed to the
families of Bullen, Stafford, Rich ; and to the female heirs of the earl of Warwick,
one of whom conveyed it in marriage to the right hon. Daniel, earl of Nottingham,
from Avhom it has descended to his posterity. The present owner of this estate and
manor is George Finch, esq., son of the late earl.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St. Thomas the Martyr, and All Saints, chunii.
is near the middle of the island : originally it was only a chapel, the island at that time
not being a parish, but the tithes payable to Rochford, Sutton, Little Wakering,
Shopland, Little Stanbridge, and Eastwood ; the first inhabitants having been derived
from these parishes.
The chapel, which formerly occupied the site of the present erection, was presented
to by lady Joane de Bohun in 1386, and from that time by lords of the manor : it being
slenderly provided for, and the curate not often resident, a chantry was founded and
endowed by the said Joane, countess of Hereford. The chantry priest was to per-
form all offices for the inhabitants, who, on account of the overHowing tides, were
* Believed to be so named from the promontory, or point of land, named Foulness Point.— Camden's
" Brit, in Essex." See also Norden's " Speculum Britannia."
t The island is divided into nineteen farms. Dr. Fuller informs us, that, in 1(>48, an army of mice,
nesting in ant-hills, shaved off the grass at the bare roots, which withering to dung, was infectious to
cattle. The March following, numbers of owls flew hither and destroyed them."— ff'ort/iks in Essex,
p. 348.
632 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. frequently prevented from resorting to their respective parish churches. The glebe
was then settled, and the chaplain was to have all the tithes, oblations, and spiritual
profits, formerly paid to other parishes: these arrangements were by authority of
Richard Giffard, bishop of London, and with the consent of all parties concerned.
The right of patronage of this chantry was in the archbishop, the countess, and the
lord of the manor, or island of Foidness : they all presented, jointly, in 1408 ;* and
successive lords presented, to the year 1547. On the dissolution of chantries, this
chapel was made a rectory; presented to as such in 1554, and so continued to the
present time.
Daniel, earl of Nottingham, improved this rectory, by annexing to it the great
tithes of Braintree.
The population of Foulness, in 1821, amounted to five hundred and fifty-five, and
to six hundred and thirty, in 1831.
WALLASEA.
Wailasea. This island lies between Paklesham and the river Crouch; and having been joined
to the firm land by a causeway, may now with propriety be reckoned a peninsula: it
is about four miles in length and in Ijreadth, where broadest a mile and half. Its
name is, undoubtedly, from its embankments or sea-walls, which secure it from inun-
dation. It has been vulgarly named, Wallet and Wallis. It is in the occupation of
Mr. Hickingbotham.
Acresfleet This estate was formerly reckoned a manor, and belonged, in 1395, to sir Henry
Marsh. Q^ev, of Wilton ; afterwards to his widow, Elizabeth: and in 1441, to his son, sir
Richard Grey. In 1577, it belonged to sir Francis Jobson, and afterwards to
Thomas Crush, of Roxwell.
Gore Gore marsh formerly belonged to sir Henry Featherstone. Other estates are,
Ringwood marsh. Castle marsh, Sherwood's marsh. Tile-barn marsh. These six
marshes pay tithe to Canewdon, of which parish they form a part.
Pool Pool marsh contains 500 acres, the property of the Western family. This and
Tlllet's marsh belong to Great Stanbridge ; and Hilly marsh and West Grapnel's
marsh, belong to Paglesham ; Cockley-lay, or Cocksey-lay, belongs to Little
Wakering ; and Coker's marsh was so named, from Mr. Ralph Coker, of Wood-
ham-Mortimer, to whom it formerly belonged ; it was the property of Prittle-
well priory ; and after the dissolution, was granted to Bishop Bonner, who gave it
in marriage with his daughter to Perkins, esq. This estate is in Eastwood
parish.
Marsh.
Marsh.
Newcoiirt, vol. ii. p. 271.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFO 11 D. 633
Potten island lies south from Wallasea; it contains a farm of six hundrcHl acres, CHAP,
arable and pasture, called Great Potten. This estate belongs to lord Henniker. '^^"'
There is also a farm here, called Little Potten, now occupied by George Van- Potten
derlee, esq. island.
Havengore extends south-east to the sea, near Orwell-Beacon, occupied by James Haven-
Tabor, esq. : it is the property of lady Olivia Bernard Sparrow. ^*"^' "^*^"
Sharpsness, is an estate here belonging to Mr. Knapping.
New England is a small island, partly the property of Mr. Christopher Parsons,
the occupier, and part of it belonging to St. Bartholomew's hospital.
Rushley Island contains something more than two hundred acres: it is in the
occupation of the proprietor, Francis Bannestei*, esq. *
Arthur Young, esq. on his survey of these islands, about twenty years ago, speaks
of the soil of Foulness as the richest in the county : — " The whole was (he observes)
forty years ago under water, and no corn got for two years; but after that the crops
greater than ever, so as to furnish an effectual proof that the water did good, after
being chastened and corrected by the atmosphere. This saline quality is entangled in
a peculiar loamy substance, very different from what is found in upland countries.
The richest soils in such, are composed, in a great measure, of sand mixed with a
portion of clay, and very friable where the sand predominates. But with the soil of
Foulness, the case is different; for whatever friableness it possesses, seems to be
owing to a fermentative power, arising from the action of the atmosphere on a body
abounding with mucilaginous particles. It falls when exposed to the vicissitudes of
weather into dies, and is more like the crystallized forms of mud drying in the sun,
than the crumbling looseness of common loams. There is very little appearance of any
sand in it; the particles are so fine, that it might be expected to become an impalpable
powder ; but, on the contrary, it is capable of such adhesion that a clod will become
very hard ; crumbled in the hand, it yields a strong scent, indicating the presence of
volatile alcali. The fertility of it is so great, that the farmers are very little attentive
to dung ; nor do they commonly venture it for any sort of corn, for it throws up nmch
straw without any improvement of the crop. If, however, they laid it on for beans,
I should suppose this would not be the case. I must observe, on this natural excel-
lence of the soil, that it is perfectly unattainable by art ; the great laboratory of natin-c
in this, as in so many other cases, leaves the utmost skill of the chemical farmer at an
infinite distance. I often see crops of as great, and sometimes of a greater bulk than
those of Foulness, the straw longer, and the field seemingly as much loadi'd ; but
* There are several oyster-layings belonging to tliis island ; and in tlio creeks on all the iitighhonrini;
isles, the native Wallfleet oysters are bred for the supply of the London market. Not more than one-
tenth of the lands of these islands are used for pastnra!;;e, with the exception of IamlMi marsh, wliich is
entirely pasture land. The average annual jnoduce of wheat is twcnty-ciu'ht bushels per acre.
634 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. when this Is the result of art, the product in grain is not answerable, and even turns
out sometimes comparatively mean ; mildews seize it, or the least rain beats it to the
ground ; but when the luxuriance, or health of it, is the result of natural fertility, the
plants are not subject to be beaten down; the mildew is far less fatal; the ears are
numerous, long, and well filled ; and a bulk equal to the eye is far more productive in
corn. This great inferiority will always be found by those who attempt to raise
great crops of wheat by means of rich manuring, which, in fact, ought rather to be
applied to beans, turnips, cabbages, &c. No hollow draining (land ditching) is done
in the island, but much water furrowing. The west part is the stiiFest land, from a
mixture of clay ; the eastern side is the lightest, and the centre of the island is the
best land. It is also to be remarked, that between wet and dry, the soil sticks to the
plough very much. When dry, it has a pale light-coloured surface, almost white ;
a near resemblance to the soil of Fleg, in Norfolk, and the impalpable loams of
Tendring." *
The great drawback upon these advantages, has, till of late times, been the total
want of fresh water, which produced inconvenience and unhealthiness to men and
cattle ; but this evil has been completely removed by the persevering exertions of
Francis Bannester, esq. the owner of Rushley Island, who has discovered, under the
sea, an inexhaustible reservoir of pure water, which may be made to supply ever-
running streams for the use of these, and the other islands of this coast.
The following interesting account of this greatly important undertaking, is extracted
from a letter, addressed by Mr. Bannester to the editor of this work : —
Discovery " The island being in my own occupation, I had long felt the want of a supply
of good water, having none for the use of the inhabitants or stock but what was
obtained in rainy seasons, and which in hot dry weather became stagnant and ex-
tremely unwholesome, causing much sickness and loss. This inconvenience was also
severely felt by the surrounding islands, which amount, in extent, to not less than ten
thousand acres of land ; and, although an attempt was made about fifty years ago by
the late Mr. Francis Bannester (whose property Rushley was), to obtain water by
boring, without success, and similar experiments, in Foulness and Canvey islands
had also more recently failed, I still felt convinced of the possibility of obtaining
water by this means ; and determined upon making the attempt, although success was
deemed impracticable by many of my neighbours; and on the 2d day of April, 1828,
I began the work. In the first twenty-two feet from the surface, I found a stiif blue
and very hard dry clay ; and below that a quicksand, which consisted of gravel, sand,
cockle, oyster, and muscle shells, with a great body of salt water, and had every
appearance of having formerly been a sea-shore. This continued about the depth of
* Young's Agricultural Survey of Essex, vol. i. p. 15.
HUNDRED OF ROCHFORD. 635
sLxteea feet ; and I was obliged to use larg-e iron-pipes, in order to keep out the salt C H A P.
water. Our progress was extremely slow ; but at length, below the quicksand, we •'^^"-
found solid ground. Continuing the work, and passing slowly through a very stiff
blue clay, with layers of oyster shell, and sometimes chalk, at the depth of four
hundred feet from the surface, I found an evident alteration of the soil — more pul-
verised, and which had the appearance, from its dark colour and fibrous nature, of
having been at some remote period the surface of the ground. Here I thought it
advisable to insert in the hole Avhere we were boring, wrought iron-pipes, in oi'der to
prevent the great pressure of the earth at that depth from impeding the working of
the auger and rods, an obstruction we had not foreseen : but, as some time was neces-
sarily occupied in their preparation, and the hole being only five and a half inches in
diameter, I found, in consequence of the closing earth, great difficulty in getting down
the pipes. By great perseverance, however, I had forced down two hundred feet of
pipe below the quicksand ; but below this we found the hole entirely closed. Nor
was it possible, by any exertion, although repeated eflforts were made, to re-open it
so as to insert any more pipe, so great was the pressure ; and to my extreme mortifica-
catlon, on the 22d of May, I was compelled to abandon the work, leaving all my pipe in
the earth, where it may possibly be found some generations hence. Feeling, however,
still convinced that the undertaking was practicable, in the autumn of the same year
I again went to work, with the precaution, taught by experience, of inserting yi^efrom
the very cominencement, and constantly working within it ; in our progress, we found
the same soil and quicksand as described above, and continuing without any material
interruption to the depth of four hundred and twenty feet. Here we found a small
quantity of sand, very fine, mixed with the clay, which was held to be an indication of
approaching water : still working onwards, we found the sand increase ; and at four
hundred and fifty feet, the soil became very tender, and filled with extremely bright
shining black particles. Here my hopes were raised to the highest pitch; and watch-
ing with intense anxiety the progress of the work, at four hundred and fifty-five feet,
we found a solid, and apparently, an impenetrable rock, upon which our pipe firmly
rested, and we could hear the sound of our auger upon it very distinctly : but what
thickness this rock was, had become a matter of very anxious concern ; to perforate
it, however, was now the object. It may here be proper to observe, that the weight
of iron-rods from the surface to the rock, was not less than fifteen inuKlrcd weight.
Affixing to the end of the rods a very strong hard iron chisel, with feelings, whicli
may well be conceived, I began this laborious work ; and after persevering two
nights and a day, without any intermission, two sets of men being constantly at work
night and day, nearly from the beginning of the undertaking, we had made a hole
in tlie rock of about eight and a half inches in length, and two inches in diameter.
Early on the morning of tlie second day, 1st of January, 1829, the iron rods suddenly
636
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. dropped down a distance of thh-ty feet below the rock, into what I supposed an immense
body of water ; and in less than two hours, I had the inexpressible gratification to
witness the astonishing fact of a supply of pure and excellent spring water flowing
over the surface, and which has continued without interruption to the present moment,
influenced only by the ebbing- and flowing of the sea : the spring yielding a greater
supply as the tide approaches high water, and slightly decreasing as it recedes, but
always overflowing, and never running less than two quarts per minute. The sand
of the rock appeared exactly like Roman cement, both in colour and consistence. —
Thus successf I lly terminated a work, which has since proved of most essential service
in the neighbo.uing islands; — springs having subsequently been obtained in most of
them, and the W( rk is still proceeding." *
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN ROCHFORD HUNDRED.
R. Rectory.
V. Vicarage.
t Discliarged from payment of first-fruits.
Parish.
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Ashingdon, R
Barling, V
Canewdon, V
Eastwood, V
Fainbridge, S. R. ...
Foulness, R
Hadleiuh, R
HawkwelLR
Hocklev, V
Leigh, R
Mucking, V
Pa4;lesham, R
Prittlewell, V
Rawreth, R
Rayleigh, R
Rochford, R
Shoebury, N.V
Shoebury, S. R
Shopland, V
Southchurcb, R. ...
Stambri(lt;e, Great, R.
Ditto, Little, R
Sutton, R
Wakering, Great, V.
Wakering, Little, V.
Essex ....
Pecul
Essex ....
John Nottage
H.J. Knapp
William Atkinson . .
George Price
Edward Fawcett
Thomas Archer . , .
John Rlavor
Charles Wallington .
Geo. Swayne, D.D..
Edward N. Walter . .
J.W.Vivian, D.D...
C.A. Belli
Frederick Nolan . . .
J.C. White
Sir J. Head, bart. . .
Hon. A. Windsor ..
J.E. Commins ....
Phil. W. Yorke ....
John Quarrington
C. Bazeley
W. B. Ramsden
Hez. G. Harrison. ..
T. Scott Scratton.. .
W. Pritchard
W.B. Ramsden
1795
1824
1809
1826
1809
1S15
18>i5
1791
1819
1808
1824
1823
1822
1821
1799
1814
1830
1812
1803
1828
1801
1786
1826
1822
1812
18
34
12
17
tl5
fll
13
tl6
15
10
26
18
20
17
20
f^
14
t9
V7
20
tl2
1!
20
12
13
0
I
0
0
0
14
6
3
0
0
0
18
13
17
0
0
13
0
0
0
0
0
13
0
4
0
8
0
0
0
7
8
9
0
0
0
4
4
6
0
0
4
0
10
0
0
0
4
(.»
Jos. Nottage.
Dn.&Ch.ofSt. Paul's.
Bishop of London.
Lord Chancellor.
E. Stevenson, esq.
Earl Winchelsea.
Lincoln Coll. Oxford.
Mrs. Biistow.
VVadham Coll. Oxford.
Bishoj) of London.
Dn&Ch. of St. Paul's.
Bishop of London.
Bishop of London.
Pembroke Hall, Canib.
R. Bristow, esq.
j Hon. W. T. L. P.
X Wellesley.
Lord Chancellor.
R. Bristow, esq.
T. Mutlow, esq.
Archbp. of Canterbury.
Gov. of Charterhouse.
Lord Chancellor.
5 W. Cockerton, esq.
( and others.
Bishop of London.
St. Barthol. Hospital.
Exempt. ..
Esse.x ....
Pecul
Essex
* Previous to this fortunate discovery, many unsuccessful attempts had been made, at a gieat expense :
and as soon as their labours here were C()m[)letcd, the same workmen were immediately engaged : at least
twenty springs are now flowing where no fresh water was before found, and the men are still employed
in the same beneficial work.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY.
637
CHAPTER XVHI.
HUNDRED or DENGEY.
This hundred extends northward to that of Witham, and to the river Blackwater ; c H a I'
eastward it meets the German Ocean: it has Rochford on the south ; and on the west, '
Chelmsford. It is on three sides inclosed by the Crouch, the Blackwater, and the Dengey.
sea : its length from east to west is sixteen miles, and its breadth at its two extremi-
ties, about ten.
The Danes having been a considerable time in possession of this district, it is
believed to have taken its name from them ; or at least the place where the hundred
courts were kept, in the Saxon times was named Danes-ig, ^. e. Danes' Island. It is
in Domesdaj' Avritten Witbricteshern ; and Avas first named Danesei, in the time of
Henry the second : in a rhyming charter (real or pretended), the custody of this
hundred is granted to Randolf Peperking, by the name of Dancing.* There are the
following twenty -four parishes in this hundred, three of which are in Maldon;
namely, the United parishes of All Saints, and St. Peter's; and St. Mary's; Woodham
Walter, Woodham Mortimer, Haseley, Purley, Cold Norton, Stow-Mary's, Fam-
bridge North, Lachingdon with Lawling, Snoreham, Mundon, Steple with Stansgate,
* This giant, or a copy of later date, is preser
considers the orthography of it to be of the time
it to be a forgery. It is as follows : —
Iche Edward Kouyng
Have geven of my Forest the keping
Of the hundred of Cholmer and Dancing
To Randolf Peperking and to his kindling ;
With heort and hynd, doe and bock,
Hare and fox, cat and brock,
Wild fowell with his flock,
Partridge, fesant hen and fesant cock,
With green and wyld stob and stock.
To kcpen and to yemen by all her migiit
Both by day and eke by night,
VOL. II.
ved among the records of the exchequer; Mr. Morant
of Edward the first, or second, and therefore concludes
And hounds for to holde
Gode, and .swift and bolde.
Four greyhounds and six brachcs
For hare and fox and wildcats.
And hereof iche made him my book ;
Witness the bishop Walston,
And bock ycleped many one,
And Suene of Essex our brother.
And to ken him many other,
And our stiward Howelyn,
That besought me for him.
See Blount's Ancient Tenures, pp. 103, lOl.
4 N
638 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. Mayland, Althorn, Cricksea, Burnham, Southminster, Asheldham, Dengey, Tilling-
ham, St. Laurence, Bi'adwell.
MALDON.
iMaldon. The boi'ough of Maldon is one of the most ancient towns of Essex : its Saxon
name, McBldune, that is, the Cross-hill, is supposed to have been derived from an
ancient cross erected here ; or from the figure of the town, which is cruciform, con-
sisting of one principal street, extending nearly a mile east and west, with a cross
street of considerable length, and several smaller streets.
In records, the name is Maudone, Maudine, Mealdona, Meaudone, Maldun,
Meldun.* The market, formerly on Saturday, is now on Thursday; and three
chartered fairs are held, on Lady-day for toys; 1st of May, and 13th and 14th
of September for cattle. Distant from Chelmsford, ten miles, from London, thirty-
seven.
This populous town is picturesquely situated on an eminence, rising from the
southern border of the ancient Idumanum, or Black-water bay, and commanding an
extensive prospect over the marshy grounds toward the sea. There is a very con-
venient haven formed by the junction of the Blackwater and Chelmer ; and vessels of
two hundred tons burthen may come up to the town at spring-tides. The bringing
of the Chelmer navigation here, has also added greatly to the facilities of trade. This
is not a manufacturing town, but has a good home-trade, and its imports and exports
are of considerable amount; the former consist of coals, iron, tin, deals, &c; the latter
of flour, peas, beans, wheat, oats, and salt: there is also a very extensive fishery on
the Blackwater, belonging to the corporation. The importation of coal, in 1833,
including the outports and Heybridge, amounted to forty thousand chaldrons. The
town has been of late much improved, with the addition of many modern houses ; and
there are handsome meeting-houses, belonging to the Independent dissenters and to
the society of Friends ; and a small society of the Wesleyan Methodists have also a
place of worship. The town-hall, which is called Darcy's Tower, is an ancient edifice
of brick, built in the reign of Henry the sixth : it contains a neat court for the business
* Camden and others suppose that this was the Calonia Cainulodunum, mentioned in Antonines'
Itinerary. Horsley, in his Britannia Romana, also sanctions this opinion : but, as is observed by
Mr. Morant, "that Colonia was fifty-two miles from London, very nearly the measured distance from
that great city to Colchester ; and Maldon is only thirty-eight miles from London."
Two Roman coins were found here, one of Vespasian, with the legend SALVS AVGVSTI ; the
other, a gold one, in fine preservation, of Nero and Agrippina, with the legend NERO CLAVD. DIVI. F.
CiES. AVG. GERM. IMP, TR. P. COS. On the reverse, the emperor and his mother seated in a car
drawn by elephants : on an ensign, carried by Agrippina, is the inscription AGRIP. AVG. DIVI. CLAVI).
NERONIS CiES. MATER, above ex s. c.
A medal of silver was found at Colchester, with the same figures and inscription as this.
4
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 639
of the sessions, a council-room for the meetings of the corporation, and a banquet- c H \ p
room. This town is not known to have been inclosed by a wall.* XVIIF.
On the western side of the town there are some traces of a camp ; it was of a
square or oblong form, inclosing about twenty-two acres ; three sides of this forti-
fication are visible, but the other has been built upon or defaced. On the northern
side there is a fine spring of water, named Cromwell. Whether this was a
Roman, Saxon, or Danish work, is not known; but the place has undoubtedly
been anciently occupied by each of those people in succession. The most ancient
historical reference to Maldon, is of the year 913, when king Edward the elder
came with an army and encamped here, to impede the progress of the Danes, while
a fortification was constructing at Witham ; f and, according to Marianus,' he was
encamped here again in 920, and rebuilt and fortified the town, which, in 921,
sustained a siege by a numerous army of Danes, till forces came to its reUef, when
the enemy was defeated, and great numbers of them slain. In 993, it was again
attacked by the Danish forces, commanded by Unlaf, on which occasion earl Byrth-
north, coming to oppose them, was defeated and slain, and the place fell into the
possession of the enemy.
Originally this, as well as most other boroughs, belonged to the king ; and at the
survey, the houses were let to the burgesses at a certain rent. In the reign of Henry
the first, Robert Fitz-Richard was lord of the borough of Maldon.
Afterwards it was granted, by king Henry the second, to Patridge, a Norman,
who gave a moiety of it to a hospital in Normandy; and this was afterwards exchanged
for lands in that country belonging to the bishop of London.:}: The bishop had also
the other moiety ; but whether by grant from the king, or by purchase, is not known.
The latter is more probable, because, bishop Braybroke, lord chancellor, with his
chapter of St. Paul's, granted it to this corporation in 1403 : by virtue of this grant,
they enjoy a custom, called Landcheap, which is, that all purchasers of freehold land
* In the Philosophical Transactions (vol. xlvii.) is an account of Edward Bright, a shopkeeper of
Maldon, who was so enormously fat, that his size and weight are almost unparalleled. At the age of
twelve years and a half he weighed 144 pounds : in seven years more he weighed 336 pounds. The last
time he was weighed, which was about thirteen months before he died, his weight was 584 pounds : at
the time of his death, his weight is supposed to have been 616 pounds. He measured five feet nine inches
and a half in height. His body, round the chest, was five feet six inches ; and round tiie belly, sI.k feet
eleven inches ; his arm in the middle measured two feet two inches ; and his leg two feet eight inches.
He died at the age of twenty-nine, in the year 1750: after his death, seven men were buttoned in his
waistcoat. Till a year or two before his death, he was comparatively an active man; but afterwards his
extreme corpulency so overpowered his strength, that life seemed burthensome. His coffin was so enor-
mously large, that an opening was obliged to be cut in the wall and staircase, to let him down into the
shop ; and it was carried to the grave upon a carriage. He left a wife pregnant of her sixth child.
t Saxon Chron. pp. 103, 106, 108, 127.
I The other moiety belonged to John de Launde in 1284.
640 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
iiooK II. within the borough, shall pay, for the vise of the borough, tenpence out of every mark
of the purchase-money. In 1301, this ancient custom, with some other rents and
profits arising from a moiety of the town, were holden of the king, in capife, by the
service of the fourth part of a knight's fee; and in 1422, Henry Teye is stated to have
holden a moiety of the lordship of the king, as of the honour of Peverel.
First The first recorded charter of Maldon was granted by Henry the second, at the
request of William de Mandeville, earl of Essex; it granted and confirmed to them,
and their successors, all their lands, possessions and tenements, as they held them of
him within and without the borough, as far as the banlieu ; namely, Haylspet, Moris-
broke, Limborne, Billimbroc, Buherne, Cravenho, and Elmcroft : to have and to
hold for ever, free and quiet, with sac, soc, &c., and all their liberties and free customs
peaceably, freely, quietl)^, fully, and honourably, in lands, waters, houses, revenues in
all places, and matters appertaining to their tenements aforesaid, by the service of free
burgage. He also exempted them from aids, amerciaments, &c. usually levied by
sheriffs, foresters, &c. Moreover, he exempted them from danegeld, hydage, carriage,
summage, scutage, tallage, stallage, lastage, and toll, in every market and fair, and at
the passage over bridges and along roads, belonging to this kingdom ; of working at
the building or repairs of castles, bridges, causeways, and the fencing of parks, &c.
and from all foreign service, except the finding for forty days, at their own expense,
one ship for the king's use, whenever he shall be obliged to go personally, or to send
an army for the kingdom's service, being first summoned by the royal letters to
a certain day and place.* Among other ancient privileges, they were entitled to
common of pasture and Estovers, upon Tiptree-heath.
Charter Besides several intermediate charters, queen Mary I. in 1553, on the request of
aiifiPhnip si'' Robert Rochester, her counsellor, and comptroller of her household, granted to
undMary. ^\^q burgesses of the borough of Maldon and their successors for ever, that they
should be one perpetual body corporate and politic, and one perpetual community,
consisting of two bailifi:'s, six aldermen, eighteen capital burgesses, and the commonalty
of the burgesses of Maldon. But not having named in that charter the bailiffs and
other officers, nor given the burgesses any power or authority to nominate, constitute,
and elect any of their own body to be bailiffs, &c. ; therefore she and her consort,
king Philip, the 25th of February, 1554, granted them a new charter, whereby they
incorporated the burgesses and inhabitants of the borough of Maldon and their suc-
cessors, to consist of two bailiffs, six aldermen, eighteen capital burgesses, and the
commonalty of the burgesses of Maldon, to be one perpetual body corporate and
politic in fact and in name, and to have perpetual succession. They were empowered
* Geofrey de Maadeville had a grant of all the lands of William Peverel, and undoubtedly of what
Ralph Piperel held here at the time of the survey; which induced his son William to procure this
charter. Dugdale's Baron, vol. i. j). 202.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 641
to purchase and receive manors, lands, tenements, &c. provided they did not extend
to the clear value of £40 beyond reprises, and were not holden in capite, or by-
knight's service.
They were also empowered to hold, before the bailiffs, in the court of their mote-
hall, all manner of pleas, real and mixed, concerning- any lands and tenements within
their borough, liberty, and precincts of the same ; and also personal pleas for any sum
or kind ; and to compel the defendants in real pleas, to answer, by process of law,
from fortnight to fortnight; and, in personal pleas, from week to week; and to
arrest and attach their bodies, and chattels within the borough, and commit their bodies
to prison, and to hear and terminate all such pleas. Likewise to hold pleas of
assize, novel disseisin, mort d'ancester, redisseisen, attaints, debt, accounts, trespass,
and all other personal pleas whatsoever, arising within the borough, liberty, and pre-
cinct, that were moved, or to be moved, within any of the courts of chancery, the
common bench, exchequer, and before the justices itinerant, or any other justices and
officers, and to determine the same. The bailiffs were also empowered to hold, in
the motehall, a court of view of frank-pledge concerning all tenants and inhabitants
of this borough, and the suburbs, tAvice a year, namely, within one month after
Easter, and within one month after Michaelmas. And the bailiffs, aldermen, and the
rest of the corporation, and their successors, to have a prison within their house of
the motehall, of which the bailiffs for the time being should be keepers. Also, within
their borough or liberty, to have tumbrel, pillory, and gallows. To have a market
within their borough, every Saturday for ever; to constitute and appoint a clerk
of the market, and coroners of their own ; to hold courts of admiralty, and have the
fines, amerciaments, and other emoluments thence arising. To them were given
felon's cattle, escapes, and other goods and chattels, forfeitures, &c., for their own
use. They were to have one common seal; and the return of all writs and precepts,
and executions of the same, provided they were not about felony or treason; and the
assize of bread, wine, beer, and of all kinds of victuals; of measures, Aveights, &c.
The bailiffs, aldermen, and capital burgesses, or a majority of them, to make reason-
able ordinances and constitutions for the good of the borough, provided they were not
repugnant or contrary to the laws and statutes of the realm. To assess reasonable
tallages or taxes upon the goods of all persons, and of all burgesses dwelling within the
borough, liberty, and precinct, as well Avithin liberties as without, according to every
ability, upon the rents, trades, and merchandises, or otherwise, as shall seem to thoin
one's best; and to levy them by reasonable distress, committing suchas refused to pay, if
necessary, to prison, and keeping them there till they paid. The bailiffs for the time
being, and some lawyer, and two burgesses, chosen the same day, and in the same
manner and form as the bailiffs, to be jointly and severally keepers of the peace within
the borough. In support of their service aforesaid, of finding one ship for thirty days,
C H A i».
XVIll.
642 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK U. as they did in the time of king Henry the first, and other kings of England, this
charter granted them all fines, issues, compositions, amerciaments, forfeitures for
felonies and other crimes, outlawries, waifs, strays, happening within the borough,
bainlieu, and precincts, without account. It also confirmed their liberties contained
in the charter of king Henry the second ; namely, exemption throughout England,
and its ports, from scot, passage, murage, picage, &c., as they enjoyed it from time
immemorial. And if any one took toll or custom from any of the burgesses, the
bailiffs and other members of the corporation should go and take out of that city,
borough, or town, where custom was so taken, or of the goods of him that took the
toll, to the amount of what was taken from their fellow-burgess ; or the trespasser
should come to Maldon, and prove, by due course of law, that he owed nothing.
This charter granted likewise to the bailiff's, aldermen, burgesses, and commonalty
of Malton, their fishery within the liberty and precincts of their borough, and the
customs of the water and of the banks whoever had lands adjoining, and the use of
the creeks, and of their wharfs and cranes. Moreover it granted them, and their
successors, three fairs yearly for ever, to last four days, namely, the vigil and day of
St Giles, and the day following (August 31, and September 1), and the vigil and
day of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, and the two days following, (September 8,
9, 10), with all their liberties and free customs. Next, it exempted bailiffs and other
members residing within the borough, and their successors, from being impanelled
out of the borough, against their will, upon any jury or assize; or to be appointed
assessors or collectors of tenths, fifteenths, und other tallages, subsidies, &c., or put
into any other office whatsoever, without this town and liberties. And it granted to
the bailiffs, aldermen, capital burgesses, and commonalty of this borough, and their
successors, that, whenever a parliament was summoned, they should have power and
authority to choose and nominate two discreet and honest men, to be burgesses in
parliament for their borough, as they were accustomed to have from time immemorial,
and that the said burgesses should have two votes in parliament, &c. It directs
that the aldermen and capital burgesses for the time being, or the greater part of
them, yearly for ever, on the Friday next after the Epiphany, in the borough of
Maldon, choose two of the more discreet and efficient aldermen for their bailiffs, to
continue in their office for one year, and to be sworn in the same before the two
other senior aldermen. None of them to be chosen bailiff" again, till three years
after having served the office. This charter confirms also to the corporation all
their bounds and limits, namely, Haylespett, Morysbroke, Lumborn, Billingbroke,
Buherne, Cratenha, and Revanks, with the waters and banks or shores within those
bounds, as they had enjoyed them from time immemorial ; and that none should fish,
or erect cranes and Avharfs, from the hethe to Revanks, without the licence of the
bailiffs, &c., nor presume to sell or buy within the water, unless at the hethe of this
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 643
borough, upon pain of forfeiture. All their ancient customs, liberties, privileges, ^" H 'V P.
franchises, and rights granted to them at any time before, by any former charters,
were finally confirmed by this in the amplest and fullest manner. This borough has
continued to exercise the elective franchise from the year 1329, third of Edward the
third, with some intermissions, to the present time ; the right of voting two mem-
bers for the borough being formerly confined to those who obtain their freedom by
birth, by marriage, or by servitude.
The charter of Philip and Mary was forfeited in the fourth of George the third, Present
and the town remained forty-six years without a charter, till 1810,* when the present
charter was granted ; by which the government is vested in a mayor, recorder, six
aldermen, and eighteen capital burgesses, assisted by a town-clerk, chamberlain, water-
bailifi', and other officers. The mayor is chosen annually, on the Friday next after the
Epiphany, by the aldermen and capital burgesses, and the capital burgesses, by the
mayor and aldermen. The mayor, the recorder, and two senior aldermen are
justices of the peace within the borough. The freedom is inherited by birth, or
obtained by marriage with a freeman's daughter, by servitude, purchase, or by gift.
The corporation hold quarterly courts of session, on the days before those for the
county, for ofi'ences not capital ; and have the power to hold a court of record, for the
recovery of debts to any amount; but this privilege does not appear to have been
exercised in the memory of man. A court-leet, with a view of frankpledge, is also
holden, at which aheadborough and constables are appointed. The borough, besides
its jurisdiction by land, extends twenty-five miles on the sea, to the eastward of the
Knowle sands.f
* At the time of this grant the youngest freeman remaining in IMaldon was above seventy years of age.
t The )5th of October, 1810, the day appointed for bringing and proclaiming the new charter,
commenced by ringing of bells, flags flying, and every other demonstration of joy. About noon the
charter, renewing and granting to the borough all its former rights and privileges, to the fullest extent,
together with its valuable and extensive fishery, arrived, preceded by a band of music. Mr. Gaskell, and
the members of the charter club, amidst, perhaps, the greatest concourse of spectators that ever entered
the town upon any former occasion, proceeded through the principal streets of the town, round Potman
marsh, and returned nearly to the top; of the town, where a platform was erected for the jiurpose of
proclaiming it; which being done, the mayor, in a short and neat speech, congratulated the burgesses on
the restoration of their rights and privileges. The body corporate were then immediately sworn into
their respective offices, when they adjourned to the Blue Boar inn to dine, where the greatest conviviality
and good order prevailed. A bullock was roasted whole on Potman marsh upon the occasion, which was
given to the populace, together with several butts of jjortcr. 'i'he day passed with the greatest liarmony
and good order.
The following is an extract from the new charter : —
" And further, we do, by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, grant unto the said mayor,
aldermen, capital burgesses, and commonalty, that all and every person or persons who was or were duly
admitted into the freedom of the said borough, before the said cori)oration liad fallen into a state
of dissolution and decay, and all and every person or person.^, wiio l)y the usage and custom of flic said
Saints'.
644 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK ii. The petty sessions for the hundred of Dengey are holden here.
There are three parishes in the town of Maldon.
All The parish of All Saints occupies the highest part of the town. The church is an
ancient and spacious edifice, with a nave, north and south aisles, and chancel, and a
triangular tower with a sexangular spire of singular appearance.
borough would liave been entitled by birth or servitude to his or their admission into the freedom of the
same, and to have been of the commonalty thereof, in case the said corporation had not fallen into a state
of dissolution and decay, so as to prevent their obtaining such admission ; and also all and every person
who, if such last-mentioned persons had been admitted into the freedom of the said borough, would by
the said usage and custom have derived a title to the same freedom by birth or servitude, from, through,
or under them, or any of them, in case the said corporation had not fallen into a state of dissolution and
decay, shall and may at any time within six calendar months from and after the date of these presents, in
case such person or persons shall be within the realm, and of the full age of twenty-one years, at the date
of these presents; but in case such person or persons shall be abroad in parts beyond the seas, or be
under the age of twenty-one years at the date hereof, then within six calendar months next after such
person or persons shall return to this kingdom, or shall attain the full age of twenty-one years, claim and
have admission into the freedom of the same borough, and be of the commonalty thereof, upon taking an
oath duly to execute such office, before the mayor of the said borough, or his deputy, for the time being,
which oath the said mayor of the said borough, or his deputy, for the time being, is hereby authorized
and required to administer to such persons, and shall thereupon be and become free of the said borough,
and be of the community thereof; and that all the children or apprentices of such persons, so admitted
by virtue of these presents, shall have the same right, title, and claim to their freedom, and to the power
of conferring the same hereafter, as if their respective parents or masters had been admitted to their
freedom as soon as they would have been entitled thereto in case the same corporation had not fallen into
a state of disssolution and decay. Ana further, we do by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors,
grant unto the said mayor, aldermen, capital burgesses, and commonalty, that each and every daughter
of every person who was heretofore admitted into the freedom of the said borough, or who shall be duly
admitted into the same by these presents, or who being now deceased, or in parts beyond the seas, would
be entitled, under these presents, to be admitted into the same, if he were now living, or upon his return
into this kingdom, shall have the same right to nominate and appoint her husband to be a freeman of the
said borough, as the daughters of freemen possessed before the said corporation fell into a state of disso-
lution and decay ; and that in all cases in which a woman, being the daughter of any person who was
duly admitted into the freedom of the said borough before the said corporation had fallen into a state of
dissolution and decay, or any i)erson who by the usage and custom of the said borough would have been
entitled by birth or servitude to his admission into the freedom of the same, in case the said corporation
had not so fallen into a state of dissolution and decay, hath been married and hath died before the
granting of these our letters patent, leaving her husband and a child, or children, or any of them, behind
her, or being now living and a widow, hath a child or children lawfully begotten, such husband, child,
or children, shall respectively liave, enjoy, and be entitled to the same right as he and they would have
been entitled to if such woman had, upon her said marriage, conferred the freedom of the said borough
upon her said husband, according to the usage of the said borough, and her said husband had been there-
upon duly admitted thereto. Provided always, that wliere such woman shall have married two husbands,
the right shall be confined to her children by her first husband; and that all the ancient customs and
usages of the said borough, touching the right of admission to the freedom thereof, shall continue and be
observed, except so far as they are altered by these presents ; and that all and every person or persons
who shall hereafter be entitled to his or their admission into the freedom of the same borough, and to be
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 645
This church was given by Robert Mantel to Bileigh abbey, founded by him in c H A V.
Little Maldon ; and that house ordaining and endowing a vicarage here presented to ^^'^''
it till their dissolution, when the church was granted by Henry the eighth to John
Gate, esq. ; but the vicarage had previously, in 1306, been united to the neighbouring
living of St. Peter's, and this union has continued to the present time.
In 1546, this church was conveyed to William March, and afterwards passed to
the Frank family, who presented to the vicarage from 1561 to 1620: afterwards the
family of Ingram had this possession.* It next belonged to Bartholomy Bludworth,
merchant of London; Utricia, his widow, presented to the living in 1710; as did also
her son, John Bludworth, esq. in 1725 and 1730.
Lands and tenements in Maldon were put in feoftment by various persons, to enable Guild and
the wardens of St. Katharine's gild, to find a priest to sing mass in All Saints' church, ^•'^°^"^"^-
and help to serve the cure.f After the dissolution, in 1548, all the messuages, lands,
meadows, and pastures, belonging to this gild or fraternity, were granted by Edward
the sixth to John Welles.
In the reign of Henry the fourth, Robert Darcy, esq. of Danbury, founded three
chantries in the south aisle of this church, supposed to have been built by him for the
use of the priests of these chantries : this aisle has been named Darcy's aisle, and some
of the family were buried in it.
Dr. Thomas Plume gave 400/. to augment this vicarage, by the purchase of impro-
priate tithes, or of glebe land to that amount, for which the incumbent shall be resi-
dent, and take care for daily prayers.:}:
of the coninionalty thereof, shall hereafter take an oath duly to execute the same office before the mayor
of the said borough, or his deputy, for the time being, which oath the mayor of the said borough,
or his deputy for the time being, is hereby authorized and required to administer to such persons
so entitled."
In 1826, at the general election for the borough, the contest lasted fifteen days, at an expense of nearly
fifteen thousand pounds. Three thousand one hundred and thirteen freemen voted, many of whom were
brought from Ireland, Scotland, and the most distant parts of the kingdom. The successful candidates
were Thomas B. Lennard, and the hon. George Winne.
* Newcourt, vol. ii. pp. 398, 399.
t In the certificate this parish is said to contain, at that time, two hundred of houseling people.
t A stone in the chancel bears a Latin inscription, to inform us that here lies Robert, son of Robert hiscrip-
Daffy, who died 17 Feb. 1428. Also, on a stone of white marble, the Latin inscription, of which the tions.
following is a translation : —
" The deposit of John Vernon, gent. Turkey merchant, who hath often crossed the seas, tempted thereto
not so much by the love of gain, as an ardent desire of beholding the wonderful works of God in the
deep. He boasts of this sepulchral stone, as not the least reward of his labours, it being discovered
among the ruins of Smyrna : he also brought to light some choice ancient manuscripts, monuments of
that antique city : with these he enriched his native country. He is now safely arrived at the haven of
rest. He died January 28th, 1653, aged 84."
Also, with the arms of Vernon, a mural monument informs us, that " Mary, the beloved wife of the
VOL. II. 4 O
646 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. St. Peter's parish is in the central part of the town. The church was given by
^j p^jpj..^ R. Mantel to Bileigh abbey, and afterwards the vicarage was united to that of All
Saints. The tower is all that remains of the church; a handsome brick building
having been erected by Dr. Thomas Plume, on the site of what had become ruinous:
of this, the lower part is the grammar-school, and the upper part is Dr. Plume's
library.
Gild of In the time of King Henry the fifth, a gild was founded here for a priest to sing mass
gin Mary. "^ ^1^6 church, and to keep a school. The endowment of this gild was a tenement,
named the Star ; nine tenements and messuages, and a gate-house ; and a stall in the
market : four meadoAvs in Maldon and one in Langford, called Stoketrope : two
crofts of land and one garden : these were granted, with St. Katharine's gild, to John
Welles.
.St. Mary's. The ancient church of St. Mary is on the lower part of the town, near the channel.
The parish, at the time of the survey, was holden under Eustace, earl of Boulogne ;
said John Vernon, died in childbiitli of her third child, 1st of November, 1647, aged 29. — John Vernon
also, the infant, whom hi.? mother brought forth at the expense of her own life, died almost as soon as
born, and lies buried with her under the same Smyrncan scone."
On a mural monument the Latin original of the following: —
" Stop, traveller, and respect the urn of John Jeffrey, gent, who was the sole protector of the honour of
his ancient family. He left no sons behind him, but was well known for two daughters ; courteousness
of disposition, and unchangeable fidelity ; in these his name shines far brighter than it could have done
by the fame of posterity."
The effigies of one of the Coggeshall family, dressed in armour, appear on a stone in the nave of the
church : he died in 1426.
In Darcy's chapel : — "Pray for the sowle of sir Robert Littleman, chantry-priest of Darcie's chapell,
who died 11th Aug. 1411."
In the north chapel ; — " Pray for the souls of Richard Lyon Shereman, founder of this chapel, and
Katharine his wife, on whose souls Christ have mercy."
On the east wall are the effigies of a man, with two women kneeling ; these represent captain
Cammock, of Maldon, and his two wives, Ursula and Frances.
On the east window there are the arms of Bourchier and Louvain, quarterly ; and also the arms of Vere : and
in the north window some remains of the arras of king Edmund, of Edward the Confessor, and of Norman
princes and nobles, with some account of them in Norman French. Among the rest was St. Lovys, Roy
de France, with sem^ de lis, &c. These .seem to be what remain of the direction to some chantry priest,
foi- whose souls he should offer his petitions, according to the intention of a founder or benefactor,
A mural monument in the churchyard bears a Latin inscription to inform us that " John Isaac Doris-
laus, J. C. lies here and sleeps unnoticed;" that he was born 3d Jan. 1601, and died 20th Nov. 1627.
Salmon relates of him, " that he took his degree of doctor at Leyden, and was sent to Cambridge by the
Lord Biooke, to be reader of history. He read two or three lectures on Tacitus, about the conversion of
the state of Rome, from the government by kings to the government by consuls, by the suggestion of
Junius Brutus. Being thought to speak too much in favour of the people, he was accused to the higher
powers, and though he sufficiently explained himself, yet he was forced to leave the town, and retired to
Maldon, where he married an English woman."
There are several inscriptions belonging to the Darcy family.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 647
the profits of it appropriated to the finding of lights in St. Martin's church, in London ; c H A I'
and king Stephen granted that collegiate church free warren in all their lands in _J '_
Maldon. St. Mary's church was anciently a sea-mark, and there was a heacon
on the top of the tower. This tower, becoming ruinous, fell down and destroyed
part of the church ; to repair which a brief was granted by king Charles the first, in
1628.*
* " Charles, by the grace of God, king of England, Scotland, Fraunce, and Ireland, defender of the faith,
&c. To all and singular archbishops, bishops, archdeacons, deanes, and their officials ; parsons, vicars,
curats, and to all spirituall persons. And also to all justices of peace, maiors, sheriffes, bayliffes,
constables, churchwardens, and headboroughes ; and to all officers of citties, boroughes, and townes
corporate; and to all other our officers, ministers, and subjects, whatsoever they be, as well within
liberties as without, to whom these presents shall come, greeting.
" Whereas, wee are credibly given to understand, as well by the humble supplication and petition of the
inhabitants of the parish of St. Mary, in the borough of Maldon, in our county of Essex, as also by a certificate
made in open sessions holden at Chelmsford for our said county of Essex, the third day of July, under the
hands of our trusty and well-beloved subjects, sir Henry Mildmay, knt., master of our jewels, sir Henry
Mildmay, sir Gamaliell Capell, sir Humfrey Mildmay, and sir Drue Deane, knights ; Robert Aylett, doctor of
the civill law, John Argall, Robert Wiseman, Thomas Higham, James Heron, and Thomas Suliard, justices
of the peace within our foresayd county, that the ancient, but now decaying borough towne of Maldon,
having, in the judgement of the best antiquarie.s, been the seat of the kings of the Trinobantes, knowne
in antiquity by the name of Camalodunum before it was a colony of the Romans, and hath been reputed
one of the first places in this island which received the faith of Christ, and since graced with many privi-
leges by the ensuing christian kings of this realme, is now by the fayling of their haven fallen into so
great decay, that of three churches there remayneth but one lit for the service of God ; that other
of saint Peter having the ruynes thereof (by the consent of the bishop) converted to a publique schoolc,
and this of saint Mary, which is part of the collegiate church of Westminster, and whilst it stood was a
sea marke, and had upon it a beacon, being heertofore very ruynous, hath been repayred by tlie inha-
bitants, and after much cost of new building a buttress for the strengthening of the steeple, the old worke
fell and beate dovvne part of the body of the church, which the parishioners, to their great cost, have
since repayred, but finding the ruynes increasing, though themselves bee but of meane ability, and much
overcharged with poore, yet they have raysed a rate amongst themselves to the uttermost of what they
can, but come farre short of the value required for the reparation thereof; the whole charge being likely
(in the opinion of expert men) to amount to the sumnie of one thousand markes at the least, more than tlic
inhabitants are able to rayse : and therefore have most humbly besought us that, according to our princely
care to workes of this nature, wee would be graciously pleased to afford unto them such relief as to oiiiers
in the like case hath been granted. Unto whose request, tending to the glory of God and the salvation of
the soules of our said subjects, wee have most willingly condescended for a collection to be made in certainc
counties and places hereafter named : not doubting but that all good Cliristians (well considering the
premises) will be ready, freely and liberally, to extend their contributions towards the furtherance ot so
religious and pious a worke. Know yee therefore, that of oure special grace and princely compassion, wee
have given and granted, and by these our letters patents doe give and grant to our loving subjects, the
inhabitants of the said towne of Maldon, or to any of them, their deputy or deputies, the bearer or
bearers heerof, full power, licence, and authority, to askc, gather, receive, and take the almes and
charitable benevolence of all our loving subjects whatsoever, inhabiting within our cities of London and
Westminster, with the subburbs and liberties thereof, and in our counties of Essex, Hartford, Cambridge,
Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Huntington, Lincolne, Leicester, and Darby, with our. university of
Georue.
648 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. On the dissolution of the colleg-e of St. Martin's, this church was given to the dean
and chapter of Westminster ; and the living-, which is a perpetual curacy, has continued
in their gift, being of their peculiar jurisdiction.
Gild of St. This, as well as the two other churches, had a gild or brotherhood ; and the insti-
tution here was dedicated to St. George; lands and tenements being bequeathed by
various persons to find a priest to officiate, and to help to serve the cure. The endow-
ment consisted of lands, and of three messuages and tenements in Maldon ; a messuage
and hereditaments, called Boies, in Salcote and Tolleshunt Knights, with messuages
and lands, called Sampsons, Widow lands. Hunger lands. Tabor, Osborne's croft,
Sweet Maggots, in Tolleshunt Darcy, and lands, &.c. called Smythe's, in Dengey.
In the certificate, St. Mary's is said to be a great parish, having in it about two
hundred and eighty houseling people. The revenues of it were granted, with the two
Cambridge, and He of Ely, and our citties of Canterbury, Rochester, and the Cinque Ports, with our
boiough of South warke, and citties of Chichester and Lincolne, and in all other citties, townes corporate,
privileged places, parishes, villages, and all other places whatsoever, within our saide counties, and not
elsewhere, for and towardes the reedefyinge of the sayd church and steeple.
" Wherefore wee will and command you, and every of you, that at such time and times as the said inha-
bitants or their deputy or deputies, the bearer or bearers hereof, shall come and repayre to any your
churches, chappels, or other places, to aske and receive the gratuitous and charitable benevolence of our
said subjects, quietly to permit and suffer them so to doe, without any manner your lets or con-
tradictions. And you the said parsons, vicars, and curats, for the better stirring of a charitable
devotion, deliberatly publish and declare the tenour of these our letters patents, or the coppy or briefe
thereof, unto our said subjects upon some Sabbaoth day, whereas the same shall be tendered unto you,
exhorting and persuading them to extend their liberall contributions in so good and charitable a deede.
And you the churchwardens of every parish, where such collection is to bee made (as aforesaid) to collect
and gather the almes and charitable benevolence of all our loving subjects, as well strangers as others,
and what shall be by you so gathered, to be by the minister and yourselves endorsed on the backside of
the briefe of these our letters patents, in words at length, and not in figures ; and the summe and summes
of money so gathered and indorsed, to deliver to the bearer or bearers of these our letters patents, and to
no other person, whenas thereunto you shall be rc(}uired.
" And further our will and pleasure is, that for the true and faithfull dealing in the receipt and accompt
of all such moneyes as shall hereby be collected, the parties entrusted and deputed to receive the same,
be authorised hereunto under the scale of the sayd borough of Maldon, and the hands of both the
bayliffes there, which two bayliffes and the two justices of that borough, shall give order for the keeping,
yssuing, and bestowing of the sayd moneyes and the accompts thereof, that the publique worke intended
thereby for reedyfying the church may be performed accordingly. Any statute, law, ordinance, or
provision heretofore made to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. In witnesse whereof we have
caused these our letters to be made patentes for the space of one whole yeare next after the date hereof
to endure. Witnesse our selfe at Westminster, the eighteenth day of July, in the fourth yeare of oui
reigne. An. Dom. 1628.
" C. Steward.
" God save the King. ^
" Collected in the church of Cowley towards this briefe, May 3d. two shillings. Daniel Collins,
parson of Cowley." From an official copy in the possession of Dr. J. Forbes.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 649
other parishes, to John Welles.* There were three religious houses in and near chap.
this town. -'^^''"•
In 1180, the abbey of Bileigh was founded here by Robert de Mantel. The house BiiewJi
stood in Little Maldon, westward of the town: it was dedicated to St. Nicholas; the •'^^''*'>"-
monks or canons placed in it, were of the Premonstratensian order, and brought here
from Great Parndon. Their first possessions consisted of their lands in Pardon ; the
site of their house here, with appurtenances, two virgates of land, and two small
* The grammar-school at Maldon was founded by Ralph Breeder, one of tlie aldermen of this corpo- Charities,
ration ; who, on his death in 1608, bequeathed three hundred pounds for its endowment. The master to
be nominated by the feofees whilst they lived, and afterwards by the bailiffs. Mrs. Anastatia Wentwortli
gave twenty-three pounds per annum to this school, out of a farm at Hatfield Peverell ; and also two
houses of about ten pounds a year. The school is a handsome edifice of brick, erected on the site of St.
Peter's church, by Thomas Plume, D. D. archdeacon of Rochester, and the munificent benefactor of this
his native place, — the lower part is appropriated to a school, and the upper part to a library. To support
this noble institution, he gave his farm at Iltney in Munden to certain trustees, to keep the school and
library in good repair, and to maintain a weekly lecture from Lady-day to Michaelmas, in the upper
church at Maldon, together with various other benevolent bequests.
To his library he gave ail his books and pictures (except his portrait in Mrs. Pond's house), together
with his large map of the world ; and desired all his manuscript papers, of his own hand, to be carefully
preserved in the study of the said library. He directed that the keeper of his library should be a scholar,
that knows books, M.A. and in holy orders; and may be some minister that has a neighbouring living,
and shall reside in Maldon ; or the schoolmaster himself, or any other person pf good learning and life,
that will be engaged to attend every morning and afternoon except Sundays, two hours in the library
room, or in his own house near it, in all four hours each day. That any gentleman or scholar who desires
may go into it, and make use of any book there, or borrow it, in case he leaves a vadumonnm with the
keeper, for the restoring thereof uninjured in a short time. He shall suffer no stranger to be there alone
without a voucher for his honesty, and security that he shall not injure any of tiie books. The library
keeper is to give a two hundred pound bond as surety for security that books lost or damaged shall be
restored. The governors of Sion college, in London, for the time being, are to take account thereof, for
which he left that college an annuity of twenty shillings out of the Iltney estate : out of which estate he
also left twenty shillings per annum to buy such new books as the library-keeper most desires. The
library-keeper's salary is forty pounds a year, and a dwelling-house near the library.
The school is entitled to a scholarship of six pounds per annum, at Christ's college, Cambridge, founded
by Dr. Plume, in turn with the schools of Brentwood and Chelmsford.
Ralph Breeder gave twenty pounds per annum, out of his farm of Iltney in Munden, to tlie poor of the
three parishes ; viz. eight pounds to All Saints, and six pounds to each of the parishes of St. Mary's and
St. Peter's. He also gave thirty pounds for the reparation of All Saints' church ; and one liundred and
twenty pounds for repairingi the haven, channels, and bridges of Fullbridge and Heybridge : he also
gave twenty pounds to be lent to freemen without interest. Samuel Bedel of Boleigli abbey also gave
forty pounds for the same appropriation. Thomas Cammock, esq. of Maldon, gave the spring called
Cromwell-water, for the \i>,e of the town.
Besides the school and library, Dr. Plume left other important benefactions. Two thdusaml |)oiiii(ls,
which he had in the possession of the East India company, he ordered to be em|)loyed for making good
his charities, to the workhouse for the poor of Maldon, Mundon, and neiglibouring parishes, and other
charities specified in his will. Having previously bequeathed to it two hundred pounds, and all the
residue of his personal estate not disposed of, for purchasing and providing tenements, and a stock for
650 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK II. islands, called Rucholm and Hardholm, and the third part of Strode-wood : a field,
called Alicedune ; and all the land given to them in Totham and Goldhanger, by
Robert Mantel ; — the chnrches of St. Peter's and All Saints', in Maldon ; of St. Lau-
rence, in Dansey ; and half the church of St. Margaret, in Bures ; and of the gift of
Roeis, wife of Robert Mantel, one messuage in Mamne-lane, London. Also of the
gift of Ralph de Marci, in Laver, all the land which was Felleden's, and panage for
fifteen hogs every year in the wood there. Of the gift of Beukeline, wife of Roger
de Langeford, at Blachehaw, all the land holden of her by Walter the Cook :* to
these, other considerable possessions were afterwards added.
At the dissolution, it maintained nine canons on the foundation. The chapel was
a small, but elegant building ; its length, only thirty-six feet, and its breadth eighteen ;
the roof formed of fine-grained limestone, with groined arches, supported by three
slender Purbeck columns. This chapel forms the most perfect part of what remains
of the ruins, but has been appropriated to very different purposes from what was
originally intended, having been used as one of the offices of a farm-house, and as a
hogsty. Hidden treasures, stone coffins, and human skeletons, have been found
beneath these ruins ; and here Henry Bourchier, earl of Eu and Essex, who died in
1483, lies buried, together with Isabel, his lady, and the lady Mary Nevill, of
Essex, f
The lordship and site of this abbey, with its church-yard and extensive possessions,
were granted to John Gate, esq. in 1540, who sold them in 1549 to William Marche,
who, on his decease, left them to his son William, whose co-heiresses, on his death in
1552, were his sisters, Mary, wife of Richard Bowes, Margaret, wife of John Beyn-
ham, and Elizabeth Marche.
setting the poor of IMaldon, and some of the poor of Mundon, to work. And what remained of his i)er-
sonal estate in the exchequer, he gave towards erecting a worlihouse for the poor of Maldon and neigh-
bouring villages.
Besides his charities to this town, he left great sums for augmenting poor livings ; he gave the manor
of Stonecastle in Swanscomb in Kent, for maintaining a weekly lecture at Dartford or Gravesend ; he gave
nineteen hundred pounds for founding the Plumian professorship of astronomy and experimental phi-
losophy at Cambridge.
This munificent person was born in Maldon, and baptised in AH Saints' church 7th of August, 1630 ;
educated in Chelmsford school, and at Christ's college, Cambridge : afterwards vicar of Greenwich, and
archdeacon of Rochester. He died in the beginning of November, 1704, and was buried in Longfield
churchyard, in Kent, with a Latin epitaph ordered by himself, of which the following is a translation.
Here underneath, lies the Archdeacon of
ROCHESTER,
The greatest of sinners ; O that I could say of penitents !
Seek his name in the book of life :
The day will come that will restore me to the light again.
* Monastic. Anglic, vol. ii. p. 626. + Dugdale's Baron, vol. ii. pp. 129, 130.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 651
In 1579, Thomas Fraucke, esq. of the Rise, in Hatfield Broad Oak, died possessed <-" H A i'.
will
of this estate; and was succeeded by his son Richard, who died in 1628 ; leaving his _I
son, Leventhorp, who sold it to Crathorne, one of the receivers in the Custom-
house, London ; from whom it was conveyed to Richard Ingram, and passed to his
relation of the same name; in 1698, to John Bludworth, of Hampton court, whose
son, John Bludworth, esq. on his decease, left it to Mrs. Sarah Clifton. It afterwards
belonged to Dr. Fortescue, and now to Mrs. Baker.
Little Bileigh is pleasantly situated to the right of the road, from Maldon to Dan- Little
bury: this estate was part of the possessions of the abbey; and in 1566, belonged to
Thomas Eve, who sold it, with other estates in Bileigh and Maldon, to William
Vernon, who had also other possessions here.* The estates afterwards belonged to
Henry Bevan, esq. and to Isaac Bevan, his brother : and now to Mrs. Baker.
This religious house was founded in 1292, by Richard Gravesend, bishop of Piiory of
London, and Richard Isleham, a priest, for Carmelite or White Monks, f ineiitt>.
In 1537, William Harris had a lease of the " Friers Carmelites, at the ferm rent
of eightpence." In 1546, it was holden in the possession of George Dicke and John
Sterre; and was conveyed by Thomas Mildmay, esq. to Vincent Herrls and his heirs,
in 1563 ; sir Thomas Herris and his wife, Cordelia, enjoyed it for life : succeeded in this
possession by John, their eldest son, whose elder brother, Thomas Herris, esq. was his
successor ; from whom it was conveyed to Bartholomy Brickwood, gent, descended
from Thomas Brickwood of Evington, in Leicestershire, and son of Samuel Brick-
wood and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Symons, gent, of Maldon. In 1673,
Bartholomy Brickwood, aforesaid, by will gave this estate for life to his wife Anne ;
remainder to his eldest son, John, who in 1693, bequeathed it to his brother Ben-
jamin; and he, in 1707, bequeathed it to his nephew, Henry Brickwood, who in 1708
sold it to Thomas Richmond, esq. M. P. for Maldon, in the third parliament of
queen Anne. Jonathan Richmond, his brother, had it after him ; and his daughter,
Susannah, conveyed it by marriage to Mr. Thomas Cooke, of Southwark.:}:
* He was the second son of John Vernon, esq. of Nottingham ; descended from Richard Vernon, of the
Peak in Derbyshire. On his death, in 1605, he was succeeded by his son and heir William, wlio married
Sarah, daughter of John Butler of Toby, or Thoby priory, by whom he had John, William, Mary, Sarah,
and Dorothy ; and, dying in 1611, was buried in the chancel of All Saints' church. John Vernon, the
eldest son, was engaged in a sea-faring life, and by his wife Mary, daughter of John Scrivener, esq. had
several children. She died in 1647, he in 1653 : both lie buried in the chancel. Captain Vernon, the
last of the family, died unmarried, and poor.
+ They were one of the four mendicant orders, instituted in 1122, by Albert, patriarch of Jerusalem,
who gathered together a few hermits living on Mount Carmel, and gave them the rule of Saint Basil. This
order was brought into England in 1265. — Tanner's Notitia, fol. p. 135.
X The following persons, eminently learned, arose from this small convent : Thomas Maldon, who died
in 404, Richard Acton, in 1446, Robert of Colchester in 1465, and Thomas Hatfield.— J. JJale, pp. 529,
530 ; J. Pits, p. 578 ; IFeever.
652 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The hospital for lepers, dedicated to St. Giles, is said to have been founded by one
St. Giles" ®^ ^^^^ kings of England ; * it was for the relief of the inhabitants, and stood in Little
Hospital. Maiden. The ruins of it, which were converted into a barn, were of stone, with a
mixture of bricks, apparently Roman. For the maintenance of this institution, the
master was to have all forfeitures of bread, beer, flesh, and fish, not fit to be eaten ;
and if the warden did not duly discharge his trust, the hospital was to come to the
croAvn. In consequence of this regulation, on the mal-administration of Robert
Mansfield, master, who for three years had neglected his office, and in that space of
time, had neither maintained a chaplain nor any leprous person: therefore, king
Henry the fourth took the institution into his own hands; but it was afterwards
restored ; and after Mansfield's death, was presented to by several persons, from 1422
to 1480. But Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex, and Isabel his wife, and others, who
had presented the master of that time, having obtained the king's licence in 1410, con-
veyed, the year following, this hospital, and the lands belonging to it, to Thomas Scarlet,
abbot of Bileigh, and to the convent and their successors. The chief of its revenues
was the manor of Jenkin-Maldon. It now belongs to the occupier, J. Pattison, esq.
The noble family of Capel, earls of Essex, derive their title of viscount Maldon
from this place ; Algernon, lord Capel, having been created viscount Maldon and earl
of Essex, 20th of April, 1661.
" The olde auncient and lawdable custome of this burrough is and hath byn time out
of mynde of man, that if the father die seized in a howse or land within the franchise
of this burrough, the yongest sonne of the first wiffe shall have the heritage. And if
the first witfe die havinge noe sonne or sonnes by her, but daughters, and afterwards
marrieth another woman, and by her hath a sonne or sonnes, that then the yongest
sonne of the second wiff"e shall have the heritage, and so to the third, fourth, and fifte,
and so forthe ; and if he have noe sonne or sonnes but daughters, then the daughters
as well of first wiff"e, second, third, fourth, &c. shall have together the heritage, and
the yongest shall cheuse first according to the custome." f
In the Domesday survey, Maldon is called a half hundred, having one hundred and
eighty houses and a hall, held by the burgesses of the king, who had also a house here
in his own possession, with pasture for one hundred sheep, and one Socheman.
Suene and his under-tenant, Guner, had lands here, which were charged with assist-
ing in providing a horse in the king's army, and building a ship. Ralph Piperel, and
Hugh de Montefort, had also lands in Maldon : and St. Martin's-le-grand, in London,
held an estate under Eustace, earl of Boulogne. These possessions were divided into
the following manors.
* Monast. Anglic, vol. iii . pars i. p. 93—95.
t The arms of the borough are : parly per pale, first, azure, three lions passant gardant, or, armed and
langued gules ; second, argent, a ship under sail, streamers and tackling sable.
HUNDRED OF DEN GEY. 653
In the time of Henry the second, the distmction of Great and Little Maldon occurs c H A i'
in the records; the first of these comprehends the town; and Little Maldon is that X^'"'-
part where Bileigh abbey stood. Great Maldon is what was in the king's possession Q,.pat
at the time of the survey, and what went to the crown on the forfeiture of Henry de ^l^l^""
Essex, the grandson of Suene. It remained chiefly in the crown ; and king Stephen
is said to have granted the seniority of Maldon to the earl of Boulogne ; understood
to be what is preeminently distinguished, as the manor of Great Maldon; which
belongs, and has time out of mind, belonged to the corporation of Maldon. But
besides the borough-lordship, or manor, it appears by records, that there is also
another estate, named Great Maldon, which has usually gone along with the manor of
Little Maldon. In 1274, Thomas de Preyers held a moiety of this manor of the king,
by the service of half a knight's fee : his only daughter and heiress, Margaret, married
to Robert Bourchier, lord chancellor, conveyed it into that family, of which they were
afterwards deprived by king Henry the sixth, on account of their attachment to the
house of York. The king afterwards gave it to Thomas Darcy, esq.,* one of his
servants, but it returned again to the Bourchier family ; for Henry Bourchier, earl of
Essex, who died in 1483, held this manor of the king, in capite, by the service of
half a knight's fee ; and his eldest son, William, having previously died, his grandson
Henry, earl of Essex, succeeded ; f on his decease, in 1540, he left his only child,
Anne, who by marriage conveyed this estate to sir William Parr, baron of Kendal ;
afterwards earl of Essex and marquis of Northampton.:}; She held the manors of
Great and Little Maldon, at the time of her death in 1570, and was succeeded by her
heir-at-law, Walter Devereux, viscount Hereford, and afterwards earl of Essex, who
the same year obtained a grant of these manors ; but he did not possess them at the
time of his decease, in 1576; and in 1590 they were granted by queen Elizabeth to
* He held the manor of Maldon in 1485, but it is n«t said whether it was Great or Little Maldon : he
held it of the honour of Peverel.
t John de Vere, the thirteenth earl of Oxford, held the manor of Maldon of the earl of Essex : as did
also John, the sixteenth earl.
+ In the Gentleman's Magazine, an engraving is given of the arms of Bourchier, taken from the
back pannel of an ancient carved chair, purchased of a broker in Nottinghaui, who had it of a poor
cottager: neither the former owner nor the broker could give any account of the oriii.aal possessor
of this chair; but the purchaser, from a careful examination of the arms, concludes that this piece
of furniture has been -originally made for Henry Hourchier, last earl of Essex of that name. The
arms are, first quarter, argent, a cross engrailed gules between four water-bougets ; Bourchier second,
azure, a bend argent between two cottises and four lions rampant or, for Bohun, which belonged to lum
in right of his great grandmother; third, argent a fesse and canton gules, for Widville, wliiih belonged
to hira in right of his wife ; fourth, cheeky, argent and azure, a fesse argent, for Louvainc, but liow
derived to him cannot be discovered : it is found in Wright's History of Rutlandshire, as copjed from tlie
window of Oakham church, together with the arms of Thomas of Woodstock impaling Bohun.-Vol. xci.
part i. p. 64, and 66.
VOL. II. 4 P
654 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Thomas Gardiner, who dying- in the same year, was succeeded by his sou, afterwards
sir Thomas Gardiner, who sold this estate to Robert Sprignell, esq., on whose death,
in 1621, his son Richard succeeded. He was created a baronet in 1641, and styled of
Coppenthorpe, in Yorkshire. His brother, sir Vv'illiam Sprignell, sold this estate to
Captiiin Zachary Taylor, of Stratford, whose two daughters, Jane and Anne, had
this estate ; of these Anne was married first to James Frost, gent, afterwards to
Thomas Freeman, gent, of Chelmsford. Her successor on her decease, was John
Frost, gent, son of her first husband. The present owner of this estate is Mrs.
Elizabeth Baker.
Little Little Maldon manor contains the hall, with its demesnes, and also the part where
Bileigh abbey was situated; being what Ralph Peverel held here at the time of
the survey, it was therefore afterwards holden of the honour of Peverel. After
Ralph Peverel, Robert Mantel, founder of the monastery here, had this estate : in
1210 it belonged to Matthew Montel, or Mantel, and to Cecilie, wife of another of
the same name. She died in 1289; and was succeeded by her cousin, Thomas Filiol.
In 1295, Roger Baynard, or Baignard, died, possessed of this estate; leaving his
nephew, Thomas Baynard, son of his brother Richard, his heir ; but he had not this
estate at the time of his decease in 1344. In 1341, it had become the possession of
William Amory, who, on his death in 1343, was succeeded by his son Edmund. It
afterwards passed, with the manor of Great Maldon, to the Bouchier family. It
now belongs to Mrs. E. Baker.
Jenkins. This manor, commonly named Jenkin-Maldon, is only part of it in Maldon, the
house l)eing in Haseley, about two miles distant from the town. It is what belonged
to the hospital of St. Giles; and in 1538, after the dissolution, was granted, by
Henry the eighth, to Thomas Dyer; by whom it was conveyed, in 1546, to Roger
Heigham ; whose son William was his heir. In 1595, it belonged to Edward
Bellingham, on whose decease, in 1605, he left his son Edward his heir. It after-
wards belonged to sir John Smith, bart., succeeded by his son, sir John ; whose two
sisters were his co-heiresses. It now belongs to Mr. Gowen.
Sayers. Sayers, or Seyers, and Souhouse, reputed manors, now constitute a grazing farm ;
so also do the estates of Northey Island, named, Northpit and Nordmarsh, also
mentioned as manors. They were in the possession of Thomas Darcy, at the time
of his death, in 1485. Now in the occupation of the proprietor, Abraham Johnson, esq.
* The marshes near .Maldon (obsierves Mr. Young) are niiieh better than those on the north shore of
the Blackwater ; but the most interestinc; tract of land here is the dead level which extends from about
Langford, along the coast, to Goldhangcr : much the greater part is arable, there being only here and
there a pasture of convenience. As we advance toward Goldhanger the soil improves, and by the sea-
wall is of a deep, putrid, dry, sound, friable, red and black earth, two feet deep, on a bottom of gravel,
which forms the subsoil of the whole level. The crops are equal to the appearance of the land, which is
of admirable fertility ■ much better for barley than wheat, having had ten quarters an acre, and commonly
seven :
HUNDRED OF DENGEY.
655
The battle fought here against the Danish invaders, in 993, was the subject of
many poems amongst the Anglo-Saxons; from among which there still remains a long
fragment, describing the battle and the death of the Ealdorman Byrhtnoth. The
Ely and Ramsey histories dwell on the good qualities of Byrhtnoth, on his pietv
and generosity, and on his strength and bravery. It appears that he had no long
time before defeated and destroyed a party of Danes at Maldon, and that afterwards
he had gone to Northumberland, of which county, according to the Ely historian,
he was a native. In the mean time another and a larger party of Danes arrived at
Maldon ; on hearing which Byrhtnoth hastened back to meet them, " fearful of their
gaining even a single foot of ground by his delay." On the way he passed Ramsey and
Ely, at the latter of which places he refreshed his men, and he gave then many of his
estates to the abbey. When he arrived at Maldon, he immediately prepared to encounter
the invaders, who are made in the poem to send oilers of accommodation, on condition
of his paying them a large sum of money by way of ransom. Byrhtnoth answered
the messenger scornfully : raising his shield, and shaking his spear, he said —
CHAP.
Will.
Battle of
Maldon.
" Gebyrst Jiti sae-lida
hwaet y\s folc segeS,
he willaS eow to gafole
gciras Syllan,
aettrynne ord,
and ealde swurd,
J)a heregeatu Jje eow
aet hilde iie deah.
Biiin -manna boda,
abeod eft ongean ;
sege Jiinum leodum
niiccle lajjie spell,
Jiaet her .stynt unforcut^
earl mid his werode,
ye wile gealgian
ej^el J'ysne,
.(EJ^elraedes card,
ealdres mines,
folc and foldan ;
feallasi sceolon
hxjient set hilde ;
to heanlic me JiinceS
]ixt ge mid lirum .sceattum
to scype gangon
Hearest thou, mariner,
what this people saith,
they will give you
spears for tiibute,
the venomous edge,
and old swords,
these weapons that
serve you not in battle.
Messenger of the sea-farers,
take an answer back ;
tell thy people
much unpleasant news,
that here stands undaunted
an earl with his army,
who will defend
this country,
the land of Ethelred,
mine elder (i. e. chieftain)
the people and the earth :
there shall fall
heathens in battle ;
too shameful it seemcth to nic
that you, with your treasures,
go to the ships
>cven : of oats, eight to ten constantly; and immense crops of beans. Some spots of l.io.-c irotliy land
have bad crops of every kind : after sowing they should be well trodden, even in wot weather, and would
be much improved by a coat of clay. To the south of Maldon, generally strong land, and to the north a
light turnip loam : a tract of marshes extending from the hill, on which Maldon is situated, to the sea
.ire not in much estimation for their ((uality ; yet they are superior to those on the northern shore.
656
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
unbefohteue ;
nu ge Jjus feor hider
on nine earde
inbecdiuon,
ne sceole ge swa softe
sine gegangan ;
us sceal ord and ecg
serge geman,
grim guS-plega,
2CV we goto) syllon."
BOOK H. unbefohteue; witliont being fought with ;
now tliat ye have come
so far liither
to our land,
nor shall ye so easily
obtain treasure ;
of us shall point and edge,
grim war-play,
first take care,
before we give ransom."
The earl was as good as his word, for he immediately set out to encounter his
enemies, but they were held asunder for a time by the Panta stream (Black water)
whose tide was up, and they could not pass, nor injure each other but by their
arrows. The impatience of the two armies to encounter each other is graphically
described in the poem, as well as the obstinate struggle which ensued when they met
together. Wulfstan, the son of Byrhtnoth, behaved no less bravely than his father.
Wulfmaer, the nephew of the earl, is slain, and Byrhtnoth rushes on to revenge his
death, but is himself borne down with a dart. As he falls, he cuts down with his
axe the Dane who was rushing on to plunder him of his arms, and, while dying,
encourages his men to defend their country. Perhaps the most interesting part of
the poem is that which describes the followers of Byrhtnoth encouraging one another
to avenge his death. .Elfwine first spoke —
" On ellen-spraec gemuna
J)a maela ))e we oft
aet meodo sprjecon,
J»onne we on bence
beot ahofon,
haeIe?J on healle,
ynibe heard gewinn ;
nu maeg cunnian
hwa cene sy.
" Remember the valorous speeches
which we often, then,
spoke at the mead,
when we on bench
raised a boast,
the warrior in the liall,
concerning hard fight ;
now may be known
who is valorous.
Ne sceolon me on J)CEre J>eode
Jjegenas aetwitan,
)>iet ic of ))isse fyrde
feran wille,
card ges^can,
nu mill ealdor ligef5
forheawen set hilde :
me is jjaet hearma mjEst,
he wa;s segt^'er min maeg
and niin hlAford."
The thanes, among the people,
shall not reproach me,
that I from this conflict
will depart,
that I will seek my home,
now that my elder (chieftain) lieth
mangled in the fight :
that (his death) is to me the greatest of evils,
he was both my kinsman,
and my lord."
Among others of the heroes was Leofsunu, a native of Sturmere —
" Leofsunu gemoelde, " Leofsunu spoke,
and raised his linden buckler,
and his liude ahof,
bord to gebeorge,
the shield for protection.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY.
657
he thaiii beonie oucwaecS :
* Ic /pxt yehate,
Jiffit ic heonoii nclle
fleon fotes trym,
ac wille further gaii,
wrecaii on gewinne
minne wine-drihten.
Ne Jjeifon me embe Stur-mere
stede faeste haele^
wordum aetwitan,
nu min wine gecianc,
faet ic hlafordleas
ham si-Sie.
wende frani vvige,
ac me sceal vvaepen niman,
ord and iren.'
lie fill yrre w6d,
feaht facstlice,
fleam he forhogode."
he addressed the warriors :
' 1 declare this,
that I will not hence
flee a footstep,
but that I will advance
to avenge in the battle
my beloved lord.
They about Sturmere shall not need
to reproach with words
me who am a steadfast man,
now my friend is dead,
that I lordless
journey home,
that I leave the battle,
but me shall the weapon take
edge and iron.'
He full wild with rage
fought firmly.
CHAP.
XVIII.
flight he despised."
The fragment of the poem ends, in the midst of these exhortations, with Godric
who, after encouraging his companions, rushed into the conflict, and hewed down
and slaughtered the enemies on every side. The result of the battle was disastrous
the Danes gained the field ; and the abbot of Ely went and searched for the body of
Byrhtnoth, and buried it honourably in his church.*
In 1821, All Saints' parish contained seven hundred and fifty -nine; and, in
1831, eight hundred and fifteen inhabitants. St. Mary's, in 1821, contained one
thousand one hundred and thirty-eight; and, in 1831, one thousand one hundred
and forty-six. St. Peter's, in 1821, contained one thousand three hundred and one;
and, in 1831, one thousand eight hundred and seventy inhabitants. Total, three
thousand eight hundred and thirty-one; being an increase of one thousand four
hundred and three smce 1801.
Popula-
tion.
WOODHAM-WALTER.
The Saxon name of Woobham (a village or habitation in a wood), has been given Wood-
to this small parish, to the parish of Woodham- Mortimer that joins to it, and to
Woodham- Ferrers, in Chelmsford hundred ; and it is probably conjectured, they have
all of them been originally included in one district. The river Chelmer separates this
parish from the hundred of Witham. It is pleasantly situated, and well suj)j)liod with
excellent water, from numerous springs ; one of these is behind the parsonage-house,
• The whole that remains of this poem is published in Mr. Thorpe's Anaiecta Anglo-Sa.\onica, an
excellent book, which contains many valuable pieces of Anglo-Saxon literature, prose and verse, and has
a good glossary, so as to form a useful book for those who are beginning to study this noble language.
ham-
Walter.
658 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. and is named Jacob's-well. A brook, flowing- towards Maldon, gives the name of
Brook-street to some houses on either side of the way : and a building, named the
Fort, is traditionally said to have been the residence of queen Elizabeth, when threat-
ened and persecuted by her enemies ; tbis ancient edifice has evidently been a place of
some importance formerly, but nothing is certainly known respecting it. The parish
is about two miles from Maldon, and thirty-six from London.
In the time of Edward the Confessor, the owner of this lordship was named
Levena; and it belonged to Ralph Raynard, Avhose under-tenant was named Pointel,
at the time of the survey. There is only one manor.
Wuod- This manor-house, once the seat of the noble family of Fitzwalter, was about half
Walter ^ ™^^^ ^'"'^"^ ^^^^ church. On the forfeiture of William, the descendant of Ralph
Hall. Baynard,* king Henry the first gave this lordship to Robert, son of Richard Fitz-
gilbert, progenitor of the earls of Clare, from whom descended the noble family of
Fitzwalter ;f and it conthmed in their descendants till 1464. On the decease of Eliza-
beth, widow of Walter Fitzwalter, the estate passed by female heirship to the Radcliffe
* Henr. Huntingdon, ed. 1601, p. 379.
Family of + Robert, surnamed Fitz- Richard, died in 1134, leaving by bis wife Maud, daughter of Simon de St. Liz,
waiter ^^^^ °^ Huntingdon, hi.s son and heir :— Walter Fitz-Robert, who married first Maud, eldest daughter of
Richard de Lucy, with whom he had the lordship of Disc, or Diss, in Norfolic ; secondly, he married Mar-
garet de Bohun. By the first, he had Robert Fitzwalter, the second of the name, and distinguished by his
zealously appearing against king John, as general of the army, under the title of Marshal of the Army of
God and the Church. He was also one of the foremost in the imprudent measure of inviting Lewis, son
of Philip II. king of France, into England, and assisted him in subduing the counties of Essex and Suffolk,
but had soon cause to repent his rashness. (See Mat. Paris, ann. 1215 and 1216). This Robert Fitz-
walter, son of Fitz-Robert, held Woodham by the service of fifteen knights' fees, and died in 1235. By
his first wife, Gunnora, daughter and heiress of Robert de Valoines, he had his son, Walter Fitz-Robert, or
Fitz-Walter, who died in 12.58. His .son and heir, Robert Fitz-VA^alter, born in 1258, was knighted in
1274. The succeeding year, he conveyed Baynard's castle to Robert Kihvardby, archbishop of Canter-
bury, who brought to that place a brotherhood of Dominican or black friars, from Holborn. This Robert
Fitzwalter, in 1285, had license to enclose 100 acres of heath, to enlarge his park at Woodham ; and was
summoned to parliament, from 1294 to 1325. Alianor, daughter of William, earl Ferrers, of Groby, was
his first wife ; and his second was Dervorgil, one of the daughters and coheiresses of John de Burgh. On
his death, in 1326, he was succeeded by Robert, his son and heir by his first wife ; who married Joane,
eldest of three daughters, coheiresses of John Moulton, of Egremond ; and dying in 1328, was succeeded by
his son and heir, John Fitzwalter, born in 1315, and who died in 1361 ; he had summonses to parliament,
from 1341 to 13G0 ; and married Alianor, daughter of Henry, lord Percy, by whom he had his son Walter,
born in 1345 ; he was actively and successfully engaged against the rebels in Essex, under Jack Straw ; was
summoned to parliament, from 1369 to \SSb, and died in 1386. He married first Alianor ; and, secondly,
Phllippa, daughter and coheiress of John de Mohun, lord of Dunster, widow of Edward Plantagenet, duke
of York. By this last, he had liis son and heir, Walter, born in 136S, who was summoned to parliament,
from 1390 to 1403; and died in 1108, leaving by his wife Joane, daughter of sir John Devereux, (and heiress
to her brother John) his two sons, Humphrey, who died young; and Walter Fitzwalter, his successor,
summoned to parliament in 1428 and 1430. His widow, Elizabeth, enjoyed this manor till her death, in
1464. Arms of Fitzwalter : or, a fesse, between two chevronels, gules.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. G59
family. It belonged to John RadclifFe, esq. in 1460; who was, in 1485, summoned c h a i'.
to parliament by the title of lord Fitzwalter, being- at that time steward of the house- -^^ '"•
hold to king Henry the seventh : joining in the conspiracy to place Perkin Warbeck
on the throne, in 1494, he was convicted of high treason, and carried to Calais, where
he was beheaded ; but his son, Robert Radcliffe, was restored to the honour of lord
Fitzwalter, Egremond, and Burnel, in 1505; and the attainder was not only reversed
by act of parliament, in 1509, but he was also created viscount Fitzwalter, in 1525, and
earl of Sussex, in 1529. He died in 1542. By his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of
Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, he had his sons, Henry, George, and sir Hum-
phrey, of Elnestow, in Bedfordshire. Henry, his eldest son and successor, was K. B,
and K. G., and married first Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk,
by whom he had Thomas, Henry, and Frances : by his second wife, Anne, daughter of
sir Philip Calthorp, he had Egremond ; and Frances, married to sir Thomas Mildmay,
of Moulsham. On his death, in 1556, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Thomas,
earl of Sussex, " a goodly gentleman, and of a brave and noble nature, true and
constant to his friends and servants ;" * lord-deputy of Ireland, an active soldier, and
employed in several embassies and other affairs of great consequence. The ancient
family seat, about this time, began to be neglected ; for having obtained a grant of
New-hall, in Boreham, he made it the place of his residence. He died in 1583,
without issue,f and was buried hi the chapel in Boreham church. His widow,
Frances, aunt of sir Philip Sidney, was foundress of Sidney-Sussex College, in
Cambridge. His next brother, Henry, was his heir, who died in 1593, and was
succeeded by his only child, Robert, earl of Sussex; who dying without issue,
in 1629, sir Edward Radcliffe, the son of sir Humphrey, of Elnestow, became his
heir.
In 1670, sir Barrow Fytch, knt. presented to the living; but how long he had
been previously possessed of the estate, is not known. William Fytch, esq. his son,
married Mary, daughter of Robert Cory, D. D. by his wife, Mary, relict of John
Mildmay, esq. which brought him Danbury-place, afterwards made his family seat, %
after he had taken down Woodham Walter-hall, the ancient seat of the noble families
of Fitzwalter and Radcliffe. Now belongs to the duchess of St. Albans.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, was re-edified in 1562, by Thomas, clnnch.
earl of Sussex. It is conveniently situated in a central part of the parish, and has
been kept in a good state of repair, at the expense of the parishioners, who have also
erected a gallery. The handsome pvdpit was the gift of Thomas Fytch, esq. of Dan-
bury-place ; and the chancel was put in complete repair by S. Horsmanden, LL. 1).
* Naunton's Fragiuenta regalia.
t Diigdale's Baronage, vol. ii. p. 285, &c. Arms of Radcliffe : Argent, a bend engrailed sable.
t Arms of Fytch : Vert, a chevron between three leopard's faces, or.
660
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. during- his incumbency. Some fragments of stained glass in the window, are believed
to have belonged to the more ancient original building. A vault, joining to the
vestry, contains the remains of many of the Fytch family.
In the east window of the chancel, are the arms of Fitzwalter,*
The advowson of the rectory Avas given, in the reign of king Richard the first, to
the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, who presented, from that time to the year
1517.f In 1518, it was granted, by king Edward the sixth, to Thomas Wriothesl}',
earl of Southampton, in exchange for certain lands; and he the same year conveyed
it to Henry Radclitfe, earl of Sussex ; from whose heirs it was conveyed to the Fytch
family.
This parish, in 1821, contained four hundred and fifty-four inhabitants, and five
hundred and thirty-eight in 1831.
Wood-
liain
Moitiiner.
Wood-
liani
Mortimer
FJace.
WOODHAM MORTIMER.
This parish was anciently named Little Woodham ; and in Domesday, Odeham ; it
extends from Woodham Ferrers to Hasley, and is two miles from Maldon.
This lordship, in the time of Edward the Confessor, belonged to Si ward ; at the
survey, to Ralph Peverell; it was given as a marriage portion to the father of Robert
de Mortimer, by king Henry the second. He was grandson to Ralph de Mortimer,
who came into England with the Conqueroi\ This Robert, in 1210, held Little
Wudeham (as it is named in the record), by the service of half a knight's fee. He
married Margery, daughter and heiress of Hugh de Say, lord of Ricard's castle, in
Herefordshire, and dying in 1216, was succeeded by his son and heir. Hugh de Mor-
timer; whose successor, on his decease in 12*75, was his son Robert, who, by his wife
Joyce, had his son and heir Hugh, who was summoned to parliament in 1297 and 1299.
His wife Maud bore him two daughters, Joanna and Margaret, co-heiresses: and
from this period, as appears from records, this manor sometimes formed one and some-
times two possessions, and in the end was divided into two manors.
Maud, widow of Hugh Mortimer, died in 1307 : Margaret, her youngest daughter,
was married to Geofrey de Cornwall, but no issue is mentioned. Joanna, the eldest,
was the wife of Thomas de Bykenore; and, secondly, was married to Richard Talbot,
a younger son of Richard, lord Talbot, of Eccleswell, in Herefordshire, (by Sarah,
daughter of William Beauchamp, earl of Warwick,) who had this manor at the time
In?crii
tions.
* On a stone in this chancel, is an inscription to the memory of the rev. Marjas D'Assigny, B. D, who
died Nov. 14, 1717, aged sixty-thiee. He was the translator of " Drelincourt on Death."
In the north window of the chancel, in Norman French, is an inscription, of which tlie following is a
translation: — " Pray for the souls of all their children, who erected this chapel in honour of the blessed
Virgin Mary." It bears arms : Argent, a chevron, sable, between three escallops of the first.
t Monastic. Angl. vol. ii. p. 508. Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 683, 684.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. G61
of his death, m 1355. Sir John Talbot, their son, died in 1375, and his wife, Katha- CHAP.
rine, died in 1380: their two sons, Richard and John, died young-; and their three — ^
sisters were their co-heiresses. Elizabeth was married to sir Warine Leicekeden, or
Archdeken; Philippa to sir Matthew Gurnay; and Alianor died unmarried, in 1390.
But sir Gilbert had a life estate in this manor, and possession till his decease ; he pre-
sented to the rectory, from 1382 to 1393 : and sir Matthew Gurnay and Warine
Archdeken presented in 1399. Elizabeth held a moiety of this manor with the
advowson of the church; and dying- in 1407 or 1408, left their three daughters their
co-heiresses : Alianor, wife of sir Walter Lucy ; Philippa, of sir Hug-h Courtenev ; and
Margery, of Thomas Arundel. Sir Matthew and Philippa Gurnay had a daughter,
Philippa, wife of sir John Tiptoft; she died in 1417, holding, according to the record,
the manor of Woodham Mortymer, supposed to mean a part of this estate : her cousins
and heiresses were Alianor, wife of sir Walter Lucy ; Elizabeth and Joane, daughters
of Philippa, late wife of sir Hugh Courteney; and Margery, wife of Thomas Arundel.
In 1424, sir Hugh Courteney died, holding a third part of this manor by the law of
England, after the death of his wife, Philippa : Edward was his son ; and Joane and
Elizabeth were the daughters and heiresses of Philippa. Sir Walter Lucy, by his
wife, Alianor Archdeken, was the father of sir William ; and of Alianor, wife of
Thomas Hopton, esq., and Maud, wife of Thomas Vaux, esq. Sir William Lucy
married Margaret , but died without issue ; his widow held this manor, or a part
of it, of the abbot of Walden, at the time of her decease, in 1466. Thomas Hopton
had 1iy his wife Alianor, William, who died without issue ; and Elizabeth, first
married to sir Roger Corbet, of Moreton Corbet, in Shropshire ; afterwards to John
Tiptoft, earl of Worcester ; and, thirdly, to sir William Stanley, brother of Thomas,
earl of Derby. She held a moiety of this manor, and died in 1498. William Vaux,
by Maud his wife, had William, who, with Elizabeth then wife of John, earl of
Worcester, had this estate in 1466. In 1512, Robert, son of Richard Corbet, esq.
and sole heir to Elizabeth, lady Stanley, died possessed of this estate : his successors
were his son Roger, who died in 1538 ; and Andrew, his grandson, who, in 1561,
sold this manor to Leonard Sandel, of Hatfield Peverel; and he sold it to John
Church, of Little Sandford, and Margaret his wife. He died in 1564, and left a son,
named Rook, or Richard, who, in 1592, sold the manor to Henry Smith and Giles
Green.
In 1593, this estate became the property of Arthur Harris, esq. third son of William
Harris, of Southminster, and grandson of Arthur Harris, of Prittlewell, and of the
family of this name at Cricksea, and at Shenfield. This Arthur died in 1597: he
married Dorothy, daughter of sir William Waldegrave, of Small-bridge ; by whom
he had his son William, his heir and successor, who died in 1616: succeeded by his
son John, whose son and heir was sir Arthur Harris, knt., who on his death, in 1632,
VOL. II. 4 Q
662
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
VVood-
haiii
Mortitiiei
Hall.
BOOK II. was succeeded by his son Cranmer, afterwards sir Cranmer Harris, who married
Martha, daujrhter and co-heiress of Daniel Holford, of West Thurrock, and left by
her, Martha and Mary, co-heiresses, Martha conveyed the manor of Woodham
Mortimer-place, with the advowson of the church, to her husband, Charles Mildmay,
esq., young-est son of sir Henry, brother to sir Thomas Mildmay, of Moulsham-hall ;
and their only daughter and heiress, Martha, was married to sir Charles Tyrell, hart,
of Heron ; whose descendants retained this possession, till it was sold by sir John
Tyrell, to the right lion. Lucius Carey, lord viscount Falkland. Belongs now to
Mrs. E. Wegg.
Woodham Mortimer-place, the manor-house, is a mile south-west from the church.
It is in the occupation of Christopher C. Parker, esq.
The capital mansion, belonging to this manor, is near the church; and is said to
have been built by sir Cranmer Harris for one of his daughters. The estate has been
reckoned a manor, but has neither had tenants, nor held courts. It was purchased of
the Harris family, by Peter Chamberlen, M. D. who died in 1683, aged eighty-two.
By Jane Middleton, his first wife, he had eleven sons and two daughters, who among
them had forty-five grand-children, and eight great grand-children, of whom there
were living at his death, Hugh, Paul, and John, and his two daughters, and twenty
grand-children, and six great grand-children. By his second wife, Aime Harrison,
he had three sons and two daughters, of whom only Hope was living at the time of
his death. Hugh Chamberlen, his grandson, an eminent physician, died in 1728.
Hope, the youngest son of Peter, had this estate, and sold it in 1715, to Mr. William
Alexander, wine merchant, of London, who gave it by will to the Wine Coopers'
Company, of that city. A handsome obelisk has been erected, opposite the hall, with
an inscription to the memory of Mr. Alexander. Mr. W. Hart is the lessee of this
estate.
A reputed manor, named Hide park, belonged to Robert Latham, who died in
1520; it is partly in Purley, and partly in this parish.
The church, dedicated to St. Margaret, is of one pace with the chancel ; the altar-
piece is richly carved.*
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to three hundred and forty; and
only to three hundred and thirty-nine, in 1831.
Hide
Park.
Church.
Inscrip-
tions.
* Weever has preserved the following inscriptions : — Pray for the sowlys of John Coker, and Christian,
his wife, which John died 8 Oct. 1478. — To the memory of Dorothy, daughter of Giles AUeine, that died,
1584, set. 3 years :
A little impe here buried is,
Whose soul to Christ is fled.
An altar-tomb, over a vault, bears an inscription to the memory of Dr. Peter Chamberlen, with a poetical
inscription of great length, but very indifferent composition. He was born, May 8, 1601 , and died Decem-
ber 22, 1683.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 663
CHAP.
XVIII.
HASELEY.
This small parish is situated south-eastward from Woodham-Mortimer ; the name Haseiey.
in records is written Haileshei, and Haileslei. Distant from Maldon two miles.
Serlo and Ailmer were the possessors of this parish before the Conquest ; at the
survey, it belonged to Ralph Peverell, and Serlo held under him that part of it which
had previously belonged to him : the other portion was holden by Godric. In the
survey, it is made to form two distinct manors, named great and little ; but one ot
these is supposed to have been joined to one of the neighbouring parishes, as there is
now only one manor.
The manor-house of Haselev is near the church, and the account of its owners is Haseiey
Hall
very imperfect. In 1210 and 1211, Alice de Hailesle held the fourth part of a Manor,
knight's fee : and Richard, the son of Ranulph, had one fee in Great Hailesley,
which Matthew Mantel held of him. In 1260, a charter of king- Henry the third
grants free warren in Brightlingsey and Haylesley, to John de Munuirun, or Mun-
tviron, who may hence appear to have been lord here.
In 1328, William de Horewold presented to the church ; and with Cecily, his wife,
appears to have enjoyed this estate in 1339. In 1421, John de Leigh died in possession
of it; and Thomas, his son and successor, died in 1438, possessed of this manor and
that of Shelley ; Thomas Leigh, his son and heir, had this manor, and also the manors
of Shelley, of Olives, and Garnetts in Margaret Roding-. His son Henry died
before him, in 1494 : himself died in April, and Joanna, his wife, in August, 1509 ;
and were succeeded by their grandson, Giles Leigh, esq., of Walton ; who, dying in
1538, left his two daughters his co-heiresses. Mary was married to John Alleyn ;
and Ag-nes to Christopher Alleyn, brothers to sir John Alleyn, lord mayor of
London, sons of Richard Alleyn, of Thaxted. These, in 1539, had livery of Leigh's
lands in Essex, including the manor of Haseiey, and the chantry of St. Nicholas, in
the church of Haseiey. Haseiey was included in the share of Agnes, who died in
1553, having had by her husband Christopher her sons, Giles, Anthony, and Ralph.
Giles, the eldest son, inherited this estate; he married Mary, daughter of John
Skory, bishop of Hereford, by whom he had Samuel, Isaac, Rebecca, wife of
Thomas Nevill, of Stock, gent.; Mary, wife of William Coys, of North Okendon;
and Anne, of Henry Chauncy, of Yardley, in Hertfordshire, gent.; he died in 1608.
Samuel, the eldest son, dying without issue, in 1614, Isaac, the next brother, suc-
ceeded. He married, first, Mary, daughter of John Pake, of Bromfield, and had
by her Giles, John, and Anne. By his second wife, Anne, daughter of Henry Leigh,
of Ruthall, in Staffordshire, he had William. Giles Alleyn, esq., the eldest son and
664 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. heir, married Susan, daughter and sole heiress of John Nevill, of Stock; and had by
her John, born in 163G, Giles, Amy, Elizabeth, Susan, and Mary.*
Afterwards this estate became the property of Henry Mildmay, esq., of Graces,
in Little Badow, who gave it to his second daughter, Lucy, wife of Thomas
Gardiner, esq., of Bourchier's hall in Tollesbury; of whom it was purchased by sir
John Smith, hart., of Isle worth, in Middlesex, who dying in 1726, was succeeded
by his son in his estates and title. Now belongs to Mrs. Trevin.
Chnrcli. This churcli, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is of timber, plastered, and of ancient
appearance.
The rectory has always been appendant to the manor. It was for more than a cen-
tury presented to as a chapel, till 1390, when it was presented as a rectory.
In 1821, there were one hundred and twenty-eight inhabitants in Haseley; but in
1831 only one hundred and nineteen.
PURLEY, OR PURLEIGH.
Pulley. Part of this extensive parish rises above the surrounding district, and is pleasant
and healthy, the site of the church and village commanding an extensive and varied
prospect, in many parts of it presenting luxuriant sylvan scenery of a wild and
picturesque appearance; to the west and north-west the woody eminence of Dan-
bury and the churches of Haseley and Woodham-Mortimer ; north and north-
eastward, Blackwater-bay gradually opens through the distant marshes, and in the
nearer view the to^vn of Maldon, with the churches of Langford, Tolleshunt-Darcy,
Tolleshunt-Beckenham, Goldhanger, and Tollesbury ; to the east, the churches of
Mundon, Steeple, Lackingdon, Althorn, and St. Lawrence; on the south, a fine
view of Canewdon church; and over Rochford hundred and the river Thames may
be seen the hills of Kent. According to Norden, the name of this parish is from
the word Purlieu, applied to the borders of a forest, in which the king's rangers were
to confine their excursions in hunting the deer, and where the owners of land had
the right, under certain restrictions, to kill game. Reginald de Grey, who died in
1307, had this lordship, with which he enjoyed the privilege of Purlieu; as is
expressed in the record, " he had Purlieu within tliis whole lordship, of any deer or
forest wild beast." In records it is sometimes written Purlay, Purlai, and Purle
The parish is nine miles in length; distant from Maldon three miles, and from
London thirty-nine.
There is a fair here on Whitsun Tuesday.
Before the conquest, the lands of this parish were holden by Edeva, Gudmund,
and ten other freemen, Algar, a freeman, Lewin, Lewin Cilt, and Grime. At the
* Sir Edward Bishes' Visitation of Essex, fol, 63.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 665
time of the survey, they belonged to Eustace, earl of Boulogne, Hugh de Montfort, chap.
Robert Gernon, Walter the Deacon, and Ralph Baignard. There are three manors, '^^"''
and several estates formerly named manors.
The mansion of Purley hall is near the west end of the church. The noble family ?«' l^y
of Grey of Wilton were, at an early period, in possession of this lordship. John de
Grey, " held Purle," in 1220, and also in 1243; in which year a grant was produced
at the Pleas of the Forest, at Chelmsford, from king Henry the third, to John de
Grey, of free-warren in Purlai, Gilbetrake, Lechendon, and eleven of his other
manors, in which was also included a license to hunt and take, in all the king's
forests in England, fox, hare, and cat, except in the king's demesne warrens, pro-
vided he did no damage to the king's hunting. He died in 1266; and his son and
successor, Reginald de Grey, on his decease, in 1307, left John his son and heir ;
who was succeeded by his son Henry, in 1323 ; he held, beside this estate, a park
called " le Hyde Parke in Purle," of the prior of Christ's church in Canterbury.
Dying in 1342, his son Reginald de Grey de Wilton-upon-Wee, held this manor ;
he died in 1370, leaving sir Henry, his son, his heir ; whose son, sir Richard Grey,
held the same, except what lay in Danbury and Leighs. On his decease, in 1442, his
son Reginald succeeded, followed by his son John, whose son Edmund * sold the
estate.
In 1519 sir Giles Capel had this manor, whose successor in the possession of it
was Hugh Dennys, succeeded by his son Henry, who died in 1569; whose son John,
on his decease in 1609, left Henry, his son, his heir. Succeeding possessors were
Alexander Comyns ; and James Bonnel, esqrs. Now belongs to Mrs. Bonnel.
Tliis manor formerly passed, with Purley hall, to the successive holders of that cibbe-
estate, till Edmund lord Grey, and Florentia his wife, in 1504, conveyed it to John ''^'^^"*
de Vere, earl of Oxford. It passed to four successive earls of the name of John, and
to Edward, who, in 1577, conveyed it to John Mabbe, goldsmith, of London; who,
in 1584, sold it to Edward Glemham, esq., of Benhall, in SuiFolk; who, the fol-
lowing year, conveyed it to George Wolmer, esq., from whom, in 1601, it passed to
sir Michael Sandel, of Throwley, in Kent ; and was purchased of him by Robert
Clarke, esq., one of the barons of the Exchequer ; and he gave it to his second son,
Jeremiah Clarke, of Stebbing, who, in 1638, sold it to William lord Maynard; from
whom it was conveyed, in 1652, to Robert, afterwards sir Robert Abdy, hart., and he
left it by will to his son, sir John Abdy, bart., who, in 1679, sold it to Edmund,
afterwards sir Edmund Wiseman, knt. ; from whom it was conveyed, in 1687, to
Henry Collins, esq., of the Middle Temple ; from whom it descended to his son
Henry, whose son and heir, Anthony, married, first, Martha, daughter of sir Francis
* For an account of this noble family, see Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. They had summons to parlia-
ment from 23 Edw. I. 1295 to 43 Eliz. 1601.
666
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Child, by whom he had Henry, Anthony, EUzabeth, and Martha : he married,
secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of sir Walter Wrottesley, by whom he had no issue.
His son Henry died young, and Anthony died unmarried in 1723. Martha was
married to Robert, brother to the right hon. the lord Fairfax, and died without issue ;
Elizabeth was married to Walter Carey, esq., who, in her right, had this and other
estates. It now belongs to Lovebond, esq.
VValtons. The estate anciently belonging to Hugh de Montford, is believed to have been
what has since been named Nether hall, and, from one of its owners, Waltons.
The earliest recorded possessor after Montfort Avas Aumaritius Battaile, in 1211,
who died in 1252; and John de Aketon, and Petronil his wife, mother of Aumaritius,
or Aumaric, held it in dower, of the fee of William de Howbrigge ; Saer, his son
and heir, at the time of his decease, in 1292, held a messuage in Pui'le of Edmund,
son of Thomas de Purle, by the service of a clove-gillyflower, Avith other pos-
sessions, includhigthis estate. Margaret, or Margery, was his sister and heiress: she
was married to sir William de Sutton, whose successors were, sir John de Sutton and
another sir John, whose daughter, and, at length, sole heiress, conveyed it to her
husband, John Walton, esq., to whom she bore Richard and Joane. Richard, the
son and heir, died without issue, in 1408 or 1409, leaving his sister Joane, married to
sir John Howard, jun., the inheritor of his estates, which their only daughter,
Elizabeth, married to John de Vere, twelfth earl of Oxford, conveyed to that noble
family, who retained possession of it till Edward, the seventeenth earl, in 1559, sold
it to George Golding, esq., who died in 1584, leaving Arthur Golding, his brother,
his heir ; who, in 1595, sold this estate to Thomas Mildmay, esq., eldest son of
William Mildmay, esq., of Springfield Barnes: he died in 1612, and his grandson,
Thomas, son of his eldest son William, was his successor. It afterwards became the
property of Elizabeth Mildmay, of Graces, married to Edmund Waterhouse, mer-
chant, and was conveyed to James Bonnel, esq. Now belongs to Mrs. Bonnell.
Harons. The mansion of the manor of Barons is near the parsonage. In 1339 Margaret
Baroun died, holding the whole or part of this estate, and was succeeded by her son,
Robert Baroun, who died in 1349. John Wyburne, his sister Emma's son, Alice,
wife of Thomas, son of Reginald at Hoo, another of his sisters, and Johanna le
Smythies, his third sistei", were his heirs, of whom this manor is understood to
have been purchased by Giles Branson, who died in 1363. His heir was John,
grandson of his brother Robert. John de Hastings, earl of Pembroke, had this
estate at the time of his death, in 1374, and settled it, with his other possessions, on
his mother's sister's son, William de Beauchamp, a younger son of Thomas earl of
Warwick ; and Joane, widow of this William, held it at the time of her decease, in
1435. Their son, Richard de Beauchamp, earl of Worcester, dying in 1422, left an
only daughter, Elizabeth, married to sir Edward Nevill, fourth son of Ralph, earl of
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 667
Westmorland, who, in her right, became lord Bergavenny, and succeeded to her CHAP.
estates. On his death, in 1476, he left his son George, lord Bergavenny, his heir. '__
This estate was holden of him by Robert Latham, who died in 1519, and also by his
son and heir, William. It was holden of sir Richard Rich by William Strangeman,
who died in 1573; and in 1604 it was holden of sir Thomas Mildmay, by Dudley
Fortescue, esq. It now belongs to John JollifFe Tufnell, esq.
This manor is part of what belonged to Walter the Deacon, at the time of the Fierne
survey; and his son, William Mascherall, founder of the nunnery of Wikes, settled let's. '
it on that house ; it retained possession of it till the dissolution of the lesser monas-
teries, in 1525, when it was granted to Cardinal Wolsey ; after whose disgrace it
was granted, by Henry the eighth, to Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, in 1538;
and he, the following year, conveyed it to John and Francis Stonard ; and they, in
1575, sold it to William Bode, who, on his decease in 1591, was succeeded by his
son and heir John. It now belongs to the Charter-house in London, and the
governors hold a court yearly, at the Cut-round-Bush, in the middle of the road.
This reputed manor, named Lachendon, or Purley, Barnes, is stated to have Laching-
formed part of the parish of Lachingdon. It is one of the parcels that belonged to bar^ps
Hugh de Montford at the time of the survey, and was holden under him by Gud-
mund, Humphrey, and Ulmar. No account of succeeding owners is found till 1323,
when it belonged to John de Grey, of the noble family of Grey of Wilton, with
whom it remained till 1451, when sir Richard Grey died in possession of it.* It was
holden by Robert Latham of sir Charles Capel, and by William Latham, his son.
The estate afterwards belonged to Henry Ashurst, esq., who, in 1671, sold it to
Henry Mildmay, esq., of whom it was purchased by Charles Coe, of Maldon, who
gave it to his son, Thomas Coe, M.D. of Maldon, from whom it passed to his
descendants.
The hamlet of Callow Green, in this parish, formerly belonged to the prior of Callow
Christ's church, Canterbury, and is now in the peculiar jurisdiction of the dean of
Bocking-.
The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a handsome structure, on an eminence, with Clmrcli.
a nave, north and south aisles, and chancel, and an ancient embattled tower of flint
and stone. Over the western door, carved heads of a man and woman are said to re-
present the founders of this church. The remarkably neat appearance of the interior
of this church is attributable to the pious munificence of Samuel Horsmanden, LL.D.,
during his incumbency. He new-fronted the pews at his own expense, and gave
a handsome brass chandelier, of twelve branches, which bears this inscription : —
" The gift of Samuel Horsmanden, LL.D., rector, 1758." At his death he
* Arms of Grey : Barry of six, argent and azure.
668 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
oOOK 11. bequeathed an elegant service of communion-plate for the use of the church. The
chancel is paved with stone, and the pulpit and altar-piece are of handsome workmaiv
ship. Over the vestry there is a convenient gallery for the singers. In the north
aisle there is a chapel, which belonged to the Bourchier family, and their arms are
said to have been formerly painted in the window where there now appear fragments
of stained glass.*
This rectory was given to the priory of Horton, in Kent, by Robert de Vere, son
of Bernard, founder of that priory, and the advowson continued in the prior and
monks till their dissolution, afterwards remaining in the crown till the end of the reign
of James the first, when it was granted to the Horsmanden family, of Kentf It lias
since been purchased by Oriel College, Cambridge. |
This parish, in 1821, contained nine hundred and sixty-seven inhabitants; increased
to one thousand and forty- four in 1831.
Inscrip- * Within the rails of the altar, on black marble, is inscribed : — " In this vault is deposited the body of
ions. Harrington Horsmanden, esq. formerly one of the sworn clerks of the high court of Chancery. A bad
state of health obliged him to quit business some time before his death ; he was a man of indefatigable
labour and industry in his profession, whereby he gained many friends and great practice ; he acquired an
easy fortune with lasting credit, which he disposed of among his relations : he died on the 28th day of
December, 1736, in the sixty-first year of his age. Here are also the remains of Wharham Horsmanden,
esq. and Susanna, his wife, who died in 1691, aged sixty-four years. — Of Susanna, wife of Daniel Hors-
manden, A.M. rector of this parish ; she died on the 3d day of January, 1713, in the forty-eighth year of
her age ; — of the said Daniel Horsmanden, who died on the 18th day of October, 1726, in the seventy-third
year of his age; — of Susanna Horsmanden, daughter of the said Daniel and Susanna; she died on the
1st day of March, 1756, in the sixty-fifth year of her age. — Within this vault are also deposited the remains
of the rev. Samuel Horsmanden, LL.D. brother to the above Barrington, and late rector of this parish ;
he was a gentleman deservedly esteemed in his profession, and well-beloved by his parishioners; he was
one of his majesty's justices of the peacejfor this county, which office he filled with credit; and, in his
ecclesiastical and civil capacities, hath left behind him the best of memorials — a good name. He departed
this life, April 19, 1769, in the seventieth year of his age. — On the north side of the chancel, near the
altar : — Here under lieth buried, the bodie of Mr. John Freake, batch, of divinitie, late parson of Per-
leighe, and archdeacon rwiche, who died on the 4th dai of Sept. 1604, and 60th yere of his age, having had
issue,of his bodie begotten, six sonnes and seven daughters. — Also a Latin inscription, of which the follow-
ing is a translation : — Cecily Freake, a good woman, and pious widow, relict of the rev. father, Edmund
Freake, formerly chief almoner to the sacred queen Elizabeth ; first bishop of Rochester, then of Norwich,
and lastly, of Worcester ; also rector of this church. She died full of days, 15th July, 1599.
Charities. The rev. Samuel Horsmanden left 30/. per annum for the maintenance of a schoolmaster and school-
mistress, to teach all the boys and girls of the parish reading, writing, psalmody, and arithmetic ; and the
girls, plain needlework and knitting : also 40s. a year, to entertain the trustees, when they meet to settle
accounts ; and 20*. to keep the windows of the chancel in repair. This parish school is rendered more
efl'ective by additional donations.
t Arms of Horsmanden : Azure, between a fesse, three wolves' heads erased, or.
X Mon. Angl. vol. i. p. 261.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 669
C H A \>.
XVIII.
COLD NORTON.
This parish is situated between Stow Mary's on the south, and Purley northward ; ColdNor-
it is distant from Maldon five miles, and thirty-seven from London.
In the time of Edward the Confessor the chief holder of lands here was a freeman
named Uluric ; and at the survey the lordship belong-ed to Ralph Baynard : but it
was forfeited by his grandson William, and afterwards g'iven by king Henry the
first, to Robert, son of Richard Fitz-Gilbert, ancestor of the family of Fitzwalter.
There are two manors.
The mansion of the capital manor is near the church; in 1290, John de Bathon, ColdNoi-
(or of Bath) enjoyed this estate by the law of England, because he married Elianor,
daughter and heiress of sir Geofrey de Aunblie ; who held it of the lord
Robert Fitzwalter, of Woodham, in capite, by the service of one knight's fee : the
lady Joane, wife of sir John de Bohun, was his sole heiress : she was the daughter of
Elianor, Avife of John de Bathon. In 1316, John de Bohun died possessed of this
estate ; leaving John, his son, his heir. Oliver de Bohun held it under Robert
Fitzwalter, in 1328 ;* and it passed from this noble family into that of Stafford and of
Bourchier. On the partition of the Bohun estates between Anne, countess of
Stafford, and king Henry the fifth, the countess had this manor for part of her share,
in 1433; and her fourth son, sir John Bourchier, K.B., and by marriage lord Berners,
had this possession in 1467. In 1521, on the attainder of Edward Stafford, duke of
Buckingham, he being possessed of this estate, it passed to the crown ; and was granted,
by Henry the eighth, to sir William Tyler: on whose death, in 1527, it was
granted, by the same monarch, to Robert Ratcliffe, viscount Fitzwalter; and queen
Elizabeth, in 1598, granted it to his nephew, Robert earl of Sussex; who soon after
conveyed it to Thomas Sutton, esq., and he made it part of the endowment of his
rich foundation at the Charter-house. It now belongs to the governors of that
institution.
This was originally included in the other manor, but at what time it was separated West
. . -1 r I 1 1 T • Wheten-
is not known. Flarabards, the mansion, is nearly two miles from the church. It is ham and
first mentioned in records in 1486, when it was holden by Margaret Alley, widow, ^^'JJ]^'
sister of Richard Alley. Sir John Browne was the next possessor of this estate : he
was son of John Browne, of Okeham, in Rutlandshire, lord mayor of London, in
1480, and died in 1497. By his first wife, Alice, daughter of sir John Swinsted, he
had Robert, father of Robert Browne, esq., of Walcot, in Northamptonshire ; and
by his second wife, Anne, daughter of Belwood, had William Browne, esq.,-]-
* Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 438. t Stow's Survey of London, book 5.
VOL. II. 4 R
670 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. born in MGT, one of the sheriffs of London in 1504, and lord mayor in 1513. By
his first wife, Marg-aret, daughter of Edmund Shaa, he had William, Anne, Julia ;
by his second wife, Alice, daughter of Henry Keeble, lord mayor of London, he had
John, seated at Horton, in Kent, and Anne, wife of John Tyrell, esq., of Heron.
Sir William, the father, died in 1514, holding these two manors of the lord Berners.
Wm. Browne, esq., his eldest son and heir, who died in 1549, held also these manors;
he married a daughter of Ralph Dormer, lord mayor of London, and had by her
Thomas, John, and Elizabeth, wife of Stephen Beckingham, of Tolleshunt. Thomas
Browne, esq., his eldest son and successor, born in 1526, held these and his father's
other estates, and died in 1567; he married Jane, daughter of sir Giles Allington, of
Horsheath, in Cambridgeshire, by whom he had John, Helen, wife of George Fytch,
of Brazenhead, and Anne, married to Thomas Bridges, of West Hanningfield : John,
the son and heir (afterwards sir John) married, first, Katharine, daughter of Henry
Botiller, of Hatfield- Woodhall, in Hertfordshire ; and, secondly, he married Cecily,
daughter of sir John Croke, one of the justices of the King's Bench : by the first, he
had eight sons and four daughters. He died in 1619, and his eldest son Giles suc-
ceeded, who married Mary, daughter of sir William Harris, knt., of Cricksea, by
whom he had Arthur Browne, esq., living in 1664. He married Anne, daughter
of John Aylmer, esq., of Mugdon hall, by whom he had Giles and Arthur.
Church. The church is a small building, with a wooden spire: it is dedicated to St. Stephen.
The rectory belongs to tlie manor of Norton hall, and is in the gift of the
Charter-house.*
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to two hundred and twenty-six,
and, in 1831, two hundred and sixteen.
STOW MAREYS, OR MARIES.
Stow This parish extends from Cold Norton southward to North Fambridge ; and from
the border of Chelmsford hundred to Snoreham, and Lachingdon on the east. For-
merly there was a family surnamed Mareys in this parish, who are supposed to have
taken from, or given to it this appellation, and the Saxon Sto]^, signifies place : it is
sometimes written Stow-Marish, and Stow Marsh. This name is not found in
Domesday, but believed to be what is there named Eastanes, which, before the
Inscrip- * In the chancel a mural monument bears the following :— " Here lieth Maud, that was the comfortable
tions. yyjfg of Robert Cammocke, of Layermarnie, in the county of Essex, gent., and one of the daughters of John
Tasburghe, of Felixton, in the county of Suffolk, esq., who died September 23, 1599, leaving a son, and
having a daughter buried with her."
In the church-yard the following :— " Here lieth the body of William Walker, esq., justice of the peace
for this county, ob. Dec. 9, 1708, in the 68th of his age, where his great grandfather, grandfather, and
father, all of the same name, lived many years, and are all buried in this grave."
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 671
conquest, belonged to Dodine, and at the survey to Walter the Deacon ; and CHAP.
Hametuna, or Haintuna at that time liolden by Suene ; and which previously had ^^*'^'
belonged to Godric, and another freeman, and to Robert, son of Wimarc; the
under tenants being Gaiter, Garner, and Ralph. Several estates belonging to other
parishes, appear from the records to have extended into this. There were two
manors.
Stow Mareys manor-house is three quarters of a mile from the church. The Stow
estate, in 1372, was holden of Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex, by Man^r*
John Mareys, whose family retained possession till 1389, when it was conveyed to
Conand Aske, or his feoffees ; in 1433 it belonged to John Hammond, and to Richard
Hammond from 1453 to 1488:* it was in the possession of William Willford and
his wife Agnes in 1548. Anthony Maxey, esq., of Bradwell, near Coggeshall, died
possessed of it in 1592 ; and sir Henry, his son and heir, died in 1624, who, having
no issue, was succeeded by his brother, sir William Maxey.
The mansion of the manor of Hayes is nearly a mile southward from the church ; Hayes,
the name is believed to have been derived from Hainetun, mentioned in Domesday
book : it is sometimes called Abbot-Hayes ; and mention of Great and Little
Hayes occurs in the same record. This manor belonged to the Sutton family,
who presented to the church alternately with the manor of Stow. In 1341, it was
settled by fine on John, son of John de Walton, and his wife Margery, daughter of
John de Sutton, and their heirs; and they presented to the church from 1321 to
1390.-f- Joane, heiress of the Walton family, was married to sir John Howard, and
conveyed this estate to him, and their only daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, conveyed
it to her husband, John de Vere, thirteenth earl of Oxford, who presented to the
living from 1488 to 1511 ; John his son, the fourteenth earl, was the next possessor,
from whom it descended to his successors; till it was conveyed by Edward, the
seventeenth earl, to Cooper, or Goodwyn.
The church is an ancient building, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. ClHuch.
In 1821 there were two hundred and forty-two inhabitants, and precisely the same
number in 1831.
NORTH FAMBRIDGE,
The river Crouch separates this parish from South Fambridge : it occupies the North
south-west corner of the hundred. Distant from Maldon five miles, and thirty-eight bridge
from London.
In Edward the Confessor's reign, these lands belonged to Godric, a freeman, and,
at the survey, to Tedric Pointel. There is only one manor.
* Newcourt, vol. i. p 564. t Newcourt.
672 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liODK 11. The hall is near the east end of the church : the account of the possessors of this
j,'o,.th manor is very imperfect till 1328,* when it belonged to William de Burgh, earl of
Fam- Ulstei', who died in 1333. His only daughter and heiress was married to Lionel,
bridge ' 111
Hall. third son of king Edward the third, whose only daughter by him was Philippa,
married to Edmund Mortimer, earl of March and lord of Wigmore ; who, in her
right, became earl of Ulster, and lord of Clare, Connaught, and Trim : besides other
great estates, he had this manor as part of the earldom of Gloucester. Dying in
1381, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Roger Mortimer, earl of March and
Ulster, who, at the time of his decease in 1398, held this manor. Anne, his eldest
dauo-hter, ultimately his sole heiress, was married to Richard Coningsborough,
earl of Cambridge, second son of Edmund de Langley, fifth son of king Edward the
third: he was beheaded for joining in a conspiracy against king Henry the fifth, and
this and his other estates forfeited to the crown. It Avas given by king Edward the
fourth to Anne, sister of his queen, and third daughter of Richard Widville, earl
Rivers ; married, first to William Bourchier, son of William, earl of Eu and Essex,
by whom she had Henry, afterwards earl of Essex, and Cecily, married to John
Devereux, lord Ferrers, of Chartley. The lady Anne's second husband was George
lord Grey, earl of Kent. At the time of her decease, in 1489, she possessed this
manor, which descended to her son, Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex ; on whose
death, in 1540, it became the property of his daughter Anne, and of her husband
William Parr, earl of Essex, and marquis of Northampton. On the decease of the
lady, in 1571, her heir was Walter Devereux, lord Ferrers, of Chartley. In 1591,
queen Elizabeth granted this estate to Christopher Osborn ; and John Osborn,
supposed his son, died in 1606, possessed of it, with other estates in this neighbour-
hood : his heir was his uncle John ; and the estate continued in the family till
Elizabeth Osborn, sole heiress, conveyed it in marriage to her husband. Temple
Fotherley Whitfield, esq., who, dying in 1729, left it to his nephew. Major Ralph
Whitfield, esq., who died in 1744, and was succeeded by his son, Thomas Whitfield,
esq., one of the Filazers of the court of common pleas. It is now the property of the
Rev. Hele.
Cliurch. The church is a small brick building, near the Ferry, dedicated to the Holy
Trinity.f
* In 1'276, John Fitzjohn held the manor of Fanibregg, with the advowson of the church, of sir Robert
Fitz- Bernard, in capite; and, in 1297, Richard Fitzjohn held this manor of Robert Fitzwalter, by the
service of five fees and a half. One of the said Richard's co-heiresses, Joane, wife of Theobald de
Botiller, was afterwards possessed of it. See Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 707, 708.
Inscrip- t There is a grave-stone in this church, with an inscription on the Wyatt family ; and on a stone in
tions. the chancel, under the effigies in brass of the parents and children, is the following: — " William Osborn,
who had to wife Ann, daughter of sir William Walker, by whom he had eight sons and eight daughters ;
ob. Jan. \o, 1590. Anne, his wife, died March 17, 1607, aged 72.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 673
The rectory originally went with the manor : in 1296 it belonged to Richard C H a F.
Fitzrjohn, and was conveyed to the Beauchamp family, earls of Warwick, in which it 1-
continued till 1445, when it passed in marriage with the heiress Anne, to her
husband, Richard Nevil, earl of Salisbury and Warwick, and to his son Richard, earl
of Warwick, who being slain at Barnet field, in 1471, it passed to the crown, and was
afterwards granted with the manor. But on the attainder of Robert Deverenx, earl
of Essex, in 1601, it was again forfeited, and has remained in the crown to the
present time.
In 1821 there were one hundred and forty-seven inhabitants, and one hundred and
forty-eight in 1831.
LACHINGDON WITH LAWLING.
This parish and hamlet extends from Mundon to the river Crouch. In records Laching-
Lachingdon is also written Lacendun, Lachindon, and Lassenduna; and Lawling is Lwlin*^
also named Lallinge : distant from Maldon five miles, and from Loudon thirty-eight.
There is a fair here on the 2d of June.
Before the conquest, Alwin, Lewin, and eight other freemen, were the holders of
the lands of this parish; which were in the king's hands at the time of the survey,
and divided into manors, of which those in Lawling were more in number than those
in Lachingdon. Phin, a freeman, had a manor at Lachingdon ; and the church of
Canterbury had a manor here and at Lawling: what is named Lainge also belonged
partly to that church, and partly to Brun, a freeman; the two last were in the
possession of Uluric Cassa, Ralph Peverel, and Eudo Dapifer, in 1087.
In the time of Henry the third, William de Lacindon was the owner of this TheKing's
estate, who had himself, or his ancestors, taken their family name from the place. He
was presented and fined, in 1254, for having a knight's fee, and not being made a
knight. Hugh de Lethendon, or Lachyndon, of the same family, died herein 1294:
William de Lachindon was his son and successor, and died in 1312, leaving his brother
Hugh his heir; on whose decease, in 1312, his successor was his son, John de
Lachindon, the last of this family named in the record.
Successive holders of this estate were William de Moton in 1328, and John
Heyroun, who died in 1343. In 1348 it belonged to William Sayer, of Copford,
succeeded by his son John, who died in 1350, whose son Richard, on his decease, in
1368, left his brother John his heir. In 1400 this estate belonged to sir John
Bourchier, and continued in that noble family, till the close of the fifteenth, or the
commencement of the sixteenth century ; afterwards it seems to have been parcelled
out with Tiled hall, and other manors in this parish. Tlie present owner is Joseph
Holden Strult, esq.
Manor.
674
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11
Tiled
Hall.
Lachen-
don
Manor.
Lalling or
Lawling
Hatnlet.
Lalling
Hall.
The mansion of this manor is near the church, on the east : this is the estate which
belonged to Phin, and, on his death, to his widow, Ukieva. In 1298 it belonged to
Henry Grapenell, who died in that year, leaving his four daughters his co-heiresses.
Petronilla was married to John Fitzjohn ; Margery to William Inge ; lonna to Adam
Fitzjohn ; and Margaret to Nicholas Havering. William Inge had this estate, and
dying in 1321, left his daughter Joanna, married to Eudo de la Zouche, who, in her
riglit, held this manor ; out of which Margaret, Avife of Nicholas Havering, received
a yearly rent of four pounds in 1335. No further account is found of this manor till
1553, when it belonged to John Osborn, whose son Richard, his heir, was succeeded,
in 1595, by his son of the same name, whose heir, on his decease in 1612, was his
brother, John Osborn, who left only daughters his co-heiresses. Of these, Elizabeth
was married to Richard Betenson, esq., and brought him this estate. They had
three sons, Richard, Peter, and Edward of Colne-Engaine. Richard, the eldest son
and heir, by Katharine, daughter of George Tuke, esq., of Layer Marney had his
sons Richard and Thomas. Sir Richard Betenson, knt., the eldest son, married
Anne, daughter of sir William Monyns, hart., by whom he had sir Richard, created
a baronet in 1666, and Edward, who, in 1718, sold this estate to sir George Mark-
ham, hart. ; and he, in 1736, gave it by will to Bernard Wilson, M.A. vicar of
Newark-upon-Trent, of whom it was purchased in 1748 by Samuel Trew, and he
conveyed it the same year, together with South Wallet and Peverells, to Edward
Codd.
The heroic Byrhtnoth, earl of Essex, gave this estate to the church of Canter-
bury; it was holden under the prior of Canterbury, by Philip Burnel, who died in
1294; he also held other estates here. Edward was his son, who, at the time of his
decease in 1382, held this manor of the archbishop and church of Canterbury : sir
Hugh Burnel held the same of the archbishop by fealtv. Joyce, wife of Thomas
Erdyngton, jun., Katharine Burnel, and Margery, wife of Edward Hungerford, were
his cousins and heiresses. No further account being found of this manor, it is
supposed to have been incorporated with the convent's larger manor here.
This hamlet anciently formed the larger portion of the parish, and contained three
manors which, before the conquest, belonged to the Cathedral church of Canterbury,
to Brun a freeman, and to Uluric Cassa. The church and priory retained their
possessions till the time of the survey ; and Ralph Peverel and Eudo Dapifer held
the other two portions.
This estate was given to the church of Canterbury in the year 993, by Byrhtnoth,
the brave earl of Essex, who was, the same year, slain in the battle against the
Danes, fought at Maldon.* The prior and convent, or Holy Trinity, in Canterbury
* His grant is preserved in the Decern. Scriptores, col. 2223 ; and king ^thelred's confirmation of this
grant, in 1006, is in the manuscript library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 675
(for it went under both these names) retained this possession till the dissolution of c H A F.
monasteries; and it was granted, by Henry the eighth, in 1542, with the manors of ^^'"'
South-church, Milton-hall, Stisted, Bocking-hall in West Mersey, and Borleigh, to
the dean and chapter of the Cathedral of Canterbury; but in 1545, these possessions
were granted to sir Richard Rich, allowing the convent in exchange such estates as
the same king thought proper to give. Sir Richard died, holding this estate, in 1566,
as also did his son, Robert, lord Rich, in 1580, and after him his descendants, till
it was purchased of the co-heiresses of Charles, earl of Warwick, by Thomas
Western, esq.* It now belongs to Mrs. Hammond.
This manor was taken out of the lands belonging to the church of Canterbury. In Little
1323, John de Grey died possessed of it, and it suftessively belonged to his don.'"^'
descendants, Henry de Grey, who died in 1342, and Reginald, in 1370; whose son,
sir Henry de Grey, held this estate by the name of Snoreham, of the prior of Christ's
church, Canterbury, in 1395; Elizabeth, his widow, held it in 1401 ; as did also their
son, sir Richard Grey, in 1442 ; whose widow, Margaret, enjoyed it till her death
in 1450. Succeeding accounts of the holders of this estate are imperfect and
uncertain.
A manor in Lawling, which had belonged to Brun, the Saxon, was in the posses- Peverels.
sion of Ralph Peverel at the time of the survey, and on that account named Peverels;
it appears to have gone with Tyled-hall to Richard Betenson, esq., in 1624, and to
Edward Codd, gent.
Hill-house, vulgarly Hell-house, now a farm, was formerly a manor; it belonged Hill
to Uluric Cassa before the conquest, and to Eudo Dapifer at the time of the survey. ^°^^^-
This estate is in the southern part of the parish.
Uleham is an estate formerly named the manor of Stainford. Before the con- U'ehani.
quest it belonged to Godere, and in 1483 was holden of the bishop of London, by
Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex, succeeded by his grandson Henry, from whom it
descended to his only daughter Anne, marchioness of Northampton; on whose
death, in 1570, it was granted, by queen Elizabeth, to Walter Devereux,
viscount Hereford. The two reputed manors of Hill-house and Uleham after-
wards went together, and belonged to Roger Grome, to Thomas, his son, suc-
ceeded by his son W^illiam Grome, and to Arthur Harris, esq., who died in 1597,
leaving sir William Harris, his son, his heir, whose successor was sir Arthur Harris,
his son.
The church is a small plain building, tiled. It is dedicated to St. Michael. Clmich
The foundations of a chapel are yet visible in the orchard belonging to Lawling-hall; ^'^^^P^^-
* The court-leet of Lalling is kept at Lalling hall ; it has the title of Lawling with Snoreham ; and
Leigh-How in the parish of Purleigh, and Runsel hamlet, in Danbury, belong to it.
676 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. it was built for the ease and convenience of that part of the parish: distant two miles
" from the mother church.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to four hundred and fourteen, and
in 1831 to four hundred and fifty-one.
SNOREHAM.
Siiorehani. This is a very small parish, taken from Lawling- and Purley since the survey of
Domesday. The greater part of the lands belonged to the church of Canterbury, and
are in the manor of Snoreham in Lachingdon, the other part is supposed to have been
taken from Purley : it is distant from Maldon six miles, and forty-two from London.
The first institution of a parish here was some time previous to 1323, in which year
John de Grey had possessions, and was succeeded by Reginald Grey, lord of Wilton;
sir Henry Grey, sir Thomas, and sir John, had also the same, and presented to the
church.* It appears by the presentations to have afterwards belonged to sir Giles
Capel, in right of his wife, daughter of sir Robert Roos ; to Hugh Dennis, esq.,
Thomas Grome, Arthur Harris, esq., and to Thomas Argall, esq., and his heirs; this
family was seated at Great Badow. Thomas Argall, esq., marrying Anne, daughter
of sir William Wyld, knt. and hart., one of the judges of the king's bench, had by
her, Jane, wife of William Godwin, and Mary, wife of Heyman, of Town-
Mailing, in Kent. Neither of these having issue, the estate was sold under a decree
in chancery to Nathaniel Green, esq., who died in 1725, leaving Lucy, married to
Raphael Courteville, esq. ; and Katharine and Elizabeth, nuns. Mr. Courteville and
his wife conveyed this estate to Mr. John Strutt, of Bileigh mills, in 1743 ; who gave
it to his nephew, John Strutt, esq., and it has been retained by his descendants to
the present time.
Cluirch. The church was undoubtedly erected by some of its patrons of the noble family of
Grey, of Wilton ; it was dedicated to St. Peter. Some remains of it may be
traced near the hall yard. The inhabitants resort to the church of Lachingdoh, as
being the nearest, and are there baptized and buried, and contribute to all parochial
duties. However this is yet a rectory presentative, and a sermon is, or used to be,
preached annually under a tree.
The population is included in that of Lachingdon.f
* Nevvcourt, vol. ii. p. 53.
t Many years ago, a well was sunk by subscription, for the general use of Snoreham and Lachingdon ;
it is 337 feet deep, and cost 300/., the clay-bed continuing nearly the whole depth. The strong soil of this
district produces beautiful samples of wheat.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 677
MUNDON.
CHAP.
XVIII.
This parish lies between Lawling- and Blackwater bay; extending northward Muudon.
towards Northey island. Distant from Maldon three miles, and from London forty.
In Edward the confessor's reign it belonged to Godwin, a king's thane; and at the
time of the survey, to Eudo Dapifer, who gave the manor and advowson of the
church to the abbey of St. John, which he had founded at Colchester.* On the
dissolution of the abbey, in 1539, this estate was granted, with the rectorial tithes, to
Thomas lord Cromwell ; on whose attainder it passed again to the crown, and, in
1558, the manor of Mundon-hall was, by queen Mary the first, annexed, with other
lordsliips, to the duchy of Lancaster. It was purchased by sir Thomas Wiseman, to
be holden of the king, in fee farm. He was succeeded by his son, sir William ; and
the estate was afterwards sold to Thomas Western, esq., of Rivenhall. The manor
house is at a short distance from the church northward. Lord Western is the
present owner.
Eltney, or Iltney farm, near the channel, was part of what belonged to St. John's
abbey, and was holden, with other estates, of queen Mary, by William Harrys, esq.,
in 1556; in 1608 it belonged to Ralph Breeder, and afterwards to Dr. Thomas
Plume, who settled it on his charitable foundation at Maldon.
The church is a small ancient building, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.f Church.
The population of Mundon, in 1821, amounted to three hundred and nine;
decreased to two hundred and seventy-three in 1831.
STEEPLE WITH STANSGATE.
From Mundon, Steeple extends eastward, and to the Blackwater on the north, steeple.
including the isle of Ramsey. In Domesday book the name of this parish is
Uluuinescherch, afterwards altered to Steeple. There are fairs, yearly, on the
Wednesday in W^hitsun week, and on the Wednesday after Michaelmas day. The
distance from Maldon is five miles, and from London forty-two.
Before the conquest, the owner of lands here were, Aluric, a freeman, four
freemen in Uluuinescherch, and a freeman named Bondi. At the survey, the kmg
had possession of what belonged to Bondi; what was in Uluuinescherch was
claimed by Tedric Pointell; and Henry de Ferrers held of the king what had
belonged to Bondi. There are two manors.
The mansion of the capital manor is on the north side of the church ; in 1282, steeple
Hugh Fitz-Otto had this estate, which he held of sir Almeric Peche, in capite, by the
* Monastic. Angl. vol. ii. p. 843.
t It is remarkable that all the grave-stones in this church, anterior to the year 1772, have been
defaced.
VOL. II. 4 s
678
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Steeple
Grange
i',uuK II. foxirth part of a knight's fee. Joanna, his daughter, was his heiress. In 1362, sir
John de Aspale and EHzabeth his wife, had this estate : their two daughters were
Katharine de Hemenhale, and Margery, married to sir George Felbrigge. Katha-
rine had this lordship. In 1477, it belonged to John Field, who, dying in that year,
was succeeded by his daughter Dorothy. In the commencement of the reign of
Edward the third, it became the property of Bicknacre priory ;* and was holden by
Agnes Morton, widow, who died in 1517 ; Robert Morton was her son and heir.
In 1537, Dorothy Filoll, widow, died holding this possession, which descended to
her daughter, Anne Willoughby ; Thomas Willoughby, probably her son, had this
manor, Avhich, on his death in 1559, descended to his brother, Francis Willoughby.
In 1604 it belonged to sir Henry Billingsley ; and afterwards was the property of the
duchess dowager Montague. It now belongs to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in
London.
The Grange estate manor is what belonged to Henry de Ferrers at the time of
the survey. The mansion is near the church on the south-east. In 1538, this
estate was granted, by Henry the eighth, to Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, who,
the same year, sold it to John Stonard ; from whom it passed to George Stonard,
esq., who died in 1358, holding the manor of Steeple Grange (according to the
inquisition), part of the possessions of the priory of Tiltey. John Stonard succeeded
his father, and died in 1579. The estate afterwards belonged to Clement Stonard,
and to Francis Stonard, &c. who died in 1604, leaving his son Clement his heir.
It afterwards belonged to Jonathan Boulter, and to James Roffey, esq. It is now
the property of John Jolliff Tufnall, esq.
Stansgate, a hamlet to this parish, is nearly on all sides surrounded by water.
Before the conquest it belonged to Siward, and, at the time of the survey, was
holden under Ralph Peverel, by Ralph Fitzbrien; who, about the year 1110, founded
a priory at Great Brisete, in Suffolk, and made the church of Stansgate, with a third
of the tithes of his lordship, and some lands, part of its endowment.f
A priory for monks of the Cluniac order was founded here some time before the
year 1 176. It was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen ; and a cell to the priory of
Lewes.:}: Besides other possessions, it had the manor of Stansgate, the priory manor
of Stansgate, a water-mill, and several messuages, lands, and tenements, in Stansgate
Stansgate.
Priory.
* Newcourt, vol. ii. j). 539.
t This grant was confirmed by Richard de Belmeis bishop of London, and the deed particularly men-
tions, all the tithes both great and small, out of the whole demesnes of the lord of Steeple, and out of
Henry Foliots ; and all the tithes of Ramsey island ; and out of Aylewelond, and Foteslond, and Rayle-
wayle's. But only half of the tithe of earl Maurice's and VVintun's lands, of the fee of Steeple : and the
like of all the lands of the parishioners of Steeple. Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 557.
I Monast. Angl. vol. i. p. 623,
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 679
and Steeple, and the tithes of Stansgate and Steeple.* After its dissolution, in c H a i'
1525, it was granted to Cardinal Wolsey; on whose fall, in 1529, passing to the ^^'"•
crown, it was granted, in 1536, except the living of the vicarage, to the hospital
of St. John of Jerusalem in England; and was conveyed, by sir Thomas, the prior?
in 1533, to Thomas and Richard Cocke ; and, in 1543, was granted by Henry the
eighth to Edward Mordaunt; who, in 1544, conveyed it to sir R,ichard Rich, lord
Rich, who died in 1566, and from whom it passed to his descendants, earls of
Warwick. This estate now belongs to Kenrick, esq.
The church of Steeple, dedicated to St. Laurence, is an old building of mean Cliuitii.
appearance ; and the only remains of the chapel or church of Stansgate are to be
found in the walls of a barn.
In 1821 the inhabitants of this parish amounted to five hundred and thirty-three;
decreased to four hundred and ninety-seven in 1831.
MAYLAND.
Meilanda is the name given to this parish in ancient records ; but it is not men- Mayianr!.
tioned in Domesday. It lies southward from Steeple ; distant six miles from Maldon,
and forty from London.
There are two manors.
The mansion of the capital manor is near the church on the south : this estate was Maylanrt
given to the monastery of St. Osyth (as is believed), by the founder, Richard "^''•
Belmeis, bishop of London. After the dissolution of monasteries, it was granted by
Henry the eighth, in 1525, to Cardinal Wolsey ; and, after his praemunire was by
the same monarch, conveyed to sir Richard Rich. In 1635 it belonged to Robert
Wiseman, esq.,and was afterwards given to St. Bartholomew's hospital, in London,
by the munificent Edward Colston, esq. ; together with the rectory and advowson of
the vicarage.
This manor, in 1344, was holden by Thomas Baynard, under John Gernou, and Knipslio
the widow, Joane Baynard, had it at the time of her death in 1349; John Baynard oJcHirci-
was their son and heir. It was holden of the king, as of his honour of Pevere),
by Bartholomew, lord Bourchier, who died in 1409, and his widow, Idonea,
died in 1410. Their only daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, was married, first, to sir
Hugh StaiFord, and afterwards to sir Lewis Robessart; and died in 1433. This
estate was holden by Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex, in 1483 ; and belonged to
* In the inquest taken at Chelmsford in 1525, the jury found that this priory had fifty messuages, one
thousand acres of arable, six hundred of pasture, two hundred of meadow, one hundred of wood, and
twenty shillings of rent in those parishes.
680
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK n. Anne, lady Bourchier, in 1570.* John Baker, esq., was the owner of this manor
in 1635.
Church. The church is a small building', pleasantly situated on an eminence ; it is dedicated
to St. Barnabas, and belonged, ^vith the manor, to the abbey of St. Osyth ; afterwards
it was g-iven to the church of St. Paul's, in London ; but by an exchang-e made by
Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London, in the time of Henry the second, it became again
part of St. Osyth's possessions.
The rectory, or great tithes, were then appropriated to that abbey, and a vicarage
ordained ; both of which continued in the abbey till the dissolution. St. Bartholo-
mew's hospital purchased them with the manor; and, in 1723, augmented the
vicarage with 100/., added to 100/. of Mr. Colston's benefactions, to which were
added 200/. of Queen Anne's bounty.f
In 1821 the population of this parish amounted to tAvo hundred and eighteen; and
in 1831 to two hundred and twenty-six.
ALTHORN.
Aithorn.
Manor of
Aithorn.
This parish extends from Mayland to Cricksea ; from east to west it is about three
miles, and from the steeple of the church the prospect is widely extended, including
Tiptree-heath, Danbury, Langdon hills, part of Kent, and the whole of Rochford
hundred. There is a fair on the 5th of June. Distant from Maldon five miles, and
from London forty.
In Domesday-book Aithorn formed two estates, named Altenai and Eltenai ; the
former holden by Lestan in the Saxon era, and which Ralph held under Suene at the
time of the survey. Eltenai, which had belonged to Ingelric, formed part of the
possessions of Eustace, earl of Boulogne, at the survey. These were afterwards
divided into three manors.
Aithorn hall is near the church, on the south, and the estate is what belonged to
Suene; in 1203 it was the subject of a suit at law between Eustace Fitz- Thomas
and William de Pontefract ; and it had become the property of the abbot and
convent of St. Osyth, sometime before the year 1303. This estate has long ceased
to be a manor, and the lands were divided into three portions, one of which went
* In the records, Richard Baynard, who died in 1473, is said to have holden lands here, supposed to
have been part of this estate, and the same was holden by Grace, his only daughter ; married, first to
Thomas Langley, and afterwards to Edward Daniel ; she died in 1508, and was succeeded by her son and
heir, John Daniel, esq., who, dying in ISfiG, was .succeeded by his son, Edmund Daniel, esq., who died in
1670, and left John, his son, his heir.
t John Gawden, or Gauden, successively bishop of Exeter and Worcester, was born in this parish in
1605, and died in 1662. He was the author of Icon Basilike, and of numerous publications, among which
were — Hieraspistes ; or a Defence of the Church of England. Ecclesia Anglicanae suspiria : the Tears,
Sighs, Complaints, and Prayers of the Church of England.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 681
with Mayland hall ; a second part belones to Southmmster; and a thh'd to the chap.
XV'lJl
manor of Cage, in the same parish. These two were part of the estate of Thomas L.
Brogrove, and of Berney Brog-rove, esqrs.
This manor was named from Edmund de Stoke, the owner .of it in the time of Stoke-
Edward the first. It is what belonged to Eustace, earl of Boulogne ; and became
the possession of Richard de Gravesend, who died in 1303 ; his son and heir was
also named Richard. In 1328, it belonged to Alphonsus de Vere, the younger son
of Robert, the sixth earl of Oxford; his son John was the seventh earl. In 1508
this manor belonged to Robert Darcy, esq., and to William Harrys, who died in
1556: successive owners of this family Avere Edward Harrys, esq., in 1574, sir
William Harrys, knt., in 1616, sir Arthur Harrys, knt., his son; and sir Cranmer,
the son of sir Arthur, in 1636.
This estate is supposed to have been also taken from the possessions of Eustace. Hayions.
There is only an imperfect account of it. In 1540 it belonged to Anthony Higham :
to Bartholomew Averell, who died in 1562, whose three daughters, Mary Sammes'
Grace, and Elizabeth, were his co-heiresses. The next recorded possessor was
Benjamin King, who died in 1628 ; succeeded by his son John King, on whose death,
in 1634, his cousin, Thomas King, esq., was his heir.
Althorn Barns is understood to have been a more modern name applied to this
manor : it was purchased by Mr. Thomson, merchant, who had three sons : Chris-
topher, of Halsted and Wetherstield, John, and Adam ; to the two youngest of these
he left this estate. The house is near the west end of the church.
Three- Ash-Cottage, near Mayland end, is the pleasant country residence of T. S. IJl'^iJ^-'^^'^'
Tatham, esq., of Bedford-place, London ; the farm belonging to it contains about
two hundred acres, which the proprietor has brought to a highly improved state, by
a superior mode of cultivation.
The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a small plain building. It belonged to Chmch.
the monastery of St. Osyth, and passed to various proprietors as the church of
Mayland did.*
In this parish, in 1821, there were three hundred and tifty-two inhabitants, and
it was found to contain precisely the same number in 1831.
CRICKSEY, OR CRICKSEA.
This small parish is on the northern border of the river Crouch, and being near the Cricksey.
creek of the sea, at the mouth of that river, it has been on that account named
Crouchsea, by Norden. It is written in records, Criccheseia, Cricksey, Crixsey,
• On a stone in the church, " Pray for the soule of WiUm. Hyklott, of Althorne, which paid for the Inscrip-
workmanship of the walls of this church, and the same Willni. dyed 16 Sept. 1508." On another btone,
" Of your charite pray for the soule of Margaret Hyklott, which deceased 27 Aug. 1502."
682 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Crixheth, Crixseth, Criksea, Crekeshuth, and Kryxhithe. Distant from Maldon
nine miles, and from London, forty-two.
Aluuard had this estate in the time of Edward the confessor, and it belonged to
Moduin at the time of the survey. There is only one manor.
Cricksea The manor-house is near the east end of the church. In 1320 John de Brianzon
held lands here, of John de Chanceux, and of William Senault; and in 1375, lord
Walter Fitz waiter held the manor of Cricksea of the king, which, on his decease, in
1386, descended to his son, Walter Fitzwalter, who died in 1407 or 1408. In 1498,
Thomasine Hopton held it of Thomas Darcy, esq., and Robert Darcy died possessed
of it in 1516. The Harrys or Harris family had a large brick mansion here, pleasantly
situated and enclosed in a park, well stored with timber. Some remains of the outer
court, and the site of the building, and of fish-ponds, are yet to be seen. The progenitor
of this family was William Harrys, of Prittlewell, who, by Anne Jernagan, had
Arthur Harrys, of Prittlewell, who married Joanna, daughter of Thomas Percy,
second son of Henry, earl of Northumberland, and had by her, William Harrys, of
Southminster, who held the manor of Cricksea of lord Rich, as of the honour of
Rayleigh, by the service of one knight's fee ; he had also many other estates. He
died in 1555. He married first, Joanna, daughter and co-heir of John Smyth, of
Norton ; secondly, he married Joanna, daughter of Cooke, of Bocking ; and his
third wife was Anne Rutter. By his first wife he had William, his heir, and Vincent,
of Maldon. By the second he had Arthur Harrys, of Woodham Mortimer and
Cricksea. William, the eldest son, besides the Great-house, and the estate in Prittle-
well, had part of this estate, and various other possessions. Arthur Harrys, esq., of
Woodham Mortimer and Cricksea, had this manor, with the advowson of the church.
He married Dorothy, daughter of sir William Waldegrave, of Smallbridge, and
dying in 1597, was succeeded by his son, sir William Harrys, on whose death, in
1616, he left, by Alice his wife, daughter of Thomas Smyth, of Westhanger, in
Kent, John, his son and heir, and four daughters. John Harrys, esq., had Arthur,
of Cricksea, William, of Lincoln's inn, Thomas, and Alice, married to sir Henry
Mildmay, of Graces. Sir Arthur married, first, Anne, daughter and heiress of
Robert Cranmer, of Charsted, in Kent ; secondly, he married Anne, only daughter
of sir Nicholas Salter, of Enfield, in Middlesex, widow of sir Henry Bowyer, knt., of
Denhara. By the second he had Salter Harrys, father of Edward, of Southminster ;
and by the first he had Cranmer and John. He died in 1632, and was succeeded by
his son, sir Cranmer Harrys, knt., who by his wife, Martha, daughter and co-heiress
of Daniel Holford, esq., of West Thurrock, had two daughters, Anne and Mary.*
Afterwards this estate was purchased by Thomas Western, esq., of Rivenhalk It
now belongs to lady St. John Mildmay,
* Anns of Harrys : — Or, on a bend engrailed, azure three cinquefoils argent.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 683
The church, a plain building-, is dedicated to All Saints. CHAP.
The population of this parish amounted to one hundred and fifty-two, in 1821 ; ^^'"'
and in 1831, to one hundred and fifty-four. Church.
BURNHAM. *
This parish occupies the south-eastern extremity of the hundred, where the river Buinham
Crouch discharges itself into the sea. The town consists principally of one good
street, extending to the river, and there is a commodious quay. It had the grant of a
market in the year 134-8, to be holden on Tuesdays, and of a yearly fair in September;
there are now two fairs yearly, on the 25th of April and the 4th of September.
There is a very productive oyster fishery here ; and a ferry conveys passengers and
carriages to Foulness island. Distant from Maldon twelve miles, and from London
forty-eight.*
Aluuart, a freeman, had the lands of this parish before the conquest, and at the
survey they formed part of the possessions of Ralph Baynard ; who had with this
estate other lands which had belonged to ten freemen. There are now two
manors.
The mansion of Burnham manor is a short distance northward from the church. Bumham
Robert, son of Richard Fitzgilbert, succeeded Ralph Baynard in the possession of
this estate, which, in 1285, belonged to Robert Fitzwalter ; and to Walter Fitz-
walter in 1386 ; in 1465, Elizabeth, widow of sir Walter Fitzwalter, died in
possession of it; whose second daughter and co-heiress, Anne, conveyed it to her
husband, Thomas RadclifFe, esq., from whom it passed to his descendants, viscounts
Fitzwalter and earls of Sussex. Frances, daughter of Henry earl of Sussex, marry-
ing sir Thomas Mildmay, knt, of Moulsham hall, it passed in her right, after the
death of Robert Radcliffe, earl of Sussex, in 1629, to sir Henry Mildmay; succeeded
by Benjamin and Charles, barons Fitzwalter, and to Benjamin, created viscount
Harwich and earl Fitzwalter ; and he dying without issue, in 1756, left this, among
his other considerable estates, to his kinsman, William Mildmay, esq., afterwards sir
William Mildmay, hart., of Moulsham hall. Mangax, or Mangapp, is the house
where the court is called, from whence they adjourn to Burnham hall. In the court-
rolls the estate is called Burnham with Mangapp, and Burnham Canons. The
* Much of the soil in the upland part of Burnham parisli is a lightish loam, (jn a gravel bottom ; and
under the gravel an iron rag, and plum-pudding stone ; some are fifteen inches square, and break with
wet into powder; and under that quick-sands, in which are springs, which blow up, and do much
mischief; these are cured by draining : but between the high land and the river Crouch, by the marshes,
a light soil occurs, much of it suitable for turnips. A portion of it is wet, but improves as we advance
toward the ocean, and is best of all at the farm on the south-east point, at the mouth of the river. — Young.
Hall.
684
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Kast and
West
Wicks.
Warners.
BOOK II. royalty of the river, eighteen miles in length, and one mile over, belongs to this
lordship. The present owner is lady St. John Mildmay.
The estates named Eastwick and Westwick, were named manors, and belonged to
the priory of Dunmow, undoubtedly given to that house by the foundress, Juga
Baynard, or by some of the Fitzwalter family. They are supposed to be what in
Domesday is named Weneswic, and belonged to Geofrey de Magnaville ; they are
sometimes, in records, called half a fee, and sometimes a fee and three quarters.
After the dissolution in 1543, these estates were granted to sir Richard Rich, who
died in 1566, and they belonged to his grandson, Robert, earl of Warwick, who died
in 1618; and after the death of Charles, earl of Warwick, in 1673, they passed to
Robert, earl of Manchester, one of his co-heirs; of whose son Charles, the next earl,
they were purchased by Benjamin, lord Fitzwalter. These estates now belong to
lady Mildmay.
Warners, or Holywell, is also a manor; the court holden under a tree. It was
styled Holy well-marsh, and Twysle worth-marsh, in Burnham; it amounts to six
hundred acres, and was granted to lord Rich in 1593,* and it now belongs to the
right hon. W. P. T. L. Wellesley.
The church, dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mary, has a nave, north and south
aisles, and chancel. It had formerly the loftiest tower of any church in this hundred,
and was used as a sea-mark, but was blown down in the great wind ; it has since
been rebuilt. There is a handsome altar-piece, with a picture of the Last Supper ;
and the carved work of the pulpit and the font are well executed.f
This church was given by Walter Fitz-Robert, son of Richard Fitz- Richard, and
grandson of Richard Fitz-Gilbert, to the priory of Dunmow. A vicarage was
erected before the year 1243, for in that year its rights were confirmed by the dean
and chapter of St. Paul's.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to one thousand and seventy-one,
and in 1831, to one thousand three hundred and ninety-three.
Churcli
South-
minster.
SOUTHMINSTER.
This parish extends north from Burnham, and its situation south from Tillingham
and Dengey is supposed to have been the occasion of its name, which in records is
Sudmanstra, and Sudmynstre. The town forms two small streets; and it has three
* Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 113.
Charities. f Among tlie charities belonging to this parish is,— A field named Hide Croft, left for some unknown
charitable or religious use.
A farm of considerable value belongs to a free school in Kent.
Daniel Williams, founder of the library in Redcross-street, London, in 1711, gave, by will, all his
houses in Burnham to the Presbyterian meeting-house.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY
685
fairs — three days before Easter, nine days before Whit-siinday, and the 29th of c H \ P
September. Distant from Maldon ten miles, and from London forty-seven>* xviii.
The lands of this parish belonged to the bishop of London in the time of the
Saxons; and part of it Avas holden under him by fifteen freemen. Canute took
possession of it, but king William gave it again to William the bishop, after the
conquest. There are two manors.
The mansion of the capital manor is near the church, on the west :f the lordship South-
continued in the see of London till the year 1550, when it was conveyed by Dr. u.'?i^^^'
Nicholas Ridley to king Edward the sixth, who, the same year, granted it, with
Lullingtons and Writtells, to Thomas, lord Darcy, and it passed to his son and
grandson, both lords Darcy, and named Thomas, of whom the latter sold this estate
to Thomas Sutton, esq., who settled it upon his rich and useful foundation of the
Charter-house.:|:
The mansion of the manor of Cage is a mile west from the church, and is under- Cage Ma-
stood to be the land held of the bishop by fifteen freemen. It belonged to Robert "^''
Fitz waiter, who died in 1328, and was retained by his descendants till it was con-
veyed to Roger Darcy, esq., who died in 1508, and left his son Thomas his heir.
William Harrys, who died in 1556 was the next possessor of this manor, and it
remained in his family till the death of sir Francis Harrys, who left only a daughter,
married to Laurence, M. D.
Sir John Leman, knt., born at Sallingham, in Norfolk, and lord mayor of London
in 1616, was the next possessor of this estate; on whose death, in 1632, he was suc-
ceeded by his cousin and next heir, William Leman ;§ and in 1635, Mrs. Mary
Leman, daughter of Mr. Robert Leman, citizen of London, was lady of this manor,
and about the close of the sixteenth century it belonged to Thomas Renda, esq., of
Wallingford castle ; it passed in marriage, with his only daughter, to Richard Bigge,
esq., of Bear-court, in Pangborn, in Berkshire, who left it to his only daughter,
married to John Cottingham, esq., of Wallingford, who died in 1745. The estate
was afterwards sold to Mr. Robert Johnson, cornfactor, of London, who, dying in
1749, left it to his son, John Johnson, esq.
The Ray, a messuage and marsh in this parish, belonging to St. Osyth, or some llip Hay.
other religious house, was granted by Henry the eighth to Thomas, lord Cromwell,
in 1539; and in 1540 was by the same monarch assigned to his forsaken queen,
Anne of Cleves.
* Average annual produce per acre, wheat twenty-six, barley forty-eight,
t On the east end of a barn, formerly a chapel, in the hall-yard, a stone bears a Latin inscription, of
which the following is a translation : — " In the year of the incarnation, 1573, this chapel was built in
memory of the blessed Virgin Mary."
I Heme's History of the Charterhouse, p. 193.
§ Stow's and Strype's Survey of London, ed. 1790, b. ii. p. 187; and b. v. p. 141.
VOL. II. 4 T
686 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II, The church is a large and handsome building, dedicated to St. Leonard ; the
Church, chancel of more modern erection, and in the tower five bells.*
Richard de Belmeis, bishop of London, gave this church to the abbey of St. Osyth ;
and it was afterwards, in 1151, taken from that appropriation, and given to the
treasurer of St. Paul's cathedral,f but Gilbert Foliot, bishop of London, transferred it
again to the abbey ; and a vicarge was ordained and endowed by William Sancta
Maria, in 1219, the advowson of which, with the rectory, continued in the convent
till the dissolution. The advowson of the vicarage was granted, with the rectory, to
sir Richard Rich, whose son conveyed them to Edward Heron, esq., and Francis
Albany, from whom, passing to Thomas Sutton, esq., he settled them, with the lord-
ship, on the Charterhouse.
In 1821, there were one thousand four hundred and forty-five; and in 1831, only
one thousand four hundred and twenty-two inhabitants.
ASHELDHAM.
Asheid- The name of Acleta, in Domesday-book, is understood to have been applied to this
parish; in other records it is named Asseldham, Ashelden, Ashdon, Ashildham,
Axildeham, Esseldesham. It lies between Southminster and Dengey, extending
to the sea-shore. This small parish is not two miles across in any direction.
Distance from Maldon nine miles, and forty-six from London.
Before the conquest the owner of these lands was named Modinc, and at the
survey they belonged to Eudo Dapifer, whose undertenant was named Richard.
There are three manors.
Ashekl- The mansion of this manor is near the church, on the south-east; the estate
a . |3giQjjgg([ ^Q William de Horkesleigh, who died in 1332, whose heir was John de
Roos, his nephew, grandson of Robert de Roos, and Alesia, daughter and heiress of
sir Robert Asheldham. Sir John de Roos died in 1373, and the lady Alesia in 1375.
Their son John died before them, but they had also a daughter named Elene, who
became heir to her nephew ; and being married to sir Geofrey de Brockhole, con-
veyed to him this estate. She died in 1419, leaving her daughters Joane and Margery
her co-heiresses ; but the estate had previously become the property of Bartholomew,
lord Bourchier, who died possessed of it in 1409, and it was retained by his descend-
ants till, on the forfeiture of Henry, the last earl, it passed to the crown, and was
Charities. » piumborough-marsh forms part of the endowment of the Free-school at Chelmsford.
Mr. Knevvstub, rector of Cockfield, in Suffolk, some time Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, gave
an annuity of eleven pounds out of lands called Squire's lands in Southminster and Steeple, twenty
•^hillin^'s to the college, and ten pounds towards the exhibition of two poor scholars.
t Dugdalc's History of St Paul's, p. 10.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 687
afterwards, in 1571, granted by queen Elizabeth, to Walter Devereux, viscount chap.
Hereford, heir-at-law to Anne, marchioness of Northampton. In 1635, Hester •^^"'
Conham, widow, was lady of this manor. It belonged to Mr. James Marrener, who
died in 1746, who, before his death, sold it to George Wegg, esq., of Colchester.
This, and the other estates of this parish, now belong to lord Petre and others.
The name of Newhall, and also of Brockhole's, has been given to this estate. The Newhaii.
house is near the church, on the east. This, with the manor of Asheldham hall,
descended from Geofrey de Brockhole to his daughters Joane and Margery. Joane
had three husbands, Philip Kedington, Thomas Aspall, and Robert Armburgh, but
had no issue by any of them : she died in 1443, possessed of this manor. Margery
was married to John Sumpter, of Colchester, and had by him her son and heir, John,
who died many years before his aunt Joane, leaving his daughters, Cristina and Ellen,
his co-heiresses.
The next possessor of this estate was sir Ralph Warren, lord mayor of London in
1536. He was the grandson of William Warren, of Peering, and had two wives.
Christian and Joane.* On his death he was succeeded by his son, Richard W^arren,
who, dying in 1597, Oliver Cromwell, esq., the son of his sister Joanna, succeeded to
this estate, and sold it in 1598, with Great Easton, to Henry Maynard, esq. (after-
wards sir Henry); and in 1621, Susannah, lady Maynard, and her son, William, lord
Maynard, conveyed it to sir Henry Mildmay, of Graces ; and he, by will, dated May
8, 1639, gave this manor to his son, Henry Mildmay, esq., who built a good house
here, in which he resided; he died in 1692, leaving this estate to Frances, the third
of his four daughters, co-heiresses. She was married to Christopher Fowler, who
sold it in 1705, and it passed, as the other manor, to George Wegg, esq., and to
lord Petre.
This is supposed to have been derived from the other manor, on the division of the Bodenyk^
Brockhole estates between the heiresses. In 1537 it belonged to sir Thomas
Bedingfield, whose son and heir was Thomas Bedingfield, clerk. It was afterwards
conveyed to Roger Higham, esq., who, dyhig in 1557, left his son William his heir.
In 1635 it belonged to sir Peter Vanlore and others ; and now belongs to St. Bar-
tholomew's Hospital, London.
The church is a plain building, with a square tower, the nave and chancel of one ciuucli.
pace ; it is dedicated to St. Laurence, and was given by Robert, son of Godebold, to
the priory of Little Horksley,f to which the great tithes were appropriated, and a
vicarage ordained, of which the bishop of London reserved the collation to himself,
and which his successors have retained to the present time.
* Stow and Strype's Survey of London, ed. 1720, b. iii. p. 28; and b. v. p. 131.
+ Monast. Angl. vol. iii, p. 30.
688 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. In 1821, there were one hundred and fifty-six inhabitants; but only one hundred
and forty-four in 1831.
Dengey.
Dengey
Hall.
DENGEY.
This parish is on the sea-coast, between TilUngham and Southminster, occupying a
portion of marsh ground, which forms a square of two miles. The name is from the
Saxon Danesig, or Dane's island, having- formerly been a landing-place, or strong
hold of those people, in their plundering expeditions. It is eight miles from Maldon,
and forty-tive from London.
Siric was the owner of this estate in the time of Edward the Confessor, and at
the survey it belonged to Odo, bishop of Bayeux ; and other lands here belonged to
the abbey of St. Valery, in Picardy. There are two manors.
Deup-ey hall is near the west end of the church. It is not known to whom, or at
what time after Odo's forfeiture, this estate was granted from the crown, but in the
time of Henry the second, Roger de Cramavill was in possession of it; and Henry de
Cramavill, probably his son, had this lordship in 1284, and died in 1298, leaving his
sister, Ela, his heiress; but Joanna, his widow, held a third part of it in dower, till
her decease in 1314. John de la Mare is supposed to have married Ela, and to have
had this estate, but the account is rather confused. Florence, wife of Philip de
Oreby, appears to have been their daughter, and had this manor at the time of her
death in 1324 ; her daughter Florence, wife of De Oreby, was her next heir. She
was afterwards remarried to Nicholas Fraunceys, and had this manor till her decease
in 1344 : sir John de Oreby, her son by her first husband, was her heir, who, dying
in 1353, left John, who died young, and Joanna, married to Henry de Percy, senior,
by whom she had Mary, married to sir John de Roos, of Hamlake ; and on her death
without issue, in 1394, this estate passed by heirship to John de la Mare, citizen of
London, descended from William, brother of John de la Mare, above mentioned.
But on the rebellion of the Percies, in 1403, tlie crown seized this estate, which
belonged to John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford, third son of Henry the fourth,
which is stated to have been granted to him by his father, and to have been lands
forfeited by Henry de Percy for rebellion : the said John died in 1435. By the
presentations to the living it appears to have belonged to the Woodville family,
from 1445 to 1459, and was in the possession of sir Geofrey Gate, who died in 1477,
whose son William was his heir ; he was the father of sir Geofrey Gate who also had
this estate. It is not known how it passed again to the crown; but Henry the
seventh founding the hospital of the Savoy, in the Strand, in London, endowed it
with this manor and the advowson of the church, and the masters and chaplains of
the hospital presented to the living from 1504 to 1535.
The hospital was suppressed in 1551, by Edward the sixth, who granted this
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 689
manor, with other lordships in this county, first, to the dean and chapter of St. c H A P.
Paul's, and afterwards, in 1553, to the mayor and commonalty of Loudon. Queen
Mary restored it to the Savoy hospital in 1556; but on its being a second time
suppressed, this estate passed to the crown, and was granted by queen Elizabeth, in
1560, to Thomas Fanshaw, esq., who afterwards purchased the manor of Barking,
and other estates in Essex ; his immediate successors were the right hon. Thomas
and Charles, viscounts Fanshaw, &c. This estate belongs now to their descendant,
Captain Henry Fanshaw.*
The manor house of Bacons is half a mile north from the church. This estate is Barons.
what anciently belonged to the abbey of St. Valery, in Picardy, of Avhich it was
holden in 1282 by Gilbert Bacon, from whom its name has been derived : in that
year he had a license from Henry de Cramavill, lord of the capital manor and patron
of the church, to build a free-chapel here. Dunefrid, son of Gilbert Bacon, in 1302,
granted this manor, with the advowson or portion of tithes belonging to it, to Ralph
Bygood; and in 1378, Henry Folvill released the said manor, and the advowson of a
certain chantry there, to Walter Bygood who, with Isabel, his wife, held the same
of the abbot of Bileigh : he died in 1398. William was his son and heir, but is no
further named in the record. Isabel, his father's widow, was remarried to John
Doreward, who kept a court here in 1399. The said Isabel died in 1417, and her
heiresses were her daughter, Catharine, Avife of Robert Hunt, and Isabella, daughter
of another of her daughters named Margaret. Isabella was married to Thomas
Darell, or Dayrell, gent.
In 1465, Simon Harvey kept his first court here, as did Isabel, his widow, in 1473;
and in 1481, Richard Baxter enfeoffed Isabel Harvey, and others, in a moiety of
this manor, with the advowson of the chapel or chantry, Isabel was remarried to
Thomas Daniel, and died in 1489, and Thomas, her son and heir, died in 1491, and
was succeeded by his son of the same name, on whose decease, in 1498, he left by his
wife. Christian, his two daughters, Beatrix and Anastatia. Christian, the mother,
was remarried to Roger Bottyll, esq., who kept a court here in 1500. The said
Christian died in 1508. The two daughters were in the guardianship of Thomas
Jermyn, esq., of Rushbrook, whose son Robert married Beatrix ; and Anastatia
was married to his brother, Francis, but neither of them had any issue ; yet the
estate continued in the Jermyn family, till it was sold, in 1605, by Ambrose Jermyn,
to sir Thomas and sir Henry Mildmay, knts., in whose family it continued till it
passed by female heirship to Christopher Fowler, who, in 1705, conveyed it to John
Walter; from whom, in 1707, it passed to Thomas Fullerton, esq., and became the
* An annuity of twenty pounds is paid to the Savoy, in I.ondon, out of this estate. Newcourt,
vol. ii. p 212.
690 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK li. property of Mr. George Wegg, and of his son of the same name. It now belongs
to lord Petre and others.
Church. The church is dedicated to St. James, and is a plain building, tiled.
This parish, in 1821, contained two hundred and thirty-four inhabitants; and two
hundred and forty-nine in 1831.
Tillin?-
hani.
Tillins;-
ham Hall.
Pakkaids.
Peiie.
TUliiig-
haiu
Grange.
Reculver-
land and
Wildland.
Church.
TILLINGHAM.
From Dengey this parish extends to Brad well, and the ground rising from the
marshes is considerably elevated where the village and the church are situated. It is
distinguished by the goodness of the roads, and a supply of spring water superior in
quality to what is generally found in this part of the country. It is two miles in
length from east to west, and one mile in breadth. Distant ten miles from Maldon,
and from London forty-seven. There are fairs here on Whitsun-Tuesday and on the
16th of September.*
Ethelbert, king of Kent, gave the lands of this parish to the church of St. Paul's,
in London, of which he was the founder ;f at the survey it had retained this posses-
sion, and has continued to hold it to the present time. Tillingham hall is near the
church on the north.
Pakkards is a manor, of which the mansion is in this parish, but the greater part of
the lands in Bradwell. In 1493, William Felton died, holding this estate of the manor
of East hall, in Bradwell: his successors were his son Edmund in 1519; and his
grandson of the same name, who died in 15T0, who left Thomas his son his heir.
A tenement named Perie, and sometimes styled a manor, was holden in 1426, of
the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, by William Haningfield. It was afterwards in
possession of the Felton family, and of sir Arthur, and Cranmer Harris.
Tillingham Grange is two miles south-east from the church, in the marshes.
Thomas Cowstone, burnt for being a protestant, had this estate in 1553, and had
with it an estate named Mowick, supposed to be what is named Midlins. These
afterwards belonged to the Fanshaw family, and to Mr. HoUingsworth.
The corps of the prebends of Reculverland and Wildland are in this parish; the
first a quarter of a mile, the other half a mile from the church. They have a court-
leet and court-baron. The corps of Edland was also in this parish.
The church is on a high ground, and dedicated to St. Nicholas. Formerly it had a
south aisle, which being in a state of decay, was pulled down, and the church put in a
state of complete repair, at the expense of the parish, in 1708 : it is handsomely
* Average annual produce per acre, wheat twenty-six bushels ; barley forty-eight.
t Dugdale's History of St. Paul's.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 691
pewed, with a gallery at the west end. The walls of the ancient building are of C H A p.
extraordinary thickness, and a strong toAver of stone contains five bells.* _J '_
The rectorial, or great tithes, are appropriated to the dean and chapter of St.
Paul's, who are ordinaries of this place, and patrons of the vicarage.
Dr. William Clarke, dean of Winchester, and vicar of Stepney, having a lease of
Tillingham hall, with the demesne lands and great tithes of the marshes of Hellwick,
Middle wick, and Weather wick, by his will, dated 1679, devised the clear profits of
that estate, for augmenting ten small vicarages, or other ecclesiastical benefices, with
cure, to pay to the incumbents of each of them thirty pounds a year, and the
augmentations to be in such parishes where the impropriations are in the hands of
laymen, and if it may be, in market towns and populous parishes. The benefices he
himself named were, the vicarage of Buckingham, the rectory of the abbey-church of
St. Albans, some convenient church to Maldon, and Stony- Stratford, in Bucking-
hamshire. Dedham and Hatfield Regis, and some other churches, have been since
added by the trustees.
Sir William Mouduit, for himself and Amabil his wife, and for his heirs and the
souls of all his ancestors, gave four acres of land in Westfield, in this parish, to the
church of St. Paul ; and Geofrey de Luci, then dean, and the chapter granted him
leave, considering the difficulty of access to the parish church in the winter time,
to build a chapel in his court of Culvershyde for his own use, under such conditions
as private chapels are usually built.f
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to nine hundred and forty-six; and
to nine hundred and seventy in 1831.
ST. LAURENCE, OR LAWRENCE.
The name of this parish in Domesday is Newland, which, after the dedication of St. Lau-
the church, took the name of its patron saint. It has Tillingham on the east, and the
bay of Blackwater northward. It is eight miles from Maldon, and from London
forty-five.J
West Newland belonged to the priory of the Holy Trinity, or Christ Church, in
Canterbury, both before and after the conquest. East Newland belonged to Ingwar
in the reign of Edward the confessor, and at the survey was holden by Ralph,
brother of Ilger. There are three manors.
* In the south aisle of the chancel are four niches ; in one of which a brass-plate bears an inscription Inscrip-
to inform us that Edward Wyatt, esq. lies here, who died in July 1584. His effigy is in a devotional
posture, with a book before him, and the words, " 0 God, my God."
t Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 599.
X The land on the hills in the vicinity of St. Laurence (observes Mr. Young) is strong and tenacious,
on a stiff clay. Average annual produce per acre, wheat twenty-four, barley thirty-two bushels.
lence .s
Hali.
692 HISTORY OF ESSEX. |
BOOK II. The manor-house of St. Laurence is near the church on the south. The first
j^t. Lau- recorded holder of this manor was Rog-er Baynard, who died in 1295, leaving his
nephew, Thomas Baynard, his heir. Joane, his widow, had the reversion of it,
holden by knights' service, of John Fitzwalter ; and it was enjoyed by Roger
Baynard, and Alice his sister, during their lives. It belonged to sir John Shaa, lord
mayor of London in 1.501, who dying the following year, left Edmund or Edward
his son his successor, on whose decease, in 1532, Alice, his only daughter, was his
heiress. The estate afterwards belonged to Richard Weston, one of the justices of
the king's bench, who died in 15T2 : sir Jerom Weston was his son and heir, who
died in 1603. It belonged successively to sir Robert Clarke, in 1606, and to Robert
his son: to sir John Leman, in 1632, and to William his son and heir. In 1745 it
belonged to Theodosius Joseph Mason, esq.
WestXew- This manor formed part of the possessions of the priory of Holy Trinity in Can-
terbury, in the time of the Confessor, and at the survey. In 1276 it was holden of
the priory by Robert Ledett, who, dying in that year, left it to his son Richard.
Passing afterwards to the crown, king Edward the third settled it on his female
favourite, Alice Ferrers, who had this possession in 1377. Sir William de Wynde-
sore, having married Alice Ferrers,* had this estate, which, in 1508, belonged to
Robert Rochester, succeeded by his son and heir, William Rochester, on whose
death, in 1558, John his son was his heir. William Austen, esq., Avho died in
1633, held this manor of Robert, earl of Warwick, and in 1744 it belonged to the
rev. Benjamin Slocock.
KastXew- This estate belonged to Inguuar in the reign of Edward the confessor, and at the
'""'^' survey to Ranulf, brother of Ilger, whose undertenant was named William. Belong-
ing afterwards to St. John's abbey, in Colchester, it was given, on the dissolution, to
Thomas, lord Cromwell; from whom, passing again to the crown, it was granted,
in 1541, to George Cely, avIio, the same year, conveyed it to John Coker, who,
dying in 1551, left his brother Robert his heir. Ralph Browninge had this estate at
the time of his decease in 1608, and was succeeded by Richard Browninge, his
brother. In 1745 it belonged to Anthony, dean of Harwich, who, in 1750, sold it to
Arthur Dabbs, gent., of Hatfield Peverill, who died in 1751, having bequeathed this
estate to Samuel Trew, gent.
Church. The church is a plain, ancient building, on a hill ; it is dedicated to St. Laurence.
This church was given to the abbey of Bileigh by Robert Mantel, the founder of that
monastery, and that appropriation was confirmed by Richard the first, in 1189.f
The monks, taking the rectorial tithes, ordained a vicarage; but in 1438 the
appropriation was dissolved, and the church again made a rectory, of which the
* Sit William Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 510. f Monastic. Anglic, vol. ii. p. 626.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 693
advowson remained in tlie abbot and convent till their dissolution ; and has remained CHAP
in the crown to the present time. XMil.
This parish in 1821 contained two hundred and twenty-nine inhabitants, and only
one hundred and eighty-two in 1831.
BRADWELL.
The north-eastern extremity of the hundred is occupied by this parish, which Biadwdi.
extends eastward to the German Ocean, and northward to Blackwater-bay, the
Fluvius Idumanius of the Romans. The appellation of Juxta Mare has been added
to the name of this place, to distinguish it from Bradwell, near Coggeshall. It is
four miles in length from north to south, and three in breadth from east to west.
There is a fair on the twenty-fourth of June. From Maldon it is distant eleven
miles, and from London forty-eight.*
The name given to this parish in the record of Domesday, is Eifecestre, formed,
as is supposed, from eth or effe, a contraction of the word othona, with the addition
of cestre, by the Saxons generally affixed to names of places where there had been
Roman castra, camps, or stations ; and most of the ancient historians are of opinion
that Othona was situated here. Mr. Camden observes, " Higher up than Tilling-
ham, towards the northern shore, stood once a flourishing city, called by our
ancestors, Ithancester ;" for thus Bede, and Ralph Niger, monk of Coggeshall, tell
us ; " Cedd built churches in several places, ordaining priests and deacons to assist
him in the word of faith, and ministry of baptizing ; especially in the city which, in
the language of the Saxons, is called Ithancester ;f which stood upon the bank of the
river Pant, that runs near Maldon, in the province of Dengey ; but that city hath
since been swallowed up in the river Pant. I cannot," adds Mr. Camden, " exactly
point out the place ; but that the river Froshwell was heretofore called Pant, I am
pretty confident, because one of its springs still keeps the name of Pants well ; and
the Monk of Coggeshall, speaking of it, uses the same appellation. Some think this
Ithancester to have been seated in the utmost point of Dengey hundred, Avhere stands
at present St. Peter's on the wall. I am inclined to believe that this Ithancester was
the same as Othona, the station of the band of the Fortenses, with their provost, in
* The soil is highly productive ; the best vein in the parish extends from the church to St. Peter' s
ehapel, being a deep, friable, mellow mould. The small field between the chapel and the sea, resembles a
black garden mould, of unbounded fertility. These rich lands formed a theatre worthy of the efforts of
the most distinguished cultivator in Essex, the rev. Henry Bate Dudley, whose agriculture and improve-
ments embraced every object that an ardent mind could speculate on, and great skill conduct to a
successful result. His exertions in building, draining, embanking, road-making, manuring, &c. were in
a superior style, and became an example that will not soon be forgotten. — See Young's Agriculture of
Essex.
t Bede, Eccl. Hist. b. iii. ch. 22.
VOL. II. 4 u
694 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. the declension of the Roman empire; who were placed here under the count of the
Saxon shore, to secure the coast against the pirating- Saxons. For Othona might
very easily pass into Ithana; and the station in a creek at the mouth of several rivers,
was very convenient for such a design."* We are informed hy Philemon Holland
that there was formerly the remnant of a huge ruin here, near which numerous
Roman coins were found.
On the well-grounded presumption that this is the district named Effecester, in
Domesday, it is further to be remarked, that it belonged to Turchill and Ingulf, two
freemen, in the time of Edward the Confessor ; and at the survey the abbey of St.
Valery, in Picardy, had one part ; and Hugh de Montfort, and his under tenant,
Ulmar, the other. There are four manors.
Bradwell The mansion of this manor is near the brook of Tillingham, a mile and half south-
Hall. ^^gg|. fi-Qi^ ti^e church. The lands which belonged to Hugh de Montfort form this
manor; which, afterwards passing to the crown, was granted by king Henry the
second, to his brother William, who gave it to Thomas Bardolf, to hold by the
service of one knight's fee; and he gave three parts of it with his three daiighters;
married to Robert de St. Renny ; William Bacon ; and Baldwin de Thony. When
Philip, king of France, wrested Normandy out of the possession of king John, he
seized the lands of the Normans, among which were the two portions belonging to
Robert de St. Renny and William Bacon, which the king gave to Thomas Fitz-
Barnard ; but the fourth part of this lordship, with the advowson of the church, was
left by Thomas Bardolf to his son, Doun Bardolf, who married Beatrice, daughter
and heiress of William Warren, Baron of Wormgay, in Norfolk, with whom that
lordship came to him. The family of Bardolf retained this possession till 1403,
when Thomas lord Bardolf, joining in a conspiracy against Henry the fourth, was in
an engagement at Hazelwood, in Yorkshire, and died of his wounds : f his lands
were therefore confiscated. He left two daughters ; Anne, married to Sir William
Clifford ; and Joane, the wife of William Phelip, esq. In 1404 this estate was given
by Henry the fourth, to his third son, John, duke of Bedford, who dying without
issue, it passed again to the crown, and in 1485 was given, by Henry the seventh, to
Elizabeth, queen dowager of Edward the fourth; and it was afterwards leased out to
William Wyatt, for forty years. In 1539, king Henry the eighth gave it, with
other estates, to his cast off queen, Anne of Cleves; and in 1588, queen Mary
annexed it to the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1604 it was granted, by king James the
first, to Walter Mildmay ; and he sold it to Thomas White, D.D., who kept his first
court here in 1609.
* Camden's Britannia, in Essex; and Holland's Additions to Camden,
t For an account of this family see Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. CSl, &c.
HUNDRED OF DENGEY. 695
This was formerly a distinct estate, but now forms part of the manor of Brad- c h a p.
well. In 1286, William de Montchensi held the manor of Pilton of Henry de •^^'"'-
Cram'aville. John de la Mare also held lands in Pilton, in Bradwell; and Elianor, his Pilton-
widow, and Florence, their daughter, held the same : this Florence was married first
to Philip de Orreby, and afterwards to Nicholas Fraunceys. Sir John de Orreby,
son of Philip and Florence, had this estate, which afterwards, with Bradwell and
other manors, belonged to Alice Perrers. Afterwards the manors of Pilton-fee and
Bradwell-hall went together. The steward goes to Bradwell-street, named Pilton-
fee, and calls the court there, and then adjourns it to Bradwell-hall. It belongs to
Sion college, London.
Emeric Battaile, who died in 1252, held this manor of the king; and it has re- Battaiis.
ceived its name from him. Saer Battaile was his son and heir, and died in 1292 ;
Edmund was his son; but in 1298, Anne, daughter and co-heir of sir Richard
Battaile, and wife of Peter de Taleworthe, had this estate in purparty. Edmund
died in 1333. In 1540, Anthony Higham, esq., died, holding this manor, and
leaving Robert, his son, his heir. In 1581, Stephen Brooke died in possession of
this estate, and left Sarah and Elizabeth, his daughters, his co-heiresses. Henry
Carter, the next recorded owner, died in 1629 ; Henry was his son and heir. In
1772, Theodosius Joseph Mason, esq., was the owner of this estate.
The manor-house of Dounhall is half a mile north from the church. Modinc Douuhall.
and three freemen were owners of this estate before the Conquest ; and at the
survey it belonged to Eudo Dapifer, whose under-tenant was Richard ; and to Ralph
Peverell.
Henry de Tipetot is recorded to have held lands here, by the service of carrying a
lance in the king's army. John de la Dune took his name from this place, and held
the manor by the serjeancy of carrying a sword in the king's army. Successive
owners of this estate, belonging to this family, were Thomas, in 1284; Margaret at
Donne, his daughter, who died in 1343, and was succeeded by her daughter Joane,
wife of John de Cock; Edward de Donne, who held this estate in fee-tail; and
Robert de la Donne, who died in 1502; William was his son and heir: the estate in
that year was conveyed to John Rainesford, from whom it passed to Thomas
Christmas, and it was sold by him to George Christmas, in 1551, and in 1565 he
died possessed of it. John was his son and heir ; and in 1580, sold Dounhall to
Walter Mildmay, esq., and he, in 1584, conveyed it to Thomas (afterwards sir
Thomas) Mildmay, of Springfield Barnes, who, dying in 1612, was succeeded by
William Mildmay, esq., his grandson. It afterwards belonged to Richard Everard,
of Great Badow, and he left it to Richard Merkes, esq., of Springfield, who sold it
to Michael Herde, of this parish, of whom it was purchased by Benjamin Hoare, esq.,
who again sold it to Clarke, esq. It now belongs to Thomas T. Clarke, esq.
696 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
iiOOK 11. The manor-house of East-hall is a mile north-east from the church. This estate
East Hall, belongs to New College, Oxford.
Brocksey This estate was formerly named Brocksey Park, or Marsh ; it is three miles from
Brad well-hall, nearer Tillingham on the south-east, from which it is parted by a
channel three fathoms deep, and half a mile over. Sir John de la Mare had license
to inclose it; and in 1308, he gave leave to the prior of St. Valery to have a way
through it for cattle to their marsh named Gurmonds, when the height of the tide
hindered their passage the other way.
Biadwell This elegant villa, formerly the seat of the rev. sir H. B. Dudley, bart. the
incumbent of the living of Bradwell-juxta-mare, in which parish it stands, is situated
nearly in the centre between the rivers Blackwater, Crouch, and Colne, which here
join the German Ocean. The lodge, which was erected by J. Johnson, esq., the
architect of the shire-hall, at Chelmsford, between the years 1781 and 1786, is a very
elegant building. A beautiful observatory, ornamented with Ionic columns, which
have been so contrived as to form the chimneys of the whole building, has been
constructed on its top. Many decoys for catching wild fowl are in the vicinity.
C'hurdi. The church, dedicated to St. Thomas, was rebuilt in 1706; it has a stone tower,
surmounted by a lofty spire, and has eight bells.* The high ground where this
church is situated, commands a pleasing view of the sea, with an extensive prospect
along the coast.
The living has a glebe of 184 acres.
A chapel anciently named Capella de la Val, or St. Peter ad Murum, was on the
north-east point of the parish by the sea ; it was dependent on Bradwell, and a chapel
of ease to it, whose rector must find a priest to officiate on Sundays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays. A jury found, in 1442, that it had a chancel, nave, and small tower
with two bells ; that it was burnt, and the chancel repaired by the rector, and the
nave by the parishioners : when it was founded, and by whom, they knew not.
Some remains of this building have been made to form part of a barn.
This parish, in 1821, contained nine hundred and four inhabitants, and nine hundred
and fifty-six in 1831.
Cliaiities. * Thomas White, D.D. gave the manor of Bradwell, with Pilton-fce, for the founding of Sion College,
in London, and to build an alms-house at Bristol, where he was born.
There is a free-school here, supported by a piece of land behind the Globe Tavern, at Mile-end : the
endowment is forty pounds a year, and the master lives in the school-house, and is appointed by the
rector.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE.
697
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN DENGIE HUNDRED.
CHAP.
xvni.
R. Rectorj-,
V. Vicarage.
t Discharged from payment of first-fruits.
Parish.
Althorne, V
Asheldliam, V
Bradwell near the )
Sea, U )
Buinham, V
Cold Norton, R
Cricksea, R
Dengey, R
Fambridge, N. R
Hazeleigh, R
Latchingdon, R
Maldon,AllSaints, )
and St. Peter, V. )
St. Mary, R
May land, R
Mundon, V
Purleigh, R
Snorum, R
South Minster, V. . .
Stangate, R
Steeple, V
Stowinaries,R
St. Lawrence, R
Tillingham, V
VVoodhain Mort, R.
Woodham Walter, R.
Archdeaconi-y.
Essex
Pecul.
Essex
Pecul.
Essex.
Incumbent.
Henry Fothergill . . .
W. W. Dakins, D.D..
Thomas Schrieber . .
C. A. St. J. Mildmay
W. Holland
Henry Fothergill... .
J. H. Stevenson ....
VVm. Steph. Gilly ..
G. Parry Marriott . ,
Robert Moore
Ch. Matthew
Bridge Trevor, D.D.
T. S. Griffinhose. . . .
Under Sequestration
E. Hawkins, D.D. ..
Thos. Foot Gower . .
J. A. Scott, D.D
Vicar of Steeple ....
F. Custance
Edward Smyth
J. B. Carwardine , . .
E. J. Beckwith
Jos. G. Round
Guy Bryan
Insti-
tuted.
1830
1817
1820
1826
1824
1830
1825
1817
1804
1804
1809
1805
1828
1810
1803
1828
1828
1823
1829
1815
1830
1819
Value in Liber
Regis.
tI4 0 0
tl6 13 4
48 0 0
22 13 4
16 13 4
t 9 8 10
13 0 0
tl4 13 4
t 4 13 4
37 0 0
10 0 0
Not in charge.
tl3 6 8
13 0 0
25 0 0
3 0 0
21 0 0
Not in charge.
tl5 18 0
18 6 8
18 6 8
25 3 9
6 13 4
12 13 U
Patron.
J. Robinson.
Bishop of London.
Rev. T. Schrieber.
L. Jane Mildmay.
Gov, of Charterhouse.
J Robinson.
Rev. J. H. Stevenson.
Lord Chancellor.
Mrs. Irwin.
Archbp. of Canterbury,
Rev. Chas. Matthew.
Dn. & Ch.Westminster.
Gov. St. Barth. Hospl.
Chan. D. of Lancaster.
5 Ann. to Provostshjp
I of Oriel Col. Oxford
J. Strutt, esq.
Gov. of Charterhouse,
W. Steeple, Vicar.
J. K. Hunt and others.
Rev. G. H. Storie.
Lord Chancellor.
Dn.&Ch. of St. Paul's.
Ex. Rev. A. C. Bullen.
Rev. L. Way.
CHAPTER XIX.
HUNDRED or THURSTABLE.
This hundred on the south is bounded by the river Pant, and Maldon-river or
Blackwater-bay ; on the west and north-west by Witham hundred, northward by
that of Lexden, and on the east by the hundred of Winstree. Its greatest length
from east to west is eleven miles, and from north to south, where broadest, six miles.
The name in Domesday and other records, Turestapla, is of uncertain origin.* At
* Norden supposed Thurstable a corruption of Staplehurst, i. e. Staplewood, from a place so called on
Tiptree heath, west of the priory.— Introduction to the History of Middlesex, p. 22.
CHAP.
XIX.
698 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. the time of the survey, this hundred was in the possession of the king-, who had four
salt-works here in the custody of the sheriff;* and three men held ten acres of land.
It contains the following ten parishes : — Heybridg-e, Langford, Wickham-Bishops,
Great Totham, Little Totham, Goldanger, Tolleshunt-Beckingham. Tolleshunt-
Knights, Tolleshunt-Darcy, Toilesbury.
HEYBRIDGE.
Hey. The situation of this parish is on the south-western extremity of the hundred, on
ondge. t}^g north of the river Pant or Blackwater, opposite to Maldon. The name anciently
applied to it was Tidwaldinton, Tidwalditune, Tidwolditune, used in records till the
time of Edward the first, and the old bridge here, of five arches, is supposed to have
been the occasion of its new name of Highbridge, vulgarized to Heybridge : in
records it is sometimes called Wall-bridge, and it is reasonably supposed, that the
main stream, now running under the bridge, called Fulbridge, had formerly its
course under this High-bridge, or there would not have been occasion for so many
arches.
Tidwalditune was one of the thirteen lordships with which king Athelstan
endowed the cathedral church of St. Paul, and of these, five were in Essex, f It
was in possession of it at the general survey, and has holden it to the present time.
It is one of the manors to Avhich this immunity was granted, that no purveyor of the
king should take any corn within their precincts. Many of the old buildings have
been destroyed, some of which are said to have been on Potley or Potman marsh.
There is a raised causeway between this place and Maldon, of which Edward the
second ordered a survey to be taken in 1324. The circumference of this parish is
about six miles. There is a fair here on Whit Tuesday. The village is conve-
niently situated for business near the junction of the Chelmer and Blackwater, and
has greatly increased in trade and population; there are extensive salt-works here :
distant from Maldon one, and from London, thirty-eight miles.
Hey- The mansion of the manor of Heybridge, which belongs to the dean and chapter
HalL "^ ^f ^*- Paul's, is a good ancient building, half a mile south-east from the church ; the
recorded holders of the estate who were longest in possession of it, were the family
of Freshwater, originally of Toilesbury. In 1617, Richard Freshwater, esq. died,
holding this estate. By his wife, Bridget, daughter of John Brand, of Boxfbrd, he
had John, Richard, Thomas, Edward ; Frances, Bridget, and Mary. John, the eldest
son, married Elizabeth, daughter of John Wiseman, esq., of Stisted-hall, and had by
* Of these four salt-works, two were in Great Totham, and the Heybridge salt-worlis of the present
time extend into that parish.
t These were, Heybridge, Belcham, Wickham St. Paul's, Runwell, and Edulfesnese, or Walton.—
Dugdale's History of St. Paul's.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 699
her, Richard, John, Thomas, Isaac, Edward; Mary, Elizabeth, and Clemence. He chap.
XIX
died in 1657, aged fifty-six; and his wife in 1681, aged eighty-seven. John, Thomas,
and Isaac, died unmarried. Richard, the eldest son, by Mary his wife, daughter and
co-heiress of John Studley, of Denton, in Wiltshire, had Elizabeth and Mary.*
Elizabeth was married, first to William Aylet, of Great Totham, who died in 1749,
having had by her, William, Thomas, Avho died in 1736, and Elizabeth, wife, first
of Savage ; and, secondly, married to Edmund Percival, esq., of Lincoln's
Inn; she died in 1690, and her husband, in her right, had the lease of this estate:
he married to his second wife, Anne Fitz-James, widow, Avhose maiden name was
Hering. She enjoyed the estate many years, and bequeathed it to her nephew, the
rev. Julius Hering, of Clatford, near Marlborough, in Wiltshire.
The church is on the strand opposite to Maldon, and in high tides the sea comes Church,
up to it. It is a plain ancient building, dedicated to St. Andrew ; the steeple has
either fallen or been taken down.f This church was founded and dedicated between
the years 1160 and 1181. It is in the peculiar jurisdiction of the dean and chapter of
St. Paul's, who are lords of the manor, ordinaries of the place, proprietors of the
rectorial or great tithes, and patrons of the vicarage, which was ordained and
endowed in 1243. 1
There was formerly a chantry here in the patronage of the bishops of London.
The population of this parish, in 1821, was eight hundred and sixty-eight; and in
1831 had increased to one thousand and sixty-four.
LANGFORD.
This parish extends along the border of the Blackwater, from Heybridge to Langfoid.
Wickham Bishops. The English words, long and ford, in Saxon, lanj pojaS, form
its name, derived from a ford of that description near the village. The parish is six
miles in circumference : distant from Maldon two miles, and from London forty.
Before the Conquest, this estate belonged to Gola and Agelmar; and at the survey,
to Ralph Baynard.
The manor-house is near the church on the north. On the forfeiture of William, Langford
son of Ralph Baynard, king Henry the first gave this manor to Robert, a younger
son of Richard Fitzgilbert ; and in the reign of Henry the second, it was in the
possession of Geoffrey de Ambli ; it afterwards belonged to the family of Preyers of
* Arms of Freshwater :— Azure, a fesse between two trouts, argent. Crest : two arrows in saltier, tied
with a knot. Otherwise, out of a crown imperial, gules, two trouts in saltier, tails erect, argent.
t An annuity of fifty-two shillings is paid out of an estate called Longs, or Londons, lying in Great Charity,
and Little Totham and Goldangie, to be given to poor widows ; and the same sum is also paid out of this
estate to poor widows of St. Botolph's and St, Giles's, Colchester.
: Newcourt, vol. ii. pp. 328, 329.
700
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11.
Stock-
Hall.
Church.
Sible-Hedingham, and Margaret, daughter and heiress of sir Thomas de Preyers,
married to Robert de Bourchier, conveyed it to that noble family. It belonged
to Robert Lord Bourchier, who died in 1349; and his son John, lord Bour-
chier, dying in 1400, was succeeded by his son, Bartholomew, whose widow,
Idonea, held it till her death in 1410 ; and their only daughter and heiress conveyed
it to her two husbands, sir Hugh Stafford and sir Lewis Robessart ; but the lady
dying without issue, her kinsman, Henry Bourchier, earl of Eu (and afterwards earl
of Essex), had this estate;* he died in 1483, and was succeeded by his grandson,
Henry, earl of Essex, who, dying in 1540, left his daughter Anne his heiress,
married to William Parr, marquis of Northampton.
The Smyth family of Cressing Temple were the next owners of this estate;
Thomas Smyth, esq., died possessed of it in 1565, succeeded by his son Clement, on
whose decease, in 1590, his brother Henry was his successor; on whose death, in
1612, without issue, the inheritance came to his next brother, sir John Nevill, alias
Smyth, knt. fifty-nine years of age; who dying in 1631, was succeeded by his
brother, sir Thomas Smyth, more than seventy years of age. Matthew Harvey, esq.,
sixth son of Thomas Harvey, of Folkestone, in Kent, and brother to the celebrated
physician. Dr. William Harvey, was the next OAvner of this manor, and was living in
1667. He left it to his nephew, sir Eliab Harvey, knt., of Chigwell, who sold it to
Nicholas Wescomb, esq., in 1680, who died in 1696 : Sarah, his widow, was
remarried to Mr. Bateman, and had the estate till her death in 1740, when she was
succeeded by her eldest son, Nicholas Wescomb, esq., of the Inner Temple, who
died in 1744, succeeded by Nicholas Wescomb, esq., of Cheverill's Green, m
Hertford. It now belongs to Mrs. Wescomb, of Langford-grove : this is a hand-
some modern building, in a finely wooded park, near Langford-hall.
The estate of Stock-hall, was holden of lord John de Bohun, and John Preyers, by
John de Ulting in 1319, who, in 1328, held the same possession of Robert Fitz-
walter ; and his son, Nicholas Ulting, held it in 1386, of Walter Fitzwalter. In 1421
it was holden by sir Hugh Stafford, of the heirs of John Preyers.
The church is a plain ancient building, dedicated to St. Giles.f
Thomas Langford, a Dominican friar, author of an universal Chronicle, was a
native of this place : he flourished about the year 1320.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to two hundred and fifty-one;
and, in 1831, to two hundred and seventy-three.
* Monast. Aug. vol. i. p. 432.
Charity. | garah Hall, by will, dated 8th of November, 1680, left her customary cottage, in the street called
Foster's Gardens, for the use of the poor of this parish for ever, and forty shillings for keeping it in
repair. It consists of three dwellings for poor people.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 701
C H A V.
WICKHAM-BISHOP'S. XIX.
The Saxon name of Wickham is indicative of there having been a village or habi- wickham
tation, and a fortress or castle at this place ; it is the second parish so named in '^ '""^ *'
Essex. Having belonged to the bishops of London even before the conquest, it has
therefore received the additional name of Bishop's. No remains of a fortress can
now be traced ; yet the continual incursions of the Danes here, may reasonably be
supposed to have given occasion for works of defence, or to watch the approach and
movements of an enemy : and there was formerly a beacon on the highest part of the
parish, upon the border of Tiptree heath. The parish is about six miles in circum-
ference ; the village a mile east from the church ; distant three miles from Maldon,
and forty from London. The situation of this parish is on high ground. There is
only one manor, and most of the lands are holden of it by copy of court roll.
The manor house is half a mile distant from the church: it is a modern brick Wukham
Hall
building. The original ancient mansion was the residence of the bishops of London :
and in 1375 William Courtney, then bishop, had a license of Edward the third to
impark three hundred acres of land in his manor of Wickham. The manor is holden
by lease from the bishops. Lord Maynard formerly had the lease, and one of the
family disposed of it to Henry Parsons, esq., brother to Humphrey Parsons, esq.,
alderman of London ; who, having also purchased the site of an old water-mill in this
parish, erected a capital mill, and near it a handsome and commodious mansion, with
gardens, fish-ponds, and pleasure-grounds, which he left to his wife's daughter, Mrs.
Frances Marston, married afterwards to Philip Burlton, esq.
The church is a small building, with a wooden turret. ciiiwch.
The rectory, in the collation of the bishop of London, is wholly in his jurisdiction.
It has a glebe of above one hundred acres, but much of it consists of land of an
inferior description. The parsonage house is a mile east from the church, on a hill
near Tiptree-heath, which commands an interesting prospect of wide extent
In 1821, there were four hundred and sixty-seven inhabitants in this parish, and
five hundred and forty-nine in 1831.
GREAT TOTHAM.*
This parish is bounded on the south and south-east by Little Totham ; on Great To-
the east by Tolleshunt Malger; on the north and north-west by Great and
Little Braxted ; and on the west and south-west, by Wickham Bishop's, and Lang-
ford. The name is of uncertain derivation. Robert de Totham, who lived in the
time of Henry the second, is frequently called Robert de Topham by old writers, and
* The editor has to acknowledge important assistance, in the account of this parish, from "A History,
antiquarian and statistical, of the parish of Great Totham. By George W. Joiinson, F.L.S. Z.S. and H.S.
Printed at the manor house, by Charles Clark, for private circulation only. 1831."
VOL. II. 4 x
Hall.
702 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liooK II. it seems probable, that this Saxon name of cop and ham, was originally given as
properly applicable to the high grounds near the beacon, which was taken away a few
years ago. This ground has been considered the highest in the county. * The road
from Maldon to Colchester, by Tiptree heath, passes across this parish, and it lies
between Maldon and Witham, its nearest boundary toward either of those towns
being, respectively, three miles distant ; the distance to London, either way, forty-
one miles, f
In the time of Edward the Confessor, these lands belonged to Turbert, and to
Hanio Dapifer, at the time of the survey. There are two manors.
I'otiuiui The capital manor of Great Totham is part of what belonged to Hamo Dapifer,
on whose death, without issue, he left it with his other large possessions, to the
children of his elder brother, Robert Fitz-Hamon, lord of Cardiff, Tewksbury,
and Gloucester. This Robert also obtained immense possessions in Wales; for
being invited to assist in a rebellion against prince Rhys ap Tewdwr, he turned his
arms against that prince, and killed him in battle ; he then divided the country of
Glamorganshire among the twelve knights who assisted him ; their tenure being
military service at his castle of Cardiff, and civil service at his court of justice there. J
Robert was one of William Rufus' greatest favourites ; and, according to William of
Malmsbury, warned that monarch not to hunt in the New Forest, on the day he met
his death there. The same chronicle says, that the warning was given in consequence
of a monk's dream. § Robert Fitz-Hamon died in 1107, from a wound he received
in taking Falaise in Normandy : William of Malmsbury says the blow was upon his
head, and produced mania. In the charters he granted he is termed, " sir Robert
* " I am unable," .says Mr. Johnson, " to state the altitude of the Beacon hill, in this parish, which
the eye pronounces to be the greatest elevation in the county. I hoped to have obtained correct informa-
tion on this point from the Ordnance office, but a communication from thence informs me that the
instrument used, in 1799, by Col. Mudge in triangulating this part of England was not accurate in obtain-
ing vertical angles, consequently the altitude of the Beacon hill is undetermined." The same authority,
however, informs me, that Laindon hill is six hundred and twenty feet above low water, and the Beacon
hill is apparently of rather superior altitude.
t " No actual survey of the parish existing," says Mr. G. W. Jolinson, " I am unable to state accurately
the number of acres it contains. An approximation is afforded by the knowledge that tithe is paid for
two thousand four hundred and forty-four acres. There are more than two hundred acres of tithe-free
land in the parish ; and if, as is usual, ten acres are added to every one hundied, as a fair addition to
tenant's measure, waste, farm-yards, &c., it cannot be very erroneous to consider the area of the parish
as three thousand acres. The soil on the highest ground of this parish is light and gravelly ; in the lower
district richer and more productive, with a larger proportion of clay ; but with the exception of a few
.<mall veins of clay, the whole surface-soil rests upon gravel, which has been found in places to reach a
depth of between forty and fifty feet. In boring for water at the May Pole public house, on the edge of
the parish, toward Heybridge, about thirty feet of gravel were succeeded by two hundred feet of greyish
clay, with occasional mixtures of siliceous .sand, where a rock intervened which the borers did not
penetrate."
X Gibson's Camden's Britannia, p. 609. § Fleming's Chronicles, p. 26.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 703
Fitz-Hamon, prince of Glamorgan, earl of Corboile, baron of Thorio-nv and Gran- CHAP.
ville, lord of Gloucester, Bristol, Tewksbury and Cardiff, conqueror of Wales, near
kinsman to the king-, and general of his highness' array in France.* He was buried
in the chapter-house of Tewksbury abbey, which he had greatly improved, f
Mr. Bennet says the tomb is yet to be seen there. By his wife, Sybil, daughter of
Roger de Montgomery, earl of Shrewsbury, he had Mabel, Hawise, Cicely, and
Amice, his co-heiresses. Mabel, the eldest daughter, was married in 1109, to
Robert, the bastard son of king Henry the first ; ennobled by the title of consul and
earl of Gloucester. The portion the king gave with her was the honour of Gloucester:
a large estate in Normandy, and the entire estates of her uncle, Hamo Dapifer,| of
which, as we have seen, Totham was part. Peter Langtaft, out of Robert of Gloucester's
chronicle, gives the following account of the king wooing Mabel for his son : —
" This gentille damycelle seide nay, that it were not fittynge to mary suche a man,
that bare no name but only Robard. Then the kynge seide, that his son schulde have
a name. And because her name was Maboly le Fizhaym, his name schulde be Robert
le Fizroy. Nay, quoth she, what name shall oure children here betweene him
and me? Par ma fey, seide the kynge; then he shalle have a name, his name
shal be, Robert erle of Gloucester, and I geve hym the erledome for thy sake,
and to hym and to your bothes heires. Then this damycelle thanked hym, and then
the mariage was done. And this was the first erle of Gloucester."
" He who thus became the owner of Totham, had for his mother, Nesta, daughter
of Prince Rhys ap Twdwr, already mentioned. He was born about the year 1090.
When upon the death of his father, Henry the first, Stephen seized the throne of
England, Robert of Gloucester became one of his most strenuous adversaries, and
supporter of the rights of his half-sister, Matilda, through every reverse of fortune that
attended her. He was a star in a dark age — brave, virtuous, and learned. William of
Malmsbury dedicated to him his chronicle. I cannot sum up his character as well as is
done by lord Lyttleton : ' He had no inconsiderable tincture of learning, and was the
patron of all who excelled in it ; qualities rare at all times in a nobleman of his high
rank, but particularly in an age when knowledge and valour were thought incom-
patible, and not to be able to read was a mark of nobility. He was unquestionably
the wisest man of those times; and his virtue was such, that even those times could
not corrupt it.'§ He died of an ague on the 31st of October, 1147, and was buried at
Bristol, in the choir of the Virgin Mary's chapel, in St. James's priory, now St.
James's church. He left four sons and one daughter ; of whom William, the eldest
son, succeeded to his title and chief part of his estates, includitig the manor of Great
* Bennett's History of Tewkesbury, p. 73. t William of Malmsbury.
: Leiand, vi. 85, ed. 1744. William of Gloucester, p. 300.
§ Lyttlcton's Life of Henry the second.
704 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Tothani. Earl William died in 1173, and was buried in the abbey of Keinsham, in
Somersetshire, of which abbey he was the founder." * Previous to his death he gave
this manor to sir Richard de Lucy, one of the most distinguished men of his time.f
He was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire, in 1156, and chief justice of England in
1162; and was lieutenant of England in the absence of Henry the second, during his
expedition into Normandy, from 1166 to 1174; and when in this high office Robert,
earl of Leicester, raised a rebellion, sir Richard, after undertaking several expeditions
against him, finally met him between Fornham and Bury, in Suffolk, and there took
him prisoner, after destroying his army; this was in 1173.:}: In 1179 he resigned his
office of chief justice, and becoming a canon in the abbey of Westwood or Lesnes, in
Kent, of which he was the founder, he died there the same year.§ He had two
sons, Geofrey and Herbert, and two daughters, Rohais and Maud. Geofrey, the
eldest son, died before his father, but left his son and heir, Richard de Lucy, sup-
posed to have been the next owner of this estate ; but dying without issue he was
succeeded by his uncle, Herbert de Lucy; who also dying without offspring, his
estates were divided between his two sisters. Of these, Maud de Lucy was given in
marriage by king John, in 1213, to Richard de Rivers, who held this manor in her
right. She survived him, and died in 1242, leaving Richard de Rivers, her grandson,
her heir. II
In 1281 John de Nevill held this manor by the service of one knight's fee; he
succeeded his father in the office of justice of the king's forests, in 1235, but being-
accused in 1244, of several neglects and trespasses, he was turned out of office,
disgraced, and fined two thousand pounds, which so sensibly affected him that
he died in the following year, and was buried in Waltham abbey.lf Sir Hugh
de Nevill held this manor jointly with his wife Ida, of Elizabeth de Burgh, lady of
Clare, a descendant of the earl of Gloucester, by the service of one knight's fee ; and
he held it by the same tenure, without any mention of his wife, in 1330.** He died
in 1335, and was succeeded by his son and heir, sir John Nevill, who, dying without
issue, in 1358, left this manor, with several others, after his wife Alice's death, to
William de Bohun, earl of Northampton. Lady Alice Neville survived till 1394.
She was the last of the illustrious family whose name she bore who held lands in this
parish, which, from their ownership, acquired the name of Totham Nevill.
On the death of the lady Alice, this lordship became the property of Eleanor, one
of the two co-heiresses of William de Bohun, earl of Northampton, and she conveyed
* Bennet's History ofTewkesbury, p. 75. + G. W. Johnson, esq.
I Roger Hovenden's Chronicle. § Fleming's Chronicles, p. 103.
II It had been previou.sly holden of the family of Rivers ; Hugh de Nevill died possessed of it in 1222.
•E Matthew Paris, 652, 661, and7lO.
** Tenures in Essex, ed. 3, anno 7. Lansdo-.vne MSS. No. 2n in the British .^luseum.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE.
705
it to her husband, Thomas of Woodstock, sixth son of king Edward the third ; in
right of his wife he was earl of Essex and Northampton, and constable of England.
By creation, in 1377, he became earl of Buckingham, and in 1385, duke of Gloucester.
After the duke's murder at Paris, in 1397, he was, in the succeeding parliament,
declared a traitor, and all his lands forfeited to the king,* but according to Mr.
Morant, his widow enjoyed them to the time of her death, as also the perquisites of
the office of high-constable of England. " This," says Mr. G. W. Johnson, " is not
entirely correct; for I find that two years after his death (in the twenty-second year
of the reign of Richard the second, 1399, John de Bourchier held in this parish
three knight's fees, which Hugh de Nevill did hold, for so I interpret the contracted
Latin of the record (et qu Hugo de Nevyll ten.) f In the following year, first of
Henry the fourth, he held the manor of Great Totham, however, of the earl of
Stafford."! Thomas of Woodstock had one son and three daughters ; of these, Anne
de Woodstock became possessed of the estates of her parents, which were enjoyed by
her three husbands; first, Thomas earl of Stafford, who died without issue; and
secondly she married his brother Edmund, also earl of Stafford, who was killed at the
battle of Shrewsbury, in 1403. Her third husband was William Bourchier, earl of
Eu, whom she survived ; he died in 1420, and the lady in 1439. By her last husband
she had Eleanor, married to the duke of Norfolk, and Anne, married to the earl of
March ; and secondly to the duke of Exeter ; she had also by the said earl four sons,
Henry, earl of Eu and Essex, William, lord Fitzwarin, Thomas, archbishop of Can-
terbury, and a cardinal, and sir John Bourchier, K.G. ; this last died in 1400, and
was buried in Halsted church, with his wife Elizabeth, daughter of sir John Cogge-
shall : he had by her his only son, sir Bartholomew Bourchier, who died in 1409,
possessed of this estate, which, with his other possessions, was enjoyed by his widow,
lady Idonea Bourchier, till her decease in 1410.§ They left their only daughter
Elizabeth their heiress; married first to sir Hugh Stafford, son of Hugh, earl of
Stafford, who, through her, held this manor in 1409, of the king, as of the honour of
Boulogne, by the service of half a knight's fee; he died in 1421, and his widow was
married to sir Lewis Robesart, in 1429. Both of her husbands were summoned to
parliament by the title of lord Bourchier, and both held the manor by the same
tenure. Sir Lewis died in 1430. The two husbands of lady Elizabeth Bourchier
were distinguished warriors. When Henry the fifth was waging war in France in
1415, he was opposed in a narrow pass near the town of Corby, by some French
troops, " wherein," says Fleming, " sir Hugh Stafford, lord Bourchier, cheefteine
of a wing of the king under the standard of Guien, and as then neerest to the enimie,
* Tyrell's History of England, vol. iii. p 961.
+ Tenures in Essex. Lansdowne MSS. No. 3^27.
+ Ibid, § Lansdowne MSS. in British Museum.
C H A \>.
XIX.
?06 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. though far inferior in number, yet with readie and valiant incounter received them."*
The chronicler then proceeds to state how "• one John Bromley, of Bromley, in
Staffordshire, a neere kinsman unto the lord Bourchier," distinguished himself in
recovering the king's standard ; and gives a verbatim copy of the deed whereby his
kinsman rewards him with a settlement of money and lands. The other husband, sir
Lewis Robesart, has this assurance, that he was a man of proven valour ; he was
standard-bearer to the victor of Agincourt. In 1419, the same monarch made him
governor, and captain of " Crulie " and " Cawdebecke," in Normandy.f At the
time of her death in 1433, the lady Elizabeth Bourchier held this manor of the earl
of Stafford : and leaving no children by either of her husbands, her estates passed
successively to her nearest kinsman, (grandson of her paternal grandfather,) Henry
Bourchier, earl of Eu in Normandy, and earl of Essex in England: and to his
grandson, Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex, a man of superior understanding, and
distinguished as a warrior in numerous expeditions of the reigns of the seventh and
eighth Henries. On his death, in 1540, his heiress was his only child, Anne, by his
wife Mary, one of the co-heiresses of William Say; she was married, in 1541, to sir
William Parr, baron of Kendal, who, in 1543, was created earl of Essex, and, in
1546, marquis of Northampton. In her right he was possessed of this manor.
Espousing the cause of lady Jane Grey, he was condemned as a traitor. His trial
took place, with the duke of Northumberland and the earl of Warwick, before the
duke of Norfolk, lord high steward, on the 18th of August, 1553. He pleaded that
after the beginning of the tumults he had taken no part in any public office ; but the
facts were proved against him, and he was found guilty.:}: He was brother of queen
Katharine Parr, and by that, or some other road to favour, obtained remission of the
capital part of the sentence in the follown)g December.§ He was restored in blood,
but not to his honours, nor to his estates ; this manor of Great Totham, however,
and a few others, were granted to him for his maintenance. He died without issue,
and this manor seems to have reverted to the crown. ||
In 1594, William Beriff, gent., died, possessed of this estate, Avhich he held of the
queen as of her manor of East Greenwich, by fealty only, in free socage. The Beriffs
held several estates in Essex; their earliest and chief residence seems to have been a
house called "Jacobs," in Brightlingsea, where they were seated as early as the year
1496 : William, son of William Beriff' was forty-eight years of age at the time of his
father's death, and is supposed to have sold this estate to Thomas Wylde, esq., who,
in the parish books, is styled of Heybridge ; he died possessed of it in 1599, and was
succeeded by Thomas Wylde, his son, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard
* Fleming's Chronicle, p. 551. f Fleming's Chronicle, from Hall's Chronicle, p. 571.
X Harleian IMSS. Codex 284, p. 128. § Stowe's Annals, p. 617.
11 Gibson's Camden's Brit. p. 430.
I
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 707
Coke, esq.; he died in 1606, leaving his son Edmund his heir; and either this cha
Edmund, at an advanced age, or a relative of the same name, held the manor in 1692. '^''^
In 1728, the estate was in the possession of Thomas Martin, esq., a banker of
London, who died in 1764 ; and whose son, Joseph Martin, sold it to Filmer Honey-
wood, esq., in whose descendants it has continued to the present time ; of whom,
William Philip Honeywood died at his seat of Mark's hall, near Coggeshall, on the
22d of April, 1831, in the forty-second year of his age, and was buried in Mark's-hall
church ; he married a daughter of Charles Hanbury, esq., of Halstead, Essex, of the
firm of " Sparrow, Hanbury, and Co.," bankers ; and has left three sons, William the
eldest, the heir, Robert, and • , and a daughter. He was educated at the
University of Cambridge, where he was entered a fellow-commoner of Jesus college,
and regularly proceeded to the degree of M.A. He was M.P. for the county of
Kent, first elected in 1818, and retained his seat till the death of George the fourth,
when the precarious state of his health demanded a retirement from the fatigues of
public life. He was a magistrate and deputy-lieutenant for the counties of Essex
and Kent, and provincial grand master of masons for the county of Essex. His
brothers, Edward and Philip, and one sister, Mrs. Horatio Vachell, survived him ;
the rest of the family of fourteen are dead." * The Mark's hall, Totham, and other
estates, are now in trust for the benefit of the family.
Great Totham hall is near the church, on the north. It seems originally to have
been a stately mansion, fit to be the residence of a family of distinction ; and was
surrounded by a moat, which is yet remaining on three of its sides, and partly on the
fourth. The bridgeway was on the western side. The old form of the mansion
can no longer be recognized, it having been modernized in 1825. Mr. Martin was
the last lord of the manor who resided in it. The present occupier of this estate
is Mr. Robert Clark,
The name of the manorial farm of Gibbecrakes, has been modernized to Gibcracks ; Gibbe-
the house is half a mile from the church, to the south, on the left of the road to
Little Totham church. This estate was taken from the capital manor, but the time
when is not recorded; in 1414, sir William Marney died, holding it of the bishop of
London. Sir Thomas Marney was his son and heir, and died in 1417; and sir John
Marney, who died in 1463, had also this estate; his son, Henry, afterwards lord
Marney,t inherited this, with the other family possessions; and on his death in 1523,
* G. \V. Johnson, esq.
t He was privy councillor to Henry the seventh, and a politician and warrior; was created K. G. by
Henry the eighth, and attended that monarch in his war with France, as captain of the guard. In io22, he
was made keeper of the privy seal, having previously been vice-chamberlain ; and in the following year
was raised to the peerage. He died in 1523, and was buried in the chancel of Layer Marney churdi. By
his lady, Thomasine, daughter of sir John Arundel, he had two sons and one daughter; and by his second
lady, Elizabeth, he had one daughter.— Baker's Chronicle, p. 289.
crake;
(t I
I
I
T08 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. was succeeded by his son, John, lord Marney, who had this estate at the time of his
death, in 1525. He married Christian, daughter of sir John Newborough, and had
also a second wife, by whom he had no children: by the lady Christian, he had
Katharine, first married to George Radcliff, and secondly to Thomas lord Poynings ;
and Elizabeth, who married lord Thomas Howard, son of Thomas, duke of Norfolk, ■
created lord Howard of Bindon. These co-heiresses sold this manor, and other H
estates, to sir Brian Tuke, on whose decease, in 1533, his son Charles was his heir,
and had this estate till 1547, when, dying without issue, his brother, George Tuke,
esq., succeeded to the family possessions : he died in 1573, and his eldest son, Brian,
was his heir. The estate was, about this period, in the possession of William BerifF,*
and of Thomas Wylde, esq., in 1599. It afterwards accompanied the capital manor
in its changes of ownership. Present occupier, Mr. John Payne.
Frevifc "^^ ^^^^' '^^"™^^ Fabell died, possessed of lands in this parish, and had for his
oi Cobbi.-. heir John Fabell his son. Hugh de Naylinghurst, returned in 1433 by the com-
missioners, as one of the gentry of the county of Essex,t died in 1493, possessed,
among other estates, of a tenement called " Favells," alias « Cobbis," held of the
manor of Totham. Clement, his son, succeeded him, and died in 1499, leaving his
son, James, his heir, who had three sons, Ralph, Edward, and Richard. The second
of these was a lunatic, and, in 1551, besides possessions in the neighbouring parishes,
held " Frevills, lying in Great Totham." It is not now known what estate in this
Savvns, or parish formerly bore the above names. The house belonging to this estate is a
Sawins. ^ r -i p i t i i o =>
quarter ot a mile trom the church ; the name has been modernized to Sains. One of I
the Malcolms, king of Scotland, and earl of Huntingdon, held it sometime between
the years 1070 and 1 130. He granted it to Robert, son of Sewin, who gave it to the
nuns of Clerkenwell. It consisted of one hundred and forty acres of land "in
Hangre de Totham:" he also gave them half a wood, and four dead trees in his wood
of Totham, and pasturage for ten hogs, upon condition of the nuns paying to him one
silver mark at Michaelmas. J This estate, in 1524, was known as " Tothamstent,"
alias " Sawins," and belonged to Henry, the first lord Marney. Probably it passed
with Gibbecrakes, to the Tukes, and to John Church, of Maldon, who held it in
1559, and from whom it seems to have been conveyed to William Aylett, esq., who
died in 1583, and it belonged to Thomas Beckingham in 1596; but had again
become the property of the Aylett family in 1692, and was retained by them till
1749,§ when it was purchased by Filmer Honeywood, esq., and is now in trust for
* Haileian MSS. Codex 66S4. and 6685. f Fuller's Worthies, p. 338.
t Monast. Angl.vol. i. p. 430.
§ Under the will ofThomas Aylett, dated the 14th of March, 1636, his estates in, and the great tithes
of the parish of Great Totham, are chargeable with the annual payment of ten pounds, to the master of
Kelvedon school.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 709
the family of the late William Philip Honeywood, esq. Present occupier, Mr. c H .\ p
Alfred May. ^^■•'^
The mansion of Lofts, or Loughts, is on Broad-street-green ; the name is supposed Lofts,
to be Saxon, and to signify an inclosure. The estate belonged to Anne Bourchier,
marchioness of Northampton, who died in 1570; and to John Bullock, esq, at the
time of his decease, in 1595: his successors resided here till sir Edwai'd Bullock
purchased Faulkborne hall, in 1637; and, previous to that period, the representative
of the family was styled, "of Lofts." This estate, in 1712, belonged to sir Nathan
Wright, of Cranhara ; and, from his family passed into the possession of Mrs. Lewis,
connected with them, and with the Lawleys, of Can well hall, Staifordshire : Mar-
garet, third daughter of sir Thomas Lawley, bart., had for her second husband, sir
Nathan Wright, bart., by whom she had two daughters. It passed from Mrs. Lewis,
to sir Robert Lawley, bart, who sold it to Nicholas W^estcomb, esq., of Thrumpton,
Nottinghamshire, and it now belongs to his eldest son, John Emmerton Wes-
comb, esq., who resides at Thrumpton. The present occupier is Mr. James Carter.
The house, at the time it was inhabited by the Bullock family, and, till a few years
past, was of considerable extent; the hall particularly spacious. It was moated.
This building has been taken down, and a good farm-house erected.
Lands, named Frerne, Ferns, or Frians, were given by Robert Mantel to Beleigh Fierne.
abbey, founded by him in 1180. After the dissolution, they were granted from the
crown, in 1544, to William Butts; by whom they were, in the same year, conveyed
to John Page. John Alleyn, esq., held this estate in capite, in 1556; in 1574,
Richard Durant died in possession of it, and of Barrow-hills, and Barrow-marsh ;
he was succeeded by his brother William, The house is on the right of a road
passing over Totham hill to Beckingham ; it appears to have been originally a capital
mansion, and traces of the moat by which it was surrounded are yet to be seen.
This estate now belongs to the rev. G. E. Howman. The present occupier is Mrs.
Higham, widow.
"No residence but this," says Mr. G. W.Johnson, "surrounded by such fine Momi-
. tains.
timber, placed upon beautifully undulating ground, and commanding so extensive a
view of lake scenery, is to be found in England, untenanted by a gentleman's
establishment. Of its history I know scarcely anything. It probably is one of the
knight's fees, separated from the original manor at the period when Gibbecrakes was
similarly alienated. The greater part of it is tithe- free. In 1729, it was possessed
by Thomas Garrard, esq. It then came into the possession of a Mr. Firmln; and,
by marriage, is now possessed by the countess de Vande." Occupier, Mr. W illiam
Goodday.
Numerous tumuli, or mounds of earth on marsh land, opposite to Maldon, on the Han<)v>
banks of Blackwater bay, have been called Barrow, or Burrow-hills. It has been
VOL. II. 4 Y
710 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
buoK 11. disputed whether these are situated in Great Totham ; but that they are, is testified
in the parish register of the year 1736, by the rev. S. Speed, who states, that the
Barrow-hill land is included in the pei-ambulations of the parish then existing, as
made in the years 1590, 1650, 1667, 1712, and 1732. This land evidently afforded
the means of communication with Osey island, which has never been disputed to
belong to this parish. The Barrows, or Tumuli, from which these lands have
obtained their name, have nearly disappeared, the most prominent of them being
levelled during the preparation of some of the lands for sun pans annexed to the
Heybridge salt works. They undoubtedly marked the burying-places of the Saxons
and Danes who fell in some one of the numerous conflicts which took place in this
iieighbourhood between those nations; and supposed to have been that in which
Byrthnoth, earldoman of Northumberland, and governor of Essex, fell. The Saxon
chronicle informs us he lived in the reigns of Edgar, Edward the Martyr, and
Ethelred. The Danes having efi'ected a secret landing at Maldon, he attacke<l
them, and nearly destroyed the whole of their force, upon a bridge across the river:*
the Danes, however, returned in greater force, and challenged him to meet them
again ; and in this action he fell. The windmill at Barrow-hills, erected about ilm
year 1703, was destroyed by a hurricane, in June, 1831, and has been since rebuilt.
The Barrow-hills and Barrow-marsh belonged, in 1574, to Richard Durant, and
then to his brother William. They have since been in the hands of Pigott,
esq., and have noAv passed, by will, to Henry Cope, esq. f
Ove.sey The island named Ovesey, or Osey, is in Domesday named Uvesia, apparently
from the Latin, significantly applied to it as being damp or moist; an epithet it even
now deserves, and much more merited formerly, before it was regularly embanked.
Previous to the Conquest, it belonged to Turbert ; and to Hamo Dapifer, at the
survey : it contains two hundred and thirty acres.
This estate seems to have generally gone with the capital manor till it was sold by
Walter Devereux, earl of Essex, to Thomas Wiseman, esq., of Great Waltham,
who, dying in 1584 without issue, was succeeded by his sisters, Dorothy, wife of
Mompesson, and Elizabeth, wife of Richard Jennings : it was purchased by
Mr. Charles Coe, of Maldon, and belonged to his heirs in 1768. Afterwards, it
was conveyed to the Pigott family; and now belongs to Henry Cope, esq., of
Maldon. Occupier, Mr. Edward Hammond.
Small In 1558, part of the estate granted to the marquis of Northampton, for his main-
tenance, was a tenement in Great Totham, called Noakes; this was, perhaps, Knowles
liall, now belonging to the rev. E. Howman ; it is on the right hand side of the
* Supposed to have been the old Saxon bridge at Heybridge.
t Rev. J. Speed in the parish register. — Mr. Johnson's History.
Isle
estates.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 711
road, between the Bull, and Compasses, inns. Chigboroughs belongs to Mrs. chap.
Carter, widow, Hores Wood,* situate opposite to Mountains, belongs to Peter
Ducane, esq. Crisps is the property of the same gentleman: one of the fields
belonging to this farm, is known as the Goat Lodge : in the time of the Conqueror,
this parish pastured many goats ; and its high-lying heathy grounds rendered it parti-
cularly in accordance with their Avandering habits ; and there can be little doubt this
inclosure was the night-pen and winter shelter for the flock of some later goat-herd,
Alleys, and Applebys, is possessed by Mrs. Emeritta Argent, widow. Yates, by
William Pattison, esq., solicitor, Witham. Rook hall, by the executors of Mr. Challis
Carter. Paynes and Quilters, by Mr. William Brown. Slough house belongs to
the parish of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, but it is not known how they became pos-
sessed of it. There is also a small plot of ground, known as Hatfield Poor Lands,
which was purchased with part of one hundred pounds, bequeathed by sir Edmund
AUeyn, hart., w^ith the direction, that the rent of it should be appropriated to the
schooling and apprenticing of poor children of the parish of Hatfield Peverel, in the
clothing trade. This land consists of two crofts, estimated to contain nine acres,
together with a cottage, erected on part of the land: it was named Howlets and
Wheelers, f
The church is a handsome building of brick, whitened and tiled, dedicated to church.
St. Peter. It is of one pace with the chancel; and has a boarded belfry, and
shingled spire. " The two bells," observes Mr. G. W. Johnson, " are most dis-
cordant and inharmonious. One of them is very much cracked ; it has, in old
English characters, this inscription, ' Sancte Andrea, ora pro nobis/ J with 'L S.',
the initials of the caster, and the impression of a coin, the inscription of which is
undistinguishable, except the letters ' C. V The three pellets in each quarter of the
shield, and the inscription, induce me to consider it as a coin of Edward the First, or
Edward the Second, which are very ditficult to distinguish from each other. Coinages,
in those reigns (1272— 1327), were made at York, the inscription being, ' Eboraci
civit.' The other bell, iu similar characters, with several crosses fleury, has the
inscription, 'Ave gracia plena !'§ which is not only bad spelling, but false Latm.
Morant says, in his time (1768), there were three bells; and there are evident signs
in the belfry of there having been that number.
The interior of the church is simple : the hangings and decorations of the com-
munion table, desk, and pulpit, were the work and gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Gower,
sister of the present curate. This gentleman, the rev. Thomas Ffoot Gower, of
Brazennose College, Oxford, has been a very liberal benefactor of this church : it
* Horeswood, and Horeshmd, belonged to Beleigh Abbey.— Let. Pat. 32 Hen. VIM.
t Hist, of Great Totham, by G. W.Johnson, esq. : Holy Andrew, pray for us.
§ Hail, full of grace !
712 HISTORY OF ESSEX. '(■
HOOK II. was much improved and enlai-ged in 1826, chiefly at his expense. Mrs. Francis Lee,
oF Maldou, gave the present altar-piece (the Worship of the Magi), which 1 am told
came from a chapel attached to Messing house. The church is more particularly
described in ihe following note, made by the rev. Mr. Wix, F. R. S., &c., in October,
1829 : * " Great Totham church is an ancient structure. The east window is modern-
ized. In the south wall, near to the chancel, is an early English, or Norman, window,
divided by a shaft ; I should say Norman, for it is not a long, narrow, or round-
headed window, though it has in the upper part (which is, I think, cinquefoil) an
early English ornament, containing, in coloured glass, roses. In the north wall, I
observed a vestige of a long and narrow window, approaching to the early English ;
but, about the period when these windows were employed, the Norman and English
styles ran so into each other, that it is not very easy accurately to distinguish them.
The south porch is a specimen of ancient wood-work, more than cinque-foiled, and
has a modern door-way, entering the church with an arch somewhat of the Norman
style, appropriate, in a good degree, to that of the church, and creditable to my friend
Gower, under whose orders it was erected." f
In 1719, the vicarage of this church was augmented by bishop Robinson, Avith two
hundred pounds, to which were added two hundred pounds of queen Anne's bountv,
* From tlie History of this parish, by G. \V. JoliDson, esq.
Inscrip- + Two female figures in brass, on the floor of the cliurch, each surmounted by the family shield, have
tions. the following inscription beneath :
" Here lycth Elizabeth Coke, late wife of Richard Coke, esquier, daughter of John Pilborough, some-
time one of the barons of the Corte of Exchequer; and of Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John Uooper,
e.squier ; and of Jane his wife, wch. Richard Coke, and Elizabeth his wife, had issue onely one daugh ,
Elizabeth, married to Thomas Wilde, esquier. Que obiit 24 die Decembris, anno Dni. 1606.
" Viva memor mortis, moriens solutia senslt
En tumulata jacet celo fructure per evuta."
The following is in the churchyard :
" Beneath this humble stone lies Esther Hale, " When the last trump shall change this earthly scene.
To all the little village dear ; And souls their long-lost bodies join.
Yon bell exacted, as it told the tale. Thousands will wish their lives below had been
From age— from infancy, a tear. Immaculate and pure as thine."
Benetac jir. Johnson refers to the will of Thomas Agoddishalfe, of Much Totham, dated 3d of March, 1504 :
it begins -.
" Imprimis, 1 bequeath my soul to Almighty God, our lady St. Mary, and all the saints in heaven. My
body to be buried in the church-yard of Much Totham. I bequeath to Johan, my wife, all my moveable
goods," &c. It then proceeds to devise to the churchwardens of Much Totham, all his land called
" Goddyshalfes," situated in Little Braxted, to be infeofled, to the intent that the churchwardens should
have, for one hundred years, two annual obiits, by paying the vicar for the celebration of mass. It
appears to have been tried in the Court of Exchequer, whether the above estate did not lapse to the
crown by the stat. 1 Edward VI. c. 14 ; for sir Roger Manwood, chief baron of that court in queen Mary's
reign, determined that it did not. He determined, however, that the feoflfment ceased at the end of one
hundred years.— Harleian MSS. Codex, 4136, p. 96. This MS. bears the date of 1541.
tion.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 713
and an estate iu Ingatestone purchased with the amount. " The vicarage-house was c H A F
rebuilt in 1757, chiefly at the expense of the rev. Griffith Wilhams. It has been _____
greatly enlarged and improved, as well as the garden about it (which is the only piece
of glebe with which the vicarage is endowed), created by the present curate, the rev.
Thomas Ffoote Govi^er." This church was given to the nunnery of Clerkenwell, in
Middlesex, by sir Hugh de Nevil, who died in 1222 ;* and, at the time of this gift of
the rectorial tithes, the vicarage was ordained by the bishop of London.f
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to five hundred and eighty; and,
in 1831, was increased to six hundred and ninety-six.
LITTLE TOTHAM.
This small parish extends from Great Totham to Goldanger, on the border of Little
. . ... Totham.
Blackwater bay. The situation low, and the air moist and unhealthy. The soil is
light and gravelly ; it is five miles in circumference : distant from Maldon three
miles, and forty from London. There are two manors.
The mansion of the manor of Little Totham is a good brick building, erected by Little
sir John Sammes ; and had formerly a park of eighty acres. The lands of this lord- Manor,
ship, in the time of Edward the confessor, were holden in two portions; Cola, and
afterwards Richard, had the chief part, and the other belonged to Gunner : at the
time of the survey, Hugh de Montfort had what belonged to Richard ; and Suene
had the other part which Gunner held under him ; a favour not commonly allowed.
This manor is united with that of Goldanger, both having only one court, kept at
Little Totham hall. Henry de Mailler, Mayloch, or Maleche, held this estate,
under Henry de Essex, supposed to have been a descendant from Hugh, son of
Malgen, the tenant at the survey under Hugh de Montfort. In the reign of Henry
the third this manor and that of Goldanger were in the possession of a family
surnamed larpenvii, or Carpenvil, from whom this parish was named Totham
larpenvil ;:j: and an heiress of this family conveyed it to the Heveninghams, from
whom it passed by purchase to that of Brown, succeeded by that of Sammes; and
these considerable families were lords of this manor and had their seats here.
The progenitor of the Heveningham family was Walter, lord of Heveningham in
Sufi"olk, some time before the conquest : Philip was settled here in the reign of king
Edward the first, and was succeeded by Walter, and Walter his son; by Robert;
Robert ; Ralph ; Sir William Heveningham, who was with Richard the first at the
siege of Acre, where, accepting the challenge of Sapher, governor of the castle there,
* Register dc Clerkenwell. Cotton MSS. in Brit. Mus. Faust, b. ii. fol. 176.
t Stokesley, 1 18. Newcourfs Repertor. ii. C09. X Rolls of the Forest of Essex.
714
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II
Rook
hall.
flhincli.
• he slew him in single combat. Their descendants remained here many centuries,
but at what time the male line became extinct is not found in the record.*
John Sammes, esq. was lord of this manor at the time of his death, in 1606, and
his descendants held it in succession till some time after the year 1645.f The present
lord of this manor is William Mason, esq., solicitor, of Colchester.
The manor-house of Rook hall is a short distance from the road to Heybridge.
Before the conquest, this estate belonged to Edunolt and Aluric ; and in Domesday
it is stated to be " the fee of the bishop of London." In 1433, Nicholas Wichingham,
esq. died holding this estate of the bishop of London, as of his manor of Stortford :
he was succeeded by his grandson Robert, who, dying in 1451, left his son John his
heir. This estate was next in the possession of John Southcott, esq. who died in
1585; and it was sold by sir Edward Southcott, to Benjamin Lord, of Maldon; of
whom it was purchased in 1720 by Nicholas Corsellis, esq. of Wivenhoe, and it has
continued in the possession of his descendants, to the present time.
This church, or chapel, is dedicated to All Saints ; it is a small building, with a
spire partly of flints. The living has from time immemorial been annexed to the
church of Goldanger.ij:
In 1821 there were two hundred and sixty-seven inhabitants in this parish, and
three hundred and six in' 1831.
GOLDANGER, OR GOLDANGRE.
Goldan-
ger.
This parish occupies low marshy ground, extending from Little Totham to Black-
water bay, opposite the isle of Osey.§ The village is on the road from Maldon to
Colchester. There is a fair for toys on Whit-Monday : distant from Maldon three
miles, and from London forty.
In the time of the Confessor, Leuuin Posthagra; Leuuin and Uluuard; and Elric,
were the owners of these lands : at the survey, they belonged to Hugh, son of
Malger; Ralph Peveroll; and Eustace, earl of Boulogne. There are three manors:
Inscrip-
tions.
Benefac-
tion.
* Arms of Heveningliam : Quarterly, or, and gules, within a bordure engrailed, sable, eight escallops,
argent. Crest : within a crown, a morion's head proper ; on his head a turban of five folds, gules, a
button on the top, or.
f Arms of Sammes : Or, a lion rampant, sable, vulned, armed, and langued, gules.
X In the chancel, an inscription informs us, that, " Here lies the rev. John Lasby, and Elizabeth his
wife, second daughter of Richard Sammes, esq., lord of this manor. He was rector of Goldanger and
of this parish twentj'-six years ; and died in 1703, leaving his daughter Elizabeth lady of the manor.
There is also an inscription for John Sammes, esq., who died 18th of Oct. 1606: and of dame Isabel
Sammes.
A farm, called Vouchers, in this parish, or in Great Totham, was left by Dr. Williams, for the education
of a certain number of young men in Glasgow college.
5 Soil, light and gravelly. Average annual produce, wheat twenty-six, barley forty bushels per acre.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 715
The name of this manor indicates its connexion with the adjoining parish : in c H A i'
the reign of Henry the third this lordship belonged to John de larpenvill, who, ^^^'
dying in 1259, left Roger larpenvill his heir;* who died in 1287. His heiress Manor of
was his daughter Maud, married to Philip de Heveningham. In 1318 Roger wi*th^Goi
de Heveningham died holding this estate, by knight's service; and Alice his 'ian?er.
widow, remarried to William de Maldon, had a third part of it in dower, with the
advowson of the church, and other possessions, which she held till her decease
in 1322 : the two other parts of the manor were holden by her son Philip, who
died before her in 1321. Sir John, son of Philip, held jointly with Joanna his
wife this manor, of the dean of St Paul's, London, and of the earl of Hereford.
John, son and heir of sir John, succeeded his mother in these estates in 1394 ; and
on his death in 1425 was succeeded by sir John, his son ; on whose decease in 1499,
his son Thomas Heveningham was his heir. In 1536, the manors of Goldanger
and Totham, and the advowson of the church of Goldanger and of Totham chapel,
were in the possession of sir John Heveningham ; and the next owner was sir
Anthony, who died in 1557; Henry his son; and Arthur Heveningham, esq., after
he had manumised the tenants, sold this estate to John Brown, esq. attorney at law,
who died in 1591 : John Brown was his son; who, with Silvester his father's widow,
and William Stark, sold " these manors of Little Totham and Goldanger," to John
Sammes, esq. succeeded by his son sir John Sammes, whose heir was his son, sir
Gerard Sammes, knt. who died in 1630, leaving his son Richard his heir ; who
married Frances, daughter of Thomas Still, esq., by whom, besides several sons and
daughters, he had Anne, married to Germaine of Wickham ; Francis, who married
, daughter of ■ Waldgrave, afterwards wife of Foley ; and Elizabeth,
wife of the rev. John Lasby, twenty-six years rector of this parish. Mr. Lasby
purchased the lordship of this manor, and died in 1703, leaving Elizabeth his only
daughter ; on whose death without issue, Henry Germaine, son of Anne Sammes,
inherited this manor, which he sold to Mr. John Price ; and he left it to his eldest
son, Robert Price, esq., serjeant at law, recorder of Colchester, Avho died in 1741.
It afterwards belonged to Mr. John Cole of Colchester, who married one of the
daughters of serjeant Price. Goldang-er hall and the demesne lands were purchased
of the widow of Francis Sammes and Henry Germaine, by the rev. Henry Barret,
rector of Herthurst in Suffolk ; and now belong to N. Wescomb, esq.
Robert Mantel gave the estate of Follifaunts to Blleigh abbey. The house is Folii-
half a mile north-east from the church. It was granted by Henry the eighth to
Stephen Beckingham ; whose son Thomas, in 1573, sold it to John Sammes, gent.
It afterwards belonged to alderman Clithero ; and by female heirs was conveyed to
William Waddis and Henry Heath : and passed into the possession of sir Nicholas-
* This Roger had salt-works here, for which he paid a yearly rent to the king.
716
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. Gerrard, bart. of East Ham. Some of the Heveningham family are said to have
resided here.
Fawltv. The manor-house of Fawlty is near the channel, half a mile west from the church :
this estate belonged to Bileigh abbey, and after the dissolution was granted, in 1538,
to Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk ; who, the same year, sold it to Robert Trapps,
of London, goldsmith : Avhose son and heir, Nicholas, on his death in 1544, left his
daughters Mary, wife of lord Giles Paulet, and Alice, wife of Henry Brown, his
heiresses. A partition being made in 1565, this was the share of the lord Giles Paulet
and Mary his wife, who sold it to Humphrey Shelton. In 1627, John Whigtacres
had this estate ; John Shaw was his cousin and heir. It afterwards belonged to
the Coe family of Maldon.
Chinch. The church is dedicated to St. Peter; it has a nave and chancel, and the chancel
has a chapel on the south. The steeple is of stone.*
The population of this parish in 1821 amounted to four hundred and fifty-nine,
and to four hundred and ninety-six in 1831.
ToUes-
hunt
Manger.
Tolles-
hiint
Becking-
hani
manor.
TOLLESHUNT MANGER, OR BECKINGHAM.
This parish extends northward from Goldanger. In the reign of Edward the
confessor it belonged to a Saxon named Sercar. In some records the name Tolles-
hunt is written Touzon, and the secondary name is from Malger, who held it under
Robert, son of Corbutio, at the time of the survey ; this name has been corrupted
into Malgri, and Major, and Magna, though it is the smallest of the three parishes
named Tolleshunt. It is named Beckingham in the records of the time of Henry
the eighth in the year 1543, when it was in the possession of Stephen Beckingham.
The village is distant from Maldon four miles, and from London forty-one.
The manor-house is near the church, on the north-west: the ancient gateway of
brick, with four embattled turrets, yet remains. Geofrey de Tregoz or Darey, was
lord of this manor in the time of king Stephen, and it was given by him to
Coggeshall abbey. On the dissolution, in 1538, it was granted by Henry the eighth
to sir Thomas Seymour, brother to the duke of Somerset ; and he exchanged it with
the king, who in 1543 granted it to Stephen Beckingham and his heirs; and it was
retained by them till sold by Stephen Beckingham f in 1636, to sir Thomas Adams,
Inscrip-
tions.
Charity.
* In the south chancel, on a stone : '* Off your charitie pray for the soules of Anthony Heyhani,
gentleman, and his wyfe.
Also, on a tombe, the following: "Of your charitie, pray for the soules of Thomas Heigham, esq ,
Alys, Awdye, and Frances, his wyves. Tho. ob. ult. Dec. 1531.
A farm in this parish belongs to the charity-school at VVitham.
t This Stephen was of the family of the Beckinghams, of Wiltshire; he was married to Anne,
daughter of Hugh Unton, esq. ; secondly, he married Avis, sixth child of sir Henry Tyrell, of Heron ; and
I
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. ' 717
kilt, alderman of London; and sir William, his second son, sold it in 1674 to Mr. CHAP.
Thomas Fox, cheesemonger, of London, who married Hannah, daughter of Mr. ^'"^
Henry Bigg, merchant-tailor. After the death of her first husband, she was married
to Mr. John Bradley; and in 1710 sold the reversion of this manor and estate to
Dr. Daniel Williams; and he, by will, in 1711, settled it in trustees: sixty pounds
of the income of it to be paid to two itinerant preachers, to preach to the negro
slaves in the West Indies ; and the remainder of the income of the estate he gave to
the college of Cambridge in New England. There are three other estates in this
parish, formerly named manors, which are believed to have formed a lordship held
before the conquest, by Brun ; and by Suene, at the survey.
This estate is named from the Higham family, its ancient owners : the mansion is Highams.
near the road from Goldanger to Tollesbury.* Three successive proprietors lived
here, named Robert Higham, followed by others of the family from 1427 to 154.5;
when this possession was conveyed to Stephen Beckingham, and it afterwards
belonged to Mr. William Harris.
A considerable farm, named Joyces, belonged to the Higham and Beckingham Joyces,
families : the mansion is a mile and a half south-east from the church. Stephen
Beckingham, esq. was the owner of it in 1558 : on whose decease, in 1596, it
became the property of sir Christopher Clitheroe, of Clitheroe, in Lancashire; and
passed afterwards, by female heirship, to various families.
The mansion of Wykes, a reputed manor, was on Tiptree-heath, near the Wykes.
parsonage called Renters. In 1525, it appears to have been granted to Cardinal
Wolsey : afterward, it belonged to sir John Huddleston ; and to Thomas Darcy
in 1554; from whose family it passed to thai of Sammes. It was purchased of
George Sammes, by Mr. Elmer of Ipswich ; and became the property of the Jenner
family.
The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is a plain ancient building; the nave and Churcli.
his third and last wife was Elizabeth, daughter of William Browne, of Flamberts. By his first wife he
had Thomas, Alice, Thomasine, and Elizabeth; by the second, one son; and by the third, two sons, of
whom Stephen was the elder. Stephen, the father, died in 1558, and was succeeded in this and his other
estates by Thomas, his eldest son, who, by his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Hill, had Thomas (after-
wards sir Thomas), Stephen, and Avisia. Sir Thomas, besides the capital mansion, had a park here, and
a messuage called Brises hatch. By his wife Elizabeth he had William, who died before him, leaving
William and Henry, his sons: sir Thomas died in 1633, and left his grandson William his heir; yet,
in 1635, Stephen, brother of sir Thomas, had this estate. Arms of Beckingham : Argent, a fesse
embattled, ermine, between three escallops sable. Crest : On a wreath argent, and ermine, a demy
griffin segreant, argent, collared, winged, gules, holding in his right foot a drawn sword, argent, hiked
and pomelled, or.
* Part of the old house has been joined to the more modern erection; and in tills portion of the
building, over a door, the following inscription has been preserved : " Concordia nutrit amorem." —
Concord is the nurse of love.
VOL. II. 4 z
718
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
ROOK II. chancel of one pace. There was formerly a chapel on the north of the chancel, but it
has been destroyed ; and the arched entrance into it has been walled up. This church
belonged to the priory of Caldwell in Bedfordshire, founded by Simon Basset in
1152. The convent supplied a priest till 1530, when Dr. Stokesley, bishop of
London, with the concurrence of the convent, instituted a vicarage.*
In 1821 there were in this parish four hundred and twenty-two inhabitants, and
four hundred and twenty-eight in 1831.
TOLLESHUNT KNIGHTS.
ToUes-
hiint
Knights.
Barn-
walden.
This parish extends from Tolleshunt Beckingham to Winstree hundred. The
village is six miles from Maldon, and forty-one from London. There is a fair on
the 29th of June.
Before the conquest, Ailmar, Alric, and eight freemen, were the owners of the
lands of this parish, which belonged to Ralph Baynard and Godwin at the time of
the survey. There are two manors.
The modern name of this manor is Barn-hall; the house is very pleasantly
situated, a mile north-east from the church, on the side of a hill, where the prospect
toward Mersey island and the sea is highly interesting, and of wide extentf Ralph
Baynard was lord of this manor at the time of the survey ; and on the forfeiture of
his grandson William, it was given by Henry the first to Robert, son of Richard
Fitz-Gilbert, and was retained by his descendants till 1301, when it was conveyed to
Walter de Pateshull, from whose descendant, John de Pateshull, it passed to John
de la Lee, who died in 1307.| Sir John atte Lee died in 1370 ; and Walter, his son,
on his death in 1395, was succeeded by his three sisters; of whom Margery, married
to Robert Newport, conveyed to him this estate : he died in 14285§ and his
Inscrip-
tions.
Charities
* A Latin inscription, under the effigies of a man and woman, in the chancel, informs us, that " Here
lies the bodies of Robert Higham, and Lettice his wife, which Robert died 23d June, 1427." There are
also other epitaphs for the same family. In the east window, a Latin inscription, of which the English is,
" Fray for the good estate of Robert, prior of Duumow."
Formerly there was a stately monument in the north chapel, to the memory of Stephen Beckingham,
of Tolleshunt Darcy, son of Stephen Beckingham, by his wife Elizabeth Browne. Here also lieth
Avis Tyrell, wife of the aforesaid Stephen Beckingham, being the sixth child of sir Henry Tyrell, knt.
of Heme. The aforesaid Stephen had one son by Avis his wife, and he himself lies here buried.
Mr. Stephen Beckingham gave the sum of forty shillings for ever, payable out of a messuage called the
Freme, in Tolleshunt Darcy.
Sir Christopher Clitheroe gave, out of Highams and Joyces, in this parish, three pounds per annum,
for ever, to be paid at Christmas, at the communion table, to the minister and churchwardens, and to be
by them distributed to twelve poor people that take no collection.
t Roman pavements were, some time ago, dug up near this manor-house.
I Sir Hen. Chauncy's Hist, of Hertfordshire, p. 147. § Ibid. p. 146.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 719
descendants had this possession till, on the death of John Newport, esq. in 1524 * CHAP.
Grace, his only daughter and heiress, was married to Henry Parker, esq. son and
heir of Henry Parker, lord Morley, from whom it successively passed to his son
Henry, lord Morley, in 1550; Edward, lord Morley, in 1557; and William, lord
Morley and Montegle, in 1618, on whose death in 1622, he was succeeded by his
son Henry, who died in 1655 ; and Thomas, the last lord Morley and Montegle,
sold this manor to Anthony Abdy, esq., from whom it descended to his son, sir
Robert Abdy, bart., to sir John, sir Robert, and a second sir John, who left it to his
aunt, Mrs. Cranke, for her life. It now belongs to J. R. H. Abdy, esq.f
The mansion of this manor is on the north side of a brook, from which it derives Brook -
its name : it is a mile and a half north-west from the church. It belonged to Alric ^ '
before the conquest, and at the Domesday survey was in the possession of Gondwin,
being the only estate he had in this county. It was given to the abbey of St. Osyth
at an early period, but by whom is not known. After the dissolution in 1539, it was
granted by Henry the eighth to Thomas, lord Cromwell ; and again passing to the
crown, was, by the same monarch, given to the lady Anne of Cleve, his forsaken
queen. In 1599, it was granted by queen Elizabeth to John Spencer, esq., after-
wards sir John, alderman of London, who died in 1609.:}: His only daughter,
Elizabeth, was married to William, lord Compton : who was succeeded by his son
Spencer, earl of Northampton, slain on Hopton heath, near Stafford, in 1642,
fighting for king Charles the first. This estate was afterwards sold to Ralph Fox,
of London ; from whose family it was conveyed to Marcellus Osborne, esq.
The church is in a low situation : it has a nave and chancel, with a wooden steeple. Church.
and is dedicated to All Saints.§
In, 1821, this parish contained three hundred and seventy-six inhabitants, and in
1831, only three hundred and seventy-four.
* Arms of att Lee : Argent, on a cross azure five leopards' heads, or. — Anns of Newport : Quarterly,
gules and azure, a lion rampant, or.
f The messuage and estate of Manyfield Wic goes along with this manor ; the house is near the church.
X He was sheriff of London in 1583, and lord mayor in 1594 : his funeral was attended by above one
thousand men in black g( wns and cloaks ; among whom were three hundred and twenty poor men, with
each a basket, in which were four pounds of beef, two loaves, a small bottle of wine, and a pound of
candles, a candlestick, two saucers, two spoons, a black pudding, a pair of gloves, a dozen of points for
shoe-strings, two red, and four white herrings, six sprats, and two eggs. His estate, left to lord Compton,
was valued at fifty thousand pounds.
§ There are some ancient defaced monuments belonging to the family of Patteshull ; and their arms Inscrip-
appear in the east window of the chancel. * tions.
Four pounds, out of lands called Rolles in Tollesbury, have been left to the poor of this parish, to be Charities,
given in bread.
John Crooke gave four shillings and fourpence for an obit for ever, out of a tenement named Obit.
Crossmans.
720 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
TOLLESHUNT DARCY.
hunt
Darcy.
ToUes- This parish extends southward from Tolleshunt Knights, and lies between ToUes-
hunt Beckingham and Tollesbury. The village is seven miles from Maiden, ten
from Colchester, and from London forty-one. There is a fair on the 11th of June.
Siuuard and Gotra were the owners of these lands before the conquest : and at the
survey they belonged to Robert Piperell, or Peverell, and Robert Gernon. There
are three manors.
Tolles- The mansion of this manor is near the church, on the south ; and is an ancient
!l""' building, surrounded by a moat, with a bridge of stone. After Ralph Peverell, his
witl' son William succeeded to this estate ; and it was afterwards holden of the honour
Verli.
of Peverell, by the family of Tregoz, in the reign of king Stephen. In 1263, in the
reign of Henry the third, Robert Tregoz had this manor, which Robert de Valoines
died possessed of in 1282 : Roese and Cecily were his daughters and co-heiresses.
The estate became afterwards divided, and the subject of a legal contest. In 1316 it
belonged to John de Boys, succeeded by proprietors of the same name in 1361 and
1403, the last of whom died in 1419, and was buried in the chapel in the north aisle
of the church. His posterity are \iot named in the record ; but this family, and that
of Darcy, became united by intermarriages, and the latter retained possession till the
death of Thomas Darcy, esq. He left five co-heiresses; Mary, wife of Christopher
Nevill, third son of Edward, lord Abergavenny; Elizabeth, married to sir Henry
Mildmay, knt. of Woodham Walter, younger brother to sir Thomas Mildmay, knt.
and bart. of Moulsham hall ; Bridget, wife of sir George Fenner, knt. ; Frances,
married to sir Henry Vane, knt. secretary of state to king Charles the first ; and
Margaret, wife of John Brown, esq.
In 1609, this estate was sold to Richard Hale, citizen and grocer of London,
founder of the free-school at Hertford. It continued in his family till it was con-
veyed to William Hale, esq. M. P. for the county of Hertford in 1661 and 1678, to
Abraham Hedgthorn of Colchester ; whose widow and four daughters sold it, with
some other lands, and the rectory, to sir Isaac Rebow, knt. of Colchester; and it now
belongs to general Thomas Slater Rebow.
(Minons. This manor, holden of the barony of Stansted Montfichet, under Robert Gernon,
was in the possesion of the family of De Verli in the year 1314; and belonged to
Walter de Patteshull, who died in 1330. On the purchase of Stansted by one of
the noble family of De Vere, earls of Oxford, Gernons was holden under them ;
Robert de Gedding held it of the seventh and eighth earls; in 1340, John de Boys ;
in 1384, Robert ; and in 1399 to 1406 John Boys held this estate of the Vere family :
it was given, by sir Thomas Darcy, bart. of Braxted lodge, to Frances, his daughter,
married to sir W^illiam Dawes, bart. archbishop of York ; whose son, sir Darcy
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE. 721
Dawes, enjoyed it after him ; and whose daugliter, Elizabeth, conveyed it by marriage c H a i'.
to Edwin Lascelles, esq. ; from whom it passed to his four sisters. ^^^
This estate appears to have formed part of Gernons manor, and was named from Virli.
Robert de Verli, tenant to Robert de Gernon ; and remained in possessors named
Verli till the year 1314; afterwards, it belonged to the Darcy family. Bridget
Darcy had it for her purparty; and her husband, sir George Fenner, sold Virli, and
the mansion named Newick-house, to John Hawkins, esq., of Booking, and alderman
of London, who died in 1632. John, his son and heir, had a son named Robert,
whose daughter and heiress, Frances, married to sir John Dawes, bart., brought this
estate into that family.
This ancient seat was reckoned a manor : it is half a mile north from the church ; Lan-
traditioually reported to have belonged to Richard, second son of Ralph Gernon, who
married Sabina, daughter of Simon Lycombron, who died in 1458: his only
daughter, Helen, conveyed it to her husband. John Langbroke. His posterity, who
enjoyed it, were Richard, father of John, whose son and successor was Richard. It
afterwards passed to the Darcys, a younger branch of whom resided' here, and after-
wards at Patiswick. Sir Thomas Darcy, of Braxted hall, left it to his son, from
whom it passed to his sisters ; afterwards, it belonged to sir Darcy Dawes, bart., and
to his heirs.
The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, has a nave and chancel, and a north aisle, churtli.
called Darcy's chapel, being the burial place of that family. The tower is of stone,
embattled. This church formerly belonged to the priory of Tiptree; but by whom it
was given is not known.*
This parish, in 1821, contained six hundred and sixty-iive inhabitants; and six
hundred and ninety in 1831.
TOLLESBURV.
This parish occupies the eastern extremity of the hundred, extending to the sea^ Toll
and the bay of Blackwater: on the west, it joins to the Tolleshunts, and to Gold-
burv.
* There is a stately figure of a knight in armour, in Darcy's chapel, vvith a Latin inscription, to inform inscriji-
us, that " Here lies John de Boys, esq., formerly lord of the manor of ToUeshunt Trcgoz, who died 15th tions.
of August, 1419." Also, under another knightly figure, " Here, under this stone, lieth Anthony Darcy,
esq. justice of peace to our sovereign lord king Henry Vlll., whicli Anthony dececyd 18 Oct. 154u."
There are inscriptions also to the memory of Katharine, wife of Thomas Darcy, esq. who died 7 July,
1535, and several others belonging to the Darcy family; and in the east window of the chancel are two
shields with the family arms : or, two chevronels, gules and ermine, a cross, sable.
New house, or White house, in this parish, with lands extending into Tollesbury, were purchased by Ciiiuity.
the trustees of Henry Smith, esq., who died in 1637; and besides h:s extraordinary munilicencc to almost
every town and village in Surrey, left money to buy lands for the poor of fouitecn parishes, of which
four are in Essex, viz. : Braintrce, Henhan), Terling, and ToUeshunt Darcy.
722
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Tolles-
bury
Manor.
anger. The Saxon name of the village, and wliicli has been given to the parish,
was ToUesbyjai^, the place where toll, or custom, was paid by ships entering the
bay : the village is five miles from Maldon, and forty-two from London.
There is a fair on the last Thursday in June.*
Gudmund was the owner of the lands of this parish before the conquest; and, at
the survey, they belonged to Eustace, earl of Boulogne ; it was of the fee of Ingelric.
The nunnery of Barking had lands here in Saxon times, and at the survey ; a part of
them were holden under the abbess, by Siuuard, and afterwards, by Ralph Peverel.
The name of Tollesbury is not found in records from the time of the survey to the
year 1329 ; but is supposed to be what is named Tolleshunt Guisnes, or Guysnes,
from Baldwin, earl of Guisnes, in France, ancient owner of it. This parish is
divided into four manors.
The mansion of this lordship, named Bourchier's hall, is pleasantly situated a mile
from the church, on the north-west : it is on rising ground, with an extensive pros-
pect of the sea, and of Mersey island. The estate has been variously named,
Tholeshunta, Little ThoUeshunt, Tholeshunt-Guisnes, Tolleshunt-Bourchier, the
manor of Tollesbury, and Overhall.
In 1166, Robert Hend held this estate of the honour of Boulogne. In 1210 and
1211 it belonged to Robert le Hold ; and afterwards, it had become the possession of
Ernulph de Hordres ; who gave it in marriage with his daughter, to Baldwin, earl of
Guisnes, who held it as three knights' fees, in the reign of king John. Ernulph
had, besides this estate, lands in Kent, Essex, and Bedfordshire ; which, on his union
with the confederate barons, the king took from him, and gave to Alan Marceld, a
monk of Bury : f but, on the death of John, and the accession of Henry the third,
Ernulph recovered his estates, and died possessed of them in 1222, and was suc-
ceeded by his son Baldwin, who left his possessions to his brother Robert. %
Successive owners of this estate were, the earl of Gysnes, in 1251, succeeded by
Fulk Basset, bishop of London; whose brother Philip § was his heir, and had this
estate at the time of his decease, in 1271 : his daughter and heiress, Aliva, countess
of Norfolk, was married, first to Roger le Bigod, earl of Norfolk ; and, secondlyj
* Average annual produce per acre : wheat twenty- four, barley forty-five bushels.
t Dugdale's Baron, vol. i. p. 758.
X This Robert de Guisnes had a license in 1247 to impark his wood of Tolleshunt, called Schiriches-
hall, which had been of old enclosed for a park.
§ " Philip de Gysnes rose to great eminence in his time : in 1259, he was made governor of the castles
of Oxford and Bristol ; in 1260, constable of those of Corff and Sherburn, in Dorsetshire ; in 1262, keeper
of that of the Devizes in Wiltshire; in 1268, sheriff of the counties of Oxford, Berks, Somerset, and
Dorset; and the same year, appointed chief justice of England. He fought valiantly for king Henry the
third, at the battle of Lewes, being the last man that kept the field," — Hen. de Knighton, col. 2447 ; and
Dugdale's Baronage.
HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE.
723
to Hugh le Despenser, justice of England, slain in the hattle of Lewes, %hting CHAl^
against Henry the third. But king Edward the first confirmed to her the manor of ^^^
ToUeshunt, which liad been forfeited by her last husband's rebellion. In 1280 she
exchanged this estate with Hugh de Essex, for the manor of North Weld ; and died
in 1281. This Hugh was descended from a younger son of Henry de Essex, baron
of Raleigh. Anne, his only daughter and heiress, was married to sir John de
Preyers, of Preyers, or Boure hall, in Sible Hedingham ; and conveyed to him this
estate. Sir Thomas Preyers, their son, left Margaret, his daughter, his heiress ; who,
by marriage, conveyed this estate to Robert Bourchier, lord chancellor of England ;
and he kept his first court here in 1329, and died in 1349. The manor continued in
this noble family till Anne, only daughter and heiress of Henry Bourchier, earl of
Essex, was married to William Parr, marquis of Northampton. Her heir was her
kinsman, Walter Devereux, lord Ferrers, of Chartley, afterwards earl of Essex; he
died in 1576 ; and his son, Robert Devereux, jointly with his brother Weaker, and
Christopher Blount, sold this estate to Thomas Gardiner the elder, and Thomas
Gardiner the younger, in 1588. Thomas Gardiner died in 1590, and left three sons,
Thomas, Christopher, and Jeremy. The eldest son, Thomas Gardiner, esq., married
Jane, only daughter and heiress of Arthur Breame, esq., and had with her the manor
of Bois hall, in Halsted: dying without issue, in 1638, he was succeeded by his
brother Christopher, in whose descendants the estate continued, till it was conveyed
by Jemima, daughter of Thomas Gardiner, esq., to her husband, Robert, duke of
Colchester.* Afterwards, Mr. Thomas Hallam, or his executors, had this estate;
and his only daughter, Mary, married to Philip Bennet, esq., conveyed it to that
family.
The hall was formerly enclosed in a park; and another old park, named Shiri'
cheshall, joins to ToUeshunt Knights.
The nunnery of Berking, or Barking, had this estate, which that house retained st. Mary,
till the dissolution of monasteries. The mansion is named Tollesbury hall, and is '^"^ '°^"
situated near the church, on the south. Thomas lord Cromwell, a few days previous
to his being created earl of Essex by Henry the eighth, had a grant of this estate ;
which, on his attainder, returned to the crown, and was appointed for the mainte-
nance of the lady Mary, afterwards queen. In 1562, this manor was granted by
queen Elizabeth to Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk ; who, imprudently entering
into an agreement to marry the unfortunate Mary, queen of Scots, was on that
account beheaded, in 1573; but Thomas, his son, by his second lady, Margaret,
daughter of Thomas lord Audely, being restored in blood in 1584, this lordship was
* Arms of Gardiner: Azure, six griffins' heads arrachce, or. Crest, on a wreath of his colours, a
griffin's head wounded with a broken lance proper, mantled, gules, doubled, argent. ,
724 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
_■ given to him by queen Elizabeth, in 1595 ; and it continued in this dignified family
till it was sold, in 1701, by Charles, the eldest son and heir of William lord Howard,
of Escrick, to Peter Whetcomb, esq., who left it to his daughters, Mary and Eliza-
beth; from whom it was afterwards conveyed to Henry Cornelison, esq., of Brack-
sted lodge ; it was purchased with that estate and ToUesbury Wic, by Peter
Ducane, esq., and has continued in his descendants to the present time.
Goiwell Prentises is on the souih-west end of the village ; and Gorwell hall, or Ger wells,
tises. is half a mile distant from it, on the right of the road to Maid on. These estates,
named manors, were subordinate to the capital manor of Bourchier's hall. They
both belonged to Bileigh abbey, and were, after the dissolution of monasteries,
granted to Thomas lord Cromwell; appropriated to the maintenance of the lady
Anne, of Cleve; and, in 1566, granted by queen Elizabeth to Robert Dudley, earl of
Leicester. These estates were afterwards separately sold to various proprietors, and
have been occupied as farms.
Bohun's Bohun's hall, vulgarly, Bown's hall manor-house, is near the church. This estate
has belonged to some religious house, but of what denomination, or where situated,
is not known. It is first mentioned in the record as granted to Thomas lord Crom-
well in 1539 ; and was in the possession of Francis Craddock, and Gervaise Howley,
in 1589; from whom it was conveyed to Margaret Whettell: but was, the same
year, granted, by queen Elizabeth, to Thomas Mildmay and others, who, in 1603, sold
it to sir James Altham, serjeant-at-law, and one of the barons of the Exchequer.
Dying in 1616, he left his son, sir James Altham, knt., his heir; who, on his decease
in 1624, left Sutton Altham, his son, his heir; whose sisters, Elizabeth and Frances,
became his co-heiresses, on his death, in 1630. It afterwards belonged to Osmond
Beauvoir, esq., of Downham.
Church. The church has a nave and chancel, and a stone tower contains five bells. It is
dedicated to the Virgin Mary.*
This church, with one of the manors, belonged to the nunnery of Barking ; and the
Inscrip- * On a stone in the church there used to be figures of a man and woman, with two sons and nine
tions. daughters, and the inscription, " Pray for the soules of Thomas Freshwater, and Margaret his wife.
Tho. ob. 15 Dec. 1517." Another stone, with a man and woman, and five sons and three daughters, was
inscribed, " Pray for the soules of John Ranston, and Alys his wife. John ob. 7 Decern. 1510." At the
east end there are some memorials of the family of Gardiners, of Bourchier's hall.
A tradition has been preserved by Mr. Symonds, that under a stone in the belfry, was buried the body
of a beggar named Martin, who, on liis death-bed, discovered two pots of money which he had hid, and
appointed two bells to be bought with it; which were accordingly procured, and liung up. His figure in
brass is said to have been formerly to be seen here.
Cliarities. Mr. John Taylor gave out of lands here, three pounds per annum to poor labouring men who receive
no collection.
A benefaction of sixteen pounds per annum is paid out of this parish to the poor of Safl'ron-Walden.
i
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE.
725
rectory and advowson passed to the crown on the dissolution of that house. In 1607, chap.
king- James the first granted them to sir Roger Aston, and John Grimditch; and ^^'^'
they, soon after, conveyed them to Thomas and John Freshwater, esqrs. The
rectory is a small manor, to which belong thirty acres of copyhold, and ten acres of
demesne lands, and some houses, and all the great tithes of the parish.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to nine hundred and fifty-eight,
and, in 1831, to one thousand and sixty-six.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE HUNDRED OF THURSTABLE.
R. Rectory. C. Chapelry. "V. Vicarage. t Discharged from payment of first-fruits.
Parish.
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Goldanger, R
Heybridge, V
Langford, R
Tollesbury, V
ToUeshunt Darcy, V.
TolleshuntKnights,R.
ToUeshunt Mauger.V.
Totham, Great, V...
Totham, Little, C. , .
Wickham Bish, R. . .
Colchester.
Pecui
Colchester.
C. W. Shuckburgh . .
F. J. Waring
W. Westcomb
William Morgan. . . .
John C.Driffield....
C. W. Carwardine...
Robert P. Crane
Geo. S. Townley.. ..
R. of Goldanger ....
Thos. Leigh
1798
1798
1813
1826
1819
1805
1810
1777
1798
1803
25 14 9i
10 0 0
10 4 9i
16 6 3
flS 10 0
16 13 4
t 8 0 0
flO 0 0
Not in charge.
12 3 4>
N. Westcombe, esq.
Dn.&Ch. of St. Paul's.
Mrs. Westcomb.
Sir W.B. Rush, knt.
Gen. & Mrs. Rebow.
Lord Chancellor.
Rev. J. S. Dunn.
iMrs. Honeywood.
W. Goldhanger Recty.
Bishop of London.
CHAPTER XX.
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE.
Wiustree.
This hundred is bounded by Thurstable on the west, and eastward by the river C H A.P.
Colne ; and by Lexden on the north. Its greatest extent, from east to west, is nine
miles, and five from north to south. Edward the Confessor is believed to have given
this hundred to the priory of West Mersey, which it retained till its suppression as
an alien priory, when this estate passed to the crown. There are twelve parishes
m this hundred. Layer Marney, Layer Breton, Layer de la Hay, Abberton, Fin-
gringhoe, Langenhoe, Peldon, Great Wigborough, Little Wigborough, Salcot Verli,
West Mersey, East Mersey.
There is an apparent inconsistency in dignifying these small districts of Thurstable
VOL. II. 5 A
726 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
tinoK II. and Winstree with the name of hundreds, when the larger districts of Becontree
and Harlow are only reckoned half hundreds. This may perhaps be properly
accounted for, by considering that, when the divisions of hundreds were formed, in
the Saxon times, Beacontree and Harlow were chiefly forest land, thinly peopled ;
but that, on this coast, there were at that time many saltworks, and the navigation
and commerce very considerable.
LAYER MAIINEY.
Layei-
iMarnev.
Layer
Marney
Tower,
Of the three parishes named Layer, this is nearest to the hundred of Thurstable.
The name is in records Layre, Leyre, Legra. This parish has right of pasturage
on Tiptree heath. The village of Layer Marney is distant from Colchester six
miles, and forty-seven from London.*
Two freemen, and a free woman, had the lands of this parish before the conquest ;
and at the survey they belonged to the bishop of London. How long the bishops
held this possession is not known. The Marney family had the chief estates as early
as the reign of Henry the second : yet this parish is mentioned as holding of the
bishop of London, as late as the year 1627.
The capital manor is named from the noble ftimily of Marney,f who retained
possession of it from the time of Henry the second, to that of Henry the eighth. The
two co-heiresses of John lord Marney, who died in 1525, sold it to sir Brian Tuke,
secretary to Cardinal Wolsey. Sir Brian, dying in 1545, was succeeded by his
third son, George Tuke, esq., who married Margaret, daughter of William
Morice, esq., of Cheping Onger, and, dying in 1573, his son Peter J sold it to
sir Samuel Tryon, knt. and hart., of Bois hall, in Halsted. He died in 1627; and
his son Samuel sold the estate to John Ellys, woollen-draper, and alderman of
London, Avho again sold it to Nicholas Corsellis, of London, an eminent merchant,
ancestor of the family of this name, seated at Wivenho, and in other parts of Essex.
This estate now belongs to Matthew Corsellis, esq.
This stately fabric is all that remains of Layer Marney hall, one of the earliest
and largest buildings of brick in the kingdom. It was of a quadrangular form,
enclosing a spacious court, the chief entrance to which was through the tower gate-
vvay that now remains. It consists of a lofty centre, of two stories, flanked at each
* The average annual produce per acre of the strong heavy lands of Layer Marney and Layer Breton
is, wheat twenty-six, barley thirty-two bushels.
t The name in records is written, de Mareni, de Marini, or aiarinis, and de Marny. Hugo de Marini,
or Marny, had the prebend of Tottenhall, in the church of St. Paul's, London, and was dean of that
church, from about 1160 to 118L See Newcourt, vol. i. p. 34, 213.
t Arms of Tuke. Per pale indented, azure and gules, three lions passant gardant, or, a mullet for
difference.
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 727
angle by an octangular tower, rising from the ground to a considerable height. In c H A F.
each of these there are eight floors, or stories, all of which are lighted by small ^^
pointed windows ; hut the larger apartments, in the centre, have windows of a square
form. Between the divisions of the windows, and on the summit of the building,
there are curious mouldings and ornamental sculptures ; and substantial imitations
of stonework appear to have been used as facings, both in these and the larger
apartments of the hall ; they were formed of brick earth, cast in moulds. Attached
to the east and west sides of the gateway, are considerable remains of old mansions,
now converted into a farmhouse and offices. The towers rising from high ground,
the uppei'most floors or platforms command a very extensive view over the surround-
ing country, particularly to the west ; and eastward, over the sea.
This capital messuage, on Heyn's green, was formerly reckoned a manor. It is Heyns.
flrst mentioned in 1523, after the death of lord Marney, as having belonged to him.
The Camock family had this, and various other estates here. John Camock, gent., Camocks,
of Layer Marney, was the father of Robert, who died in 1585, holding this, and
various other estates here and in the neighbouring parishes. Thomas Camock, by
his wife Ursula Wyrley, had four sons and five daughters ; and by his second wife,
Frances, daughter of the earl of Warwick (to whom he was clandestinely married),
he had two sons and eleven daughters. He lies buried in the church of All Saints,
in Maldon. Successive owners of this estate were, the rev. James Boys, vicar of
Coggeshall, and rector of Aldham ; who, on his death, in 1725, was succeeded by his
son, James Boys, esq., counsellor at law, who, by his wife Susan, had James, and
nine daughters.
An estate, named Layer Wic, has the mansion in this parish ; but the lands are Layer
chiefly in Salcot Verli.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has a nave, north aisle, and chancel, church.
It is a stately edifice, chiefly in the latter style of English architecture. There is a
chapel in the east end of the aisle where it joins the chancel ; it was begun by Henry,
the first lord Marney, who directed in his will, that this chapel, he had begun, (lw|.d.
should be finished, with a substantial roof of timber, covered with lead,* and the
windows glazed with imagery. Likewise, that a tomb of marble should be in the
wall, betwixt the chancel and the said chapel, with his image, and those of his two
wives ; Thomasine on his right hand, and Elizabeth on his left. In this chapel he
ordered mass to be celebrated by two priests, for his soul, the souls of his wives, and
of his ancestors.
John, lord Marney, by his will of 1524, appoints his own burial in the middle of
the new aisle or chapel, and the tomb to be of such stone as his father's, or else of
* The lead was taken off, and cast into bullets, in the time of the civil wars.
728 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. grey marble : he appointed also an image of brass for himself; and, on either side of
his image, one for each of his two wives. Also, that, on the west end, there should
be an altar for a priest, to sing for him perpetually. He gave two hundred and fifty
pounds towards new building the church.
Chantries. A college for a warden, and two chaplains for two chantries, was founded and
endowed in 1330.*
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to two hundred and forty-six;
and in 1831, to two hundred and seventy-five.
LAYER BRETON.
Layer This parish extends from Layer Marney eastward. Its name is from ancient
owners. The name of Breton occurs in the list of those who came with William the
Conqueror ;f and the individual was, probablj', one of those who attended Alan
Fergent, earl of Bretagne, at the battle of Hastings, where he then commanded the
Inscrip-
tions. • A marble tomb, in the chancel, with the figure of a knight in armour, is for William Marney, who
by his will, dated 1414, ordered his body to be buried here. A monument on the south M'all has the
arras of Camock, impaling Everton and Badby. There is the following inscription : " Here under lieth
buried, the body of Robert Camock, of Layer Marney, gent., who took to his first wife Elizabeth, one
of the daughters of Richard Badby, gent., and by her had only one son, Tliomas Camock, and five
daughters : his second wife was Mary, one of the daughters of John Everton, gent., by whom he had no
issue. He died 1st of March, 1585." The said Thomas Camock, his son, took to his first wife,
Ursula, one of the daughters of John Wyrley, of Dodford, in the county of Northampton, esq., and had
by her four sons and five daughters ; and to his second wife, the only daughter of the right hon. sir
Robert Riclie, knt., lord Riche.
At the upper end of the chancel, against the wall, is a marble monument with these arms : Argent, a
demy gryphon, segreant, or, collared azure; crest, a demy gryphon, collared azure: beneath is a Latin
inscription, of which the following is a translation : " Here rests Nicholas Corsellis, esq., lord of this
manor, who is not lost, but gone before, having exchanged this life for a better, A.D. 1674, 19th day
of Oct. aged seventy. This Nicholas, a Hollander (at the royal request, and induced thereto by encou-
ragement) , taught the English the admirable art of printing : his mercantile celebrity extended to the
farthest Indian shores. He is now an inhabitant of heaven. His virtue and fame yet live."
There have been numerous shields in the windows of the chancel, with the arms of Marney, and their
alliances ; some of these remain ; and between the north aisle and chancel, the figure of a knight in
armour has the arms of Marney and Venables ; and there are also two other similar figures with the
same armorial bearing ; there are also four tombs without effigies, inscriptions, or arms.
Charities, ^^ alms-house, of brick, with apartments for five poor people, was built here by appointment of the
will of Henry lord Marney : it has a common kitchen and garden, and is enclosed with a brick wall.
They were to have in their yard, yearly, twenty loads of wood, from his land, each of them towards his
maintenance, ten pence a week, and a gown of russet-frieze every year, ready made. This building is said
to have stood by the pond coming from the house. It was of short continuance ; for William Tipper
and Robert Daw procured a grant of it from queen Elizabeth, and pulled it down and sold the materials.
A farm in this parish was given by Miss Prisca Coburne to St. Bartholomew's hospital,
f D'eudemare, Hist, du Roy Willaume le Bastard, p. 664.
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE.
729
rear of William's army. The name of Brito, Breton, or le Breton, is of great chap
antiquity in this country. The village is distant from Maldou five miles and ■^■^"
from London forty-eight.
Under Edward the Confessor, the lands of this parish were holden by Ailraar ;
and at the time of the survey belonged to Ralph Peverel, whose under-tenant was
Turold. There is only one manor.
Lewis Brito granted lands here to St. John's college, in Colchester, which his son Layer
Ralph confirmed to that house ; and also granted them two parts of the tithes of all wSor.
his demesnes in Layre Breton, to hold by the service of eight pence a year. Adeliza,
his widow, granted them ten shillings and eight pence yearly, in perpetual alms, for
the good of her husband's soul ; and their son, Robert le Breton, gave to the same
monks eleven acres in this parish, for the souls of his father and mother, who were
buried in that abbey. In the reign of Richard the first, Robert de Breton held lands
near Audley, and was a benefactor to St. Botolph's Priory, in Colchester.* In the
reigns of king John, and Henry the third, William le Breton held two knights' fees
in this parish ; and John le Breton was a knight banneret in this county in the time
of Edward the first. In 1325, the manor and church of Layer Breton were settled for
life on William Breton, and on Nicholas his son, and Isabel his wife, and the heirs
of the said Nicholas, after the death of William, father of Nicholas. Nicholas
succeeding his father, presented to the church in 1395. Richard de Breton held
half a knight's fee here, and was taxed ten shillings for his reasonable relief for the
marrying of Blanche, the eldest daughter of king Henry the fourth, with Lewis,
afterwards duke of Bavaria, in 1402. This family appear to have removed from
this place to Monkton Farley, in Wiltshire, some time previous to 1420.
The Walden family, of Ongar park, were next possessed of this estate, from whom
it passed, by marriage, to the Barlee family; and afterwards to various owners;
till, in 1677, it became the property of sir Isaac Rebow, of Colchester, who died
in 1726. The present owner of this estate is his descendant, general Thomas
Slater Rebow.
The church is a plain building, tiled. There are some remains of a chapel, con- cimrch.
nected with the chancel.f
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to two hundred and fifty-nine,
and to two hundred and sixty-two in 1831.
• Monast. Angl. vol. ii. p. 45.
t A tombstone, in the chancel, robbed of its effigies, bears a Latin inscription, to inform us that, Monu-
" Here lieth Alice, formerly wife of Nicholas Breton, who died INLiy 6, 1392." A monument near this '"^'^*»-
is defaced : as is a so another near the north wall.
730 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liOOK 11.
LAYER DE LA HAVE.
Layer de 'pj^jg jg ^[^q ^nggj. eastemlv of the three parishes named Layer, and occupies the
la Have. •' ...
nortli-western extremity of the hundred, Tliere is a fair on the 15th of May.
Distant from Colchester four miles, and from London forty-nine.*
The Saxon possessors of this district, before the Conquest, were Alric and Luivin,
two freemen ; and at the survey, it was in the divided possession of Eustace, earl of
Boulogne, and Hugh de Montfort. There are three manors.
Manoi of The mansion is on the north of the church; and the lands which belonged to earl
Layer de Eustace form the estate. Its next recorded owners after the earl, were of the
la Haye.
family of De la Haye. Maurice de Haia; his son Ralph; Maurice, and Walter de la
Haie, sons of Ralph, were benefactors to St. John's Abbey, in Colchester.f In 1210,
and 1211, William de la Haye was the recorded owner of this estate ; and his successor
was William de Monkanesey, or Montchensi; and the estate was for some time
named " Legre de Montchensy." In 1264, Lucia, widow of Ralph de la Haye, sued
William de Montchensy for " her reasonable dower, wherewith her husband Ralph
had endowed her when he espoused her at the church door;" and the said William .
granted her the manor for life, in the name of dower; the reversion of it to come
to him and his heii's for ever. In 1313 it belonged to William de Montchensy and
his wife Alice, who were succeeded by their son William. It was one of the fees of
Edmund Plantagenet, earl of Kent, in 1330; and holden of him, in 1353, by Hugh
de Nanton, whose wife Agues was remarried, after her first husband's death, to
Thomas Bretoun, in 1358, who held this manor of the king, by knight's service.
Edward Nanton was the son and heir of John ; and the estate was, for a time, named
after the family, "the manor of Nanton." It afterwards belonged to the family of
De Tey, or Tay, of Marks Tay : Roger de Tay married Edith de la Haye, and had
by her Thomas, who, by Emma his wife, daughter of Nawton, had Martin de
Tey Sir Robert de Teye was his great-great-grandson, and died possessed of this
estate in 1426: his successors were, his son John, in 1440; John, son of John, in
1445. Robert Tey, of Copford, who died in 1473; William Tey, esq., his son, in
1502; Thomas Tey, esq., in 1543; and his son John, in 1568, whose son Thomas J
sold it, in 1596, to Peter Bettenson, esq., <jf the family of Bettenson, of Foxton, in
Staffordshire: he died in 1624, and his brother Richard Bettenson, esq., was his
successor ; who married Katharine, daughter of George Tuke, esq., of Layer Marney,
* One-third of this parish ij light turnip-hmd, and two-thirds too strong to feed of that crop on the
land. The heavy land is a shallow surface, on a very strong loam bottom ; this loam would make good
tiles; it is very wet, but land-draining has no effect. — Young.
t Register of St. John's Abbey, fol. 94—96.
X Arms of de la Haye :— Argent, on ?. fesse gules, two mullets of the first, between six martlets, sable.
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 731
and had by her Richard and Thomas. Sir Richard Bettenson, knt., married Anne, C H a i\
daughter of sir William Monyns, hart, of Kent ; and sir Richard Bettenson, knt. '^^
and bart., was of Wimbleton, in Surrey. The estate afterwards was, by co-heiresses,
sold to colonel John Brown, of Huberth hall, in Harlow ; from whom it was con-
veyed to sir Roger Burgoyne, bart.
The manor-house is a quarter of a mile from the church, on the south-east : the Biinu
estate is what belonged to Luivin the Saxon, and to Hugh de Montfort, after the '^"''-^'''"•
conquest. It was given, with the church of this parish, to St. Botolph's priory, in
Colchester ; which appropriation was confirmed by king Richard the first.* It is
traditionally stated to have been originally given for the support of a community of
knights who had lost their eyes and limbs in the crusades. After the dissolution of
the monastery, this manor, with the rectory, and advowson of the church, Avere
granted, by Henry the eighth, in 1536, to sir Thomas Audeley, chancellor of England,
who died possessed of them in 1544, and left them, by will, to his brother Thomas,
for life, and after his decease to his eldest son. Thomas Audeley, esq., who died in
1572, and whose son Robert, dying in 1624, left Henry (afterwards sir Henry, knt.)
his son, his heir. He married Anne Packington, by whom he had Thomas; Henry,
who died young ; Katharine, wife of Henry Barker ; Mary and Abigail : by his
second wife, Anne Daniel, he had Henry. Thomas, the eldest son, dying unmarried
and intestate, Henry his brother inherited the estates ; and on his death, this manor
became the property of James Smyth, esq., of Upton; who dying unmarried, in 1741,
was succeeded by his great nephew, sir Trafford Smyth, bart.; and it now belongs
to sir Henry George Smyth, bart., of Berechurch hall.
The mansion of this estate is half a mile northward from the church. In 1290 it Manor of
was given to St. John's abbey, in Colchester, by John de Ry ; and retained by that '^'^'
house till its dissolution. It was granted to lord chancellor Thomas Audeley in
1538, from whose family it passed to sir Robert Smyth, bart., and belongs now to his
descendant, sir H. G. Smyth. f
The church is a plain building, with a stone tower, in which there are five bells4 Chuich.
In 1821 the population of this parish amounted to six hundred and three, and in
1831 to six hundred and thirty-seven.
* Monast. Angl. vol. ii. p. 41.
t Some houses on the road, where there used to be an ancient cross, have retained the name ot Layer
cross.
X On the floor of the chancel, a stone has an inscription to the memory of Christian, wife of Josliua Inscrip-
Warren, of this parish, merchant, daughter of Samuel Avery, of London, alderman. Ob. 23 .June, 1)00, tiou!<.
On a monument, on the north side of the chancel, with two effigies : " Of your charite pray for the soules
of Thomas Tey, esq., some time of this towne of Leyer, Ob. 1500 ; and Jane his wife, on whose soule,
and all christen soules, Jeshu have mercy." There have formerly been other memorials of the same
family, and the arms of Tey are in the east window.
732
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
Abberton.
Abberton
Hall.
Badcocks.
Church.
ASBERTON.
This parish extends eastward from Layer de la Haye : in records, the name is
written Aburton, Adburton, Adburgeton, &c. The village is four miles and a half
from Colchester, and fifty-five from London.*
The Saxon owners of the lands of this parish before the conquest, were Siward,
and two others, freemen ; and at the survey, the possessors of them were Eustace,
earl of Boulogne, whose under tenant was Ralph de Merci ; Ralph Peverel ; and
Suene, whose under tenant was Odo. There are two manors.
After earl Eustace, the next recorded owner of this estate was Osbert de Bright-
lingsey, in 1247; and his next heirs were his sisters, Aveline, wife of Peter de
Aldham ; Joane, wife of Roger de Blakeham ; and Roese, wife of Richard Mune-
Aveline, the eldest, afterwards a second time married to de Ramesey,
rum.
sold this estate to William de Montchensi, who conveyed it to the abbey of St
Osyth ; which retained possession of it till it was conveyed, in 1538, by John Col-
chester, abbot of St. Osyth, to sir Thomas Audeley, at that time chancellor of the
court of Augmentations ; who, by will, gave this manor to his executors for twelve
years, and then to his brother Thomas for life ; and, after his decease, to his nephew,
Thomas Audeley, esq. and his heirs : passing, as devised, from lord Audeley to his
brother, and his nephew; and then to Robert, and to sir Henry Audeley, knt. ; the
latter settled it, with the manor of Badcocks, in this parish, on his marriage with
Mrs. Anne Packington, as he had settled the church of Layer de la Haye.
The manor house of Badcocks is a quarter of a mile north-west from the church :
it is what belonged to Ralph Peverel, and Odo, at the survey. No further mention
of it occurs, except, as is supposed, it was the estate which belonged to Alice le
Despenser, daughter and heiress of Philip Basset, at the time of her decease, in
1281: Hugh le Despenser was her son and heir. It appears to have been the land
that Thomas Whot and John Henny gave to St. Botolph's priory, in Colchester,
in 1398. In 1523, Thomas Springe died possessed of "the manor of Adburton
called Badcocks." Thomas lord Audeley, who died in 1544, had this estate : as had
also his nephew, Thomas Audeley, esq., who died in 1572 ; and was succeeded by
his son Robert ; whose son, sir Henry Audeley, knt., settled it upon his wife,
Mrs. Anne Packington; and it passed, as the tithes of Layer de la Haye, to
Francis Canning, esq.
The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a small plain building, with a steeple of
brick.
In 1821, there were two hundred and three inhabitants; and in 1831 two hundred
and two.
* Average annual produce, wheat twenty-four, barley thirty-sis bushels per acre»
i
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 733
C H A P.
FINGRINGHOE, OR FINGRINHOU. ^•^•
This parish is on the north-east border of the hundred ; it is not mentioned in the Fin^i in"-
record of Domesday, but in the charter of king Edward the Confessoi-, in 1046, '^"^*
he has granted West Mersey to the abbey of St. Ouen, at Roan, in Normandy ;
and it is therefore supposed to have been reckoned part of the possessions of that
monastery, and included in their valuation. The name is written, Fyngeringho,
Fynrgynghoo, Fingrithe; apparently from the Saxon, Finjejr, inj, and hou. In
.SEthefledes' will, it is called Fin^injjiaho. The village is on the road from Maldon
to Colchester, from the latter of which it is distant four miles, and fifty-five from
London. There is a fair here on Easter Monday.*
There is only one manor in this parish ; and the hall is on the south of the church. Fingiing-
The Confessor's grant to the foreign abbey, was confirmed by the Conqueror ;
Henry the first granted to that monastery free warren here ; which privilege was
confirmed by Henry the second;-]- who also renewed their original charter. King
Edward the third, during his wars with France, seized this manor as belonging to
an alien priory ; he appears, however, to have afterwards restored it to them again,
for the prior of Mersey presented to the vicarage in 1368: but, in 1733, the king
again presented, as did his grandson and successor, Richard the second, in 1393. J
In 1414, king Henry the fifth entirely suppressed the priories alien, and granted this
estate to Henry Chichley, archbishop of Canterbury, who made it part of the endow-
ment of his college of Higham Ferrers, in Northamptonshire ;§ and the master and
fellows presented to the vicarage from 1434 to 1534. After the dissolution of reli-
gious houses, in 1542, this manor was granted, by Henry the eighth, with the rectory
and advowson of the vicarage, to Robert Dacres, esq. and his heirs ; together with
the half hundred of Winstree. He died in 1543, leaving George, his son, his heir •
but in 1553, king Edward the sixth granted the manor, with those^of West Mersey,
Petehall, and appurtenances, to Thomas lord Darcy, of Chiche, and his heirs. He
died in 1558; as did John lord Darcy, his son and successor, in 1580. Thomas lord
Darcy, his son and heir, was created viscount Colchester in 1621 ; and, in 1626,
earl Rivers. He died in 1639; Thomas, his son, having died before him, without
issue, his estates descended to his four daughters, co-heiresses, Elizabeth, Mary,
Penelope, and Susan. Elizabeth, the eldest, was married to sir Thomas Savage, of
Rock-savage, in Cheshire, knt. and bart. He died in 1 635 ; and his widow and
the trustees, in 1648, conveyed this manor of Fingringhoe, with appurtenances, to
George Frere, merchant, of London ; who left it, by will, to his nephew, John
Goddard, gent. ; whose son, of the same name, sold it, in 1707, to Marmaduke
* Average annual produce per acre ; wheat twenty-two, barley twenty-six bushels.
t Monast. Angl. vol. i. p. 532. + Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 226. § IMonast. Angl. vol, iil. part 2, p. 175.
VOL. II. 5 B
734
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Rawdon, gent., son of Marmaduke Rawdon, esq., of Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire,
by Esther, daughter of Abraham Corsellis, of East Smithfield, London, merchant ;
brother of Nicholas Corsellis, esq.* IMarmaduke, the son, was an attorney, at
Colchester : by Dorothy, his wife, eldest daughter of John Freeman, gent. ; he had
Dorothy, who died young ; and Esther, first married to Mr. Plumer, of Hoddesdon,
by whom she had no issue ; afterwards, to Joseph Keeling, esq., to whom she con-
veyed this estate, but died without offspring.f He afterwards married Mrs. Alice
Slaney, by whom he had Joseph, John, William, and Mary.|
The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is near the channel ; it has north and south
aisles, a nave, and chancel, Avith a tower of flints and stone. §
The amount of the population of this parish, in 1821, was four hundred and
seventy-two; and five hundred and forty-two in 1831.
Church.
LANGENHOE.
Langen-
hoe.
This small parish extends southward from Fingringhoe, and is near the island of
Mersey. The name is written in records Langhou, Lagenho, Langynhoo, &c.
supposed from the Saxon Lanjhou, long hill. The village is on the road from
Maldon to Colchester ; from the latter place, distant four miles ; and from London
fifty-two. 11
Ingelric was the Saxon owner of this estate in the reign of Edward the confessor ;
Charities.
* Anns of Rawdon: — Argent, a fesse gules, charged with a lion current, or, between three pheons,
sable ; on a dexter canton, a j-ose, gules, pierced, argent. Crest : On a closed helmet, upon a green hill,
a griffin, with wings expanded, or.
+ Anns of Keeling : — Sable, a lion erect, holding in his paws an escutcheon with a cross crosslet, fitche.
Crest : Out of a mural cro^^Ti, a demy lion, as above.
X A customary of Fingringhoe, Peteliall, and West Mersey, made at a court, held at Petehall and
West Mersey, the Tuesday after Whitsuntide, by Thomas Bonham, esq., king's steward, and William
Pirton, esq., bailiff of the said manors, in 1520. Thomas Camock, general surveyor to the lord John
Darcey, August 12, 1572, took a draught of it; the lords are to have all manner of advantages of the
admiralty of the sea within the towns of West Mercey, Fingringhoe, and Petehall ; and the finder of the
said wreck to have half thereof, or the like advantage, after the use of the admiral court. The lord, or
his farmer, must keep a common bull, or boar. The eldest daughter succeeds to copyhold estates, not
partable. The corporation of Colchester, by the charter of king Richard the first, confirmed by other
subsequent ones, had the fishery in the river Colne, from Northbridge to Westnesse ; which they thought
included all the creeks within the same; but Marmaduke Rawdon, esq., recovered from them the fishery
in the creeks called North and South Geedon, as belonging to his manor of Fingringhoe.
§ John Frere, esq., gave fifty-two shillings yearly, to be distributed to the poor in bread, out of the
hall estate. Fourteen acres of land, named Hame, or church-lauds, were given for the repairs of
tlie church,
II Land, strong and heavy. Average annual produce per acre ; wheat twenty-eight, barley thirty-two
bushels.
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 735
and, at the time of the survey of Domesday, it belonged to Eustace, earl of c h a i'
Boulogne. There is only one manor. '
The mansion of Langenhoe hall is near the church, on the south. After earl Langen-
Eustace, the next recorded owner of lands here is John le Despenser, who, in 1824,
with Margaret, his wife, daughter and heiress of Clement de Ryseing, recovered
two carucates of arable land, and sixty acres of wood in Langenhoe, of Almaric
Petche. The Fitzwalters were lords paramount here ; and under Robert lord
Fitzwalter, who died in 1328, this manor was holden by Lionel de Bradenham, a
man who is distinguished in the record as guilty of numerous acts of injustice — of
robbery and murder. He endeavoured to appropriate to himself that part of the
royalty of the river Colne, named the Geedons, which belonged to the corporation of
Colchester; and, pretending that they lay within his manor, he enclosed them with piles.
A commission being granted, in 1362, to Robert de Herle, lord admiral, to inquire, by
the oaths of legal men and true : it was, after several sessions and adjournments, declared
and adjudged, by advice of council, that Lionel de Bradenham had nothing to do there.
However, he still continued his encroachments; and another writ was issued, in
1363, to inquire of the matter, and of several enormities committed by him. In
1364, he was forced to sue for a pardon, in Avhich it is set forth, that he Avas guilty
of many felonies, and had besieged Colchester for a quarter of a year, with two hundred
men, attempting to burn it : and retained at his house, in Langenhoe, several thieves,
or robbers, as his servants ; and had caused three or four persons to be drowned in
South-Geedon, for which he took sanctuary.* In 1368, he passed this manor, and
the advowson of the church, to John de Sutton, the son, and Richard his brother,
and others; and sir John de Sutton held it, under Walter lord Fitzwalter, who died
in 1386.f In 1406, it was holden under Walter lord Fitzwalter, by John de Boys.:|:
John Browne, who died in 1468, held this manor of the warden of the college
of Higham Ferrers : he was succeeded by his brother Thomas, who left it to his
son Robert; and he held it of the master and fellows of the college, as of their
manor of Pete hall : on his death, in 1489, he left his son William his heir, then only
fifteen years of age. In 1530, John Browne, esq., died possessed of this estate ; and
was succeeded by George Browne, esq., his eldest son and heir; who, dying in 1558,
left Wistan Browne, esq., his heir : he died in 1580 ; and his son and heir, sir
Anthony, died in 1589. This last, leaving no issue, his two sisters were his heirs;
Katharine was married to Nicholas Waldegrave, esq. ; and Jane, first to Edward
Wyatt, and afterwards to Gamaliel Capel, esq. ; and they all jointly kept a court here
* The inhabitants of this and the neighbouring parishes, have licenses yearly from the corporation of
Colchester, for fishing and dredging in their royalty of Colne-water.
t The Sutton family was of Wivenhou.
t It had been holden by his father, John Boys, under Lionel de Bradenham, in 1361.
I
736 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
i}OOK II. in 1585 ; as did the said Nicholas and sir William Petre, in 1605. Nicholas Wal-
degrave, esq., who died in 1621, had this estate, and left Philip his son his heir.
The estate appears to have remained in trustees from 1628 to some time after 1636 :
but it continued in the Waldegrave family, and belonged to Philip Waldegrave, esq.,
who kept his first court here in 1666: his son John succeeded, and left Philip
Waldegrave, esq., his heir; who, dying without issue, in 1720, gave this, and his
estate at Borley, to his kinsman, of the eldest branch of the family, James lord
Waldegrave, created earl Waldegrave in 1729 ; and it has remained in the
descendants of this dignified family to the present time.
Pevvet A small island, between Mersey creek and Parrock, belongs to earl Waldegrave,
and is let with the hall ; it is called Pewet island.
Ciiurcli. In the window of the chancel of this church are many shields of arms ; and, join-
ing to the north wall, there are some remains of a chapel or oratory. The tower is
of stone.
There were one hundred and thirty-one inhabitants in this parish in 1821, and one
hundred and forty-six in 1831.
PELDON.
Pcidon. This parish lies west from Langenhoe, and the village is on the Maldon road to
Colchester, where the ground rises a considerable height, especially where the church
is situated. The name, of uncertain origin, is in records written, Peltendune, Pel-
lingdon, Poltingdon, &c. Distant from Colchester five miles, and from London
forty-seven.* Two freemen, of whom one was named Turchill, held the lands of
this parish before the Conquest; and William the Deacon, and Suene, and his
under-tenant Odo, had possession of them at the time of the survey. There are
two manors.
Peldon The mansion of the manor of Peldon is near the north side of the church. This
estate was granted by the Conqueror to William the Deacon, about the year 1086,
towards rebuilding the cathedral church of St. Paul, which had been recently
destroyed by fire.f This manor was, in consequence, liolden of the bishops of London.
It was so holden, in 1282, by Walter de Peltindone, who conveyed it to John de
Nevill and Margery his wife ; and in 1332 it passed from John de Langwoode to
Hugh de Nevill: and John Nevill, of Essex, who died in 1358, held, for his life,
and the life of his wife Alice, " this manor of Peltyngdon, with the advowson of the
church, of the bishop of London ; remainder to William de Bohun, earl of North-
ampton, and his heirs." Michael de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, and lord chancellor,
* Strong land : — Average annual produce per acre ; wheat twenly-four, barley thirty-six bushels,
t According to the literal meaning of the grant — " All the land that William the Deacon, and Raulf, his
brother, of me holdeth and hath."— Dugdale's Hist, of St, Paul's ; and Godwin's Catalogue of Bishops.
Hall
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 737
had this manor ; but was deprived of it, on his banishment, as one of the evil coun- CHAP.
sellors of king- Richard the second. In 1426, Robert Tey, of the family of that —
name, of Marks Tey, died possessed of this manor, which was retained by his
descendants, till, on the partition of the estates of sir Thomas Tey amono- his four
co-heiresses, this manor fell to the share of Fi-ances, married first to William Bonham,
esq., next to Edward Bocking, and lastly to Thomas Bonham. It afterwards passed
to the crown.
In 1545 king- Henry the eighth granted this manor, and the advowson of the
church, to sir Thomas Darcy, knt. (afterwards lord Darcy), and his heirs male. He
died in 1558, and was succeeded by John lord Darcy, his son, who died in 1580 :
his son, Thomas lord Darcy, was created viscount Colchester in 1621, and earl Rivers
in 1626. He died in 1639, leaving four daughters, Elizabeth, Mary, Penelope, and
Susan, his co-heiresses. Elizabeth, the eldest, was married to sir Thomas Savage,
knt., who died in 1635 ; and her father, the earl, having appointed her his executrix,
she, in 1647, settled this estate in Richard viscount Lumley, Henry Nevill, of
Cressing Temple, and Isaac Creme, gent., as trustees ; and they sold it to Mr. Thomas
Reynolds, who kept his first court here in 1650.* His descendants retained this
possession till, on the death of Charles, son of Samuel Reynolds, without surviving
offspring, he left this, and other estates, to his kinsman, the rev. William Samuel
Powell, D. D., archdeacon of Colchester, and master of St. John's college, in
Cambridge.
The rectory is a manor, and had thirty acres of land belonging to it at the time of Rectory.
the survey. It keeps a court, and hath some quit-rents, out of which three pounds
a year are paid to the crown by the rector.
There was a church here at the time of the survey; but, if the present be that Chimh.
original erection, it has undergone frequent and considerable alterations. It is
dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The nave is of one pace with the chancel, and the
tower is of stone.
* He was born near Ipswich, in Suffolk ; and, settling at Colchester, in the clothing business, acquired
a large estate : his residence was in a good brick house, of his own erection, without Eastgate. In IGC2
he was mayor of Colchester ; and marrying Margery, daughter of Samuel Decoster, had by her four sons
and four daughters. On his death, in 1665, he was buried in the south aisle of St. James's church. His
eldest son, Samuel, was his heir, who was M.P. for Colchester in 1681 and 1688. He married Judith,
daughter of Thomas Samford, esq., of Colchester, by whoMi he had Samuel, George, Thomas, John ;
Judith, and Susan. He died in 169i, and was buried near his father. Susan, the youngest daughter,
was marrricd, first to Mr. George Jolland ; afterwards to the rev. Francis Powell. She died in 1750,
having had, by her second husband, William Samuel Powell, William, and Susan. Samuel Reynolds, es(|.,
eldest son and heir of Samuel, who died in 1694, married Frances, daughter of Charles Pclhaui, esq., of
the noble family of Pelhara, duke of Newcastle. Arms of Reynolds : Sable, a chevron, cheeky argent and
sable, between three crosslets, fitche, argent ; on a chief, sable, three estoiles, argent. Crest : On a torse
of his colours, and a closed helmet, a wolfs head, erased collared sable.
!
738 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The population of this parish in 1821 amounted to four hundred and thirty-eight,
and only to four hundred and twenty-four in 1831.
GREAT WIGBOROUGH.
Great This is the largest of the two parishes of this name; in records written, Weighe-
1 oti"a:li. berga, Wigheberga, Wigberwe, Wykebyrh. The Saxon j^ij, a battle ; bujij, or
bujih, a fort; may, as is supposed, have been the original name. There have,
undoubtedly, been engagements between the ancient inhabitants and piratical invaders
in this neighbourhood; and the remains of a tumulus, near the church of Great
Wigborough, may mark the burial-place of men slain in battle. Great Wigborough
contains about two thousand acres of land ; the village is on the road between
Maldon and Colchester ; from the latter place distant eight miles, and from London
forty-six.*
A portion of this parish belonged to the nunnery of Barking-, before and after the
Conquest ; and Aluric, a Saxon freeman, had another part, which was in the posses-
sion of Hugh de St. Quintin, at the time of the survey. There were, therefore,
two manors.
or i'llbe', • ^^^ mansion of Abbots', or Abbess'-hall, is a large ancient building, a mile south-
Hail, west from the church, and not far from Salcot Virli. This estate belonged to the
celleresse of the nunnery of Barking,f and continued in that house, or in the priory
of St. Osyth, till the dissolution of monasteries ; when, in 1540, it was granted, by
Henry the eighth, to Thomas lord Cromwell ; from whom, again passing to the
crown, it was included in the estates appropriated to the maintenance of the princess
Mary, afterwards queen. In 1545 king Henry granted it to Charles Tuke, esq.;
and, on his death, in 1547, his heir was his son, George Tuke, esq. In 1562, queen
Elizabeth granted this estate to Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk; on whose
arraignment and execution, this and his other estates were confiscated; but, in 1597,
was, by queen Elizabeth, restored to his second son, Thomas, baron Howard of
Walden, created earl of Suffolk in 1603.% Dying in 1626, he was succeeded by his
eldest son and heir, Theophilus, earl of Suffolk; who died in 1640, leaving this estate
to his eldest son and heir, James Howard, earl of Suffolk; and he, in 1647, sold it
to Chaloner Chute, esq., and John Aylett, gent., of Fering, together with the manor
of Salcote, in Wigborough ; and it was afterwards conveyed, by John Aylett, to
sir Mark Guyon, of Coggeshall, knt., who presented to the rectory in 1688 ; and
• SoiloftheWigboroughs : a strong tenacious loam, of a rich brown colour, to the depth of six or seven
feet. There are no springs. Hollow draining useless. Expense of working very great; but the crops
heavy. Average annual produce per acre ; wheat twenty-four, barley thirty-two bushels.
t Monast. Angl. vol. i. p. 80.
I Dugdale's Baron, vol. ii. p. 276. Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 663.
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 739
he bequeathed it, by will, In 1689, to his son William; and if he died without issue C H A P.
male, to his two daughters, Elizabeth and Rachel. Elizabeth became the wife of '^^"
Edward Bullock, esq., of Falkborne hall, and died in childbed, as did also her child,
within the month. The other daughter, Rachel, was married to Thomas Guyon, esq.,
and afterwards to John Bullock, esq., of Dynes hall, in Great Maplested, younger
brother of the said Edward : they had issue, John, who did not marry, and Rachel,
who also died unmarried, and without a will, in 1765, when her real estates descended
to her kinsman and heir-at-law, John Bullock, esq., of Falkborn hall; and it now
belongs to his descendants.
The mansion of the estate of Abbots' Wic is in this parish, but the lands extend Ai)i)utv'
into Salcot Verli. It belonged, in 1645, to colonel Thornhill; and afterwards to
Mrs. Crank.
The manor-house of Mulsham, or Moulsham, is near the church, on the north-east. Muisham.
Aluric, a freeman, had this estate in the time of Edward the Confessor; and at
the survey it belonged to Hugh de St. Quintin. Afterwards it was holden of the
honour of Mandeville, by the families of Patteshull,* Att Lee, Barle, and Leven-
thorp. Part of this estate belonged to sir John Peake, lord mayor of London in
1687 ; and his only daughter, Margery, conveyed it to her husband, sir John Shaw,
bart.,f of Eltham, who died in 1721, leaving his son John heir to his title and
estates; who, in 1716, married Anna Maria, one of the daughters and co-heiresses
of sir Thomas Barnardiston, bart., of Kedington hall, in SuflPolk, and dying in 1739,
was succeeded by his only son, sir John Shaw, bart. A third part of this estate
belonged to John Wale, esq., of Calne priory.
The church is on a hill of considerable height, commanding an extensive prospect ciuiich.
toward the sea, and on the coast, and in every direction. It is dedicated to
St. Stephen.:}:
Salcot Wigborough is a hamlet to Great Wigborough ; and there is a pound near Salcot
Wisbo-
rouch.
* Arms of Pateshull .- Argent, a fesse, between three crescents, sable. On the roof of Salcot Wig-
borough church.
+ His father, sir John Shaw, knt., created a baronet in 1665, proved a faithful subject and true friend
to king Charles the second, in his exile, sending him large sums of money to Brussels and Antwerp,
when there appeared little or no probability of his restoration. He was, in consequence, favoured with
a seat in parliament, without the trouble and expense of a canvass ; and also, besides the dignity of a
baronet, had the profitable place of being one of the collectors of the customs. His family had estates at
Birch, and other parts of this county.
+ There is an inscription in the chancel, on John Bajon, and Margaret, his wife : he died 10th of Sept. 1480. Inscrip-
On a marble, in the chancel : To the memory of "Anne Bullock, late wife of John Bullock, ob. 20 Jan. tions.
1615 ; and of Henry Bullock, only son of Henry Bullock, of Much Wigborough, ob. 24 Nov. 16-28." There
are also inscriptions on Henry Bullock ; Robert Laurence, of Moulsham ; Richard WLsenian ; and Anne,
wife of Edward Marke ; and John, father of sir Edward Bullock, of Faulkborne : also a Latin inscription
on "Dionisia, wife of Thomas Page, who died 20 Mar. 1486."
740 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOOK II. the church, which belongs to the lord of that manor : the name is supposed to have
originated from salt-works, mentioned in records as having been in the neighbouring
parish of Peldon, to which the sea-water might be conveyed from Pyefleet creek by
this place, where, as the name seems to indicate, there might at that time be a " store-
house." Though now a poor decayed village, this has probably been, as reported,
the chief, or only town, in the parish. There is a fair here on the 24th of August.
Church. The church is a good lofty building, near the creek, opposite to Salcot Verli.
It has a nave and chancel, of one pace, and is a much more considerable and hand-
somer building than the other church, to which it is a chapel. Formerly there was
a chantry here, well endowed.
The population of this parish amounted to four hundred and ten in 1821, and had
increased to four hundred and thirty-four in 1831.
LITTLE WIGBOROUGH.
This small parish is near the sea, and lies south-east from Great Wigborough.
It is computed to contain seven hundred acres of land. The village is distant from
Colchester six miles, and forty-six from London.*
Before the Conquest this parish belonged to Got, a freeman ; and at the survey
formed part of the extensive possessions of Hamo Dapifer, whose under-tenant was
Vital. There is only one manor.
Copt, or Cipt-hall, manor-house is near the east end of the church. This estate
was conveyed by Mabel, daughter of Robert Fitz Hamo, to her husband, Robert,
natural son of king Henry the first: he died in 1147, and this manor was holden
under his descendants, successively earls of Gloucester, by Robert de Septem
Vannis, or of Seven Fans ; also written Senaunz and Senance. He died in 1253 :
Robert was his son and heir ; whose heir was his nephew John, from whom it passed
to some of the same family; and in 1364, William de Septvanz granted this manor
to William de Boudon and his heirs ; and in 1376, William, son and heir of sir
William de Septvance, conveyed this estate, with the advowson of the church, to
Walter de la Lee, and Robert de Tey, knts. In 1390 it belonged to John de Boys,
and Thomas Bataile, who, in that year, presented to the living ; and yet, in 1398,
Robert Senance had all, or part, of this estate.
The next possessor on record was Richard Buckland, esq., who died 1435, holding
this manor, with the advowson of the church, of Richard, duke of York, as of his
honour of Clare, by knight's service. The son of his daughter Agnes, Richard
Wichingham, esq., was his heir ; and after him, Agnes, wife of Nicholas Sharpe, esq.,
had this estate for life ; from whom it descended to Thomas Cotton, esq., and to
* Average annual produce per acre j wheat twenty-four, barley thirty-six bushels.
4
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 741
Joanna his wife, daughter of the said Nicholas and Agnes. It afterwards belonged chap.
to the Cotton family, and was sold by sir John Cotton* to the governors of the '
Charter-house, London, who are the present owners of it.
The church is a plain building, with a square tower. It is dedicated to St. Nicholas; Church.
situated near the hall, on the sea-shore.
There were only ninety-five inhabitants in this parish in 1821 ; increased to one
hundred and twenty-three in 1831.
SALCOT VERLI.
This parish, on the borders of Thurstable hundred, is sometimes named Little Salcot
Salcot, also written Salcot- Verley, and Vyrley, or Scalcot cum Verley. It is on the
north side of the creek, by which it is separated from Salcot, Wigborough; is thinly
inhabited, and contains about two thousand acres of low marshy land. Distant from
Maldon seven miles, and from London forty-five.
Before the conquest, a freeman had the lands of this parish, which, at the survey,
belonged to Robert de Verli, who held them under Robert Gernon; but afterwards
the Verlies became proprietors of this estate.f
The manor-house is near the church. Robert, the first recorded owner of this VerU hall.
family, was the father of Robert, whose son and heir was sir Philip de Verli, whose
son Robert married Margaret, daughter of sir Ralph Gernon, by Alianor his Avife,
daughter of Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford ; his son and heir was Philip, whose
sons were, John, who died without issue, and Roger. In 1314, Philip de Verli
conveyed this estate to Walter de Patteshull, on whose decease, in 1330, he left
Thomas, his son, his heir; and Walter, son of Thomas, was living in 1351.:}:
Sir John Lee, who died in 1370, held this estate under John de Vere, seventh
earl of Oxford ; and was succeeded by his son Walter, who died in 1395, and left
three sisters his co-heiresss: Margery, wife of Robert Newport; Joan, wife of John
Barlee ; and Alice, wife of sir Thomas Morewell ; and on partition of the estates,
* Thomas Cotton married, first, Margery, daughter of Philip Wentuorth, by whom he had a daughter.
By his second wife, Joanna, daughter of the above-mentioned Nicholas and Agnes, he had Robert, John,
Leonard, a priest, William, and Etheldreda, wife of John Bassingbourn. At the time of his death, in
1-199, he held this manor; in which he was succeeded by his son, sir Robert Cotton, of Landwood, in
Cambridgeshire ; who, dying in 1517, left, by Alice his wife, his son Thomas, who died in 1526, and was
succeeded by his posthumous son, John, who died in 1593, leaving, by Isabel his wife, daughter of
William Spencer, his son and heir, sir John Cotton, knt., of Landwood, who died in 1620 ; and he or his
son sold this estate Sir John Cotton, of Landwood, was created a baronet in 164-1.
+ By an inquisition on the death of Aveline, wife of Edmund, second son of king Henry the third, in
1275, it appears, that Robert de Verli held four knight's fees of the barony of Stansted, belonging to
Gernon, viz. : Tolleshunt Darcy, Little Birche Saltecote, Cofford, and Samantune ; by the two last of
whicli is meant part of Copford, and an estate here and in Peldon.
+ Arms of Verli : Or, a bend gules, between six eagles sable.
VOL. II. 5 c
742 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. this became the share of Margery, and her husband Robert Newport: he died in
1428, and his wife in 1467. Their son and heir, WilUam Newport, on his decease
in 1434, held this manor; and his descendants, who succeeded to it, were his son
George, who died in 1484 ; and Robert, his son, followed by John Newport esq., in
1518, who, dying in 1524, left his only daughter, Grace, then only eight years old,
contracted in marriage with Henry Parker, esq., son and heir of Henry lord Morley.
He died in his father's life-time, in 1550, leaving Henry his eldest son and heir, who
l)ecame lord Morley, on his grandfather's death in 1556, and held this manor at the
time of his decease in 1577. Successors of this noble family were, Edward lord
Morley, who died in 1618; William and Henry, lords Morley and Montegle; and
the last of these sold the estate to Anthony Abdy, esq., Avho gave it to his third
son, John, created a baronet in 1660, and styled of Moors in Salcot. Sir John, dying
without issue, was succeeded in this possession by his heirs, seated at Albins. The
Moor, or More, formerly a distinct manor, is now included in this estate, which
belongs to J. R. H. Abdy, esq. of Claybury Hall.
Abbot's An estate, named Abbot's Wic, formerly belonging to the abbot of St. Asyth, is
also now included in the capital manor.
Church. The church is a very small building, dedicated to the Virgin Mary: in the west
window there is, or was formerly, an ancient coat of arms : gules, a cross azure,
charged with five leopards' faces, or.
In 1821 there were one hundred and thirty-eight inhabitants in this parish, and
one hundred and fifty-four in 1831.
MERSEY.
iMei .sey. The island of Mersey is a few miles below Colchester, at the junction of the rivers
Colne and Blackwater, where they discharge themselves into the German ocean. It
is parted from Winstree hundred by the channel, called Pyefleet, where the best
flavoured oysters are produced. The Saxon Mefie and ij. Marsh, or sea island, is
believed to have been the original name; which, in records, is written Meres-ig,
Moeres-ig, Meresai, &c. The greatest length of the island, from north-east to south-
west, is five miles ; and its breadth about two miles. It is inaccessible from the land
side, except by a causeway, called the Strode, which crosses the Pyefleet creek, and
is covered by the sea at high water. The island is well wooded, and beautifully
diversified with hill and dale ; it has a bold commanding coast toward the German
ocean, but on the north-west and south is low and flat, with a great extent of salt
marshes.* The inhabitants are supplied with excellent water from various springs.
This island has unquestionably been occupied by the Romans, and from some
* The best land has a mixed soil, but very excellent, particularly across the middle of the island, from
east to west. Average annual produce per acre : wheat twenty-eight, barley forty, bushels.
m
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 743
striking remains of the antiquities of that people, is believed to have been the residence c h a p.
or seat of some considerable Roman general, " Count of the Saxon shore." The '^^
situation was exceedingly convenient for preventing the piracies of the northern
adventurers, either by the Colne, or Blackwater Bay. Several tumili on the island
are apparently Roman ; an eminence on the road to Colchester has retained the name
of Roman Hill, and numerous antiquities have been discovered. On repairing West
Mersey hall, and making a new garden, in 1730, the workmen found a very fine
tessellated pavement, which was inspected by Dr. Cromwell Mortimer, fellow of the
College of Physicians, and secretary to the Royal Society, son of John Mortimer of
Topingo hall.*
* On the right of the gravel walk from the green to the hall door, about a foot deep, he loimd the
south-east corner of the pavement; it was composed of variously coloured tesserje ; the first series a
white border, twenty- one inches wide, the tesserae three quarters of an inch square ; succeeded by a nar-
row space of black, three inches wide, and within this a white space about the same width ; these three
seem to have run tiirough the whole without interruption. Next to this there was a wreath or chain
five inches and a half wide, of black, blue, and white, beautifully disposed in shades, which ran the whole
length of the eastern side, and making a return at the south-east angle, was interwoven with another
short wreath of red, yellow, and white, disposed in shades, and separated by a narrow space of white,
except where they crossed each other. Just beyond the red wreath, on the south side, there was a white
square bordered with black, with a large rose of four leaves in the middle of it, shaded with red, yellow,
and white ; a narrow white space ran within this square, in the directions of east and west, close to
which there was a black, blue, and white wreath, like that on the east side, and within that another
white space, an inch and three quarters wide, which seemed to extend round the whole work. Two
parallel spaces of a sort of fret- work commenced at the south-east angle of this white space ; these were
five inches wide, and nearly five feet long, running south and north, joined at the north end by a return
of the frets. These frets alternately shaded with black, blue, and wiiite ; or red, yellow, ahd white ;
inclosing a white space four feet and a half long, and nine inches wide, containing a wreath of six ivy
leaves ; the stalk and edges of the leaves blue, the middle alternately shaded ; one with black, blue, and
white ; the other with red, yellow, and white. At the north end of tliis fret-work there was a square
white space, which seemed to be the middle of the east side. Another white space, an inch and three-
quarters wide, extended the whole length of this fret-work, from south to north. Next to this was a
wreath of red, yellow, and white, five inches wide, of the same length ; and, joining to it, another wliite
space, two inches and a half wide; followed by a narrow black space, one inch wide, extending round
the larger central square. South and east of this square there were rows of diamonds, or lozenges.
bordered with white wreaths crossing each of them at right angles, alternately composed of black, blue.
and white, and of red, yellow, and white, disposed in shades ; the intei-mediate triangular spaces being
divided, three smaller triangular spaces in the centre white, the others blue. Encompassed by tiiese
lozenges and triangles, there was a small square, two feet on each side, surrounded by a narrow black
space, within which there was a wreath of red, yelloAv, and white, in shades, five inches wide, enclosing
a small white square, bordered with double lines of black and white, surrounding a rosateous flower,
like the lotus, consisting of four large leaves lying uppermost, red, yellow, and white ; and the points of
four others lying underneath, appearing between in another small square. Hence the doctor concluded
there were three of these lesser squares on the east side of the chui'chyard pales ; and on digging a hole
about four feet deep, exactly ranging with the other lesser square, and west of it, he found another,
exactly like it. From these circumstances he concluded that the whole pavement was of an oblong
rectangular form, extending twenty-one feet and a half from north to south, and eighteen and a half from
east to west. The
T44 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
liDOK II. During- the invasions of the Danes, this was frequently the landing place and
retreat of their ferocious bands ; and the great Alfred is recorded to have besieged a
large party of them here some time in the year 894, having pursued them in their
flip-ht from Farnham. The year following, several bodies of them, after having made
incursions into various parts, took refuge here ; and, on their departure, sailed up the
Thames, and towed their ships up the river Lee as far as Hertford.* There was
formerly a block-house, or small fortification, on the south-east corner of the island,
to defend the passage of the river Colne ; it was seized by the parliamentarians during
the sieop of Colchester in 1648; what remains of it is named the Block-house-stone.
During the wars with the Dutch, a camp was kept here to prevent their landing.
This island is divided into two parishes, named, from their respective situations,
West Mersey and East Mersey.
WEST MERSEY.
West This larger of the two parishes is twelve miles from Maldon, and forty-nine from
*^^^^^' London. It has a fair on Whit Tuesday. There are five manors.
West The mansion of the chief manor is near the church : this lordship was given to the
hall?^^ priory of St. Oven, at Rouen, in Normandy, by Edward the Confessor, in the year
1046 ;f and it had possession of it at the time of the survey. On this estate a priory
was founded by Roger Fitz-Ranulph, near the east end of the church, and dedicated
to St. Helen, or St. Peter. It was of the Benedictine order, and a cell to the foreign
priory, which held it with the manor and half hundred of Winstree, as of the gift of
Edward king of England.^
The minister and sexton informed the doctor that there was a pavement under the whole churchyard
at the same depth, and that the coffins had been usually placed upon it. In the chancel they found a
pavement of red tesserae, an inch and half square, and forming the rays of large stars : west of the
church they were composed of small tiles, two or three inches square : two large brass coins were also
found here. Dr. Mortimer, revisiting this place in 1740, saw a grave dug in the churchyard, eastward of
the church, and due south of the south-west corner of the grand pavement, where he found part of a
pavement composed entirely of red tesserae, an inch and half square. From the diversity of these pave-
ments, contiguous to each other, and extending near one hundred feet from east to west, and about fifty
from north to south, they are believed to be, not the mere substratum of a general's tent, but rather
belonged to the villa of some Roman praetor, who was invited by the delightfulness of the situation to
make this his summer abode; like that at Weldoa, in Northamptonshire, discovered in 1738, on the
estate of lord Hatton.
Other antiquities have been found in the island ; among these were buckles, hasps, and styli ; a brass
ring, five inches in diameter, pierced with small holes, supposed to have been the rim of a fundator's or
slinger's bag, together with numerous paterae, some of which are presented in the British Museum.
• Saxon Chronicle, pp. 93 — 96.
t The grant, found among the archives of Colchester, was signed by the king, and confirmed and
signed by nineteen of his archbishops and bishops, abbots, officers, and great men.
X The donation of king Edward was confirmed by William the Conqueror, and by king Henry the
second. Among the singular privileges granted to this house, it held its estates in pure and perpetual
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 745
On the suppression of priories alien, their revenues were given by the parliament C H a F.
to king- Henry the fifth in 1414, and he in 1422 granted this priory, and the manor ^'
of Mersey, to Henry Chichley, archbishop of Canterbury, who settled it on the colle-
giate chnrch, founded by him at Higham Ferrers, in Northamptonshire, his native
town. On the dissolution of monasteries, this estate, coming to the crown, was
granted by king Henry the eighth, in 1542, to Robert Dacres, one of his heirs. He
died in 1543, and left his son George under age ; and in 1553 the estate was granted
by Edward the sixth to Thomas lord Darcy, of St. Osyth ; and it passed from him,
with the manor of Fingringhoe, and other estates, to John lord Darcy, and to
Thomas lord Darcy, created viscount Colchester in 1621, and in 1626, earl Rivers.
Dying, in 1639, without surviving male issue, Elizabeth, countess Rivers, widow
of sir Thomas Savage, knt. and bart., was his eldest daughter and co-heiress; and
making her his executrix, she sold this estate in 1649 to John Kidby, M.A., rector
of Shenfield. It now belongs to Mr. Thomas May.
The manor of Peete extends beyond Pyefleet, on part of the continent ; and some Peete
of its lands lie in Peldon. The manor-house is near Peete bridge, a mile and a half '"^°"''-
north from the island. The causeway from Peete bridge, by Peete Tye, crosses
Abberton green, over Manwood bridge, by the side of Blackheath, and enters
Colchester near St. John's abbey. This estate is mentioned by name in Edward the
Confessor's grant to St. Ouen's priory, and was granted to Robert Dacres, esq. ; then
to lord Darcy; afterwards sold to George Frere, who bequeathed it to his nephew,
John Goddard ; whose grandson left it for the payment of his debts, and gave the
remainder to Thomas Boyles, of Colchester, who sold it to Jacob Brown in 1728.
The mansion is a mile and half north-east from the church ; this estate belonged to Bower
St. Ouen's priory, and to the college of Higham Ferrers ; passing at the dissolution '^^"•
to the crown, it was granted by Philip and Mary to sir Thomas White; and after-
wards, by queen Elizabeth, granted or sold to John Spencer, alderman of London,
whose daughter was married to lord Compton, afterwards earl of Northampton ; and
their son sold it to Ralph Fox; whose descendants were, Daniel; James, who died
in 1710; and John Fox, whose widow was married to Marcellus Osborne, esq.
Bocking hall is two miles east-north-east from the church. iEtheric and Leopmine, Hockiufr
two noble Saxons, had this estate; and, in 1006, gave it to the church and priory of ''' '
St. Saviour's in Canterbury, with the lordship of Bocking, for the maintenance of the
monks. At the survey it belonged to that priory; and, in 1539, its revenues were
surrendered to the crown, and by king Henry the eighth made to form part of the
endowment of the dean and canons of the cathedral of Canterbury ; but, in 1545, they
assigned it with other estates to the king, in discharge of two hundred pounds they
alms, without any service ; and, on the death of a prior, the demesnes were not to be seized into the
king's hands by way of custody of the temporalities. See Monast. Ani;l. vol. i. p. 5d'J.
746
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. were obliged to pay for the maintenance of scholars at Oxford and Cambridge. It
continuing in the crown till 1599, it was granted to John Spencer, esq. by queen
Elizabeth, and he held it with Bowrehall and Brookhall : he died in 1609 ; and his
daughter, married to the earl of Northampton, had this estate. John Convers became
afterwards the owner of it; and it was made to form part of the endowment of the
hospital founded at Colchester by Arthur Winsley, esq.
Church. The church, on the south-west corner of the island, is dedicated to St. Peter and
St. Paul. It has a nave, south aisle, and chancel ; with a tower and five bells. *
This church went with the manor to St. Ouen's priory, the great tithes being
appropriated to their cell here ; they presented to the vicarage till their suppression.
Afterwards, from 1435 to 1525, the fellows of Higham Ferrers college presented,
and it afterwards passed to the Darcy family.-j-
The amount of the population of this parish in 1821 was seven hundred and
seventy-two, and eight hundred and forty-seven in 1831.
i
East
J^Iersev.
-Mersev
hall.
EAST MERSEY.
The eastern division of Mersey island is occupied by this parish, which, in Edward
the Confessor's reign, belonged to Robert, son of Wimarce ; and to Suene, his son,
at the time of the survey. The village and the church are near the coast: distant
from Colchester eight, and from London fifty, miles.
In 1210 and 1211 Richard de Rivers held East Mersey of the honour of Hagenet,
it being let to him by the king, and worth fifteen pounds a year.if He is supposed to
have had this estate by marriage with Maud de Lucy; but this is not certainly known.
William de Rivers had it at the time of his decease in 1276: John, his son and heir,
followed him; and dying, in 1278, left his son William under age, and in wardship
to Giles de Fenes. Sir Richard de Rivers had this estate in 1325 ; and at the time of
his decease, in 1332, is styled lord of Est Mersey, and husband of Alice de Liickambroc.
He left Robert his son his heir.
Inscrip-
tions.
The
Strode.
* 'Sir. Synionds has preserved inscriptions, of which the following are translations.
On a stone in the chancel :— " Here lieth Mr. Richard Wilcoek, formerly vicar of this church, who died
2 July, 1468." In the south aisle :— " Here lieth Stephen Smyth, and Elizabeth hi.s wife, which Stephen
died 8 Jan. 1495."
t A beach, or causeway, named the Strode, or Stroud, affords a passage into the island at low water
every eight hours. An estate in the parish, of about thirty acres, called Stroud lands and Church fields,
has been given for the Strode and church, and is held of the manor of West Mersey hall, by feoffees for
that purpose : the money is all put into one bag ; whether disposed of according to the will of the
donor is uncertain. Formerly there was a strode-keeper; and in the time of Henry the eighth a building,
named a church-house, which has been pulled down,
t Est Meresheye est eschaela Domini Regis de Feodo Henrici de Essex & Richardus de Ripariis illam
terram tenet de bailio Domini Regis et valet, p. An. xvl.
HUNDRED OF WINSTREE. 747
The estate afterwards passed to the families of Swinborne, Finderne, Wentworth, chap.
Bellamie, and Creffield. Sir Ralph Creffield, knt., of Colchester, purchased this ^^'
estate, and, dying in 1732, was succeeded by his grandson, Peter Creffield, esq., who
died in 1748 ; and Thamar, his only daughter and heiress, conveyed it by marriage
to James Round, esq. son of William Round, esq. of Birch hall. It now belongs to
George Round, esq.
This estate appears to have been named from the Rivers family, to whom it Renshali.
formerly belonged. The manor-house is a mile north from the church. In 1368,
William, son and heir of Hugh Groos, held a moiety of this estate ; and it was after-
wards settled in trustees by his brother, sir John de Groos, for the maintenance of a
chantry priest in the new chapel of Bentley church. This moiety was ultimately
vested in the abbey of St. Osy th, which was to keep the obit of the donor, and pay the
chantry money. The other moiety was afterwards conveyed to the same house by
Alice, wife of Thomas Sheppy, and daughter and heiress of Walter de Wotton. On
the dissolution of monasteries, sir Thomas Audeley, lord chancellor, had a grant of
this estate, which, on his death, in 1544, he gave to his brother, Thomas Audeley, esq.
of Bere Church, who died in 1572, and was succeeded by Robert, his son and heir;
followed by sir Henry Audeley, knt. ; by Thomas and by Henry Audeley, esquires,
from whom this and many other of his estates were conveyed to James Smyth, esq.
It now belongs to George Round, esq.
Rusalls is another estate, or capital farm, in the southern part of this parish, which Rusalls.
belonged to sir William Capel, who died in 1515 : sir Giles Capel was his son and
heir. In 1558 it was granted by queen Mary and king Philip to sir Thomas White.
In 1609 sir John Spencer died in possession of it, leaving his daughter, Elizabeth,
who was married to William, lord Compton. This estate now belongs to George
Round, esq.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Edmund, has a nave and north aisle, cinnch.
with a chancel, in the north aisle of which there is a chapel. The tower is square, of
stone, and formerly there was a beacon. There used to be five bells ; now only
two.*
This rectory was given by Robert, son of Suene, to the priory of Prittlewell,
founded by him; and it continued in the gift of the prior and monks till their sup-
pression. On the general dissolution of religious houses it passed to the crown,
where it has remained to the present time.
The parsonage is a manor, and keeps a court leet and court baron.
In 1821 the population of this parish amounted to two hundred and eighty-two,
and to three hundred in 1831.
* A grave-stone of black marble, in the chancel, is inscribed to the memory of " Mawdlyn Owtred, ob. inscrip-
1572." In the oorth aisle :— " Here lies the body of James Fox, gent. ob. 18 May, 1710." tions.
748 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK IL ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE HUNDRED OF WINSTREE.
R. Rectory. V. Vicarage. P.C. Perpetual Curacy. t Discharged from payment of first-fruits.
Parish.
Archdeaconrj'.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
Patron.
Abberton, R
Fingrinho, V
Langenhoe, R
Layer Breton, R. . . .
Layer de la Hay, P.C.
Layer Marney, R. . .
Mersey, East, R
Mersey, West, V. . . .
Peldon, R
Salcot Verli, R
Wighborough, Gt. R.
Wighborough, Lit. R.
i
Colchester.
— Holroyd
Robert Firmin
John Deedes
J. F. Benwell
Edward Crosse
Alfred Utterson....
J. B. Stane
Nathaniel Forster . .
John Palmer
Henry Bull
Edward Petre
Richard Pain
1830
1826
1809
1819
1826
1828
1806
1797
1817
1824
1789
1820
14 7 8i
tl3 7 0
14 13 4
7 0 0
C.V.12 0 0
15 3 4
21 0 0
t22 0 0
16 15 10
t 7 13 4
18 17 6
flO 0 0
Lord Chancellor.
Peter Firmin, esq.
Earl Waldegrave.
— Sutton, esq.
John Bawtree, esq.
Mat. Corsellis, esq.
The King.
Mrs. Simpson.
Earl Waldegrave.
♦ Abdy and Ann
\ Frances, alternately.
Hen. Bewes, esq.
Gov. of Charter-house.
i
CHAPTER XXI.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING.
CHAP. This hundred is a peninsula; on the south and east bounded by the sea; on the
XXI .
" north by the river Stour, which separates it from Suffolk ; and on the south-west by
Tendring. the Colchester channel and the hundred of Lexden. Its form is nearly circular;
fifteen miles from east to west, and about thirteen from north to south. It was
disafforested by king- Stephen; and the courts, having- been orig-inally holden in
Tendring, a parish near its centre, it has from that circumstance received its name.
About a century ago a considerable portion of this hundred was covered with
brushwood, and full of foul swampy ground ; but extensive improvements have been
made in every part of it since that time.
A stewardship and bailiwick belong to it, of which the proprietor of Colchester
castle has the nomination. A court baron is kept at Manningtree every three weeks,
for plaints of debt, &c. ; and a court leet, and view of frank-pledge, once a year,
within twelve days after the nativity of Christ, for the parishes of Tendring, Ardley,
Lawford, Mistley, Little Bromley, Beaumont, and Alresford. The waste grounds,
and woods thereupon growing, within the precincts of the view of frank-pledge,
^ s I
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 749
belong to the lord of the hundred ; and the court punishes offenders guilty of felling c h a v.
wood and encroaching on the wastes, or other similar offences. Waifs and strays in '^^'^'-
the aforesaid parishes, and various others within the hundred, belong also to the lord *
and he has an acre and more of land in Tendring, called the Bailiff's Acre.
The following persons are recorded to have received the grant of this hundred
with the castle of Colchester: Stephen Harengood, in 1214; Guy de Rochford, in
1256; John de Burgh, in 1273; Richard de Holebrook, in 1275; sir Robert de
Benhall, in 1364 : Henry, duke of Lancaster, in 1404; Margaret, queen of king
Henry the sixth, in 1446 ; sir John Howard, in 1461 ; Thomas Kendale, in 1485 ; John
de Vere, earl of Oxford, in 1496 ; sir Thomas Darcy, in 1541 ; Anthony Kempe, esq.,
in 1553; Henry Mac William, esq. in 1558; sir John Stanhope, in 1599. In 1629,
James Hay, earl of Carlisle, obtained the reversion of it to him and his heirs for ever.
In 1636, he released it to Archibald Hay, who conveyed it to sir John Lenthall,
who, in 1656, disposed of it to James Northfolk, esq.; and from him it passed to
his son, Robert Northfolk, and to Martha, his sister, married to Hope Gifford, esq.
After the death of Mrs. Gifford, this hundred was conveyed to the rev. Francis
Powell, who sold it to Mr. Henry Briggs, of whom it was purchased by Charles
Gray, esq. in 1750 : from which time it has been re-annexed to Colchester castle,
from which it had been a considerable time separated. It now belongs to George
Round, esq.
This hundred does not render account into the exchequer ; and though the sheriff
of Essex useth to execute process and writs therein, he cannot constitute the bailiff.f
Tendring contains thirty-one parishes, of which the following are the names :
Ardleig"h, Lawford, Little Bromley, Great Bromley, Elmsted, Little Bentley,
Great Bentley, Frating, Thorington, Alresford, Brightlingsea, St. Osyth, Mistley
with Manningtree, Bradfield, Wlx, Tendring, Wiley, Little Clacton, Great Clacton,
Little Holland, Great Holland, Frinton, Thorpe, Kirby, Walton, Beaumont with
Mose, Great Oakley, Little Oakley, Wrabness, Ramsey, Dover Court with Harwich.
ARDLEIGH, OR ARDLEY.
This parish, in the north-west corner of the hundred, is thirty-eight miles in cir- Ardieiuii.
cumference. The road from Colchester to Harwich passes through it : distant from
Colchester five, and from London fifty-six miles. It has a fair on the twenty-ninth
of September.^
* It has likewise a common fine belonging to it, with ordinary profits to the steward and bailiff".
"t" Inquisition taken at Colchester, 12 April, 1637, before sir Benjamin Ayloffb, hart., sir John Tiinstall,
knt., Henry Neville, and John Sayer, esqs., by virtue of a commission under tlie seal of the Court of
Exchequer.
I Part of the land lies low ; the soil, a sandy loam on gravel ; average annual produce per acre, wheat
twenty-six, barley thirty-two bushels.
VOL. II. 5 D
750 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The name is written in records Aerlege, Ardlee, Ardelegh, Ardeleye, Erdelega,
Ereleia, Hardley.*
In Edward the Confessor's reign these lands were in the possession of six free-
men ; and, at the time of the survey, belonged to Roger de Ramis, Hugh de Gurnai,
Robert Gernon, and Geofrey de Magnaville. There are four manors.
Picotts. Picotts has the manor-house near the west end of the church, and the estate consists
of the lands which were in the possession of Roger de Ramis; whose son, Roger,
had succeeded to the possession of them in the reign of king Stephen ; and they were
holden under this family, by Ralph Picott, in 1194 and 1210 ; his son, sir William,
was livino" in 1226, and held lands here by the service of keeping one hawking horse.
His son, sir William, held the same in 1283 ; whose son, sir Ralph Picott, sold this
manor in 1329 to William de Tey ; it being holden of the king, as of the barony of
Reynes, by the service of half a knight's fee. In 1350, Richard de Sutton, and
Anne his wife, held this manor by the sergeanty of keeping one sparrow-hawk at the
king's charge ; and, in 1400, it was conveyed from their son, Robert Tey, to John
Bohun and others. Yet it afterwards returned to the Teys, and was in the
possession of Robert Tey in 1426, passing successively to various individuals of this
family. Sir Thomas Tev, knt. on his death, in 1540, left four daughters, co-heiresess :
Margaret, married to Sir John Jermye, of Brightwell, in Suffolk ; Elizabeth, married
to sir Marmaduke Nevill, third son of Richard Nevill, lord Latimer ; Mary, who
was married to sir Thomas Nevill, brother of sir Marmaduke ; and Frances, mar-
ried, first to William Bonham, next to Edward Rocking, and lastly to Thomas
Bonham. On partition of the Tey estates, this became the property of sir Thomas
Nevill.
William Cardinal, esq. of Great Bromley, had this estate in 1568, and his son, of
the same surname, was his successor. Afterwards, it was the property of John
Strutt, of Hadley, in Suffolk, and of Mrs. Dawson, of Groton. It now belongs to
Edward Reeve, esq.
Boviiis. Bovills, and Bradvills, is a manor which has received these names from proprietors
of the time of Henry the second ; it consists of the lands held by Hugh Gurnai, by
one of whose successors it was forfeited to the crown. The manor-house is about
half a mile south by west from the church. Richard de Bovill, who lived here in
1189, was a person of eminence, and a benefactor to St. Botolph's and St. Osyth's
abbeys, as was also William de Bovill, his successor. This manor was holden of the
honour of Clare, and passed, as that of Picotts, to the Tey family ; on partition of
whose estates, it became the property of Thomas Bonham, esq. in right of his wife
Frances ; who sold it, in 1575, to John SouthwelL It afterwards had a variety of
* From the British ardh, high, and le^/, untilled land. Dr. Stukeley's Itiner. Curios, p. 73.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 751
owners : and, in 1665, was purchased by Henry Lamb, of Colchester ; and now CHAP,
belongs to sir W. Sandfoi'd Lamb. ^^''
The manor-house of Mose, or Moose hall, is nearly two miles south-west from the Mosefiall.
church, on the right hand side of the road from Colchester to Ardleigh. At the time
of the survey it belonged to Robert Gernon, whose successors, seated at Stansted
Montfichet, were William, Gilbert, and two successively named Richard ; when, in
1258, on failure of male heirs, the noble inheritance of the family was divided among
three co-heiresses. Margery, married to Hugh de Bolebec; Aveline, wife of William
de Fortz, earl of Albemarle ; and Philippa, wife of Hugh de Playz. This manor
became the share of Aveline, whose husband, the earl, on his death in 1241, left a
son and heir, William, whose youngest daughter, and only surviving child, was
married, in 1269, to Edmund Crouchback, earl of Lancaster, second son of king
Henry the third. She died without issue in 1292; and her husband, in her right,
held fourteen knights' fees, as of the inheritance of Richard de Montfichet; and
Richard de Pevelin held under him four knights' fees, part of which lay in Ardleigh
and Braham. In 1426, the manor of Mose hall had become the property of Robert
Tey, in whose family it remained till the year 1507, when it was in the possession
of Peter Tenant, and afterwards passed to William Theedam, who sold it to John
Wall, from whom it descended to his son, Daniel Wall, vicar of Bromfield, and was
sold, by his son, Sherman Wall, to Ralph Creffield, esq., who died in 1723 ; and
whose widow was married to Charles Gray, esq., who, in her right, enjoyed the
estate during his life. A brick house, about half a mile north from the church, was
formerly a seat of this family ; Mose hall now belongs to Affleck.
Martell's hall, called also Martin's hall, is a manor-house about three-quarters of Maitell's
a mile south from the church. Geofrey de Magnaville had this manor at the time of "^'^'
the survey, and it was soon after held under him by a family named Martell, who also
held Martell's, in Rivenhall. William, son of Geofrey Martell, by his wife Albreda,
founded Snape's priory, Suffolk, in 1155, which he gave as a cell to St. John's abbey,
in Colchester; and Ralph Martell also gave lands here to the priory of St. Botolph.*
A succession of the heirs of this family retained this manor till the year 1424, when,
on the death of Thomas Martell, it passed to his heir, Elias Doreward, son of
Walter, and grandson of Elias Doreward, by Anne, daughter of John, son of
Benedict de Cokefield.f His only surviving child, by Joan, his wife, was Elizabeth,
who became his heiress. She left, on her death in 1452, her eldest son and heir,
Robert Mortimer, whose only daughter, Elizabeth, succeeded to his estates, and was
married to George Gilford, from whom, in 1528, the manor of Martells was con-
* Monastic Angl. vol. ii. p. 894.
t She was sister of Alice, wife of John Martell. Arras o. Martell: gules, three hammers, handles
argent, headed, or, 2, and 1.
752 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. veyed to William Mannock, esq. of Gilford's hall, in Suffolk; on whose death, in
1558, he was succeeded by his son, Francis Mannock, esq. whose heir, in 1590, was
his son William, who, dying in 1617, sir Francis, his son, created a baronet in 1627,
succeeded; he died in 1634, and his son, the second sir Francis, was his heir, whose
youngest son, Thomas Mannock, esq. of Great Bromley hall, succeeded ; on whose
death, without surviving offspring, his estates descended to his nephew, sir Francis
Mannock, bart. of Gilford's hall ; on whose death, in 1758, he was succeeded by his
eldest son, sir William Mannock, of Great Bromley. It now belongs to Alexander
Baring, esq.
Badley. Badley, or Bedley hall, is an estate in this parish which has been called a manor :
the house is about a mile distant from the road from Colchester to Manningtree.
William Gilberd, of Colchester, held this estate at the time of his death, in 1603;
whose heir was William Harris, his sister's son. Afterwards, it passed to captain
Philips, of Harwich; and to Mr. Edward Lugar.
Baldwin Filioll, in the reign of king Henry the third, held lands here, by the
sergeanty of keeping one mise.* Packard Filioll held the same, in 1259, of Robert
Fitzwalter : John was his son and heir.
Abels and Knatchbulls are names of an estate here; and also Ardleey Wic, which
is about a mile and a half west from the church.
Churcli. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has a nave and south aisle, with a
chancel, which has been, some time ago, rebuilt with brick, and is much less than the
former erection : the aisle is leaded, and the rest of the church tiled. There is a
stone tower, embattled, containing six bells ; and the south porch is large, and hand-
somely built of a mixture of flints and stone ; on the front it bears the following
inscription in old Saxon characters: " Orate pro animabus Joliis Hunte, et Alicie;
uxoris ejus, Johis Hunte, Willimus Hunte." In English : " Pray for the souls of
John Hunte, and his wife Alice ; of John Hunte, and William Hunte."
Robert, son of Roger de Ramis, in the reign of king Stephen, gave this church to
St. John's abbey, in Colchester : and, in 1237, the abbot and convent gave the
advowson to the church of St. Paul's, and the bishop of London and his successors,
reserving to the abbey, and to the vicar of this place, thirteen marks yearly ; soon
after, the advowson being reserved to the abbot and convent, with ten marks yearly
to the vicar, and a pension of three marks to the abbey, the rectorial tithes were
appropriated to the archdeacon of Colchester,f and so have remained to the present
* Mise is a law term, from the French, sometimes used to signify a tax or tallage : also an honorary
gift. Sometimes it is used instead of mease, mees, or messuage. A mise place, in some manors, is as a
surety for a heriot to the lord, on the tenant's death.
t These grants, or charters, are given in Newcourt, vol. ii. pp. 10, II.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 753
time. The advowson, passing to the crown at the reformation, belongs to it at chap.
present. "
This parish, in 1821, contained one thousand three hundred and eighty-seven: and
one thousand five hundred and forty-five, in 1831.
LAWFORD.
The parish of Lawford is bounded on the north-east by Ardley, and by the river Lawfoid,
Stour northwards : its circumference is about eight miles. It is seven miles north-
east from Colchester, and fifty-seven from London.*
In records the name is written Lagford, Lalleford, Halleford, Halford. The
greater part of this parish belonged to king Harold before the Conquest, and the
remainder was occupied by a freeman named Aluric. At the time of the survey it
belonged to Eustace, earl of Boulogne, whose under tenant was named Adelolf.
There are three capital and two smaller manors.
The manor of Lawford consists of what belonged to king Harold, and contains the l^awfoid
Hall
best part of the parish. The manor-house is a large and handsome building not far
from the church. The original and more ancient erection was by Edward Walde-
grave, esq. in 1583, but much of it has been pulled down and modernized, and greatly
improved, by Edward Green, esq. about seventy years ago. The situation is pleasant,
and the prospect, northward, extensive and interesting.
Peter de Leyham is mentioned in records as holding lands here in 1269 ; and the
manor is said to have been held under Gilbert de Lay by Benedict de Cokefield, who
died in 1341 ; Edmund de Cokefield was his son. Anne, daughter of John, son of
Benedict de Cokefield, was married to Elias Doreward, the son of Walter, and he
had this estate in 1424. Sir John Say died in 1478, holding this manor, with the
advowson of the church, of Elizabeth, queen of England, as of her castle of Frome,
and other estates of Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex. Afterwards it was conveyed
to William Blount, lord Mountjoy, in marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of sir
W^illiam Say, knt. He had by her a daughter named Margaret, married to Henry
Courtney, marquis of Exeter; but both he and his lady being attainted for corre-
sponding with cardinal Pole, in 1538, this and their other estates became forfeited to
the crown.f Thomas lord Darcy held this estate at the time of his decease in 1558 ;
as did also his son John in 1580 ; and in 1584 it was in the possession of Edward
Waldegrave, esq. of Smallbridge, in Suffolk, who died in 1584, and his son Edward
was his successor. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Bartholomew Averill, of
Southrninster, by whom he had one daughter, named Anne ; and by his second wife,
* The soil, chiefly a sandy loam, or loam on gravel. Average annual produce per acre, wheat twenty-
two, barley thirty-six, oats thirty-six bushels,
t Sir Henry Chauncy's Hist, of Hertfordshire, pp. 336, 342 ; and Dugdale's Baron, vol. i. p. 622.
754 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. Sarah, daughter of John Higham, of Suffolk, and widow of sir Richard Bingham, he
had also a daughter, named Jemima. He held this manor at the time of his decease,
in 1621, of the king in capite. Anne, his eldest daughter, was married to Drue Drury,
esq.; and Jemima to John lord Crew, of Stene, having for her purparty the manors of
Lawford and Dale hall. They had four sons ; Thomas, John, Nathaniel, Walde-
grave: and two daughters; Jemima, married to Edward Montague, earl of Sand-
wich ; and Anne, to sir Henry Wright, of Dagenham, knt. and hart. Thomas lord
Crew had by his first lady, Mary, daughter of sir George Townshend, of Raynham,
hart. John, who died young; and two daughters, Anne and Temperance. His
second lady was Anne, widow of sir Thomas Wilberhall, and daughter and
co-heiress of sir William Armine, hart, of Osgod in Lincolnshire. By her he had
Jemima, married to Henry de Grey, duke of Kent ; Airmine, to Thomas Cartwright,
esq., of Ayno, in Northamptonshire ; Catharine, to sir John Harpur, hart., of Calke,
in Derbyshire ; and Elizabeth, to Charles Butler, earl of Arran, lord Butler of
Weston, and brother to James, duke of Ormond. Lord Thomas Crew, dying
without surviving male offspring, was succeeded by his next surviving brother, the
right hon. and rev. Nathaniel lord Crew, consecrated bishop of Oxford in 1671, and
raised to the see of Durham in 1674. He sold this manor and estate to Thomas
Dent, D. D., prebendary of Westminster; Avho, dying in 1722, left, by Alice, his
wife, Charles and William, and four daughters. Charles Dent, esq., the eldest son,
and heir apparent, died before his father,* in 1718, leaving by his wife, Mary
Southwell, an only daughter, named Catharine, married to Edward Green, esq., of
Staffordshire ; whose descendant, the rev. E. H. Green, is the present owner of
this estate.
Dale Hall. Dale-hall manor consists of the lands which anciently belonged to Aluric, and to
Eustace, earl of Boulogne. The mansion is about half a mile eastward from the
church. The family of Dale were in possession of this estate in 1416 : in which
year Sibilla, the widow of sir Thomas Dale, Avas succeeded by her grandson, Thomas.
It belonged afterwards to John Dale, who died in 1479 ; and to Thomas lord Darcy,
from whom it passed to his son, lord John, who died in 1580. In 1590, it was
granted to Peter Wilcox and William Wynn ; from whom it passed to the Walde-
grave family, descending, with the last-mentioned estate, to lord Crew. It was
afterwards the property of Mrs. Burton, of Manningtree.
Abbots. Abbots, formerly called a manor, was part of the possessions of St. John's abbey,
Colchester. The mansion is on the south side of the church. It was granted to
John de Vere, earl of Oxford, at the time of the dissolution of abbeys ; and, being
* Arms of Dent, argent, on a bend azure, three lozenges, ermine. Crest, on a closed helmet, and a
torse argent, and azure a wivern's head, ermine.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 755
afterwards divided into smaller estates, was part of it purchased by Edward Green c h a i'.
esq., and belongs to the rev. Edward Henry Green. "^^i-
Feytes or Shaws, formei'ly called a manor, is an estate which extends into
Dedham and Ardley. It receives quit-rents, and yet pays an acknowledgment to
Lawford hall. It passed from the Lufkin family to Mr. John Richardson of
Colchester.
The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is on high ground, with an extensive and Church,
pleasant prospect, particularly northward. It has a nave and chancel, and the walls
of the interior are curiously ornamented with elaborate stone carvings : the tower is
of stone.
There is a house near the church-gate, which is a charitable donation, by Mr.
Pecksale ; it is for the use of the sexton for the time being for ever, provided he
keeps it in repair, and pays eight shillings yearly to Lawford hall.
The rectory formerly belonging to the manor, was purchased of Mr. Dent, by
St. John's college, Cambridge.
In 1821, this parish contained six hundred and eighty-eight inhabitants, and seven
hundred and ninety-four in 1831.
LITTLE BROMLEY.
This parish lies between Lawford on the north, and Great Bromley on the south ; Little
the name is written in records, Brumleia, and Brumbelia, supposed from Bjiom, '^*"" ^^'
broom, and Ley, pasture ground. It is six miles in circumference, eight miles from
Colchester, and fifty-nine from London.
Queen Edeva possessed these lands in the time of the confessor ; and, at the
Domesday survey, they had become the property of Walter the deacon, and Richard
Fltz-Gilbert. There are two manors.
The manor of Little Bromley,* or Church hall, is near the church, the estate is church
what belonged to Walter ; whose two sons were named, Walter Mascherel, and
Alexander ; he had also a daughter, named Editha. The noble family of this ancient
ancestry, were barons of Hastings, of whom, Robert de Hastings lived in the reign
of king Henry the second ; and Little Easton was the head of his barony in this
county, which, by marriage of his daughter, was conveyed to the Loveyns. Under
Matthew de Loveyn, who died in 1302, Robert de Godmanston held four knights'
fees in Bromley and in Godmanston ; John, his son, Avas his successor, in 1347 ;
Walter de Godmanston was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1381, and had pos-
sessions here ; as had also his son William, from 1395 to 1408. John Godmanston,
* Formerly this estate was very considerable, containing aboiit three hundred acres of demesne lands,
and six hundred acres holden by copy of court-roll.
756 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
1U)()K II. the son of William, who held this inheritance in 1432, was returned as one of the
gentry of Essex in 1433, and was sheriff in 1452. His son William became his
heir in 1464, and, being- a retainer to John de Vere, the thirteenth earl of Oxford,
lost his life at the battle of Barnet, in 1471, fighting for king Henry the sixth ; and,
with the earl, and sir George, and sir Thomas de Vere, of Wivenhoe, was attainted
of treason by act of parliament, in 1472. He held this manor, and other possessions,
of Henry, earl of Essex, and when that nobleman's estates and honours were
restored, by the parliament that met in 1485, so were also those of de Godmanston. *
Joan, his widow, remarried to Gilbert Hussey, held this estate in dower till her
decease ; after which, in 1498, it descended to her first husband's sister, Philippa ;
who, by her husband, Henry W^arner, had Christiana, first married to \^'^illiara
Brown, esq., in 1503; and tp her second husband, Humphrey Dymock, in 1336.
Sir Ralph Chamberlain was the next possessor of this estate, whose heir left a
daughter, named Mary, married to Henry Cockain : and had by him Dorothy,
married to William Pirton, esq., of Little Bentley ; and they sold this estate to Paul
Bayning, in 1593; but, in 1598, he conveyed it to them again, and they sold it to sir
Francis de Vere, a general of distinguished bravery in the wars of the low countries.
On his death, without surviving offspring, in 1608, his next brother, John de Vere,
esq., of Kirby hall, was his successor; on whose death, in 1624, he left his brother
Horace lord Vere, baron of Tilbury, his heir; who, in 1635, left five daughters
coheiresses, of whom, Catharine was married to John lord Paulet, and had this estate
for her purparty. Afterwards, in 1675, it was sold to Mr. John Warner, clothier,
of Sudbury ; who bequeathed it to his daughter, Eleanor, married to the rev. Richard
AUington Harrison, rector of West Wickham, in Cambridgeshire. Their only
daughter, Mary, was married to Mr. Thomas Newman, several times mayor of Sud-
bury; she being his third wife. He bought this estate of his father-in-law, in 1714,
and left an only son, the rev. John Newman. The present owner is the rev. Thomas
Newman.
Braham Braham hall is also called Breame hall; and, as distinguished by its situation, it
has been named Nether hall. This estate formerly paid a sparrow-hawk to the
manor of Little Easton. It consisted of Avhat belonged to Richard, son of earl
Gilbert. Aveline, one of his sisters and coheiresses, conveyed it, by marriage, to
William de Fortz, earl of Albemarle, about the year 1258. Their first surviving
child, Aveline, was married to Edmund, the second son of king Henry the third, and,
in her right, he had fourteen knights' fees, as of the inheritance of Richard Mont-
fichet : Richard de Pavelin held four of them under him, some of which lay in this
* Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 98 ; and Fuller's Worthies in Essex, p. 343, &c. Arms of Godmanston : azure,
an eagle displayed, or.
Hal
«»
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 757
parish and in Ardley. A family took their surname from this parish, of whom was c H a c
John de Brumle, or Bromley, who, in 1347, held the sixth part of a knight's fee here, ^■^'
under John de Louvayne, for which he paid a sparrow-hawk yearly.
Lands and tenements, called Braham hall, Marshalls, Boltons, Straceys, and
Alphrites, which were holden of the honour of Clare, and afterwards of the duchy of
Lancaster, formerly belonged to this manor ; these have been detached from it, and
the remainder has passed, as the other manor did, from Godmanston to Brown, and
to Gray, and Cockayn, and Pirton, by whom it was sold in parcels to Charles
Cardinal, attorney at law, and various proprietors. Straceys and Alphrites were
sold to Paul Bayning-, esq. Braham hall afterwards became the property of Richard
Rigby, esq. of Mistley hall, and now belongs to lord Rivers. Sprat-lane farm in
this parish was purchased with queen Anne's bounty for the augmentation of the
vicarage of Brightlingsea.
The church is a plain building, with a stone tower. It is dedicated to St. Mary.* Church.
The population of this parish in 1821 amounted to three hundred and forty-nine,
and to three hundred and eighty-three in 1831.
GREAT BROMLEY.
This parish extends southward from Little Bromley, and is ten miles in circum- Gvent
ference : distant six miles from Colchester, and fifty-eight from London.
Brictmar was the name of the proprietor of this lordship in the reign of Edward
the Confessor; and Ralph Lionel held it under Geofrey de Magnaville at the time of
the survey. There are two manors.
Great Bromley hall is near the north-west corner of the churchyard. William de C"L'at
Langvalei held it under the family of de Vere, in the reign of king Henry the hull.
second; his son William was his successor, whose son, of the same name, dying in
1217, left, by his wife, daughter of Alan Basset, an only daughter, named Hawise,
who, being in the wardship of Hubert de Burgh, earl of Kent, and chief justice of
England, was disposed of in marriage to his son John de Burgh. Their only son and
heir was John, who succeeded to his mother's estates in 1274, and at the time of his
decease, in 1280, left three daughters : Devorguill, who became the second wife of
Robert Fitzwalter ; Hawise, married to Robert Gresley ; and Christian, who became
a nun at Chicksand. By the courtesy of England, Robert Fitzwalter enjoyed a moiety of
this estate, in right of his wife, till his death in 1325. Robert Gresley died in 1281, and
Hawise his wife in 1299, and Thomas their son dying without surviving oflspring, was
succeeded in the estate by his sister, Joane de Gresley, married fo John, son of Roger
de la Ware, to whom she conveyed large possessions. One of Robert Fitzwalter's
daughters by Devorguill by marriage brought part of this estate to John le Mareshall,
* There is an alriLs-house here for two dwellers, hut it has no endowment. Charily.
YOI,. II. 5 E
758 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. in whose family it remained till 1316, when, on failure of male heirs, it was, by Hawise,
daug-hter of sir William le Mareshall, conveyed to her husband, Robert de Morle,
who died in 1360. Sir William and sir Thomas were successors of the same family.
The other moiety of the manor, which belong'ed to Gresley, passed to the Dore-
ward family, but whether by marriage or purchase is not known. In 1336 it was in
possession of Amicia, widow of Thomas Doreward, who on her death left two sons,
of whom Elias, the younger, married Anne, daughter of John Martell, of Martells
hall, in Ardley.* The Doreward family retained possession till 1438, when, on
failure of male heirs, Elizabeth, the daughter of Elias Doreward, conveyed it to her
husband, David Mortimer, esq. ; and from this family it was also conveyed by a
female heir to George Guilford, son of sir Richard Guilford, coinptroller of the
household to king Henry the seventh. From this family it passed, in 1554, to
William Cardinal,f and from his posterity was conveyed to Nicholas Tiperly and
Edward Newport, esquires, in 1607; and they, in 1618, conveyed it to sir Thomas
Bowes, of a family originally from York.:};
Thomas Mannock, esq. youngest son of sir Francis Mannock, bart. of Giffords
hall, in Stoke, purchased this estate after the death of sir Thomas Bowes. He had
three wives, one of whom was Mary, daughter of Thomas Varvell, esq. barber to
king Charles the second; but he had no children by any of them; and on his decease
Bromley hall and Martell's hall descended to the heir at law, sir Francis Mannock,
bart. of Giffords hall ; who, in 1758, was succeeded by his eldest son, sir William
Mannock, bart. ; whose son of the same name was his successor, in 1764. It now
belongs to Alexander Baring, esq.
Cold hall. The manor of Cold hall has the mansion about three quarters of a mile south from
the church. This has been generally joined to the other manor, or passed along with
it. In the fifteenth century it belonged to a family named Seyntecler, or Saint
Clere, who also held lands in St. Osyth. In 1549 it was conveyed by John Saint
* Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 97.
t Fox's Book of IMartyis, p. 931 ; Strype's Annals, vol. i. ed. 1709, p. 39.
X Thomas Bowes was father of sir Martin Bowes, lord mayor of London in 1545, whose son was
Martin Bowes, esq. of Jenkins, in Barking. Sir Thomas Bowes, the purchaser of this estate, was fifty
years a justice of peace for this county, and distinguished himself by his active exertions in the barbarous
trials and cruel execution of a considerable number of poor silly persons called witches. On his death,
in 1676, he was buried in the patron's chapel in Great Bromley church. He left two sons, Thomas ;
and William, rector of Tendring, who died in 1670, and was buried in this church : and also several
daughters. Thomas Bowes, esq., the eldest son and heir, married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Har-
lakenden, esq. of Earl's Colne, and had by her Thomas Harlakcndcn ; and Mary, married to John
Haynes, esq., of Copford hall. Thomas Harlakenden Bowes, esq., the son, by his wife Elizabeth, only
daughter of sir Thomas Smith, kut., of Sutton, in Suffolk, had a son, named Thomas, and two
daughters, Elizabeth, married to Thomas Mason, esq., of Manningtree ; and Bridget, married to Read
Grimston, of Chapel.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 759
Clere to William Cardinal, and afterwards became the property of Mr. Samuel ^ H a h
Salmon. '
The church is dedicated to St. George, and is a large and handsome building, with Church
a nave, and lofty side aisles ; and on the south side of the chancel there is a chapel
called the Patron's chapel. The roof of the whole building is of elegant and highly
ornamented workmanship, and a high and handsome tower contains five hells.
There used formerly to be a great abundance of painted glass in the windows here,
but much of it has been destroyed.
In 1821 there were in this parish six hundred and twenty-three inhabitants, and
six hundred and ninety-seven in 1831.
ELMSTEAD.
The parish of Elrastead extends westward from Great Bromley, part of it border- Elmstcad.
ing on the river Colne. Its name is Saxon, Elm, and j-teb, the place of elms, as
being remarkable for the growth of trees of that kind. In records it is Avritten
Almesteda, and Enmested. The parish is five miles in circumference; distant, four
miles east from Colchester, and fifty-five from London. There is a fair here yearly
on the fifteenth of May. Robert, the son of Wimark, was the possessor of this
parish in the time of Edward the confessor ; and Suene, and his under-tenant Sincus,
held it at the time of the survey. There are two manors.
Elmstead-hall is near the church, on the south, and pleasantly situated. A family Elm stead
named Fitz- William held this lordship, with the manors of Stapleford, Tany, and
Great Stanbridge, during the reigns of Henry the second, Richard the first, and of
king John: Richard Fitz- William was succeeded by William Fitz-Richard, who died
in 1260. Margery, his daughter and heiress, conveyed the estates to her husband,
sir Richard de Tany. In 1253 he procured a license to keep a market and a fair at
his town of Elmested, from which we may infer, that a village in this parish, about a
mile from the church, has retained the name of Elmstead-market to this day. He
died in 1271, holding the manor of Elmstead of the king, as of the honour of Raleigh.
He also held other manors, as did his son Richard, his successor, in 1296, who was
succeeded by Roger in 1301, whose son and heir, Laurence de Tany, dying without
surviving off'spring in 1317, his sister Margaret inherited his estates. Margaret, his
widow, had this in dower, and was remarried to sir Thomas de Weston, who enjoyed
it during his life.
Margaret de Tany, sister and heiress of Laurence, was married to John de
Drokensford, who died in 1341 ; but Thomas, the son of John de Drokensford, at
the time of his decease in 1361,* held this manor, and left it to his only daughter and
* Arms of Drokensford: Or, six spread eagles, 3, 2, 1.
760
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK 11. heiress, Anne, married to sir Thomas Mandeville, son of Walter Mandeville, of
Black Notley. Dying in 1499, without surviving- offspring, he was succeeded by his
two sisters, Joane, wife of John Barry, esq. and Alice, wife of Helming-ius Legatt.
Joane had this estate for her purparty, and, after her first husband's decease, was
married to William Pirton, or Pyrton, esq., of Ipswich. His son, John, was the
father of sir William Pirton, who died in 1490, and was succeeded in this possession
by his son William ; whose son and successor, of the same name, on his decease in
1533, left sir William Pirton his son and heir ; whose son, Edmund, was the next
heir to this estate on his father's death, in 1551 : he was succeeded by his cousin,
Edmund Pirton, esq., in 1609 ; whose brother William succeeded to the estate in
1617.
The manor of Elmstead afterwards belonged to sir Harbottle Grimston, knt. and
bart., and to a family of the name of Rich. In 1692 it was sold by Richard Rich,
to John Hurlock ; on whose death, in 1710, it became the property of his second
son, James; and afterwards passed to different individuals of the same family.* It
since belonged to William Hale, esq., an opulent grocer, who died 25th May, 1789.
The manor of Motts and Bannings-marsh is an estate of which no distinct account
has been preserved. It was some time ago the property of Mr. John Wallis, of
Colchester.
The estate of Elmstead-park belongs to the governors of the Charter-house.
Christmas-grove, and Hou-wood, are the property of Caius college, Cambridge.
Churcl). The church is dedicated to St. Anne and St. Laurence, and has a nave, chancel,
and a south aisle which is called a chapel, and at the west end of which, over the
entrance-porch, there is a tower, rising no higher than the roof of the church.f
The chapel, or aisle, is repaired by the owner of Elmstead-hall, who, on that
account, is not charged with the churchwarden's rate. This church was a rectory,
and presented to by the ovp-ners of the hall till 1382, when Aubery de Vere, the
tenth earl of Oxford, and Clement Spice, gave two acres of land, and the advowson
of this church, to the abbey of St. Osyth, to find a canon, or secular priest, to
perform divine service in the church of that abbey every day for ever, and to pray
for the souls of Robert de Naylinghurst, and all the faithful departed this life. In
1411 the great tithes were appropriated to the abbey, and a vicarage ordained at
Elmstead, which continued till the dissolution.^
Monu-
ment.
* Arms of Hurlock : Vert, a chevron, sable, between three Moor's heads couped, escarsioned, or.
Crest, on a pedestal, a Blackamoor's head.
f An ancient wooden effigy of a man in armour, cross-legged, lies between the south aisle and the
nave : it has been supposed to represent a Templar of the family of Fitz-VVilliam, or of Tany ; others
have believed it to be intended for sir John de Mandeville.
X Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 243.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 761
In 1821, there were six hundred and ninety-three; and, in 1831, seven hundred CHAP
and thirty-two inhabitants in this parish. -'^^'•
This parish extends northward from Great Bentley, and is eiohteen miles in cir-
cumference ; distant from Colchester eight miles, and from London fifty -nine.
LITTLE BENTLEY.*
Previous to the Conquest, these lands belonged to Eluuin and Wisgar ; and at the Little
time of the survey, to Allan, earl of Bretagne, and Richard Fitzgislebert, lord of '^^°*^^>-
Clare: their undertenants being Henry de Spain, and a person named Roger.
These two lordships became afterwards united in one manor.
After the two earls it is not known who were their successors till the time of king lientiey
Edward the second, in whose reign it belonged to a family named le Gros. In '^^'^"
1360, Alesia, and Hugh le Gros, her husband, held this manor of the bishop of
London : on her death she was succeeded by her son, William le Gros ; who, two
years afterwards, dying, his brother Thomas became his heir ; and next followed sir
John le Gros ; on whose death, in 1383, the estate passed to sir Richard de Sutton,
who had the advowson of the church and a chantry here. He had also the manor of
Wivenhoe. Thomas was his son and heir.
Sir Bartholomew Bourchier is supposed to have become possessed of this estate by
marriage with Margaret, widow of sir John de Sutton. He was summoned to
parliament from the first to the tenth of king Henry the fourth. Idonea Lovee,
widow of Edmund, son of sir John Brookesborne, was his second wife, to whom he
left the estate on his decease in 1409, and she survived him about a year. Their
only daughter was married first to sir Hugh Stafford, youngest son of Hugh, earl of
Stafford, who, in her right, taking the title of Lord Bourchier, was summoned to
parliament, and attended king Henry the fifth in his wars in France. He died in
1421, and his lady was married to a second husband, sir Lewis Robessart, K. G.
standard bearer to king Henry the sixth. He died in 1430 ; his lady in 1433 ; and
they were both buried in St. Paul's chapel in Westminster abbey. Henry Bourchier,
earl of Eu, son of sir William Bourchier, grandson of sir William, brother of John
lord Bourchier, was the next heir to this estate ; but it soon after passed to
the Pyrton family, who made this place their chief residence ;f till after the
* Average annual produce per acre: wheat twenty-four, barley thirty-two, bushels.
t William Pyrton, esq. by .loan, widow of John Barry, sister and co-heiress of Thomas Mandeville,
had John, father of sir William, a brave warrior, captain of Guisnes in Picardy. Sir William died in
1490, and was buried in Bentley church, where Katharine, his wife, was also buried, on her death in 150L
They had five sons and five daughters, of whom William, the eldest son, was sheriff of Essex and Hert-
fordshire in 1502: he had Margaret, married to William Roberts, esq. of Little Braxted ; and William,
his successor and heir ; who, dying in 1533, was succeeded by sir William Pyrton, his son and heir, who
married Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of William Salford, and died in 1551. His son Edmund was
762 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
8i)()K II. death of William, father of Edmund and William Pyrton, it was sold to Paul
Bayning, esq.*
In 1557, on the death of Penelope, youngest daughter of Paul viscount Bayning,
this estate became the purparty of Anne, her only surviving sister, who conveyed it to
her husband, the earl of Oxford, and they took down the stately and magnificent
seat of Bentley hall, erected in the reign of king James the first, by Paul Bayning, and
sold the materials, of which some of the most costly are yet to be seen in many of the
best houses of Colchester, and in other places : and about the year 1680 they sold the
reversion of this and other estates to Edward Peck, esq. sergeant at law, of Little
Samford; Edward Rigby, esq. of Covent Garden; Mrs. Pierpont, and others: who,
on the death of the earl, in 1703, joined in procuring an act of parliament to settle the
division of the said estates ; when this became the property of William Peck, esq. the
his heir, whose wife was Constance, daughter of Thomas lord Darcy, of St. Osyth : he was high sheriff
of Essex in 1574; and dying in 1609, was succeeded by his cousin and next heir, Edmund Pyrton, esq. ;
on whose decease, in 1617, William, his brother, was his heir. The father of these two brothers was
slain at the battle of Newport in Flanders, whose father had been forty-five years a justice of peace for
this county.
Arms of Pyrton : — Ermine, on a chevron engrailed, azure, three leopard's faces, or. Crest : — A helmet
on a chapeau, a wivern standing.
* This family was originally of Neyland, in Suffolk. Richard Bayning lived at Dedham about the close
of the fifteenth century ; and his son Richard married Anne, daughter and co-heiress of Robert Raven, of
Creting St. Mary's, in Suffolk, and had Richard of Dedham, who by Anne daughter of John Barker, of
Ipswich, had Paul, and Andrew, a very eminent merchant in Mincing lane. Paul was a citizen and
alderman of London, and, in 1593, one of the sheriffs of that city. He accumulated a very large fortune
by mercantile pursuits, as did also his brother Andrew. In the chancel of St. Olave's church in Hart
street, there is a monument erected to their memory, from which we learn that Paul died in 1616, aged
seventy-seven. His first wife was of Needham, or Creting, in Suffolk, and named Mowse; his second
was Susan, daughter and heiress of Richard Norden of Mistley, by whom he had his only son, sir Paul
Bayning, knt. andbart., sheriff of Essex in 1617, baron BayningofHorkesley in Essex in 1627, and viscount
Sudbury in Suffolk. He married Anne, daughter of sir Henry Glemham, knt. by Anne Sackville, daughter
of Thomas earl of Dorset, by whom he had Paul his son and heir, and four daughters, of whom Elizabeth
was married to Francis lord Dacre, and in IGSO created countess of Sheppey. Sir Paul died at his house
in Mark lane in 1629, possessed of a very large real and personal estate, amounting to the astonishing
sum of a hundred and fifty-three thousand pounds fifteen shillings. His widow was remarried to Dudley
Carleton, viscount Dorchester. Paul viscount Bayning, his heir, paid the king eighteen thousand
pounds for the fine of his wardship. He died at Bentley hall in 163S, and was buried in a vault in
the parish church. By his lady Penelope, only daughter and heiress of sir Robert Naunton, knt., master
of the court of wards and liveries, he had two daughters, Anne and Penelope.
Anne was married to Aubrey de Vere, the twentieth and last earl of Oxford of that most noble and
ancient family : he had no surviving offspring by this lady ; but her large estate was at that time a very
necessary supply for the support of the sinking fortunes of the house, reduced to the verge of ruin by
the unlimited extravagance of earl Edward, his predecessor. Penelope, the youngest daughter, was
married to John Herbert, esq. youngest son of Philip, earl of Pembroke and Montgomery ; on whose
death she was again married to John Wentworth, esq., but left no surviving offspring.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 763
serg-eaijt's grandson; and his son William sold it, in 1740, to John Moore, esq. of chap.
Southgate, in Middlesex ; from whom it was again disposed of to sir Perry Brett, knt. ^^'
captain of a man of war, and a commodore.
The Peck family had three other estates here, which were purchased of William
Peck, esq. by Charles Reynolds, esq. loi-d of the manor of Peldon, who left them by
will to his cousin, the rev. W. S. Powell, D.D. This estate now belongs to Johu
Shaw, esq.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has a nave and north aisle leaded, and a Chmch.
chancel tiled. The tower is of stone, and contains five bells.*
There was formerly a chantry in this church, founded in conformity to provisions
made in the will of sir John, brother and heir of William, and son of Hugh Gros.
The old chapel belonging to it was therefore at that time rebuilt, and a chantry
founded in 1386 for one chaplain, called Grose-Preste. At the suppression, the
return made was, that the priest was to sing mass here, and help to serve the
cure.
The population of this parish in 1821 amounted to four hundred and two, and to
four hundred and thirty-eight in 1831.
GREAT BENTLEY.
The lands of this parish are of uneven surface, pleasingly diversified with hill and Great
Bcntlcv,
dale. It extends southward from Little Bentley, as far as a creek that communicates
with the river Colne, and is eleven miles in circumference : nine miles from Col-
chester, and sixty from London.
There are fairs held here on Monday following Trinity Monday for cattle ; last
Friday in September for sheep ; and on the Monday after St. Swithin's.
In the time of Edward the Confessor Uluuin was the owner of this parish ; which,
at the survey, had become the property of Alberic de Vere, ancestor of the noble
family of the first earls of Oxford. The ancient family mansion stood formerly
in Hall field, and was a stately and splendid seat, with a moat, and fish-ponds, and a
park ; but of these there are now no remains.f The eighth earl made his will here
in 1370; and so also did his widow, Maud, in 1412.
* Among the inscriptions in the church are the following: Inscrip-
" In this chancel lies buried sir William Pyrton, knt,, a brave warrior, captain of Guisnes in Picardy tions.
He died July 1, 1490. Here lies, also, Catharine, his wife, who deceased 10 Sept. 1501. They had five
sons and five daughters."
An epitaph in the window of the aisle informs us that William, the grandson of sir William Pyrton, is
buried here, and that he died in 1533. In the chancel :— " Beneath, in the vault of this chancel, lie the
remains of Paul viscount Bayning, who died at Bentley hall, 11 June, 1533."
t This parish yet remains subject to the ancient custom of Borough English, which authorizes the lord
to sleep with the bride of his copyhold tenant the first night after the marriage.
764 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The manor-house is a capital mansion on the north side of the church. The lord-
The hall, ^hip was part of the baronial possessions of the de Vere's, till the attainder of John,
the twelfth earl, in 1460, when it went to the crown, and was g-ranted to John
Howard, duke of Norfolk, in 1486. But on the accession of king- Henry the
seventh, it was restored to its former noble proprietors, with whom it remained till
Edward, the seventeenth earl, by extravagance became poor and necessitous, and was
oblig-ed to sell this estate to a gentleman named Glascock ; of whom it was purchased
by sir Roger Townshend ; on whose death, in 1590, it descended to his son, sir
John ; and to his grandson, sir Roger Townshend, bart. ; and to sir Horatio ; who
sold it to Nicholas Corsellis ; and he sold it to George Papillon, esq., son of
David Papillon, esq., by Anna Maria Calendrine, of the family of that name, of
Lubeck, sister of the celebrated pastor of the Dutch congregation in London. His
son Samuel, of Hackney, succeeded ; whose eldest son and heir, David, was the father
of John Papillon, esq., of Ingletield in Berkshire.* The family estates and pos-
sessions here were the manor, the hall, the lodge, and the parsonage glebe : these
were afterwards sold to Thomas Lomax Clay, esq.; whose descendant, Richard
Lomax Clay, esq., dying intestate, Mrs. Martha Clay, his sister, a maiden lady,
became entitled, as his heiress at law, to this manor, which she by will devised
with her other estates to Rawson Parke and Peter Godfrey, esquires, as trustees, for
sale. The manor was purchased by the late William Francis, esq. solicitor, of
Colchester ; on whose decease it devolved to his son, WiUiam W. Francis, esq.,
solicitor, also of that town, — the present proprietor.f
The capital mansion and estate of the Lodge belongs to Alexander Baring, esq.;
the Hall estate to George Bridges, esq ; the Sturrick to the trustees of the will of
Jacob Whitbread, esq. late of Loudham hall in Norfolk.
An estate here, with the woods called Great and Little Catlins, belong to Caius
and Gonville college^ Cambridge,
ciiurch. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is on the west side of a beautiful green.
The arches of the doors are semicircular, and covered with roses and other orna-
ments ; part of the nave is ceiled, but none of the chancel ; and there is a gallery at
the west end, where a tower rises to the height of nearly sixty feet, and is composed
of Hints and stone of a peculiar appearance, supposed to be rag-stone, laying in
an inclined position in some parts of the building. In this tower there are five
bells.
Alberic de Vere gave this church to the monks of Abingdon in Berkshire, with the
priory of Earl's Colne, founded by him for a cell to that monastery ; and the grant
* Arms of Papillon : — Azure, a chevron, argent, between three butterflies flying, or.
t Arms of Francis : — Argent, a chevron, azure, between three leopards' heads, sable. Crest :— On a
wreath of the colours, a leopard's paw encircled with a wreath, vert.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 765
was confirmed by Alberic, his son, and by king Henry the first ; and the great tithes c H A p.
were appropriated to Colne priory in 1321 by the bishop of London, who ordained a ^^'-
vicarage here in 1323, reserving the collation of it to himself and his successors for
ever.*
In 1821 there were seven hundred and ninety-four inhabitants in this parish, and
nine hundred and seventy-eight in 1831.
FRATING.
The pleasant and generally high lands of this parish extend westward from the two Prating.
Bentleys : it is in general well-watered, and the soil light.f The circumference mea-
sures about five miles : it is five miles from Colchester, and fifty-seven from London.
In records the name of this parish is written Freting, and in Domesday Freting-
ham; names derived, as is supposed, from the Saxon Fjiea, a lord, and inj, a meadow
or pasture. The possessor of this lordship under the Confessor was named Retel ;
and at the time of the survey it belonged to Ralph Peverel, whose under tenant was
Turold : afterwards, it was divided into two manors ; and the manor of Great
Bentley has been extended over a considerable part of this parish.
The manor of Frating has the hall, or mansion, on the north side of the church. Prating
It belonged to the honour of Tutbury, of which it was holden by the noble family of
Ferrers ; and, under them, by a family surnamed de Frating, from the place. John
de Frating held this manor in 1308, and had also lands in Great Bromley. Alice
Frating was his only daughter and heiress, and conveyed it in frank marriage to
her husband Robert de Cheddeworth, and they settled the estate by fine in
1321. Thomas de Ched worth, cl., held this as one knight's fee under Henry de
Ferrers, in 1336. It was holden, in 1358, by John de Vere, the seventh earl of
Oxford, and was in the possession of Dr. Robert Wells ; it passed next to the
Ford family,:}: of St. Osyth and Great Horkesley, which they retained till Elianor,
the daughter of John Ford of Great Horkeslej^ conveyed it to her husband,
Thomas Bendish, esq. of Bumsted-steeple. He had also other lands in this and some
adjoining parishes, named Christmasses, Belches, Gateland and Crabtrees, the
Pounding and Swallows, Heckford, Hull- wood, and Pipsgrove. He died in 1602,
and was succeeded by his eldest son and heir, Thomas, created a baronet in 1611,
who sold this estate to Dr. Pierce ; and he gave it to the present possessors, the
master and fellows of Caius college, Cambridge.
Moverons is about a mile north from the church. This name has been given to Moverons
manors in Bromley and Brightlingsea : they have all been in possession of the
* Monast Anglic, vol. i. p. 436 ; and N'ewcourt, vol. ii. p. 4').
t Average annual produce per acre : wheat twenty, barley thirty-two, oats thirty-.six, bushels.
X Anus of Ford : — Argent, a talbot saliant, sable."
VOL. II. 5 F
766
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Beriff
family
BOOK II. St. Clere family, of whom sir John St. Clere died in 1546, holding the manor of
Moverons in Frating and Bromley of William Cardinal, as of his manor of Great
Bromley. John was his son and heir.
It next went to the Beriff" family, formerly resident at an ancient house called
Jacobs, in Brightlingsea ; and there are numerous memorials of the family in the
church there, the most ancient of which bears the date of 1496. Augustin Beriff"
was the father of William, who married Catharine, daughter of William Draper of
Aldham, by whom he had William and John. William Beriff, esq. of Colchester,
the eldest son, held the manor of Moverons in Frating and Bromley, and possessions
in Colchester and Greenstead. On his death, in 1627, he was succeeded by his son
William, who, by Frances Sidemore, of Ipswich, had John, Anne, and Mary. John
was succeeded by Richard Beriff, esq. who lived at this place. His daughter was
married to James Harvey, esq. of Cockfield, in Suffolk ; but having no children,
Mrs. Beriff* gave this and other estates to Jacob Brand, esq., whose heir was his
brother, William Beale Brand, esq. of Foisted hall.
The church is small, and has a tower and three bells.*
The population of this parish in 1821 amounted to two hundred and sixty-three,
and in 1831 to two hundred and sixty-nine.
Church.
Thoring-
ton.
Thoring-
ton hall.
THORINGTON.
This parish lies south from Frating : it is a lowland district, with a sandy and light
soil : f its circumference, about seven miles : distant from Colchester seven, and from
London fifty-seven, miles.
The name is supposed to be from the Saxon Doji, a heathen deity ; inj, a meadow ;
and tun, a tower. In records it is written Thoryton, Thoriton, Thureton, Thuritone,
Thurton, Toriton; and in Domesday, Torindune. In Edward the Confessor's reign
it belonged to Adstan ; and, after the Conquest, Avas one of the two hundred and
sixteen lordships given to Odo, bishop of Bayeaux, of which thirty-nine were in
Essex: his under tenant was named Ralph; but it had been unjustly seized by
Turold of Rochester. It has only one manor.
Thorington hall is near the church. Hubert de Anesty had this estate in 1199;
and his son Nicholas succeeded him; leaving, on his decease, Dionysia, his only
daughter, his heiress, who was married to William de Montchensy, baron of Swains-
camp, in Kent : whose sister, Joan, was married to William de Valence, earl of
Pembroke, brother to king Henry the third. WiUiam and Dionysia de Montchensy
* The living, which is a rectory, is in the gift of the master, fellows, and scholars of St. John's college,
Cambridge, and it is united to that of Thorington. On the north side of this church there is a handsome
monument to the memory of Thomas Bendish, es(i., of Bumsted-steeple, owner of Frating manor. His
first wife is also buried here.
t Average annual produce per acre : wheat twenty, barley twenty-eight, bushels.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 767
had two children, William, who died Avithout offspring in 1289; and Dionysia, CHAC.
married to Hugh de Vere, second son of Robert, the tifth earl of Oxford, who in her '^'^'"
right became baron of Swainscamp. They both died in 1313, leaving no surviving-
offspring; and were succeeded in this and their other great estates by Adomar de Valence
son of William and Joan ; he died in 1324, and his lady, Mary de St. Paul, in 1376.
Leaving no children, the estates were divided among his three sisters : Isabel, married
to John de Hastings, lord Bergavenny ; Joan, to John lord Comyn, of Badenoch ;
and Agnes, married first to Maurice Fitzgerald, and afterwards to Henry Baliol.
The heirs of Isabel inherited this estate, of whom John de Hastings, baron Ber-
gavenny, died in 1324 ; his son Laurence, earl of Pembroke, in 1348 ; John, in 1375 ;
and John de Hastings, earl of Pembroke, who came to the possession of this estate,
was killed at a tournament in 1389, the 17th year of his age. He married Philippa,
daughter of Edmund Mortimer, the third earl of March, but had no children.
Julian, mother of Laurence de Hastings, remarried to William de Clinton, earl of
Huntingdon, held this manor in dower till her death in 1367.
On the violent death of John de Hastings, the last earl of Pembroke of this family,
his heirs were found to be, sir Richard Talbot, son of Gilbert, son of Elizabeth, one
of the daughters of Joan, sister of Adomar de Valence; Elizabeth, wife of sir John le
Scrope ; and Philippa, wife of John Halesham, daughter of David de Strathbogie,
earl of Athol, son of David, son of Joan ; another daughter of the aforesaid Joan,
sister of Adomar. But they did not inherit this estate, for John de Hastings, earl of
Pembroke, had settled it on his mother's sister's son, William de Beauchamp, a
younger son of Thomas earl of Warwick, together with the barony of Bergavenny.
On his decease in 1411, he was succeeded by his son, Richard de Beauchamp, created
earl of Worcester in 1419, slain at the siege of Meaux, in France. Elizabeth, his
only daughter, was his heiress, married to sir Edward Neville, fourth son of Ralph
earl of Westmorland, who, in her right, became lord Bergavenny. On his decease
in 1476, George, his only surviving son, succeeded; who also left George lord
Bergavenny his son and heir in 1492; and he, in 1521, sold this manor, and that of
Redgwell, to John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, and Hugh Ashton, archdeacon of
York, executors to Margaret, countess of Richmond, for the use of St. John's college,
Cambridge, of which that lady was the foundress.
This manor is divided into several farms of considerable extent, particularly the
Marsh, or Dairy-house farm.
Great and Little Hockley woods belong to Gonville and Caius college, Cambridge.
The church has a nave and chancel, and a north aisle extending the length of the ci.uicl..
whole building, and leaded : the tower is built with a mixture of flints and stone, and
contains five bells. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. John Deth, as we are
informed by an inscription, lies buried in the belfry; he died in April, 1477, and
768 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. was a great benefactor to this church, which was either about that time rebuih, or
gi'eatly repaired, to effect which he is supposed to have considerably assisted.*
This parish, in 1821, contained three hundred and fifty-three, and in 1831, four
hundred and thirty-one, inhabitants,
ALRESFORD.
Airestord. rpj^-^ pacigj^^ bounded westward by the river Colne, occupies high ground, and
has alight sandy soil;t the name is derived from the Saxon Alp, or Alej\, Alder,
and FopS, a ford, that is, Aldersford ; it is written in records Aleford, Allesford,
Elesford. Six miles from Colchester, and fifty-four from London.
Edward, Edwald, and Algar, were the owners of these lands in the Saxon times;
and at the survey they belonged to Eustace earl of Boulogne : and his under-tenant,
Hato, held what had belonged to Edward ; the bishop of London had Edwald's part '
and Richard Fitzgislebert had what had belonged to Algar, who was permitted to
hold it under him ;— a rare instance of an allowance of this kind after the Norman
Conquest. There are two manors.
Alresford Alresford hall, the manor-house, is south-east from the church, at a short distance.
hall.
Geoffrey de Fercles held this manor in 1211; and the next recorded possessor was
Lucy de Apleford, who died in 1270; William was her son and heir. Andrew de
Thunderderle, at the time of his decease in 1311, held possessions here by the fourth
part of a knight's fee, a race of ginger, and a stalk of clove-gilly flowers, and suit at
the court of Boulogne ; Philip was his heir. After several other proprietors, in
which an unity of possession is preserved with a clear distinction of the two manors
mentioned at the survey, these estates, in 1361, belonged to sir John de Coggeshall;
succeeded by sir Henry, his son and heir. He married Margery, daughter and
heiress of Humphrey de Stanton, and had by her sir William de Coggeshall, who
leaving no issue male, his large inheritance went among his four daughters and
coheiresses, Blanch, Alice, Margaret, and Maud. This estate was conveyed to her
husband, John Doreward, esq. of Bocking, by Blanch, the eldest daughter. They
had four sons, of whom John was the eldest, and became his father's heir in 1476 ;
he held this estate till his decease in 1480; when he was succeeded by his uncle,
William Doreward, esq., who, by his wife Margery, daughter and coheiress of sir
Roger Arsick of Norfolk, had John ; and Elizabeth, married to Thomas Fotheringay,
esq. of Woodrising, in Norfolk; John, the son and heir, dying without issue in 1495,
his estates were divided among his sister Elizabeth Fotheringay's daughters, Mar-
garet, wife of Nicholas Beaupre ; Elena, of Henry Thursby, esq. ; and Christian, of
John de Vere, afterwards the fourteenth earl of Oxford. Margaret Beaupre, the
i
Alms-
house.
* There is an almshouse near the church for two dwellers.
t Annual average produce per acre : wheat twenty-two, barley twenty-eight, oats thirty-two, bushels.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING.
769
eldest daughter, had possession of this manor, which she left to her son Edmund t: H a v.
Beaupre, in 1513; from whom it passed, in 1556, to his kinsman Edward, son of ''^^^''
Henry Thursby, who died in 1558, and left Mary, wife of Richard Barwick, and
Anne \A^right, his two daughters, his coheiresses. But at the time of her death in
1586, Mary Barwick possessed this manor, and left Thomas Barwick, her son, her
heir.
William Tabor, doctor of the civil law, among- other extensive possessions had
this manor in 1611 ; Martha, his only daughter and heiress, afterwards conveyed it
to her husband, John Browne, who sold it to John Hawkins, of Braintree ; and he,
by will, bequeathed it to his eldest son, John Hawkins, esq., whose only daughter
and heiress, Christian, was married to sir John Dawes, hart, of Lyons, in Becking ;
whose heirs sold it to Benjamin Field, of London ; of whose son it was purchased,
in 1720, by Matthew Martin, esq. of Wivenhoe ; he left it, in 1749, to his eldest son,
Samuel Martin, esq. ; who dying in 1765 without children, it descended to his
brother, Thomas Martin, esq. counsellor at law.
The manor of Cokayne belonged to John de Cokayne in 1279. It was conveyed Cockayne,
by Benedict Cokefield to sir John de Sutton, of Wivenhoe, in 1332, and was in the
possession of sir Richard de Sutton at the time of his decease, in 1395, and came
to the Martin family about the same time as the manor of Alersford did, but the
intermediate possessors of it are not known.
The lodge, a reputed manor, lies near the river Colne. The house is about half a F.odsre.
mile south-west from the church. It passed from INIrs. Kinaston of London, to James
and Jonathan Phoedam, of Wivenhoe, brothers and mariners. Jonathan, the son of
James, subsequently enjoyed it. It was afterwards conveyed to the Martins family.
The church is dedicated to St. Peter, and has a shingled spire, with two bells. Chmch.
An ancient inscription in the chancel, in Norman French, to the memory of Anfrid,
or Anfrey de Staunton, informs us that this church was erected by him.*
In 1821 there were two hundred and seventy, and in 1831 two hundred and ninety-
seven, inhabitants in this parish.
BRIGHTLINGSEA.
This parish, being- nearly on all sides surrounded by the water of the sea, or of the ciiuicli.
river Colne, has been g-enerally reckoned an island: at high tide, it can only be
approached by land from the Thorington road. Speed supposes that this is the
island to which the Danes fled for shelter, after their defeat by king Alfred, at
Farnham;f but succeeding writers have proved this opinion erroneous, and that
* There are two almshouses here, but they have no endowment ; and land in, the parish is charged
with an annuity of thirteen shillings and fourpence to the poor,
t Hist, of Great Britain, p. 1358, ed. 1614.
TTO HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Mersey was the place of their retreat. Brightling'sea street, or town, is by the sea-
side, about a mile distant from the church ; its inhabitants are chiefly dependant for
support on the trade in oysters, for whicli the island has always been celebrated.
There is also an establishment here for the manufacture of copperas, from the pyrites
collected on the coast.
This parish is a member of the town and port of Sandwich, one of the cinque
ports in Kent; and formerly, on that accoimt, enjoyed important privileges. The soil*
is a rich fertile loam, and rises to a considerable height from the marshes : it is about
ten miles in circumference; eight miles south-east from Colchester, and fifty-nine
miles distant from London. There is a fair here on the first of June, and also on
the fifteenth of October.
Previous to the conquest, this lordship was retained by the crown, but was given
, to Eudo Dapifer after that event. There are two manors.
Biiglit- Brightlingsea hall is near the east end of the church ; but the usual residence of
I hall. the lords of the manor is about half a mile distant, in a southerly direction.
Eudo made this manor part of the endowment of St. John's abbey, in Colchester ;
and at the dissolution it was granted to Thomas lord Cromwell ; upon whose
attainder it returned to the ci'own; till queen Elizabeth, in 1576, granted it to sir
Thomas Henneage, one of her privy council. He died in 1595, leaving Elizabeth,
his only daughter, who was married to Moyle Finch, esq., created a baronet in 1611 ;
and she herself was created viscountess Maidstone, in 1623; and, in 1628, advanced
to the title of countess of Winchelsea. Sir Moyle died in 1614; and this estate was
sold to Richard Wilcox,f in whose family it remained till 1660, when it became the
property of colonel George Thomson, from whom it passed to captain John South ;
and was sold to Isaac Brand, of London, who bequeathed it to John Colt, and his
heirs male. He was the fourth son of Robert Colt, rector of Semer, in Suffolk,
descended from the ancient family of Colt, of Colt's hall, Suffolk. Nicholas Magens,
esq., a rich merchant, purchased this manor in 1763. He was highly distinguished
by good dispositions and christian virtues : kind and bountiful to his neighbours —
just to all men — and exceedingly charitable to the poor; on his death, very sincerely
lamented by all who knew him.J
* Annual average produce per acre : wheat twenty-four, barley thirty two, bushels.
t Arras of Wilcox : Argent, a lion rampant between three crescents, sable : a chief vaire, argent and
azure. Crest : A demi-lion rampant, sable gorged vaire argent and azure, issuing out of a crown.
X Some of the peculiar customs of this manor are the following : If a tenant dieth possessed of cus-
tomary tenements, his youngest son shall inherit; or, for want of such son, his youngest daughter ; and
for want of such daughter, his youngest brother, or sister. Also, the wife shall have no dowry of her
husband's customary lands. If two or more persons have a joint estate in any customary lands that are
heriotable, there is no heriot due till after the death of the latest liver. If a man have an estate of
inheritance, and the wife an estate for life in any customary lands or tenements, being heriotable, the
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 771
Moverons is a manor dependant on the chief manor ; the mansion is about half a c K a t-
mile from the church. The name in deeds and records, Monviron, Mewarones, ^^'
Maronis, Morehams, Morehouse. Moverons.
Osbert de Brightlingsey, who died in 1247, had three sisters, coheiresses, of whom
Rhoese, the young-est, was married to Richard Mun'um, and he is supposed to have
lived here; and also John de Monviron, and his daughter Mariote, in the year 1260,
John Seintcler died in possession of Moverons in 1493, and so did his son, sir John
St, Clere, in 1546. It next went to the Darcy family, being in the possession of
Thomas Darcy, esq. in 1554; and his son Thomas was his successor in 1557; after-
wards, sir Thomas Darcy, bart., sold it to Robert Barwell Baymaker, of Witham :
of whose son it was purchased, in 1718, by John Colt, esq., and descending to Isaac
Brand Colt, esq,, was purchased with the other manor, by Nicholas Magens, esq. and
now belongs to Magens Dorien Magens, esq. a wealthy London banker.
Brightlingsea church is dedicated to All Saints ; it is on a very elevated station, ciuuch.
seen at a vast distance both by sea and land, and used as a sea-mark : it has a nave
and lofty side aisles, leaded, and a chancel, tiled. A stately tower rises from the west-
end, to the height of ninety-four feet, up to the battlements.*
Both the church and the manor originally belonged to St. John's abbey ; but, in
1237, the abbot and convent gave the patronage of it to the church of St. Paul, and
the bishop of London and his successors; and it was,by the dean and canons, appro-
man being dead, and having any cattle on the day of his death, the heriot shall be seized by the bailiff,
and appraised by the tenants, and the wife shall have the use and occupation of the same heriot during
her life, putting in sureties to the court for the true payment of the price of the said heriot at her death.
The customary tenants, who have an estate of inheritance, are not punishable for selling, or cutting
down any wood or timber growing upon their customary lands, nor for taking down, or carrying away,
any houses, timber, or other parts of them ; so that they keep a sufficient house to make a dwelling.
Every tenant of this manor may, for his tenement, according to the custom of the manor, put upon the
commons one sheep and a half for every acre that he holdeth, and as many hogs as he may reasonably
keep, to be lawfully ringed and yoked ; and every cottager may keep one barrow pig, ringed and yoked.
* There lies buried in this church the body of John Beriff, who died in March, 1496 ; also Mary Beriff', inscrip-
died 29th Sept. 1503 ; Margaret Beriff, died in 1514; John Beriff, died 26th Aug. 1521 ; and Mary and tions.
Alice, his wives ; William Beriff, Mariner, died Sept. 2, 1542, with Joan, his wife ; John Beriff, died May
20th, 1542 ; with John, his eldest son, who, by Anne his wife, had eleven sons and three daughters ; he
died in May, 1578. Arms of Beriff: On a fesse, gules, a lion passant, or, between six trefoils, slipt, vert.
A charity of fifty-two shillings a year was bequeathed to the poor of this parish by John Sympson, charities,
rector of St. Olave, Hart-street, London, a native of this place; the money payable at Michaelmas and
Lady-day, out of lands in Kirby le Soken.
William Whitman, in 1730, left by will seven pounds a year to be paid to the vicar of this place, on con-
dition that he preaches two sermons every Lord's-day, from Lady-day to Michaelmas, and resides with
his family all that time in the vicarage-house, or some other house in the parish.
Six pounds a year were granted by king Henry the first, out of Brightlingsea hall, to St. Mary Mag-
dalen's hospital, Colchester, and this grant was confirmed by king Henry the second.— Monast. Angl.
vol. ii. p. 396.
772 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. priated to the lights of that church, a vicarage being ordained here, which has
remained in the bishop's collation, and exempt from the archdeacon's juris-
diction.
The population of this parish, in 1821, amounted to one thousand and twenty-
eight; and in 1831, to one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four.
ST. OSYTH, ANCIENTLY CALLED CISE, OR CHICH.
St. Osyth. This parish, on the southern extremity of the hundred, extends along the sea-
shore. It is about twenty miles in circumference ; ten miles south-east from Col-
chester, and sixty-one from London.
The land rises high from the marshes, and contains a good proportion of a light
fertile loam, suitable for turnips ; in the marshes heavy, but rich, and well adapted to
the growth of forest trees.*
The derivation of the Saxon name of Chich is not known ; but that of St. Osyth
is from the daughter of Redoald,f king of East Anglia, and virgin-wife of Sighere,
a christian king of the East Saxons. She was born at Quarendon, in Buckingham-
shire, residing with her aunt at Elesborough, on the Chiltern hills, three miles from
Aylesbury. According to the monkish legends, she made a vow of virginity at an
early age, but was compelled by her father to marry Sighere ; the marriage, how-
ever, was never consummated, for, during the absence of her husband, she took the
veil, and afterwards obtained his consent to the fulfilment of her vow ; for which
purpose she retired to the village of Chich, given to her by her husband ; and here
she founded a church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and instituted a nunnery
of Maturines, of the order of the Holy Trinity. This religious establishment was
plundered and destroyed by the Danes, under Inguar and Hubba, and the royal
foundress herself beheaded, at a fountain where she used to bathe, with her virgins.
She was buried before the door of her church; but afterwards, her remains were
removed to Aylesbury,J for fear of the Danes ; yet, after an interval of forty-six
* " I had much pleasure," says Mr. Young, " in viewing one of tlie original Lombardy poplars brought
from Italy by lord Rochford above forty years ago, and from which much the greater part of those
which are scattered through the kingdom originated ; it is a very beautiful tree, guessed to be above
seventy feet high ; and, at five feet above the ground, measures seven feet three inches in circumference.
Very near it, is the largest and most beautiful Portugal laurel I have any where seen ; it is almost of a
semiglobular form, feathered all round to the lawn it grows on, and is fifty-two yards in circumference.
At a small distance from these prodigies of vegetation, is another, at least equal, an arbutus, which would
make no inconsiderable figure at Kiliarney. There are many other exceedingly fine trees, of uncommon
growth, in the firm rich loam of these grounds."
t Leland de Script. Brit.
♦ Chronic. Saxon, p. 295 — 229.
f
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 773
years, tliey Avere brought here, and again interred.* Her festival was on the seventh c H a p.
of October. f xxi.
After the Danes had obtained regal domination in England, Chich, St. Osyth, was
given by king Canute to Godwin, earl of Kent, who granted it to Christ church,
Canterbury : yet, at the time of the survey, it belonged to the see of London :
having been taken from its former appropriation.
The other lands here had belonged before the conquest to a person named Edward,
and to Siuuard ; but at the time of the survey had been given to Eustace, earl of
Boulogne; and to Ralph Peverel, and his under-tenant, Turold.
The manor of Chich, belonging to the see of London, bishop Richard de Belmers, j^t ^)^^.^^^,,
surnamed Rufus, who was consecrated in 1108, obtained it for the endowment of his "lonas-
tery.
♦ In an account of the burial-place of tiie English saints, transcribed by Hickes, from an old Anulo-
Saxon MS. it is said —
Donne fieytetJ jce Oj-jiS on rice neah gajie jae on j-ce Petrjiej mynj-cjie.
i. e. " Next resteth Saint Osith, at Cice, near the sea, in St. Peter's monastery."
See Leland's Itinerar, vol. viii. p. 73 ; and Monast. Angl. vol. ii. p. 181.
t The story of St. Osyth, given in an old tract, entitled " Purgatory proved by Miracles," was as
follows : — " St. Ositha was daughter of a Mercian prince, named Frithwald, and of Wilterburga, daughter
of Pende, king of the Mercians. She was bred up in great piety ; and, through her parents' authority,
became wife to Sighere, companion of St. Seb, in the kingdom of the East Angles. But preferring the love
of a heavenly bridegroom before the embraces of a king, her husband complied with her devotion ; and,
moreover, not only permitted her to consecrate herself to our Lord, but bestowed on her a village,
situated near the sea, called Chic, where, building a monastery, she enclosed herself; and, after she had
spent some time in the service of God, it happened that a troop of Danish pirates landed there ; who,
going out of their ships, wasted and burnt the country thereabout, using all manner of cruelty to the
christian inhabitants. Then he who was the captain of that impious band, having learnt the condition
and religious life of the blessed virgin, St. Ositha, began by entreaties and presents to tempt her to idol-
atry; adding withal, threats of scourging, and other torments, if she refused to adore the gods which he
worshipped. But the holy virgin, despising his flatteries, and not fearing his threats, made small account
of the torments attending her. Whereupon the said captain, enraged at her constancy, and scorn of his
idols, pronounced sentence of death against her, commanding her to lay down her head to be cut off.
And in the same place where the holy virgin suffered martyrdom, a clear fountain broke forth, which
cured several kinds of diseases. As soon as her head was off, the body presently rose up, and taking up
the head in the hands, by the conduct of angels walked firmly the straight way to the church of the
apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, about a quarter of a mile distant from the place of her suffering. .And
when it was come there, it knocked at the door with the bloody hands, as desiring it might be opened,
and thereon left marks of blood. Having done this, it fell there down to the ground. Now her parents
naving heard of her death, earnestly desired, as some recompense for their loss, to enjoy the comfort of
burying with them her headless body; which, being brought to them, they interred it in a coffin of lead,
in the church of Aylesbury, where many miracles were wrought by her intercession. At length, her
sacred reliques, by a divine vision, were translated thence, back again to the church of Chic, which
Maurice, bishop of London, reposed in a precious coffer: at which time the bishop of Rochester, then
present, was cured of a grievous infirmity."
VOL. 11. 5 G
774 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. monastery here, giving for it fourteen pounds in land, in Lodesword ; and six pounds
yearly in land in Sudrainster, which he had bought of Robert de Wigecot.* Besides
this manor, which included two parks, the monastery was endowed with very exten-
sive possessions. It was founded some time previous to the year 1118, for canons of
the order of St. Augustin.
A great benefactor of this institution was Adeliza, the lady of Alberic de Vere, the
first earl of Oxford, whose son, a canon here, wrote the life of St. Osyth.f The
advowson or presentation to this abbey was granted to the bishop of London
in 1205.
At the time of the suppression, in 1539, the abbot and eighteen canons subscribed
to the king's supremacy, which shews that the establishment consisted of that
number.^ Soon after the surrender, the site of St. Osyth's monastery was granted,
by king Henry the eighth, to Thomas lord Cromwell ; and in 1545, an act of parlia-
ment passed for erecting St. Osyth's into an honour. On the attainder of lord
Cromwell, the premises reverted to the crown; and, in 1553, were granted by king
Edward the sixth to Thomas lord Darcy, knight of the garter, and chamberlain of
his household. Several branches of the Darcy family have had possessions hi different
parts of Essex ; but the most considerable was that which obtained this estate, and was
ennobled, of which sir Thomas Darcy, knt. was the son of Roger Darcy, esq., of
* Carta Robert! de Belmeis, et Monastic. Angl. vol. ii. p. 183.
+ St. Osyth appears to have been a saint held in very great veneration. Matthew Paris has handed
down to us a story how a certain husbandman, named Thurcillus, who lived at " Tidstude," a village in
Essex, "a person very hospitable to his capacity," was taken into purgatory, hell, and paradise, by
St. James, and other saints ; and when he had come to the most holy and pleasant place in all paradise,
there he saw " St. Catherine, St. Margaret, and St. Osith." We also gain some information from the
story as to the date of the church at this " Tidstude." Whilst Thurcillus and his conductors, St. Julian
and St. Domnius, were in purgatory, "it happened one evening that they saw a devil coming full speed
upon a black horse, whom his companions went out to meet with great triumph. St. Domnius compelled
the fiend to tell him whose soul it was he so racked with riding. He answered, that it was a peer of
England, who died the night before without confession, or receiving the consecrated wafer : that he had
been oppressive and cruel, particularly to his own tenants, and that chiefly at the instigation of his wife ;
and that, having turned him into that horselike form, he had brought him down to eternal punishment.
And then the fiend, casting his eyes upon the rustic, said to the saint, 'Who is he.'' Said the saint,
' Dost not know him ?' ' Yes,' said the fiend, ' I saw this man at Tidstude church, in Essex, at the time
of its dedication.' ' In what garb went you in ?' said the saint. ' In the garb of a woman,' replied the
fiend ; ' by the same token that coming up to the font, and intending to go into the chancel, the deacon
met me with a holy- water stick, and so frighted me with the sprinkling of that water, that, giving a
scream, I leaped at once two furlongs from the church into a field.' And the rustic did affirm, that he
and others had heard the noise, but were altogether ignoiantof its meaning." This happened, according
to Matthew Paris, in the reign of king John, A.D. 1206.
I Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 456 ; and Br. Willis's Hist, of the Abbies, vol. ii. p. 80.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 775
Danbury, sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1506, and esquire of the body to ^' « a ta-
king- Henry the seventh.* ^^^
The quadrangle of the monastery is almost entire, except part of the north side,
occupied by some modern apartments and two posterns. The entrance is by a beau-
tiful gateway of hewn stone, with Hint, having two towers and two posterns.
The buildings on the east and west, used as stables and offices, have the appearance
of great antiquity ; and three towers on the west, one larger and loftier than the
others, command an extensive prospect. St. Osyth is now the seat of Frederick
Nassau, esq.
There were other manors and estates in this parish, besides those belonging to the
abbey; these constituted the lands possessed by Siuuard, in Edward the Confessor's
reign, and by Ralph Peverel, at the time of the survey. They were conveyed from
the Peverel family by the marriage of Margaret, daughter and heiress of William
Peverel, of Nottingham, to William, son of W^illiam de Ferrers, of Groby. He
was brother to Robert de Ferrers, the last earl of Derby of this family : and is said to
have held possessions here and in various parts of Essex, in 1252, by the service of
five knights' fees.
The manor of St. Cleres has the mansion about a quarter of a mile south-east from St. Cleres.
the church. Juliana, daughter of Peter de Kertlington, and wife of Alexander de
Raines, is said to have given to Hugh de Vere, earl of Oxford, all the homage and
service which Ralph Fitz- Walter of St. Osyth owed her, for the tenement he held of
her in St. Osyth de Chiche, in Suffleete. It appears by the Feodary of the honour
* Sir Thomas, son of sir Thomas Darcy, born in 1506, had several considerable employments under
Henry the eighth and Edward the sixth : in 1551 he was created baron Darcy, of Chich, and K. G. ;
dying in 1558, he was succeeded by his son, John, lord Darcy, on whose decease, in 1381, his heir was
his son, Thomas lord Darcy ; who had, besides other younger daughters, Elizabeth, married to sir Thomas
Savage, of Rock Savage, in the county of Chester, knt. and bart. This lord Darcy, in 1621, was created
viscount Colchester for life, remainder to his son-in-law, sir Thomas Savage ; and in 1626 was advanced
to the title of earl Rivers. He died in 1639 ; sir Thomas Savage, on whom the titles were entailed, having
died before him in 1635, his widow Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, took the title of countess Rivers. By
sir Thomas Savage she had John Savage, bart., the eldest son, who succeeded his father, in 1639, in the
title of earl Rivers. He died in 1654, leaving Thomas, earl Rivers, the eldest son, his successor. He died
in 1694, his eldest son having died before him ; and was therefore succeeded by his younger son, the hon.
Richard Savage, who was lieutenant-general of horse, lord-lieutenant and vice-admiral of the county.
By his wife Penelope, daughter of John Downs, esq., he had Elizabeth, married to James I3arry, earl of
Barrimore. Dying in 1712, and leaving no legitimate surviving issue male, he gave his estates to his
natural daughter Bessy. She was married to the right hon. Frederick Znleistern de Nassau, earl of Roch-
ford: and in 1721 an Act was obtained for settling the estates of Richard, late earl Rivers, pursuant to
an agreement made between Frederic, earl of Rochford, and Bessy, countess of Rochford, his wife, James
Barry, earl of Barrymore, and lady Penelope, his daughter, and John, earl Rivers.
776 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. of Castle Hedingham, that these lands, called St. Clere's Park, and St. Clere's Wic,
were held under the earls of Oxford, in the reign of king Henry the third, by-
Ralph, son of Walter de Osyth, and Cicely St. Clere, in the year 1273, by Philip de
St. Osyth, who was succeeded by William St. Clere, and his son and heir John, in
1334. Thomas St. Clere held under Thomas de Vere, the eighth earl of Oxford, and
also under his successors Robert and Alberic, in 1384, 1406, 1446, and 1454. William
St. Clere held the twelfth part of a knight's fee in Chich, paying four-pence yearly
to the manor of Great Bentley. Sir John St. Clere held the manor of Chichridill,
or St. Clere's hall, in St. Osyth, of the earl of Oxford, as of his castle of Hedingham,
in 1546, by the third part of a knight's fee, then of the yearly value of thirty pounds;
he had also the manor of Prodewicke. John was his son and heir ; and in 1555 con-
veyed this manor, with other possessions, to John Gason, esq., from whom it passed
to the Darcy family. Thomas Darcy, esq., of Tolleshunt Tregor, held lands and
messuages here valued at forty pounds a year, of Thomas lord Darcy, as of his manor
of Chich;* and the estate was afterwards purchased of the heirs of the Darcy family,
by Mr. Richard Daniel.
Frowick Frodewick, or Frowick-hall, is reckoned a manor, which seems to have been a,
*^'^"' village called Forowica, at the time of the survey, and belonged to earl Eustace ; and
afterwards to a family who took their surname, de Fro wick, from it. John de
Frothewyke, or Fro wick, died here in 1312, holding this and other estates of the
heirs of Ralph de St. Osyth- Lawrence was his son, whose heirs held a knight's fee
in Chiche Ridell, in 1343, under Henry de Ferrers. Sir John de St. Clere held this
manor in 1493, of sir John de Bourchier, lord Ferrers, of Groby ; and sir John St.
Clere held Frodewick, with a tenement called Fenhouse, in the parish of Chich, of
William Parr, marquis of Northampton, who had married Anne, daughter and heiress
of Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex. This estate is now divided into Great and Little
Frowick hall.
Great Great Frowick hall is about a mile and a half north from the church, and the north
Frowick
hall.
* He died in 1558, and was succeeded by his son, Brian Darcy, esq., who held this, with St. Clere's
Wic, and other estates, at the time of his death in 1587. His wife was Bridget, one of the daughters of
John Corbet, esq., of Sprowston, in Norfolk ; by her he had John, Robert, Jane, and Penelope ; of whom
the three last died without offspring, and, with their father, are buried in this church. John Darcy,
esq., the eldest son, was a sergeant-at-law, and died in 1638 ; his wife was Dorothy, daughter of Thoma.s
Audley, esq., of Bere-Church, by whom he had Brian, who died young; and Thomas, who also died
before his father, in 1632, having married Mary, daughter of sir Andrew .-Xstley, of Writtle, knt., hy
whom he had Mary, Thomas, and Posthumous, created a baronet in 1660 ; who had by his first wife,
Cicely, daughter of sir Symond D'elves, Anne, who died young : and by Jane, his second wife, daughter
and heiress of Robert Cole, he had Robert, who did not attain maturity; Thomas, Brian, William, John,
and Elizabeth.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 777
chapel, in the chancel, is appropriated to it. It was for some time in the possession chap.
of a family named Thwaytes, and afterwards became successively the property of the ^^^
families of Spilman, Harlow, Berney, and Daines, or Denes.
Little Frowick hall is not far distant from the other manor-house ; the estate for- Little
merly belonged to Thomas Green, of East Thorp, and to Mr. John Baker. r.^i^"^''
The church is a large and stately building, having a nave, and lofty north and south chum,.
aisles, and a chancel, with a north aisle or chapel ; in the tower there are five bells.
It is dedicated to St. Mary, St. Peter, and St. Paul ; the king's arms which ornament
the chancel, in elegant and costly workmanship of gold and silver, on crimson damask
silk, was the gift of the earl of Rochford.*
This church was given, with the manor, by Richard de Belmeis, to the monastery
here ; and the tithes being appropriated to that house, they served the cure by one of
their own canons ; and, since the suppression, it has been a donative, or perpetual curacy.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to one thousand four hundred and
fourteen ; and in 1831, to one thousand five hundred and eighty-three.
MISTLEY AND MANNINGTREE.
This parish occupies the most pleasant part of the hundred, having Ardleigh and MistUy
Lawford on the west; Bromley on the south; on the east, Wix and Bradfield ; and 5ff„ni„,.
trcf.
* The founder of the monastery was buried within its walls by the canons, who entombed his remains las<ri|i-
under a marble monument, with an epitaph, of which the following is a translation : tions.
" Here lieth Richard de Belmeis, surnamed Rufus, bishop of London ; a man of probity, and far
advanced in years, diligent throughout life : our religious founder, and one that conferred much good on
us and the ministers of the church of St. Paul; he died 16 January, 1127; on whose soul the Highest
have mercy."
In a niche at the east end of the church, there is a marble monument, with the following inscription :
" Here lies John Darcy, kinsman and freinde to the right hon. Thomas lord Darcy, earl Rivers, a
serjeant-at-law, a father to his kindred, and charitable to the poorc. He deceased 15 March, in the year
of our Lord 1638, in the 71st of his age."
Tliere is also a monument in the wall, to the memory of Briant Darcy, esq., higli sheriff of the county
of Essex, who died 25 Dec. 1587. Here lies also Bridget his wife. This monument is defaced.
There is likewise a monument for John lord Darcy, baron of Chich, in the county of Kssex, who died
25 Feb. 1661, aged fifty-seven; and for Frances his wife; also for Thomas lord Darcy, but the inscrip-
tion is obliterated. Their statues, in marble, are in the chancel.
There is also a decayed monument, with an inscription to the memory of John lord Darcy, \\ln» li\rd
in the time of queen Elizabeth.
John Denes is buried here, with an epitaph ; he died 4 Oct. J704, at the age of seventy-four.
" Bishop Belmeis caused the arm of St. Osyth to be translated to this church with great soloinnity, in st. Dsytli.
the presence of William Corbell, or de Corbill, the first prior of this house; arciibishop of Canterbury,
and other bishops, remitting twenty days' penance to all that come to worship it, and relaxing every
year seven days' penance to all that should devoutly come iiithcr to celebrate her festival." — Newcourt's
Rep. vol. ii. p. 455,
7*78
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
New hall.
BOOK II. the river Stour northward. Its circumference is about nine miles. The land here is
mostly a light sandy loam, intermixed with veins of gravel ; and the general face of
the country, particularly on the banks of the Stour, is rich in cultivation.* The
name, in Domesday, is Mistle. There are three manors.
The manor of Mistley, or Sciddinchou, is what the wife of Henry de Ramis held ;
the mansion was called Old hall, but the place where it stood is not known ; yet it
may be supposed to have occupied the site of that which arose from its ruins about
two miles south from the church, and which took the name of New hall : both of
them appear in records, under these distinct names, as two capital messuages, but
neither occur in the post mortem inquisitions till the year 1387, when New hall was
in the possession of Thomas Hardyng; and in 1414, WilHam, the son of Thomas
Hardyng, released New hall, and other possessions, to Joanna de Bohun, countess of
Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
In 1543, in the reign of Henry the eighth, this estate, with the advowson of the
church, passed to the crown, where it remained, till king Edward the sixth, in 1552,
granted it to sir John Rainsforth, with the manor of Abbots, to hold in socage.
The manor of Abbots was so called, because it belonged to the abbey of St. Osyth ;
it is two miles and a half south from the church. As sir John Rainsforth became
possessed, about the same time, of Mistley, Abbots, and Manningtree, they were
afterwards mentioned together in the inquisition,
Manningtree, or Many tree, does not occur in Domesday, the name of Sciddinchou
being given to this place in that record. In ancient writings it is also named Scid-
mehau, Sedingho, and Shedham.
The manor-house, which is on rising ground, a mile from the town, is called
Sheddon, or Sharing hall : in the confessor's reign it belonged to Aluric ; and at the
time of the survey, these lands were holden in demesne, by Adeliza, countess Albe-
marle, married to Eudo, earl of Campaigne, to whom bishop Odo gave Albemarle in
Normandy, and who received from the conqueror the isle and earldom of Holder-
ness.f It was holden of the countess, together with the manor of Godlisford, in
Suifolk, by the service of half a knight's fee, and not of the king. Isabel, widow of
Hubert de Ruly, held a third part of it in dower; and in 1311, Geofrey, son of
William de Ruly, of Ramsey, released all his right in the manor of Schiddinchou, to
the abbey of canon Leigh, in Devonshire : for Maud de Clare, countess of Glou-
cester and Hereford, having converted that priory into a nimnery, with abbess and
nuns, or canonesses, she gave them this, and her manor of Sydynghan ; and in 1319,
sir Robert de Insula gave them all the lands and tenements he held in Schidingchou
Abbots.
Manning
tree.
Sharing
hall.
• Annual average produce per acre ; wheat twenty-four, barley thirty-two, oats thirty .si.x, bushels.
t A. Vincent's Discoveries, &c. pp. i and 2. _
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 779
and Manitree.* The nunnery held this estate till 1538, when it was surrendered to chap.
the crovvn.f In 1540, king Henry the eighth granted this manor to sir John Rayns- ^^'-
forth, which he held of the queen in capite at the time of his decease in 1559,
described as the manor of Manytree, or Chedingho, with appurtenances; and the
Crane, the Key, and Key-house; and a chapel of our Lady in the Gates, and the
guild or fraternity of Manytree ; also the manors of Old hall and New hall, and the
rectory of Mistley : he held also the manor of Abbots, or Edlyns, of the queen, by
fealty only in free socage. Sir John married, first, the daughter and heiress of
Edward Knivet; and his second wife was Winifred, daughter and heiress of John
Pyme, but he had no surviving offspring by either, so that his heirs were sir Chris-
topher Edmonds, John Goodwin, and Anne, wife of Henry Josselyn, the descendants
of his mother's sister, Elizabeth, daughter of sir Humphrey Starkey. These estates
remained the property of different branches of this family, till they passed into the
possession of John Barker, esq., whose son Robert sold them to Paul viscount Bayn-
ing, who, at the time of his decease, in 1629, held the manor of Sheddingchou and
Manningtree of the king, by the tenth part of a knight's fee ; and the manors of Old
hall and New hall, with advowson of the church, by the fortieth part of a knight's
fee ; likewise the manor of Abbots, in this parish. His son, Paul viscount Bayning,
died in 1638, leaving only two daughters to inherit his very large estates. Penelope
was twice married, yet left no surviving offspring on her death, in 1657 : but Anne,
the eldest, was married to Aubrey de Vere, the twentieth and last earl of Oxford of
that honourable and most ancient family. He also died without issue. About the
year 1680, having sold the reversion of this and other possessions to Edward Rigby,
esq., William Peck, esq., Mrs. Piei-point, and others ; who, on the earl's decease, in
1703, obtained an Act of Parliament to settle the division of these estates, when this
was allotted to Edward Rigby, esq. ; whose son Richard married Mrs. Anne Perry,
by whom he had Richard, Anne, and Martha, wife of col. John Hale. Mr. Rigby
died in 1730, and his widow, Anne, in 1741. The right hon. Richard Rigby, privy-
counsellor in England ; and in Ireland, privy-counsellor, master of the rolls, and vice-
treasurer, was their son. He had in this parish New hall. White hall, Abbotts farm.
Fords, and Dikeley hall.
Dikeley hall is about a mile and a lialf south from the church. It was in the pos- Dikcky.
session of Alestan, a Saxon, before the conquest ; and at the time of the survey, had
become the property of Robert Gernon, who, being lord of Stansted-Montfichet,
this estate was therefore holden of that barony, and came with it to the de \ ere
family. Norman de Dikeley, who was a benefactor to St Osyth's monastery,! took his
* Tanner's Notitia Monast. p. 93.
t Burnet's Hist, of Reformat. Collect, of Records, p. 146.
X Cartulary of St. Osyth's abbey.
780 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK l[. surname from this place, which passed afterwards, with the manor of New hall, to
Thomas Hardyng, from whom it was named Hardynges.* Dikeley hall and Dikeley-
wood were in possession of the Rayning family in 1629 and 1638, and passed, as the
other estates here did, to the last of the de Vere family ; of whom the reversion was
purchased by Edward Peck, esq., and became the property of his son William, and
of his grandson, William Peck. Afterwards it went to the right hon. Richard Rigby.
Mistley Mistley hall, the residence of the Rigby family, is considered to be not inferior to
any seat in this part of the county, in beauty and attractiveness ; this handsome man-
sion is on an elevation, within a fine well-wooded park ; the grounds, of varied and
uneven surface, gently sloping down toward the Stour, which is here two miles
across at high water ; and this animating prospect terminates with the highly culti-
vated lands bordering the opposite banks of the river. In the foreground of this
picture, the handsome and lively adjoining village adds considei'ably to the beauty of
the scene. On the decease of lieutenant-colonel Rigb}', the Mistley and other family
estates descended to lord Rivers, in right of his lady, the daughter and heiress of
John Pitt, clerk of the exchequer in the time of queen Elizabeth.f
Mistley The village of Mistley is pleasantly situated on the banks of the river Stour,
village.
eleven miles west from Harwich, and about half a mile distant from Manningtree.
This place owes its beauty and importance to the right hon. R. Rigby, esq., who
built about fifty of the best and handsomest of the original houses, with several
granaries, warehouses, and a large malting house, with quays and coal-yards.:}:
The petty sessions for this division of Tendring are holden here on Monday,
every five weeks, alternately with Thorpe, Great Bromley, and Manningtree ; when
overseers, surveyors, and constables, are appointed ; and a court baron, by the lords
of the manors of Mistley and Manningtree, meets annually. The court-leet formerly
holden here is discontinued.
* Rental of knights' fees belonging to the honour of Castle Hedingham, in the time of Henry VI.
+ George, the second lord Rivers, succeeded his father in 1803 : he was a lord of the bedchamber,
born in 1751, and died, unmarried, in 1828. He was succeeded in the barony of Rivers, of Sudley Castle,
pursuant to the limitation of the patent of 1802, by his nephew, William Horace Beckford, the third lord,
who took the name of Pitt Rivers, instead of that of Beckford, by royal sign manual, in 1828 : and, by
the same license, such of his issue male as should succeed to the Pitt estates, were authorized to take the
name of Pitt Rivers, and his issue generally to take the surname of Rivers only. Lord Rivers, in 1808,
married Frances, only daughter and heiress of lieut.-col. Rigby, of Mistley-hall, in Essex, and had issue
Fanny, George, present lord, Horace, Harriet, Elizabeth. His lordship was accidentally drowned in the
Serpentine river, in 1831 ; and was succeeded by bis eldest son, George, present and fourth lord.
Arms of Rivers: Sable, a fess chequy or and azure, between three bezants. Crest: A heron close,
argent, supporters. Dexter, a falcon or, wings inverted. Sinister, an unicorn argent.
t A fair is held, by permission only, on Mistley green on the 8th and 9th of August, yearly: but an
injunction was publicly given by the trustees of the late Francis Hall Rigby, esq., that no booth or stall
will be allowed for the sale of beer in or upon Mistly green, or manor.
I
^
p
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 781
The new church was erected by Mr. Rigby, and consecrated by the bishop of chap.
London in 1735. This handsome edifice has since undergone very considerable ^^'-
alteration, and much of it has been rebuilt from designs by Adams. Churches
The old church, dedicated to St. Mary, was nearly a mile south-east from
this new erection; its remains, and the burying-ground belonging to it, including
a vault for the use of the Rigby family, with a portico over it, is preserved by an
inclosure.*
Manningtree is a small irregularly built town, and only a hamlet to Mistley; yet Manning-
it contains some good houses, and has the privilege of a market. There are places ^^^^'
for public worship here belonging to the Independents, Baptists, and Wesleyan
Methodists ; and a national school for youth of both sexes, supported by voluntary
subscription.
This town is on the banks of the Stour, which was made navigable to the town of
Sudbury in Suffolk in 1706. The inhabitants, in conjunction with Mistley, carry on
a considerable trade in the importation of deals, corn, coals, iron, and fish ; and the
malting business is extensively practised. The market is on Thursday,! for corn and
cattle, and there is a fair on Thursday in Whitsun-week : distant from Harwich
twelve, and from London sixty-one miles.
The ancient church, or chapel, occupied rising ground not far distant from the Church.
present edifice, which was built out of its ruins in the year 1616; and consists of a
nave and two aisles, supported by pillars of large dimensions. In the old church
there used formerly to be a guild, or fraternity, called Trinity guild ; and in the
certificate of chantry lands this chapel is said to be one mile and a quarter distant
from the parish church. There has lately been an enlargement of this chapel by the
addition of three hundred and forty-five free sittings, towards the expense of
which the Society for the Encouragement of Building Churches and Chapels con-
tributed four hundred and fifty pounds.
The population of Mistley in 1821 amounted to seven hundred and seventy-eight,
and to eight hundred and seventy-six in 1831.
Manningtree in 1821 contained one thousand two hundred and sixty-five inha-
bitants, and only one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven in 1831.
* A liberal charitable donation was made to this parish by Richard Rigby, esq. in his will and codicil, Charity,
dated August 16, 1730, by which he bequeaths to the poor six alms houses, for six persons, who are to
receive annually six chaldrons of coals, twenty-four bushels of wheat, and twenty-four bushels of barley,
or malt.
t Anciently, the market was on Monday.
VOL. II. 5 H
782 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II.
BRADFIELD.
Biadtield. The northern boundary of this parish is the river Stour, and it lies eastward from
Mistley. The name, in Domesday, Bradfelda, and in the Saxon Bjiabfield, had
probably been applied to the first piece of arable or pasture ground, of ample dimen-
sions, cleared from the forest, in this district. It is seven miles in circumference ;
distant from Colchester twelve miles, and from London sixty-four. There is a fair
on the last Monday in July. The greater part of the lands of this parish rise from
the marshes to a considerable height, the soil belonging to the class of fine impalpable
fertile loams, equal to the best in the kingdom.
In the time of the Confessor, a Saxon, named Aluric Camp, was the proprietor of
this parish, which, at the survey, had been given by the Conqueror to Roger de
Ramis and Roger Pictaviensis. There are two manors.
Biadiieicl Bradfield hall manor occupies the upper part of the parish, and in records is also
^*'*" named Ouer hall and Franke hall ; the mansion, formerly an extensive building, is
about three quarters of a mile south-west from the church. After Roger de Ramis,
the next recorded possessor was in 1312, at which time William Franke, or Franks,
the elder, of Harwich, granted his manor of Bradfield to John de Brokesbourne, and
Joane his wife, who was either daughter, or nearly related to the said Franke. The
family of Brokesbourne derived their name from the place so called in the parish of
Wix. Robert, the son of John de Brokesbourne, succeeded his father in 1342, and
in 1343 gave this estate to his mother, himself having apparently died without issue ;
and his mother dying in 1384, and havhig become the wife of sir John de Sutton, her
next heir was found to be her son Edmund de Brokesbourne, who married Idonea
Lovey, to whom king Richard the second, in 1396, confirmed the grant of free-
warren made to John de Brokesbourne in 1312, in all their lands in Bradfield,
Mistley, Wrabness, Ramsey, Dover Court, Wix, Brokesbourne, and Tendring.
She was married to John Glevant ; and her third husband was Bartholomew lord
Bourchier. On her death, in 1409, she left, by her second husband, Edmund Brokes-
bourne, a daughter named Alianor, who was married first to John Fitz-Raufe, esq.,
and afterwards to sir William Rainsford, to whom she brought this estate. It
continued some time in this family, and was at length divided among their coheirs.
In 1568, William Waidegrave was lord of this manor, from whom it passed to the
Grimston family. It now belongs to lord viscount Grimston.*
• Arms of Grimston -.—Quarterly : first and fourth argent, on a fcss sable, three mullets, of six points,
or; in the dexter chief point an ermine spot sable. -Grimston : second sable, a fess dancette, between
two leopards' faces, or.— Luckin : third argent, a chevion gules, between three bucks' heads caboshed.
sable attired, or.— P'orrester : Crest : a stag's head couped at the neck, proper attired, or : supporters,
dexter, a stag regardant proper ; sinister, a griffin regardant, wings inverted, or.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 783
Nether hall does not appear to have been mentioned as a manor : it is by the side c h a i'.
of the water, in the lowest part of the parish, about half a mile north from the ^^^'
church. Nether
Bradfield Manestune, or Manston, is a hamlet, by the side of the river ; it is also Bradfield
called Mountherd, and Jakes or Jack's hall. There was formerly a chapel here, ^^'^°^^-
dedicated to the Virg-in Mary, and named the Chapel of our Lady in the Gates. The
house is about a mile north-east from the church, and near the river. Alfelin was
the name of the possessor of this estate previous to the Conquest ; it afterwards
belonged to Roger de Ramis, who, in the reign of Henry the second, conveyed it to
Aubrey de Vere, earl of Oxford. Part of it had previously belonged to Ralph Fitz-
Adam ; next, to Philip de St. Osyth, who passed it to John, son of Vincent de Kirby ;
and he granted it to Robert, earl of Oxford, paying to the chief lords all due services,
and to himself a clove gilly-flower. Richard, Robert, and Gilbert de Kirby, and
John de Westwick, held it under the earls of Oxford, and it continued in that noble
family till the partition of their estates on the death of the last earl.
The church is a small ancient building, pleasantly situated near the road to Wix, Church.
Wrabness, and Ramsey. Some parts of this building are in the perpendicular style,
and some of an age before the prevalence of that mode of building.* In 1253, it was
given by William de Ramis to the prior and convent of St. Bartholomew in Smith-
field, to whom the great tithes were appropriated, and a vicarage ordained here,
which continued in their gift till the suppression of monasteries. The prior and
convent had here sixteen messuages, and one hundred and eleven acres of arable
lands, which were holden by their tenants in villenage.
One messuage, several parcels of land, and a wood, belonged to the church. The
prior and convent had view of frank-pledge of all their tenants, who came upon sum-
mons to the court, next after Michelmas, and collected among themselves, and paid
two shillings to the ward of Colchester castle : hence the rectory or parsonage was
called a manor.f
This church is endowed with two hundred pounds royal bounty, and two hundred
pounds private benefaction.
• In the church there is an inscription to the memory of Joane, the wife of Edward Grim.ston, esq., Inscrip-
the first of that family who came to reside at Bradfield hall ; she was the daughter and coheiress of ^^°^^-
Thomas Rysby, of Lavenham, in Suffolk, and died January 23, 1004. Also, in the chancel, lieth buried
sir Harbottle Grimston, son and heir of the above Edward, and Joane his wife. He was elected knight
of the shire for Essex in king Charles the first's reign, and married Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph Cop-
penger, esq., sister to his brother Henry's wife, and had by her Edward, Harbottle, Henry, Thomas,
William, and Elizabeth, married to Christopher Harrys, of Shenfield, in Margaretting, esq. He departed
this life 19 Feb. 1647, in the seventieth year of his age. -Here also lieth buried Elizabeth his wife,
who died 12 Dec. 1619, aged seventy years.
t The governors of the Dedham charity have a farm belonging to the .school at Dedham, partly in this Charity,
parish, and partly in Wrabness.
784 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. In 1821 the population of this parish amounted to eight hundred and twenty-two,
and to nine hundred and sixty-four in 1831.
WIX, OR WICKS.
Wix. This parish lies east and south from Bradfield, and is eight miles in circumference :
the ground generally high, and the soil possessing all the excellent qualities which
distinguish this rich and fertile district.
In records the name is written Wica, Wics, Wikes, Wixe ; in Saxon, ])ic, a
village, castle, farm, or dairy. Wix is seven miles distant from Harwich, and sixty-
four from London, A fair is held here on the eighteenth of September. There are
four manors.
Park hall. Wikes, or Park hall, in the Confessoi-'s reign belonged to queen Edeva ; and at
the surve}', was in the possession of Walter the Deacon, whose two sons Avere
surnamed Mascherell and Alexander, the latter of whom assumed the style de
Waham, or Wix ; he had a daughter named Editha. Alexander having no offspring
by his wife ^lia, granted the lands of his own acquiring in Wix and in other parts
of Tendring, to Ralph, son of William, son of Robert ; for which his lord, William,
son of Robert, and father of Ralph, gave him thirty marks of silver, and one saddle-
horse. This Walter was ancestor of the noble family surnamed de Hastings, lords of
the barony of Hastings, which consisted of ten knights' fees, one of which lay in Wix,
and for which Robert de Hastings paid to the scutage of Noz'mandy, in 1206.* The
succession of this family of Hastings appears from the record to have been — Robert ;
Alexander, whose wife was named Adeliza; Ralph; Robert; William, who had
three sons, Robert, Ralph, and John.f
Little Easton was the head of their barony, which was conveyed to Godfrey de
Lovain, by marriage with Delicia, daughter and heiress of Robert de Hastings, and
of this manor as part of it. Godfrey was succeeded by his son, Matthew de Lovain,
living in the year 1262; whose son, Matthew, was father of Thomas; on whose
death, in 1345, he was succeeded by his son John ; whose daughter, Alianore, was
his sole surviving heiress in 1359, and conveyed her large inheritance to her husband,
sir William Bourchier, in 1365 ; and the great families of Basset, le Despenser, and
Bohun, had successively possession under the families of Lovain and Bourchier.
Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton, had this estate
in 1372; he left two daughters coheiresses: Elianor, married to Thomas of W^ood-
stock, duke of Gloucester ; and Mary, to Henry, earl of Derby, afterwards king
Henry the fourth. On the partition of the Bohun estates between king Henry the
fifth, the son of Mary, and Anne, daughter and heiress of Elianor, Anne had this for
* From a MS. of Sir Richard St. George. + Idem.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 785
part of her share, with a park ; from which, it is supposed, the mansion, ahout a mile c H a i'.
west from the church, was named Park hall. By marriage with Anne, the noble
family of the earls of Stafford became possessed of this manor ; but Humphrey
Stafford, duke of Buckingham, being' slain at the battle of Northampton in 1 IGO,
fighting against king Edward the fourth, his possessions were forfeited ; and in 1483,
king Richard the third, among other estates, granted this to Henry Stafford, duke of
Buckingham, cousin of Humphrey Bohun, earl of Hereford. But on his being-
beheaded, all his estates went to the crown;* and in 1595, queen Elizabeth granted
the park of Wix, with appertenances, to Gilly Merick, to hold by fealty of the castle
of Colchester.
John Philipson, esq., of Harwich, was the next proprietor of this estate : he was
commissary to the packet-boats, and married, first, Rachel, daughter of Robert Lane ;
and, secondly, Grace, daughter of Kendrick Edisbury, esq. On his death, in 1742,
he was succeeded by John Philipson, his son and heir, who was elected one of the
burgesses in Parliament for Harwich in 1741-6, and 1753, and died in 1756.f
His only daughter and heiress, Susanna, by his wife, Susanna, daughter of Richard
Burton, esq., commissioner of the navy, was married to Robert Bristow, esq. This
estate now belongs to Nathaniel Garland, esq.
Carbonels is a manor which seems to have been separated from the capital manor : (jarboneb.
the house is near the church. The family of Carbonel, from whom the place derived
its name, held this estate from 1280 to 1301. Afterwards, it went to the Mannock
family. In 1476, it Avas holden, with other lands, of Elizabeth, queen of king Edward
the fourth, by John Mannock, esq., whose descendants retained this possession till, on
the decease of sir William Mannock, in 1713, his son, sir Francis, of Giftord's hall, sold
it to John Philipson of Harwich; from whom, with other estates, it descended to
Robert Bristow, esq.
The manor of Hamstall formed part of what belonged to queen Edeva, and belonged Ham^tail.
to Hugh de Montford, and his under-tenant, Roger, at the time of the survey. The
lord paramount of this manor was sir John de Satton, in 1366 : it was conveyed by
marriage to lord Bourchier ; and afterwards passed to the Pirton family, of Little
Bentley, who sold it to the Baynings. It next passed to the earls of Oxford, of whom
the reversion was purchased by Edward Peck, esq., whose descendant, William
Peck, esq., sold it, in 1703, to Samuel Reynolds, esq. of whom it was purchased by
the rev. William Samuel Powell, D. D.
The Nunnery, which was not far distant from Wix hall, in a field where some sunmn.
remains of the moats by which it was surrounded may yet be traced, was of the
* Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. pp. 168, 169.
t Arms of Philipson:— A Chevron, ermine, between three batts, displayed. Crest :— On a hrlinct
closed, a camel's head couped, in his mouth an oaken branch, bearing three acorns.
•786 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BiJOK II. Benedictine order, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary: it was founded in the reign of
king Henry the first, by the sons of Walter the Deacon, and Editha their sister ; it
was endowed with ample possessions by the founders and successive benefactors. In
1525, Cardinal Wolsey having obtained the Pope's bull for dissolving the lesser
monasteries, for the endowment of his colleges of Oxford and Ipswich, this house
was the same year surrendered to the cardinal by Mary, the abbess, and, with the
king's authority, was settled on Cardinal college, in Oxford; and in 1527, Dr.
Higgons, the master of the college, conveyed it to Cardinal college, Ipswich. But in
1528, upon Wolsey's fall, this estate became vested in the crown ; and in 1530, the
site of the manor of Wix was granted to sir Adam Fortescue ; from whom it passed,
in 1561, to Edward Gilbert, and Alice his wife; who conveyed it, in 1561, to
William and Robert Vesey. William, the son of Robert Vesey, at the time of his
decease, in 1577, held this manor. His son and heir, by his wife, Joanna, daughter
of William Cardinall, of Great Bromley, was William ; who was followed in this
possession by Robert and William Vesey. It was purchased of the family of
Vesey by Warner, esq., and descended to his three daughters, coheiresses :
Catharine, married to Henry Vere Graham, esq. ; Eleonora, to sir William Bunbury,
bart. : and Anne, to Humphrey Hanmer, esq.
Church. The ancient church, dedicated to St. Michael, was given to the nunnery by the
founders ; to whom, also, the whole of the tithes of the parish being appropriated,
they employed a stipendiary curate, whose salary, at a future period, proving too
small for his support, the church remained unoccupied, and becoming ruinous, fell
down. It was a plain building, tiled, and had a steeple at the east end. In 1719 the
living was augmented by two hundred pounds from queen Anne's bounty, and the
same sum was also raised by subscription. A small church was also erected, chiefly
out of the ruins of the old one, by a subscription among the clergy and gentry.
In 1821 the parish of Wix contained eight hundred and eighteen, and in 1831
eight hundred and thirty-two, inhabitants.
TENDRING.
Tendting. This pleasant and extensive parish occupies high ground nearly in the centre of the
hundred to which it has given its name, of undoubted Saxon origin ; in Domesday,
and other records, written Tedring, and Tendring. A large portion of the parish
is light turnip land ; but in some parts, especially toward Bradfield, the soil becomes
strong and heavy. It is about ten miles in circumference : distant south-east from
Colchester ten, and from London sixty-one miles. It has an annual fair on the
fourteenth of September.
^Ectriode, Frunin, Aluuard, and Olive, were the possessors of these lands in the
time of Edward the Confessor: at the survey they had become the property of
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 787
Eustace, earl of Bolougne, the bisliop of London, and Ralph Peverel. They were chap.
afterwards divided into five manors. •^^'-
Old hall manor house is north-west from the church. This estate is what belonged Old hail.
to earl Eustace, whose granddaughter and heiress, Maud, conveyed it l>y marriage to
king Stephen. Oger de Curton held lands here in the reigns of Henry the second
and king John ; and sir Andrew le Blund, by a deed without date, conveyed this
manor to his daughter and heiress, Catharine, married to sir Richard Battaile, lord
of Wivenhoe ; whose daughter Margery, married to sir Wilham de Sutton in 1298,
had this estate for her purparty. Their son and heir, sir John, was living in 1366 ;
John and Richard de Sutton were his sons. Sir John, the eldest son, was succeeded
by his brother, sir Richard de Sutton, in 1393 ; and Thomas, his son, appears to
have been the last of the family who held this estate; after whom the next possessor
mentioned was John Doreward, esq., who, in consideration of acquitting king Henry
the fourth of two hundred marks his majesty owed to him, had license granted to
present the manor of Tendring hall to the abbey of St. John Baptist in Colchester ;
but not fulfilling this intention during his lifetime, the grant became void ; and his
son, John Doreward, founding a hospital at Bocking in 1438, endowed it with the
manor of Tendring.
Afterwards, the Pirtons, Arblasters, Wentworths, and Drurys, held this manor.
William Drury, esq., the purchaser of this estate, lived at Bretts hall ; he was LL.D.
judge of the prerogative court, and master in chancery. After remaining in this
family till the year 1691,* Robert Drury, who lived here, left it by will to James
Clarkson, esq.; whose only daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, by his wife Mary,
daughter of William Beriff, of Meverons in Frating, conveyed it to her husband,
Henry Wale, esq. of Little Bardfield ; their two sons were James and Henry,
successively owners of this estate. It now belongs to Mr. Robert Hardy.
Gernons occurs in records as a manor in Tendring, but where it was situated is ruin«.n>.
not known. It took its name from the Gernon family, to which it had belonged.
It is mentioned as being in the possession of John de Sutton, in 1393: in 1512, to
John de Vere, the thirteenth earl of Oxford, who held it of William Pirton, esq.
From 1560 to 1569, it went along with Old hall; and was afterwards divided
between the coheirs of Arblaster, part coming into the Wentworth, and part into
the Drury family. Paul viscount Bayning, in 1629, had possessions here ; and it is
believed that the whole of what went by the name of Gernons became incorporated
into some of the other manors, or is one of those estates in this parish wliich have
had various names.
About half a mile south from the church, is the manor-house of Bretts hall. The Brett<s
hall.
* Arms of Drury -.—Argent, a chevron, vert, two luolets, or, pierced k'ules. Crest : A greyhound cour-
sant, argent, a mullet, purpure.
788 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Arblasters held this manor in 1560 and 1565 ; and it Avas afterwards conveyed to the
Drury family, and to the Bowes of Great Bromley, of whom Thomas Bowes, esq.,
the last male heir of this family, dying- without issue, it descended to his sister
Bridget, widow of Read Grimston.
New iiaii. New hall is reckoned the chief manor in this parish, though its name seems to
indicate its more recent original ; it consists of lands which before the Conquest
belonged to Aluuard, and formed part of the bishop of London's fee at the survey.
The de Groos held it as early as 1366 ; and in 1395, it had passed into the possession
of sir Richard de Sutton ; from whose family it was conveyed to the Bourchiers, to
the Pirtons, and the Cardinalls, a branch of which had formerly possession of Great
Bromley. Clarkson Cardinall sold it to Charles Gray, esq., lord of the hundred of
Tendring. The demesnes had been some time before separated from the manor, and
successively in possession of John Philipson and Robert Bristow, esquires.
In 1725, James Clarkson, esq. of Tendring hall, left by will the manor of New
hall, and two farms, named Homestalls and Postels, to his cousin, John Cardinall,
whose grandson, Clarkson Cardinall, esq., in 1762, sold the manor of New hall to
Charles Gray, esq. of Colchester ; who, in 1775, sold it to the right hon. Richard
Rigby, esq. of Mistley hall ; whose executors sold it in chancery, in 1802, to Clarkson
Cardinall, esq., who died in 1825, aged ninety-five, and left this estate by will to his
son, John Cardinall, esq., the present possessor.
Harestills. Harestills, or Hanham hall, is a manor supposed to consist of the lands belonging
to Ralph Peverel at the time of the survey. The account of its subsequent owners is
very imperfect. The Hanham family retained possession till a son of Robert Hanham
died without issue, having sold and spent the whole of his patrimony.* This estate
afterwards went to the Pyrton family, and to that of Fox.
Walfes. Walfes is an estate sometimes called a manor ; the house is about a mile north
from the church. It formed part of the possessions of St. John's abbey in Colchester ;
and after the suppression, w^as granted by queen Elizabeth to Edward, lord Clinton
and Saye. Afterwards, it became the property of sir Robert Smith, of Berechurch,
bart.
* Of the family from whom it has been named we have the following account: Sir John Hanham,
knight of the Holy Sepulchre, married Katharine, second daughter and coheiress of Sir Robert Mortimer,
by Elizabeth, second daughter of John Hov\ard, duke of Norfolk, and had by her sir John Hanham, of
Essex, whose son and heir was Peter Hanham, living in 1489 ; and Edward, who married Agnes, daughter
and lieiress of Nicholas Reeve, of Hitcham in Suffolk, gentleman usher and carver to the last abbot of Bury.
The offspring of this connexion was Robert Hanham, of Hitcham, where his posterity were seated : a
branch of this family had this estate, of whom Peter, the maiden name of whose wife was Rookwood,
left a son and heir, who died without offspring.
Arms of Hanham :— Quarterly, or and gules, a chevron sable between three croslets fitch^, argent, with
a mullet.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING.
789
Mitchells, Pilcocks, and Brockets, are the names of estates in this parish. chap
The church, dedicated to St. Edmund, is on elevated ground, rising from the ^^^'
south, toward which there is a very agreeable and extensive prospect. It is an
ancient building, with a wooden turret.*
Tendring rectory has a glebe of eighty acres. The rev. William Bree, when
rector, rebuilt the parsonage house, which is about a mile north from the church.
There is also another house belonging to the living, which has been improved by
several incumbents.
In 1821, the population of this parish amounted to seven hundred; and in 1831,
to seven hundred and fifty-eight.
WEELEY, OR WILEY.
The parish of Weeley is bounded on the south by St. Osyth, and northward by Weeley,
Tendring. It is eight miles in circumference ; distant from Colchester ten miles ; °' ' ^^'
and from London sixty-one. The name is written in records Wilei, Wigley,
Wilege, Wyleigh ; the first syllable believed to be from the Saxon, j^ija, a hero, a
nobleman ; or, jiij, a battle ; probably commemorative of some great battle fought
here. The soil is of a temperament neither too heavy nor too light.
Earl Godwin held these lands in the Confessor's reign ; and at the time of the survey
they belonged to Eudo Dapifer. They were afterwards formed into two manors.
The manor-house of Weeley hall is near the church, on an eminence, which in Weeley
every direction enjoys widely extended prospects. Eudo Dapifer gave this manor
to St. John's abbey, in Colchester,f which retained possession of it till the sup-
pression ; and it was granted to Thomas lord Cromwell in 1539, but returned to
the crown on his attainder.
In 1553, king Edward the sixth granted the manor and park of Weeley, and tene-
ments called Maykins and Brookes, to Thomas lord Darcy, whose succtosor Avas his
son John lord Darcy, whose son Thomas lord Darcy was created viscount Col-
chester, and earl Rivers ; on whose death without issue male, it was sold to William
Weeley, esq., son of Thomas and grandson of Richard W^eeley, of London. He
married Martha, daughter and co-heiress of Jolliife Loundes, apothecary to king
Charles the first, and had by her, Thomas, his son and successor, besides many other
children. Thomas Weeley, esq. was educated at Hart hall, in Oxford, and the Inner
Temple, London. His son and successor was Edward Weeley,:j: esq. of the Inner
* There is an ancient monument in the church, to the memory of sir Jolin Drury, but the inscription AJonu-
IS deraced.
f Monast. Angl. vol. ii.
X Arms of Weeley : Or, a bend between two mullets, sable. Crest : On a helmet and chapcan, a cock-
atrice, argent, comb, wattles, beak and legs, or.
vol,. II. 5 I
790
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Temple, who, having no issue, left this estate, by will, to Samuel Weeley, esq.
succeeded, in 1743, by his son and heir, of the same name : it now belongs to John
Weeley, esq. whose name was previously March, but who assumed the name of
Weeley in pursuance of the directions contained in the will of Samuel Weeley.
Thelodge. The lodge, about half a mile south-east from the church, belongs to this estate.
Crustwic. Crustwic has the manor-house, about a mile south-west from the church ; it has
received the names of Cattridge, Custard, Custridge, and Guttridge hall; which
is holden of the manor of Great Bentley, and now belongs to sir John Rowley, bart.
of Tendring hall, in Suifolk. The family of de Stauntons held this manor formerly;
and from 1580 it belonged to the Cokes, of Norfolk, many years. Robert Coke, esq.
of Holkham, married the lady Anne, second daughter of Thomas Osborne, earl
of Danby, and duke of Leeds. She was remarried to Horatio Walpole, esq. but
died without issue in 1722; when this estate, being vested in her, was sold to
WiUiam Field, esq. who married Arabella, daughter of earl Rivers, by whom he had
Richard, an officer; William, of the Inner Temple, esq., and Elizabeth, wife of
sir Richard Lloyd, knt. one of the barons of the exchequer. His successor in
this estate Avas his son, Richard Lloyd, esq.
Church. The church is on the same pleasant eminence on which Weeley hall is situated.
It is dedicated to St. Andrew, and is a plain building. The tower is built of
remarkably large bricks, and is embattled. In the interior this church is handsomely
ceiled, and paved with square stones ; and there is an oak pulpit, of excellent work-
manship. It has a glebe of seven acres and two roods, belonging to the rectory.
The removal of barracks sometime ago established here, considerably diminished
the population, which in 1811 amounted to one thousand and fifty, in 1821 to six
hundred and sixty-eight, and in 1831 to five hundred and seventy-three.
LITTLE CLACTON.
Little
Clacton.
Geddv
hall. ■
Lands here named in Domesday Clackintuna, and forming part of the revenues of
the bishopric of London, before and after the conquest, were not originally separated
into two parishes : this partition has been since made, and they are now distinguished
by the names of Little and Great Clacton.
The first of these extends southward from Weeley, and is twelve miles in circum-
ference ; it lies low, and contains a large proportion of strong heavy land. There
are two manors : the village is upon a small green, half a mile west from the church.
Distant, thirteen miles from Colchester, and sixty-three from London. There is a
fair on the twenty-fifth of July.
Geddy hall is also named Engains, or Engayne : the house, a modern building.
Formerly, this manor belonged to the priory of Thremhall, in Stansted Montfichet,
and, after the suppression, was granted to the Cary family; sir John Cary, on his
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 791
decease in 1552, was succeeded by his son and heir Wymond Gary, who sold this chap
estate to Henry Golding-, after which it went to the Drury family, of Tendrinff; it ^^'•
afterwards belonged to Edward Webb, esq. of London, and to Robert Baker from
whom it passed to Captain Bagney.
The manor of Bovils is in records also named Devill, and Dovell. This estate Boviis.
formerly belonged to William Hubbard, and afterwards to Samuel Travers, esq. of
Great Holland ; and became the property of Samuel Holditch, esq. of Witham.
Lands, and a messuage called Cooks, in this parish, were holden of the manor of Cooks.
Chiche, by the Arblaster family of Tendring.
The church is a small building with a wooden turret.* It was gir en by Robert de Chinch.
Belmeis to his monastery of St. Osyth ; to which the great tithes were appropriated,
and a vicarage ordained and endowed, which the abbot and canons retained till the
suppression.
The population of this parish in 1821 amounted to four hundred and ninety-four;
and in 1831, to five hundred and forty-six.
GREAT CLACTON.
This parish extends southward from Little Clacton, and along the sea-coast east- Great
ward, to Little Holland : it is fifteen miles in circumference : much of the land is
light, and not so good as the adjoining parishes, but it possesses a large proportion of
the fine strong loam which distinguishes this coast. The distance from Colchester is
twelve miles, and from London sixty-three.
A fair is held here annually, on the twenty-ninth of June. There are four manors.
The mansion of Clacton manor is on the north side of the church, of which the ciacton
most ancient proprietor was the bishop of London, who held it before the conquest, "''"*"'"•
and at the time of the survey ; and in the reign of king Henry the second, Richard
de Belmeis, bishop of that see, confirmed it to his successors for ever; but in 1545,
bishop Bonner conveyed this manor, in exchange for other possessions, to king Henry
the eighth ;f and it was afterwards granted to Thomas lord Darcy by king Edward
the sixth. This manor now belongs to Frederick Nassau, esq.
The manor-house of Can hall is a mile west-north-west from the church ; it was can hall.
called Canon hall, or Aula Canonica, because it belonged to the abbot and canons of
St. Osyth. This, as well as the manor of Clacton, belonged to the Darcy family,
from whom they descended to earl Rivers and to the earl of Rochford ; but the
demesne lands were the property of colonel John Schutz, who had also other estates
* A charitable donation of six pounds a year is distributed to the poor by the churchwardens and Charity,
overseers : and there is an almshouse for three dwellers,
t Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 152.
792
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Aulton
park.
Colbayns.
BOOK II. in the two Clactons, and in St. Osyth. Can hall now belongs to the widow and family
~ of the late William Broderick, esq. barrister at law.
Aulton park is above a mile south-west from the church, and was inclosed by
bishop de Belmeis with a wood, called Edulvesnase, belonging- to the canons of
St. Paul's. It formerly went with Great Clacton manor ; and was granted to
Thomas lord Darcy, in 1553, by king Edward the sixth. It afterwards became the
property of Samuel Travers, esq. who left it for charitable uses.
The manor of Colbayns was also called Colbrooke, Copt hall, and Copping hall.
Very little appears in records respecting this manor. Henry Parker held it of the
bishop of London at the time of his decease, in 1541, and his son and successor was
named Roger. A messuage called Grays, and another messuage, with lands, were
settled, in 1461, on a chantry in St. Paul's cathedral, founded by Thomas Kemp,
bishop of London.* St. Osyth's abbey had also possessions in Great and Little
Clacton.
The church, dedicated to St. John, is pleasantly situated beside the hall. It is a
plain building, tiled. The tower contains six bells, and measures fifty-one feet in
height to the battlements, above which there is a spire, shingled. This church was
given by bishop Belmeis to the abbot and canons of St. Osyth, to whom the great
tithes being appropriated, a vicarage was ordained, which continued in their gift till
the suppression of monasteries.
Great Clacton, in 1821, contained one thousand and seventy-five, and in 1831, one
thousand one hundred and forty-nine inhabitants.
Church.
Holland.
Little
Holland.
Little
Holland
hall.
HOLLAND.
Lands extending eastward from the Clactons, along the sea-coast, have been named
Holland, and divided into two parishes. The name in records, Holland, Hoyland,
and Holland, is supposed from the Saxon _pol, hollow ; or from the Belgic, or Celtic,
Hoy, hay and land.f
LITTLE HOLLAND.
This parish is joined to Great Clacton, and lies low, the soil generally light. It is
four miles in circumference : distant from Colchester fifteen miles, from London
sixty-four.
Lestan, and afterwards Ingelric, were the owners of this parish in the reign of
Edward the confessor; which, at the time of the survey, formed part of the pos-
sessions of Eustace, earl of Boulogne : and which Adelolf de Merk held under him.
There is only one manor, and the mansion house is on the north side of the ruins
of the church.
* Dugdale's Hist, of St. Paul's.
t Average annual produce per acre : wheat twenty-two, barley thirty-six, bushels.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 793
The earl of Guisnes held lands here of the honour of Boulogne, in 1210. Fulk chap.
Basset, bishop of London, held this manor in the year 1251, and Robert, earl of ''^^''
Guisnes, gave him the homage of Henry de Merk, a descendant of Adelolf, the
former Saxon proprietor.
Afterwards it passed to the Batayle or Betaile family. Sir Richard Betaile left two
daughters, coheiresses : Margery, married to sir William de Sutton, and Anne, to
Peter de Taleworth. This latter had Little Holland for part of her share. Sir Hush
Stafford, lord Bourchier, who died in 1421, held it in right of his wife. It appears to
have soon afterwards become the property of the abbey of St. Osyth ; but their lands
here proving unprofitable by the frequent inundations of the sea, was assigned as a
reason of the appropriation of the church of Elmsted to that monastery.*
On the dissolution it went to the crown, and was granted to the Arblaster family ;
from whom it passed to the Druries, of Tendring, who held it of the queen,
as of her manor of Parke hall, in Wix, by the service of a knight's fee, and one pair
of hair-skin gloves, doubled or lined, and twopence a year, if demanded.
This estate afterwards became the property of Brian Darcy, esq., of St. Clere's
hall, in St. Osyth, and of Tiptree. His great-grandson, sir Thomas Darcy, kept a
court here in 1691. His son, sir Thomas, at his decease, left sir George, who died
young, and three daughters ; Frances, married to sir William Dawes, bart., arch-
bishop of York ; Mary, to Richard Boteler, esq. ; and Elizabeth, to William
Pierpont, esq. Sir William Dawes sold this estate to Nicholas Corsellis, esq. who
held a court here in 1711; and who gave it to his daughter Elizabeth, married to
captain James Kettle ; on whose decease, without issue, it descended to his sister's
son, Mr. Patrick Coppinger, who sold it to Mr. Michael Hills, of Colchester; and
it now belongs to Robert Hills, esq.
The church was near the hall ; but, from its exposed situation towards the sea, was c)iiiich.
beat down by the frequent recurrence of storms. This church belonging to the
monastery of St. Osyth, they served the cure by some of their own monks; for there
is no record of an institution to it, so that it is a perpetual curacy, the profits of it
being annexed to Little Clacton.
The population of this parish in 1821 amounted to seventy-three, and to seventy-
six in 1831.
GREAT HOLLAND.
This parish lies north-east from Little Holland, occupying a lower situation on fircat
the sea shore ; it is nine miles in circumference : distant thirteen miles from Colchester
and sixty-four from London.
* Nevvcourt, vol. ii. p. 333.
794 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The soil of this parish presents several varieties, some of it moist and heavy; yet
it is calculated that a fourth part of it is dry enough for turnips : but the strong land
is in highest estimation, and the rich pale loam, which distinguishes this part of the
country, occurs in tolerable abundance here.*
This, as well as the other portion of the district named Holland, were the property
of Lestan in the reign of the Confessor, and are believed to have been undivided at
that time ; but at the time of the survey. Great Holland was in the possession of
Walter de Doai.
There is only one manor; and the mansion-house is on the north side of the
church.
Great In the reign of king Edward the first, this estate belonged to Robert Burnel,
hall. "* bishop of Bath and Wells, and lord chancellor. His nephew, Philip Burnel, held it,
and died immensely rich in 1294. Edward lord Burnel was his son and heir. Sir
Nicholas de Handlo, who took the surname of Burnel from his mother, held this
manor, which he left to Hugh Burnel, his son and heir, in the year 1382.
It belonged to James Boteler, ,earl of Wiltshire, attainted of treason in 1461,
and, on that event, passed to the crown ; and in 1474 was given, by Edward the
fourth, to Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex, and Isabel his wife, sister to Richard
Plantagenet, the king's father. On the earl's death in 1483, he was succeeded by his
grandson, Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex, who was killed by a fall from his horse in
1540. In 1551 the estate was granted, by king Edward the sixth, to Thomas lord
Darcy, whose son, John lord Darcy, died in possession of it in 1580; and in 1639 it
was sold, by Elizabeth, countess Rivers. Some time afterwards it became the pro-
perty of Joseph Thurston, esq., recorder of Colchester ; after whose decease, an act
was obtained by his widow, Mary, daughter of sir Isaac Rebow, for the sale of part of
his estates ; and this was conveyed to Mr. Daniel Bayley, of Colchester, who after-
wards sold it to sir Richard Hopkins, of London, from whom it passed to his sister
and coheiress Elizabeth Barrow. Afterwards it was purchased by Robert Martin,
esq. of Row-edge, whose only daughter, Anne, was married to John Kirby, esq.
The demesne lands have been separated from the manor, being purchased by Samuel
Travers, esq., member of parliament for New Windsor, and secretary to the then
prince of Wales, afterwards king George the second. Mr. Travers left this, and also
Aulton park, to charitable uses.
Clnuch. The church is dedicated to All Saints ; in the tower there are four bells. There
is a large glebe belonging to it.
Great Holland, in 1821, contained four hundred and thirteen inhabitants, and four
hundred and twenty-five in 1831.
* Average annual produce per acre : wheat twenty-six, barley thirty-six, bushels.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 795
CHAP.
FRINTON
XXI.
Lies on the sea-coast, and is nine miles in circumference : distant twelve miles from Frinton.
Manningtree, and sixty-three from London.
The name of this parish is found written, Frientuna, Fretuna, and Fruntinff ;
which last has induced Mr. Norden to conjecture that the name has been applied as
descriptive of its situation, on the front or brow of the sea-cliflP.
Before the conquest, this parish was in the possession of Harold and Leveson ;
and at the time of the survey was divided into nearly equal portions, respectively
belonging- to Geofrey Magnaville, and to Eustace earl of Boulogne. These two
manors were united at an early period, and received the name of the manor of
Frinton, or Skyrman's fee, and in the court-rolls said to extend into the parishes of
Great and Little Clacton. Frinton hall is half a mile north-east from the church,
upon the beach. In the reign of king Henry the second this estate belonged to the
Tregoz family, of Tolleshunt-Tregoz, or Darcy ; and has since been in possession of
various proprietors, among whom were the de Burnham, Godmanston, and Grimston
families.
The remains of the church are by the sea-side ; near which, in a handsome house Church,
with gardens, there formerly resided the celebrated Cornelius de Tulbury, who,
among other exploits, swallowed considerable quantities of poison without injury.
The famous captain Bushell, distinguished for his extraordinary success in fishing for
wrecks, is also said to have occupied this mansion. Much of the parish has been
swallowed up by the sea. Pyrites used to be gathered in great abundance here for
the manufacture of copperas.
The amount of the population of this parish in 1821 was forty-five, and it contained
only thirty-five inhabitants in 1831.
THORPE LE SOKEN.
This is the first, or most westernly, of the three contiguous parishes named Thorpej Thorpe le
Kirby, and Walton, or Walton on the Naze : these constitute a district called the
Sokens, a name derived from the Saxon 80c, or Soca, signifying a peculiar power,
authority, or liberty, to administer justice and execute laws within itself, and likewise
the circuit or territory wherein such power is exercised.* These three parishes were
so styled, as belonging to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, London, exempt from
the archdeacon's jurisdiction, as also from the commissary's.
* There were formerly several other Sokens or franchises in Essex, exempt from the usual jurisdiction,
of which one was in Colchester, where St. Mary's church and houses adjoining are situated. But corpo-
rations, looking on such exempts with a jealous eye, have generally brought them under their domination.
796 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
HOi)K II. The clean and chapter retained those privileges till they were taken from them by
king Henry the eighth ; and queen Mary the first placed these three parishes under
the jurisdiction of the bishop of London, since which they have been subject to the
bishop's visitation, who also grants institution and induction to the vicars. The
customs in the Sokens, as to lands, are peculiar : these, though mostly copyhold, are
nearly as good as freehold. They pay twelve pence an acre for a fine, and two
shillings for a cottage ; may pull their houses down without a license ; may also cut
down their small trees ; grant a lease, even for fifty years ; and, indeed, in many
particulars, act contrary to the customs of other copyholds.
The lord of these three manors, which passed with St. Osyth from Thomas lord
Darcy to the earl of Rochford, styles himself, " Lord of the liberty, franchises,
dominion, and peculiar jurisdiction of the Sokens, in the county of Essex;" and
appoints a commissary, who takes the title of " Official-principal, and Vicar-
general in Spiritual Causes to the same Lord." This commissary keeps a court
at Thorpe every three weeks, as occasion serves, and proves wills and testaments
within the Sokens ; which wills are kept in the church of Thorpe. The lord of
the Sokens has also this peculiar privilege, that no bailitf can arrest within them
but his own.
Thirty manses, and about four thousand acres of land, including the three parishes
of the Sokens, were given to the church of St. Paul by king Athelstan sometime
before the year 941, under the name of Eadulfesnesa. Under the same name, a little
altered, it was found to belong to the canons of St. Paul's at the time of the survey,
and there is no other name in Domesday-book for the whole district, which was,
therefore, not divided into parishes at that time. The name Eadulfes-noesa, is from
Edulf, the name of a Saxon thane, with noeje, a promontory, or nose of land, there
being a projection of this description at Walton.
This parish is seventeen miles in circumference ; distant twelve miles from Col-
chester, eleven from Harwich, and sixty-three from London. A fair is held here on
the Monday before Whit Sunday. There are two manors.*
Thorpe 'Pile manor of Thorpe has the mansion about half a mile south-east from the church :
hall. ^ ...
it had been taken from its original appropriation some time before the year 1551,
when king Edward the sixth granted it, with the park, to sir Thomas Darcy and his
heirs ; and it, with the advowson of the living, remained in his family, as the estates
in St. Osyth's and in other parts in this neighbourhood, which descended to the earls
Rivers, and to the right honourable the earl of Rochford ; but Thorpe hall, and the
demesne lands of the manor, have been a long time separated from it. For, either
Elizabeth countess Rivers, or some other of that family, sold them to Thomas
* Average annual produce per acre : wheat twenty-eight, barley forty, bushels.
HUNDRED OF TENDRIXG. 797
Wharton, esq. of Grays-inn, secretary to queen Henrietta Maria, mother to king chap.
Charles the second. He was son of Humphrey Wharton, esq. and Catharine "'^''^'
Seuhous, a branch of the ancient and noble family of Wharton, and was justice of
peace for the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Lancaster, and Westmoreland. His son
and heir, Andrew Wharton, esq.* mortgag-ed this estate, which, after his death,
was conveyed to Henry Nurse, of Mile End : after whose death, it was sold, by
a decree in Chancery, in order to be divided; and was purchased in 1721 by
Stephen Martin, esq. of the Grove, Mile End, a descendant of the Martin family, of
Devonshire.
Sir John Leake, knt., admiral of the white, and rear-admiral of England, who died
in 1720 without issue, left his estate to Mr. Martin, who, to transmit his benefactor's
name to posterity, assumed the surname and arms of Leake.f His eldest son and
successor was Stephen Martin Leake, esq.:}: Clarencieux king-at-arms, who wrote
a valuable and interesting Life of sir John Leake, in one volume octavo, and was
also the author of Nummi Britannici Historia; or an Historical Account of English
Money, &c. London, 1726 and 1745, octavo. On the death of Stephen Martin
Leake, esq. his son, of the same name, succeeded to this estate, and died in 1797:
' they are both buried in the chancel of Thorpe church. On the death of the latter of
these, he was succeeded by his brother, John Martin Leake, esq. the present
possessor, who rebuilt the house in 1825, and it is now occupied by his eldest son,
John Martin Leake, esq.
Landmer manor receives its name from an extensive mere or lake formed from the Landmer
overflowing of the sea. Landmer hall, the mansion, is believed to be the oldest
house in the parish ; it is a mile and half north-east from the church.
The historical notices relating to this manor are scanty and imperfect : the first
recorded possessors were the Mortimers, in 1485. The estate next belonged to the
Abell family, and then to the Baynings : Anne, eldest daughter of Paul viscount
Bayning, conveyed it to her husband, John de Vere, the twentieth earl of Oxford,
from whom it passed to William Peck, esq. and next to Richard Westley, who sold
it to Robert Shearcroft ; and this proprietor built the quay. This estate now belongs
to the Hope Life Insurance Company.
The church is a lofty and handsome building, having a nave and chancel, tiled ; Clmirh.
* Arms of Wharton : — Sable, a manche, argent.
t Arms of Stephen Martin Leake, esq. :— Quarterly, one and four or, on a saltier engrailed a/ure,
eight annulets argent: on a canton gules, a castle triple towered, of the third, for Leake; two and
three, paly of six pieces, or and azure, in chief gules, three martlets of the first, for Martin. Crest : —
A carriage with a piece of ordnance thereon, proper.
X A good account is given of this gentleman, and some others of the family, in NichoUs' Biogra|)liical
and Literary Anecdotes of William Bowyer and his Learned Friends, quarto, 1782.
VOL, II. 5 K
798 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. and two side aisles leaded. It is dedicated either to the Virgin Mary or to St.
Michael*
In 1821 the population of this parish amounted to one thousand one hundred and
forty-eight, and to one thousand and seventy-three in 1831.
KIRBY.
Kirby. This parish is one of the three Sokens, and lies between Walton and Thorpe : it
is nine miles in circumference; distant from Harwich fourteen miles, and from London
sixty-four. There is a fair yearly, on the 26th of July.
The name is written in records Kirbe, Kirkby, and Kirkeby, supposed from the
Saxon Iryric, a kirk or church, an.l bye, a dwelling, that is, the church-house, or
house by the church. There are four manors.
Kirby Kirby hall is near the west end of the church ; and, being in the centre of the
Sokens, the lord keeps his court here on St. Anne's day. This manor belonged to
the Darcy and Savage families, and to the earl of Rochford. Elizabeth, countess
Rivers, sold the demesne lands to John la Motte, esq. alderman of London, who
gave them to his daughter, the lady Hester, wife of sir Thomas Honeywood, of
Mark's hall ; and it is now in the possession of the executors for the family of the
late W. P. Honywood, esq.
Grove The manor of Grove-house was holden of lord Darcy, of Chick, by sir John
house
Reynsforth, who died in 1559 ; and was in the possession of Robert Alefounder
in 1630.
Mereiand. Mereland is an estate in this parish, which extends into Walton ; the mansion is a
mile from the church, south-eastward : it belonged anciently to the Shaw family.f
Sneaton Sneaton hall is a manor-house about a mile north-west from the church. The
estate is the endowment of one of the prebends of the cathedral church of St. Paul,
London : it belongs to the fourteenth stall on the right-hand side of the choir.
* Between the pillars of the south aisle and the nave, under an arch, there is the figure of an armed
knight, cross-legged, apparently of the age of Henry the third, or Edward the first. A cushion supports
his head, and beneath his feet is a lion couchant : above is a shield, bearing the arms of Salberghe.
This figure is traditionally reported to represent a proprietor of Landmer hall.
Monu- A handsome monument, in the chancel, bears the record, which informs us that Tliomas Wharton, esq.,
'"^°*" of Gray's-inn, departed this life, 6th August, 1669, aged 47 years ; and that beside him also rests Elizabeth
his wife, daughter of Andrew Browne, esq., of Lincoln's-inn.
Charities. There are alms-hou.ses near the church for four dwellers, but without endowment.
t Newcourt, vol. i. p. 209. Sir John Shaw, of Catharine hall and Lincoln's inn, was M.P. and
recorder for Colchester, and serjeant-at law, in 1683 ; and was succeeded, on his decease, by Gabriel
Shaw, his grandson, whose only daughter, Elizabeth, was married to .lohn King, esq., by whom she had
Shaw King, esq., who succeeded to this estate.
Arms of Shaw : — Sable, a chevron wavy, between three spread eagles, or ; impaling, sable, a chevron
argent, between three fleur-de-lys, stripped, of the second.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 799
The manor of Birch-hall, or Birch-how with Horsey, is on the side of a hill, nearly c H a i'
a mile north from the church. •^^'•
Ingelric held this manor of the church of St. Paul before the conciuest; and it was '*'"'
hull.
in the possession of Eustace, earl of Bolougne, and his under-tenant Robert, at the
time of the survey, it having been taken from St. Paul's cathedral, and given to the
earl. Some time before the year 1437, Birch-how had become part of the possessions
of the monastery of St. Osyth, but by whom given is not known. It was granted by
king Henry the eighth to Thomas lord Cromwell ; and, on his fall, coming again to
the crown, queen Elizabeth in 1564 granted it to Henry Fanshaw ; but how long it
continued in that family is not known. It is supposed to have been conveyed by
Mary, daughter of Thomas, lord viscount Fanshaw, to her husband, sir Thomas
Cambell. It afterwards became the property of Mr. John Blatch, of Colchester,
from whom it passed to John Edwards, M. D. who died in 1757 ; and it afterwards
belonged to the late dean of Norwich.
The church has a nave, south aisle, and chancel, and is dedicated to St. iSIichael. i hmdi
The vicarages of Kirby and Walton were united by bishop Gibson in 1630.
There are four alms-houses, part of which are near the church.
The parish of Kirby in 1821 contained eight hundred and fifty-three, and in 1831
nine hundred and seventy two inhabitants.
WALTON ON THE NAZE.
The wall or embankment formerly thrown up along the shore to oppose the Walton
advancing encroachments of the sea, and a projecting point of land on its northern %•;,„.
extremity, called the Naze, have supplied the name of this parish. On this promontory
there is a lofty tower, rising to the height of eighty feet, built of brick, by the
corporation of Trinity House, for the direction of vessels passing by, or entering the
harbour of Harwich. The narrowest part of the parish, entered by a neck ol' land,
is in length about three miles, and not quite one mile in breadth, bounded by a river
westward, on the east by the sea ; and on the flowing in of the tide is converted into
a peninsula : it is continually diminished by the powerful action of the waves on its
eastern shore. The northern extremity has received the name of Waltonstone and
Goldman's gap ; here eringo-root is gathered, and samphire grows abundantly on the
banks of the adjacent river. The elevated station beside the tower affords a fine
expansive view over the sea to Harwich, and to Languard fort, on the coast ol
Suffolk ; but, by ascending to the top of this lofty building, we may enjoy a far
wider range of prospect ; which, over the open sea and the German ocean, seems of
illimitable extent. As far as the eye can discern southward, the coast of Kent appears;
and turning northward, and to the west, the inland prospect is pleasingly diversitiod :
beneath is the little town of Walton, with the two Martello towers on either side.
800
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK il.
Walton
hall.
Walton
Ashes.
Church.
This pleasant and romantic village having- obtained celebrity as an agreeable and
convenient station for sea-bathing, has rapidly increased in the number of its houses
and inhabitants. The hotel is a handsome building, on the highest part of the cliff,
about one hundred and fifty feet from the beach. It contains numerous sitting-rooms,
bed-rooms, and an elegant ball-room, thirty-six feet long, and eighteen wide. That
part of the cliff which was in front has been thrown down on an inclined plane, extending
to the beacli, where an elegant jetty is erected, with cast-iron railing, and numerous
seats : and the remarkably smooth and firm sandy beach offers the best accommodation
for walks or rides, extending several miles either way. Walton is seventeen miles from
Harwich, seventeen from Colchester, and sixty-eight from London. A splendid terrace
and six elegant houses, upon a superior scale, are now erecting at the north end of the
village, which are likely to give a character to Walton which it did not before possess.
Walton hall, the manor-house, on the peninsular part of the parish, is a building
of apparent antiquity, having a tower, and occupying a high and conspicuous situation.
This manor belonged anciently to the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, and has passed
from them, as the other two Sokens did, to Thomas lord Darcy, earl Rivers, and to
the earl of Rochford, and since to Mrs. Welch. It afterwards became the property
of Mr. Benjamin Chapman, late of Harwich.
Walton Ashes is the name given to a capital estate in this parish.
In 1739 the governors of queen Anne's bounty purchased upwards of fifty-five acres
of freehold, and thirty-four of copyhold, land here, for the augmentation of Holy
Trinity, in Colchester, but the sea has carried away a considerable portion of this estate.
The thirteenth prebendal stall on the left hand side of the choir of St. Paul's
cathedral had its endowment in Walton ; but this was devoured by the sea several
centuries ago, and hence the stall it belonged to has received the name of Prebenda
Consumpta per Mare.
In 1772 there were two parcels of land, of considerable extent, lying about a mile
from each other, between the church and the sea, and let for the use of the poor who
did not take parish relief; but these lands have long since disappeared.
The church also, after having for a considerable time remained in ruins, was at
length demolished and carried away, and the sea has advanced several hundred feet
beyond the place where it stood. This church consisted of a nave, two aisles, and
a chancel. In 1630, the living was united to that of Kirby.
The population of Walton le Soken in 1821 amounted to two hundred and ninety-
three, and in 1831 to four hundred and sixty-nine.
BEAUMONT, WITH MOSE.
Beaumont These two parishes were united and consolidated by act of pai*liament in 1678.
Mose. They extend northward from the Sokens, and the greater part of them belonged
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 801
to the de Veres, earls of Oxford. The united parish is twelve miles from Colchester, chap.
and sixty-seven from London.* -'*^^'-
Beaumont, not being mentioned in Domesday-book, is believed to have been
included in Mose, or some other parish : the name does not occur in other records
till 1241. It had two manors.
The mansion of Old hall and New hall is on the north side of the church. The Old hail
lords paramount of this manor were the earls of Oxford ; and the Berners held under hM ^*^"'
them. Robert, the ninth earl, being banished the realm, and all his possessions
confiscated, and sir James de Berners, one of king Richard the second's favourites,
executed for alleged treason, this, with their other estates, passed to the crown. But
the honours and estates of the noble family of de Vere were restored to Alberic, the
tenth earl ; and Richard de Berners, recovering the inheritance of sir James, his
father, both had their proper right in this estate. Margery, the only daughter and
heiress of Richard de Berners, was married, first to Richard de Feriby, and after-
wards to John Bourchier, fourth son of William, earl of Eu, who in her right bore
the title of lord Berners.f John Feriby, supposed to have been her son, presented
to the living in 1429, being styled lord of Beaumont. She herself, jointly with her
husband, presented in 1473. He died in 1474, and his lady in the following year ;
they having held this estate under Richard Plantagenet, duke of Gloucester : for
John de Vere, the twelfth earl of Oxford, with his eldest son Aubrey, falling a
sacrifice to the contentions between the houses of York and Lancaster, were beheaded
in 1461, and their estates given by Edward the fourth to his brother Richard, who in
1483, the first of his reign, granted this estate to John Howard, duke of Norfolk,
who was slain at the battle of Bosworth Field. John de Vere, the thirteenth earl of
Oxford, had his father's honours and estates restored to him by king Henry the
seventh ; and John, the fourteenth earl, succeeded him. Afterwards, again coming
to the crown, the manors of Old hall and New hall, and Beaumont, and the advowson
of the church, were granted to sir Thomas Darcy by king Edward the sixth, in 1551.
John, lord Darcy, succeeded to these possessions on his father's decease in 1 558, from
whom the estate descended to the earls Rivers, and afterwards became the property
of the earl of Guildford, who sold it to Guy's hospital. There was formerly a
park ; and the royalty of fishing in Hunckford water and Oylford bed belongs to
this manor.
Bernham's was a messuage and reputed manor, but it is not known where it was inni-
situated. In 1393, king Richard the second granted to John Hundely, clerk, a
messuage called Bernham's, in Beaumont, late the property of Robert de Vere, duke
* Average annual produce per acre; wheat twenty-four, barley thirty-two, bushels.
+ Dugdale's Baronetage, vol. ii. p. 196.
802 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II, of Ireland. In the time of Edward the fourth, 1487, the manor of Bernham's was
in the possession of William Tantield, who held it under lord Berners : Robert
Tanfield, of Everton, was his nephew and heir. It belonged to the Christmas
family in 1519, who held it under Elizabeth, countess of Oxford, as of her manor of
Beaumont hall; and in 1630 it ,was holden of earl Rivers, in free socage, by fealty,
and four shillinsfs rent. Robert was his son and heir. Afterwards this estate seems
to have been incorporated with the chief manor.
MOSE.
Mose. This parish lies north from Beaumont, and in a lower situation, by the side of the
water. In records the name is written Mose, Moose, and Moyse. In the reign of
Edward the Confessor it belonged to a Saxon named Levesun; and at the time of the
survey, to Geofrey de Magnaville. It has only one manor.
Mose hall Mose hall, the original mansion, is near the water ; and New Mose hall is beside
the ruins of the church. The Mandeville family held this estate at an early period ;
and Maud, daughter of Geofrey Fitz- Piers, heiress of that family, conveyed it to her
husband, Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, and in her right earl of Essex, high
constable of England. It remained in this family a considerable time. In 1388 it was
in the possession of John de Playz, or Plaiz, of Stansted-Monttichet. Margaret, his
only daughter and heiress, was married to sir John Howard ; and, at the time of her
decease, in 1391, held this manor of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, who
had married Eleanor, daughter and co-heiress of Humphrey de Bohun ; after her
decease it was holden by sir John, by the courtesy of England ; and his grand-
daughter Elizabeth was his successor in 1437. She was married to John de Vere,
son and heir of Richard, the eleventh earl of Oxford, who was beheaded for his
adherence to the house of Lancaster. The manor of Mose, with appurtenances,
advowson of the church, and the park, were granted to sir Thomas Darcy, in 1551,
by king Edward the sixth. It passed afterwards to lord Guildford, from whom it
was conveyed to Guy's hospital. Holmes' island, and several other small islands,
formed by the overflowings of the tide, belong to this parish ; these are stated to
contain eight hundred and forty acres of land.
Clunclies- The church of Beaumont, dedicated to St. Leonard, is small, and pleasantly
situated on a hill.
The church of Mose was near the hall, but very little even of the ruins of it are
now visible.
In the reign of king Charles the second, it being represented that the churches of
Beaumont and Mose were near to each other, and the inhabitants of these parishes so
poor that they were not able to keep them both in repair ; as also that the farmers of
Mose were only eleven in number, and their church ruinous, and both the churches
HUNDRED OF TENDRING.
803
hall.
having at that time the same patron and incumbent, threefore these two parishes were l H a i'.
united and consolidated by act of parliament in 1678. -^-^'
In 1821 this parish contained four hundred and thirty-four, and in 1831 four
hundred and fifty-two inhabitants.
OAKLEY.
This name, given to two parishes lying on the sea-coast, is derived from oak and Oukhy.
ley, that is, oak pasture. In records it is written Ocle, Acle, and Acley. Ac is the
Saxon name of the oak.
GREAT OAKLEY.
This is considerably the largest of these two parishes, being nine miles in circum- (irtat
ference ; distant six miles from Harwich, and seventy from London. There is a fair "' ^^'
on the twenty-fifth of ApriL
Before the conquest, the Saxon, Aluric Caper, held these lands of Great and Little
Oakley ; and at the time of the survey they formed part of the extensive possessions
of Robert Gernon, lord of Stansted-Montfichet. ' There are three manors.
Great Oakley hall manor house is above a mile north-east from the church. r,i«.at
Richard, son of Richard Gernon de Monttichet, died in 1258, without issue, and his ^ ''''
extensive possessions were divided among his three sisters, Margery, wife of Hugh
deBalbec; Aveline, married to William de Fortz, earl of Albemarl; and Phllipa,
the wife of Hugh de Plaiz, to whom she conveyed this estate : Richard de Plaiz,
their son, did homage for it to khig Henry the third, in 1270. Ralph, son of the said
Richard, dying without issue, Giles de Plaiz, his successor, held this manor, and the
advowson of the church, at the time of his decease in 1303; and was succeeded, on
his decease in 1327, by his son Richard, to whom the king granted free warren in
all his lands in Essex, Hertford, Kent, and Buckinghamshire, and a market and fair
at this place. Sir John de Plaiz, his son, was his heir and successor in 1360 ; who,
dying in 1388, left Margaret, his only daughter, his heiress, married to sir John
Howard ; and she, at the time of her death in 1391, held this estate ; and her husband
also enjoyed it till his decease in 1437. Sir John, his son, had died before him,
leaving his only daughter Elizabeth his heiress to this and other considerable estates.
She was married to John de Vere, twelfth earl of Oxford, who was beheaded, with
his eldest son Aubrey, in 1461, for their adherence to the house of Lancaster: ami
his estates were given by Edward the fourth to his brother Richard, (hike i>f Cih)u-
cester ; but, on the accession of Henry the seventh, the de Vere family recovered
their estates, and had this manor, till it was sold by John, the sixteentli earl, to
William Pirton, and others, in 1540. In 1551 it was granted by Edward the ^*ixth
to sir Thomas Darcy ; from whose descendants it passed to Mrs. Gilly, of Cleveland
804 HISTORY OF ESSEX,
BOOK II. court, who sold it to Brig-adier Warren ; and it afterwards became the property of
~. Carteret Leathes, esq., from whom it passed to his descendants, who also had Oakley
lodge, belonging to the park, about half a mile north from the church.
Skighaws. This estate contains two hundred and fifty-three acres, and was taken from the
capital manor. It belonged to the Darcy family, to lord Guilford, and now forms
part of the possessions of Guy's hospital.
Dengvveil This estate also belongs to Guy's hospital : it contains two hundred and fifty acres of
^'^^^' land. The family of Plaiz, or de Playz, were the original owners of it, but it received
its name from Thomas de Denshewell, who had it in the time of Edward the third.
Geofrey de Dersham held it under Richard de Plaiz, who died in 1360 ; and it appears
to have been afterwards in the possession of sir John de Plaiz, whose daughter and
heiress Margaret conveyed it to her husband, sir John Howard. Arthur Rush, who
died in 1357, had a moiety of this estate, and left his son Anthony, an infant, his
heir. In 1556, Thomas Storgard and Edmund Withipole had this possession ; and
in 1566, Nicholas Steward held it of John lord Darcy.
The other moiety belonged to John Ford, esq. of Great Horkesley, whose second
daughter and co-heiress, Eleanor, conveyed it to her husband, Thomas Bendish, esq.
of Bumsted Steeple, and it passed to his son Thomas (afterwards sir Thomas Ben-
dish, hart.) : this estate pays one pound a year quit rents, or heriots, to Roy don hall,
in Ramsey. It was conveyed, with Stone hall and some other lands, to Guy's
hospital.
Blunt's This reputed manor was named from sir Andrew le Blund, to whom it anciently
belonged, and from whom it descended, by intermarriages, to the families of Battaile,
Sutton, Walton, and de Vere, and appears to have gone with Dengwell, for it was
holden with that estate by Thomas Bendish, esq. Afterwards, it belonged to Mr.
Thomas Mason, of Dedham, and passed to his descendants.
Hough- Walter Hobrege was the owner of this estate in the reign of Edward the third ;
bridcfc
hall. and in 1327 it was holden by Alexander Flyntard ; and by sir John Howard, in
14-37 : Thomas de Brom also held lands, supposed to be these, under Richard de
Plaiz. It also was holden by John Borlas, who died in 1589, leaving his son
William his heir.
Church. This ancient church is dedicated to All Saints ; its steeple, built of flints and stones,
which contained five bells, having become ruinous, fell down ; and the parishioners,
by the disposal of four of them, raised the sum of eighty pounds, which they increased
by subscription to one hundred and fifty pounds, with which the steeple was rebuilt
for the reception of the great bell.
The rectory was anciently appended to the manor of Oakley hall ; but was granted
from it by king Edward the sixth to sir Thomas Seymour, baron of Sudley, after
whom it passed to several owners, and to the rev. Mr. Grimwood, who, having
HUNDRED OF TENDRING.
805
purchased the perpetual advowson, sold it to St. John's college, in Cambridge, chap.
There is a glebe of above sixty acres. '^■^'•
In 1821 the population of this parish amounted to nine hundred and ninety, and in
1831 to one thousand one hundred and eighteen.
LITTLE OAKLEY.
This parish extends from Great Oakley north-east along the coast : it is five miles Little
in circumference : distant five miles from Harwich, and seventy-one from London, ^^'''^y-
These lands are stated to have included what was holden by a person named Ralph,
believed to have been Ralph Baynard, lord of Little Dunmow. There is only
one manor.
The manor-house is near the church, on the east ; and the demesne lands extend Little
over half the parish. On the forfeiture of William, grandson of Ralph Baynard, UM.^^
they were given to Robert, a younger son of Richard Fitzgilbert, ancestor of the lords
Fitzwalter. In 1259, Richard Fillol, or Filliol, held this manor of Robert Fitzwalter ;
succeeded by his son, sir John Fillol. In 1331, Ralph Filliol conveyed it to sir John
Fillol and Margery his wife ; John, their son and heir, left two sons, who dying
without issue, the estates passed to his daughter Cecily ; and, in default of issue male,
to William, son of sir John de Sutton, of Wivenhoe,* and his heirs male. Sir Richard
de Sutton died in possession of this manor, and was succeeded by his son and heir,
Thomas de Sutton, who dying without issue, the manor passed, by the marriage of his
sister Margery, to John de Watson, esq., whose son, of the same name, was his suc-
cessor, followed by Richard de Walton, esq., who leaving no issue, the inheritance
passed to Joane de Walton,f married to sir John Howard, jun., who, dying in 1424,
left Elizabeth, his only daughter, married to John de Vere, twelfth earl of Oxford ; and
that noble family presented to the living from 1448 till 1540.:!: Afterwards this manor
passed to the crown, and was granted by Edward the sixth to sir Thomas Darcy, in
whose descendants it remained till it again passed to the crown, and was granted by king
Edward the fourth to sir Thomas Darcy, and he, and his descendants, retained possession,
and presented to the living till 1641. The estate afterwards belonged to the family of
Gilley ; who first presented to the living in 1660. William Leathes, esq., was the next
owner ; who being officially appointed to reside in the Netherlands in 1716, his uophew,
Carteret Leathes, esq., succeeded to this estate, which has passed to his desceudants.§
* Newcouit, vol. ii. p. 445.
f Tiie said Joan, after her husband's death, was married to sir Thomas Erpyngliam, and htUi thi>
estate and advowson at the time of her death in 1424.
+ Newcourt, vol. ii. p. 476.
§ Pewet island belongs to this manor. Great quantities of pewets are bred here in the spring, which,
according to the vulgar tradition, come for that purpose on St. George's day, and sit on their eggs, without
sleeping, till they are hatched, &c.— Fuller's Worthies, in Essex, p. 378.
VOL. II. 5 L
Wrabness.
806 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The church is an ancient building, with a nave and chancel, and a stone tower
^jjyj.^jj containing- four bells : it is dedicated to St. Mary.
The population of this parish in 1821 amounted to two hundred and sixty-two, and
to two hundred and forty-four in 1831.
WRABNESS.
Wiabness. This parish extends eastward from Bradfield, and northward from the two
Oakleys to the river Stour. In records the name is written Warbenase, Wrabnas,
Wrabnashe, and Wrabbenase : distant four miles from Manningtree, and sixty-five
from London.
The lands of this parish, before and after the conquest, belonged to the abbey of
St. Edmundsbury, in Suffolk, to which it was given by Alfric Kempe:* it was
holden under that monastery, by various families, on the yearly payment of ten marks
to the cellarer. There are two manors.
Manor of The mansion of this manor is near the church, on the east. The most ancient
owners were the descendants of Robert le Bland (i. e. the Fair), one of William the
conqueror's attendants,f whose son Gilbert, was the founder of the priory of
Ikesworth, in Suffolk ; and who, by his wife, Alice de Colekirk, had William, living
in the reign of king Henry the second, and who married Sarah de Montchency :
Hubert, his son, had, by Agnes Lisle his Avife, William le Bland, who married
Cecily de Vere, and had by her William, and Agnes, and Roese. William, the son
and heir, was standard-bearer to the barons at the battle of Lewes, and was slain
there, fighting against king Henry the third. He had this manor, and left his two
sisters his coheiresses. Agnes was the wife of William de Creketoft, whose son
William was then of age. Roese was married to Robert de Valeyns, or Valoines, and
they had this estate : they had a son named Robert, who died in 1282, leaving Roese,
married to Edmund de Pakenham, and Cecily, the wife of Robert de Ufford, by
whom she had Robert de Ufford, first earl of Suffolk of this family, Ralph, and
Edmund. Ralph de Ufford, the second son, married, first, Maud, one of the
daughters of Henry Plantagenet, lord of Monmouth and earl of Lancaster, second
son of Edmund Crouchback, brother to king Edward the first, widow of William
lord Burgh, earl of Ulster, by Avhom he had his daughter Maud. By his second
wife. Eve, daughter and heiress of John de Clavering, he had two sons.J Maud,
daughter of the first wife, was married to Thomas de Vere, the eighth earl of Oxford,
who, at the time of his decease in 1370, held this manor of the abbot of St. Edmunds-
bury. Their son, Robert de Vere, marquis of Dublin and duke of Ireland, died in
* Monast. Anglic, vol. i, p. 294—298.
f D'Eudemare, Hist, de VVillaume, p. 064.
X Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 47 — 49.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 807
1392, without issue : Maud, the mother, survived her husband and son till 1412, and, chap.
by her will, gave this estate to the abbot and convent of Brusyard, in SufFolk, for a ^^''
chantry, consisting of a warden and four priests, founded by her mother in 1354, and
converted afterwards into a nunnery : provided it was amortized, at the expense of
that house, in three years after her decease, otherwise to be sold by her feoffees, and
the money paid to the abbess and convent, and their successors, for the health of her
soul. It is believed to have been sold as ordered, and purchased by sir John Hende,
who, at the time of his decease in 1418, held this manor, with a sea-water mill, of the
abbot of Bury. John, the eldest son and heir, died in 1461, and the younger, of the
same name, died in 1464 ; and Joane, the only daughter of the first of these, became
heiress to the whole estate of this rich family. She was married to Walter Writel,
esq., of Bobbingworth, who, dying in 1475, left William, who died young, and John,
who fell a sacrifice to the " sweating sickness " of 1485. His only child, John, an
infant, was afterwards married, very young, to Etheldreda, daughter of his guardian,
sir John Shaa, but died under age in 1507, leaving Julian, his only daughter, who
died soon after him. His mother, Anne, held this manor, and that of Ramsey, at the
time of her decease in 1488 ; and, on his death in 1507, it passed into the hands of
the king ; but was soon after conveyed, with the manor of Ramsey, to William
AylofFe, esq., of Breton's, who married Etheldreda, widow of John Writle, esq.
On his decease in 1517, William his son was his successor; and his great-grandson,
sir William AylofFe, conveyed this estate to • Dawes, who sold it to sir George
Whitmore, knt., who previously had a grant from king James the first of a moiety of
the manor of Ramsey hall, or Michelstow.* The manor of Wrabness now belongs
to Nathaniel Garland, esq.
Little occurs in records relative to this estate previous to 1544, when it was holden Denbalis.
by Christopher Roydon, of the honour of Hedingham castle : his heir was his son
John, who died in 1619, and left Alexander, whose successor was Alexander, his son;
* He was the second son of William Whitmore, alderman of London, son of Richard Whitmore, esq.,
of Charley, in Shropshire; and, dying in 1654, was succeeded by William Whitmore, esq., his eldest son,
who, on his deceasse in 1678, left his only son William, at an early age contracted in marriage to the
daughter of sir William Whitmore, bavt., of Shropshire : he was married soon after his father's death,
and accidentally killed by a pistol which lay in his chariot, on his return from Epsom, dying under age
and childless. In 1687, the estates were sold by the trustees to sir Thomas Davall, knt., descended from
an ancient family of the north of England, who purchased at the same time the Whitmore estates, in
Ramsey and Dover-court. The manor of Wrabness was afterwards conveyed, by the will of sir Thomas
Davall the younger, in 1714, to Daniel Burr, esq., who sold it to Lewis Peak Garland, esq.
Arms of Whitmore ; — A shield fretty.
Arms of Davall :— Gules, a lion rampant, between eight fleurs de lys, argent, three, two, four, and one.
Crest :— A hand proper, holding a fleur de lys, argent. Motto : " In coelo quics."
Arms of Burr :— Ermine, on a chief indented, sable, two lionels rampant, or.
808 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. after whom the next owner was James Smyth, esq., of Upton, from whom it has
Church, passed to his descendant, sir George Henry Smyth, hart, and now belongs to
Nathaniel Garland, esq.
The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a small ancient building, which had formerly
a stone tower and five bells; now only two bells in a wooden turret.*
In 1821 this parish contained two hundred and fifty-three, and in 1831 two hundred
and forty-eight inhabitants.
RAMSEY.
Ramsey. This parish is on the borders of the river Stour, between Dover and Wrabness, where
a projecting point of land, on the north-east toward Harwich, forms a small peninsula
named the Ray. The high lands of this parish are twelve miles in circumference.
The name in records, Ramesey, alias Misletow, or Micklestow. There is a fair on the
fifteenth of June. Distant from Harwich three miles, and sixty-eight from London.f
Before the conquest, the owners of lands here were Aluric Caper and Alric; which
at the survey belonged to Ralph Baynard. There are seven manors.
Roydon The mansion of the chief manor is named Roydon hall, and is two miles west from
^ * ■ the church. This estate passed successively through the noble families of Baynard,
Fitzgilbert, Fitzwalter, and de Vere ; under whom it was holden by a family sur-
named de Ramsey : Elias de Ramsey held it in the reign of king John ; Alexander
de Ramsey had it in 1260 ; and it was holden by Alice de Ramsey in 1269. Alex-
ander had, by Maud his wife, three daughters, coheiresses. Hugh de Vere, earl of
Oxford, granted the marriage of them, and of their mother Maud, for one hundred
marks, to William de Clara, archdeacon of Sudbury. Isabel, the oldest, was married
to sir Ralph de Philely, and Joane to John le Parker : these were possessed of this
estate in 1275. The name of the third daughter is not mentioned. This manor is
supposed to have been conveyed to the family of Roydon by marriage. In 1360 to
1370, it belonged to Walter de Roydon ; to John in 1409. In the reigns of Henry
the sixth, and Edward the fourth, Robert and Thomas Roydon had this estate, which
was holden by John Roydon in 1498, who was succeeded by Christopher, who died
in 1544, and whose only daughter, Mary or Margaret, was married to John Lucas,
esq., of Colchester, to whom she conveyed this estate. John Lucas, esq., the eldest
son, died possessed of it in 1619, leaving his son Alexander his heir. In 1630,
Robert Carey, earl of Monmouth, held this manor of Thomas lord Bruce, and the
Inscrip- • There is an inscription to the memory of the rev. Robert Rich, who was born at Hatton,in Scotland,
*'*'°" and died 28th January, 1728, having been thirty-three years rector of this parish, and forty-eight years
vicar of Ramsey. He was a father to the orphan, a helper to the friendless, a preventer of strife, and one
that spent his life in acts of charity and benificence.
+ Average annual produce per acre : wheat twenty-four, barley thirty-two, oats forty, bushels.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 809
lady Diana his wife, countess dowager of Oxford. In 1G35, it belonged to sir chap.
Harbottle Grimston, knt. and bart., and was afterwards purchased by James Smyth, ^^^'
esq., of Upton, together with a farm named Stourewood. The present owner is
Nathaniel Garland, esq.
This manor-house is on the south of Roydon hall : the estate was taken from the Ramsey
capital manor, but at what time is not known. It belonged to John Herde in 1.399, '''*^'"
and in 1605 was granted by king James the first to Robert earl of Sussex. It next
belonged to Thomas Branson, of East Bergholt ; and afterwards it belonged to Mrs.
Peeke, of Lawford, who left it to her daughters.
This was originally a member of the capital manor, and named Ramsey cum Michaels-
Michaelstow, because the house is near the church, which is dedicated to St. Michael. ""^"
In 1379 it was given to the monastery of St. Osyth. After the dissolution, a moiety
of it was granted from the crown to Robert Carew, earl of Monmouth, and the other
moiety to sir George Whitmore. From the Whitmore family it passed to those of
Davall, and of Burr, as the manor of Wrabness did. It now belongs to Nathaniel
Garland, esq., and the hall, picturesquely situated above the river Stour, has been
made an elegant seat.*
The mansion of this manor is three quarters of a mile north from the church ; it East New
has been sometimes named East Hall. It was holden, as the other estates in this *'' '
parish, of the earls of Oxford ; and in 1406 belonged to Richard at Pantry ; and
Thomas Halbeck, who died in 1480, held it of sir Thomas Montgomery ; and he liad
also the Ray in this parish : his heirs were Christiana and Alice, his daughters, and
Thomas Wilkoky, son of Margery, another of his daughters ; and it passed, as the
other estates here, to the family of the present owner, Nathaniel Garland, esq.
This estate was also taken from the capital manor, and the house and lands lying stioud
on the strand by the river Stour has occasioned its name. It was holden of the
manor of Ramsey hall by William de Reynford, esq., in 1433, and passed to John
Lucas, esq., who died in 1599, and was succeeded by his son Alexander in 1619;
after whom it passed through various owners to Nathaniel Garland, esq.
This manor is in the peninsula formed by the continued action of the tidf ou tlie itiy, oi k
north-east of this parish; the mansion is a mile from the church. A family surnamed
de Ruly held this estate of the honour of Castle Hedingham in the reigns of Henry
the third, and of the first, second, and third Edwards. It was holden by the abbey
of St. Osyth, Thomas Halbeck, and Nicholas Peeke, in the reign of Henry the sixth :
and in 1545, William Bunynghyll, and Eleanor his wife, conveyod tins estate, with
East hall, to king Henry the eighth ; and in 1557, it was granted, by (jiieen Mary,
with other estates, to sir Thomas White. It afterwards passed from sir George
* The ancestor of the present owner of this estate recovered one thou.viiud live hundred acres of land
from the river Stour by embankments.
810
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
Foulton
hall.
BOOK 11. Whitraore, through the families of Davall, Burr, &c. to Lewis Peak Garland, esq.,
and to the present owner, Nathaniel Garland, esq.
This manor and hamlet is usually named Foughton, or Fulton. The manor-house
is about three quarters of a mile south from the church. In Edward the confessor's
reign it belonged to Briscius and Ednod ; and at the survey, Suene, of Essex, and his
tenant Odard, had one part, and Robert, son of Corbution, and Robert his under-tenant,
had the other. The earliest succeeding possessors were the Filiolls, of Little Oakley.
Joanna, daughter of John Filioll, of Thorpe, who died in 1418, held this estate ; by
her husband, John Howse, she had a son named Walter, born in 1402. Edward
Duke had this estate at the time of his decease in 1572, and was succeeded by his son,
John Duke, of Colchester, in 1629; and it belonged afterwards to Robert Lowndes,
esq., to Mrs. Mary Lowndes, and to Philips Baggot.
Ramsey street is the name of a village on the western side of a creek into which
the tide ebbs and flows across the great road to Harwich.
The church, dedicated to St. Michael, has a stone tower with five bells ; the
chancel was built in 1597 by Goldham and William , as appears by a
defaced inscription.*
The great tithes of this church having been appropriated to the abbey of St. Osyth,
a vicarage was ordained here, in the gift of the abbey, and at the dissolution passed
to the crown, where it has remained to the present time.
In 1821 Ramsey contained six hundred and seventy-six, and in 1831 seven hundred
and eight inhabitants.
Church.
Dover-
court,
with Har-
wich.
DOVER-COURT, WITH HARWICH.
This district occupies the north-east extremity of the hundred, and of the county.
The learned antiquary and critic, William Baxter, derives the name of Dover from
the British " duvrisc," a race or reach of water. Dover-court is seven miles in
circumference ; the village one mile distant from Harwich. There is a fair on
Whit- Monday.
Before the conquest this parish belonged to Uluuin ; and at the survey to Alberic
de Vere, ancestor of the family of that name, earls of Oxford. There is one manor.
The earls of Oxford were lords paramount of Dover-court from the time of
William the conqueror to the reign of Henry the eighth, except during the forfeiture
of Robert, duke of Ireland, and the attainder of John, the twelfth earl. Alberic, the
first earl, had a daughter named Juliana, married to Hugh Bigot, to whom she
Inscrip- » There is an inscription to the memory of William Whitmore, esq., son of sir George Whitmore.
He died in November, 1789, aged G4 years. Also, here lies buried sir Thomas Davall, knt. He was one
of the burgesses for Harwich, in all the parliaments of king William, and the two first of queen Anne.
He died in November, 1712. Here lies, also, Thomas his son, who deceased in April, 1714. ^
Dover-
court
manor,
\\:
HUNDRED OF TENDIIING. 811
conveyed this estate : he died in 1177, as did his successors ; Roger in 1220, Hugh in t h a
1225, and a second Roger in 1270, who also held Harwich as a luondjer of this
manor : Roger Bigot, his brother Hugh's son, was his successor. This Hugh was
his second brother, and chief justice of England. Roger, either to regain the favour
of Edward the first, whom he had highly offended, or from a dislike of his brother
and heir-apparent, made the king his heir in 1302, surrendering to him his honours,
and his high office of earl-marshal of England, on condition that, if his wife bore hiui
any children, all should be returned. On his death without issue in 1307, his estates,-
and this in particular, passed to king Edward. In 1312, king Edward the second
gave it to his brother, Thomas de Brotherton, on whom he afterwards conferred the
office of marshal. Margaret, his eldest daughter, styled marshal countess of Norfolk,
was married, first to John de Segrave, and afterwards to sir Walter de Manny, K.G.
from whom this manor has sometimes been called Mawney. In 1308 she was
created duchess of Norfolk for life: by her first husband, who died in 1353, she had
Anne, abbess of Barking, and Elizabeth. Sir Walter died in 1372. She held this
estate, and Harwich, jointly with her husband's, and in her own right, and died in
1399. Her daughter Elizabeth was married to John de Mowbray, lord Mowbray,
of Axhohn, who died in 1368 ; by him she had John, created earl of Nottingham,
who died under age, and Thomas Mowbray, who became heir to the estate. In
1382, the title of earl of Nottingham was conferred upon him; he was advanced to
the title of duke of Norfolk in 1397, and constituted earl-marshal of England. "" He
died in exile at Venice in 1400. By his lady Elizabeth, sister and coheiress of
Thomas Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, he had Thomas and John, and Margaret and
Isabel. Thomas Mowbray, earl-marshal, the eldest son, was beheaded in 1105, and
forfeited all his estates; but John, his brother, was restored to the earldom of Not-
tingham, with the office of earl-marshal, in 1413, and to the dukedom of Norfolk in
1416. He held this manor, and the borough of Harwich, at the time of his death in
1432. These estates were part of the dower of his lady Katharine, daughter of
Ralph Nevill, by whom he had John Mowbray, the last duke of Nortolk i)f this family,
who died in 1477. He married Elizabeth, daughter of John Talbot, earl of Shrews-
bury, by whom he had his only daughter Anne, contracted in marriage to Richard,
duke of York, second son of king Edward the fourth, who, it was believed, was
murdered with his brother, in the Tower, in 1483 ; and the lady, dying in the same
year, the large estates of the Mowbrays passed to the families of Howard and
Berkeley, as descended from Margaret and Isabel.
* He was the first on whom this personal, honorary, and officiary title was conft-rrcd and made
hereditary, by tiie name and style of earl-marshal, with power to bear in their hand a gold truncheon,
enamelled witli black at each eud, having at the upper end of it the king's arms cngravcu thereon, and at
the lower end his own.
812
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
uooK II. In 1512, John de Vere, thirteenth earl of Oxford, died, holding Dover-court and
Harwich of the abbot of St. Osyth, as did also his successor, the fourteenth earl, in
1526, and the sixteenth, from whom they are supposed to have passed to the crovm,
and in 1558 were granted by queen Elizabeth to Thomas White and others. These
estates were soon after again conveyed to the crown, where they remained through
the reign of queen Elizabeth, and part of that of James the first, who granted or sold
them to sir George Whitmore, from whose family they passed into those of Davall,
Burr, &c., and to Lewis Peak Garland. It now belongs to Nathaniel Garland, esq.
Church. The church is dedicated to All Saints, and has a nave and chancel, with an embattled
stone tower. It is on the north of the road fromHarwich to Ramsey.
When Alberic de Vere, the first earl of that family, founded Colne priory, in the
reign of William Rufus, he gave to it this church, and the lands belonging to it, and
the tithes of the demesnes, and of the town and fishery, and the occupation of lands
and a tenement. This grant was confirmed by the second earl, and also by king
Henry the first, in 1111.* Roger Bigot, earl of Norfolk, having, with the consent
of Colne priory, founded the chapel of Harwich, made a new grant of this church,
and all its appurtenances, with the chapel of Harwich, to the monks of Colne, to
whom the great tithes were appropriated, and a vicarage ordained, both of which
passed to the crown on the dissolution of monasteries ;f and the advowson of the
vicarage has remained there to the present time ; but the great tithes and glebe lands
were conveyed by king James the first to sir George Whitmore, and have passed
with the other estates of the parish. The vicarage was augmented with a farm,
purchased by bishop Robinson's benefaction, with the addition of queen Anne's
bounty.^
Guild. There was formerly a presbyter guild, or fraternity of St. George, with an
endowment of lands and houses, and a garden at Harwich. The original building of
the George inn, opposite to the church, was either the site of the house, or part of
its endowment. Its possessions were sold by queen Elizabeth.
Tliere was, in ancient times, a miraculous rood or crucifix here, of great celebrity,
which attracted crowds of visitors and devotees, and it was vulgarly believed that
any attempt to close the church doors upon it would be attended with sudden death ;
they were, therefore, left open night and day. This fancied security was the
Charita-
ble bene-
factions.
* Monast. Anglic, vol. i. p. 436.
t Monast. Anglic, vol. ii. p. 878.
I This parish receives four pounds six shillings and eight-pence yearly, part of the benefaction of
Henry Smith, esq.
A tenement and shop, in Harwich, and a field of seven acres, called Frankes, were given for the repa-
ration of the chuich ; and two fields of ten acres, near Dover-court-green, are also appropriated to the
same use.
ff'IfV'
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 813
occasion of a tragical occurrence to several imprudent individuals, enthusiastically c H a v.
opposed to what they deemed idolatrous observances of Catholicism, who entered ihe ^^^
churcli at midnight, in 1532, in the reign of king Henry the eighth, and removing
the rood to some distance, burnt it to ashes. For this act, denominated felony and
sacrilege, Robert King was hanged in Dedham, at Burchet; Robert Dedham, at
Cartaway causeway ; and Nicholas Marsh, at Dover-court. Robert Gardiner, the
fourth that was condemned, made his escape.*
HARWICH.!
This town occupies a narrow point of land at the north-east extremity of the Harwich,
hundred and of the county, with the estuaries of the Stour and the Orwell on the
north, and the sea on the east. On the south of the town, a cliff divides Orwell
haven from the bay that extends to Walton Naze. This cliff is observed to be con-
stantly giving way to the action of the sea, which, it is expected, will at some future
period force a passage to the opposite shore, and insulate Harwich and its vicinity.
The cliff contains many acres of land ; its greatest height about fifty feet ; at the
bottom, a stratum of a clay-like substance, on exposure to the air, gradually hardens to
a species of stone, and the streets of Harwich are paved Avith it. The town-walls
were also formed of this material, as were the castles of Oxford and Framlingham.:}:
This eminence is named the Beacon-cliff; and there was formerly a signal-house and
telegraph here, which have been gradually destroyed.
* " But the Spirit of God," observes Fox, " did more edify the people in godly learning than all the
sermons that had been preached there a long time before." — Fox's Acts and Monuments, book ii.
f This ancient borough and sea-port is situated 52 deg. 3 min. north lat. and 1 deg. 21 niin. cast long. :
from Chelmsford distant forty-two miles and three-quarters, north-cast by cast, and from London seventy-
one and three-quarters, in the same direction. The markets are on Tuesday and Friday : fairs, the first
of May and the eighteenth of October.
X In 1338, and also in 1352, a tax or toll was granted for building and rcjiairing the walls of this town.
Above the clay are different strata ; fine sand, and stone and gravel mixed with small pebbles, and blended
with fossil shells, of the bivalve and turbinate kinds ; these are sometimes found sejiarate, and sometimes
in masses, intermixed with sand. The upper part of the cliff is common sandy earth, in which a few
veins of a white friable substance (supposed to be talc), resembling isinglass, havJ been found. Variou.s
teeth of large animals, and bones of an extraordinary size, have been discovered in the fallen masses of
this cliff. These are, by some writers, supposed to have belonged to the elephants brought into this
country by Claudius, in the year 43, as is stated by Dion Cassius, ch. xxi, b.CO, who fnrtlier observes,
that Claudius landed his army in Kent, and crossed the Thames into Essex, where he conciuered the
natives ; and it is hence probably conjectured that these teeth had lain in the earth above seventeen
hundred years. The editor has some of these bones : the cliff is full of animal remains and of large fossil
trees, and amber is often found on the sands here, as it is also on the Suffolk coast, near Landguard fort.
In the autumn of the year 1810, lying under the cliff, a heap of stones was discovered, possessing the
property of forming a cement durable as stone. The corporation refused fifteen thousand pounds for the
heap, which has since proved a very valuable and lucrative possession.
VOL. II. 5 M
814 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
^'^^^^ H- The prospect from this elevated station presents a view of the higher parts of the
town, with the two light-houses, and the handsome new church, lately erected, and other
public buildings, and the shipping in the harbour and upon the ocean. Between this
station and the town there is a pleasant walk, named the Esplanade : a broad causeway,
formed of cement or artificial stone, manufactured from materials found here, extends
along the road the greater part of the way, to where it begins to ascend towards the
top of the cliff; and above this, there is a large Martello tower, mounted with ten
guns. It is of a circular form, faced with granite, and bomb-proof.* The guns,
mounted on a revolving frame, can be pointed in any direction ; and the men who
work them are completely secured from danger by a high parapet. The entrance is
by a narrow opening, a considerable height from the ground, by means of a wooden
frame or ladder, which can be removed. The lower part contains the ammunition
and provisions, lodged in bomb-proof apartments.
hiuse. Harwich had formerly a blazing fire of coals, and six candles, the weight of a pound
each, kept burning in the night time, in a large room with a glazed front over the
principal gate, on the southern extremity of the town, to guard vessels from a sand-
bank called the Andrews, which forms a bar across the entrance to the harbour from
Landguard fort into the rolling ground, where there is good anchorage. In the time
of Charles the second, this purpose was more completely effected by two light-houses
erected under letters patent, and furnished with lamps of a peculiar construction.
One of these yet retains its original form; the other has been rebuilt, or much
altered and improved, and, rising to a considerable height, forms a conspicuous object
at a great distance. The old light-house is near the beach.
From the Saxon name of pepe-picf given to this place, it seems probable that an
army was stationed here to oppose the landing of the Danes ; and there is good
reason to beheve, that in the time of the Romans, the count of the Saxon shore had a
fortress where some remains of a camp may be traced, one side of it at least, half a
mile in extent, from the town-gate southernly to Beacon-hill field, in the midst of
which there is a tumulus, where there was formerly a windmill. The rampart, or
vallum, is in many places twelve feet high, and the foss, now chiefly filled up, was
six feet deep, and forty feet wide ; the other part has been washed away by the sea.
Another work extends from this, easternly, on the top of the hill; and the high road
from the town, toward this station, yet bears the name of the Street, and has, in
various parts of it, considerable remains of a stone pavement, all which prove it to
have been a very large military way of the Romans, named by the Saxons a stane
street. What is undoubted evidence of its Roman origin, is the discovery of Roman
* This is the largest tower of the kind in England ; and the wall measures eight feet in thickness.
t A haven or bay where an army lies.— Camd. Britan.
,a:f
HUNDRED OF TEXDRING. 815
coins some time ago, in the possession of Mr. Bagnal, a naval officer of Harwich ; t H a p.
and a tessellated pavement, found in a small farm, near the street, helonging to ^^^
the vicarage of Dover-court : a wall was also pulled down many years ago, found
to be entirely composed of Roman materials. The most ancient record of any
important occurrence here is of a complete victory over the Danes, by king Alfred, at
the mouth of the Stour, in the year 885.
Harwich is said to have first rose to importance on the decay of a town named
Orwell, situated where there is now a shoal called the West Rocks, five miles from
the shore, on which the ruins are yet to be seen at low water.
In 1270, Harwich appears in the record as an appendage to the manor of Dover-
court, and a hamlet ; it has also been named a manor, and has continued in the same
owners as Dover-court. Being on the border of the sea, it consequently suffers the
inconvenience of having no wholesome water but what is brought from a considerable
distance; yet, from its situation on high ground, by a clean bold shore, this town is
pleasant and healthy.
The town consists of three main streets ; High street, Church street, and A\'est
street, with several lanes branching out on either side. It was formerly inclosed
with a wall, and had four gates, named St. Helen' s-port. Barton's, or Water-gate, St
Austin's-gate, and the Castle-gate; also three inferior gates, named Savers, or Salve-
gate, Burhara's, and Tilney's. It had a castle and an admiralty-house ; and the dukes
of Norfolk had a large house near St. Austin's-gate, in the hall-window of which
there appeared the arms of Thomas de Brotherton, earl of Norfolk, till 1676, when
they were taken down.
Among the principal buildings are the town-hall, the jail, custom-house, three
places for divine worship belonging to dissenters, a free school founded by
Humphrey Parsons, esq. in 1724, and a national school, erected in 1813, at the expense
of the corporation. A reading-room and assembly-room have been erected in West
street, and a small theatre was opened in the year 1813.
Harwich obtained a charter, by wdiich it was made a borough and market town, in
the reign of Edward the second, in the year 1318, which favour was procured by the
intercession of that king's brother, Thomas de Brotherton, lord of this place. The
substance of the charter was, " That the town of Harwich be a free borough, and that
the said earl's men and tenants, of the said town, and their heirs and successors, be free
burgesses, and use and enjoy the free customs appertaining to a free borough, with a
market every week, on Tuesday, and free customs belonging to markets," &c.*
* lliis charter was confirmed in 1342; again in 1377; and afterwards by the fourth, fifth, and sixth
Henrys, the last of whom, in 1422, confirmed their liberties and franchises, not in the least revoked;
and again, in 1438, accepted of, approved, ratified, and confirmed them : as did also king Kdward tiie
sixth in 1547 ; and queen Mary in 1553; and queen Elizabeth in 15f)0. But the ami)lc8t charter was
816 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. The trade of this port formerly arose from its being the station of the post-office
packets, by which a constant intercourse was kept up between this country and
the continent. Four packets sailed every week for Gottingen ; and this was the
principal place of embarkation for Holland and Germany, This source of emolu-
ment has been in a great degree diminished or destroyed, since the general
establishment of steam-packets.* The inhabitants are principally employed in mari-
time pursuits ; and the north-sea fishery, though of less importance than formerly,
yet employs a great number of vessels, whilst a considerable traffic is carried on
by means of wherries with Ipswich and Manningtree. One hundred and three
British and ten foreign vessels entered inward, and fifty-eight British and five
foreign vessels cleared outward, in the year 1826 : the number of ships belonging
to the port in 1818 was ninety-one, averaging a burthen of sixty-four tons. Ship-
building is also carried on to a considerable extent ; the dock-yard is well supplied
with launches, storehouses, and other requisites. Several third rates, and other
large vessels, have been built here ; and a patent slip has been recently constructed,
on which ships of very large burthen may be hauled up for repair with great
facility. f
During the season this place is visited for sea-bathing, and excellent accommo-
dations are provided. Bathing machines have been introduced; but the private
procured for them in 1604, by sir Edward Coke, then attorney-general. Under former charters the
government of this corporation had been in a port-reeve, or portman ; in a bailiif, constables, and
tenants, a chamberlain and treasurers, and a capital burgess. By tlie last charter it was settled in a
mayor, eight aldermen, twenty-four capital burgesses, and a recorder, and other subordinate officers.
The right of sending two representatives to parliament, the exercise of which had been dormant from the
reign of Edward the third, was restored by this deed. The mayor is chosen by the capital burgesses on
St. Andrew's day. They were also then invested with the privilege of returning two members to parlia-
ment : also, they had then the grant of a second market weekly, on Fridays, and two fairs yearly, the one
on the feast of St. Philip and St. James, the other on the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. These fran-
chises and immunities were confirmed by Charles the second, but a quo warranto was afterwards brought
against this ; they were, however, fully restored and confirmed by king William the third. The liberty of
the corporation contains the borough of Harwich, and the tenants, residents, and inhabitants of the village
of Dover-court. How far it reaches by water is not ascertained in the charters. By the records of their
admiralty courts, it appears they have amerced certain persons for unlawfully fishing near Shotley.
Quarter sessions are held here for the borough, and a court of record, of pleas for the recovery of debts
of from five to one hundred pounds, but is seldom resorted to.
The arms of Harwich : — A portcullis. Crest : — An ancient one-masted ship, with sail furled, the poop
and stern much higher than the middle.
* When the Editor was at Harwich last year, he learnt that the mail packet had been taken away from
Harwich, but that the people there were in some hopes of having it restored. The town had sufl^ered
much by the removal of the mail.
•f- In this deep and spacious harbour, more than one hundred sail of men-of-war, with frigates, and
between three and four liundred colliers, are said to have been riding at one time, without danger or
inconvenience.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 817
baths are very neat and convenient. These stand in a large reservoir of sea-water, c h a i'.
which is changed every tide, and supplied with fresh water every hour, by a con- ' ' ^'
trivance on the principle of a natural syphon. In some of these baths the water is
made hot, for invalids; who, if they have neither strength nor courage to plunge
themselves into the water, are assisted with a chair. There are also vapour baths,
and machinery to throw the sea-water, either hot or cold, on any part of the body.
Landguard Fort, situated at the south-east extremity of Suffolk, but still considered Landwuard
as belonging to this county, is immediately opposite to Harwich. It is a very strong '""''
fortification, erected for the defence and security of Harwich harbour in the reigu
of James the First. This is built upon a point of land united to Walton-Colness,
but so surrounded by the sea at high water as to become an island nearly a mile
from the shore. According to tradition, the outlets of the Stour and Orwell were
anciently on the north side, through Walton Marshes in Suffolk ; and the place
called the Fleets was a part of the original channel. This is probably true; the
violence of the sea and the strength of the land floods having effected great changes
on this coast. The soil not being favourable, the laying of the foundations of Laud-
guard Fort was accomplished only after considerable labour, and at a vast expense.
It completely commands the entrance of the harboiu-, which, though between two
and three miles wide at high water, is too shallow to aduiit the passage of ships
excepting by a narrow and deep channel on the Suffolk side. At some distance
from the fort, on a spot called, by Bishop Gibson, Walton, or Felixstow castle,
various fragments of urns, coins, and other Roman antiquities, have been dug up at
different times. Formerly, much copperas was manufactured in this district, but the
decrease of the copperas-stone occasioned the business to be relinijuished.
The ancient church was founded about the thirteenth century by Roger Bigot, Church.
earl of Norfolk, and dedicated to St. Nicholas. It consisted of a nave, in length
sixty feet, with two side aisles, supported by ten pillars, and a chancel, the whole
leaded; it had a quadrangular tower of stone with a wooden frame, embattled;
above which there rose a spire, leaded. In 1821, this venerable structure was
taken down, and a magnificent new building erected at the cost of nearly tweuty
thousand pounds. It measures in length one hundred, and in breadth sixty feet ;
it is chiefly of brick, with buttresses, and steeple of stone.*
* On a white marble monument, of elegant workmanship, there is an inscription to the- memory of Inxorip-
sir William Clarke, knt. secretary of war to Charles tiie second, who, in June llWM^, was mortally
wounded in the memorable sea-fight between the duke of Albemarle and the famous Dutch admiral, De
Kuyter ; it is in Latin, of which the following is a translation :— " Here lies sir William Clarke, knt. and
secretary at war to the most serene king Charles the second; and secretary to the most noble Gcorpc,
duke of Albemarle, whose fortune he followed through all emergencies for more tlian twelvi- years ; and
whose efforts in restoring our monarchy and laws he strenuously assisted. In the fanious sea-figiit with
818 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK II. Dover-court, in 1821, contained eight hundred and thirteen, and in 1831, nine
hundred and twenty-six inhabitants.
the Dutch fleet, in the beginning of June, 1666, which continued for four days successively, as he fought
by the admiral's side, on the second day, he lost his right leg by a cannon-ball ; on the fourth, his life :
yet, in spite of his wound, he would not suffer himself to be removed from the danger of the battle; but,
while the rest of the wounded were carried on shore, he remained alone in the ship, which was shattered,
and exposed to the fire of the enemy ; and with surprising constancy waited the doubtful event of the
battle, and his own life. His wounded body having for several days been tossed on the sea, was at
length cast into this haven.
" Stay, reader, a moment : You do not yet know the character of this great man, who, having long
executed the greatest public employments, had always the happiness of the public approbation ; who,
though he attained to riches and honours, yet escaped infamy and envy, not by artifice, but by the force
of his integrity ; and, in short, was a shining instance that innocence does not always forbid a man to
engage in the affairs of a court. You have here the remains of a gentleman of integrity, honour, know-
ledge, abilities, and application; who supported labours and suppressed avarice ; who neither defrauded
the rich nor neglected the poor; and observed the strictest sincerity in word and action. His life was
crowned with integrity; his death with fortitude : in both he was equally happy. The period of his life
contained but three-and-forty years ; yet, even in that short space, were exerted all the virtues and graces
of life. He left a sorrowful widow, and a son five years old ; a moderate estate, and an excellent
character ; and a deep regret for the loss of him. His sorrowful widow raised this monument, in order
to do justice to his memory, and alleviate in some measure her own sorrow."
Over this inscription, on a pedestal, between two scrolls, sustained by pillars of black marble, are the
effigies of sir William ; and underneath, the family arms, viz. baron and femme, a bend, three swans,
between three plates, a canton sinister, with a bear's claw, erased : impaled with a coat of arms, viz. a
chevron between three mullets of five points, pierced.
There are also monuments and inscriptions to the memory of Roger Coleman, who died on the 6th of
July, 1659, aged 63 : of George Coleman, his nephew, who died in his mayoralty of this borough, in the
year 1691 : of Mary, the daughter of Carteret Leathes, esq. who died 27th JIarch, 1758, aged 20 years : of
Henry Pelham Davies, esq. who died January 28, 1782, aged 38 : and of John Hopkins, esq. who died on
the 18th day of March, 1828, in the 79th year of his age.
A farm, lying in Tendring, was given for the perpetual repairs of the chapel of Harwich. Mrs. Offley
gave fifty shillings yearly to be distributed to the poor, at the discretion of the minister and church-
wardens : she also gave to the poor two tenements in West street. Twelve wheaten loaves are given
weekly to the poor by the corporation. This town also partakes of Mr. Henry Smyth's benefaction.
There are alms-houses near the sea, but without endowment.
Mrs. Mary Wiseman, in 1758, left eighteen shillings per annum to the poor.
September 24, 1326, Isabel, queen of Edward the Second, landed here with an army of two thousand
seven hundred soldiers, and many foreign and English nobles, in rebellion against the king, whom she
pursued from place to place ; and seizing Hugh Spencer, the father, caused him to be cut up alive and
quartered, in the 90th year of his age.
July 16, 1340, king Edward the third, having determined to assert his right to the crown of France,
sailed from the port of Orwell with a gallant fleet and army ; but proving unsuccessful, he returned
to England, and landed at Harwich, Feb. 21, 1340. After collecting large sums of money, he prepared
to return to the continent ; but being secretly informed that a French fleet of four hundred sail was
waiting near Sluys to intercept him, he collected two hundred and sixty stout ships, with which he sailed
from Orwell haven on the 22nd of June. At ten in the morning of Midsummer day, the two fleets
engaged off the harbour of Sluys, where a most obstinate and bloody battle was fought, in which the
Charities,
Alms-
houses.
Remark-
able oc-
currences.
HUNDRED OF TENDRING. 819
Harwich, in 1821, contained three thousand one hundred and ninety-seven, and in *- ^ > ''
1831, three thousand three hundred and seventy-one. —J—
English gained a complete victory ; thirty thousand of the French were killed, and two hundred of their
ships taken.
June 8, 1543, Henry the eighth visited this town, as was supposed to survey that part of his navy which
was stationed here.
March or April, 1558, the town was prepared for the reception of Philip of Spain, who married queen
Mary, but his arrival is not recorded. During Mary's reign, June 15, 1555, William Bamford, a weaver,
of Coggeshall, Thomas Watts, and four others, condemned as Protestants at Colchester, were burnt at
Harwich.
On the 12th of August, 1561, queen Elizabeth was here, and accepted an entertainment from the
burgers, lodging several days at a house in the central part of High-street ; and, being attended by the
magistracy and citizens on her departure as far as the windmill out of the town, she graciously demanding
what they had to request of her .' received from them this answer, " Nothing, only to wish her majesty
a good journey ;" on which she, turning her horse about, and looking upon the town, said, " A pretty
town, and wants nothing ;" and so bade them farewell.
October 3 and 4, 1666, Charles the second came from Newmarket to Landguard Fort, and to Harwich :
he was accompanied by James duke of York, and the dukes of Monmouth, Richmond, and Buckingham ;
the earl of Oxford, lord Cornwallis, the marquis of Blanchford, and other noblemen. About this time,
his majesty caused two sloops to be built here, of a small draught of water, to clear the sands before the
harbour, then much infested by small Dutch picaroons ; one of them was named the Spy, the other the
Fan-fan : of this last, prince Rupert and his grace the duke of Albermarle, in their letter from sea to his
majesty, dated July 27, 1666, gave this account: " That, on Tliursday morning, July 20, it being very
calm, and the enemy to windward of them, the Fan-fan, a small new sloop of two guns, built the other
day at Harwich, made up with her oars toward the Dutch fleet, and drawing both her guns to one side,
very formally attacked De Ruyter in the admiral's ship, and continued this honourable fight so long, till
she had received two or three shots from him between wind and water, to the great laughter and delight
of the fleet, and the indignation and reproach of the enemy." The famous naval fight which took place
about this time between the Dutch and English was distinctly seen from the beacon hill.
King William the third was twice at Harwich, on his passage to and from Holland, in 1691 ; and George
the first and second were several times here on their journeys to and from the continent.
December 3, 1728, Frederick prince of Wales, father of George the third, landed here from Hanover,
coming incog., and arriving in London the following evening.
On the 6th of September, 17G1, lord Anson, with the squadron having the intended queen of England
on board, anchored in Harwich road. Her serene highness slept on board that night, and landing the
following day, was received by the mayor and aldermen with the usual formalities.
Great floods have sometimes occurred here at high tides, of which the most remarkable w;is in the
year 1723, when the water ran through West-street, and the stream was of so considerable a depth, that
boats were rowed upon it.
On Wednesday, June 26, 1718, a most violent storm of thunder, lightninir, and rain, beat dt)wn the
windmill near the town.
January 3, 1784, at ebb tide the water sunk so low, that a shoal called the (iristie was dry one hundred
and twelve yards in length, and twelve yards in breadth, by which the foundations of a ca.stle and fortifi-
cations were discovered ; and, on the same day, a terrible storm destroyed five fishing smacks belonging
to the town.
April 18, 1807, a detachment of the seventy-ninth Highland regiment, who had gallantly signalized
820 HISTORY OF ESSEX.
BOOK H. Total of the population of Dover-court and Harwich — four thousand two
hundred and ninety-seven.
ECCLESIASTICAL BENEFICES IN THE HUNDRED OF TENDRING.
R. Rectory. V. Vicarage. C. Chapelry. D. Donative. + Discharged.
Parish.
Archdeaconry.
Incumbent.
Insti-
tuted.
Value in Liber
Regis.
1
Patron.
Alresford, R
Ardleigh, V
*Bentley Great, V...
Bentlev Little, R
Bradfield, V
♦Beaumont, R
Brightlingsea, V. . . .
*Bromley Great, R..
Bromley Little, R. . .
Clacton Great, V. . .
Clacton Little, V. . .
Dover- court, V
+ Elmsted, V
Frating, R
Colchester.
T. Newman
H. Bishop
J. Robertson
H.R. Somers Smith.
Henry Thompson ..
B. J. Harrisson
J. Robertson
H. G. Vernon
Thomas Newman . .
H. Bishop
W. R. Brown
Samuel N. Bull ....
William Wilson
Rec. of Thorrington
F.V.Luke
Vic. of Dover- court.
Henry Rice
Vic. of Gt. Clacton..
William Burgess ....
W.B.Whitfield....
Henry Thompson.. .
C. Norman
1823
1806
1806
1825
1793
1809
1807
1792
1823
1811
1827
1822
1832
1818
1827
1813
1823
1822
1811
1820
1783
1830
1827
1822
1823
1832
1823
1832
1809
t 8 0 0
fll 0 10
t 7 0 0
13 0 0
tl2 13 4
18 0 0
tl7 0 5
16 16 ()i
8 0 0
flO 0 0
t 6 13 4
t 5 10 0
t 8 0 0
tlO 0 0
t 7 6 8
C.V. 5 0 0
17 13 9
C.V. 6 0 0
tlO 0 0
15 0 0
tl6 13 4
Not in charge
23 0 0
13 11 Oi
tl5 0 0
Not in charge
16 0 0
tl6 0 0
16 0 0
t 9 0 0
f 8 0 0
M. A. Newman, widow.
Lord Chancellor.
Bishop of London.
Robert Foot, esq.
Lord Rivers.
Guy's Hospital.
Bi.<hop of London.
Valentine Warren.
Rev. T. Newman.
F. Nassau, esq.
F. Nassau, esq.
Lord Chancellor.
Jesus Col. Cambridge.
St. John's Col. Camb.
W. Lushington, esq.
W. Dover- court Vic.
Cor. Christ. Col. Oxf.
F. Nassau, esq.
Rev. W. Burgess.
St. John's Col. Camb.
Lord Rivers.
Rect. of Mistley.
St. John's Col. Camb.
Thomas Scott, esq.
Lord Chancellor.
F. Nassau, esq.
Baliol Col. Oxford. i
W. Kirby-le-Sok. Vic.
St. John's Col. Camb.
W. Kirby-le-Sok. Vic. 1
Bishop of London. 1
Lord Chancellor.
Frinton, R
Harwich, C
Holland Great, R. . .
Holland Little, D. ..
Kirby-le-Soken, V. . .
§Lawford, R ,,
*RIistley, R
•Manningtree, C...
Oakley Great, R. . . .
Oakley Little, R
Ramsey, V
Exempt . , .
Colchester.
George Burmester..
Samuel N. Bull
W. R. Brown
B. Cheese
St. Osvth, C
Tendr'ing, R
Thorpe-ie-Soken, V.
Thorrington, R
Walton-le-Soken, V.
*Weeley
Pecu
Colchester.
Exempt. . .
V. of Kirby-le-Soken
Richard Duffield
V. of Kirby-le-Soken
Archdeacon Lyall ..
J. F. Grant
Wrabness, R
I Endowed with four hundred pounds, queen Anne's bounty and private benefaction.
§ Has one hundred and sixty new sittings, of which one hundred and ten are free.
themselves in Egypt, being put in a crazy vessel, called a bugg, of fifteen tons, to be conveyed from
Landguard Fort to Harwich, she upset with one hundred and fifteen persons on board. On this melancholy
occasion, were drowned captain Dawson and seventy-three soldiers ; thirteen women, eight children,
and three sailors.
APPENDIX TO VOL. II.
Page 115.
The monumental antiquities of Saffron Walden church have, probably, at a
former period, exceeded in interest those of any other in the county, the floor having
been almost covered with brasses, all of which, with a single exception, have, either
from negligence or design, disappeared. The one which still remains is in the south
aisle of the chancel, and represents the effigies of a priest, with a shield of arms,
bearing a chevron between three birds, and for device or crest, a pelican in its piety,
with the motto, sic christus dilexit nos. In the south aisle of the nave there
is a flat stone, which, from the indentations, seems to have contained the effigies of
a man and four women, with labels from each of the figures. There has been an
inscription round the top of the stone, with dexter and sinister shields of arms,
and a central ornament. There can be little doubt that this was the monument of
John Nicholls and his four wives, which is recorded by Weever to have borne the
following inscription : —
" Of your cherite prey for the soulys of John Nichols
Aly«, Joiie, Alys, and Jone his wyfs.
Johannes : Fater noster miserere nobis.
Alisia : Fili redemptor mundi miserere nobis.
Joanna : Spiritus sancte misereri nobis.
Alisia : 8ancta Maria miserere nobis.
Joanna: Sancta Dei genetrix virgo virginiim miserere nobis."
The family of Nicholls appears to have been settled at W'aldeu at a very carl)
period. Among Cole's manuscripts, in the British Museum, there are three deeds
relating to certain lands transferred to John, the sou of John Nichole, of Walden,
and to John, the son of John Sewale, of Wykham, so early as the tliirty-Hrst of
Edward the first. By the first of these, Richard Wymiuid, and his wife Braiigwyne,
daughter of Walter Curteys, grant these lands to the two foregoing persons ; and
VOL. II. S N
822 APPENDIX.
the deed is witnessed, among others, by Richard Nichole. By the second, Brangaine,
after her husband's death, confirms the grant. And by the third, John, the son of
John Nichole, of Walden, concedes all his rights in these lands to John Sewale.
All of them seem to be of the same year. The seal, of brown wax, on the last,
of which the impression is imperfect on one side, has a lion rampant, grappling with
a dragon, and round it the inscription—" S^- (i.e. Sigillum) loiiis fil' loiiis ;"
but, on account of the imperfection, it is impossible to say whether it belongs to
John Nichole, or to John Sewale, though, since John Nichole is the granter, it
most likely belongs to him.
From the known antiquity of the family at Walden, from the pedigree given in
the visitation of the county (MSS. Harl. 1137, 1146, and 6065), from the frequent
occurrence of the name in the manorial history of different parishes in various parts
of the county, and from the circumstance that the calendar of wills, deposited in the
registracy of Chelmsford, contains one hundred and thirty four entries of wills of this
family, commencing with Thomas Nicholl de Rochford, in 1400, it seems evident
that the family of Nicholl were very early and extensively settled in Essex, and was,
in all probability, the stemma originalis from which have descended the families of
that name in Norfolk, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire, and other counties.*
* Arms : — Argent, on a chevron azure, between three wolves' heads ; erased sa ; as many crescents,
ermine ; on a canton of the third, a pheon of the first. Crest: — A squirrel, sa, holding a pheon, argent.
Also, sa : a pheon, argent, on a canton of the second, a bird of the first, beaked, &c.
ERRATA.
Page 121, line \b,for five pounds, read five shillings.
— 2U5, seventh line from the bottom, " Leeke," should be "Leake." In the same
page : — Manuden hall was purchased of the nephews of the rev. William
Calvert, by the present proprietor, John Martin Leake, Esq.
— 556, eighth line from the bottom, for Baker, read Hatton.
— 625, fifth line from the bottom, for fifty-two pounds two shillings, read fifty-two
shillings and twopence, yearly.
— 760, the words, " an opulent grocer," &c. should have followed, " Mr. John
Wallis, of Colchester," line 19, same page.
In several places in the Notes, /or baronetage, read baronage.
INDEX TO VOL. II.
NAMES OF PERSONS AND FAMILIES.
(a. SIGNIFIES THE FAMILY ARMS.)
Abdy, a. 411, 483,719, 742
Acre, Walter de, 247
Adam, son of Turold de Malis
Operibus, 281
Adams, 302
Addington, 287
Adeliza, 477
Ady, Dr. 249
Affleck, 751
Alexander, 662
Alfgiva, 476
Algar, 53
Alger, 352
Alleyn, 569
Altham, a. 295
Amberdon, 142
Ambrose, a. 541
Amory, 654
Anderson, 429
Andrew, 549
Andrews, a. 58
Appleton, a 586
Apreece, 527
Arblaster, 791
Archer, a. 371, 611 ,
Ardale, a. 522
Ardern, 295
Argall, 506
Arkwright, 295
Armiger, 623
Arran, earl of, 546
Asser, 611, 614
At Lee, a. 719
Atwood, 367
Audley, 111, 268, 732
Averill, 588
Aylett, a. 15, 273
AylofFe, a. 444
Badlesmere, 245
Bagney, captain, 791
Baillie, or Baily, 589, 606
Baker, 26, 335, 555, 588, 654, 777
Ballette, 315
Baliol, 303
Banbury, 453
Bannester, 617, 634
Barclay, 378
Barefoot, 396
Barentyne, 268
Baring, 751,758
Barker, a. 20, 487
Barlee, 729
Barley, a. 149, 196
Barnard, 287
Barnsley, 472
Barnwell, 300
Barons, 483
Barret, Leonard, a. 513
Barrington, 196, 310, 606
Barwick, 338, 769
Basey, 14
Batail, 409
Batard, 547
Bateman, a. 71, 468
Bathurst, 471
Batt, 53, 289
Baude, or Bawde, a. 57, 33G
Bayeux, 172
Baynard, 39, 95
Baynes, 29
Bayning family, 762
Beauchamp, 494
Beaumont, a. 218
Beauvoir, 549, 724
Beche, John, 277, 323
Becket, Mary, a. 477
Beckingham, a. 717
Belhouse, a. 512
Belknapp, 275
Bennet, 723
Bendish, 93
Benlowes, 29
Bensted, de, 303
Bentham, 491
Benton, 444
Benyon, a. 441, 482
Berdficld, 560
Beriff, «. 571, 766
Berkley, 129
Berland, 294
Bernard, 3, 152, 598
Bemers, 180, 215, 248, 27i», SOI
Bevan, 651
Bibbesworth, 46
Biddock, 341
Biggin, 507
Bigod, 216
Birkhead, 137
Bishopston, 296
Black, 441
Blackmorc, J 12, 578
Blackwall, 422
Blake, 464
Bland, Ic, 806
Blencoe, 34. 268
Blincoe, 582
Blount, 482, 492
Bluck, 351
Bohun, 310. 784
Bolbec. 189
Bollcs, 421
Bolingbroko. 593
Bonfoy, 177
^t4u^ ^ Z \
824.
INDEX.
Bonham, 737, 750
Bonnel, 262, 665
Bonner, 51 G
Boodle, 389
Boone, 30
Boothby, a. 471
Booth, 492
Bosanquet, 506, 588
Boteler, a. 58
Botetourt, 4
Bourchier, 5, 246, 615, 650
Bourne, a. 358
Bowes, 758
Boyce, 529
Bradbury, 79, 205
Bradenham, 735
Brain, 305
Bramston, 279
- Brand, 191, 277
Bransil, a. 529, 566
Braybrooke, «. Ill
Breakspear, 398
Breame, 481, 489 -
Breeder, 676
Bret, le, 513
Brewster, 564
Brian zon, de, 518, 617
Brick wood, 651
Bristol, marquis of, 130
Bristow, 596, 785
Britbridge, a. 606
Brocket, 284
Broderick, 792
Brogrove, 681
Broke, de, 275
Bromley, 757
Brook, 92
Brotherton, 438
Brown, 487, 745
Browne, 207
Bmdenell, a. 42 1
Brune, or Bruyn, de, 523 ; a. 524
Brus, Robert, 309
Bublowe, 89
Buck, 203, 534
Buckingham, 3
Bugge, 288 ; a. 290
Bullen, 621
BuUer, 620
Bullock, 93, 357, 739
Bures, a. 570
Burge, de, 595
Burges, 429
Burgh, Aymer de, 310
Burgoyne, 295, 483, 731
Burr, a. 806
Burnel, 794
Burton, 754
Bushell, captain, 795
Bulton, 522
Byrhtnoth, 655
Caldecot, a. 137
Calvert, 200
Cameron, 485
Campion, 624
Canning, a. 150, 732
Capel, a. 35, 343, 652
Cardinal, 759, 788
Carew, 482, 560
Carey, 592
Carter, a. 47
Cartwright, 147
Cary, 790
Caure, 601
Cecil, 266
Chadwick, 485
Chamberlayne, 91, 203, 314, 756
Champion, 335
Chapel, 496
Chapman, 800
Charleton, 388
Chauncy, 78, 468
Cheke, a. 430, 604,611
Child, 299
Chirch, or Church, John at, 301
Chiswell, a. 140
Clare, a. 235
Clark, a. 263, 695, 707
Dr. 691
Clavering, a. 195
Clay, 764
Claydon, 200
Cliff, 524
Clinton, 229
Clopton, 15
Clutterbuck, 432, 596
Cobham, 92
Cockman, Dr. 249
Cockerton, 606
Codd, 674
Coe, 5, 667, 716
Coggeshall, de, 584
Coke, or Cooke, a. 440, 561, 651,
790
Cole, 90, 282, 349
Collard, a. 249
Collins, 297, 351
CoUyn, 347; a 351
Colt, 299, 770
Comyns, 491
Conyers, 459; a. 460
Coote, 488
Copdow, 29
Cope, 615, 710
Corbet, 29, 661
Cornberrow, 437
Cornwall, 53, 560
Corsellis, 714, 726
Cotton, a. 42, 275, 741
Courtney, 527
Coys, 526
Cozens, 349
Cramp, 306
Crank, 739
Cranmer, 163, 247
Crawley, 180,570
Creting, de, 438
Crew, 356
Crochman, a. 83
Cromwell, 230
Crook, 484
Croppenburgh, 589
Cross, 517
Crow, 509
Crush, 632
Cure, Capel, 335, 359
Curson, 569
Curtis, 589
Cusance, Peter de, 262
Cutt, or Cutts, a. 236, 401
Dacre, 343
Dagworth, 182
Dalby, 423
Dale, Dr. 25
Danby, 299
Danie'l, 776
Dan vers, 337
Darcy, 96, 469, 653
Dare, 485, 541, 585
Dashwood, 560
Davall, a. 807
Dawes, 20, 72
Dawtrey, a. 540
De la Haye, a. 730
Denny, 468
Dent, 472 ; «. 754
Dersham, 277
Despenser, 235
Devereux, 273
Deyncourt, 527
Dey, 273
Dick, captain, 47
Disbrow, a- 549
Dodsworth, 523
Doreward, a. 27
Downing, 547
Drokensford, a. 759
Drew, 611, 614
Drury, a. 787
Dry wood, 531
Ducane, 724
Dudley, 696
Dun, a. 376
Duresme, a. 216
Dyer, 260
Dymock, 756
Eachus, 579
Eaton, 482
Elliot, 337
INDEX.
825
Ellis, 429
Elrington, 382
Emery, 601
Emmerton, 709
Engaine, a. 527
English, 531
Esdaile, 429
Essex family, 30
de, 585
Ethelbergh, 475
Eustace, general, 71
Eve, 273
Evenham, a. 714
Everard, 274
Eyles, a. 440
Fabell, 708
Fagg, 240
Fane, 422, 540
Fanshan, 479, 487, 689
Fare, 588
Farr, 543, 569
Feake, 146, 307
Featherstone, a. 569, 613
Fell, 147
Fenn, 23
Ferrers, 50
Field, 430
Finch, 361,459,517, 631
Fishpool, 623
Fisk, 620
Fitzalan, 237
Fitzarcher, a. 460
Fitz-Ancher, 528, 545
Fitz-Hamon, 702
Fitz-Ralph, 237
Fitz-Randolph, 338
Fitz-Richard, 195
Fitz-Robert, 195
Fitz-Suene, 612
Fitz- Walter, a. 658, 735
Fitz-William, 94 ; a. 377
Fitche, a. 267, 659
Fogg, 439
Forbes, 173, 542
Ford, a. 765
Fortescue, 396, 412
Foster, 602
Fothergill, 560
Fox, 745, 788
Franck, 335
Frauynceys, or Francis, a. 498, 548
Francis, a. 764
Fran eke, 651
Freeman, 519
Frenless, 334
Frere, 353
Freshwater, a. 699
Fresteling, 275
Fryer, or Freer, a. 29
Frith, 534
Frodo, 91
Frost, 654
Fuller, 531
Fynderne, 14
Galliard, 579
Gambien, 578
Gardiner, 180; a. 723
Garland, 785, 807
Garnet, 277
Gascoigne, Dr. 443
Gate, a. 256, 341,630
Gawdy, 42
Gaynsford, 576
Gedding, «. 197
Gedge, 263
Gee, 30, 303
Gerard, 547
Gernon, 157 ; a. 375
Gervaise, of Tilbury, 563
Gilbert, 62
Glascock, a. 210, 764
Gloucester, duke of, 253
Glyn, 307
Gobert, 273
Gobion, 202, 576
Godebold, a. 278
Godmanston, a. 756
Goldingham, a. 544
Goldington, 97
Gooday, 44
Goodere, 482
Goodrich, 47
Gore, 473
Gowen, 654
Grant, 531, 566
Grantham, 522
Gravesend, 562
Gray, 751
Green, a. 71, 144, 355, 417, 753
Grenville, 331
Gresley, 758
Grey, baroness, 541, 665 ; a. 667
Grice, 560
Griffin, 110
Grimston, 318; a. 782
Gross, le, 761
Grys, le, 318
Guader, de, 77
Guilford, lord, 287
Guisnes, earl, 793
Gundry, 277, 472
Guyon, 93
Hale, 209
Hall, 536 ; a. 580, 606
Hallet, a. 221
Hamey, Dr. 33 1
Hammond, 284, 472, 675
Hanbury, Osgood, 479
Hanclict, a. 189
Hanham, a. 788
Hardy, 787
Hare, 472
Harleston, a. 136, 293
Harman, 507
Harold, 449
Harris, 623 ; a. 082
Harrison, Dr. 94
Hart, 662
Harvey, 87, 332 ; a. 387
Harveys, a. 682
Hasilden, a. 133
Haslefoot, 19
Hastings, 784
Hatch, 483
Hath, a. 558
Hatton, a. 563
Havering, 527
Hawkins, 20
Hawkwood, 4
Heath, a. 159
Hele, 672
Helion, a. 88
Hemenhall, 92
Hemesi, 92
Hende, 275
Heueage, 341,460,490
Henniker, 215, 493
Hensliaw, a. 290
Hering, 099
Hervey de llispania, 95
Hetherington, 171
Hewit, 307
Hevgate, 609
Hibbet, 482
Hickcs, a. 498
Highbed, 55(5
Higham, or Heigliam, 297
Hildelitha, 475
Hills, 793
Hinton, 521
Hinxman, 71
Hirst, 536
Hoard, 353
Hock, 19, 93
Ilodiiig, 267
Hogarth, 523
llolditch, 791
llolomaii, 334
Holfora. 519
HoUis, 51!»
Hookmaii, 27 I
Holt, 605, (il9
Honychurch, 583
Hont-ywood, 28, 70N. 798
Hope, 609
Hopkins, 3S5. 135,515.517
H()nil)y, 507
826
INDEX.
Horsraanden, a. 668
Houblon, 199,299,322, 358
Howard, 110, 164
Howland, a. 268, 418
Howman, 709
Hughes, 408
Hulse, 478
Humble, 434
Humfreys, 478
Humphreys, 566, 596
Hunt, 509
Huntingdon, a. 83
Hurlock, a. 760
Hurrel, 428
Hurst, 308
Hyde, 484
Hvder, 562
Ingleby, 562
Inglefield, 566
Ispania, or Hispania, 284
James, a. 187
Jenner, 717
Jenkins, 443
Jen our, 216, 463
Jeround, 301
Jobson, 632
Jocelyn, 230 ; a. 271, 280, 313
John, Lewis, 557
Johnson, 483, 572, 654
Johnstone, 493
Judd, 571
Juson, 623
Justice, 534
Keeling, 481 ; a. 734
Kemsec, 55, 77
Kendall, a. 153
Kidder, Dr. 40
Kindlesmersh, 215
Kingsman, 555
Knighton, 306
Lamb, 288, 751
Langham, a. 41, 609
Langley, 165, 304
Lascelles, 721
Latham, 522
Laud, Erasmus, 416
Launde, 376
Lawrence, 153, 445, 537
Leake, 205 ; a. 797
Leathes, 804
Lee, 509
Lee, le de la, 277
Leech, 536
Legal, 431
Ligh, a. 354, 470
Lennard, 438
Lescher, 534
Lethieulier, 473 ; a. 501
Leventhorp, a. 202
Leveson, 560
Linsey, 421
Lingwood, a. 13
Liston, 5, 546
Lives, 560
Lloyd, 247, 790
Locke, 347
Lockey, 483
Lockwood, a. 400
Lodowick, 551
Long, 342, 502
Longeville, 274
Lovaine, a. 225
Lovebond, 666
Lovel, lord, 158
Lovetot, 247, 617
Lowe, 316
Lowen, 517
Lucy, 331
Ludowyk, 294
Lugar, 754
Lukin, 264
Lumley, a. 63, 543
Lushington, 295
Luther," a. 422, 624
Lyons, 5
Mabel, 703
Mackingtosh, 435
Magens, 770
Maitland, 157, 384, 509
Malthus, 102
Manby, a. 537, 540
Mandeville, George, a. 106, 250
Mannock, 259, 552
March, or Marsh, 281
Marche, 650
Marischall, Roger de, 127
Mamey, 727
Marsh, 377
Marshall, 93
Martel, a. 751
Marten, 297
Martin, 171, 207, 769, 797
Martin, captain Matthew, 397
Mashani, 305, 346
Mason, 692, 714, 804
Maud, queen, 477
Maurice, a. 163
a. 331
Mauritaniensis, 229
May, 522, 745
Maynard, a. 227
Maxev, 45
Mead, 176, 183, 230
Mede, 201
Meeson, 521
Merk, a. 294, 414
Mertins, 488, 560
Micklefield, 563
Middleton, 157, 483
Mildmay, 410, 482, 490
lady St. John, 682
Miles, 439
Miller, 341
Milles, 282
Mills, 485
Milner, 439
MinshuU, 435
Moffat, 485
Moignes, 83
Monceux, 333
Montacute, a. 4
Montague, 485
Montfitchet, 157
Montford, 103
Montgomery, 583, 587
Montthermer, 3
Moore, 560
Morecroft, 541 ; a. 581
Mordaunt, 79, 279
Morley, 321, 491
Morris, 275
Mortimer, 743
Moseley, 566
Moxon, 570
Moyer, a. 58, 581, 624
Moyne, 230
Nash, Dr. 445
Nassau, 791
Navlingharst, a. 19
Neave, 432, 544
Neve, le, a. 432
Neville, 195, 704, 750
Newing, 563
Newman, 163, 442, 756
Newport, a. 181, 719
Newton, 356
Nicholas, 337
Nicholls, a. 156, 188, 311
Nightingale, 199
Noke, 313
Northfolkes, 485
Nottidge, 26
Nudigate, 248
Nugent, 3
Oglethorp, 623
Oldham, 268
Olmius, a. 18
Onlay, 13
Onyons, 34
I.
INDEX.
S21
Ormon, earl of, a. 630
Osbaldeston, 438, 481
Osborn, a. 630, 719, 745
Ouseley, 45
Outring, 612
Oveine, 92
Oxensey, a. 39
Oxford, earl of, 539, 810
Pabenham, 299
Pakeman, 275
Paley, 361
Papillon, 534 ; a. 764
Pardoe, 497
Park, a. 541
Parker, 152
Pateshull, a. 739
Patison, 652
Pawne, 334
Payne, Isaac, 45
Payne, 708
Pearce, 483
Peccatum, or Peche, a. 147
Peck, a. 72, 762
Pegbrigg, 423
Pelley, Henry Hinde, 493
Pembroke, earl of, 767
Pennington, 390
Penruddock, 187
Pepys, 203
Pepper, 216
Percival, 397 ; a. 627
Perkins, 632
Perry, 290 ; a. 628
Pert, 515
Petre, 533
Petre, lord, 544, 553
Pettyt, 308
Pettus, 349
Peverell, 50, 139
Philip, 92
Philips, 501
Philipson, a. 785
PhiUips, 603
Picot, 184
Pigot, a. 48, 183
Pinchback, 268
Piper, 79
Pitt, Smith, 168
Pitt, 780
Plaize, or de Playz, 174
Plantagenet, 270
Plumberg, 603
Plume, Dr. 645
Pochin, 339
Poulet, lady, 429
Powell, 785
Prentice, 577
Prest, 276
Price, 482
Prior, 315
Prudence, 300
Prujeane, a. 445
Purchas, 245
Pyrton, 761 ; a. 7i
Quare, 305
Quarles, 441
RadclifFe, a. 65, 659
Ram, a. 466
Raikes, 485
Raines, 38
Rampston, 268
Rankin, 30
Rawdon, a. 734
Ray, 159
Raymond, 484, 671
Rayner, 484
Read, 583
Rebotier, 364
Rebow, 720, 729
Reve, a. 289
Reeve, 750
Reynolds, a. 737
Rich, 55, 424
Richardson, 755
Rigby, 779
Riggs, Dr. 334
Rikehill, 561
Risden, 302
Rivers, 746
Rivers, de, 330, 366
Rivers, lord, a. 780
Robson, 486
Rochester, sir Robert, 040
Rochford,.de, a. 200, 591, 631
Roings, de, 272
Rokele, a. 523
Rokewood, a. 342
Rolfe, a. 8
Rook, 282
Roos, 78
Ross, a. 78, 277
Round, 747, 749
Rowe, 507
Rowley, 188
Rowley, sir John, 790
Ruggles, 20
Rush, 601, 616
Rushbrook, 35
Russel, 152, 526 ; a. 271, 560, 584
Sadler, 469
Salmon, 759
Salperwig, 151
Salter, 282
Saltonstal, a. 524
Salway, 89
Sammes, 713
Sandel, 661
Sandys, 14
Santos, 536
Saville, Only, «. 13, 15
Scholey, 542
Schutz, 791
Scott, a. 388
Scratton, 481, 561, 607, 620
Scrope, 338
Seabrooke, 482
Seaman, 44
Seare, 519
Searle, 361, 463
Segrave, 352
Selwyn, 289, 315
Seymour, 532
Shardelowe, 5
Shaw, 289, 739, 763 ; a. 798
Sheard, 151, 627
Sheldon, 434
Shish, 523
Silverlock, 522
Skipton, 302
Slater, 577
Slocock, 692
Smart, a. 382
Smijth, a. 369
Smith, sir William. 19, 399, 534
Smith, or Smyth, 19, 1 18, 199, 303
700
Smyth, sir Henry, 731
sir Robert, 788
Snell, 170
Soame, a. 184
Somerville, lord, 485
Sorrel, 53
Sparrow, a. 6
lady Bernard, 618, 633
Spence, 524
Spencer, 397, 570
Sperling, 79
Spice, 415
Spigurnell, a. 121
Spitty, 589
Sprigncll, 654
Springe, 560
Squiry, 560
Stailbrd, 276
Stainer, 485
Stane, 314, 334, 336
Staunton, dc, 790
Steed, 547
Stevenson, 197
Stewart, 524
St. Alban's, duchess of, «i59
St. Aubyns, a. 158
St. Cleres, 556
St. John, 593
Stokes, 341
828
INDEX.
Stonard, 384
Stone, 273
Stondy, 539
Stourton, 230
Stubbing, 89
Sturgeon, 524
Strangeman, a. 598
Strutt, 673, 676
Stych, 484
Surey, 560
Summer, 274
Surman, 485
Sutton, a. 635, 626, 735, 761
Swinnerton, 215, 487
Taleworth, 71
Tallakarn, 9
Tany, de, 759
Tatham, 691
Tayleure, 230
Taylor, 654
Tendring, a. 392
Tewes, a. 72
Tey, 737
Teye, 640
Theobald, 521, 555
Thickhoe, 97
Thoresby, a. 28
Thoroughgood, 207
Throgmorton, 225, 260
Thurloe, 344
Tibetot, 180
Tiffin, 386
Tilney, 90, 593
Tipper and Da we, 257
Ttoke, 221, 242
T^ooke, a. 205
.-Tomlinson, 355
Torrel, 280, 418
Tovius, 448
Tower, 209, 534
Townsend, 766
Tracy, 302
Trappes, 273
Trapps, 602
Trevin, 664
Trew, 692
Tudor, Edmund, 433
Tuke, 534 ; a. 726
Turner, a. 145, 163
Turnor, 303
Turvin, 308
TufneU, 254. 257, 667
Tye, 89
Tyle, 351
Tyrell, 547, 617, 619
Ufford, 806
Ursic, 441
Vachel, 707
Valoines, Peter de, 294
Vaughan, 586
Vaude, countess de, 709
Vellev, 561
Vere,'304
Verley, a. 741
Vincent, a. 141
Waade, a 206
Wake, 468
Wakering, a. 916
Waldegrave, a. 418, 736
Walden, a. 164,304
Waldron, a. 412
Wale, a. 69
Wallinger, 335
Walton, a. 545, 547
Wangeford, 97
Wanton, a. 97
Ward, 249
Warle, 514
Warner, 510, 588
Wastail, 56
Wateville, a. 41, 84
Waylett, 33, 284
Weald, 341
Welbore, a. 198
Welch, 618
Webster, 335, 448
Weeley, a. 789
Wegg, 662
Welles, 34
Wellesley, 299, 334, 593
Weldon, 302
Welstead, 484
Wentworth, 5 ; a. 9
Westcomb, 700, 715
Western, 446
lord, 677, 687
Westlev, 93
Weston, 272, 297, 759
Westwood, 294
Wharton, a. 797
Whetstone, 509
Whitmore, a. 807
White, o. 342, 353, 587, 603, 694
Whitebread, 519
Whittington, a. 203
WidviUe, 519
Wight, 482
Wigram, a. 508
Wingfield, 570, 584
Wilcox, a. 770
Wilkes, 176, 485
Wilson, 69
Willison, 90
Wilmer, captain, a. 584
Winne, 531
Winslow, a. 83
Winstanley, 179
Winterflood, 5
Wilson, a. 14, 35
Wiscart, 46
Wiseman, a. 13, 265
Wokingdon, a. 561
Wolf, 93
Woodroffe, 314
Woodstock, 251
Worthtoft, 487
Wollaston, 594
Wragg, 339
Wren, 600
Wright, a. 422, 432, 526, 533, 536
Writtle, 275, 334 ; a. 358
Wrothe, 62, 389
Wrothesley, 225
Wyntou, or Winchester, 301
Wyatt. 1 1 ; a. 268
Yeldham, 48
Zouch, 521
INDEX.
NAMES OF PLACES, &c.
Abberton, and manor, 732
Abbots, 137, 550, 569, 754, 778
Wic, 739, 742
Abels, 752
Abridge, 399
Acresfleet, 632
Adam's fee, 615
Albane's, 249
Albin's, 410
Aldbury Hatch, 483
Aldersbrook, 500
Alresford, and hall, 768
lodge, 769
Althorn, 680
Alveley, 511
Amberden, 142
Antiquities, 323,350,419,466,499,
504, 538, 544, 567
Appleton's, 390
Apton hall, 623
Ardem hall, 555
Ardley, and manor, 749
Wic, 752
Arksden, 171
Arneway's 399
Asfelden's 282
Ashdon, 95
Ashe hall, 334
Asheldham, and manor, 686j
Assingdon, and manor, 628
Astelyn's, 334
Audley house, 111
Aulton park, 792
Aylsward's manor, 6
Bacon's manor, 689
tenure, 223
Badcock's, 732
Dadley hall, 752
Ballinton, and Rise, 313
VOL. II.
Bardfield, Great, 61
Sailing, 66
Little, 67
Barking, and abbey, 474
manor, 479
Barling, 618
Barne Walden, 718
Baron's 666
Barrington's 311, 386
Barrow hills, 709
hall, 601, 615
Barstable hall, 576
Bartlow hills, 98
Basildon, 570
Basingborr's manor, 152
Batail's, 206, 409, 095
Battleswick, 577
Baud's, 536
Baudewyn's, 603
Beaumont, 800
Beches, 602
Bedfords, 439
Beke hall, 602
Beleigh (see Bileigh)
Belesdun, 577
Belhouse, 367, 512
Belknap's, 190
Bellmont castle, 521
Bemfleet, North and Soutii, 584
abbey, 585
Bendfieldbury, 158
Bendish hall, 93
Bentley, Little, and hall, 761
Great, and hall, 76.'!
lodge, 785
Berdcn, and priory, 200
Berdfield, 584
Berevvcs, 560
Berlands, and Blake, 607
Berne hall, 549
Bernham's, 801
5 o
Bernston, 248
Berwick, 260, 343, 367
hamlet, 516
Bifron's, 485
Biggings, 562
Biggs, 6
Bigood's 216
Bileigh abbey, 649
Little, 651
Billerica, 544
Birchangre, and hall, 151
Birch hall, 382, 799
Bird's green, 341
Bishop's hall, 17
Blackdon, 84
Blake hall, 358
Blamsters, 230
Blind knights, 731
Blounts, 603
BJund's walls, 544
Blunt's hall, 80 i
Bobbingsworth, and hall, 357
Bobbingford, 359
Bocking hall. 7 15
and hall, 25
park, 30
IJodeuicks, 687
Bohuu's hall, 724
Bokeles, 173
Bollington, 203
Boltwoods, 15
Boones, 29
Borough house. 172
Botelers, 607, 619
Bourchier's hall, 72!
Bourdcux, 17S
Bovils, 750, 791
and Bradvils, 750
Bovington hall, 30
Bow bridge, 49 1
Bowells 534
830
INDEX.
Bower hall, 745
Bower's hall, 583
Boys' hall, 417
Bradfield, and hall, 782
Bradford, 28
Bradokes, 138
Bradwell, near the sea, 693
lodge, 696
Braham hall, 756
Braintree, 16
Branktrees, 316 '
Brend, or Brent, hall, 288
Brentwood, 535
Bretons, 443
Bretton, or Barton, hall, 626
Bretts, 493, 513, 787
Bridge house, 529
Brightlingsea, and hall, 770
Brockholes, Great, 93
Brocksey sands, 696
Bromford, 578
Bromley, Little, 755
Great, and hall, 757
Bromeshobury hamlet, 313
Brook street, 537
hall, 719
Broom, the, 147
Broxsted, 247
Brundish, 355
Bruyns, 524
Bryces, 422
Bublowes, 89
Buckinghams, 185
Buers Gifford, and hall, 582
Bulvan, 557
Bumsted Helion, 87
manor, 513
Burghsted, Great, and Grange, 543
— Little, 545
Burnels, 158
Burnhara, 683
Busehes, 588
Bury lodge, 158
Cage, 685
Calbourne, 569
Calcots, 535
Callow green, 667
Games hall, 276
Camoeks, 727
Camseys, manor and chapel, 55
Canewdon, 622
Canfield, Great, castle and hall, 264
Little, 266
Can hall, 791
Canons, 302, 503
Canvey island, 588
Carbonells, 785
Cardon's hall, 190
Catlins, 764
Catmere hal!, 178
Caverns, at Chad well, 561
Cawnes, or Canne, 361
Chabhams, or Cobhams, 494
Chadwell, 561
Chalkwell hall, 608
Chalveton, 581
Chambers, 462
Champions, 463
Chapel field, 308
Charletons, 267
Chawreth, 247
Chesterford, Great, 127
Little, 132
Cheswick hall, 188
Chever's, 334
Chiche, or St. Osyth, 773
Chicknej', 246
Chigwell, 385
Childerditch, 532
Chingford, 469
St. Paul's, 470
Hatch, 472
Chishall, Great, Grange, 189
Little, 192
Christmas grove, and Hon wood, 760
Clacton, Little, 790
Great, 791
Clavering, 194
place, 197
Claybury, 482
Clay hall, 482
Clements, 604
Cockayne, 769
Cockerills, 433
Cockermouths, 487
Coggers, 571
Coggeshall, 171
C'olbaynes, 792
--Colchester hall, 151
Cold hall, 758
Norton, 669
Colville hall, 274
Condovers, 563
Cooks, 791
Coopersale, 377
Copped hall, 459
Corbet's Tye, 529
Corringham, 570
Cowickbury, 307
Cowpers, 562
Cranbroke house, 485
Cranham, 526
Crawley bur)', 187
Crested, 593
Cricksea, 681
Crishall, and grange, 187
Crochman's, 83
Crondon, 559
Croy's grange, 230
Crustwick, 790
Curies, 197
Cut hedge, 1 1
Dagenham, 431
breach, 487
place, 488
Dales', 137, 754
Dangers, 613
Debden, and hall, 139
grange, 141
Denballs, 807
Dengey parish, 688
Dengwell hall, 804
Dewes hall, 400
Dikeley hall, 779
Dodenhall grange, 176
Doddinghurst, and place, 539
list, 536
Doggett, 593
Dorevvard's, chantry and hall, 26
Dounes, 299
Dover court, 810
Dover's manor, 445
Down hall, 314, 597, 695
Downham, and hall, 548
Dunmow, Great, 211
Little, and priory, 220
Dunshall, 384
Dunton, 556
Waylett, 557
Duton hill, 231
Earl's fee, 583, 607
Eastbury, 481
East hall, and South hall, 620
hall, 696, 809
Ham, 489
Burnels, 490
house. 439
Lee chapel, 578
Wic, and West Wic, 684
Easton, Little, 224
lodge, 227
Great, 229
Eastwood, and lodge, 600
Elmdon, 182
Elmes, 442
Elmsted, and hall, 759
park, 760
Elsenham, and cross, 148
Eltney farm, 677
Enfield, or Enville, 351
Enfield's, or Glandfield's, 54
Epping, 457
Estre, High, and Estre Bury, 258
Good, and Prebend, 261
Fambridge, North, 671
South, and ferry, 629
INDEX.
831
Fan hall, 584
Farnham, 208
Favels, 708
Fawlty, 716
Felsted, 53
Felstedbury, 54
Fennes, 29
Feytes, 755
Fingrinljoe, 733
Fitfield, 337
Fitzralph's 237
Fitzwalters, 541
Flambards, 669
Fleethall, 523, 606
Fobbing, 561
Fallifaunts, 715
Forest hall, 334
chase, 316
Foulness, island, 631
Foulton hall, and hamlet, 810
Friers, 72, 191
Frinton, and hall, 795
Fro wick. Great, hall, 776
Little, 776
Fryern manor, 557
Fryers', 28
grange, 273
Fulkys, 481
Gaines manor, and park, 527
Garnets, 260
Garnish hall, 376
Gaysehams, 481
Geddy hall, 790
Geddings, 197
Geldables, 580
Gerdelay, 238
Gerpins manor, 517
Geries, Great, 483
Germin's, or Jermayn's, 421
Gernon's, 720, 787
Gibbecrake, 665
Gidea hall, 439
Giffords, 78
Giles, 463
Ging Ralph, 553
Glanville's, 54
Gobions, 566, 576
Goldangre, 714
Goldsmiths, 575
Gooshays, 433
Gorwell, and Prentises, 724
Gosfield, and hall, 1
place, 6
Gossalynes, 566
Gowers, and Buckerels, 472
Grange, 389
Graunt's court, 54
Greensted, 363
Greenstreet hall, 491
Grested, 593
Grove house, 798
Groves, 524
Pladleigh castle, 597
Hadstock, 101
Hallingbury, Great, and place, 320
Little, and hall, 325
Hampton Barnes, 622
l-Iamstall, 785
Harestills, 788
Hare hall, 446
Harlow, 286
park, tye, and busli-fair-
house, 287
Harold's park, 452, 468
Harrye's, 28
Harwich, 813
Haseley, 653
Hassingbroke, 568
Hatfield Broad Oak, 308
priory, 312
Hatfieldbury, 309
Havering manor, 54
bower, 428
parks and chapel, 429
Hawksbury, 572
Hawkswell, 604
Hayes, 671
Hayrons, 259
Hemsted, and hall, 81
Henham, 145
Herbergers, 596
Heron's, 338
Hersham hall, 89
Hertishobury, 209
Heybridge, 698
Heydon grange, 185
Heyns, 727
— '- 72
Heyron's 681
Hide park, 662
High Gan-et, 30
Higham Bensted, 500
causeway, 567
manor, 717
Highlands, 485
Hill hall, 370
house, 675
Hockley, 602
Lower, 603
Hodings, 4, 267
Holdens, 130
Holland, Little, 792
Great, and hall, 793
Hoisted hill, 309
Horeham hall. 236
Hornchurch, 445
Horndon, East, 550
West, 552
Horndon on the Hill, 555
Hospitals, 447
Houbridge hall, 804
Hubbalds and Mallands, 20
Hubert's hall, 289
Hunts, 399
Hutton parish, 542
Ilford, Great, 484
Little, 500
Ingleby, 562
Ingrave, or Ging Ralph, 553
Jenkins', 48, 654
Jerounds, 301
Joyces, 717
Katharines, 302
Kechin hall, 288
Keers, 273
Kelitun, 513
Kelvedon hatch, 421
Kentishes, 15
Kents, 614
Kingstons, 306
Kings Parlour, 673
Kirby, and hall, 798
Knipsho and Dredgers, 679
Knolls, 397
Knowle's hill, 412
Lacheleys, 245
Lachendon Barnes, 667
with Lawling priory,
673
Lachingdon, Little, 675
Lamborne, 394
manor, 624
Lampets, 338
Lanbrokes, 721
Lancasters, 310
Landguard fort, 817
Landnier hall, 797
Langdon, and hills, 574
with Basildon, 576
Lansjenlu), 7.'M
Lan'gford, 699
))l!ice,
Laui^lev, and liali, 199
1— ■- lawn, HI9
I.anglhorns, 267
Liitton, and priory, 293
Launders. 517
Laver, High, and manor, 345
Mairdak'ii, 318
Little, and hail. 310
Lawford, 614
832
INDEX.
Layer Breton, 728
de la Haye, 730
Marney, and hall, 72G
Wic, 727
Lea, the, 314
Lee, or Leigh, 599
Chapel, 577
Leebury, 183
Lee's gardens, 442
Leyton, 496
Lighthouses, 814
Lindsell, 245
Listen hall, 5
Littlebury, 171
manor, 367
Loftes, or Lofts, 176, 709
Loftman, 624
Long Barnes, 341
house, or Chadwell place, 56
Lost hall, 418, 558
Loughton, 383
Lovetots, 615
Loxford, 481
Luxborough, 389
Lyons, 30
Monksbury, 323
Moore hall, 289
Morell's manor, 5
Moreton priory, 351
Mortisfaux manor, 96
Mose, 751, 802
Motts, and Bannings marsli, 760
Mountains, 709
Moverons, 765
Moynes, 83
Mucking, 618
hall, 567
Mulsham, 739
Munden, 677
Mynchens, 173,284
Mynchons, 214
Madeleys, 463
Maldon, 638
Great, 653
Little, 654
battle of, 655
Malegrefl', 555
Malmaynes, or Mammons, 783
Manhall, 133
Manningtree, 777
Mannocks, 259
Manuden, and hall, 204
Mark's hall (a manor), 294
Marks, 19, 278,441,498
Martel'shall, 215, 715
Mashbury, 263
Maskelsbury, 275
Matcliing, and hall, 304
• barns, 315
Mayland, 679
Maylerds, 443
Mereland, 798
Merks, 213
Mersey, East, 746
West, 744
Michelstow, 809
Miles, 422
Milles, 13
Milton hall, 608
Mistley, 777
hall, 780
Moad hall, 69
Moat house, 536
Mole hall, 141
Monthermers, 3
Nasing, Nasingbury, and lodge, 16/
Navestock, 416
Naylinghurst, 18
Netherhall, 299, 352, 783
Netteswell, 297
^Newarks, 262, 335
4^ Morton, 336
%./ "^Newbarns, 355 V
'J Newbury grange, 483 »«, ^ '-Jj *
,^ Newenden, 578 J'
^^ New England, 633 \tF
^ < hall, 687, A88\i "
g^ Newnham, 96 y
hall, 163
New place, 529
Newport, 165
Newton hall, 214
Noke, 515
Northweald, 359
Norton Mandevill, 336
Cold, 669
Oakley, Great, and hall, 803
Little, and hall, 805
Okendon, North, 525
South, 523
Old hall and New hall, 801
38, 570
Olives', 277
Olmested hall, 8
Ongar, Cheping, and castle, 328
High, 333
park, 335
Orford house, 203
Orset, 558
Oates', 346
Overhall, 352
Ovesey, Isle, and hall, 710
Ovesham hall, 89, 305
Pachenhou, 206
Packards', 690
Packlesham, 620
Pantfield, and hall, 40
-' piiory, 42
Pantlow end, 261
Park gate, 64
hall, 4, 377, 784 (see Wix.)
Parks', 48
Paris', 361
Parndon, Great, 301
Little, 303
Paslowes, 335, 487
Passemers, 302
Peckstones, 15
Peete, 745
Peldon, 736
Perie, 690
Peverels, 521, 675
Pewet island, 736
Picott's 47
Pigots, 750
Pilgrim's hatch, 538
Pilton fee, 695
Pinchpole's manor, 207
Pirgo, 430
Pitley, 64
Pitsey, 581
Plaistow, 492
Playz manor, 493
Plechedon hall, 140
■ — canons, 148
Pleshy, 250
Plesh3^bury, 254
castle, 255
college, 256
Plimpton, 425
Plumberon, 603
Pondes, 197
Porters, 52, 481
Poteles, 390
Potten Island, 633
Princes wood, 154
Prior's hall, 28, 52, 145, 244,
246
Priory, 651
Prittlewell, 606
Pudsey, 624
Purfleet, 519
Purley, 654
Quendon, 162
hall, 163
Rad winter, and hall, 91
grange, 94
Rainham, 516
Ramsden cray, 546
Bellhouse, 547
Barrington, 548
Ramsey, and hall, 80S
'^ ia^f^^^d if4u.
(hiAyun-i.-^-rhf M^ /xS"? ^«
INDEX.
833
Ramsey street and isle, SIO
Rawreth, 61
Ray, 684, 809
Rayleigh, 594
Rayne, and hall, 33
hatch, 14
Reculverland, 690
Reden court, 435
Renshall and Reushall, 747
Rich marsh, 586
Richmonds, 237
RickHng, and hall, 164
Rochford, and hospital, 591
Roding, High, 27
Aythorp, and hall, 272
White, 273
Morells, and hall, 275
Leaden, 276
Margarets, and hall, 277
Berners, and hall, 279
Beauchamp, 341
Abbess, 342
Rodings, 269
Rolls", 340
Rook hall, 714
Rookwood hall, 342
Roman villas, or stations, 131, 212,
255, 292
Romford, 435
chapel, and Roper's ma-
nor, 536
Round house, 541
Roydon, and hall, 298
hall, 808
Ruckholt, 498
Rushley Island, 633
Rye, or Ray, house, 735
or Rise, hill, 454
Sabeur, or Seborow, hall, 558
Saffron Walden, 104
Sailing, Great, and hall, 45
grove, 47
Salcot Verli, 741
Wigborough, 739
Salisbury hall, 507
Sandford, Little, and hall, 70
Great, 76
Sandpit leet, 20
Saucemei-es, 207
Sawns, 70S
Sajers, 654
Scotts Mahew, 472
Segons, 102
Sewardstone, 453
Shardlows, 5
Sheddon, or Sharing, hall, 778
Sheepshall, 397
Shelley, and hall, 354
house, 356
Shellow Bowells, 280
Shenfield, 540
— place, 541
Shering, and hall, 307
Shingle hall, 215, 462
Shoebury, North, 613
South, 612
Shopland, 618
Short grove, 107
Skighaws, 804
Blades, 418
Snaresbrook, 503
Sneddon hall, 798
Snoreham, 676
Southchurch, 610
Wic, 611
Southend, 609
South hall, 216, 516, 566
Southminster, 684
Southweald, 533
Sparrow End, 168
Stanbridge, Great, 625
Little, 627
Stanfold gardens, 237
Stanford Rivers, 366
le Hope, 567
Stansgate, and priory, 678
Stansted Montfitchett, 155
meeting-
house and hall, 157
Stapleford Abbots, and hall, 414
Stebbing, and hall, 49
Steeple, with Stansgate and hall,
677
grange, 678
Stewards, 441
Stifford, 522
Stileman's, 580
Stisted, and hall, 12
Stock hall, 305, 700
Stoke hall, 681
Stondon place, 425
Marci, 423
Stone hall, 268, 300, 482
Stow Mary's, 670
Stratford Langthorn, or \v Bow,
494
abbey, 495
Strethall, 180
Strode, 746
Stroud land, 809
St. Cieres, 566, 775
St. Giles' hospital, 65S
St. Lasvrence, 691
St. Leonard's hospital, 166
St. Margaret's, 546
St. Mary, of Barking, 723
St. Osyth's monastery, 77'i
St. Valery, 152
Sutton's manor, 444
parish, 695
Sutton's gate, 695
temple, 607
Takeley, 151
Tendring manor, 141
parish, and hal!. 74 S
Tewes, 72, 190
Thaxted, 234
Theydon mount, 369
bower, 378
Bois, 380
Gernon, 376
Thickhoe, 97
Thorington, and hall, 76ii
'J'horndon hall, 553
Thorp, and liall, 795
Thundersley, 587
Thurrock, Greys, 520
Little, 559
Thurrock 's manor, 196
Three .Ash cottage, 681
Thremhall priory, 159
Tilbury, East, 505
West, 562
fort. 564
Tiled hall, 54, 674
Tillingham, and grange, 690
hall, 532
Tiltey, 231
abbey, 232
Tipswaynes, 153
Tiptofts, 135
ToUesbury, 721
Tnlleshunt Heckinghain, 716
Darcy, 720
Knights, 71S
Torrel's hall, 560
Totham, Great, 701
Little, 713
Trcmnals, 549
Trindehay, 602
Ugley, and hall, 201
I'leham, 675
Uphall, 482
Upminstcr, 527
Upper hall. 352
Upshire, 453
Upton, 193.
Valetue, 187
Valentines, 485
Vange, 573
Vorli, 721
Vornors. 2.')7
Wakcring, (ircat, 611
Little, and hail, 61 ;
834
INDEX.
Walden Saffron, 105
Wallasea Island, 632
Wallbury, 323
Waltham abbe)', and hall, 151
holy cross and abbey,448
Walthamstow, and Walthamstow
Tony, 505
Francis, 506
■Walton Ashes, 800
Walton, and hall, 799
Waltons, 95, 567, 666
"VVangey, 481
Wansted, 502
Ward Staff, 329
Warden's hall, 281
Wares, 263
Warley, Great, 530
Franks, 531
Little, and Wareley place,
531
park, 453
Warners, 684
Wastails, 66
Water, discovery of, 634
Waterman's, 305
Weald, South, 533
hall, 544
■ North, 359
Weld, 290
Weldbarnes, 141
Weeley, or Wiley, and hall, 789
lodge, 790
Well, St. Botolph's, 103
Wendon, Great, 174
Little, 175
Loughts, 175
Wennington, and hall, 515
Westbury, 481
W' est Ham, 492
Burnels, 493
West Hatch, 386
house, 543, 621
Ley, or Lee, 575
chapel, 565
Newland hall, 697
Thurrock, and hall, 518
Westley hall, 575
Wetherspain, 335
Whatley, 597
Wheelers, 361
Whelpstones, 55
White hall, 546
Whitney green, 339
Wic, 784
Wix, 784
nunnery of, 785
Widdington, and hall, 144
Wigborough, Great, 738
Little, 740
Willinghall, Don, 281
Spain, and hall, 284
Wimbish, 134
hall, 135
With field, 484
Wolyerston hall, 387
Woodford, and hall, 509
WoodhalL 171
Woodham, Walter, 657
Mortimer, 660
hall, 662
Woodroydon, 453
Wrabness, 806
Wykes, 717
Wymers, 67
Wythfield, 555
LIST OF THE ENGRAVINGS,
WITH DIRECTIONS FOR I'LACING THKM.
VOL. I.
'--BicKNACRE priory, near Danbury . to face page 133
\x-Borehain house and park 108
^--^raxted lodge and park 250
\.^Chelmsford, from the gravel pits 71
•^ ■ shirehall . 72
^ church 77
^^oggeshall town and church .362
v^ abbey, remains of ... ; 3G7
v^olchester castle .312
V corn market .307
^ view in High street, with the church of St. Nicholas . . . . 311
V gateway of St. John's abbey 320
V ruins of St. Botolph's priory .318
.,_» the gateway of the priory ih.
v.—Danbury park and hall 128
^'Dedham, and church . 454
.|^-Faulkbourne hall, near Witham 230
^^Felix hall and park 261
,^4ialstead, and church 458
^^^edingham castle . . 507
v-'Highlands, near Chelmsford I(i4
Xee's, or Leigh's, priory, near Braintree \^'i
v^Map of Essex 1
v^laplested. Little, church 498
^Mark's hall, near Coggeshall -371
V^-Moyns hall and park 332
, v-^ew hall, near Chelmsford 102
«.^ Rifehams, or RifTens, Danbury 121
.^-ftivcnhall place, near Witham 255
^^pain's hall, in Finchingfield t»50
V— Terling place, near Witham 239
Vr'Witham, entrance of the town of 214
^^- Roman station at ...... 216
...-Wivcnhoe, and harbour 394
r, hall and park 397
Writtle lodge, near Chelmsford 169
VOL. IL
\^ AuDLEv End, and park, with Lady Portsmouth's Doric pillar Ill
v^ eastern entrance to «^^-
^^^.-Barking, town and harbour ■*'*
^^.--Beckingham hall, ruins of 7^6
^,>--Bellhouse, and park •512
^Bellmont castle, near Gray's Thurrock 521
4_,^Belleigh, or Billeigh, abbey, ruins of '>^'^
v,-~Billericay, and church ^44
\,^^Bow bridge, at Stratford *y4
v,---Braintree, and church !<>
836 LIST OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
v^Cheping,'or Chipping, Ougar to face page 328
.^,,* castle-house and moat 330
./^(•hingford church, near Epping forest 472
i^Copped hall and park, near Epping 459
.^^Church End, Dunmow . 221
^^^Debden hall and park 139
^^'Dunniow priory, remains of 221
^^^Eastbury house, near Barking 481
v-^ Easton, Little, near Great Dunmow 224
V. lodge, near Dunmow 227
^^Gosfield hall and park 1
^ from the Wethersfield road 2
\,.--iIadleigh, near Rochford 597
--^ castle, with a view of the Nore 598
v'^iallingbury place and park 320
^^..,Hare hall, near Romford 446
.^Harwich, and church, from the cliff 813
^ from the sea 814
■ lighthouse at Title ■
Hill hall and park, on Theydon mount ......... 370
V Horeham hall, near Thaxted 236
^^--Laindon, or Langdon, hill 574
u--Layer Marney tower 796
w-Leigh, near Southend, at the entrance of the Thames 599
v»— ^faldon, on the Blackwater 638
t-i.-- Ditto 640
i^-^Vlanningtree, on the river Stour 781
v-'Mistley town and quay 777
u ^ hall . .' 780
u— church 781
-mm^^ Moore hall, near Harlow 289
— >• ^^^^Nether hall, in Roydon. near Harlow 299
^^^urfleet, near West Thurrock 519
^^^^Rayleigh church and village, near Rochford 597
^ — Romford, on a market day 435
Y^^-Saffron Walden, entering the town 104
\,^ church 113
<^^ new church Frontispiece
^ Snaresbrook, eagle at 503
^„^Southend, on the Thames 609
w-^ terrace and shipping 610
,/-Stisted hall, near Braintree 12
I- church .............. ib.
J,,^t. Osyth's priory ' 773
<.--'- gateway ib.
.^ Thaxted, from the south 234
1^' church .' 238
^^-Thorndon hall, in West Thorndon, or HorndoH 553
^ from the north 554
^^-Tilbury fort, opposite Gravesend 564
t-^Waltham abbey church 45O
j^Walton on the Naze 799
,^- Warley hall, near Romford 531
^_^ ,^ Weald hall and park, near Brentwood 534
^/Wivenhoe hall and park 394
THE END.
R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD-STREF.T-HILL.
»'^ /
' /
THE LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Santa Barbara
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
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